stilettosinthemud

Eminem is like Cigarettes

2010-07-13T10:24:00.001-07:00

I was having a deep intellectual conversation this evening with my sister as we were on our way to the auto parts store to pick up some oil and an air filter for my dad. For some reason the passenger of my car no matter who it is always takes hostage of my iPod. I guess it's the same as you shouldn't text while driving, well, you shouldn't wheel spin your iPod while driving either.

So my sister has my iPod and she's running through 10 second snippets of my extensive catalog. Heartless Bastards would come on, she'd let it play for a minute then on to Metric for a brief 30 seconds, then a click to Apex Twin, 10 seconds of that she's on to Edward Sharpe and the Magical Zeros. The girl has MADD, no not Mother's Against Drunk Driving, Musical Attention Deficient Disorder. It's a real crime to the chorus.

She finally says, "Oh let's go gangsta". Suddenly my car's bass is thumping to Lil Wayne/Eminem's "No Love". She turns it up and starts throwing gangster symbols to the cows we pass going down the highway. She obviously had a beef with them.

She starts talking over the loud music and lyrics of "lick those pussys before I eat them".

I raise an eyebrow. I should have maybe purchased the clean version with only five words rapped in the entire song...

"You feel cool when you listen to Eminem," she says.

I come back quickly with my whit and say, "Yea, like how kids think they're cool when they smoke cigarettes, except Eminem is less hazardous."

She started laughing. I went to far when I said, "Eminem is safer than having sex with a person with AIDs." Yea, that wasn't funny.

Rewind.

So I think I will leave it with this, "You're cooler if you listen to Eminem than smoking cigarettes, plus you won't die of cancer."

I need to send this to Eminem's marketing group.

new car!

2010-05-14T12:47:00.000-07:00

The Elderly and Their Buicks

2010-02-23T12:45:00.001-08:00

If teenagers are too young to drive, when is it going to be that you are too old to drive?

We get stuck behind them occasionally, the 80+ year old driver who can't even tie his/her own shoes anymore sitting behind the wheel of a huge tank of a car driving 25 in a 45. When they turn, they go around the corner doing 1 mph with no turn signal and nearly take out the street sign.
I was behind an elderly gentleman one day on the highway, I was doing 75 (in a 65, oops) when I came up on this guy doing at least 35mph. He was swaying back and forth, basically driving right down the middle of both lanes. I tried to pass him, but I was afraid he'd slide over and take out the side of my car. When I finally got around he appeared to be 110, his little old lady sitting next to him with her huge black granny wrap around glasses, and in the back seat were two small grandchildren. I honestly was afraid the children were in danger.
There are some cases were an elderly person may be a good driver, but this is very rare. My great uncle Johnny was 91 and in my opinion a good driver. My grandpa on the other hand at 82 sucks when it comes to driving. He's been in a few fender benders cause his reflexes aren't too great.
I was reading an article on USA Today about a 90 year old woman who's neighbor witnessed her fly out of her driveway and cross into his yard taking out a bush. Then proceeded down the road only to end up wrecking into a young driver on her way to school. The 16 year old died a few days later. We often see in the news that elderly drivers cause accidents, some fatal. There was a wreck that shut down the highway by where I live caused by an 80 year old man who fell asleep behind the wheel at 2pm in the afternoon. He died and so do the victims in the truck he hit head on.
Maybe it shouldn't be "at this age" is the cut off date, but after a certain age you have to take drivers tests again like a 16 year old does. If you fail the eyesight examination at the DMV, SORRY you can't drive anymore. I want the people driving around me to be able to see me. My own grandpa whom I love dearly can't turn his neck to see when he turns out of a parking space or getting onto the highway from an entrance ramp, so my Nana is his "eyes" and she's never driven! It scares me to death!
Elderly people are a great asset to us young people, shouldn't we do our best to protect them from dangerous situations that they may not be aware of?

Here's a good checklist I found online that I'm going to give to my mom for her to look over for my grandpa.
http://www.aging-parents-and-elder-care.com/Pages/Checklists/Elderly_Drivers.html

Concerning Twilight

2010-02-22T12:41:00.000-08:00

I'm not one for fads, especially teen fads being that I've graduated past my geeky horror-mone crazed days. When my sister was "bitten" by the Twilight fad I put my hand to head and just shook it with disappointment. She was always toting around her black covered books, dreaming of sparkly pail boys who don't age. It was disturbing, especially when her friends would come over and go on and on about the book.

I had my reservations about Twilight.

A) I'm not big on fiction. I'm a non-fiction footnotes included type of reader. I just read "The Lost King: How DNA Solved the Mystery of Louis Charles" It's excellent. Now I'm reading Lady Antonia Fraser's "The Wives of Henry VIII"

B) An author who doesn't know how to spell Stephanie is apparently not someone I can put up with. StephENIE? Seriously? I pronounce my name SteFaNnie. Emphasis on the "annie". StephEnie sounds like you have an belly button issue.

C) Vampires? Trendy? Is this what we're down to?

D) Robert Patterson is not drop dead gorgeous. Cute, yes. But no George Clooney.

E) I can't be into something that 13 year olds obsess about. There's a thing called generation gap for a reason.

My sister has been pleading with me to at least try to read one chapter of the book to form an opinion. Fair enough. She did tell me to avoid the movie, there is hope I suppose that she did share the same womb as me.

I decided I'd read a bit of the book to make some valid opinions instead of secretly wondering if this book was decent for my worthwhile. I do give kudos when kudos is due. Anything that gets kids reading is alright by me.

