tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48561017490900001432011-07-30T22:43:38.853-07:00C'mon--"drill, baby, drill" should only be something you say to your dentist.LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.comBlogger341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-47361437158169830392010-08-12T07:59:00.000-07:002010-08-12T08:06:04.221-07:00

Thankfully for you, only a brief note. This is not actually a Genesis song. It could be, but it's not.It's just a plug to follow my meanderings at 1WomanWordsmith, where I'm embarking on a blog to end all blogs. (Or maybe it's a blog to end my blogging career, you josh!)I hope to take on topics not so much like the Titanic took on water, but rather as they come across my radar and pique my

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-45467462740861102942010-05-21T05:07:00.000-07:002010-05-21T05:25:57.741-07:00

Hey, friends!Most of you probably know I've been having problems with my Hotmail account. Granted it is free, but that doesn't mean I should have 0 technical support, should it?I can't give you the exact details, because my account has been hijacked and now, apparently, shut down in a pre-emptive strike by Microsoft.(I suppose they are taking a page from Dubya's book, but I digress.)A friend

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-76242846134819707982010-05-10T12:55:00.000-07:002010-05-10T13:03:11.348-07:00

We all live in a green submarine, green submarine, green submarine.Ha-ha!But, seriously, did you know that Quizno's is greening their food packaging in an effort to reduce waste (not to mention that it helps their bottom line; I wish more restaurants & companies would catch onto that fact, then they'll be sold on green)? You would not believe how much of our landfills are stuffed to the brim with

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-86751204583735382262010-05-07T09:59:00.000-07:002010-05-07T10:00:12.163-07:00

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-28013021838365030592010-04-07T07:51:00.001-07:002010-04-07T08:24:18.244-07:00

Ah, Easter. In the case of this year, April.Poet T.S. Eliot (disclosure: subject of my master's thesis, which I finished almost 10 years ago now! Oops, I meant "100 years ago." hee-hee) wrote that "April is the cruellest month/breeding lilacs out of the dead land." Or something along those lines.While I dig Eliot's meaning in my more pessimistic moments (my husband would say that that's every

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-82625605874181303282010-04-05T15:06:00.000-07:002010-04-05T15:20:16.325-07:00

Everywhere I go (and look), it seems to me that women are more fond of chocolate than men are.{The editor in me just snickered at a permutation of the above sentence. ... If I had written "women are more fond of chocolate than men" it could be true but also very funny. That is, that women like chocolate more than they like men. Now you know the weird way that my once-new steel trap works!}My

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-83187357160070483472010-04-01T13:45:00.000-07:002010-04-01T13:55:46.663-07:00

When I was a kid (in the Dark Ages), we didn't talk about milk or what was in it. Loose lips sink milks, I guess.Now, many glasses later, I have a family, and I think more deeply about things in general. (I've become quite the worry-wart, haven't I?)So, the topic du jour spins around to milk. Some companies use steroids or antibiotics or some other chemical concoctions and others don't--we know

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-72561831968821777992010-03-26T14:04:00.000-07:002010-03-27T09:57:52.159-07:00

Like many of you, I can whistle "Sweet Georgia Brown" in my sleep in large part thanks to the Harlem Globetrotters. As a kid--in the 'dark ages' of the 1970s and 1980s--the Globetrotters would come to my town. Actually to a larger city a couple hours away, usually. I'd want to go, but we never did.Those were the days when I was very shy. If one of the Globetrotters had grabbed my purse, being the

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-56218523659569691062010-03-26T11:02:00.000-07:002010-03-26T11:12:50.333-07:00

Hello, all. I wish I could do Aloha Friday every Friday, but life just seems to intrude too much and too often! It was inaugurated by Kailani over at An Island Life.She asks: What is your dream car?Gosh, what a toughie. Hubby and I used to "collect" cars, though not so much now that we have kids. If money were no object, I think I might have either a Darren (sp? I think that was made by Kaiser,

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-87611905607468519342010-03-21T11:04:00.000-07:002010-03-21T11:43:53.812-07:00

Hi, everyone. Angie over at A Simple Kinda Life was sweet enough to send me a virtual Easter basket. Man, can you believe it's already almost Easter? It seems like yesterday that it was January 1, 2010. (For the record, I call it "two thousand and ten"; do you prefer that or "twenty-ten"?)In any case, the virtual Easter basket project is for a very good cause--Children's Miracle Network (CMN),

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-43437640206261871512010-03-19T19:05:00.000-07:002010-03-19T19:44:59.850-07:00

Hello, all! First, get over to Kailani's blog, An Island Life, to vote for your favorite springtime photograph: http://islandlife808.com/fun-stuff/contests/marchs-photo-contest-voting-is-now-open/Second, I humbly offer a few of my recent photographs of the kiddies, the season, the zoo. Mine are not entered in the contest--I was simply inspired by it.Third, hope you are getting to spend time with

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-57404341508743440752010-03-18T14:51:00.000-07:002010-03-18T15:17:17.313-07:00

