Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Big Ups
To these fine makers of iPod cases: Countour Case.
I bought a case made by these folks when I got my video iPod a few months back because the case was clear (I bought a black iPod, I want to be able to SEE that its black, dammit), looked pretty heavy duty and had a sweet detachable belt clip for easy access. It also came equipped with little holes to place sticky rubber feet in on the back of the case so that your iPod would incur minimal slippage when, inside its hard plastic case, is placed on top of a smooth surface. This was a BIG bonus for me, because I'm clumsy and often forget I'm connected to my iPod and I stand up, earbuds still on and send my iPod skimming across the desk into oblivion. The advent of these little rubber feet has saved my iPod from a messy fate many times.
So, you'll be saddened to know that last week I discovered that two of the little rubber feet had vanished from my iPod upon retrieving it from my purse one morning at work! I ended up finding one of the feet stuck to the inside of my purse and I was able to replace it, but the other one was nowhere to be found. I was devastated to say the least! Now my iPod was wobbly on my desk and little things like that annoy the CRAP out of me.
So I looked online for the makers of the case and sent them an email asking where I could purchase a new set of feet, either from them or from an Apple store where I had initially purchased the case.
A couple hours later I get a response from them asking for my address and they'll send me a replacement set of feet. How freaking rad is that? I know the feet probably cost a penny to manufacture and it may be a request that they get all the time, but I don't care. For all I know, I'm the first and ONLY customer to EVER ask for this and they didn't even hesitate to send me some new feet. THAT is customer service, man.
I got the new set of feet in the mail today and I filled the offending empty foot hole and all is right in my little iPod world. So thank you, Contour Case, for not only making the BEST iPod case I have ever purchased, but for having STELLAR employees and going that tiny extra mile and making this comic and music nerd's DAY by sending her a free pair of rubber feet.
If you have an iPod I would suggest buying a case for it from these people.
They are AWESOME!
I bought a case made by these folks when I got my video iPod a few months back because the case was clear (I bought a black iPod, I want to be able to SEE that its black, dammit), looked pretty heavy duty and had a sweet detachable belt clip for easy access. It also came equipped with little holes to place sticky rubber feet in on the back of the case so that your iPod would incur minimal slippage when, inside its hard plastic case, is placed on top of a smooth surface. This was a BIG bonus for me, because I'm clumsy and often forget I'm connected to my iPod and I stand up, earbuds still on and send my iPod skimming across the desk into oblivion. The advent of these little rubber feet has saved my iPod from a messy fate many times.
So, you'll be saddened to know that last week I discovered that two of the little rubber feet had vanished from my iPod upon retrieving it from my purse one morning at work! I ended up finding one of the feet stuck to the inside of my purse and I was able to replace it, but the other one was nowhere to be found. I was devastated to say the least! Now my iPod was wobbly on my desk and little things like that annoy the CRAP out of me.
So I looked online for the makers of the case and sent them an email asking where I could purchase a new set of feet, either from them or from an Apple store where I had initially purchased the case.
A couple hours later I get a response from them asking for my address and they'll send me a replacement set of feet. How freaking rad is that? I know the feet probably cost a penny to manufacture and it may be a request that they get all the time, but I don't care. For all I know, I'm the first and ONLY customer to EVER ask for this and they didn't even hesitate to send me some new feet. THAT is customer service, man.
I got the new set of feet in the mail today and I filled the offending empty foot hole and all is right in my little iPod world. So thank you, Contour Case, for not only making the BEST iPod case I have ever purchased, but for having STELLAR employees and going that tiny extra mile and making this comic and music nerd's DAY by sending her a free pair of rubber feet.
If you have an iPod I would suggest buying a case for it from these people.
They are AWESOME!
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Three posts in one day?!?! Its MADNESS!!
What's cooler than cool? Loteria: Mexican Bingo.
What's cooler than THAT? NACHO LIBRE Loteria!
Thanks, Chris! Now I just need someone that actually wants to play this with me!
What's cooler than THAT? NACHO LIBRE Loteria!Thanks, Chris! Now I just need someone that actually wants to play this with me!
Sadness, Movie Etiquette and a Wedding Dress?
First off, I have to ask for a moment of silence for one of the greatest artists and creators of our time that passed away yesterday: Alex Toth.
I mostly know him from his work Jonny Quest and Space Ghost, but his art and style has influenced many of the artists I know and he will be missed. I hear there will be a memorial panel for him at this year's San Diego Comic Con, so if you're going there this year and want to pay your respects, that's probably the best way to do it.
