Poked in the Eye
https://scorpia22.typepad.com/my_weblog/
en-USdaily22008-01-16T10:57:49-05:00Intellectual curiosity -- the original sin
https://scorpia22.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/01/intellectual-cu.html
Hooray! After millenia of feeling bad about Eve, woman can rejoice -- thanks to us, we are fully human. From an interview by Humanist Network News, the day after the premiere of The Golden Compass. Philip Pullman: My interest as...scorpia222008-01-16T10:57:49-05:00Noblesse Oblige
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Aide: What would Your Majesty like to do on your visit to Virginia? QE2: May we visit some of the natives? I'd like to smoke a peace pipe. Aide: Your Majesty, I believe there are none of those sorts of...scorpia222007-05-03T12:40:50-04:00Emma's Present
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Quite a number of studies have implied that cats kill zillions of songbirds and thus deserve an evil reputation. All I know is that this is perhaps the second bird Emma has taken down, whereas in the last 9 years...scorpia222007-05-01T13:35:19-04:00Sumer Is Icumen In
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came out of shoprite last night and heard the official sound of summer coming -- not cuckoos, as in the case of the old english poem, but Laughing Gulls (Larus atricilla). Laughing Gull call (12 sec) (mp3) (wav) a few...scorpia222007-04-13T10:49:04-04:00hostage crisis redux
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Then Now Nightline's "America Held Hostage" -- remember the jingle? it became the Nightline theme song -- was one of the first "branding" of news. complete with its own uniquely identifiable graphics and music.scorpia222007-04-03T13:34:50-04:00200 Definitive Rock Albums
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uh-oh. i only have (or have had) about 45 of the Top 200 Definitive Rock and Roll Albums as decreed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the National Association of Recording Merchandisers. (although how Etta James, Frank...scorpia222007-03-07T11:21:42-05:00Clash of the Modalities
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Victor and I had a fight (I think it was a fight, or maybe a misunderstanding, or a clash of emotions) last night. I said he didn’t do as much for the church as he thinks he does and he...scorpia222007-02-27T13:32:32-05:00No more click of nails on tile.
https://scorpia22.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/02/no_more_the_cli.html
It's done. On Saturday, took the dog to the vet to have her put down. The last few weeks she was having great difficulty walking, and it was obvious she was feeling pain. She couldn’t even get up on her...scorpia222007-02-26T14:40:05-05:002007 will be the hardest year.
https://scorpia22.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/02/2007_will_be_th.html
I have so much on my mind right now. I'm about ready to explode. there are three graduations coming up -- think of the expenses: parties, gifts, moving, hotel rooms, traveling, using up vacation days. the mortgage will be paid...scorpia222007-02-22T11:01:02-05:00this package took the LONG way
https://scorpia22.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/01/this_package_to.html
on december 12 i ordered some videos from Amazon. after they didn't arrive in time for christmas, i cancelled the order. but they were just cooling their heels somewhere in either Delaware or Jersey City: So what finally arrived today?...scorpia222007-01-30T17:42:50-05:00campaign 2008
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Saw my first 2008 bumper sticker on the Garden State Parkway this morning: Here's how the bumper sticker sales at CafePress.com have been going:scorpia222007-01-22T16:07:29-05:00do the nasty
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Here's a radio ad that caught my attention: a new campaign about second-hand smoke called "Don't Pass Gas - Take it Outside". Check out the PSA clips on their site at www.dontpassgas.org.scorpia222007-01-18T10:54:38-05:00the ride, winding down
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This morning Randi was getting ready for work and tramping up and down the stairs with an obliviously heavy tread. Victor roused sleepy-eyed and murmured, "What's all that running? " "Kids," I whispered. They won't be here much longer. Then...scorpia222007-01-09T10:10:00-05:00peace on earth, good will to menschen
https://scorpia22.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/12/peace_on_earth_.html
Instead of the usual lights around the laurel, this year we shaped our lights into a symbol of a saying that is oft-repeated at christmas, but probably not endorsed with any thought.... Hooray for Lisa Jensen of Loma Linda, Colorado.scorpia222006-12-25T21:07:47-05:00who cares? it's a '91 Buick.