Think I'm bitter. Well, eat this, friend.It is none other than my own heart in poem-form. It's a million times bitterer and blacker than yours will ever be, I reply most humbly.In all seriosity, for we live in cities most serious, my last posting was an attempt at being funny, but I've been told that it was a stab in the dark. I meant to clothe the sardonic bitter-heartedness of that post with a

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-57515300812802666772010-03-16T14:10:00.000-07:002010-03-16T14:27:59.367-07:00

Otherwise known as whine. This is what I've enjoyed to excess, oh, over the last week or so.Another submission risked, nothing gained. Ha-ha! No, I won't say that. I've added another layer to the hide. That's definitely something.The biannual (or should I say every-other-year) Bombeck humor-writing competition has come and gone. Gone, leaving talent in its dust. I can't imagine what the judges

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-78396873827958149642010-03-05T18:22:00.000-08:002010-03-07T13:12:53.176-08:00

The final Words Matter Week challenge asks:What person in your life helped you understand the importance of choosing words carefully? What would you say to them if you met them today?It's not any great epiphany, and I suspect many of us will have similar thoughts. (Yet I purposefully did not read any blog postings today for WMW just so I could keep my thoughts original.)But my word heroes are my

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-68543171966581350792010-03-04T18:42:00.000-08:002010-03-04T19:15:53.673-08:00

Thursday's Words Matter Week challenge asks:If you had to eliminate one word or phrase from the English language, what would it be? Why?Ideally, I would send Death packing, both in word and in action. Where he goes after getting a pink slip is his business; he just needs to stay away from humanity!However, because I could not stop to banish this big, bad bete noire, I will kick something almost

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-19405216068998651742010-03-03T20:31:00.000-08:002010-03-16T14:49:54.509-07:00

Writers are people who take isolated words and craft them into memorable phrases, stories, poems and plays. Who are the writers who make your heart sing? What is the magic ingredient?Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? My writing over the years would probably indicate so.Just a brief posting this time in response to today’s Words Matter Week challenge. I’ve been pondering this all day,

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-72246334136066615922010-03-02T19:32:00.001-08:002010-03-02T20:27:12.149-08:00

Whom haven't experienced a a grammar gaffe?A spellling snaffoo?A: peccadillo, of a punctuation, slipup;Years ago, I myself was stung by a misspelling mishap in which I forgot to uppercase the capital of Alaska (A: Juneau) in a school spelling bee.As a professional copyeditor and writer--and sometime proofreader and fact-checker--I experience all of the above and more on a regular basis. Not many

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-67214613701887484932010-03-02T14:05:00.000-08:002010-03-02T14:35:45.777-08:00

It really shouldn't be this way, but I guess it just might be.Reformed (or failed, some might say) English majors like myself are invariably interested in Shakespeare.In a way, the bard is a bit of a substitute for religion, for me. Thy Will be done, so to speak!So, when I heard of a contest featuring Shakespeare's quotes, I was immediately intrigued. "Words, words, words," in the words of Hamlet

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-39721042927949956632010-03-01T14:56:00.000-08:002010-03-01T20:32:56.566-08:00

In homage to Words Matter Week (http://wordsmatter.naiwe.com/2010/03/01/words-matter-day-1-blog-challenge/#comments), I sculpted this little piece. I hope you like it!******The girl was playing among the blooms in her dictionary one day, for it was a garden-variety tome, when she spotted a trail of three dots. Those dots slipped off the page and soon were rolling down the path toward a hole.The

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-83398634185049480982010-02-27T14:40:00.000-08:002010-02-27T14:54:19.990-08:00

Alrighty then, TCM has an ongoing, presumably changing, listing of random people's 10 best movies of all time over here, http://www.tcm.com/2010/31Days/index.jspMy list differs from theirs a little, if you care! Here's mine. Sadly, I'm supposed to include only 10, all of which I have viewed at least once, but I fudge it just a little:1. Casablanca2. Brazil (directed by Terry Gilliam; check out

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-37528368924663574302010-02-27T14:30:00.001-08:002010-02-27T14:30:42.850-08:00

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-67300966121116115502010-02-15T08:14:00.000-08:002010-02-15T08:24:12.074-08:00

The little girl's name is Emma. Her mom's name is Jaime. But she just as easily could be the little girl next door. Your niece. Your child's friend. Your own daughter.Emma is the victim of an inconceivably brutal act of abuse--shaken baby (or shaken child) syndrome. Her mom manages a blog that I read and enjoy, Revenge of the Book Nerds, and I learned about Emma through her mom's book blog. You

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-90131962567062477482010-01-14T12:30:00.000-08:002010-01-14T12:49:02.744-08:00

Image courtesy of the UK's Telegraph at telegraph.co.uk.I have only one root idea for this post.Please help however you can--by donating blood, money, or time. Or by dispensing information (tell a friend who tells a friend who tells...)Find information on the American Red Cross' blog, http://redcrosschat.org/2010/01/14/your-mobile-giving-by-state/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-71979959158866094552009-12-30T05:45:00.000-08:002009-12-30T06:05:22.452-08:00

