Fur In The Wind.

Oh Great...Another Quiz!

2006-08-01T19:45:00.000-04:00

You're Totally Sarcastic

You sarcastic? Never! You're as sweet as a baby bunny.
Seriously, though, you have a sharp tongue - and you aren't afraid to use it.
And if people are too wimpy to deal with your attitutde, then too bad. So sad.

How Sarcastic Are You?

I can't deny this. At all.

Mel's Mouth Motors On.

2006-07-31T11:32:00.000-04:00

Give Mel Gibson a break? Give me a break! The whole point of the linked blog is that people can't help what they say when they're "likkerd up." Supposedly his reputation is already damaged by this so we ought to let it go. If we let it go, exactly where would this damage be?

"You've suffered enough, Mel. It must have been so rough being like countless other slobbering drunks who make jackasses out of theirselves, and endanger lives in the process. It must be horrible to have to stand by your actions, to face up to the hateful words you spewed."

Look, this isn't Mayberry, and Mel isn't Otis the Adorable Alkie! When I get drunk I hug people -- strangers mostly. When I sober up, I accept the fact that my extrovert had went carousing. Mel has some verbal diarrhea and his inner anti-semite came spewing out. We all know that drunks say things they don't completely mean -- sometimes they give into hate, but I don't think drunks say things that don't have a glimmer of truth for them either. For this man to be blasted for his portrayal of a group of people and then be heard to spout hatred for the same group after his tongue is loosened? I don't buy that this was not in his heart.

I'll give Mel a break around the time he acknowledges that his life, alcoholism aside, is pretty frikkin' good, and much of his good-fortune is due to the people he seems to think are the cause of war. (Of course, he's not giving back that money any time soon.) He is where he is because of huge box office which you don't get by just selling tickets to devout Catholics.

Then we have the whole issue of people who can afford limos, cabs, whatever, driving while intoxicated. A poor schlub is bad enough when he gets behind the wheel, but Mel doesn't even need to wipe his own butt, let alone drive anywhere. People, imo, should be just as upset about that as they are his comments.

And why does it seem that somewhere between the 20th and 30th year of fame that people are losing their minds? Just when you think that being Tom Cruise's publicist has to be thankless, you have to contemplate Mel's people spinning this. Anyhow, why are these people, who have been sheltered for so long, seeming to become even more isolationist? I understand how a fishbowl can make you buggy, but the complete breaks with reality are a little much.

In the end, people have prejudices and grudges, even fortunate people. They shouldn't be burned at the stake for them, but neither should their words be excused because they're drunk, or rich, or have pretty blue eyes... Sometimes, when people get a hard time, they deserve it. People get to say what they wish, but agreeing they have that right doesn't mean that there should be no repercussions or reactions to those words.

Ya'll Come Visit!

2006-07-31T11:26:00.000-04:00

I have a new blog going, more focused on the writing type stuff. You can also hear my voice there.

Nicolette Rivers/What Good Girls Don't Do...

Word Flirts...

2006-07-16T14:49:00.000-04:00

There's a new group blog for romance/naughty romance writers which seems to have a very friendly atmosphere. If that's your sorta thing, check it out:

Word Flirts!

Hotter Than a Two Dollah Pistol...

2006-07-15T19:09:00.000-04:00

Hot. For Minnesota, it's effin' hot. And like most people in the area, where our extremes are usually of the cold variety, all I have is a couple fans. My dogs are hot, too.

Every time the husband puts water on the greyhound's head to cool her, the sheltie freaks and starts rolling around, shaking, and trying to dry from the imaginery water in what has to be the most empathetic behavior I've ever seen.

I went shopping today. Some Bigs from the company that is buying the company for which I work is coming in on Tuesday. The nearest town with clothing is nearly fifty miles away. Of course, I still ran into a people I knew who also have the drive that far for anything beyond basic staples.

Then we went to eat, and I ordered lasagna which was nauseating pepper-y. The waitress told me that it was because it was pasta. Huh? What? There is a place here, un my little town that kicks ass on the lasagna. The waitress tries to act like I can't handle spicy food -- one common spice way overused is not spicy. I like spicy. I miss Indian food in ways that my vocabulary is inept to satisfactorily convey. This was just bad. Anyhow, I made the waitress take it off the bill. Will eat there again the fifth of never, mostly because of the waitress acting like the problem was with me.

