« February 2005 | Main | April 2005 »
March 31, 2005
Another American Idol scandal?
Was Scott Savol arrested for domestic violence?
Posted by Dan at 10:37 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Popping Cancer Reflection: What the caregiver needs.
You know, Mrs. Popping Culture does an awful lot. Because of my cancer, she's now the primary grocery shopper, dog walker, hunter/gatherer, pastor's liason to the church, financial officer and a hundred other jobs she never wanted, all on top of caring for a husband who suddenly has a potentially fatal disease. She's just barely in her thirties... can you imagine?
And yet I, just because I may or may not be dying, remain the center of attention. All I do is pretty much sit in a chair and watch television, or take naps, and yet websites and pretty Hallmark cards all come with messages to me.
Not too long ago I quoted Anita Tejedat and her masterful piece on how you can lose your health and still have everything as long as you are loved. I found her work in the book How to Live between Office Visits by Bernie Siegel. Her husband had cancer at the time.
She also provided this letter, which stands in defense of the caregivers who give up so much. It allows them to be angry. Pardon the language, but it's there.
"What about the person who is not the one with the illness? Yes, how about me? How am I doing? No one ever seems to ask. A selfish thought when I am not the one who has the disease. No, my pain doesn't have a medical label, my fear is abstract, there isn't any medicine that can take it away. It is the pain of sharing my life, my love, my hopes, my dreams, my future with someone whose life seems to be shattered and all those things stolen from him.
How am I doing? Well, since you asked, I'm scared shitless. I'm scared to love all the way now, because the loss is too great. I'm scared because I'm real angry and I want to scream out to God, 'Are you nuts?' Or to my beloved who is sick, 'Snap out of it and make it go away,' or to friends and family who have become distraught over trivialites, "Shut the hell up, you don't know how lucky you are.' I'm scared because my own life and love, and hopes and dreams and future are so connected to my love's that I wonder what will become of me. I'm scared because I see and live the reality of what is and still reach for the idealism I've always had and wonder if I'm fooling myself. Maybe you could say a prayer of courage for me, so I can continue on and care."
It's easy being sick. You don't have a choice.
It's hard loving someone sick.
I invite you to use the comments section to say something uplifting to Mrs. Popping Culture, who has the worst of it by far, not counting the nausea.
Posted by Dan at 09:36 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Ara discovers the ultimate practical joke.
I, like Ara, would pay real money to see it happen.
Posted by Dan at 02:57 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
The latest from "Starbucks Gossip"
Which is nice, since the average drink at Starbucks costs a week's pay.
Posted by Dan at 02:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Well, I, for one, have to ask what the world is coming to...
... when they can take away a college fraternity's charter for something as innocent as shooting a harmless film.
What? It was a porn flick? Um, called College Invasion 6? And it featured sex between professional porn actors and college students?
Oh, I guess that's different. To make it worse, you can read the full story with this unfortunate headline: "Porno stains Greek image". Ewwww.
Posted by Dan at 08:46 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 30, 2005
Meanwhile, in nearly-irrelevant political news.
Pat Sajak GOES OFF on liberals.
That was a funny sentence to type.
Posted by Dan at 09:59 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Well, so, I'm alive.
I probably won't be happy about it for another day or two, but I'm through the worst I think. Thank you for your patience on chemo days!
Posted by Dan at 09:52 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 29, 2005
While I'm doing chemotherapy, you guys keep reaching for the prize.
Posted by Dan at 08:15 PM | Comments (16) | TrackBack
Light blogging Wednesday.
Blogging will be light Wednesday insomuch as several grim-faced nurses will be injecting me with various poisons.
That's right: it's chemo time again!
Jealous yet?
Posted by Dan at 07:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I'm still convinced my last sermon was a success.
(photo lifted from Alton)
Posted by Dan at 11:00 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
All you need to start the baseball season.
With Opening Day bearing down on us, I thought I'd point you to the only gadget you'll need to make your baseball season a success.
The Stadium Pal, pointed out to me by my buddy Travis. Don't miss any of the action!
