Oh man, you know what's awesome? Being up at 2:30 on your computer cause the bf can't sleep with you rolling around. No wait that isn't awesome that sucks. It's the coffee, I usually don't drink coffee past midday but everyone was here and all like "oh let's have coffee with our cake" and they make it so strong.

It isn't all bad though, I am catching up on all the lulz from the tea party protests from my fav left wing forums. Which is a nice way to spend your tweeked out early morning.

Or do they look like the coolest hobbits around? Anyway this is my new favorite song.

Hey, I got an idea. A really bad idea designed to take advantage of people who don't know any better! Let's mix by-the-book, generic cookie cutter television with a Wii game!

Grey's Anatomy-The Video Game

Hooray! There are medical games for the Wii that don't suck, like Trauma Center. Besides, I can't imagine there'd be much overlap between fans of Grey's Anatomy and people who play video games.

There's also a whole boatload of horse simulator games, which surprises me because I never got that whole hot for horses thing a lot of girls go through. They are just like big dogs who are more trouble than they are worth. That and except for a few rare circumstances they are a complete anachronism in our modern world. Horses have to have special horse food and horse medicine and horse equipment and if you don't need one, why go through all this effort? It's like having a second car that the government can take away from you and arrest you for mistreating.  Course I imagine that people think I'm stupid for my eternal game of "if the zombies attack now, what's my best defense?", but mark my words the zombie apocalypse will come before horses are useful again.

Of course there are Sim Games. No one plays Sim City anymore, but instead the actual Sims. Which I don't get at all. I've bought the Sims 2 thinking "hmm everyone seems to enjoy this, and I like games, soooo" but after you build the house and make your Sims it gets boring really quick. You know why? Because normal people life is boring. Work is boring, watching TV is boring, everything you do that the Sims do is boring. It's boring enough to have one normal life, but having a little simulation of boring shit you do everyday is like some metajoke that isn't funny.  At least in SimCity you could destroy the town when everyone got too mouthy about taxes and crime. In Sim City they just sorta die gradually, but you can't have them hit with an asteroid or attacked by lions or anything interesting.

This is also this abomination, A High School Musical Sing along game with a microphone. It has a high rating, which can be only attributed not to serious (or even sensible casual gamers) but instead to squeal-voiced pink-clad teenyboppers. I was never what you could call "cool" at that age (I dunno, twelve or so) but compared to what kids are into these days I was Frank Sinatra.

What's really stupid about RE5 (other than it isn't available on the Wii) is that some people who obviously doesn't know what the previous dozen games or so where all about say that the game is racist because you shoot black people. You don't shoot black people, you should black zombies. That is a different as big as Lake Victoria. If you really want to be raising issues of vairous "isms" in video games, why don't you get all up in arms about shit like All Star Cheerleader or
Hannah Montana Spotlight World Tour for promoting sexism? Because that's really more of a concern. Remember when we though that Achy Break Heart was the worse thing that Billy Ray Cyrus would unleash upon this dreary world. Seriously, watchdog groups get their panties in a twist over non-existent racism, but stuff that reinforces negative gender roles like girls are all about shopping and popularity are allowed to be sold to anyone who asks? And if you say that cheer leading doesn't reinforce gender stereotypes you either didn't go to high school or are a filthy filthy liar.

Dora the Explorer used to be fine. She wore shorts and a kicky little do and had a pet monkey in a magic backpack. But even she isn't safe from the sexist agenda. Apparently she way making too many little boys feel that girls where they equals, because they had to princess her up with tiaras and glitter and ponies
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dora-Explorer-Saves-Snow-Princess/dp/B001EO74MI/ref=pd_sim_vg_h__96
I blame the Republicans. After all, what is more threatening to them than (possible immigrant) woman who is bilingual and doesn't need a man's help to solve her problems?

This afternoon when I was walking Scarlet I noticed that there was a lilac colored sofa, a blue chair, a broken full length mirror, and a plant sitting by the recycling bins for our apartment complex. I almost took the the plant, but we don't need more half dead plants so I left it for someone else. I mentioned the chair to Jon because we are looking for cheap (or free, even better) furniture for our balcony now that it's spring. In fact, we spend all last spring and summer going "we should really get furniture for the balcony" in case the furniture fairy overheard us. But he didn't make any moves to the furniture so I forgot about it.

On our way home tonight (had Mexican) we walked past it. The chair and the plant where gone and I really don't need a broken full length mirror, but the sofa was still there. A preliminary check and sniff test was positive-the fabric on the bottom was torn, but other than that it looked fine. Didn't smell like cat pee and no stains.

"What if somebody died on it?" Jon said
"So? Free sofa!" I replied

Maybe it was the margaritas talking, but I said we should carry it back. It's a solidly built sofa, which is a good thing in a long run but not such a great thing when you are trying to carry it across the deserted courtyard at half past nine at night. I manged to help Jon carry it the 200 feet to our building, but there was still the two floors to carry it up. At that moment our angel appeared. It was one of our neighbors and he told Jon that he had gotten "a message from God" to help us drag it up the stairs. The men pulled it up whilst I ran upstairs to open the door and lock Scarlet in the spare room, lest the excitement overwhelm her. But our adventure wasn't done yet.