But I bought a cute outfit, so it's all of the Happy. Even got a cute necklace to match. Of course, I'm currently wearing pink shorts with blue flowers and a lime-ish green shirt, so fashion is not my strong suit. <--- see what I did with the pun?

Writers: Give Me Your Wisdom, Lend Me Your Ears...

2006-07-13T16:04:00.000-04:00

I'm looking to step up the writing efforts and thinking of submitting to e-publishers. I've been bopping around the blogosphere, and there are a lot of people who seem to read and review online publications. I want in! So any writers who stop by and would like to toss me some suggestions from which publisher, to guidelines that seem to work, to not making as ass on myself -- um, feel free. I would welcome comments here or in an email.

Shame Makes Me Babble.

2006-06-11T19:54:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I was gone for a while again...I am The Suck.

Speaking of sucking -- LAME PUN ALERT -- I seem to be back into vampire novel mode. I'm currently enjoying the novels of MaryJanice Davidson. (And, yes, she had a blog...tho she clearly isn't as diligent as I am.) I've been meaning to check out these books for a while, and since seeing her stories in a couple anthologies. I have a weakness for stories set in Mini-soda, but I bet anyone who reads me regularly feels that it was unnecessary for me to say that.

The deal on these books -- at least the Undead series -- is that a blonde woman with a shoe fixation gets killed, but soon rises in a second hand clothes and Payless shoes, to discover that she is not just a vampire...but the queen of vampires. Good stuff, although heavier on quips than plot.

The writer is quite clever, and I actually tracked down a little flamewar she was in. It started on Romancing the Blog. I used to post there, but was pretty soundly ignored.

Anyhow, the debate in question happened because MJD stated people shouldn't take Amazon reviews to seriously 'cause you really don't know the credentials of the people reviewing. (At least this was my interpretation.) Somehow people took her to be an elitist bitch. The debate spread to other sites, and it became clear that a lot of these people really missed her humor, which she seems incapable of abandoning even if it's for her own good. I can relate.

Had a birthday yesterday...glad to be alive, pissed that women for their ages. I oughta beat someone with my cane.

Went to the dentist the day before that, and was informed that the annoying fissure at the back of my mouth is because of a wisdom tooth, but he wants to wait up to a year before he does anything. Well, he did poke at the sore with a pointy metal thing. He also told me that, for how rare it is for me to go to the dentist, my teeth are in really good shape. I think I heard resentment in his tone, like I was invalidating his existance. Anyhow, he told me that the big ouchy thing that my tongue won't leave alone is more an annoyance than anything else.

The writing is in a rut. I still do quite well with my internet porn, er, erotica, but haven't submitted anything for publication for a year. Don't know why not since the last thing -- the only thing -- I've ever submitted got published. Oh...right...laziness.

The thing with the internet smut, er, erotica is that there's instant validation, and response, and no editor on your ass. I worked pretty hard on that silly little story that I go published.

Speaking of work, they sent out another memo about confidentiality agreements and not blogging about them. Oops. (Ignore this paragraph.)

Beware of....

2006-04-18T21:44:00.000-04:00

Dog!

5, Really 6, Randomly Cool Links!

2006-04-17T20:34:00.000-04:00

Cool cat pic!

Free Classic Books Online.

It's Dog of the Day! and Cat of The Day!

Picture/Art Show with an Emphasis on Fantasy/Classical Images! Love this one!

"The church is near, but the road is icy. The bar is far, but we will walk carefully." — Russian Proverb.

2006-04-16T20:31:00.000-04:00

I have a great ability to justify not doing things that don't interest me. I started going to church, but after a while started all the excuses not to go.

The number one excuse is my habit of staying up all night on the weekends. And being a bitch when I wake up. For some reason church brings out the worst in me...the people there annoy me, and I just have to think I'm not going at it with the right spirit.

From The Makers of Snakes on a Plane (not really)...

2006-04-16T19:38:00.000-04:00

It's Cats in Sinks! If you tell me this isn't strangely compelling, if you tell me you can resist clicking on the next picture...well, I don't even know what to say!

Disposable.

