wandering mendicant

The Wind Lyrics ~ Cat Stevens (you can hear a sample here...it's song 15) I listen to the wind to the wind of my soul Where I'll end up well I think, only God really knows I've sat upon the setting sun But never, never never never I never wanted water once No, never, never, never I listen to my words but they fall far below I let my music take me where my heart wants to go I swam upon the devil's lake But never, never never never I'll never make the same mistake No, never, never, never

i think this song is beautiful

Rufus Wainwright - Hallelujah . It's from the Shrek Soundtrack. (Shrek 1; not Shrek 2-- which I have yet to see). I would like to get a CD by this Rufus Wainwright fellow. ;-) You can play a sample of the song here. (It's track 10, and there's some interesting info below the tracks regarding this song.)

The Dalai Lama's 'Instructions for Life'

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk. 2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson. 3. Follow the three R's: * Respect for self, * Respect for others, * Responsibility for all your actions. 4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. 5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly. 6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship. 7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. 8. Spend some time alone every day. 9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values. 10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. 11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time. 12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life. 13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past. 14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to acheive immortality. 15. Be gentle with the earth. 16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before. 17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other. 18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it. 19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

I like quotations

This one's from Ray Bradbury: "If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down." He also said: "Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine. The landmine is me. After the explosion, I spend the rest of the day putting the pieces together."

a great read

Eats, Shoots & Leaves is my most recent literary purchase. I recommend it. It's a British book on punctuation and grammar. It's both very funny and educational.

My little sister made this quiz

Here is my result:
You are a free faery. you dont care what other
people think of you and you love just bieng
you. people find you a unique and friendly
person. you are kind of a combination of
everything. possibly somewhat of a punk.RockON!

What type of Faery are you???
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make your own buttons

Here is the user interface to make your own buttons. After you make it (by changing the pre-filled increments... play around with it and you can figure it out), save it to your computer as a picture and then you have to put it in an on-line photo storage place... like photobucket which conveniently gives you the tag code. Then you have to put it in your template and connect a link to it. Sound complicated? Not after you figure it out... which was quite a lengthy learning process for me, but I did it! You can, too! Have fun!

some ramblings

To me, it sometimes feels like American society's so-called freedom is really a sort of prison, but we are lulled into ignoring that. It's like the Wizard of Oz behind his curtain-- with smoke and mirrors to distract us from the truth: That Capitalism is a trap. But, perhaps some people do make the best of it and are as truly happy as humans can be under the current circumstances. ("If you're not outraged, then you're not paying attention"). It has something to do with one's nature or temperment. I'm thinking all of this as I sit in a Stanislaus County courtroom observing the lawyers and the bailiff going through the motions of another day at work. I haven't worked in over two years, which makes me feel like I'm some sort of alien-- a misfit. It seems I feel like less of an adult the older I get!

I fully love Gary Oldman

I have long had a crush on Gary Oldman, who is going to be in the newest Harry Potter movie that is coming out next month, I believe. Also, I just added a fan button of Gary Oldman to my sidebar, and it links back to a fansite! :-)

Tony Randall

Actor Tony Randall was cool as the voice of the evil Brain Gremlin in Gremlins 2: The New Batch. I also liked him from TV's The Odd Couple. I just wanted to acknowledge his passing. Here's an article. Oh, and may as well acknowledge a new life in the arrival of Gwyneth Paltrow & Chris Martin's new daughter, Apple. :-)

A fun Game!

The Age Project I found this on Janet's Blog.

can't resist

What color are you? (Anime Pictures)
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technical details

Since I re-formatted my blog.... all the custom features I'd had on my old blog were lost. That includes old comments. Oh well! Personally, I say, "C'est la vie." I look forward to new comments, however. I should've copied my template before I changed it... but... it's also good to have a change. I like my new blinkies.

a nice day

Today I went with my son and his grandma to Yosemite. It was a beautiful Spring day in the park. The waterfalls were so lovely. We went to the Ahwahnee Hotel for the brunch buffet. That was divine! I'd never been to the Ahwahnee before and it was so nice there. We saw bullfrogs swimming in a pond and a Stellar Jay sitting in its nest. Very cool.

two turntables and a microphone

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For my mom's birthday I am going to plant a flower garden in her front yard where they have just built this little fence that is just prime for planting. That'll be a good gift, no? Mais oui.

crazy crazy world

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Today, I went with my mom to help out at my brother and sister's school's end of the year barbeque. It was fun to help out and observe all the kids. Kids are very interesting to watch when they are in big groups. This school is 5-8th grades. There was a definite behavior difference amongst the fifth graders and the eighth graders. Like, for the eighth graders it is much more important to stand around in groups looking cool. The younger kids just sit at the tables and eat.

where it's at

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Apparently I am an obsessive person. I like to spend inordinate amounts of time on the computer just messing around with my blog or checking my email or taking random, essentially meaningless quizzes and playing Neopets. Also, when I can get my hands on a digital camera... I become obsessed with photography! I think it is strange how some pictures are good and others are not. It fascinates me endlessly.

beauty

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You are a Siren. More adventurous than all with a
voice like no other you sit on warm rocks and
sing to the moon and sea. Yet sometimes
shipwrecks find you and raving men want you.
You are a bottle of talent and power. What the
unknown is you seek to find, and a lover. You
have the moon and stars as freinds. There are a
very few of you, what a rare find.

What kind of mermaid are you? (Gorgeous Pics)
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yet another life-altering quiz result

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Lord of the Rings!

What movie Do you Belong in?(many different outcomes!)
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perfectly apt

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You represent... loneliness. Always alone and always sad about it... unlike
angst, you don't have to look for a reason to
be miserable. You want to be in the company of
people but aren't sure how to act when you're
with them. Sometimes you have to make an
effort. You can't always wait for others to
come to you.

What feeling do you represent?
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should we talk about the weather

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Current Conditions for Arcata, CA 59°F Cloudy Weekend Forecast: Cloudy with a few showers. High 56F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Next week I'll be in Modesto. Won't be easy to get used to what's forecasted for that time period. 78°/52° 0 % Sat May 08 Sunny 78°/51° 0 % Sun May 09 Sunny 80°/49° 0 % Mon May 10 Partly Cloudy 72°/50° 10 % Tue May 11 Sunny 81°/52° 0 % Wed May 12 Sunny 87°/54° 0 % Thu May 13 Sunny 91°/56° 20 % Fri May 14 Sunny 90°/58° 20 % Sat May 15 Sunny 91°/56° 0 % Sun May 16 Sunny 89°/54° Considerably different than what I've become used to here in Arcata! I don't want to deal with that heat. Oh well. I have to. I have court there on the 12th and on the 19th.

this song keeps going through my head

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Artist: Toad The Wet Sprocket Song: Good Intentions Lyrics It's hard to rely on my good intentions When my head's full of things that I can't mention Seems I usually get things right But I can't understand what I did last night It's hard to rely on my own good senses When I miss so much that requires attention I have to laugh at myself sometimes And I can see that I'm not blind There's little relief Give us reprieve For all the things I've left behind I'm positive that I'm not blind I'm not afraid things won't get better But it feels like this has gone on forever You have to cry with your own blue tears Have to laugh with your own good cheer It's hard to rely on my good intentions When my head's full of things that I can't mention Seems I usually get things right But I can't understand what I did last night There's little relief Give us reprieve Imagining the world outside I'm positive that I'm not blind I can't be hard on you 'Cause you know I've been there too Learned a lot of things from you But life gives little relief Give us reprieve And when everyone is cold as ice I clinch my fists and close my eyes Imagining the world outside But I can see that I'm not blind