What's that? You want to bring your wife/girlfriend/female consort to the game? No worries. Just pick up the Stadium Gal!
The seventh inning is no longer so much of a stretch thanks to the Stadium Pal and Stadium Gal!
Posted by Dan at 10:23 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 28, 2005
Jumping the shark.
Remember Moonlighting, with Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd? Remember how good the first few seasons were? Then, they actually hooked up, and you could tell the show was going downhill from then on. In a phrase, Moonlighting had jumped the shark.
Lots of other shows had that moment, too... the time after which you just knew it was going to be all downhill. Say, when Doggett replaced Mulder, or when Ally adopted that girl, or when you just got tired of watching The Simpsons.
Here's a clever website that lists over 2,000 television shows and allows you to vote on when that show jumped the shark. I couldn't leave.
PS I was pleased to note that the vast majority thought that Buffy never jumped the shark. I couldn't agree more.
Posted by Dan at 09:56 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
For those of you who are fans of both philosophical reasoning and violence against children.
This bulletin board thread, which actually reached 42 pages of responses and clarification questions, asks an all-important question:
How many 5 year-olds could you take on at once?
Posted by Dan at 07:39 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Springsteen does U2
Ara provides a link to Bruce Springsteen's induction speech of U2 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
It's interesting and worth a read.
Posted by Dan at 07:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Source of Easter Bunny woes discovered.
Regulars of Popping Culture will remember how, just before Easter, one Easter Bunny was assaulted and another, across the country, did the assaulting.
I wondered what could have caused such an upset in the normally excellent Easter Bunny karma.
Posted by Dan at 02:22 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Eye Candy
Ram's Skull with Brown Leaves
by Georgia O'Keeffe
Posted by Dan at 09:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
You can always tell when the Pope is using his x-ray vision.
Oh, yeah... Pope's got x-ray vision.
Posted by Dan at 09:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Registration no longer required.
Tired of reading a post on your favorite web log, then hitting those dreadful words: "Full story here. Registration required."?
Don't want to register with the New York Times or whereever just to read the rest of the story? Registration may soon be a thing of the past.
Just head over to bugmenot.com and they'll get you in without all the hassle. 61143 sites liberated!
Posted by Dan at 09:22 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 27, 2005
Happy Easter!
Posted by Dan at 08:29 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
March 26, 2005
Popping Cancer: Reflection
Right now, I don't have any hair on my head. My facial hair is growing in patchy, smooth here, thick there. I can't speak two sentences without starting to cough and I tend to spend most of my days either napping or sitting in the same chair under the same blanket watching television. I am pale and weak and I'm losing weight.
Not exactly the description of someone you'd flirt with from across the room or strike up a conversation with on the bus, is it?
I can see how some folks would be driven to depression by these circumstances, but I know who I am. I know that being ragged and torn is not always a bad thing. I know that I am loved.
AND I own a copy of The Velveteen Rabbit. Let me share this exerpt with you.
"Real isn't how you are made. It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real... It doesn't happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
I know that I am loved. See? There's no way cancer can win, no matter what the final result.
Just keeping it Real.
Posted by Dan at 04:15 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
From Popping Culture to you: a little pre-Easter bunny love.
Posted by Dan at 04:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
More disturbing Easter Bunny news.
Remember the Easter Bunny that got attacked?
Well, this one is doing the attacking.
Posted by Dan at 04:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 25, 2005
Because I love you, and it's Easter candy time.
Click here to see The Lord of the Peeps: The Fellowship of the Peep.
For most big fun happy good time, click "movie."
Posted by Dan at 09:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
This sign posted on a pole in NYC. Things like this make me wish I lived there.
Posted by Dan at 03:56 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Driving through Utah?
Be careful, the Utah Department of Transportation is heavily armed and not afraid to use the weapons they have.
Quote:
Scott and Lori Connors' family room looks like it was bombed. There are random holes in the walls, gashes in the fabric of the couch and chair. There's broken glass everywhere and a sheet of plywood where the window used to be.
Outside, a shed is in tatters, and there's a boulder-size crater in the lawn. Upstairs, there are pieces of shrapnel imbedded in the bathroom wall.