On to a happier note now, Ben and I have seen a couple movies in the past week. First up was The Da Vinci Code. Before I tell you what I thought, first I'd like to say that I haven't read the book, and I know that a lot of things were changed from it which is why a lot of the fans hated the movie. I liked it. I also realize it is a work of fiction and not meant to be taken literally. I don't understand this whole controversy over the popularity of the book and why the churches are so against it. Its fiction, and the author has said so in many interviews. He just happens to know alot about his source material and uses that to weave a tale that is believable in that it is fiction. You believe what is happening in the scope of the story, but I'm not about to call up Opus Dei and ask for the albino monk... I mean, after watching Raiders of the Lost Ark I didn't think that Indiana Jones had REALLY tried to stop Hitler from gaining one of the most powerful religious items that has ever existed. I also didn't think that Indiana Jones had saved us from the Nazis AGAIN by not letting THEM get their hands on the Holy Grail in The Last Crusade. Why is this movie so different? I just don't know... As far as the acting went, I know we're not used to seeing Tom Hanks in a role where he's not at one extreme or the other as far as emotions go (many years ago some friends of mine had said that the movie Philadelphia was the death of the "funny" Tom Hanks because his turn as an AIDS suffering lawyer won him the Oscar and was very moving and serious...thankfully that did NOT happen, The Ladykillers being a PRIME example), but I wasn't put off by the choices he made for the lead character he was playing. I thought it was believable and not "phoned-in" at all. Also, Sir Ian McKellen was outstanding as always. Which brings us to the other movie I saw this week:
X-Men: The Last Stand. This latest sequel in the X-Men movie franchise is, by far, the best yet. I hope this is a trend and any future movies they make will continue to get better with time. A lot, and I mean A LOT of things happen that I was floored by and not expecting. I don't think they could have cast ANYONE better than Kelsey Grammer in the role of Hank McCoy AKA The Beast. I also LOVE Vinnie Jones, and while I'm sure it was to save time, Juggernaut's character was changed a bit to fit the story (not just that he wasn't Xavier's stepbrother, he was a mutant in the movie), which didn't really upset me (what did upset me was the "I'm the Juggernaut, Bitch!" line, just because it was horribly cheesy, though, if ANYONE could pull that line off, it would be Vinnie Jones, because, well, let's face it, he's Big Chris, and no one messes with Big Chris) because you only have so much time with a movie audience and you have to pick and choose the more important things to be true to when dealing with over 50 years of source material. I also like MORE what they did with the whole Phoenix origin in the movie than how it occurred in the comics, since I'm not big on blaming everything on alien entities or gamma rays, but that's just me... That being said, this movie was awesome. Go see it, you won't be disappointed.
The only bad part of my movie going experiences this week was the audience that I had to share it with. Why, oh why, is God punishing me by placing asshats behind me at every movie I go see, no matter what day of the week, or what time of day??? Can anyone answer me this? Let me know and I'll change my sinning ways... At the Da Vinci Code I had to listen to the jackholes behind me say no less than 12 times how all Tom Hanks REALLY wanted was a blowjob from Audrey Tautou's character. They made other lame comments throughout the movie and I was this close to telling them that the new Lindsay Lohan movie was playing RIGHT down the hall and was probably a bit more suited for their maturity and intelligence level, obviously... What kept me from saying anything (because you know me, usually I DO NOT hold back at the movies) was because they were RIGHT behind me. I have big bushy hair. I have a silent crippling fear of people throwing things in it that I will never feel because my hair is about 5 inches away from my head at any given angle. So I waited until the movie was over and loudly proclaimed to Ben that "I wish JUST ONCE that we could go to the movies and NOT have the people behind us be ASSHATS!" Hopefully that got through, but I'm not holding my breath on that, because I'm sure they couldn't possibly think I was talking about THEM... Also the X-Men gave us an inside look of how NOT to act in a theatre on opening night with bloodthirsty comic geeks that have been waiting all year for this flick. Telling the whole theatre how "gangsta" Wolverine, Magneto, Juggernaut and all of the other male leads in the movie are OVER AND OVER, REALLY wasn't necessary. And there's a hot and steamy scene with Wolvie and Jean Grey at one point and you'd swear the jerks behind me had NEVER seen two people go at it before. I know this was a nerd movie, but come ON! They kept talking and kept talking (which if it were an exclamation at something that happened on screen or cheering or something, I could have handled it, its THAT kind of movie and it was an opening night, midnight show) but saying how HOT Ben Foster (Angel) is and then giving us a dissertation as to WHY he's so hot, is really talk for the ladies' room AFTER the movie. Our friend Chrissy DID have enough and told them to shut up, and they did, for the most part, which was nice and I didn't have the fear of retaliation in the back of my mind for the rest of the movie.
So I've decided that I'm going to make up a pamphlet. I will carry copies of this pamphlet with me everytime I go to the movies and hand it out to anyone that starts acting like a jackass during the movie while I'm in attendance. I'm thinking of calling it "Madame Mar's Guide to Movie Going Etiquette: How to NOT Piss Off the Other 50 People Here Who Have ALSO Paid Good Money to See This Movie". Its just a working title. If you have any suggestions for possible content, please don't hesitate to let me know.
