I am a Defender-ship. I am fiercely protective of my friends and loved ones, and unforgiving of any who would hurt them. Speed and foresight are my strengths, at the cost of a little clumsiness. I'm most comfortable with a few friends, but sometimes particularly enjoy spending time in larger groups. What Video Game Character Are You?

Okay in my quest for a decent lotion for dried skin (A common thing in diabetics) I have experienced many a product: "Choice" diabetic care lotion, "Shea it isn't so" foot lotion, the various jergens, "Diabetiderm", you name it. I have recently found one for diabetic use called "DiabetAid" which is VERY nice. However I was directed to one other that I swear by now. "Udderly Smooth" Udder Cream. Yes, you read right. Udder cream. Sarah dear, you might try it. The Shea it isn't so was good but this stuff rocks. I share with you now the directions so everyone knows what they need to do.

Wash udder and teat parts thoroughly with clean water and soap before each milking to avoid contamination of milk. Use clean individual towels for this purpose. Apply to the udder after each milking, massaging into the skin. For teat cracks apply in sufficient quantity to fill crack and cover surrounding area. Apply uniformly to chafed area and bruises to maintain skin suppleness.

For aid in softening swollen udders following calving, apply liberally twice daily with gentle massage.

There you have it. I know all of you were concerned with cracked teats and chafed udders. Now you can rest easy!

Now I can be an X-Man

by using the X-Men Genetic Mutation Finder I was able to ascertain that I am, in fact, a mutant! Now i live out my life long dream and join my favorite superhero group. Wow. To think I have powers! I've always known I was Homo Superior, but this adds a whole new dimension to it.

My Powers:
Paranism - Extremely sensitive hearing that allows you to hear what anyone is saying about you.

John's Powers:
Americanism - Inability to walk out of your house without a hand gun.

I think my code name will be something like Earshot or Grapevine. John's will definitely be Charlton Heston.

Yet another comes into the fold. Please welcome Josh aka "Dimples" to blogging. Josh is on the road right now on his move to Georgia to live :( At least this way we'll be able to see into his daily life. We miss you already Joshy.

Last night the group, sans Bryan, Josh and Heather, went out to Fuji for an evening of sushi and sake in celebration of Leap Year. Fun and a good time was had by all as we sat on the floor in one of their large party rooms delightfully set up as a japanese dining nook. We sat on little pads on the floor surrounded by the paper walls. (These were actually plastic giving the illusion of authentic Japanese walls while being more durable and flame retardent at the same time) Having been wanred, everyone wore decent socks since the shoes came off. After a few hours of Sunshine Rolls, Lobster Rolls, Volcano Rolls and the like all served on groovy little wooden plates with legs (Robby's on a little boat no less) and then dessert consisting of some Sweet Red Bean ice Cream and Fried Bananas in Honey, we were ready to come home. A fune little jaunt out for a day that only comes around every four years.

***

Reaching further back a day before this, we return to Saturday. I was too busy to blog that day about the happenings, but they beg recording so here I am. Myshe and I headed to the Pensacola Regional Airport to fetch John after his flight from New Mexico. We made our way to the lobby outside the terminal and stood there waiting for his flight to arrive. Luckily gate 3 began to unload only a couple of minutes after we took our places. Now it wouldn't be long bfore I got to see my John. Whew! I was ready for some quality time before he had to leave, yet again. Passengers flood out past us. I sway back and forth looking past the misshaped heads and general fashion ignorance of the sea of people trying to spy my beau. Of course, he'd be the last one off the plane I thought. As I'm craning my neck to look for the man I know so well Myshe pipes up next to me "That isn't coming in our house!". I knit my brows and look at her to guage where she's looking when i realize she's staring at a man standing almost directly in front of me. A double take at him registers that this is the man I was looking for and God help me, he found me. There stood John bathed from head to toe in parental abuse. Cowboy boots, brand new, starchy, dark blue, boot-cut, denim Jeans with no belt, a long-sleeve plaid shirt with dark blue shirt underneath topped off by a large beige Cowboy hat. To this moment I feel horrible that the first look John got from me on his return home was one of dawning horror, but it was a knee-jerk reaction I swear! I hugged him while avoiding the hat and asked him what happened. As it turns out, this was his christmas present. Before I could make a joke about "What? No horse?" he mentioned that that had been in the plan too if there'd been a way to transport one and keep it here. Help me. Luckily we got him in the car, home and changed before too much exposure to the outfit. I'll be making space in the bedroom closet for the hat and the boots when he leaves. The jeans will be washed a few hundred times in a healthy detergent/bleach mixture and may even become summer cut-offs. Before long the house will be exorcised of this texan demon. Just look for me at the top of the stairs done up like a little woman and declaring "This house...is clean."

Who needs Excedrin? Let New Improved PHRED get rid of your migraine!

