I have a life long friend who plays the cello. We used to laugh about the beaver shots when the school orchestra performed before the student body because those dresses back in the mid 70s were dang short. I love the cello. It makes such a heart achingly, plaintive sound. This video features one of my favorite pieces, La Berceuse de Jocelyn.
I think it's a excerpt of the same recording I've got in my collection.
I wish it was the whole song, but I couldn't find any other fully orchestral recordings on you tube with the cello playing the solo, but, coincidentally, the video is of a West Texas sunset.

And apparently, the cello is much more versatile than plain ol plaintive. Check out these loco guys.

Another Sunday

Ho Hum

Sometimes I wish I could sleep around the clock.

I never seriously considered cosmetic surgery until recently. The past 3 years are showing. I have never been a great beauty but I am vain enough to really hate having to look in the mirror now.

With my luck I'd end up looking worse than I already do.

I no longer look young for my age. It's another by product of grief, I think.

It's just one of those days.

Grandson's all-star team's loss last night ended the season. I'm going to miss going to the games, but at the same time there is some relief that it's over.

Tonight I'm attending a going away party for some friends who are moving to Plainview.

There's a big outting planned for my birthday next month to pub crawl in the Stockyards. I don't think it was specifically planned for my birthday, but rather that was just a convenient date for some of the out of town attendees. I am looking forward to it but I am going to be the only single person in our group, which sucks. It may be a good night to pretend I'm someone else.

Okay,

it IS a bull snake, right? I didn't kill him because I hate killing things and because I would have had to step over him to get into the building where my hoe is stored. {{{SHIVER}}}} He didn't have a rattle and his head wasn't shaped like an arrow so I don't think he's poisonous. (I was not as close to him as it looks like I was, but I WAS closer than it was comfortable to be.)

Beer companies always have the best ads

News from the job hunt front!

Aint none.

Odd Micheal Jackson Transformation

<br/><a href="http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-CA&amp;vid=1c503cc0-ff13-4f87-a88f-9a2d33bc743d" target="_new" title="Odd Michael Jackson Transformation">Video: Odd Michael Jackson Transformation</a>

Get Thee to a Nunnery

I'm getting to the point in the job search where joining a convent almost sounds appealing. I have the Catholic part down. The past 3 years proves I can withstand the celibacy requirement. (I said withstand not enjoy) The divorce thing kinda throws a wrench in the works.

Bless you my child.

I'm borrowing from,

okay, stealing ideas from, one of my favorite bloggers.
What I'm listening to now, Local H. Watching my dog cracks me up at the end of this song.

Happy Father's Day!

Curmudgeonly Rant

I admit I don't go to church. I have thought about going back but merely for the social aspect, not because of any deep-seated religious reasons. While I admire the convictions that make some church people go door to door trying to drum up business, I am getting a little tired of people coming to my door every weekend. Somehow I seem to have been put on a list for visitation by at least three denominations, none of which I have ever had any affiliation. I've told them all on numerous ocassions I am not interested. I guess I've not been forceful enough, and need to stop being polite. I could stop answering the door but I feel a little foolish because if I am sitting on the couch they can see me through the window. The last time this happened I was babysitting my youngest grandson. I was feeding him a bottle and trying to get him to sleep. I had to get up holding the half asleep baby without dislodging the bottle and try to hold back an 80 pound barking dog. "Did I catch you at a bad time," she asked. Ya think? It's a good thing people can't read minds or I'd have every church lady in the county at my door trying to save me.

P.S. I'm not a complete pagan. I do have a personal relationship with God. My beliefs just don't always coincide with church dogma.

I don't want to mow anymore!

I was just outside mowing and came across this shedded snake skin. I don't know if you can tell, but there's at least 3 feet of skin outside and who knows how much more disappears into that hole in the side of the storage building. I feel kinda sick to my stomach and I really do not want to finish mowing!

Update: I sent the photos to my landlord who said, "Wow, nice photos." A non-blogging friend advised me to call the property management company who said they'd get back to me. They haven't. Mzchief told me to burn the storage building down, but I don't think adding arsonist to my list of job skills is a good idea. And Chup is a snake wrangler, who knew?

Swagger Wagon Ad

Have you guys seen this? It's pretty cute, but it doesn't incite me to buy a mini van, probably because I don't fit into the demographic.

A real confidence booster of an article

Unemployed need not apply?

From Email---let this be a lesson to you

Keep this philosophy in mind the next time you hear, or are out to repeat a rumor.

In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance, who ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students...?"

"Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me, I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Test of Three."

"Test of Three?"

"That's correct," Socrates continued.

"Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to test what you're going to say. The first test is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man replied, "actually I just heard about it."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not.

Now let's try the second test, the test of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him even though you're not certain it's true?"

The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.

Socrates continued, "You may still pass though because there is a third test - the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really..."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?"