And the last of my drama filled week happened yesterday, but it started about three weeks ago. I was in my closet and took notice of my wedding dress, that after almost 3 years of marriage I have YET to pay to have it cleaned, pressed and preserved. ::gulp:: I unzipped it from its garment bag and noticed that the outside lace coat had fallen off the hanger and I went to put it back on when I noticed the GINORMOUS Coke (I can only assume it was Coke because it didn't look like any of the alcohol I was drinking) stains all along the side of the actual dress and on the coat! I do not remember spilling Coke on my dress, but there it was. So I get all blubbery, I take the dress to Ben, shove it in his face and start crying at him that we need to have my dress cleaned and preserved NOW.
I don't know crap about dry cleaning. I'll put that out there right now. I don't own things that have to be dry cleaned because its a pain in the ass. I don't even like ironing clothes, I'm pretty low maintenance. So calling a bunch of places out of the phone book trying to explain to them what I want and need is not my cup of tea. I decided to call Bibbentuckers, a pretty upscale dry cleaning joint in Dallas, just because I figure they are big enough and fancy enough that they won't turn my dress into a pile of ripped up satin and lace. The girl on the phone sounded pretty dumb, but I figured I'd just take the dress in and see what happened. So we get there yesterday morning and they're all ready to do the dress when the guy helping us asks if I know where the care tag is for the dress. I do not and we search fruitlessly for about 10 minutes inside the dress for the care tag that the shop I purchased the dress from put in a nice plastic big RIGHT on the front of the garment bag for easy reach.
...
The guy reads the tag and turns out, the chemical they use to clean with is the EXACT chemical that the care tag says NOT to have the dress cleaned with. JOY! Apparently this chemical will melt any beads on my dress and my dress and the coat are FULL of beads. We ask if he knows someplace we can take it to and he gives us the name and we go in search of this place. I won't say the name, one, because they are now going out of business and two, the lady that was running it was an A-List Nutbag. When we got there, I saw signs on the door that said closing and I should have followed my gut and told Ben to just drive away, but against my better judgment, I went inside to ask if SHE knew of anyplace to take it to. She held us captive for almost half an hour gibbering about how much NOT to spend on the dress and where NOT to go and where SHE was going to work would charge us too much... We finally just thanked her and said we would just go back to Arlington and look someplace up and beat cheeks back home.
So I still have a filthy dress in my closet, and I'm no closer to finding a place that can do the work for me...I found another place in Dallas (RIGHT where we were yesterday, of course!!!) that seems like my best bet. I sent them an email asking them prices and what they could do for me, so we'll see how that turns out. But it did give us an excuse to eat at Einstein's Bagels, which I love and who REFUSE to open up shop in Arlington (HINT HINT to anyone in charge that sees this).
That's the long and short of it, folks! So treat your eyeballs to some Visine after this long tirade.
Poopshoot.
I mostly know him from his work Jonny Quest and Space Ghost, but his art and style has influenced many of the artists I know and he will be missed. I hear there will be a memorial panel for him at this year's San Diego Comic Con, so if you're going there this year and want to pay your respects, that's probably the best way to do it.On to a happier note now, Ben and I have seen a couple movies in the past week. First up was The Da Vinci Code. Before I tell you what I thought, first I'd like to say that I haven't read the book, and I know that a lot of things were changed from it which is why a lot of the fans hated the movie. I liked it. I also realize it is a work of fiction and not meant to be taken literally. I don't understand this whole controversy over the popularity of the book and why the churches are so against it. Its fiction, and the author has said so in many interviews. He just happens to know alot about his source material and uses that to weave a tale that is believable in that it is fiction. You believe what is happening in the scope of the story, but I'm not about to call up Opus Dei and ask for the albino monk... I mean, after watching Raiders of the Lost Ark I didn't think that Indiana Jones had REALLY tried to stop Hitler from gaining one of the most powerful religious items that has ever existed. I also didn't think that Indiana Jones had saved us from the Nazis AGAIN by not letting THEM get their hands on the Holy Grail in The Last Crusade. Why is this movie so different? I just don't know... As far as the acting went, I know we're not used to seeing Tom Hanks in a role where he's not at one extreme or the other as far as emotions go (many years ago some friends of mine had said that the movie Philadelphia was the death of the "funny" Tom Hanks because his turn as an AIDS suffering lawyer won him the Oscar and was very moving and serious...thankfully that did NOT happen, The Ladykillers being a PRIME example), but I wasn't put off by the choices he made for the lead character he was playing. I thought it was believable and not "phoned-in" at all. Also, Sir Ian McKellen was outstanding as always. Which brings us to the other movie I saw this week:
X-Men: The Last Stand. This latest sequel in the X-Men movie franchise is, by far, the best yet. I hope this is a trend and any future movies they make will continue to get better with time. A lot, and I mean A LOT of things happen that I was floored by and not expecting. I don't think they could have cast ANYONE better than Kelsey Grammer in the role of Hank McCoy AKA The Beast. I also LOVE Vinnie Jones, and while I'm sure it was to save time, Juggernaut's character was changed a bit to fit the story (not just that he wasn't Xavier's stepbrother, he was a mutant in the movie), which didn't really upset me (what did upset me was the "I'm the Juggernaut, Bitch!" line, just because it was horribly cheesy, though, if ANYONE could pull that line off, it would be Vinnie Jones, because, well, let's face it, he's Big Chris, and no one messes with Big Chris) because you only have so much time with a movie audience and you have to pick and choose the more important things to be true to when dealing with over 50 years of source material. I also like MORE what they did with the whole Phoenix origin in the movie than how it occurred in the comics, since I'm not big on blaming everything on alien entities or gamma rays, but that's just me... That being said, this movie was awesome. Go see it, you won't be disappointed.