Music - listening to a various playlist consisting of the new Janet jackson song "Love You For A Little While" (No Jane, it's not called "Lookitmytit"), "La Belle et Le Bad" by MC Solaar (French Hip-hop..tres cool), and "I Believe In A Thing Called Love" by The Darkness (I think the lead singer is definitely the next Freddie Mercury)

Okay, so this is a place to record my life to some degree eh? I suppose it could just be a place to vent assorted crap as well just to get it ut of my skull, meaningless or not. So, I suppose this is blogworthy.

It's never a fun thing when you split with a friend. However, it can be a healthy thing. I think this was on both sides. Melonie, who I've not mentioned in Blog before since she's pretty much fallen from our lives over the last few years, called me yesterday on my cell phone. I was in no mood to deal with her having recently been forgotten by her on my birthday, but I called her back nonetheless. Call me a masochist. Maybe I psychically knew this was the conversation that would end it all and maybe, just maybe, I welcomed it.

There were the obligatory "I'm sooo sorry"s that one gets in between each of her excuses or streams of verbal tripping while fabricating new lies (um...er..uhhhh..um...uhhhh..err.ummm). I simply sat there and listened and made no noises nor words of my own. As the conversation progressed I could see that she was looking for a confrontation. Maybe she wanted it over too. Thank God. So, one remark lead to another and before long we were both raising our voices. Things like It's always her fault and never ours. Why is it never us? We don't think anything could possibly be our fault. Hmm...let me see, She's a slob. She's a hypochondriac. She's a liar. She's a thief. She's a freeloader. She's always making excuses and those excuses are usually "I have a migraine". She's had 238 Jobs in the last 2 years because she stays at one for, at best, a week and gets fired or leaves them because "She had a migraine" or some fictional boss called her and her fictional co-workers "Lazy Bitches". So they all fictitiously walked out. (But never pursued a lawsuit. Hmm.) During all this we've reached out to her. We've had more "Interventions" than we can count and all cried with her saying "What's wrong?" and "We want to help you become the old Mel again". Each to no avail of course. Then there's the plethora of excuses as to why she acts this way "I'm depressed", "I'm Manic", "I was abusing my Mom's prescription medication...but I'm over it now and okay.", and on and on. Yeah...we're the ones that have the problem. Not Melonie, Goddess of Purity and Light.

Nutshell, she's gone. It's sad. The old Melonie we knew years ago was a great person. This new, dumpy, self-loathing, wallowing, lazy, wannabe-disability collector Melonie, well...she sucks dirty mule ass. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Next?

Welcome!

Much to my elation, my roomie Myshe has taken to blogging! Please welcome her and enjoy her musings. Her initial post is a poignant one that details a category of people we have coined "GGs". This will, no doubt, help those of you reading my blog in the future should I refer to these "GGs". Welcome Myshe!!!

And Finally...California Trip Episode III: Attack of the Castro

No music today - it is quiet and I like it that way

Okay so it took a while to get the final part of the california trip up here. Bite me. Look how long it took for the "first" three Star wars movies to come out. You'll get over it.

Though seriously, everytime I've sat down to finish this something's come up. There was "Phone won't stop" day followed by "Myshe's car is dead" day and various other "You aren't allowed to do anything you want to" days. So, now that the John is home, the house is quiet and both of us are basking in the afterglow of a wonderful surprise breakfast made by John himself I have time to blog. Yay me.

Our final day in California with our newfound wonder-buddies was so very nice! We rose mid-morning and readied ourselves for brunch in the Castro. How gay huh? Well when in Rome...

Anyhow, we ate at a busy little corner cafe (The name escapes me but Delores was in the title) which had really yummy food. John and I each had a ham dn cheese croissant while Jane ate some other sandwich monstrosity and Sarah watched her girlish figure with eggs and fruit. Go sarah!

After eats we started our trek through the gay mecca. It was actually very neat. Lot's of little shops with different themes here and there and all sorts of interesting little yummy things, to borrow a phrase from Edina Monsoon. We walked quite a bit and went in almost every other shop we passed. It is truly its own little city.



Once done communing with the nexus of Gaydom we headed off to take in random sights. The Pacific ocean was beautiful as was the Palace of Fine Arts. Even our zig-zagging down "The World's Most Crooked Street" was delightful, albeit devoid of cell-phone signal.



***



***



Come dinner time we headed to Jane's favorite Chinese place "Hunan House" (I believe the name was) where we yet again ate family style. I love Jane and Sarah for that alone if nothing else. Sharing food has always meant something to me for some reason. It denotes a comfort that has been lost in today's Mine Mine Mine portions that are usually served in reatsaurants. Anyhow, the food was great despite their lack of alternative sweetener. I guess being a Chinese place they thought "Swreet and Row" was some form of fish egg special.

Patting our stomachs we made way to our last big shebang in SF before departing the next morning bright and early.



This was, by far, one of the best things I've seen on stage in years. It's been a long time since I've actually cried because I've laughed so much and damn did it feel good. I couldn't have asked for a better way to end our trip to the west coast. If you haven't been and are planning to be in SF at one point, make time for this. You won't regret it.