A large mirror has what looks like bullet holes in the glass.
It looks like it was bombed — because it was.
A 105mm howitzer shell fired near Sundance in Provo Canyon overshot its mark and landed with a bang in the Conners' back yard. The boom was heard over several blocks.
That's right, gentle reader, the Department of Transportation has escalated action from simply making you wait in jarringly long lines to actual bombardment.
Utah Department of Transportation officials, who have taken responsibility for the errant mortar, say the event is a rarity, even though they set off 560 rounds of explosive material every year in an attempt to control avalanche danger in the Provo, American Fork, Big and Little Cottonwood canyons.
Full story, complete with pictures, here.
Posted by Dan at 03:47 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Brain Candy
A scab
is a beautiful thing - a coin
the body has minted, with an invisible motto:
In God We Trust.
Our body loves us,
and, even while the spirit drifts dreaming,
works at mending the damage that we do.
Close your eyes, knowing
that healing is a work of darkness,
that darkness is a gown of healing,
that the vessel of our tremulous venture is lifted
by tides we do not control.
Faith is health's requisite:
we have this fact in lieu
of better proof of le bon Dieu.
-from "Ode to Healing" by John Updike
Posted by Dan at 03:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
It's official: nothing is sacred any more.
The Easter Bunny has been attacked.
Key Quote:
No children were waiting to see the Easter bunny at the time of the attack, the newspaper reported.
Posted by Dan at 11:58 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Anybody here shop at Whole Foods in Chicago?
Posted by Dan at 11:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 24, 2005
As I spend the afternoon sleeping off yesterday's chemotherapy, let me share this image, which I think accurately portrays yesterday's events.
Discuss.
Posted by Dan at 03:52 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Popping Cancer Update: Did you get the number of that truck?
Chemotherapy yesterday was horrific. At least I was mostly in my own home for the side effects. By way of backstory, every night for the last month or so, my temperature has risen to about 100 degrees for no real reason other than that I have cancer. So yesterday I took a nausea drug in the late afternoon that made me kind of loopy but also gave me a general feeling of being unwell. I think once the fever hit, it was all over.
Today I feel kind of normal, but also weak and sore like I had been mugged. Same deal next Wednesday, but with another drug added. Neat.
Posted by Dan at 08:16 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Ex-Idol Mario Vazquez update.
It looks more and more like Vazquez jumped ship for the publicity.
This from a New York Post article:
March 23, 2005 -- SEAN "P. Diddy" Combs is conspicuously silent about whether he's signed "American Idol" dropout Mario Vazquez to a record deal.
"I can't discuss that right now," Combs told The Post yesterday.
Vazquez, 28, a favorite to win "American Idol," stunned everyone, including his mother, when he abruptly left the show 10 days ago for "personal reasons."
Since then, some reports have emerged that he quit to sign with Combs' Bad Boy Records. Vazquez is contractually committed to "AI" until the show is over in May.
"I can't really have any comment on that at this time," Combs said yesterday. "We're hopefully about to announce our plans for our next era."
If Vazquez had stayed with "Idol" and won the competition, he would have been automatically signed to a contract with RCA records.
Combs' produces and hosts a similar show for MTV, "Making the Band."
P. Diddy has already found at least one star among the contestants on "Making the Band," a singer named Chopper, whom he has signed to Bad Boy.
Combs and MTV will announce today that they've signed a new production deal.
PS I only post this stuff because the wife loves American Idol.
Posted by Dan at 07:57 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Words I never thought I'd say: Thank goodness for the television show Wife Swap.
Ok, ok, the show itself is drivel, but the crew did a good deed.
Seems they were on the road when they saw a Nashville father they were following hit his teenage daughter repeatedly in the face.
The crew called the cops and drove the daughter to the hospital.
So, at least one member of the Wife Swap crew has a soul.
Posted by Dan at 07:51 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
How do you know when kids' sports have gotten out of hand?
They have to ban the post-game handshakes.