Not by a country mile.

Jon decreed that instead of trying to get it though our front door, the foyer, and then again out the balcony it would be easier to get it over the stairwell balcony and over our railing. Yes, it would be a lot less maneuvering, but we had to pass it over a gap with a three-floors straight down kind of learning curve. Where this is day time and I had five good men (and a star to sail them by) I would not have hesitated, but as it is just Jon and myself I was a bit nervous. Also, if the sofa fell that wouldn't be the biggest problem-it would crush a bunch of bikes too.

Jon pushed it over the railing, over the gap, to myself on the other side. I usually never go over our railing for the reason I'm worried I will suddenly lose all sense of balance and sense and just topple off the balcony. After several terse moments ("Oh my God don't let go of the sofa!!!!! Seriously!") Jon finagled it over, where I pulled it to a secure teetering position, hopped over the fence and ran inside to let Jon in, then ran back to sofa in case it decided to plummet over the edge.

"Be careful! Oh oh oh!" So Jon decided to push from the safer side. We got it in place though, and it cost us nothing but a few abrasions on the back of my left hand where I scarped it against the brickwork. In retrospect, that was completly avoidable.

It is a really nice sofa though. I think it's suede, it isn't Ikea, I think it came from a real furniture store.

Today when I was doing my Wii Fit (I've lost 1.9 kilo, that's like 3 pounds since Monday) I pulled or had a spasm in my right side chest muscles. It's not too bad, not like the time I pulled my neck muscles (that had me down in excruciating pain for a whole day. I took some paracetamols, which are much better than aspirin, and a hot shower. As far as muscles go this is one of the better ones to pull-it doesn't effect my walking or typing or breathing. However, I'm not too keen on walking the dog in a bit or carrying home heavy groceries as I don't want to risk aggravating it.  

I don't know about you, but where I am Mother Earth, aka Eostre, aka Persphene, aka Ishtar (maybe) is currently kicking the aged and decrepit ass of Old Man Winter. Sure, I am still wearing my big old winter coat and my scarf, but no longer my gloves are needed, and I got a springtime coat.

So what's with you? Winter still kicking your asses?

I just made the easiest and most delicious casserole. The suckiest part is that it took like 90 minutes to make. Kidney, black, and chili beans, corn, peppers, tomato paste and your fav spices-I used garlic, rosemary, and "spicy mix"-in the bottom. Then, a layer of cheddar. Topped off with frozen hashbrowns and chili powder. Bake until crispy hashbrowns and bubbly cheese. Serve with tabasco sauce and sour cream.

Enough kitchen korner. We went to the second hand shop today. I got some earrings (only way to buy them, I like the odds that the person who owned them last is dead) and a flour shifter, as well as balls for the dog, a coffee maker (because some of Jon's relations claim that tea is only for sick people) and a TV holder tray wall mounter thing for the bedroom. We're past that "let's make love for 1000 years" phase where you say "oh the bedroom is not a place for a TV" and now it's "wouldn't it be nice to watch TV in bed!!!" phase. The comfortable phase.

For a full recap of my romantic surprise, check out http://cleanandsmart.wordpress.com/2009/02/19/getaway/

You heard me right. Why? When you're a kid it's all just school work this and obey your parents that. You know what we did today? Went to A-town, had some sushi, bought a butt ton of DVDs, had ice cream, came home and played with our dog, and then we are having pizza and rums and cokes for diner.

Also, my favorite genre of film is B-movie/cult. Who's with me? Want to order Shock Waves because it had both Peter Cushing in it as well as zombies fighting sharks.

And as long we are talking about awesome people in surprising roles (although I suppose Peter Cushing in a zombie flick isn't that surprising) Simon Pegg is going to be Bones in the new Star Trek movie coming out this year. Now I wish it was less about the slashy relationship betwix Kirk and Spock and more about Bones and Sulu being catty. Hopefully that will be the sequel.

Also hoping to go to the Star Trek convention in Bonn this April, but with Scarly Warly Pippy Skippy (that's her full name) around that doesn't look like it's going to happen.

It's morning in America; the morning gin tastes a little bit smoother, the pigeons are a little less diseased.

http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12176684

It's one thing to make a mistake a remain silent about it and just not do it again, it's another thing to make a mistake a mistake and say so, and it's a completely different thing to make a mistake, say so, and have the worlds eighth largest economy mad at you.

So don't buy Bruce Springsteen's albums at Wal Mart. In fact, just to be safe, don't buy anything at Wal Mart.

I've started buying (ha! this pirate is all grown up now) all my music on the iTunes, not because I have any particular fondness for Apple, but because it's only ten euros per album (and only 99 euro cent for those awful one hit wonders I can't get out of my head) and it generates much less waste. And there is not of that frustration involved with trying to open CD packages. I haven't bought a CD in....probably 18 months.