The only bad part of my movie going experiences this week was the audience that I had to share it with. Why, oh why, is God punishing me by placing asshats behind me at every movie I go see, no matter what day of the week, or what time of day??? Can anyone answer me this? Let me know and I'll change my sinning ways... At the Da Vinci Code I had to listen to the jackholes behind me say no less than 12 times how all Tom Hanks REALLY wanted was a blowjob from Audrey Tautou's character. They made other lame comments throughout the movie and I was this close to telling them that the new Lindsay Lohan movie was playing RIGHT down the hall and was probably a bit more suited for their maturity and intelligence level, obviously... What kept me from saying anything (because you know me, usually I DO NOT hold back at the movies) was because they were RIGHT behind me. I have big bushy hair. I have a silent crippling fear of people throwing things in it that I will never feel because my hair is about 5 inches away from my head at any given angle. So I waited until the movie was over and loudly proclaimed to Ben that "I wish JUST ONCE that we could go to the movies and NOT have the people behind us be ASSHATS!" Hopefully that got through, but I'm not holding my breath on that, because I'm sure they couldn't possibly think I was talking about THEM... Also the X-Men gave us an inside look of how NOT to act in a theatre on opening night with bloodthirsty comic geeks that have been waiting all year for this flick. Telling the whole theatre how "gangsta" Wolverine, Magneto, Juggernaut and all of the other male leads in the movie are OVER AND OVER, REALLY wasn't necessary. And there's a hot and steamy scene with Wolvie and Jean Grey at one point and you'd swear the jerks behind me had NEVER seen two people go at it before. I know this was a nerd movie, but come ON! They kept talking and kept talking (which if it were an exclamation at something that happened on screen or cheering or something, I could have handled it, its THAT kind of movie and it was an opening night, midnight show) but saying how HOT Ben Foster (Angel) is and then giving us a dissertation as to WHY he's so hot, is really talk for the ladies' room AFTER the movie. Our friend Chrissy DID have enough and told them to shut up, and they did, for the most part, which was nice and I didn't have the fear of retaliation in the back of my mind for the rest of the movie.
So I've decided that I'm going to make up a pamphlet. I will carry copies of this pamphlet with me everytime I go to the movies and hand it out to anyone that starts acting like a jackass during the movie while I'm in attendance. I'm thinking of calling it "Madame Mar's Guide to Movie Going Etiquette: How to NOT Piss Off the Other 50 People Here Who Have ALSO Paid Good Money to See This Movie". Its just a working title. If you have any suggestions for possible content, please don't hesitate to let me know.
And the last of my drama filled week happened yesterday, but it started about three weeks ago. I was in my closet and took notice of my wedding dress, that after almost 3 years of marriage I have YET to pay to have it cleaned, pressed and preserved. ::gulp:: I unzipped it from its garment bag and noticed that the outside lace coat had fallen off the hanger and I went to put it back on when I noticed the GINORMOUS Coke (I can only assume it was Coke because it didn't look like any of the alcohol I was drinking) stains all along the side of the actual dress and on the coat! I do not remember spilling Coke on my dress, but there it was. So I get all blubbery, I take the dress to Ben, shove it in his face and start crying at him that we need to have my dress cleaned and preserved NOW.
I don't know crap about dry cleaning. I'll put that out there right now. I don't own things that have to be dry cleaned because its a pain in the ass. I don't even like ironing clothes, I'm pretty low maintenance. So calling a bunch of places out of the phone book trying to explain to them what I want and need is not my cup of tea. I decided to call Bibbentuckers, a pretty upscale dry cleaning joint in Dallas, just because I figure they are big enough and fancy enough that they won't turn my dress into a pile of ripped up satin and lace. The girl on the phone sounded pretty dumb, but I figured I'd just take the dress in and see what happened. So we get there yesterday morning and they're all ready to do the dress when the guy helping us asks if I know where the care tag is for the dress. I do not and we search fruitlessly for about 10 minutes inside the dress for the care tag that the shop I purchased the dress from put in a nice plastic big RIGHT on the front of the garment bag for easy reach.