https://scorpia22.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/12/who_cares_its_a.html
Good thing my car doesn't have to be inspected till 2007. Damn truck threw not a stone, but a ROCK, at my windshield. (view from outside) (view from inside)scorpia222006-12-11T11:53:27-05:00unlucky Loki
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Sometimes you have an unlikely combination of bumper stickers on a car. I saw this one last week: AUTISM AWARENESS I {HEART} MY PIT BULL Hmmm... wonder if that's a tragedy waiting to happen ? A tragedy that DID happen...scorpia222006-11-29T13:50:50-05:00FREE PIE
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Yesterday I spent a quiet Sunday afternoon making two apple-cranberry pies. Peeling the small granny smith apples was the most tedious part, but I enjoyed my solitude, listening to Regina Spektor and shooing crazy non-carnivore cats trying to eat my...scorpia222006-11-20T11:55:00-05:00Dracula
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There's something adorable, almost cloyingly so, about teenagers indulging in their gothic vampire fantasies, with the full permission and backing of the adult authorities. After opening with an enjoyable rendition of the big zombie dance from "Thriller", the play careened...scorpia222006-11-18T16:00:14-05:00take away the keys
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No wonder i'm feeling a little carsick. It's all that swerving. "When it comes to Iraq, being a citizen in George W. Bush's America is like being a passenger in a car driven by a drunk driver. Drunk on power,...scorpia222006-11-02T11:32:17-05:00best trick-or-treat ever
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I know some will say "oh what a shame," but I like it. We don't get any trick-or-treaters at my house. All the houses around here have long driveways and are far apart. There are no sidewalks. It would take...scorpia222006-11-01T16:29:39-05:00analogies : lazy minds :: grammar : spellcheckers
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Analogies were always my favorite part of the SAT's. Not only did it test your logic ability but also your vocabulary (ignore the lunatic one which titles this post). However, in 2005 the CEEB decided they were expendable ("not in...scorpia222006-10-27T11:57:20-04:00accidentally in Maryland
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I hope I never get a car that has one of those on-board GPS things because I would be addicted to it. I would watch the display instead of the road. after my sales presentation in Lancaster County yesterday, it...scorpia222006-10-25T11:00:18-04:00MOE-RONS
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DON'T TURN THE COFFEEPOT OFF IF THERE'S A THIRD OF A POT STILL IN THERE AND IT'S ONLY 11 FUCKING A.M. !!!!scorpia222006-10-04T11:49:08-04:00Most accidents happen in the home
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A while back I was having problems sleeping and was taking Ambien. It worked great, but one morning I was bending over to pick something up and almost fell over! I didn't feel impaired until that moment, it totally took...scorpia222006-10-02T18:18:05-04:00poetry shmoetry
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Sure as the most certain sure, plumb in the uprights, well entretied, braced in the beams, Stout as a horse, affectionate, haughty, electrical, I and this mystery here we stand. Clear and sweet is my soul, and clear and sweet...scorpia222006-09-22T11:34:05-04:00it's obvious
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apparently if you call someone a bully (even if you are simply passing along another's assessment), and they hear about it and threaten you with mayhem, that your house will be burned down and your children will be kidnapped and...scorpia222006-09-20T10:14:26-04:00it's official
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Victor finally asked me to marry him; on his knee, too. We've been talking about our plans to honeymoon in Ireland lately, to anyone who happens to be in the vicinity. At Ree's wedding yesterday, he impulsively wanted to ask...scorpia222006-09-10T16:20:25-04:00awash
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It's become popular among rightwingnutters to mock and malign Katrina survivors. It's true that there were abuses with the FEMA debit cards and so on. It betrays a shallow mind and contemptuous heart to focus on juicy "aint that awful"...scorpia222006-08-25T13:06:24-04:00pandora's box
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Created a Regina Spektor station on Pandora yesterday and was listening to it most of the day. Found a lovely singer, Casey Dienel, she sounds like a happy Fiona Apple. Enjoying most of the selections. but all of a sudden...scorpia222006-07-26T17:12:19-04:00finally i had to do something about it
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when you are lying in bed and a tear rolls down your nose, gets to the end, and doesn't drop off, but just hangs there -- it gets cold, and starts to tickle. That is an annoyance.scorpia222006-06-21T10:28:37-04:00"on someone else's dime"
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one thing you have to know about victor's dad is that he was frugal to a religious degree. it is definitely a family trait. because he served in WWII, at the burial, there was an honor guard that played Taps,...scorpia222006-05-31T13:03:51-04:00one flame, extinguished
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Victor's dad died last night. In the hospital, the ICU. With all the multicolored beeping blinking machines, tubes and wires, bustling nurses and residents, and Code Blues. Ventilators, shunts, atropine, epinephrine. He was two months shy of 88. He went...scorpia222006-05-25T12:40:23-04:00people who are not really there
https://scorpia22.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/05/people_who_are_.html
it finally happened to me. I almost answered a person talking to someone else on a bluetooth. Not too far away, near the refrigerated foods case in the health food store, she said, "how about the melon flavored?" I looked...scorpia222006-05-24T10:15:28-04:00dogma, wherever you may find it
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Richard Cohen is being skewered because he had the AUDACITY to opine that Stephen Colbert's truthiness at the White House Press Corps dinner was unfunny, and constituted bulliness instead. I happen to love Jon Stewart, but Stephen Colbert -- well,...scorpia222006-05-09T10:57:06-04:00adventurous, or foolhardy?