The man was defeated and ashamed and said no more.

This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

It also explains why Socrates never found out that Plato was banging his wife.

In case of emergency

click here.

Ta Da

I kinda went all girlie and sh!t.

These cool temps the last 2 mornings are great! We missed out on the rain yesterday, though.

I got my diploma in the mail yesterday. I guess it's official.

Haircut today, yay!

I'm still fighting the crud. It just hangs on and on. At least I can breathe through my nose again.

I read anonymous blog comments on the blogs I frequently visit and try to guess if they might be written by someone who also regularly comments under a recognizable name, especially the witty and clever comments which I would want to take credit for saying if I'd said them. I can understand why someone would do their dirty work anonymously because who would want people to know how petty they are. I rarely post a comment anonymously except on the cult leader's blog when I want to say something off color. Not that many know who I am in real life, but I figure it's really chickenshit to leave an insulting or otherwise ugly comment under the cloak of anonymity. My blog is obscure enough that I haven't had that problem here which is good because I am pretty thin skinned. Then again, I don't have much to be jealous of, which seems to be the motivating factor behind most anonymous comments. I will never understand how being mean to someone can make a person feel better about him/her self.

Embedding is disabled for this video. Seems like everytime I turn the radio on it's playing. It reminds me of late 80s early 90s pop music. I like it and I like her voice. I really thought it was Katy Perry at first.

Actually, I think we ARE responsible. There's not a person in the civilized world who doesn't depend on petroleum products in one form or another. It angers me that our government is sitting on their hands when we're in such peril. And where are all the celebrities and their willingness to help with benefit concerts when it's our own country and citizens in trouble? It doesn't sound like any of the countries who expect our help during a crisis have offered a hand either. Yeah, it was BP's fault, but crimany, it's apparent they need help solving the problem. Let them pick up the cost but come on, we can't pretend it's going to go away on its own!

Talented guy.

Kinda cool.



Nice silky voice.

oh, my!

I'm moving to Canada, gonna lie about my age, and become his groupie.

Ignore this if you hate country music

Never trust a dog to watch your food.

It's too bad it's not normal for women as it is for men to mow the yard shirtless. These weird tan lines suck.

I watched a Friday Night Lights marathon on hulu last night. It might be a little hokie but I like it; I just forget to watch it on its normal night.

I finally replaced my lost library card yesterday. I wonder if I can read these 5 books in 2 weeks time. I think I got a little greedy.

Oldest grandson's all-star games start tonight. Since it was his first year to play, he started in the minors. His minors team played a scrimmage game against the majors team in his age group the other night and won the game.

The plague is still hanging on, but it is losing power. I thought I could smell a gas leak, but I wasn't sure since I lost the ability to smell and taste with this cold. I'm still alive so it must have been my imagination.



Squirrels are evil denizens of satan disguised as cute with little bushy tails and my dog is their fiercest foe. They're really brave when running the fence line to tease Scout, but they'd bloody well better not lose their footing because she'll show them no mercy. I hope if that ever happens I don't have to witness it.

I think my house is haunted. One day I walked into my bedroom and I heard a cheery woman's voice say, "hello there!" Another late evening as I was lying in bed reading I heard men's voices mumbling in conversation coming from the living room. It wasn't scary.

I probably just sealed the deal on crazy by writing about that, but I prefer the word eccentric.

Really, I have always wished I had the nerve to be an eccentric. I'd wear flowey skirts and big sun hats and ride a bicycle with a basket to the market. I'd paint whimsical surrealist paintings and have a yard full of garden with no grass to mow.
h/t Don
Alas, a monarch, even a fraudulent one, must cultivate stately decorum and enjoy her jollies vicariously.

I want to see Russell Brand reprise his Forgetting Sarah Marshall role as Aldous Snow in Get him to the Greek. More trailers here.

I've got cooties

It would be a perfect temperature outside to mow the lawn this morning or to hit the streets again to look for a job if my head didn't feel like it weighs a ton from this summer cold. It's vicious and virulent. I sound like a foghorn and it's made me a mouth breather. I am going to stuff my nose with tissue to stop the drip since I can't breath through it anyway.

I stubbed my middle toe on the couch and ripped off half the toe nail. I am going to wear sandals anyway. Maybe I can polish the toe to look like the nail is there.

I feel pretty.

I wonder how many attorneys google themselves. Maybe I could find a job doing what this guy did.

pardon my cynicism...

...but I wonder which one of the Gores got caught cheating.

Holy Shrimp!

Can you imagine?! This photo of a giant sinkhole that opened up in Guatemala City is on Yahoo's front page right now. It looks like something out of a horror film. It swallowed at least one three-story building. The symmetry of the hole makes it look as if it were drilled on purpose. I wonder what anomaly under the Earth's surface could have caused such a thing to happen.