...
The guy reads the tag and turns out, the chemical they use to clean with is the EXACT chemical that the care tag says NOT to have the dress cleaned with. JOY! Apparently this chemical will melt any beads on my dress and my dress and the coat are FULL of beads. We ask if he knows someplace we can take it to and he gives us the name and we go in search of this place. I won't say the name, one, because they are now going out of business and two, the lady that was running it was an A-List Nutbag. When we got there, I saw signs on the door that said closing and I should have followed my gut and told Ben to just drive away, but against my better judgment, I went inside to ask if SHE knew of anyplace to take it to. She held us captive for almost half an hour gibbering about how much NOT to spend on the dress and where NOT to go and where SHE was going to work would charge us too much... We finally just thanked her and said we would just go back to Arlington and look someplace up and beat cheeks back home.
So I still have a filthy dress in my closet, and I'm no closer to finding a place that can do the work for me...I found another place in Dallas (RIGHT where we were yesterday, of course!!!) that seems like my best bet. I sent them an email asking them prices and what they could do for me, so we'll see how that turns out. But it did give us an excuse to eat at Einstein's Bagels, which I love and who REFUSE to open up shop in Arlington (HINT HINT to anyone in charge that sees this).
That's the long and short of it, folks! So treat your eyeballs to some Visine after this long tirade.
Poopshoot.
Admitting defeat...
Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while, I made a pact that nothing in my life would be uttered until I got my blog to look the way I wanted it with the new design...
As you can see, its not exactly what I wanted it to be (the rest of the pages in the site look the way they should), blogger is a sneaky bastard who won't share his secrets with me just yet. So I'm admitting defeat and I went ahead and made a blog specific header, navigation and whatnot...hope you guys like it ok and don't feel the need to plug me into Netdisaster and throw tomatoes and Godzillas at me.
So on to some o' the stuff that's been going on!!!
Poopshoot.
As you can see, its not exactly what I wanted it to be (the rest of the pages in the site look the way they should), blogger is a sneaky bastard who won't share his secrets with me just yet. So I'm admitting defeat and I went ahead and made a blog specific header, navigation and whatnot...hope you guys like it ok and don't feel the need to plug me into Netdisaster and throw tomatoes and Godzillas at me.
So on to some o' the stuff that's been going on!!!
Poopshoot.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Yeah I know...
Let's just say, I'm "under construction" right now.
The blog looks bad in both IE AND Firefox now because I'm still messing with it.
AYE.
The blog looks bad in both IE AND Firefox now because I'm still messing with it.
AYE.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Bar Fly? Me?
Now that I'm in my late twenties, I no longer go to bars every weekend (not that I really did before, but you know...) and I'm usually in bed by 10 pm on a week night when I have to get up at 6 the next morning for work.
But this past weekend I had non-stop bar action ALL weekend! Not Mother's Day (Ben's mom isn't the bar-type), but Friday and Saturday night it was full tilt boogie.
We hung out with Chris and Lori for dinner and then drinks at Caves in Arlington, where Lori got mad that she was called a conservative (ZING!). And when Brock, his sister Sarah and his friend Adan showed up, we continued to drink and have a good time.
Then things got ugly...
Brock and Sarah made for a really fun gif (check the photo gallery) because I'm a nerd and I think "That would make a funny gif!" as I take pictures of people, and they went with it.
Then on Saturday we headed over to the Double Wide in Dallas to see our friend Blayne play with his band. Since we're old and like to go to bed early we were kind of hoping that Blayne's band would go on first and we could leave afterwards. Four vodka tonics later, no dice. He was headlining...
But we had an awesome time and I've added some fun pictures to the friends and family photo gallery for your viewing pleasure. If you're lazy and want the pics NOW NOW NOW, then click here.
Yeah, so this whole post just to say that I've added some new pictures to the photo gallery...
I've got my camera about 90% figured out, so in two months when we hit the San Diego nerdfest for Comic Con, I should be ready...
Poopshoot.
But this past weekend I had non-stop bar action ALL weekend! Not Mother's Day (Ben's mom isn't the bar-type), but Friday and Saturday night it was full tilt boogie.
We hung out with Chris and Lori for dinner and then drinks at Caves in Arlington, where Lori got mad that she was called a conservative (ZING!). And when Brock, his sister Sarah and his friend Adan showed up, we continued to drink and have a good time.
Then things got ugly...
