...there are squirrels in my head...

Guest blogger idiomagic says:

I have my last dentist appointment on the 22nd. Thanks to all of you boosting the signal for me, all of the previous work has been paid for. I am still close to $600 short of what I need for this last appointment, so I am asking you all one last time to help me out by boosting the signal.

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Paypal is infraredux AT yahoo DOT com

~~~
Her original post is over here.

ginmar has been posting a lot about a video that shows the killing of unarmed men in Iraq, including two Reuters employees.



This is the short version. The full version - and more info - can be found at http://collateralmurder.com/en/index.html

Even the 'short' video is a long one. It's not an easy watch. Truth be told, I nearly didn't, and it really is hard to watch. Not that it's graphic, it's just - what it reveals is really difficult. I chose to watch largely because of Ginmar's breakdown of the video.

It's also 'old news.' The video is from July 12, 2007, in what the US military claimed was a battle between US forces and Iraqi forces. When you watch the video, you'll learn there was no battle, there were no weapons, there was no reason for US forces to open fire on these 12 to 15, and there was *certainly* no reason to open fire on the people who showed up to try to rescue the wounded, which went against the Geneva convention and also resulted in the wounding of two children.

It's apparently taken this long for Reuters to get a copy of the video of what happened that day.

It's the kind of thing you watch and hope like hell that the relatives of those killed don't watch it.

That said..I think it's important viewing.

Yessir. Syfy's going there! Hold onto your pop teen icon loving britches, folks..



(Deborah Gibson can have a huge shark? Tiffany can have mutating pirahna!)

(Co-starring Barry Williams - aka Greg Brady.)

(And we get to see pirahna attack a helicopter!)

Premiers April 10th! w00t!

(Asked because I'm curious. Answers viewable only to me. Asked because I'm writing something about Norse mythology and it occurred to me that my schooling was very heavy on Greek/Roman mythology and Christianity and that's it, so I'm wondering how universal that is.)

(ETA: Forgot the Celts. Expecting my ass to be kicked by that any second now..)

[Poll #1547364]

[Poll #1547365]

Or so I'm told.

I had a brief conversation with a fellow last weekend - someone who had been complimentary to me a few days before but hadn't engaged me in any discussion other than, "You're looking sexy today."

Apparently he'd decided that my surprised thank you to this bit of feedback was encouragement for more of an analysis of my wardrobe choices.

"So have you considered wearing thongs?"

*blink* "Excuse me?"

"Well, you dress really well. And you have great boobs, and a great butt. Annnnd I noticed panty lines. A thong would do wonders for you."

I'm not sure how I responded, to be honest; I was a little too surprised, and - because this is how my brain works - a little too caught up trying to figure out which outfits he was referring to, and - MUCH more importantly - a little too distracted by the thought of, 'but I *like* my undergarment selections!' (Which, on that particular day, happened to be glow in the dark panties that said 'spooky.') (Oh, come on, tell me you're surprised!)

(..Ahem.)

He then proceeded to ask if I was looking for a guy, or looking for work, and while I don't actually think he was offering to grace me with either romance or employment, it was another twist to the discussion that I hadn't anticipated.

I returned to my friends and related what had just been said to me.

(For the record, I was then checked for panty lines, and none were to be found.)

So. Now I know. The answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is not in fact 42.

Instead, Gentle Readers, it is a thong.

"You live like this, sheltered, in a delicate world, and you believe you are living. Then you read a book… or you take a trip… and you discover that you are not living, that you are hibernating. The symptoms of hibernating are easily detectable: first, restlessness. The second symptom (when hibernating becomes dangerous and might degenerate into death): absence of pleasure. That is all. It appears like an innocuous illness. Monotony, boredom, death. Millions live like this (or die like this) without knowing it. They work in offices. They drive a car. They picnic with their families. They raise children. And then some shock treatment takes place, a person, a book, a song, and it awakens them and saves them from death. Some never awaken." —Anais Nin

(ganked from Will Shetterly)

I - along with a good chunk of the Internet - was raised by wolves.

