There will be no more computer problems! I now have a brand new laptop, made especially for me, by someone who is very special to me.

He will know who he is, when he reads this. THANK YOU WONDERFUL PERSON!!!!

I am enjoying coffee, ice cream, and free wireless, at The Bookshelf. My new computer is wonderful, and I definitely plan to be on here a lot more often.

I've been working on a new website for the last little while, so I haven't been around much. I'm getting over a cold. I hate being sick!!!! It really sucks. Anyway, both my light bulbs in the libing room went out at the SAME TIME today, so I HAD to go out and get light bulbs. I thought I had some, but I was wrong. I really didn't want to go out.

I went out, came back here, watched TV, and now I'm sitting infront of the computer. Thank God for the internet!

A Special Birthday This Week!!!
Can you believe it? Monica Lewinsky turned 31 this week. It seems like
only yesterday she was crawling around the White House on her hands
and knees. They grow up so fast.

2 Extra Strength Advil worked, but now part of my face feels numb, for some reason. I guess they worked TOO WELL! LOL Hey, I'm not complaining. What a RELIEF....though my left side of my face feels like I just returned from the dentist.

I wonder how pain-killers know where to go.

I woke up with blinding pain to the whole left side of my face. My left bottom wisom tooth is coming in, and it hurt like hell this morning. Left and right bottom ones are both coming in (aren't I too old for this?) but this morning the left one was bothering me like I'd never felt before!

I just called Shoppers Drug Mart, and they told me to take Advil, and if that didn't work, I should go there and get some Tylenol #2's.

I have the bottle of Advil in my hand, and I've never been so happy to swallow pills in my entire life!!!

I think we should just round up all the politicians, send them off to some island somewhere, and let them fight their own fucking war!! Then let's get the troops HOME! Let Bush fight his own fucking war!!!

A month or two ago, there was a cover story in Newsweek about a military Dr. I am not usually squeamish, but a few paragraphs into that article, and I could barely finish my coffee. There I was sitting in The Second Cup with a Belgian chocolate latte, and some poor kids were off somewhere fighting a war? It's not the people, it's the damn politicians. Let THEM do it!!!! 

A few times I put down the magazine and almost didn't finish reading that article, but I made myself read the entire thing. When Walker was DRAFTED he didn't have the chance to just close the magazine when he got tired of what was going on., so why should I?

What kind of leader....... My GOD I can't even finish that question! WHAT GOOD REASON do we have for sending people to war? Iraq? Viet Nam? Same difference, same crap.

So why the hell do we really need leaders anyway?!?!?!

Sure I support the troops, as individuals, just not anyone with POWER to send them there!!! And for those who enlisted? Their decision, but who made them think they had to?

I don't like what's going on either, and I'm sitting here WRITING! Who knows what will come of this? Too many people have died, and this shit is still going on, but I can sit here and keep on writing, living to see it published. Instead of pointing guns, why doesn't everyone speak out instead? Why are people afraid to speak out?

Sacrifice? I don't believe in THAT either. I think they've all been brainwashed into thinking they're making some big sacrifice.. That's as bad as being drafted.

Let's send all the politicians to the front lines, and put the troops in the white house!

Lulu.com $ent me $24.24 USD, my royaltie$, AND I got $0.30 in change from The $econd Cup. I $aw the nickel when they handed it to me, and later found the quarter when I wa$ putting the re$t of my change in my mailbox.

Woohoo!!! 

Well I did it again. I stayed up all night listening to the BBC. I fell asleep around 7 AM, and didn't get up till around 4 PM. haha I decided to do something different, so I went to William's Coffee Pub and had a BIG ice cream sundae, and a cup of their fabulous coffee. I read a couple of magazines, and thenI headed to the dollar store. I needed some coin rolling tubes. I came home, and I rolled $85 in quarters, loonies and toonies. (for my non-Canadian friends loonies are our $1 coin, and toonies are our $2 coin). I am still convinced that loonies and toonies were named for our LOONY TOON politicians. I really can't think of any better reason for the coins to be named that. $1 coins don't ALWAYS have loons on them these days...

It's 4 AM, maybe I should go to bed, so that I might get up at a reasonable hour today. I'm thinking of going back to William's for another Sundae. Those are damn good! (that was dinner last night). Shakti is happy because I bought him a bunch of tins of sardines at the dollar store. When they're 2 for a buck, I'll give them to him whenever he wants them! LOL

I love reading, and I love listening to music. I spend hours, and sometimes days staring at my computer screen reading something-or-other.

Mom would get on my case because my grades were never high enough, and in her view, I wasn't working up to my potential. The reason why I wasn't working up to my potential was because I was stuck in a classroom with 30 students who really dind't give a shit, and a teacher who was on the verge of total burnout. Who the hell can learn in that environment?

Writing just happened for me. Why only read? I have my own ideas too, you know.

Here I am late on a monday night -- or is it early Tuesday morning? -- reading, writting, blogging, researching, listening to music...

I never liked doing research in school, probably because they told me what to research, and all I had were a few books as resources. I don't believe it counts as true research when it is controlled by others. Howcome they never taught us about anarchy in school? Probably because it would have been a threat to teachers to let "children" know they dind't have to obey authority. Authority? The word "author" comes from the word authority, to be an authority on the subject about which you are writing. That's why people write!