Brock and Sarah made for a really fun gif (check the photo gallery) because I'm a nerd and I think "That would make a funny gif!" as I take pictures of people, and they went with it.Then on Saturday we headed over to the Double Wide in Dallas to see our friend Blayne play with his band. Since we're old and like to go to bed early we were kind of hoping that Blayne's band would go on first and we could leave afterwards. Four vodka tonics later, no dice. He was headlining...
But we had an awesome time and I've added some fun pictures to the friends and family photo gallery for your viewing pleasure. If you're lazy and want the pics NOW NOW NOW, then click here.Yeah, so this whole post just to say that I've added some new pictures to the photo gallery...
I've got my camera about 90% figured out, so in two months when we hit the San Diego nerdfest for Comic Con, I should be ready...
Poopshoot.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
For my mom...
Today is Mother's Day (well technically, tomorrow, but I'm posting this tonight to make sure I get it up in time, sue me). I love living in Texas, except for when holidays come around because I miss my family so very much on these days. Now I know some of you may not think that Mother's Day is as important a holiday as, say, Christmas or Thanksgiving, but I tend to disagree. Mother's Day is a day where we get to celebrate the most important woman in our lives, remember those mothers who are no longer with us and take joy in those that have just embarked on the wondrous journey that is motherhood.
I love my mom. I'm sure you all know that by now. She's been my biggest defender, clearest inspiration, hero, friend, enemy, mentor, nurturer, pillar and many other things. I haven't been the best kid, but I know that I've always strived to make her proud of me. Whenever I did something wrong, I had guilt for what I did, but mostly I felt bad about what my mother would think of me.
She's been through a lot, more than most people could even imagine, and yet, she still gets up every day, puts on a positive face, goes out and is the best person she can be for that day. She still surprises me with her capacity for love and how big of a burden she can carry. She is an old soul with a young heart. I can only hope that when it is my time to have children, that I can be a fraction of the parent she was to me.
I know I would not be the person I am today without her love and guidance. She's the best, my mom. I hope all of you out there that know your mothers and have them in your lives have a wonderful day celebrating her if you can. I may be thousands of miles away from my own mom, but I keep her in my heart and think of her often, especially today.
I'm most grateful for holidays like this, because even though we should celebrate our loved ones everyday, its kind of nice to have a day that is significant to a certain loved one where they can shine for a day and know that they are honored and loved and appreciated. I don't think we do enough of that, in general. Its nice that we have these reminders once a year, to show how we feel because its hard sometimes in our busy lives to stand back and really appreciate everything that our mothers do for us.
So thank you, mom. For being my mother, the best mother I could have ever hoped for. I love you so very much, I wish I could be there in person to give you a hug, but hopefully you'll feel it anyway.
My mom would always do creative stuff with my sister and I (that's my sister there looking on, you think I have a lot of hair...) like puppet shows, crafts, putting on plays, sing alongs and of course, face painting. I think I asked her to paint me up like Zorro here, but my memory could be bad...
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
The Return of Captain Invincible and other random nonsense...
I got this in the mail the other day:
This was a birthday present from my mom that I made for myself on Neighborhoodies.com. Probably one of the COOLEST websites EVER (thanks ERIN!). You can make your own hoodies, t-shirts, baseball hats, purses, underwear (??? yes, underwear), all kinds of stuff. Check it out. I've got several ideas swimming around in my head that I'm itching to see realized on cotton. This purse was a test-run on the quality of work they do (first rate!) and how well I'm able to explain myself on how I want my designs to look.
So, even though I live in and love Texas, I'm still a Vegas girl at heart and now everyone who sees me will know it.
Also, Ben and I watched The Return of Captain Invincible on DVD last night. This is one of the COOLEST movies that has ever crossed the eyes of man.
Seriously.
I would suggest alcohol, and LOTS of it, while watching it because it just enhances the movie watching experience. It stars Christopher Lee as Mr. Midnight, quite possibly the most dastardly-random villain I've ever seen. Alan Arkin plays Captain Invincible as the most deadpan superhero you'll ever have the pleasure of watching. It's a musical, I'll warn you of that now. But the songs are the funniest parts of the movie. It's totally ridiculous and so campy you'll wonder why Jason Voorhees hasn't come by to kill you yet, but believe me, its worth it.
Edit: I tried to embed this video into this post yesterday, but YouTube.com was down. So if THIS doesn't make you want to watch this movie, then I don't know WHAT will:
We picked up this gem at our local Suncoast movie store, that was going out of business, for about $2 (we've been looking for it for awhile now and struck gold with Suncoast's demise). It was worth EVERY penny. If you have the chance, watch this movie. You will laugh your ass off and never hear the word "bullshit" the same way again.
This was a birthday present from my mom that I made for myself on Neighborhoodies.com. Probably one of the COOLEST websites EVER (thanks ERIN!). You can make your own hoodies, t-shirts, baseball hats, purses, underwear (??? yes, underwear), all kinds of stuff. Check it out. I've got several ideas swimming around in my head that I'm itching to see realized on cotton. This purse was a test-run on the quality of work they do (first rate!) and how well I'm able to explain myself on how I want my designs to look.