Posted by Dan at 07:47 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 23, 2005
Wednesday's News
Sorry this is so late. Mr. P.C. and I got home around 11:15 am today after his chemotherapy. He has felt pretty "icky" and "weird" (chemotherapy apparently produces side effects indescribable to those of us who haven't experienced it)and very tired today. That's all for now.
Posted by Dan at 11:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Light blogging today, as your gentle host is off to chemotherapy. I'll let you know later that I'm alive. In the meantime, here's a picture of a kid yelling at a donkey. Enjoy.
Posted by Dan at 07:22 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
March 22, 2005
Tomorrow I have to do chemotherapy. Since I have to suffer, I fully expect each of you to read completely through the lyrics to the Ashlee Simpson song "La La." Come to think of it, I'm not sure which is worse.
"La La"
You can dress me up in diamonds
You can dress me up in dirt
You can throw me like a line-man
I like it better when it hurts
Oh, I have waited here for you
I have waited
You make me wanna la la
in the kitchen on the floor
I'll be a french maid
Where I'll meet you at the door
I'm like an alley cat
Drink the milk up, I want more
You make me wanna
You make me wanna scream
You can meet me on an aero-plane
Or in the back of the bus
You can throw me like a boomerang
I'll come back and beat you up
Oh, I have waited here for you
Dont, keep me waiting
You make me wanna la la
in the kitchen on the floor
I'll be a french maid
Where I'll meet you at the door
I'm like an alley cat
Drink the milk up, I want more
You make me wanna
You make me wanna la la
in the kitchen on the floor
I'll be a french maid
Where I'll meet you at the door
I'm like an alley cat
Drink the milk up, I want more
You make me wanna
You make me wanna scream
I feel safe with you
I can be myself tonight
It's alright, with you
Cuz you hold, my secrets tight
You do, You do
You make me wanna la la, la la la, la la, la la la la la la la la la
You make me wanna la la, la la la la
You make me wanna la la
in the kitchen on the floor
I'll be a french maid
When I'll meet you at the door
I'm like an alley cat
Drink the milk up, I want more
You make me wanna
You make me wanna la la
in the kitchen on the floor
I'll be a french maid
Where I'll meet you at the door
I'm like an alley cat
Drink the milk up, I want more
You make me wanna
You make me wanna scream
You make me wanna la la, la la la, la la, la la la la la la la la la
You make me wanna la la, la la la la
You make me wanna la la, la la la, la la, la la la la la la la la la
You make me wanna la la, la la la la
You make me wanna la la, la la la, la la, la la la la la la la la la
You make me wanna la la, la la la la
Posted by Dan at 09:53 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
If the Ashlee Simpson lyrics didn't give you nightmares, this'll do the trick.
Imagine being trapped on an amusement ride upside-down for 15 minutes.
It only makes it worse that it was at "Camp Snoopy."
Scary quote to help you sleep:
Riders screamed as loose pocket change rained down. Some riders became lightheaded, but no one was hurt during the incident, which lasted a total of about an hour.
Sheesh.
Full story here. Registration required.
Posted by Dan at 09:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
An actor has been chosen to play the villain in Spidey 3.
It's Thomas Haden Church. We just don't know which villain yet. I hope it's Electro.
Spider-Man 3 will be opening in theaters on May 4, 2007. I am gonna do some serious cursing on my deathbed if this cancer thing keeps me from seeing it.
Posted by Dan at 09:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Finally... a replacement for chemotherapy!
Who needs to be poisoned when they can just read and re-read this opening paragraph?
(Caution: the following may cause nausea and shortness of breath)
At 75, most actors might think twice about accepting a role that required them to be on location in the woods and naked from the waist up amid bugs, mud and rain. Not Ed Asner.
I'm never going to know what the full story is about because I'll never be able to get past that lede.
Posted by Dan at 11:28 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Only four days left to bid...
... on this lovely item.
Thanks, Dave.
Posted by Dan at 07:58 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
March 21, 2005
Popping Cancer Update: Quick Hit
On Wednesday, I start a new regimen of chemotherapy.
I hope it works.