It may (or may not) surprise you to learn that I hid from my dysfunctional home in math problems - lists and lists of multiplication tables - and in obsessive research about UFOs, and Bigfoot, and vampires, and the Loch Ness Monster. I memorized the Hollywood formula for bringing mummies back from the dead. The Men in Black were my personal boogeymen. I longed to travel to Scotland in search of lake monsters.

Mulder could be my soulmate.

I actually don't recall much of these obsessions really taking hold until somewhere around 4th grade, when my family moved and I found myself in an overwhelmingly huge school. Dreadfully unpopular, I sought solace in books and math and in writing what I'm told was disturbingly graphic poetry about cougars hunting deer.

And I met Mr Brown, who introduced me to the legacy of John F Kennedy.

While my main historical fixation was on Joan of Arc, I remember Mr Brown handing out memorial magazines about JFK's murder. We studied blurred stills from the Zapruder film. We talked - as much as children can - about the conspiracy theories. I remember taking articles home and reading them, and believing with all my heart that there was more to the story than a single gunman bringing death to this vibrant, hope-filled President, and who in turn met an equally violent and unexpected end. I was too young to have any hope of an awareness of what Jackie O. must have experienced on that day - though I always respected her, deeply and strongly, for how she handled her motherhood and her widowdom.

Our teacher fed my belief in conspiracy by the way he conducted his classroom, covering the window on his door so no one could see what we were doing. He didn't always follow his lesson plan. Sometimes we received extra recess time. He was clearly unhappy and distrustful, and I don't think he lasted out the school year with us...but oh, I loved his rebellious spirit, and I've often wondered over the years what the real story was behind his actions.

Still. I'm grateful to Mr Brown for feeding my interest in research, for supporting my questioning nature, and for giving me an appreciation for JFK - for yes, we talked about much more than his death. I was inspired enough to pin a little "John F Kennedy" name badge on my white button-down shirt in sixth grade for an exercise in class where we were to pretend to be a historical figure, ready to answer questions and role-play our little hearts out.

Jump forward to the much more recent past.

Singer Erykah Badu filmed a music video where JFK was shot. For the video, she walks down the street, taking off her clothes, and as she finally drops her last piece of clothing she pretends to take a head shot, falls to the ground, and the 'blood' from her head spells out "groupthink." (You can watch the video here.)

There's a lot of fuss online and in the news about her nudity, and ya know, I don't think think that's the biggest part of the story. She might get fined. There's talk of possible jail time. But her lack of clothing is not what offends me.

On November 22, 1963, America lost a lot of hope and promise. A man, a leader, was killed. Several people around him were injured. His wife reached back and tried to catch pieces of her husband's brain. We will (in my not at all humble opinion) never really know the truth behind JFK's assassination.

A performer chose this spot to make an artistic statement, mimicking one of the darkest days in our country's timeline, and the media - as well as the artist - can only focus on her lack of clothing.

I am deeply disturbed and offended by what has become little more than a media stunt.

JFK, his family, and his memory deserve better.

Ok, so.

Once Upon a Time, I was one of 18 people that got together to create a haunted industry association - the International Association of Haunted Attractions (IAHA). Our focus was to include everyone involved in haunting.

Our mission statement - one that was written (if memory serves) by Oliver Holler and myself:

"The International Association of Haunted Attractions is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of Haunted Attractions through communication, education and information."

(The statement's been tweaked since then.)

I served on the board for three years and was attacked repeatedly because I don't own a haunted attraction; erego, I couldn't possibly understand the needs of haunted attraction owners.

Recently, a new association has formed - the Haunted House Association. This new group was aimed at haunt owners, operators, and vendors only.

Their mission statement?

"HHA was established to assist and advance the haunted house industry through communication, education, and information."

...Huh.

The sun has returned and so, slowly, am I.

Miss me?

Cranberries, "Zombie"