A blogosphere favorite: Wordless WednesdaySo it is that, as December blusters to a close, I give you my humble tribute to the master, reputedly born 25 December 1899 (some sources say 23 January). Hope you like the rare youthful photo. The woman in the photo is unidentified, as are the Scotties and Newfie.Photo courtesy of Indiana University (http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/dlsearch/results/

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-16988191195204775382009-12-29T04:15:00.000-08:002009-12-29T04:21:14.421-08:00

Merry Monday everyone. Oh yeah, it's Tuesday.In our house, it should be dubbed Twos-day, because we're actively coping with a 2-year-old's whims and whams and whammies. And, I hope, not too many of the latter.Nonetheless, if you have a moment, get thee on over to STL Mommy, a Web site I discovered in the last 1-2 weeks or so. It's great to have someone "nearby" to read, and I really enjoy the

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-20674368110729385472009-12-26T06:10:00.000-08:002009-12-26T06:28:26.438-08:00

I'm following up on the Aloha Friday theme of December 25th.I decree that today shall be "Curiosity Saturday." And in honor of that decree, I have a few ideas and questions that have been swirling around in my mucky mind (because I overthink things, okay!!)>If a person has twins (or multiples) and one is born at 11:59 p.m. and the other(s) after midnight the next day, does a mom (or parents) have

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-53607065418079451632009-12-25T05:35:00.000-08:002009-12-25T05:47:54.705-08:00

Hello-ha, welcome, and happy holidays to all, no matter what you call them.It's Aloha Friday. The first Aloha Friday for my blog.Check out An Island Life to participate in Kailani's Aloha Friday, http://islandlife808.com/memes/aloha-friday-114/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email, as well as link to others'.Today's Aloha Friday question from me is perhaps an expected one, but it's important

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-71407763093588318232009-12-20T09:26:00.001-08:002009-12-20T09:47:36.928-08:00

Road ScholarWherever you are, whatever religion you cling to (or none at all), you know it's holiday time. And holidays, among other things, mean movement. Travel to and from. In the mind, from the home to the airport. Home to store. Store to home. From your lips to God's ears. Whatever the case may be, the month between, say, November 25 and December 25, is super malleable. As opposed to

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-35903732397677983682009-12-18T12:51:00.000-08:002009-12-20T09:25:33.538-08:00

"Do Male Bloggers Receive More Respect?" is the headline over at Freelance Writing Jobs, http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/2009/12/do-male-bloggers-receive-more-respect/, from a few days ago.It ignites an interesting question in me and fascinating perspectives from others who visit the site, which I've been reading for, I think, a few years now. I read the article just a couple days ago, and so

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-43975681131307345522009-12-12T14:57:00.000-08:002009-12-12T15:04:47.628-08:00

Deck the Halls and Daryl's jolly ...Not really. Why would I deck my supposed-to-be husband, soulful looker Daryl Hall? : )Once upon a time, there was a little girl (no, not with a little curl). She had a Cabbage Patch doll named Daryl with twinkling green eyes, a mini mohawk (can't really call it a carrot top, because it's not red) of blonde hair, and who wanted to be a singer when he grew

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-3393608414240558462009-12-12T09:27:00.000-08:002009-12-12T10:45:54.420-08:00

As you who read me--all two of you (thanks, Mom!)--know, I am inordinately fond of puns. Or pond of funs, perhaps!And, as it's holiday time, I want to wax poetic on the intersection of the crux of the overlapping of the paralleling of movies, Christmas, and such.Okay. I'll start making sense.Zhu Zhu Pets. Reminds me of "It's a Wonderful Life," and Zhu Zhu's petals. I would imagine that's where

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-67826210544242884832009-11-22T05:50:00.000-08:002009-11-22T06:00:06.942-08:00

Thanks to Ralph Waldo Emerson, I am today proud to say I have tried Indian (the country, not Native Americans or other Indian peoples) food, Thai, and Bangladeshi cuisine.Well, not really thanks to Emerson per se, but I just had to throw in the literary reference.What I think everyone should know is that if the Pickiest Eater in the World (um, formerly, thank you) can try new things, you can,

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-23804857172016581712009-11-19T07:48:00.001-08:002009-11-19T08:47:33.591-08:00

I love films. That's not to say that I watch and rewatch the same movies incessantly and am always very initially open-minded about films (rather, I am very skeptical, critical {perhaps hypercritical} and contrarian), but once I've viewed something a few times and it starts to really soak into my brain--and provided it's at least halfway decent--I am pretty quick to judge and know what I

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4856101749090000143.post-4385349621197039042009-11-17T15:03:00.000-08:002009-11-17T15:18:29.891-08:00

Okay. I know there's another blog out there with "Mom de Plume" stamped on it. And I'm cool with that.Not trying to hijack that name, by any means.Just wanted to throw out a brief welcome, mat it to the page, et voila.Wilkommen! Tag! Nie hao ma? Buenos dias. Bienvenuto. Hello!(Wish I knew more languages. Greetings nonetheless.)Did you ever wonder why it is that "mom" and "dad" are palindromes? (

LAR1975http://www.blogger.com/profile/15223891408003341203noreply@blogger.com0