THIS BOOK HAS VOODOO BRAINWASHING WAVES EMBEDDED IN IT!!!

I can't for the life of me put it down. I'm on Eclipse! I finished Twilight in three days, New Moon in a week. WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME??!!!

*checks pulse and neck for life*

Stephenie (should be Anie) Meyer has a way with words. Oddly I can't get past the oddness of the book, but I'm on hiatus from higher learning and allowing my brain to go all mushy before I start my Masters. I guess it's okay to not think too critical sometimes. The way the story develops with Bella's "automatic" knowing that Edward must be a vampire is a bit far fetched. The mind reading...eh, ok. All the boys swooning over her, come on. It's good to pass the time and be entertained. I'll leave it at that. The weird relationship between her and Jacob, I'm sorry, but I would have stopped talking to the guy after New Moon, he's psycho. Edward sets a bad example for young girls thinking that all men are like that. My boyfriend is FAR from that protective/romantic.

Plus, the odd similarities to the language and expression given by Edward is very strikingly similar to an ex-boyfriend I had, and now I'm questioning if vampires really do exist...

He did suck the emotional life out of me for six months. Same as blood right?

Forgive me my literate friends who appreciate fine works of literature, for I have sinned.

Winter Olympic Hype In America

2010-02-17T11:47:00.000-08:00

I like watching the Winter Olympics. I think it's the Norwegian in me and the sole fact that snow skiing is the ONLY sport I can do decently well at. I love to watch the figure skating, the bobsled races, cross country skiing, the downhill, and my secret love for curling.

I sometimes though wish the media would stay out of the Olympians faces. Sure, the olympians want media coverage, it's how they get their Visa and Wheaties sponsorships to pay the $100,000 a year fees/costs to do their sport each year. It's their income basically.

Look at the Torino games that happened four years ago. All we could hear about was Bode Miller every time you turned on the TV to watch the games. Bode Miller this Bode Miller that. Journalists wanted to cover everything about this guy from his home, to his mother, to his arrogant douchebag attitude that made him the golden boy of sports.

And when Bode Miller didn't give us gold we cast him to the garbage (where all douchebags belong). Pun intended.

You sir are not Spiderman.

And notice this year Bode Miller is not the golden boy. I only saw one clip of him talking about his "changes". Yea buddy, a little too late.

So, this year I was hoping that the media would try to back off immortalizing the greatness of certain individuals. Eh, who are we kidding? It's American broadcasting. Of course they're going to feature certain athletes like Apolo Ono, Shawn White, and Lindsey Jacobellis. The last two athletes I mentioned are snowboarders. A sport created for the Olympics apparently to boost Team USA's medal count. No wonder foreign countries are never really thrilled with us during the games.

So of course the media is going to cradle these athletes giving them air time to show off their ritzy homes and talk about their days of training. I was actually reading an article were it talked about American olympians do not have high school diplomas and some are at the junior high level of education. One athlete only attended 1/6th of classes in his school year. If a normal kid only went 1/6th of the school year they would have to repeat that grade and their parents would be investigated by social services. What gives? Sure, some athletes kids still, and I think that is crap. No 15 year old should be an Olympian competing against someone who's 32 from Italy. That's almost unfair if you ask me.

This just goes to prove my theory that Americans care more about their sports than their education.

Getting back to this hype though. Look at Lindsey Jacobellis, the snowboarder. She's been in commercials on TV, media segments, interviews galore and what happens? She runs off the course and doesn't win a medal.

I think the pressure on theses athletes for winning is absurd. Sure, if I was an olympian I'd want a medal, but these athletes are having to perform for TV ratings, approval of sponsors, the praise from Bob Costas, and the acceptance from the American people that they are "great" athletes.

I applaud the Australian mogulist, Dale Begg Smith, who makes his own money and doesn't have sponsors. He avoids media and just does his sport. That's the way it should be. But the media frowns upon him because he's "not marketable" basically.

I think a lot of Olympians are just sellouts honestly. And it takes away from the athletes that are really good and struggle in their home countries. Just like the Georgian luger who died, he had a hard life but made it to the Olympics to compete. He would never gotten any attention except for his death and it's sad that we don't hear about the voiceless talent.

Ebay is Frustrating

2010-01-24T17:52:00.001-08:00

Honestly, I've found it to be annoying lately.

Here are my reasons, maybe you can relate.

#1. Shipping. I know how much something will cost to ship, I will be fair in shipping too, but for Ebay to set how high I can ship a boxed set of DVDs for $3, I know for a fact that it would cost more to ship. Plus, I've noticed people setting their shipping rates at $6-$10 for a single clothing piece! Seriously? This is used stuff for the most part, I can go to the store and buy something new for that price!

Example, I was bidding on a cute used Express top, it was originally priced at 10.99, reasonable for the brand. I was the third bidder making the item 12.49 but the shipping was $7.00. I realized $20 could buy a new top at the store this top was from! But I was outbid, which leads me to the next issue.

#2. Instantly outbid?! How is it that I make a bid for an item and automatically I'm outbid by someone? Is there an ebay stalker? Is there a program that I need to get in on to make sure someone else doesn't out bid me automatically? Is it the seller trying to make more of a profit? I don't get it and because of that I refused to bid again on an item and lost it.

#3. Stupid people selling stuff. I hate it when I'm searching for a particular brand and some stupid person says their item is "Express" or "Forever 21" and when you click on the page you discover the item isn't from there. I also clicked on an ad for an "Express Red Sequined Gown". The image was a long red gown, very gorgeous. Then scrolling down the information it was a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT (and ugly) dress!! How on Earth are people allowed to do this? It's really buyer beware because let's face it, most people online aren't the brightest light bulbs.

