| Hiking Adventures |
[19 Jul 2008|11:09pm] |
Today was intended for hiking Cold Mountain over in George Washington Nat'l Forest, as well as hitting, for lunch and dinner, two of the NPR card 'buy one get one free' places in Charlottesville. But here's what actually happened:
The lunch bit went well. We ate at Sticks Kebab, a pseudo Mediterranean 'upscale fast-food' place (a term Drew and I have been using to refer to the recent influx of better quality and slightly pricier fast food places of the Chipotle/Panera/etc. variety). It will apparently be opening a location in Willow Lawn sometime soon, which works as it was tasty.
Next was attempting to get to the trail. We first got distracted by a farmer's market, whereupon we got peaches, tomatoes, and blueberry cider. They actually had a bunch of cider, including of fruits I'd never even heard of!
Anyhow, we end up driving the route that Google maps suggested, only to end up on some private property Christian retreat place. So we backed out of there, and asked some guy at a gas station for directions. He directed us a different way via more main roads, as apparently the way we'd been trying to go involved passing through multiple private property areas, as well as ways that would involve needing an ATV. So we go the longer way (well, shorter taking into account the significantly faster driving time), and go down 'Mt Pleasant Rd', thinking that it would take us there (as Cold Mountain trail is attached to Mt Pleasant trail). Alas, but no. So we turned around, drove some more until we became convinced that it was painfully mislabeled, and pulled off to a random trail attached to a parking lot at the side of the road.
This trail had a sign saying the first point in was quite farther then we were planning to hike, but we figured we'd hike for an appropriate time anyhow, and just turn back after a few hours. This worked out rather well, as there were approximately 289374820748923432 raspberry bushes along the way. Conveniently, we had two plastic bags from the fruit we just bought, and emptied them out and brought them with us.
The end result was having a rather large pile of raspberries, at least 3 quarts. A bunch are now in the freezer, and the cookies that I'm making tomorrow, rather then containing strawberries, will now be containing raspberries.
Anyhow, upon finishing our hike (and picking), we drove on, towards the Blue Ridge Parkway as we realised it would be faster then cutting back the lengthy way by which we'd come. And of course, the very next road we hit has a sign up for the hike we were originally planning on taking. Figures. However, we weren't that upset, given the gazillions of free raspberries.
Anyhow, we return to Charlottesville for dinner, and much to my chagrin, the restaurant we were planning on hitting for dinner (some wrap place) decided not to exist. So we drove around for a bit trying to figure out what to do and ended up poking around some snazzy looking shopping center. There's a Lindt store, so I am socially obligated to make us go there. They had Mozart Chocolates! So we got some of those, as well as mint truffles. Dinner ended up being at Five Guys. This worked, as I'd still yet to eat there, and the burger I had was really good. Green pepper on a burger! I was pleased.
And then we went home. And now I have a sore throat, for some weird reason. And I also am starting to suspect that my head hurts too much from tying my hair back too tight. So I will attempt at looser hair-tying mechanisms in the future. I really wish I could find wild blueberries, I must confess. But I'm happy with raspberries for now.
I ramble!
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| Fic: It Works on Paper | Karen Sisco / In Plain Sight | Karen/Mary | PG-13 |
[19 Jul 2008|11:30pm] |
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( It Works on Paper )
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| Like eating dessert at McDonalads |
[19 Jul 2008|08:44pm] |
We created a double feature today. Saw The Dark Knight followed by Mama Mia!. The first was long and deep and "artistic" and the second was fun fluff. It was as if we went to the four star restaurant down the street and ate a rich and decadent dinner and followed it up with a cone from McDonalds.
Frankly, I'm glad I saw Mama Mia! after being so utterly creeped out at The Dark Knight. It's a real unsettling movie that's incredibly violent while still managing to keep the violence off screen. I still covered my eyes quite a lot. It was also one of those movies that seems to be wrapping up a few times, until you see that there is 90-60 minutes left, so you know there is another big twist coming. There is no way that I'd be able to watch that at night.
Mama Mia! on the other hand was just silly and dumb. And I enjoyed every minute of it! I saw the stage musical on the first tour and thought it was clever at weaving in the music. Unfortunately, I think it encouraged more of the same (the "We Will Rock You" we saw on London's West End will be a good bad memory for the rest of my life). My only worry at the moment is that I don't have ABBA Gold anymore (got scratched up and then lost).