Posted by Dan at 09:58 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
The world is going nuts. I decided it was time to get some protection.
And what better protection could there be than a gerbil with a gun?
Laugh if you will, but I'm sleeping soundly tonight. Of course, part of that is the Nyquil.
Posted by Dan at 09:53 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
This kind of thing can happen in Chicago.
A first-grader brought cute little bags of "candy" to school and started distributing them to friends.
You guessed it already, didn't you? The kid lives in a house with drug dealers, who told him the crack cocaine they were selling was candy. In an act of generosity, the kid was passing out little bags of crack to all his classmates.
Quote:
A member of the household is believed to have stashed "40 bags of rock in his book bag . . . when he gets to school he finds them in his book bag, and he knows this is 'candy' because this is what [people in his home] say it is," Camilli said. "Then he starts handing it out. It's insane."
Welcome to America.
Posted by Dan at 09:48 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
MTV's Spring Break is a (no) go!
Here are some fun statistics from last year's Spring Break. These will be bad news for some of us and good news for others of us.
One of the most alarming findings in the amazing Parents Television Council study of MTV’s Spring Break programming (March 20-27, 2004):
"In 171 hours of MTV programming, PTC analysts found 1,548 sexual scenes containing 3,056 depictions of sex or various forms of nudity and 2,881 verbal sexual references. That means that children watching MTV are viewing an average of 9 sexual scenes per hour with approximately 18 sexual depictions and 17 instances of sexual dialogue or innuendo. To put this in perspective, consider that in its last study of sex on primetime network television, the PTC found an average of only 5.8 instances of sexual content during the 10 o’clock hour -- when only adults are watching."
The report goes on to describe in fairly intimate and bleep-filled detail a human-sundae eating competition: Three guys lie on stage; whipped cream is placed on their legs and chests. The three girls each straddle a guy and lick the whipped cream off, and vice versa.
The competition was aired at 2 p.m., just in time for the latchkey tweens to get home from school.
Sure. Just let the TV babysit your kids.
Posted by Dan at 05:01 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
From Popping Culture's "Golf TIps" Desk
If you ever lip out a chip shot on 18 that would have forced a playoff, it's ok to be disappointed.
Just, please be careful of your reaction, particularly if there are cameras nearby.
Posted by Dan at 11:55 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Good news for those of you who can read.
Paulo Coelho is ready to release his latest novel.
Coelho wrote "The Alchemist", one of two books that I consider must-reads and life-changing works. The other is "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe.
Both are easy reads.
Details on the latest Coelho creation here.
Posted by Dan at 11:43 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 20, 2005
Brain Candy
One day, when I have strength and wit about me, I shall write you a several hundred word essay in praise of Kahlil Gibran. For now, I give you this selection from his writings, which nicely sums up my life with cancer and the accompanying internal struggle:
Your pain is the breaking of the shell
that encloses your understanding.
Even as the stone of the fruit must break,that its
heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.
And could you keep your heart in wonder
at the daily miracles of your life, your pain
would not seem less wondrous than your joy;
And you would accept the seasons of your
heart, even as you have always accepted
the seasons that pass over your fields.
And you would watch with serenity
through the winters of your grief.
Much of your pain is self-chosen.
It is the bitter potion by which the
physician within you heals your sick self.
Therefore trust the physician, and drink
his remedy in silence and tranquillity:
For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided
by the tender hand of the Unseen,
And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips,
has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter
has moistened with His own sacred tears.
- Kahlil Gibran
Posted by Dan at 10:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Are you gonna eat those tots?
The Fire Ant Gazette found all your favorite Napolean Dynamite gear at Dillards, of all places.
Vote for Pedro.
Posted by Dan at 03:50 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
You talkin' ta me?
I didn't think so.
Posted by Dan at 03:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cancer humor
Doctor: I'm afraid the cancer isn't responding to treatment. I can only give you six months to live.
Patient: But I can't pay your bill in that time.
Doctor: Ok, I'll give you another six months.
Posted by Dan at 10:19 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 19, 2005
Popping Cancer Update: If you don't have your health, you can still have everything.