#4. How am I supposed to make money? I looked at most of the clothing items on Ebay, they all mostly start at 99 cents (heck of a deal!). Unfortunately, these people who probably work at Hollister, Express, Victoria Secret probably swipe items from shipment boxes and put them online to sell. This floods the market with items so cheap that people who are trying to get a little money out of their REAL purchase can't even begin to compete. And I do know for a fact that people working in those retail chains steal and resell.

My $14.99 Aeropostale cardigan had no chance against some girl who was selling 10 of the similar cardigan for the starting price of 99 cents. At least my shipping was $4.95 and her's was $10!

#5. Books don't stand a chance. It's better to just use them as toilet paper honestly.

#6. I think it costs more money to actually sell an item than to make money. I don't understand how the people that start their auctions at 99 cents even make money!? But yet they're the only ones selling stuff.

#7. The sellers themselves, trusty or bad? I was looking at this gorgeous Express gown, I was drooling over it actually, but I as a smart shopper checked out her 98.7% rating. I read some of her comments to people who had problems with some of the items purchased from her. There was about 4 negative feedback comments in the past couple months. One lady had purchased jeans and said the zipper was broken. The seller wrote back and said, I kid you not, "Don't force it you fat pig". It's sad, because I really wanted that dress, but I just didn't want to risk it!

Yea, I'm not going to take a chance dealing with rude people who reply like that!

Do you have any frustrations with Ebay?

Lady Gaga is that you?

2010-01-20T21:44:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago I was down at the Crossroads District in Kansas City for the annual First Fridays Art Gallery shows. I go whenever I can. I like looking at art made by the locals. There's always interesting characters down there, mostly hippies, but hey, I date one who hangs out with lots of them, so I guess that makes me semi-hippie (I bathe and at one time was republican.)

Anyway, I was in one gallery walking around looking at some paper meche art covered in staples (seriously, it was pretty cool) and then I looked over to see a blond haired girl. My first thought was, "HOLY CRAP, Lady Gaga? In Kansas City? In this very gallery? Nooooo way!"

What made me think this was the interesting (crazy in a way) outfits that Lady Gaga (a singer) wears out in public and on stage.

Then I realized, no. It was not Lady Gaga. It was Lady Gaga inspired fashion IN PUBLIC. Something I did not fathom I would ever see in public here in KC.

The picture is a little blurry, because honestly, do you think I'd be rude enough to use a flash? Sneaky photography is my thing when doing covert operations for Xanga posts. The outfit up close as I walked past her (well, I kinda followed her) was handmade. Of course, anything like this would have to be handmade. The Gap nor Old Navy does not sell odd leotard outfits.

I give the girl huge kudos. I don't think I could be brave enough to wear something this different. Celebrities can get away with wearing pretty much anything. Normal people, eh not so much. The girl did a great job on the outfit but I think I would have paired it with heels instead of flats...but then again, there's lots of walking to be done at First Fridays, so function before fashion sometimes must be sacrificed.

Oh the interesting things we see!

Ladies (or guys...) do you think you could pull off the Lady Gaga leotard outfit?

I'm Turning into A Germophobe

2009-10-11T17:06:00.001-07:00

I have a friend who fears bacteria. I would constantly raise my eyebrow at some of the odd things she'd do. It was definitely a case of OCD on her part for how much she would freak out over germs. She carries enough hand sanitizer in her purse to kill a horse if he would drink it. She'll wipe down her steering wheel of her car before driving because she's afraid of transporting germs. Another problem she has is garage sales and thrift stores because it's "other people" germs. I personally like cheap things myself plus it's called a washing machine.

Ever since I started working at the high school I've paid a little more attention to staying healthy by washing my hands more often, cleaning the kiddos desks during passing period with disinfectant wipes, washing down door handles in the house, plus religiously taking my vitamin C vitamin.

Pig flu + Me = bacon in hot grease.

in other words, I refuse to get sick from germs.

Sure, there's the airborne threat, but I think most illnesses comes from sharing things like drinks, chapstick, etc. Of course there is just the touching things other people have touched problem. I found myself spritzing a little hand sanitizer in my hands as I left the mall last weekend. My hands just felt dirty after touching doors, escalader railings, and the occasional hanger. Who knows what someone had touched and what they may have had.

It's like the whole if you've had sex with someone who's had sex with 3 other people, then you've basically slept with 7 people in one booty call. It's the orgy you never thought you'd have. Here's the chart that made me glad I'm on the 1 to 1 ratio, gotta love waiting till the right one. :) >> http://www.wrmcsn.com/images/chart.gif

I'm around a classroom of 30 sneezy, snotty, germy teenagers for about an hour and a half. I see about 130 kids in my class a day. Take that number by how many kids just one kid comes in contact a day with. That 130 kids a day is connected to over 1,000+ germy, sneezy, snotty people. I don't really want to know the ratio of actual contact that is brought into my classroom in just one day. Hence why I'm not a little bit paranoid over the germs.

Let's just say, Lysol is my best friend and please for the love of limp greasy bacon, cover your mouth when you sneeze. Or else Cathleen Syblius (the secretary of the health dept) will chew you out and tell you about Elmo's ability to not spread germs during a press junket with a bunch of adults. Don't be that poor dude.

A New Social Network Worth Following

2009-09-08T11:14:00.000-07:00

Move over Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter.