Worked published by my teachers? 0
Works published by me? 1 and more on the way!

"Do you cook?"
When I answer truthfully that I really don't enjoy cooking, people wonder how it was possible for me to write a cookbook. My answer was that when we sit infront of a computer we write, when we stand infront of a stove we cook. Just because I am not a big fan of standing infront of a stove all day doesn't mean I don't know a think or two about food.

My sister Rebecca (Becky) is the cook in the family. She and my Mormor (Mom's Mom) were my inspiration when I wrote Tak For Mad (Thanks for the food). Becky came up with the title, when I coudln't think of one. My sister is a miracle worker when it comes to food, but she's not one to sit infront of a computer. I guess that's why Mom and dad had TWO children! LOL My sister and I are as different as night and day, but our differences compliment eachother. Let her do the cooking, I'm content to sit here and write. Besides, the first thing I ever cooked, I ended up burning to a crisp, and poor Mom was the only one who would eat it.

But never working up to my potential? Come on!!! How fast can they type? Oh well, I've never built a log cabin, performed surgery on a cat, run a nursery school, or worked as a nurse (the family members whom I have identified in that last sentence will know who they are), but I have published a book. I'd say we have ALL worked up to our potential because we are all where we are supposed to be.

I'm the only member of my family with a website, and I created it myself! If we were all meant to excel in the same area, we wouldn't need eachother or even be attracted to eachother.

WOOHOO Everyone!!!

Brian Peroff is back from vacation, and now my world makes sense again!

For those who have no clue who I am talking about, Brian Peroff is the music director for AM 740, and the host of Flashback, a Monday night program which I never miss!! Brian has been on vacation for the past two weeks, and things just haven't been the same. I wish someone would lock him in the booth and keep him there forever. No one knows their listeners like Brian does, and he does such a wonderful show on Monday nights!!!

As if his return wasn't wonderful wnough, he played Morgen by Ivo Robic. I was just thinking that I'd like to hear that song on the radio. He told me that someone else requested it. I have a feeling someone is spying on me. LOL I'm glad to know there are other Ivo Robic fans out there.

Brian's fans all believe that he is psychic, because he can read our minds. He always knows what we want to hear.

Now he is playing something by Dean Martin. I bet Marilyn is happy! (if you're reading this, HI MAR!!!).

I am sitting on my couch listeing to AM 740 on my big console radio (ithe one with the 8-track player) and the station never sounded so good. I love that old radio. Becky and Matt gave it to me for my birthday years ago. (check out Matt in my MySpace network!).

Wonderful radio, wonderful station, wonderful host, and I won 3 bucks in the lottery today! WOOHOO!!!!

A brilliant article from the Washington Post! Thanks Ben.

Sites Let Amateurs Be Published Authors Without the Book Deal
 
 By Leslie Walker
 
 Shane Gilreath, an amateur poet and artist, wasn't planning on becoming a book author -- until he met Lulu. Neither were Karen and Walter Del Pellegrino, a couple who tapped Lulu to publish their guide to Italian ceramics as an anniversary present. And before Lulu, entrepreneur Pete Edwards was...
 
 To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/04/AR2006050400745.html?referrer=emailarticle
 
 
 Would you like to send this article to a friend? Go to
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/emailafriend?contentId=AR2006050400745&sent=no&referrer=emailarticle
 
 
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I want this one!!!

Leonid Smetannikov - Russian folk songs and gold hits romances (CD)

See larger image

Price:  $14.96  .. type="text/javascript" language="javascript" src="http://www.russiandvd.com/store/_inc/js/Ajax.js?x3">..> Currently0/5 1 2 3 4 5  Rate this item! Preview Year of production: 2003 Recording length: 57:41

My friend Aleks on the UTF (Ukraine Today Forum) posted the following quote today.

In religion and politics, people's beliefs and convictions are in almost
every case gotten at second hand, and without examination.
  - Mark Twain

I only hope that those who think I ask too many questions will consider this quote carefully.

Mom came to Guelph today, and we had coffee at The Second Cup on the corner of College and Gordon. Mom thought it was cool that I could walk in there and say "my usual please" and get it/ Yah, they sure like me in there, and I like them too. The good thing for Mom about The Second Cup is that they have a parking lot, so she doesn't have to leave the car in some unknown location and walk three blocks, like we need to do if we meet downtown. I like the cafes downtown, but for Mom they're not great, because of the parking problems. I'm sure glad I'm not burdoned with a car/

The bus stops  just up the street at the fraternity, and I walk about a half a block down, and I'm right there. Sometimes the drivers are nice, and drive me right to the door. ;-)

It was nice to see Mom again, since she's not in Guelph that often anymore, because she is getting more work in her area.

It was nice to get out of here, since this place is still recovering from the flood. I didn't tell Mom about that, because she'd only worry herself to death over that. That's not to protect her, rather to protext me from having to listen to her worrying over something I'm handling. I know I can't stop her from worrying about me, I just wish she wouldn't worry out loud!!