Waaaaant! (#42)

Seriously...

I want these.
I need these.
I am one with this picture...

'k, guys, that's about it for February Fragments.

Thank you all so much for sticking with me through it.

It was a great way to while away a dismal month,

and I hope you had even half as much fun with it as I did!  :-D

Podcast Love

I've got a fairly long commute to work and a sound system that speaks only radio or DVD. The local stations are hit or miss at best, and while I truly do believe in the healing power of music, my tastes vary with my mood, so I need variety.
I can burn discs but after a while, I'm bored with those, too.
I could keep a large selection on hand, I suppose, but somehow they end up on the floor of my car, rolling around and getting scratched and just generally aggravating me.

So what's a girl to listen to during her drive?
Well, I've turned my eye (ear? heart?) to podcasts.
They update frequently, I can drive, learn things, and be entertained all at once... SCORE!!

There are bunches of good sites out there but for my interests, I rely primarily on How Stuff Works and BBC 4. (I particularly enjoy the ones from the BBC, because at the end of each show, they read out their URLs and you get to smoosh up your mouth and try to say the word "podcast" along with them like you're British. This never fails to make me laugh at myself -- and my uncooperative lips.)
But I digress -- let's get back on track here...

Jz's favorite podcasts:

Stuff Mom Never Told You
     From women's health to erotica to Afterschool Specials to monogamy, Caroline and Cristen investigate life in the domestic sphere. They're gender-issue aware and so may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they tend to unpack issues by asking the same sort of questions that I would, so I enjoy them. Just cross your fingers that you don't hear Cristen do her British accent... (trust me on this)

Stuff You Missed in History Class
     People, places, shipwrecks, horses, houses, underwear... you name it.
All sorts of historical information you may never have heard of, or even thought about...

Stuff You Should Know
     I've said before that I *heart* Josh and Chuck.
Their self-proclaimed goal is to have explained everything in the universe by the time they're done podcasting. Four years into it, they've discussed twinkies, jet lag, the sun, condoms, spam (the meat product), the Large Hadron Collider, zombies, grow houses, Stockholm syndrome - really, they cover a lot of ground! (And make me laugh pretty hard while doing so.)

From Our Own Correspondent 
     Here, BBC correspondents and reporters take current events and break out a small, human story behind the headlines. As the website says: "correspondents will often relate the unexpected: the day they visited the town that is crazy about trout fishing, attended a 40-course Chinese banquet, or swam with sharks, experienced zero gravity on a flight with Russian cosmonauts, went mud wrestling in Turkey or ballroom dancing in Cameroon." One of the things I most like about this show is that it reminds you that everyday life really is pretty much the same world over.

In Our Time
     A round table discussion of topics in history, philosopy, culture, religion, and science, sometimes quite lively, always informative.

Witness
     A kind of "On This Day...", Witness features 10-minute snippets of historical moments, as told by the people who lived them, through interview, archives, or written record. Kristalnacht to Manolo Blahnik, it's all fascinating stuff.

The Infinite Monkey Cage  (and yes, we know who I'm looking at now!)
     One of my absolute favorites, which they don't do NEARLY enough of, this is a "witty, irreverent look at the world according to science with physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince." Includes guest scientists, guest comedians, and a very lively audience,
(Who knew a particle physicist could have you rolling on the floor?!?)

If none of these interest you, there are plenty of other fish in the sea.
Tell me what you like, I love recommendations!

Right to the Bottom of My Default Sys Prefs...

submissive thru and thru

(bat, bat, flutter, flutter)

Swimsuit Issues I'd Like To See

Cute as they are, why shouldn't they have a cupcake?

The Business of Fancydancing

This post was first written because I'd come across a link for a site where you could view "A Movie Jz Says You Shouldn't Miss" - The Business of Fancydancing. Sadly, by the time I retrieved it from the odd bits folder, the site had been closed. (So much for that idea!)
But I still urge you to see the movie. (nods to Netflix)

Here's why I think it's worth it:

For one thing, presentation. It's visually gorgeous and the actors are all quite compelling.

It also contains one of the most haunting and powerful a-cappella-songs-in-a-language-you-probably-don't-know that you're ever likely to hear. (Even if you don't watch the movie, go listen to this: Onilshatin. It will seriously be giving you goosebumps by the end...)

The biggest draw for me however is that Fancydancing was written and directed by Sherman Alexie.