I was listening to the radio last night on my drive home when the DJ was talking about a new social networking site. I was intrigued, because I only need another internet fad to get sucked into. This social networking site is different, very different. I think it's actually a really cool idea from the sounds of it too. It's not some silly high school "I have more friends than you, I update pointless crap on my status because I have no life, I'm more popular, Ur hott, let's she-bang, My tweets are sweeter than beets, looking for love one-night-stand online, or look at my crazy drunken beer bong stripper pictures (I don't have any for the record)."

No, this sounds like the social network utopia on the internets.

This new social networking site will launch in about 26 days according to the website.

Now, you're all wondering, "WHAT IS IT? WHAT IS THIS INTERNET UTOPIA YOU SPEAK OF?!?"

My friends, www.friendagorilla.org (not .com, see it's already better)

In 26 days, when the site launches you will be able to "befriend" a gorilla in the Ugandan Mountains and "follow" your new gorilla friend with GPS and video updates. The site is going to be very similar to Twitter/Facebook where you can keep up with the gorilla of your choice. You'll get updates about their life such as travel patterns, births, and other "gorilla" activities.

You will have to pay a $1 sign up fee to join, but if you think about it, this is a great way to help support and save gorillas in the wild. There are over 200 million people on Facebook, think of all the bananas that friendagorilla.org will be able to provide!

I think it would be a great way for younger kids in elementary schools to "adopt" a gorilla as a class "pet". Maybe even a family "pet" option for families who can't have a real pet due to allergies/living situations.

I might join the site just for shits and giggles, what about you?

Halloween Costume pt 2

2009-09-01T16:42:00.000-07:00

I posted on Twitter that I decided to go with the "Chiefs cheerleader" idea. But then I had to get my ass off the slutty cloud and come back down to Earth.

Yea, I can rock the short white super short shorts..or are those just boy short panties? Yea, I have the abs and enough boobs to compete maybe with the real cheerleaders. But, let's be honest here for a minute. October is cold. I'm not a warm natured person, I'm always cold. So, I would have to not only make the super short shorts/panties, red sequined top, but the windbreaker jacket the girls wear.

Plus do I even have time to make something from scratch? No.

So I went back to the drawling board on the Halloween costume idea. Actually, I spent about an hour surfing buycostumes.com for ideas.

Then I realized I'm just avoiding a killer ...literally...costume that I want to do, something "scary" and a historical figure I love studying.

Alas, without further ado, I am going as the Marie Antoinette Zombie!

What does a Marie Antoinette Zombie wear? Good question.

This is the "Gothic Vampire" costume, it should work just fine for the "zombie Marie" look.

Then add the "Ghost of Marie Antoinette wig"

plus some fake blood around the next, lots of baby powder, purple lip stick, and tada.

Pictures of the finished product to come in October.

Now to fork out around $130 for the whole thing. grrr.

Halloween Costumes!

2009-08-30T14:30:00.001-07:00

Every September I start planning my Halloween costume. Halloween is the one time a year I can dress like a total slut and be ok with it. My costumes though, for the past three years have actually been rather "cute" not super slutty.

I went as a James Bond girl (wore a sexy red glittered dress and red heels), I was a sexy pirate (and nobody knew what I was) and last year I was a German beer garden girl (I LOVE that costume!)

This year, I wanted to do something along the lines of Halloween maybe, something scary. But then I find myself going back to other costumes that aren't as scary, just fun.

Queen of Hearts. I like the skirt on this costume especially. I think a lot of these costumes will be popular due to the movie coming out soon.

Marie Antoinette. (Every year I put this on my list, I'm just not sure about a wig nor do I have shoes. I'd need to buy those)

Cheerleader. This would be the sluttiest costume. I'd have to make my own though, I'd go as a Cheifs cheerleader, must stay true to the home team. Plus I'd have to buy white boots

Alice In Wonderland (I think everyone is doing this due to the new movie)

Can-Can dancer

Burlesque dancer

Maybe an Indian, but I don't like any of the costumes, plus I have short blond hair...Yea, the French/Indian in me does not come out very well, I look more Norwegian, which I am actually more of.

Any ideas would be great :)

Dating Isn't Dead For Serious Relationships

2009-08-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

I've been with my boyfriend for over three years. It seems like at times we're stuck in that "old married couple" phase. The "new" feeling has long since passed. When Scott and I first started dating we'd go out for dinner or go do things like art shows, games, etc. It was that phase were we were trying to learn about each other and see if we were "it" for each other.

Three years passed, and every weekend it seemed like I was just going home to live with my significant other and our dog. He'd be in the computer room working on photo editing and I'll be in the living room watching E! channel (he hates it with a passion).

Were was the new? Were was the excitement in that? I think every relationship after a long time gets to that "too comfortable" stage. I remember when I wouldn't dare be in a room of Scott's house without him in that room with me. I'd tell him "I'm going to the bathroom now".

Now I do as I please and even keep all my stuff at his house. I have a key too. Were is the discovery in that?

But I like it, that we have moved past the awkward "Do I like you?" stage. We're now at the point of no return.

But last night, it felt like dating once again. He drove to dinner, paid for a nice sit down dinner, lots of conversation, and then he took me to the movies. This is something we RARELY do anymore. It was a nice little spice up.

I hear of all my friends talk about their boring relationships, and it's nice to know Scott and I can go back to the "dating" phase and spoil each other with a nice night out. It doesn't have to always be chores, tv, feed the puppy, fast food/cooking at home, then bed time.

I encourage all couples to at least once every three months, splurge on a nice night out.

Fork in the Road

2009-08-03T17:23:00.001-07:00

In big moments and decisions in our adult life we come to forks in the road. We have to decide what road we want to take.