2006-01-28T15:34:00.000-05:00

Roseanne Barr speaking on pop culture:

...It's boring and dull and so prescribed and handpicked. Everybody looks exactly alike. And acts exactly alike. There's no colour, no anything. Look in the magazines. Every girl looks like every other girl, they bore me to death. I'm barely interested in my own life, let alone other peoples'. Especially the young, they have nothing to say whatsoever. They're distractions. They do the job they're supposed to do: Keep everybody from noticing what's going on. It's the whole dumbing-down thing. Roseanne Barr Globe and MailSat. Jan. 28, 06

I stumbled across this in an entry on Blogcritics. The author, Gyspyman, refers to Roseanne as "one of the stars of the past." The unintended irony being that Roseann is speaking of the transient nature of pop culture, and she is considered to be one of the leftovers from an earlier version of that culture.

I always flinch when I read discussions on has-beens. Perhaps, as I get older, I just really see that no success is forever. We're all destined to be has-beens, and even the things we'll be remembered for is not of our choosing.

Abraham Lincoln said, during the Gettysburg Address, and in one of the most ironic statements ever made famous that "the world will little note, nor long remember what we say here." The speech before was made by a famous orator of the time -- good luck naming him if you're not an American History buff. (Edward Everett, in case you're wondering.) Lincoln didn't know he was making a speech which really would live on.

Maybe blogging is, for some, an attempt to leave a mark, but does it? Call me cynical, but I believe you could be an enormously huge blogger, take a hiatus, return years later, and be called a has-been. If you did well again, it would be your comeback.

Being not an expert on grave markers, but judging by the local cemetary, there seemed to have been a fad for people to have their pictures put on their graves -- and this before most people would have guessed it possible. Many of these graves have only the ovals where the portraits used to be, or the images are cracked beyond recognition. They are failed attempted of keeping a foothold in the world of the living.

And because we're all has-beens in training, shouldn't we be kinder toward those that have already attained the title? Nobody is relevent forever, and what's remembered about us all is laregely a by-product of chance.

A Pet Peeve.

2006-01-28T14:08:00.000-05:00

Let's discuss irritating things in the blogosphere, or one irritating thing. Blogs which are not comment friendly. Granted, some of the bigger, more political blogs would be utter nightmares if comments were left on, but there are a ridiculous number of small time bloggers who go with something like LiveJournal, and then turn off anonymous comments, allowing you to only comment if you're one of them. I'm pretty sure I did sign up for an account, at one time or another, but I can't remember it. I can't be the only one. So when I'm cruising Technorati, and see an entry for an LJer, I don't even click.

Hey, people blog for many reasons, and for some it's all about keeping in touch with their close friends, but why register your blog in that case? Why have it out there, but make it incredibly difficult for others to participate? A blog should be less effort to comment on than it would be to write a letter to the editor in a newspaper.

Updates

2005-12-29T16:52:00.000-05:00

Okay, been away for a spell. I still don't have internet at home, and every single place that has internet is closed by the time I get off work. I tend to be an all or nothing sorta gal, and since I couldn't post daily....

I miss blogging though. I'll try to at least do a weekly entry until we have internet -- which should be soon. (Fingers and toes crossed.)

Lessee.... The weather is cold and snowy. But hey, Northern Minnesota here. Actually I often walk to work through a path in the woods and it's just magical looking. It almost seems like an enchanted place and I've yet to fall on my ass!

After I get off of the path I have to walk a little done a relatively unbusy road and I'd noticed tracks a while back, with a new set added each day. Last week I met the trackee...a gorgeous young buck who ran across the road, hopped over a wood fence, and scampered over the hill in what seemed like the blink of an eye.

I've had all this week off because my job is super slow in December. I do work tomorrow (Friday) though, and then I'm off until Tuesday. And it's still not enough. I've faced the fact that I won't be happy until I can stay at home (with internet) and write to my heart's content.

I lost another dog about a month ago. The second since August. It was the weirdest timing. My husband found a stray in the snow and realized that Zelda was acting strange all in a couple minute period. So we call the vet and ask about the stray...when we could bring him in. She was at home, but said someone would be walking the boarded dogs in the morning.