I've been a Sherman Alexie fan since "Indian Killer" first came out in '96 - and I haven't been disappointed by his works yet. I won't lie and say I've read "everything single thing he's ever written! *squee!*" but I have read quite a bit of his poetry, the majority of his books (who could not pick up a book entitled, "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven"?,) and both "The Business of Fancydancing" and "Smoke Signals" are among my favorite movies. (And, yes, I've been known to get the ditty, "John Wayne's Teeth" stuck in my head, as well. Thank you for that, Mr. Alexie! ;-p)

His themes are never particularly comfortable - there's always anger, despair, and a lot of internal conflict, but the writing is amazing. It's sharp but tempered with a lot of low-key, incisive humor that invites us to join in the laughter, even though we are feeling a bit complicit around the edges... As Wikipedia tells us, "... he uses humor and pop culture [to leave] the readers with a sense of respect, understanding, and compassion."

So I guess this post is actually a two-fer...
It's "a movie you shouldn't miss" AND "an author you shouldn't skip."
If you haven't already, give 'em a try - and let me know what you think.

A Saturday Song

Truth in Fairy Tales

I Would Prefer Not To...

So, I'm really not much of one for public arm-flapping.
This is learned behavior, not innate, I hasten to add.
My dramatic streak is too wide and my command of hyperbole too deft for me not to be perfectly capable of pitching a spectacular fit (and thoroughly enjoying myself in the process, may I add.)

The problem is that I am inevitably mortified by my self-indulgence later - and would infinitely prefer to just pretend it never happened, thank you very much.
But that can't be when you've let fly --  words reverberate forever.

So I've learned to rein it in, a habit I extend to this little corner of the blogosphere, as well.
I don't see this as my place to bust loose, like a cyber keg party, it's just another place to talk to people -- the same way I talk to them in real life.

 - And then someone suggested that this could be seen as cheating -

       which pretty much stopped me cold.

I guess I see the point. I suppose one could argue that I'm presenting a false construct, shaping my persona to suit the image I want to project...
But does that hold water?
I frame my interactions with BlogLand the same as my interactions with real life.
Meaning that, in both, I tend to exercise restraint.

In real life, people appreciate this fact.
Are the standards really that different in cyber-space?

(And if they ARE, does that mean I have to be accepting of the ubiquitous unsolicited penis pic? Because that might just put me over the edge, here...)

Kama Denta Sutra

And Not a Cat in Sight...

(for aisha)

"your boobs came untied!", he scolds

"Well... I'm here on the floor -- flat on my back, wrists bound to the back of my calves, and you've been lying on top of me... So however it happened, it wasn't me!" 

(I receive "The Look"...)

More Fortune Cookie Wisdom

    With a grin on my face, I shared this with the BFF of 40 years.
    She looked, shook her head, and laughed -- hard.

        "That is, on one hand, hysterically wrong...
           yet, on the other, completely true."

    "Confounding Expectations"
    Just another of the services on offer here at Casa de Jz...

Alternate Realities

For many, this rings true:

But some of us know that THIS is the option you should really fear...

    just sayin'...

Things I Love About My Small Town:

    The sense of continuity.
    The WPA plaques still embedded in some sidewalks.
    The lovely, gingerbread Victorians along the main road.
    The fact that they installed conversation benches at the town dump.
    Having turkeys side-chase my car, just like dogs do…
    That I often hear horses clomping past my house of an evening.
    The hand-painted sign along the back road that says "Pigs Welding"

Truths I Wish Did Not Require A 2 x 4 To The Head #1

Looks are only one small part of attraction.

WHY is it so hard to get that through our heads?

A Valentine's Truth

I don't think it's any big secret that I hate Valentine's Day.
But on the other hand, Valentine's Day always makes me think of SP, and I love SP.
So I'll make nice and celebrate the day, with two draft fragments woven into one.
(In and of itself quite appropriate...)

I've said before that I firmly believe SP is my soul mate.

I believe I've known him before - somewhere, somehow - and that we have a connection that no person or thing can break. This does not mean that he's the man I'm meant to spend my life with, but he is a man who will never NOT be a part of my life.

BG may be my dom, the man I want to be with but, at the risk of further inflating his already sufficient ego, SP is my rock. (Yes, as in, "upon this rock..." much tho' it galls me to admit publicly! ;-p)

Except, that's not 100% precise.
Because it's not so much that he is my rock as that he gave me my rock -- my center, my core.

We were a bit like two meteorites on a collision course.
We crashed into each other, shaking and shattering ourselves, and as the dust settled, the fragments re-cohered into two distinct, more complete spheres, each consisting of pieces of both.
Which then bounced on along in their own merry orbits...

But we'd changed each other.
Before SP, I lacked cohesion, a core to pull me all together. Yet now I have one -- it's the part that he and I made together. It's kind of my own personal gimbal -- I can stumble, I can wobble, I can spin, but my orbit is contained. And it's self-sustaining. I don't need him to be within shouting distance for it to work. (Altho' I like it lots better when he is.)

SP gave me the guts to be me - to trust me, to believe in me.
"And that has made all the difference."

Happy Heart Day, sweet thing!
... and to you all  :-)

Waaaaant! (#6)

Who IS this man?
And more importantly, does he like tall, pudgy chicks?