The smooth paved road with straight paths is the easiest and more boring of a drive. I sometimes feel that my friends get to take the easy road in life. Everything falls right into place for them. They don't have to worry "if" or "when", things just happen. They cruise with the top down, sun shining, and gas is a $1.50 a gallon. They don't have a care in the world, and the speed limit is unlimited.

The other road is the one with the bumps, curves, and road construction detours. Nobody wants to find themselves on Route FML. (frick my life). It seems like I'm constantly on this road holding on tightly to the steering wheel going 10 mph under the speed limit hoping a deer doesn't jump out in the dark from the trees. You're on this road when the GPS system batteries die and your driving in the middle of the night through a downpour.

It doesn't help when your passenger in the car of life doesn't want to stop and ask for directions to get to the Easy highway. So you continue on that curvy, potholed, shitty road of life not knowing where you're going as you keep driving. You hope all the while that the car doesn't run out of gas and you make it to the next town.

When the passenger doesn't want to take the same route that you want, you find yourself unhappy, worried, and constantly questioning "why?" Do you turn back and drop them off and start all over again on your journey? Or do you keep going hoping that the clearing and "end of road construction" sign is just around the bend? I'm not the type of person to start all over when I have an outlook that it might get better. And besides, it's better to have company when the drive is scary.

Trying to get to the destination on time though, never seems to be my thing. And I'm a punctual person, I want things to start happening in my life when I'm ready. I don't want to wait on the passenger in the car to make up their mind which route to take. It'd just be a lot easier if they were using the same map as everyone else.

Too bad Geico can't save me heartache with that money.

If Men Were To Have Abortions Instead of Women | iStephanieMarie's Xanga Site - Weblog

2009-07-28T16:43:00.001-07:00

If Men Were To Have Abortions Instead of Women | iStephanieMarie's Xanga Site - Weblog

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Cash for Clunkers. Clunker of and Idea?

2009-07-28T15:49:00.000-07:00

I'm sure if you've watched TV you've seen the "Cash for Clunkers" commercials for every Ford, Chevy, and Dodge dealership in your area. While the idea may seem pretty good, there's other factors that I don't see as a benefit to the program, or that it will even boost the sale of new cars.

For one example, my grandparents have a 1994 Dodge pick up. My grandparents recently purchased a new Ford Focus when they traded in their large Lincoln Town Car. Papa needed a smaller car due to the fact he's older and honestly shouldn't be driving in my opinion. I suggested a smaller car would be better. So now they have the Focus and the pick up. The Cash for Clunkers would work for my grandparents for their truck, but my grandparents already bought their small fuel efficient car. My grandpa is the only one that drives, so to buy another small car would be pointless.

Example two. My mom has a 1996 Crown Victoria that she has refused to get rid off. She has a brand new Lincoln Town Car that my dad bought for her birthday last year. My sister and I both have small sedan cars. My dad has a truck. If my parents were to trade in the 1996 Vic, why would we need another car? I told my dad that the 2010 Camaro was on the list for purchase, we considered the trade till my mom said no. So, my parents are keeping Old Vicky instead of bringing home a shiny new Camaro to go next to my Camaro. :( Grr.

Then there is example three. The person that drives a clunker bought the clunker at a cheap price. Clunkers or nicely termed, "Late Models" are cheaper. If a person who drives a late model bought a late model for a couple thousand dollars from a newspaper ad or Larry's Auto Mart, then how can they afford a brand NEW car?

People driving 2001 models and up aren't driving around in clunkers, they're decent body styles now. My sister's car is an 01 Grand Am that looks practically new (minus the few scraps I added when I hit a concrete cylinder in a parking lot). People that drive newer cars have a higher sell back rate than $4,500. If my parents wanted to buy a 2010 Camaro, they don't need an incentive to get rid of their old car to buy one, they have the means to do it.

A person who has enough money to buy a $20,000 car will buy a brand NEW car. I person in a lower income level who is strapped for cash wouldn't even begin to look at NEW cars. $4,500 for a car that is worth $2,000 is a nice offer. But that's only $4,500 off a car that is marked up in sticker price higher for $15,000-$20,000 when you originally could only pay $2,000.

It just doesn't work out.

Whether or not the "Cash for Clunkers" program works to "save" the American auto industry, I doubt the outcomes will be high.

Are you or anyone you know going to trade in your old car for a brand NEW car based on this "sweet, once in a lifetime" offer? Or are you sticking to your cheap, paid for, reliable A to B car?

Every Kid Needs A Hobby

2009-07-23T13:02:00.001-07:00

I screwed up in life. Lemonade stand? Oh Steph, seriously, how lame!

I could have made more profit as a kid to go towards Pogs, Barbies, and Hot Wheels. Maybe I could have done better in science if I had the right skills and training starting at a young age. I might have had a little more appreciation for the hard earned dollar if I had made a product that was in high demand and respected on the streets.

Lemonade for 25 cents is not profitable. I thought below the line, I thought like a good little blonde girl. I should have known better when the police would patrol my neighborhood and stop to buy lemonade from me. Although, it really would have been a good cover up.

Maybe if I hadn't spent time as a kid being unproductive, I could have been making meth.

Now that seriously is a pretty good idea. I mean, it not only teaches kids the art of science, but drug dealing is a science in itself. Kids learn the aspects of economics with supply and demand. There's a big demand, small supply. Therefore kids can have 22in spinner chrome wheels on their Big Wheels or tricycles. Kids also learn that safety when using chemistry is important. Always wear googles and make sure you use the right measurements!