This was written some time ago by Anita Tejedat. I share it with you now:
When someone you love is falling apart with the dreaded disease that seems to be consuming him little by little, you become steeped in fear and anger and denial and often feel helpless. What can you do? What is the purpose of all this?
"Why, dear God, why?" is the question that goes around and around in your head. You've heard it said that when you have your health you have everything. I wonder about that.
Do you really? My beloved husband is sick. I live and feel and breathe these things and live with the questions always. But I have found one of the answers. I give it to you. No it is not true that when you have your health you have everything. What is true is, if you have someone who truly cares about you, when you do not have your health, you have everything.
It is easier to buy good health than to buy good love. No amount of money can do that. Love is a free gift. It can give us all the strength we need to go on when there ain't no more to give.
Screaming out in the quiet, "I adore you. I hate this. I am here. If only my love could heal you, you would be healed instantly. Together we'll get through this. We'll beat this thing." And in my heart I know our love is better than anything else, richer than anything else, healthier than anything else, and will rise above anything else, yes, and can even heal.
No, when you have your health you do not have everything, but when you have a heart, a soul, connected to yours, be it wife, husband, child, friend, lover, parent, sister, brother, doctor, nurse, whoever, that says "I love you, I'm here," you have everything.
Posted by Dan at 09:23 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
I can't be certain, given my current state of health, but this appears to be a cat with a slice of bread on its head.
Posted by Dan at 05:08 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Free roof!
I love it when the little guy beats the system.
Posted by Dan at 04:58 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 18, 2005
Popping Cancer Update: No Update!
I'm thrilled to report I have nothing to report.
Still have the cancer, but finally I get a break from treatment. I get until Wednesday to sit around the house and gain some much-needed rest and energy. I might even be able to finally shake this annoying cough.
So, for those of you checking in on my health, I have nothing to say and it feels great!
If you're in it for the misery, check back Wednesday.
Posted by Dan at 09:44 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Of course not, officer. Maybe one beer.
I love the way the guy's wiping off his forehead. You can tell he's feeling it.
Posted by Dan at 09:15 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Still more tragic hamburger news.
The story's opening sentence says it all:
An argument over a hamburger escalated to a fight that left one twin brother dead of a gunshot wound and the other indicted Thursday on a manslaughter charge, a Baton Rouge prosecutor said.
Posted by Dan at 02:25 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Eye Candy
Don Quixote
by Pablo Picasso
Posted by Dan at 02:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Little help?
No word on if he saw his shadow.
Posted by Dan at 10:26 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Popping Cancer Update
The way it looks now, chemotherapy will start back up on Wednesday. Seems the drugs they want to give me aren't traditionally used for sarcomas, so the doctor has to jump through a few hoops with the insurance company.
Couple extra days off is fine with me.
Posted by Dan at 10:23 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
This drunk driver was really trying to get high.
His blood alcohol level was 0.235 percent - more than twice the legal limit.
Oh, yes, and he was driving on the on the tarmac at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
No big.
Free and easy registration required.
Posted by Dan at 10:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 17, 2005
Everybody take a deep whiff of Jesus now.
Thanks to Kimm for this link that feels somehow wrong and blasphemous, if only for the price tag attached to making your house smell like Jesus.
Posted by Dan at 09:07 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
I started to watch the baseball players testifying about steroids...
... but I lost interest when I found out they didn't invite my favorite player.
Rick 'Wild Thing' Vaughn
Posted by Dan at 02:18 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Reminder for the new kids.
You can jump just to the cancer/health updates by clicking on "Cancer" in the topics list in the right sidebar. Now you know.
Posted by Dan at 01:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Freebird!
I've done it. You've done it. Everyone you know has shouted "Freebird!" in a crowded auditorium and thought they were the next Chris Rock.
Of course it's not funny. Of course it's a cliche. Still, who can resist?
Here's a history of the "Freebird!"-shouting phenomenon, along with some rather amusing responses by bands who, of course, won't play along.
I'd rather hear "Stairway to Heaven" anyway.
Posted by Dan at 01:54 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Quitting your way to the top.