So, even though I live in and love Texas, I'm still a Vegas girl at heart and now everyone who sees me will know it.
Also, Ben and I watched The Return of Captain Invincible on DVD last night. This is one of the COOLEST movies that has ever crossed the eyes of man.
Seriously.
I would suggest alcohol, and LOTS of it, while watching it because it just enhances the movie watching experience. It stars Christopher Lee as Mr. Midnight, quite possibly the most dastardly-random villain I've ever seen. Alan Arkin plays Captain Invincible as the most deadpan superhero you'll ever have the pleasure of watching. It's a musical, I'll warn you of that now. But the songs are the funniest parts of the movie. It's totally ridiculous and so campy you'll wonder why Jason Voorhees hasn't come by to kill you yet, but believe me, its worth it.
Edit: I tried to embed this video into this post yesterday, but YouTube.com was down. So if THIS doesn't make you want to watch this movie, then I don't know WHAT will:
We picked up this gem at our local Suncoast movie store, that was going out of business, for about $2 (we've been looking for it for awhile now and struck gold with Suncoast's demise). It was worth EVERY penny. If you have the chance, watch this movie. You will laugh your ass off and never hear the word "bullshit" the same way again.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
CAPE wrap up!
Well, we're back from CAPE, if you can call a 30 minute drive home being "back".
It went REALLY well, a much bigger and better turnout than the last (and first) CAPE, which can only mean good things for everyone that helped to bring it all together. I think this event will only get bigger and better every year.
We had a lot of fun:
It was awesome to see some of our friends again and to meet some new creators, as well as fans. Thanks to everyone there for having us and for the awesome effort put forth by everyone to make this year's event and Free Comic Book Day a success! Also thanks to everyone that came by to see us and chat us up. We had an awesome time.
I put up my photos from the day in the conventions photo gallery, so click on Ben's picture or this handy link to take in the awesomeness.
I also put up some sweet new photos in the cats and holidays photo galleries. If you like tiny sombreros, check it out.
It went REALLY well, a much bigger and better turnout than the last (and first) CAPE, which can only mean good things for everyone that helped to bring it all together. I think this event will only get bigger and better every year.
We had a lot of fun:
It was awesome to see some of our friends again and to meet some new creators, as well as fans. Thanks to everyone there for having us and for the awesome effort put forth by everyone to make this year's event and Free Comic Book Day a success! Also thanks to everyone that came by to see us and chat us up. We had an awesome time.I put up my photos from the day in the conventions photo gallery, so click on Ben's picture or this handy link to take in the awesomeness.
I also put up some sweet new photos in the cats and holidays photo galleries. If you like tiny sombreros, check it out.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Cinco de Mayo (image intensive)
Today is Cinco de Mayo! YAY!
In celebration let's talk about the HEINOUS car ride into work I had today.
Here's Ben at 8:30 when we first hit the traffic:
We're slightly put out at this point, but we won't be THAT late to work right???
This is what we had to look at for another HOUR after I took that first picture of Ben... We didn't get to work until 10.
The words you're looking for here are: That BLOWS GOATS.
At this point Ben and I are speaking in tongues and wishing we were on our way to On the Border for some tasty queso and margaritas.
But it was a beautiful day:
I thought this cloud looked like Falkor from the NeverEnding Story, don't ask me why:
So, not a great way to start the day, but it ended pretty well. We had dinner with Ben's parents and his grandma, I DID have that tasty margarita, though we ate at Chili's, not OTB. We listened to some fantastic tunes, courtesy of my Black Mamba (see below, all festive with some Los Straitjackets), and now we're chilling at home.
So I hope everyone had a good one, whether you celebrate or not. Oh yeah, and Chewie has a little something he'd like to share:
I think he's trying to say "Vaya Con Dios" but I'm not sure.
Side note: Ben's parents just got back from Puerto Vallarta last week and brought us back that little sombrero with some Mexican candy that I haven't had since I was a little kid. So naturally the first thing we had to do with it was take 100 pictures of Chewie with it on. He was UBER pissed at us and we paid dearly for these pics, so enjoy them, DAMMIT.
In celebration let's talk about the HEINOUS car ride into work I had today.
Here's Ben at 8:30 when we first hit the traffic:
We're slightly put out at this point, but we won't be THAT late to work right???This is what we had to look at for another HOUR after I took that first picture of Ben... We didn't get to work until 10.
The words you're looking for here are: That BLOWS GOATS.