Kids also learn that physical fitness is important. They have to be able to run fast and take the punches in case something bad goes down on the deal. So boxing classes would have been more valueable than ballet.

I could have been a pint sized drug dealer, hitting the clubs at the age of 7. Rollin up in my pink Barbie Jeep. I could have ruled recess sitting on the swings while my classmates got high off of my product and Sharpies.

Why was I so...average?

Now we all know, I'm being hugely sarcastic here, so don't say I'm a horrible person for supporting meth. I don't. I just want to be a wise ass and make a joke.

Cameras vs No Cameras at Concerts

2009-07-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

Last night I was at the Neko Case concert. She is one of my absolute favorite singer/songwriters. I was so excited when Scott bought me tickets for the concert. So, as usual I took my camera to the concert. When we got there, the security at the front door said no cameras. Well, of course, no Professional cameras, ticket stubs always say that. But no, my cheap Kodak was denied entry, I was so bummed. This had been the first concerts I had been to that you couldn't take pictures at.

There are pros and cons to having cameras at concerts, and I figured it would be best to break this down.

The POSITIVES of Cameras at Concerts.

1. You paid good money to see your favorite act, you're supporting their music. You should be able to take a picture of that artist since you paid to get into the show.

2. It's a keepsake, you document events in your life.

3. It's free publicity for an artist. Someone sees that you went to said artists show, they might be interested in checking out the artist.

4. It keeps fans happy.

The NEGATIVES to Cameras at Concerts

1. Some stupid person thinks they need a picture of each word out of the artist's mouth, hence 5000 flashes are produced in one song by just that one person.

-You go to the concert to enjoy the music, not watch it through a viewfinder of your camera.

2. The artists/musicians don't want to be blinded by hundreds of flashes going of constantly.

-My back up to this is, well, you picked the profession. Fame comes with cameras.

3. Bad pictures.

-Most cameras (including mine) are shitty for concerts. It's too dark and the flash doesn't really help, especially if you're in the last row. Why waste the effort?

4. Embarrassing pictures.

- In the day and age of running celebrities or artists through the dirt, a picture could hurt an artists reputation based on a bad angle or bad timing.

Some artists don't want cameras at their shows because of the "blinding" factor. Some have their own photographers who don't want others to be taking pictures while they're trying to. Copyright issues are also a factor.

What do you think about cameras at concerts? Are you for it or against it?

Would You Give Your Personal Information To A Rapist?

2009-07-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

There is one thing that really erks me about Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or other blogging sites such as blogger or Xanga.

Innocent stupidity.

Some people are too trusting that nothing bad will ever happen to them. I have seen on Facebook walls and Myspace comments where people will leave their phone number for that friend. Little do they know that maybe their friend's site is not protected with a privacy lock so anyone can access your phone number.

People give out too much information about their personal lives. Say you talk about living on your own, in an apartment, and post pictures of your new car. Well, automatically someone could figure out what state you live in and even the city. They could then search apartment complexes in your town and drive around if they really wanted to find you. Spot your car, and bingo, they have you.

Do you link your Myspace to your Facebook? Bingo, they have your last name. Having someone's full name is like giving away your social security number online. This means they can search you on Google to find a phone number and home address. Maybe you're under 18, they can find your parents information to find your home address. Google Maps even has a satellite image of your house so they know what it looks like. Google Maps even has a feature called "Street View" with pictures of your house (in some areas). You may have posted pictures of your bedroom with curtains that could be identified from outside. Now the stalker knows where you sleep.

Predators have a different mentality, if they want YOU, they will find you based on the information that you give.

I was stalked online by a creep in my town when I was 17. He found me on Myspace and started a conversation with me. I gave out too much info than I should have, such as where I went to high school and what neighborhood I lived in, I was gullible and naive. He clicked a link I had to my Xanga that detailed what I did during the day. Back then, I was a journal blogger. He knew about my vacation to Louisiana and where I went to church based on a blogring I belonged to on Xanga. He called my house and spoke to my mom telling her, "Is she back from Louisiana?" and then hung up. That night I went to youth group and a suspicious car was in the parking lot of the church driving around, I knew that was the stalker. The police officer said that he probably looked up my phone number in the telephone book and found my address in there too. It was because I had given him my last name.

I deleted my sites and vanished from online in hopes to elude the guy from getting anymore information. Thankfully my family was planning on moving and I graduated high school and went to college. I learned my lesson and advocate to anyone to REALLY be careful what you say, bits and pieces can be strung together over time to create a profile on you and then the predator can find you.

I advise people really to not link your Facebooks to your social networking sites and do not use your last name for anything online. You can go and do all the privacy blocking you want, but that information can get out to anyone just on accident.

In Smokey the Bear fashion, Only you can prevent predators.

Fan Pages on Facebook - Human Stupidity

2009-07-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

If there was a fan page (and there probably is if I looked hard enough) for human stupidity, I'd consider being a "fan". Ever since Facebook created their new page design I am bombarded with "Suggestions" for pages that I should join.

Thankfully Facebook allows me to ignore application invites from those certain friends that have 347 applications on their page. I can ignore those group invites too. What I find annoying not only is all the requests for the Fan pages, but what my friends are becoming fans of!

Here's a few goodies that my friends right now are clicking on to become a part of the fan base. Apparently, they feel that if they do not express their fan-ship, you won't have a clue what your friend is like.

My friends are fans of:

Food
Sleeping
Cuddling
Naps
Jesus

Ugh. Really? I put in my status feed this disclaimer : "The next person who becomes a Facebook friend of AIR automatically gets deleted."