(yeah, ok, I think we already know the answer to that one but a girl can dream, can't she?)

"Dear Cupid, I know this is kind of short notice but ..."

Truth in Bondage

He's binding my breasts in a particularly vigorous manner.

"OWch!"

"Oh, did that hurt? I'm sorry."
"You know, I didn't hear a lot of sincerity in that..." I tease.

"That's because there was none..." he stage whispers back.

Down to Basics

When a storm takes down your power and gives you twenty-two hours of no heat in a house that drops to 47ºF, you experience a shift in the Things That Incite Your Interest.

How I Perved During the Blizzard of '13:

Food Porn

And now that power's back?

ginger carrot soup

HOT ginger carrot soup...
Mmmmmmmm!

Dizzying Heights?

Can I just say that this picture triggers my vertigo simply by LOOKING at it!?!

Look, Ma!

They're gonna give me a Darwin Award!!!

A Ponder With No Answer

I've been thinking lately about the human propensity to cut off our noses to spite our face. What on earth is up with that???

Why is it that when we are hurt or angered by someone else, the knee-jerk reaction for many is to say, "Ha! I'll show THEM!" and we proceed to think of a list of things we can do *to ourselves* that will make the other person sorry they treated us badly?
They've already hurt us. If that doesn't bother them, then why should our breaking a leg, or failing a test, or performing some sort of harmful violation on ourselves change their mind?

I can empathize with the initial impulse. When I'm hurt or depressed, all sorts of vindictively morbid possibilities occupy my head. But all I actually DO is wallow in despond. I can't imagine myself ever *acting* on these urges. But I have to wonder why is this such a common reaction, anyhow? What is it about humans that cause us to be so incredibly contrary, even at our own expense?

Sure, it's a bid for control, a way of asserting ourselves against a (seemingly) uncaring world. What I don't understand is why it takes the form it does.
I suppose maybe we are the only tool at our disposal? 
Or the only thing we're willing to hurt, maybe?

Waaaaant! (#174)

Just imagine...
You'd never have to leave your books.
You could simply roll in them to wherever else you wanted to be...

Fun With Everyday Items

Why Bother?

Seriously, why do they market this as "crumb cake"?
Does anyone buy these for the cake?
I think not.

Shouldn't they just call it

Box 'o' Big, Yummy Cinnamon Crumbs 

- on potentially edible stabilizing form
(serving size: 1/4 box crumbs)
???

Then we wouldn't have to feel guilty about picking off the whole "cake" bottom.

Truth in Advertising, I tell ya...

Visitor Love, Anonymity, and the Golden Rule

The casual surfer may not realize that a lot of us keep track of our visitors. Yep, that kind of record-keeping happens not just at the sites that are trying to earn money, but even with us poor shlebs who are only trying to say "hi!" to the world. We all like to know if anyone is paying attention.

And a few of you are, so here's some attention back at'cha:

Hi, Slough!
I once spent a night in Slough.
(Please do not enquire more closely.)

Hi, Leiden!
I've never been to Leiden.
But I do know a native of your fair city...

Hi, St. Johns!
Why do you never say howdy?
Is it because I've never slept there, even by extension?
It's not rejection, the opportunity just never arose.

And the same for you, Portland and Prague.
It's nothing personal, I swear! Say hi once in a while, would ya?

Before you go into a full-blown Big Brother paranoia attack, let me reassure you.
We really can't see anything more personal than what town your ISP is calling home at the moment. (Unless you're sufficiently ballsy to return visit by accessing a file stored in your user profile -- in which case, I applaud your courage but might recommend bookmarking none the less. Or cutting and pasting, at the very least. )

And truthfully, I don't want to find out more than that about my readers, because I cherish my own privacy. I will actually avoid sites that use any widget that broadcasts to all and sundry where the latest visitors have come from. Sure, it sounds like a fun idea. But I live in a small town, hello. You have no idea how off-putting it is to go to a site that announces to the world that West Hiccup (pop. 743) has a kinkster lurking behind the picket fences.
Let me visit discreetly or I will visit not at all.

This is also, by extension, why I neither follow nor show followers. Since I like my privacy, I'm not going to encourage others to invade yours.
Although I suppose you wouldn't put yourself out there if you minded...
But still, it's the principle of the thing. 
Do unto others and all that.

Put Your Pen Down

abeautifulrevolution.com

I am completely enchanted with how this man's mind works.
Quirky and funny and brilliant.

Adult Truths

    - Part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.


    - Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.


    - I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.


    - There is great need for a sarcasm font.


    - Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
    - I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
    - Bad decisions make good stories.


    - There will always come a moment at work when you know you're done being productive for the rest of the day.

 



Truths We Rarely Consider

I know these words to be true-

but please don't ask me how.

(I did wonder why he kept bolting from the lunchroom...)