Well, a half an hour later I'm calling the vet back and crying over my dog. She couldn't walk and was steadily peeing herself. I know this woman thought we were some crazies trying to lure her to the office...I mean, two calls in that short period?

We watched her over night and she was in steadily worse shape. We changed her bedding several times and she was clearly suffering. The vet did come in the next day, although the clinic was supposed to be closed. A few hours later she diagnosed cancer and kidney failure.

A day earlier Zelda was her usually self -- with no signs of illness.

We still have a Sheltie (he is my heart) and a Greyhound.

We got a new harddrive for the desktop -- and now my Sims 2 won't play. Computers make life soooo simple, yes?

Shameless Self-Promotion.

2005-09-04T15:10:00.000-04:00

The book my story, Babalu, will be appearing in now has a listing on Amazon. The Perfect Valentine: Erotic Lesbian Valentine Stories.

Politics, Religion, and Martha Stewart.

2005-09-04T14:41:00.000-04:00

My grandmother loathes Martha Stewart. I am pretty ambivilent, although I lean more on the liking side of the equation. I don't currently own a dish rack, having not wanted to pack the old one when we moved. I've been utterly unable to buy one in town -- the only ones they have in the few stores which sell them are massive. We went to the K-Mart in the BIG city of Virginia Minnesota. -- population 9,000ish. I found the perfect dish rack -- and of course it was Martha Stewart, and of course my grandmother told me how immoral she is (Marta -- not grannie,) and of course I left empty handed.

Should I get a tv, I think I'll rebel and watch Martha's Apprentice. I hear she made her daughter one of the judges -- takes balls. I like her more and more all the time.

I was watching Katrina coverage the other day and amidst the ruin of a house was a rather ironic/poignant sign: Martha Doesn't Live Here -- And That's a Good Thing.

Kanye West is a jackass. Not that I don't agree that Bush is quite probably a bigot, although I think he hates po' folk of all colors and races, there is a time and place for everything. A fundraiser like that is a time for all people of conscience to come together to help. It's a time to put partisan issues aside.

I'm not one of those people who don't think celebrities have the right to speak out on issues. I think Kanye, and the Dixie Chicks, and anyone else deserves their say. I do think that that there are appropriate times to do so though.

My thoughts are that what we are seeing is an issue of class more than race. It's also a matter of having had vital resources being used elsewhere in the world.

And as much of a jackass as Kanye is, the legal team at NBC are quite possibly more annoying. They really has to release a statement to say West's views were not the views of NBC? Um, considering his speech was clearly unscripted, and did not have the flow of a Will and Grace episode, I do believe the statement was unnecessary.

We've found a church we quite like. It's the Methodist Church in town. We'd tried the Lutheran church, but the sermon was all about there only being one God, and how anyone else is wrong -- it's very opposed to my own beliefs. I'm not about to tell someone whose beliefs are different than my own, but every bit as strong, that I'm right and they're wrong...

Anyhow, we like the Methodist church, and most of the members, but the music is slightly torturous. Almost all the selections are old, outdated, and depressing. There was one week we sang "Morning Has Broken" (the most famous version was by Cat Stevens.) I enjoyed that. I suppose I just want to leave church feeling uplifted.

The good news is that if you have a birthday or happy announcement you get a bag of M&Ms. Chocolate is always uplifting.

Thanks to all the wonderful people who've said supportive things after we lost out 16-year-old sheltie, Cindy. I know there are people who look as tools (something to help hunt, guard, herd...)I know there are other people who can seperate pets from family. We simply love and cherish our animals and when we lose one it's rough. It's wonderful to hear from people who understand that it was a reall loss.

Of course my heart goes out to all the humans who've suffered through Katrina, but my heart also goes out to the animals. I never want to be put in a position where I have to contemplate abandoning my pets in order to survive. And I'm sickened when I imagine the terror and confusion of the animals left behind.

Flag?!

2005-08-22T19:15:00.000-04:00

I see that Blogger has added a new button to "flag" objectionable blogs. How does everyone feel about that? I think it's pretty subjective -- what's offensive and what's merely (what?) a little saucy? The explanation says that enough flags would mean a blog would no longer be listed -- tho' it would still exist.

I think that children should be protected, but it IS the parent's responsibility. Some blogs really do offend me -- rough language is not the only way I judge that however. I would rather it be where you can just request that a particular blog not show up in the rotation if it offends you.