Food, sleeping, and cuddling are a given. It's a survival instinct. OF COURSE I'M A FAN OF FOOD, I NEED IT TO LIVE!

The Jesus fan page to me just says sacrilegious. Do you honestly think Jesus would have Facebook? Eh...I'm thinking no.

But anyway, the Facebook fan pages have gotten out of control. They're really pointless. I could see becoming a fan to a celebrity or music artist. But basic needs? Seriously.

I think the Facebook groups are slowly being replaced by fan pages.

Why Jesus Would Have Been a PC user, Satan a Mac

2009-04-20T13:16:00.001-07:00

The argument that we've seen in commercials on TV is whether PC or Macs are better. I'm a PC user, and honestly a Mac would probably be a better computer, although for the 14 years I've used a computer I know how to diagnose problems on my PC and fix it. Macs, well, those are like reading a book in Latin, it just would be too hard for me to convert.

I got to thinking about what kind of computer Jesus would have picked up from Best Buy if he was a computer user. Instantly PC stood out. Jesus just doesn't seem like he'd be a trendy Mac user sipping lattes in a Starbucks with a soul patch on his chin and black rimmed glasses.

Jesus represents the basic person who likes affordable, functional things. Enter PC. Sure, my PC has glitches, Vista sucks now and then, but at the event of a fire, I'm grabbing my laptop because it's my prized possession. I love my PC. Sure, it doesn't have an flashy apple icon, nor the price tag of a Mac. It doesn't have cool features like a Mac, but it gets the job done. It's a faithful computer that turns on and gets me online. Little children can use a PC, it's not rocket science to run one.

Satan would have used a Mac. Hello, apple = sinful fruit. DUH. Macs represent a fashion statement. You are cool and hip if you have a Mac. It's expensive and beautiful. People act like crazed greedy animals standing in line for Apple products like the iPhone or newest iPod. Besides, Mac thinks PC owners are fat, boring, stupid, and poor. They think they are better than anyone else.

Visual proof, Bernie Madoff uses a Mac. Bernie Madoff = Satan to some people.

While my theory maybe far fetched, there are some points that direct you to link Jesus to PC, Mac to Satan.

Now, the question is, what would Buddha use?

Are You Planning Your Wedding or Your Marriage?

2009-04-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

Since I was a little girl playing with my Barbies, I always thought about the wedding day. Barbie wore her big white virginal wedding gown; Ken in his dashing black tux. And they of course lived happily ever after.

When I was in junior high I remember making wedding planners. I had known for years what my colors would be, the kind of cake, I even had the ideas of where I wanted the grand event to be. I knew I wanted black tuxs for the groomsmen and lilac purple dresses for the bridesmaids. No ice sculptures.

Once I was in college, I noticed that while I had some silly rough draft plan for the wedding day, I started thinking about the married life and what I should be planning for after the wedding day. Unfortunately, the people in my age group weren't looking for a life partner, they were looking for a groom to give them that wedding day.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but dating ends once you slip the ring on the finger. You're stuck and now married life is something on a whole different level. If you're like me, divorce is NOT going to happen, so pick wisely.

Somethings that you and the significant other need to talk deeply about and not over a football game are as followed:

Budget - Are you in debt? Is your partner a cheap ass? Do either of you have savings or checking accounts? Do you plan to have joint accounts, do you trust your partner with your hard earned money? Money is a huge issue that causes divorce. Discuss what luxuries and necessities are. I need new clothes...often, and he needs an open tab at a bar all the time. He may find your shopoholic ways at the mall to not be important where you find his bar nights to be a waste of money (example, not really true in my life). Are you going to have a pre-nuptial agreement?

Investments - Sure the stock market sucks, but in 50-60 years you WILL retire and you will probably send your children to college. Where will that money come from? You and future Mr./Mrs. need to talk about how much you think you will need once you're back in diapers and removing your teeth every night. For the record, if you really love someone, you'd change their diaper at 80.

Children - Mostly every girl also has the baby names and nursery ideas planned before the wedding ring. Maybe you want one kid (or none at all) but your spouse to be wants to be like the Duggers with 18. Houston we have a problem. You're setting yourself up for fights, "I want a baby! Don't you love me! Give me a baby!" Children also can really test the commitment of a relationship, for some guys a baby is the factor that makes them run. Thankfully, two children is already in agreement for me and my boyfriend. My uterus is pleased. Going back to the money thing, are you going to be financially ready to spawn your seed? This is a whole other blog post...

Buying a home: This is the most difficult decision which needs a lot of planning before you take the plunge. Everything from trivial to major has to be decided before hand. So, right from the number of kids you want to whether your parents will be moving in with you or not... everything has to be planned before you even start looking for houses. Next, after analyzing the approximate you’d need to own a house, start saving accordingly. It is always better to have a joint ownership of the house since it has a lot of tax benefits. Maybe you and your signifcant other already own a house. Who's will you live in, will you be added to their title?

Insurance : Getting life time insurance becomes very important, especially when the whole family is dependent on the spouse’s earnings. Make sure your insurance cover increases with every child. Get a health insurance for yourself and find out if there are provisions for family’s health insurance by your company. Are you marrying your spouse for their benefits?

There are other issues that are important to the married life that you and your partner need to discuss, such as religion, eating out/dinner at home, how will be in charge of paying the bills, who will clean, and my personal favorite, who gets the remote for the big screen TV.

Another important issue is medical emergencies, do you unplug your partner or do they want to be cremated/buried?

Some people are already living with their boyfriend/girlfriend, but have they even taken into account the bigger questions?