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| Сегодня день шахмат |
[20 Jul 2008|05:36am] |
В шахматы я начал более менее играть в армии. Длинные ночные дежурства и болтанка от безделья, привели к тому что я взял в библиотеке книгу "самоучитель по шахматам". До этого мы играли с лейтенантом наравне и где-то после прочтения половины книги, играть с ним стало невыносимо неинтересно.
Поздравляю всех любителей игры в шахматы!
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| News of Good and DO WANT |
[19 Jul 2008|07:09pm] |
1) Mom is home, YAY! Tired but doing ok.
2)I have found the perfect little pocket-sized apartment with a backyard and laundry and a garage and it is a block (NO KIDDING ONE BLOCK) from work. The want is killing me. Send good ApartmentGettingVibes if you have some to spare. I REALLY WANT THIS PLACE!!!
3)...
Um. Yeah, I have no number three.
Instead, picture of yummy I would also WANT if Jethro Gibbs weren't fictional...
Mmmm...
*sigh*
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[20 Jul 2008|03:06am] |
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Sooooo, if I put +20 Strength on Terokk's Quill would that be good for DPS Pally?
Hehe.. I did Sethekk Halls, yes.
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[19 Jul 2008|07:00pm] |
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if you're not watching dr. horrible there's something wrong with you. no, seriously.
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| Politics, movies and power |
[19 Jul 2008|05:09pm] |
My auntie L has landed in Boston, and is on her way to Portland. Yay! Of course, this means I might have to stop paying attention to news and politics for a week or so, so as not to make things awkward with my poor, misled Republican voting auntie.
That said -- wooo! To Maliki practically endorsing Obama. BOOOO to Asshat McCain for revealing travel details about his fellow Senator to the Middle East.
It's rainy and wet in Portland, Maine. But at least it's cooled down. Had a nice morning and lunch down in the southern tip of the state where it was hot and muggy, with Sean's parents.
Saw Wall-E last night. It's good. Sweet movie, heavy message, but full of hope.
We had a big electrical storm yesterday. I've seen two trees that must've been hit by lightning recently -- split and fallen over into people's yards. Also there were two lightning fatalities up in Standish. Meanwhile, we lost power last night for at least 6 hours or so, and found all the candles in this rental house. Can't really complain.
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| Smooth Curry Chicken Soup |
[19 Jul 2008|01:22pm] |
since the hubby had 4 of his teeth yanked out and he still has some appetite, i wanted to make a soup that was not just tasty, but hearty to fill his stomach and let him feel like he had a meal instead of some jello hehe. oh and still low carb!
so did a bit of a twist on the Jalapeno Chowder and made a mild curry soup. (don't want too spicy in case a spicy bit gets in the gums!) i actually went a step more and blended it even further in small batches in the blender. the smoother i can get it, the better for him.
GOOD GRUB
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[19 Jul 2008|02:37pm] |
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[19 Jul 2008|05:39pm] |
Additionally, anyone who hasn't seen the watchmen trailer yet, it's now officially "out there"
http://watchmenmovie.warnerbros.com/
Incidentally, on that website, if you pick an option in the menu then press close, then menu, then close etc.. you can see the various characters standing in different positions. When Rorshach is at the front, his face is totally moving all over the place. Fanboy juices overload!
Squeeeeeeeeeee!
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[19 Jul 2008|05:30pm] |
So just finished watching the third part of Dr Horribles sing along blog, Joss Whedon's little pet project during the writers strike;
It's classic Whedon - funny, devilishly intelligent dialogue and a blatent disregard for upsetting people!
I was actually converted to Whedon by ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) rubytitania. Before meeting her, i would have probably thought you were daft if you reccomended shows like Buffy and Angel to me. Funnily enough though, i was in a restaurant with some of my very good friends about 1 year ago, and I remember them basically laughing at me because I was trying to convince them that Buffy and Angel are two of the most culturally important movements in our generation. If I'd have said that to me five years ago, I'd probably have laughed at me too.
So, this is the long way of saying... if you haven't already... go and check it out.
http://www.drhorrible.com/
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| confused.... |
[19 Jul 2008|10:34am] |
Obama Calls For National Civilian Stasi
07-17-2008
InfoWars
Paul Joseph Watson
Presidential frontrunner Barack Obama has called for a “civilian national security force” as powerful as the U.S. military, comments that were ignored by the vast majority of the corporate media but compared by one journalist to the Nazi Hitler Youth.
“We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded,” Obama told a Colorado Springs audience earlier this month.
World Net Daily editor Joseph Farah asked if he was the only journalist in America who found Obama’s statement troubling.