Another One of Those "Learning What's Really Important" Blog Entries.

2005-08-20T19:43:00.000-04:00

I'd just entered a new phase at work this week. The phase where I've learned the job -- and now must actually DO the job. I was a nervous wreck all week, but by Friday I was noticing I was beginning to really get into the swing of things.

And then I got the message.

The receptionist came to tell me I needed to call my husband. I knew he wouldn't have called unless it was important...and that gave me a short list of what it could be about. As I dialed, I guess which one of the list it could be. I guessed right.

My husband was crying, asking me if I could leave work early in order to be present while our 16-year-old dog went to sleep. It was time. She hadn't eaten -- not even tuna or peanut butter -- she didn't want to move, and she had diarrhea.

It had been a long time coming. I knew this one had to be my husband's decision. And now it was time. And for the second time in a row, I'd found out a pet was dying while at work.

Everyone was wonderful, and I was soon out of work, and ready to be there...again. The vet asked if I'd ever ben present before. Oh yeah. In several years of working at a shelter? As a longtime pet owner? I told him right away that I knew her blood pressure was low; I'd seen enough dogs in her condition at the shelter and I knew they would have trouble finding a vein. They tranqued her first, and then, after she was sedated they looked her a vein. It took two tries.

I was ashamed of myself for not crying as it happened. Perhaps it was the shelter work that put me in that zone where I became stoic. I cried when I talked to my husband on the phone, and I cried when I asked if I could leave early as I explained, but I didn't cry when it was happening. I think there were a few tears immediately after -- when we were left alone with her.

We got home and my 11-year-old sheltie greeted me -- and then I sobbed into his fur, all the while feeling guilty about why I was crying. I was crying, with my face buried in his thick fur, because I was so glad it wasn't him -- my favorite. Even as I'd called my husband I was hoping, that if it HAD to be about an animal, that it be anyone but Riley.

My husband wanted her ashes. I told him I would find a pretty box -- and today I did. I held it out to my husband while in the store, and he knew right away what I was asking. He began to tear up but managed to nod.

Having pets is rewarding and wonderful, but you do it knowing that they will only be with you long enough to usher you into a new phase in your life. The life span of a dog -- a decade, fifteen years...is not nearly long enough, but just long enough to have them be witnesses and participant in key moments in your life. When the pet is gone those moments seem suddenly more ethereal, less tangible...and truly in the past.

I look at pictures of Cindy when we got her -- she was already 6 and 1/2 -- and she looks so young. She looked like a dirrent dog than the one we took to the vet yesterday.

I remember when she was eight how we found out she had cancer and I remember thinking she was still too young to let her go. So we treated the cancer and we went into debt to do it. And she lived another 8 years. When we'd treated her we were told that sort of cancer usually comes back in about 8 years. Hmmm. I remember thinking at the time that she'd never live long enough for it to be a consideration.

But she had a pretty good life after her rocky first years. She went from shy and neurotic to knowing she was loved and safe. And in the end I believe she knew we loved her.

And that had to be enough.

You Got Plastic Surgery? You Look the Same To Me!

2005-08-16T19:40:00.000-04:00

Speechless.

Call me (Un)Mellow Yellow!

2005-08-16T18:47:00.000-04:00

Um sure...I guess so.

Your Scent is Lemon

Vivacious, tangy, and lively

You are one gigantic ball of energy!

What Scent Are You? Take This Quiz :-)

Find the Love of Your Life
(and More Love Quizzes) at Your New Romance.

Missing: From Her Home and From The Media (Join the Search!)

2005-08-13T15:00:00.000-04:00

Genia at Sisters Talk wonders -- quite rightly -- why pretty blonde-haired white girls get more media attention when they disappear than do minority women. There is also a lovely pregnant woman named Latoyia Figueroa who's missing -- her little girl wants her home. And, while she's gotten some media attention, it's sandwiched in between the hour long programs on Natalee Holloway.

If Latoyia had disappeared at the same time as Lacey Peterson, would we have ever heard about it?