"American Idol" finalist Mario Vazquez quit the show. Old news.
Rumors included his previous connections with Michael Jackson (Vazquez sang for a spell as Jacko's backup), family issues and even porn in his past.
This writer thinks Vazquez hit the road for another reason: publicity he could never have gotten by being voted off the show in another week or three. In fact, since leaving the show, Vazquez has been seen on Letterman, Regis and MTV to name a few.
Need more proof that Vazquez is in it for the cheap fame? He hired Clay Aiken's attorney, the one who got Aiken out of a contract with the American Idol folks.
I am coming dangerously close to being interested by this. Let's hope it passes.
Posted by Dan at 01:44 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Thought for the day
Good tidings to the first person who names the reference.
Posted by Dan at 08:14 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
From Popping Culture's Diet and Fitness Desk
Projections are saying it should be a good year for calories.
Posted by Dan at 08:04 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 16, 2005
The old bait and switch is still alive and well!
"$2 most garments"
I love that.
Posted by Dan at 09:44 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Brain Candy
Caged Bird
A free bird leaps
on the back of the wind
and floats downstream
till the current ends
and dips his wing
in the orange sun rays
and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks
down his narrow cage
can seldom see through
his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn
and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.
Maya Angelou
Posted by Dan at 09:41 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Auto-repair shop employee takes customer's SUV on a 200-mile drive.
The technician "did not offer a substantial reason" as to why he kept the vehicle, Murphy said.
Posted by Dan at 01:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
It's gonna be one of those days, I can just tell.
Found this picture over at Grand Mental Station and thought it was too rich to keep from you.
Posted by Dan at 08:17 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Geek Heaven
If I had this thing as a kid, I'd have picked up my anti-social tendencies and violent urges much sooner.
It's a computer rig set up for Dungeons and Dragons tabletop play. The DM (if you have to ask, you aren't nearly geek enough) controls the projection, which allows players to see only what they have explored.
Quote: I scan in adventure maps and Photoshop out all for the DM-only information (room numbers, secret doors, traps, etc.) and create a mask layer. We then suspend a digital projector (connected to my laptop) from the ceiling, pointing directly at the game table. I project the edited map onto the game table and scale it to match our miniatures. As the players explore the map, I erase portions of the mask layer, revealing the map beneath.
Sweet.
More pics and information here. Check out the lucky rogue with the Goggles of Night.
Thanks to Boing Boing for the link.
Posted by Dan at 08:03 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Well, it's about time.
Everybody relax. Justice has been done.
Key Quote:
The new edition will carry this listing: wedgie: noun. a prank in which the victim's undershorts are jerked upward so as to become wedged between the buttocks.
Posted by Dan at 07:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Why Popping Culture isn't covering the Michael Jackson trial (AKA the most recent Trial of the Century).
It's icky.
Posted by Dan at 07:52 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
March 15, 2005
AWWW... wookit the cute puppy... wookit the sweepy puppy!
Makes me hungry.
Posted by Dan at 02:25 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
I'm not sure, but I think this is a political story.
If I have the story right, President Bingu wa Mutharika left the Malawi presidential mansion because he was afraid it was haunted.
Two reporters printed the story and had their homes raided and were arrested.
I wish stuff like this happened in America. Full story (?) here.
Key Quote:
...telling reporters at the weekend that he had not met any ghosts in the palace and was in any case not afraid of them.
Posted by Dan at 02:17 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Popping Cancer: Doctor's Report
We had a decent visit.
Since the last rounds of chemotherapy knocked out my white blood cells and crunched my bladder and kidneys like Lay's potato chips, we're going with a less stressful chemo drug for the next few rounds.
Shorter visits at the chemo room, more time at home. There are still side effects - they ARE still poisoning me, after all - but it shouldn't be as brutal as the last time. New treatments start next week.
The most interesting of the potential side effects this time is loss of feeling in my fingers and toes. Fun!
As always, I'll let you know how it's going. For now, I get the rest of the week off - huzzah! - and it's time for a nap.
Posted by Dan at 02:08 PM |