At this point Ben and I are speaking in tongues and wishing we were on our way to On the Border for some tasty queso and margaritas.But it was a beautiful day:
I thought this cloud looked like Falkor from the NeverEnding Story, don't ask me why:
So, not a great way to start the day, but it ended pretty well. We had dinner with Ben's parents and his grandma, I DID have that tasty margarita, though we ate at Chili's, not OTB. We listened to some fantastic tunes, courtesy of my Black Mamba (see below, all festive with some Los Straitjackets), and now we're chilling at home.So I hope everyone had a good one, whether you celebrate or not. Oh yeah, and Chewie has a little something he'd like to share:
I think he's trying to say "Vaya Con Dios" but I'm not sure.
Side note: Ben's parents just got back from Puerto Vallarta last week and brought us back that little sombrero with some Mexican candy that I haven't had since I was a little kid. So naturally the first thing we had to do with it was take 100 pictures of Chewie with it on. He was UBER pissed at us and we paid dearly for these pics, so enjoy them, DAMMIT.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
The Zed Word
Here's something really fun if you like wasting time on the internet!
Urban Dead
This is a self described "Massively Multi-Player Web-Based Zombie Apocalypse", which basically means its a role playing game where you get to play a person in a town that's been overrun by zombies! Think, Resident Evil meets Oregon Trail. You can play as either a civilian, a scientist or a zombie! And the cool thing is, that it's FREE, and you can never die. Because if you get killed in this game, you just become a zombie. You can be revived back into a human again, too, but I have yet to find out how to do this because...
I've been playing it for less than 24 hours and I'm already a zombie.
I started out as a firefighter and have already been bitten, infected and killed by zombies. Way to go, Mar.
So if the real world ever DOES become overrun by zombies, I'm SO not the person you want by your side defending you, because apparently, I'm rubbish at trying to keep myself alive on my own, so how can I possibly help anyone else?
Either way, this game is pretty fun, so come on, join the fun!
Urban Dead
This is a self described "Massively Multi-Player Web-Based Zombie Apocalypse", which basically means its a role playing game where you get to play a person in a town that's been overrun by zombies! Think, Resident Evil meets Oregon Trail. You can play as either a civilian, a scientist or a zombie! And the cool thing is, that it's FREE, and you can never die. Because if you get killed in this game, you just become a zombie. You can be revived back into a human again, too, but I have yet to find out how to do this because...
I've been playing it for less than 24 hours and I'm already a zombie.
I started out as a firefighter and have already been bitten, infected and killed by zombies. Way to go, Mar.
So if the real world ever DOES become overrun by zombies, I'm SO not the person you want by your side defending you, because apparently, I'm rubbish at trying to keep myself alive on my own, so how can I possibly help anyone else?
Either way, this game is pretty fun, so come on, join the fun!
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Son of CAPE and Goodbye Zero
Hey everyone, I just wanted to say thanks for all your thoughts and prayers about my uncle. I truly appreciate it. His funeral was last night and I was feeling pretty down about not being there.
On a lighter note, CAPE 2: Son of CAPE, the most happenin' place to be for this year's Free Comic Book Day, is THIS WEEKEND! Its on Saturday, May 6 from 10AM - 6PM at Zeus Comics in Dallas:
Zeus Comics - 3738 Oak Lawn Ave. - Dallas, TX - 214 219-8697
Join Ben and I, along with some truly awesome local creators (and some from far and away) at this FREE event. That's right, its FREE to attend! And you get to pick up some free comics in the process.
And if free comics weren't enough to get you out the door, this might...
And in slightly less nerdy news, I sold my car! Yup, I'm going with the buyer to the bank today to pay off the loan on it, and then once the title comes in, its goodbye to my little car. I named him Zero (yes, after Jack Skellington's dog, I'm a nerd, in case you didn't know) and he's been a really good, reliable car...I just wish I could have made him 4 doors so I could keep him. But I think the lady that's buying him will take really good care of him. So he should be happy in his new home. Goodbye Zero...
On a lighter note, CAPE 2: Son of CAPE, the most happenin' place to be for this year's Free Comic Book Day, is THIS WEEKEND! Its on Saturday, May 6 from 10AM - 6PM at Zeus Comics in Dallas:
Zeus Comics - 3738 Oak Lawn Ave. - Dallas, TX - 214 219-8697
Join Ben and I, along with some truly awesome local creators (and some from far and away) at this FREE event. That's right, its FREE to attend! And you get to pick up some free comics in the process.
And if free comics weren't enough to get you out the door, this might...
And in slightly less nerdy news, I sold my car! Yup, I'm going with the buyer to the bank today to pay off the loan on it, and then once the title comes in, its goodbye to my little car. I named him Zero (yes, after Jack Skellington's dog, I'm a nerd, in case you didn't know) and he's been a really good, reliable car...I just wish I could have made him 4 doors so I could keep him. But I think the lady that's buying him will take really good care of him. So he should be happy in his new home. Goodbye Zero...Archives
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