Thus ends our story or at least this chapter. The next morning we rose before the sun did, hugged a sleepy-headed Sarah still in bed and were dropped at the airport by the sweet Miss Jane. I'll admit I got teary-eyed as she pulled off but I covered it up well. A few hours later we were back here at home with wine bottles and other assorted goodies intact. Our trip made us consider a few things, one being a move. We enjoyed ourselves, the city and the climate so much that I think we could be happy on the other side of our current world. The next were two wonderful people. To steal a remark from the Janester, I could grow old living next to them.

So much fun was had and only one real regret followed...I wish we'd waited to go until later. We could have brought back a Marriage License with all our tarder Joe's goodies.

Again, Jane finds cool stuff

Phred - yeah so there! I eat my French Toast while sipping on French wine and hurling French obscenities at all you "Freedom Fry" eating bigots. Vos mères suce des ours dans la forêt!

You're France!

Most people think you're snobby, but it's really just that
you're better than everyone else.  At least you're more loyal to the real
language, the fine arts, and the fine wines than anyone else.  You aren't
worth beans in a fight, unless you're really short, but you're so good at other
things that it usually doesn't matter.  Some of your finest works were
intended to be short-term projects.
Take the Country Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid

***

John - It's beginning to look like I'm married to Jane

You're
the United Nations!

Most people think you're ineffective, but you are trying to
completely save the world from itself, so there's always going to be a long
way to go.  You're always the one trying to get friends to talk to each
other, enemies to talk to each other, anyone who can to just talk instead of
beating each other about the head and torso.  Sometimes it works and sometimes
it doesn't, and you get very schizophrenic as a result.  But your heart
is in the right place, and sometimes also in New York.
face="Times New Roman">Take the Country
Quiz at the Blue Pyramid

Happy Birthday to Me!

Jan 30th

on this day in:

the U.S. No.1 on the 30th January 1970 was... Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head by
B. J. Thomas

***

1956, Elvis Presley started recording what would be his first album at RCA's New York Studios. Songs recorded included his version of Carl Perkins' 'Blue Suede Shoes.'

1961, The Shirelles started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow', it reached No.4 in the UK.

1964, The Searchers had their second UK No.1 single with 'Needles And Pins.'

1969, the rooftop gig took place with The Beatles appearing live on top of the Apple building, lasting for just over 40 minutes it was the last time The Beatles performed 'live.'

1970, Marc Bolan married June Child at Kensington registry office, they divorced in 1975.

1971, George Harrison became the first solo Beatle to have a No.1 when 'My Sweet Lord', went to the top of the UK single charts.

1972, Paul McCartney wrote and recorded his protest song 'Give Ireland Back To The Irish' within 24 hours of Bloody Sunday, when 13 Catholics were killed by British paratroopers.

1978, appearing at the Vortex, Wardour Street, London, The Police.

1981, appearing at the newly opened 'Rock City' in Nottingham, Toyah, tickets £2.50.

1982, Barbra Streisand started a seven week run at No.1 on the UK album chart with the 'Love Songs' LP.

1982, blues guitarist, singer Sam 'Lightnin' Hopkins died aged 70. One of his best known songs is 'Bald Headed Woman', influenced Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix.

1982, Hall and Oates went to No.1 on the US singles chart with 'I Can Go For That, (No Can Do)', the duo's fourth US No.1, a No.8 hit in the UK.

1982, Paul McCartney guessed on BBC radio's 'Desert Island Discs', his selections include, Elvis Presley's 'Heartbreak Hotel', Chuck Berry's 'Sweet Little Sixteen', John Lennon's 'Beautiful Boy', and Little Richards 'Tutti Frutti.'

1982, Shakin' Stevens had his third UK No.1 single with 'Oh Julie.'

1988, during a court case involving Holly Johnson and ZTT it was revealed that Frankie Goes To Hollywood had not played on their hits 'Relax' and 'Two Tribes'. The court was told that top session musicians were used to make the records.

1988, INXS had their first US No.1 hit single with 'Need You Tonight.'

1988, Terence Trent D'arby went back to No.1 on the UK album chart for an 8 week run with 'Introducing The Hardline To Terence Trent D'arby.'

1988, Tiffany had her only UK No.1 single with 'I Think We're Alone Now.'

1990, unhappy with the re-issue of the single 'Sally Cinnaman', The Stone Roses trashed their former record company Revolver FM's offices and threw paint over cars, the band were arrested and charged with criminal damage.

1991, 22 years to the day that The Beatles played live on the roof of their Savile Row offices, Manchester band James played a live set on the roof of Manchester's Piccadilly radio station attracting several thousand on-lookers.

1994, Dina Carroll went to No.1 on the UK album chart with 'So Close'.

1999, after spending 11 weeks on the chart Britney Spears started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with '...Baby One More Time'. Britney's debut album also went to No.1 on the US chart on the same day.

1999, in the NME readers poll results the winner of 'The pop personality that you would like as your doctor' was won by, Natalie Imbruglia.

2000, Gabrielle went to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'Rise'. The song used a sample from Bob Dylan's 'Knocking On Heaven's Door', giving Dylan his third UK No.1 as a writer, the other two being 'Mr Tambourine Man' and 'The Mighty Quinn'.