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Yesterday I came home to find Freya up on the roof, at the second-highest peak. She stood there and meowed, like she was the Goddess Queen Cat of the World. I wish I had taken a picture. I love cats.scorpia222006-05-05T13:36:39-04:00more mental lapses
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Someone asked me for directions today, and after I had walked away I realized I sent him to the wrong street.scorpia222006-05-03T17:53:57-04:00it's a black cat at night with no moon
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Took five pictures yesterday with my lens cap on...scorpia222006-04-26T11:00:04-04:00to hell with the mommy wars
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LA Weekly's review of Caitlin Flanagan's book, To Hell with All That: Loving and Loathing Our Inner Housewife, once more rehashes the classism that is at the heart of all this "mommy war" nonsense. The review is long but worth...scorpia222006-04-19T11:26:07-04:00stealth Zen
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The local high school has one of those message boards that are digitally programmed to light up little red dots. The problem is that they put too much info on there. The time and temperature, website address, upcoming sports events,...scorpia222006-04-18T12:52:28-04:00my parental compassion is sorely lacking
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Tracey colored her hair last night. She wanted to go browner, but selected a color that was called golden brown, I suspect because she liked the hairdo on the front. But it wasn't what she expected and was severely disappointed....scorpia222006-04-04T12:07:11-04:00Dead Deer Dumping Ground
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This time I walked along some paths that I had never been down before. It seemed these were the "non-public" areas of the park, where there were no beautiful vistas or deliberately groomed trails. The whole idea of a "park"...scorpia222006-03-30T17:21:15-05:00Sir Tom Jones
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How about that. I guess the British Empire's not what it used to be. Getting desperate for new knights? My father used to make fun of Tom Jones. He said the women were so enamored of him that he wouldn't...scorpia222006-03-29T14:46:29-05:00postscript
https://scorpia22.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/03/maybe_its_unfai.html
maybe it's unfair to view emotions and limbic system things as unworthy, inferior to higher cortical functions. maybe without that, there could be no art, creativity, love, joy? what is joy? i don't think i've felt joy with a capital...scorpia222006-03-27T22:19:20-05:00lizard brain
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I was feeling pretty good and wanted to take a walk in the park on this beautiful sunny day. Many others had the same idea -- the tennis courts were full of duffers (is that just a golf term?) and...scorpia222006-03-27T17:00:11-05:00apocalypse, perhaps
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I can't believe I am actually agreeing with Charles Krauthammer: Of Course It's a Civil War That's the difference between victor and me. If you mention Charles Krauthammer's name, he'll immediately blurt out "that asshole!" or Kathleen Parker. or any...scorpia222006-03-24T16:45:54-05:00postmodern alienation
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last night I came home anxious enough to go looking for the vodka. two shots took the edge off what was admittedly minor stress but I don't take well to stress these days. entrapment. why can't businesses treat their existing...scorpia222006-03-21T13:04:00-05:00Irish Americans circle round the wagons
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Why is it that ethnic groups who can easily recall being the brunt of discrimination in the not-so-distant past are often the most likely to dole out such discrimination to other, newer minorities? I am thinking of Italians and Irish...scorpia222006-03-20T11:41:50-05:00the body beautiful
https://scorpia22.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/03/the_body_beauti.html
i am liking yoga because it is both challenging and restorative. there are poses i can't do yet, or are very difficult, either because my joints are decrepit or my balance isn't great. but i give it my best effort....scorpia222006-03-18T15:31:33-05:00sometimes i'd like to turn off my brain
https://scorpia22.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/03/sometimes_id_li.html
The going-back-to-college dreams –- do they keep happening until you are dead? This was a different one… not its-exam-time-and-I-havent-studied-all-semester. Not I-showed-up-to-class-in-my-pajamas. In this one, my angst was due to the fact that I had usurped some classes that other students...scorpia222006-03-17T11:09:11-05:00mind like a steel trap... er, sieve
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This is how bad my brain has become.... I was in CVS on Saturday to buy some wrapping paper, walked through the greeting card section, and thought, "Oh! after I pick out this wrapping paper, I need to get a...scorpia222006-03-15T15:04:08-05:00