“If we’re going to create some kind of national police force as big, powerful and well-funded as our combined U.S. military forces, isn’t this rather a big deal?” wrote Farah.
“Are we talking about creating a police state here? The U.S. Army alone has nearly 500,000 troops. That doesn’t count reserves or National Guard. In 2007, the U.S. Defense budget was $439 billion. Is Obama serious about creating some kind of domestic security force bigger and more expensive than that? If not, why did he say it? What did he mean?”
KnoxNews.com is seemingly the only other media outlet to express interest in exactly what Obama is proposing.
“The statement was made in the context of youth service. Is this an organization for just the youth or are adults going to participate? How does one get away from the specter of other such “youth” organizations from Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union when talking about it?” wrote Michael Silence.
Obama’s proposal smacks of an expanded version of an existing program in which hundreds of police, firefighters, paramedics and utility workers have been trained and recently dispatched as “Terrorism Liaison Officers” in Colorado, Arizona and California to watch for “suspicious activity” which is later fed into a secret government database.
It is also reminiscent of the supposedly canned 2002 Operation TIPS program, which would have turned 4 per cent of Americans into informants under the jurisdiction of the Justice Department.
TIPS lived on in other guises, such as the Highway Watch program, a $19 billion dollar Homeland Security-run project which trains truckers to watch for suspicious activity on America’s highways.
More recently, ABC News reported that “The FBI is taking cues from the CIA to recruit thousands of covert informants in the United States as part of a sprawling effort…..to aid with criminal investigations.”
Since authorities now define mundane activities like buying baby formula, beer, wearing Levi jeans, carrying identifying documents like a drivers license and traveling with women or children or mentioning the U.S. constitution as the behavior of potential terrorists, the bounty for the American Stasi to turn in political dissidents is sure to be too tempting to resist under Obama’s new program.
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i am mega confused.
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| Posted using TxtLJ |
[19 Jul 2008|09:28am] |
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Mascara is Bourjois Volume Clubbing in Ultra Black
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| Dark Knight |
[19 Jul 2008|06:40am] |
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OMFG, dude, OMFG.
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| Veggies! |
[19 Jul 2008|06:57pm] |
Well. I thought I'd try the gourmet box because it looked nice, things like fancy lettuce, truss tomatoes and herbs. Unfortunately what I got was just a larger amount of what I've been getting and a couple of things that don't usually come in a box, which kinda defeats the purpose, because 2 people can only eat a certain quantity of veggies, I was expecting the same amount of stuff, but more expensive produce, not just more of the cheaper stuff.
ANYWAY!
I got
1/2 bag Mushrooms
Iceberg Lettuce
bunch Pak Choy
head of Broccoli
1/4 of a Pumpkin
small bag of Bean Sprouts
bag of Beans
1 Avocado
1 Red Capsicum
2 small Cucumbers
7 Gala Apples
3 Pears
4 Bananas
2 Sweet Potatoes
2 Beetroot
6 Mandarines
a bunch of Gourmet Potatoes
1 Red Onion
1 Kiwifruit
Now, I specify "No cucumbers or melons please" with every order, because neither Matt or I eats them. So getting a box like that, especially with cucumbers made me think, "Hrm, maybe they sent me the wrong box." so I e-mailed. Nope, due to winter herbs aren't doing so well (fair enough), no tomatoes was a mistake (I can understand not having truss tomatoes at this time of year but I didn't get ANY tomatoes), and the cucumbers were also a boo-boo. She DID offer me a discount on my next box, which is nice. I might have to order the gourmet box in Summer to see if it's any more exciting, even though surely, even though it's winter they could have found some more expensive, fancy stuff to put in a box like that. *shrug*
Anyone want 2 cucumbers? They'll just end up in the compost if they stay here.
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[19 Jul 2008|10:19am] |
So we settled on a name for the cat;
Princess Ambelina Dax
not my idea :) which when you consider that our other cat is called 'Francisco Morah Catlet', means we have some pretty oddly named cats!
Although, their collars just say 'Amber' and 'Cisco'
:)
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| Generations... |
[19 Jul 2008|10:57am] |
- The Silent generation, people born before 1946.
- The Baby Boomers, people born between 1946 and
1959.
- Generation X , people born between 1960 and 1979.
- Generation Y, people born between 1980 and 1995.
Why do we call the last one gene ration Y? I did not know, but a caricaturist explains it eloquently below...Learned something new!
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cooking_club
hopeful