Hey YOU! Turn off your lights!

2009-03-10T21:56:00.001-07:00

March 28th at 8:30 PM during your time zone is Earth Hour.

You are asked to turn off all your lights for one hour starting at 8:30pm to help conserve energy.

Check out www.earthhour.org for more information.

In recent news, light pollution has become a serious issue. Take a look at this map:

Hum. I see a problem United States. Let's turn off the lights and head outside and look at the stars. There's nothing better than laying out on a blanket in the dark with a bottle of wine and some stars. Even if it's raining, you can always reenact some "Notebook" fun (just if it's lightning, don't stand under a tree).

Get creative!

(yea, the possibilities for this working are slim, but hey, you can give it a try and feel good that you are doing something.)

Are you going to commit to doing this? Pass it on to your friends.

Momma Earth thanks you kindly.

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - Kansas City 2/27/09

2009-03-01T11:35:00.001-08:00

For my birthday back on the 5th, Scott surprised me with Ryan Adams tickets. I was very excited and looking forward to the concert. When we arrived at the Uptown Theatre we took our seats at the VERY last row. Sure the seats were far far away, but I was just thankful and appreciative of my birthday present.

The tickets said the show started at 8 and Ryan didn't mosey out on stage till 8:45. There was no opening act, so a 45 minute wait wasn't that bad in my opinion. Coldplay didn't come out for two hours. The crowd stayed seated and didn't sing along. I felt like I was in church honestly. I don't understand why the hell you buy tickets and SIT and at rock concert?!?! Go to a freaking Barry Manillo concert if you want to sit. Actually, I would think his fans would have a little more pep than these assholes at the Ryan Adams concert.

About a half hour into his set, Scott went down below to see if he'd get caught by security and when it was safe to say we wouldn't have a problem sneaking into the bottom, he came back to get me. This time we were close (about 10th row). We stood in the aisle and had a good time on our own with some other "rebels" who wanted to enjoy the music, even though the crowd refused to stand.

Maybe Ryan Adams is a premadonna, an asshole, or tempermental. I don't blame Ryan for playing 1.5 hours with three breaks and NO encore. The fans sucked. How can you get into your music if the sold out crowd won't appreciate it? It was weird and I felt bad for Ryan and the Cards honestly, because they sounded great!

Maybe they ditched KC early because of the snow storm on our backdoor. We ended up with 6.5 inches of snow over night. I strongly feel they left the stage early because people don't know how to go to a concert anymore.

The same thing happened at Coldplay, no one in our section would stand and enjoy the music or give a standing ovation. People come on!

This is where we started, in the last row...

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals...from 10th row. :)

Ryan is to the far left. Their stage was really dark, I didn't like it, nor did my camera.

Must have CD for your collection

2009-02-26T14:02:00.000-08:00

There's a band however that is pushing the likes of the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, and Britney Spears to the unemployment line.

Introducing:

Okay, so maybe Nokia Brier isn't the next Radiohead, Ryan Adams, Tori Amos, or Neko Case, maybe she's the hopes and dreams of a better music industry.

Do this yourself and maybe if you start your own band, you'll do this. Try it out!

1 - Name your band. The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random

2 - Album title. The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your album. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3

3 - Album cover. The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days

4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.

5 - Post it to your blog along with these instructions

I'm Famous In Russia

2009-02-16T11:10:00.000-08:00

I had been noticing for quite sometime that my footprint tracker was listing "Russian Federation" every day, and about 100 visits. After awhile I became interested in knowing who was looking at my site so I did some investigation. Apparently it was a Russian talent agent who was interested in working with me. Now, I was well aware of the dangers of talent agents, but this agent seemed really legit.

I flew over to Russia, to Moscow exactly where I met with Tatiana Stroganoff. She immediately got me a job with a photographer to be in Russian Vogue. Here's an image from the magazine:

It snows a lot in Russia!! You have to walk around with your purse in your face to block those huge snowflakes.

My magazine ad got a lot of attention. Soon I was doing runway shows.

Here I am at the Vodka Fashion Vixen Show. I got to keep the boots.

Over night I became a celebrity. I decided to become a triple threat in the Russian celebrity industry.

My first song hit the Russian Pop Charts fast. If you remember TaTu a Russian pop group, they were knocked off the charts with my smash hit "ООП я сделал это снова" or as you all know, "Oops I did it again". It was catchy, just like Britney's version.

Paris Hilton was a big fan of Russian music apparently...

My next project was to hone my acting skillz. I starred in the remake of Tomb Raider in Russian.

I even did my own tv series, The Eleanor Spitzerlick Show, or as in Russian, Показ Элеонор Спицерлик

It came in black and white at some homes...

By now I was bigger than Heidi and Spencer back in the states. I decided to use my celebrity and go after Russian sports.

My first venture was ice skating.

I was ah-mazing. Victor Petrinko was my coach and was great at teaching me. After all, before moving to Russia I had only put on skates once and sucked. Now I was a gold medal champ.

After I won the Russian Finals I put all that twirling to use on the dance floor. I became a Russian Ballerina.

I had obviously gained a little weight to keep warm in the frigid Russian weather. Good ole borsk will do that to a girlish figure.

I was very prominant in Russia, that's for sure. I decided my next step would be politics. Arnold Swartzeneger did it, I could too.

I made Putin my puppet and I made the bitch dance.

I had achieved a lot in a few weeks being in Russia. It was a magical and wonderful journey. I just wish there could have been one more thing I could have done in Russia.

Maybe I'll do it in the USA...