Now, I still am TV-less and watch TV only at my grandmother's house. She loves Court TV, Nancy Grace, and Larry King. It is not unusual for me to see hours of coverage of Natalee Halloway and I've seen about 10 minutes of the Latoyia story. And the coverage of the Halloway story on Nancy Grace and Larry King is pretty identical. While my heart goes out to that family -- why wouldn't King opt to do something new? Give publicity to a case that really needs to be publicized still?

Oh, and the 10 minutes of Latoyia not only competed with the Halloway case -- it also lost time to the rich white guy who disappeared from his honeymoon cruise and the story of the rich white guy killing his rich white wife.

I like Nancy Grace -- and at least she did cover the story (and with passion and respect) -- but Larry King really doesn't seem to care at all. What's say we have a chat with him?

I've also made a point to Google and Technorati search Latoyia Figueroa -- it would be wonderful if she got as many searches as Natalee has? Don't you think? It might be just a symbolic act, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

Terrific News To Share!

2005-08-13T14:00:00.000-04:00

I found out last week that one of my stories will be appearing in an anthology. I couldn't be more pleased since I worked hard on this one and actually wrote the story in hoped that it would make it into this book. Yay Me!

It's a love story between two women and I think it's really sweet and cute. I believe that love is love, and as long as a writer is being true to their characters, there should be no additional struggle to make the participants the same gender! I'm very proud of writing a story which honors the wonder of meeting someone who takes your breath away.

I don't have an official publication date, but it should be around Valentine's Day '06. The publisher is Bella Books. The story is Babalu. The writer's name is....is...oh yeah -- Nicolette Rivers!

Yeah, I Got Nothin' Again -- So I did a Quiz.

2005-08-12T18:57:00.000-04:00

I don't cut cheesy farts -- I draw the line there!

the Shock Jock
(61% dark, 65% spontaneous, 63% vulgar)

your humor style:
VULGAR | SPONTANEOUS | DARK

Your sense of humor is off-the-cuff and kind of gross. Is it is also
sinister, cynical, and vaguely threatening to the purer folks of this
world. You probably get off on that. You would cut a greasy fart, then
blame it on your mom, and then just shrug when someone pointed out that
she's dead.

Yours is hands-down the most outrageous sense of humor; you
like things
trangressive and hardcore. It's highly likely (a) you have no limits
(b) you have no scruples and (c) you have no job. Ironically, it's your
type of humor that can make the biggest bucks in show business.

PEOPLE LIKE YOU: Howard Stern - Adam Sandler - Roseanne Barr

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on dark
You scored higher than 83% on spontaneous
You scored higher than 99% on vulgar

Link: The 3 Variable Funny Test written by jason_bateman on Ok Cupid

When Can I Expect the Pulitzer?

2005-08-09T17:53:00.000-04:00

I decided I wanted to blog on the diagnosis of Dana Reeve with lung cancer so I went to Technorati to see what other people were saying. I found this entry to be thought provoking -- in terms of what it says about me...and blogs in general.

I used to be dedicated to getting all the tabloids each and every week. They were more factual than naysayers would admit, and I liked glitzy celebrity gossip. I stopped right after Princess Diana died -- it bothered me to think that the lengths that tabloids went to for a story might have killed this woman.

And we are how many years past that? And more hungry for gossip than ever. We expect our news programs to tell us what our favorite star is doing and no longer acknowledge that this is no more news reporting than my glow-in-the- dark phone from the 80s is an antique. We accuse the news of having a bias to the left and to the right -- but this implies they have time for serious news between Britney's Baby and Jessica's jugs.

In this upside down world, tabloids CAN be called newspapers and the woman who talks about her neighbors over the backyard fence is a serious journalist.

The Biggest Mystery is...

2005-08-08T19:52:00.000-04:00

This result:

MYSTERY! - Who-dunnit? And How? And Why? Your
inquiring mind understands the secret workings
of the villainous murderer and thief. You feel
the need to build a puzzle so complex, and a
villain so unsuspected that you leave the
reader gasping in shock on the last page.
Dashiell Hammett and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are
your guides.

What Kind of Novel Should I Write?
brought to you by Quizilla

I just don't see it. I'm more about witty repartee than plotting. I don't have the patience to drop clues which are obvious -- but not TOO obvious. I enjoy reading them because the villain is ALWAYS a surprise to me.

I'm just going to start my own genre.