Scarlett

Wah! I'm not! I got an error while renewing. Where should I send this? merrieeee, oh they'll still be there and repeating over and over, "What was I thinking? This is awful. I want my money back." Suggestion: Maybe the OFC should ask Couchie to send a test to everyone who wants to renew. ROTFL that you can't even bring yourself to spell "empathize" (or maybe your fingers have to be forced to type it). Count me in for Vietnamese and yikes on that procedure!!! {{{cute guy in pain}}} Thanks! Yes, some people aren't up to date with words and or standard equipment like accessible seats, but their hearts are in the right place. I'm doing another workshop with them once a week for the next six or so weeks. ETA: Ooops, maybe I shouldn't have used the elephant hug icon. Someone probably wouldn't want to see elephants anywhere especially if he's in pain and being cranky... and I wouldn't want anything to happen to the elephants either... {{{cute but sore suffering guy}}} ETA: Yay, Lotus!

God, you're so much nicer than I am. I'd have laid those condescending assholes bastards sonofabitches ignoramuses people low. It's not easy to explain but their perplexedness (is there such a word?) was endearing, because they were obviously true liberals at heart. It was rather funny actually. Also, I was imagining KAndre and KF in the same room listening (we were so close to downtown Houston) and that made me ROTFL inside. 00lsee, thanks for the beautiful banner!!! Gravitas is a touch word for me and I know exactly why. It was this article about where I work. And reading it as it was being passed around in the office in late March 2006 didn't help me very much either timingwise. Latin Gravitas - (from gravis "heavy") weight, heaviness; related to gravity and grave, also grieve and aggravate. As with most things, it's just a word. He probably was intending to give TBAF an identity that people would recognize. Something like a "this is who we are, what we believe in and what we do" -- in 4 words or less. And that's not easy because "inclusion" isn't a brand, unlike names of diseases and standard causes. It needs to stand for one thing, definitely. There shouldn't be people going around saying I supported your organization because I thought it was about X while you were doing Y, gerbil wheels and "he lied to us"-cakes. At the same time, it would be worse to rename it to something like "Inclusion Works", spend a lot of time and effort to redesign forms, logos, websites, etc and then have some organization whose objective is say, trying to get Satanism recognized or "included" as a major religion, call itself the National Foundation for Inclusion and start distributing leaflets on street corners regarding "inclusion" (their definition0. And then there will be people who might protest the "usurpation" of the word because they already have something going right now with the word inclusion in it. Too many things need to be considered. I shouldn't vent early in the morning... Don't deserve to but Couchie, oooh I'm not going there!

Yes, it's strange but "inclusion" and "diversity" can mean completely different things to different people. Last Sunday, I sat with a group of very nice ladies who considered themselves as having been the "most liberal group" in Houston especially during 60s and the 70s but none of them really "included" or even "considered" the civil rights movement or the rights of those with disabilities. As recently as a month ago, I attended a workshop with them and such basic things as "accessible seats" were reacted to as, "Well ok, but do we have to have them in every single meeting room here?" When the fellow who brought it up also began talking about other aspects of meeting with and connecting to people with and without disabilities, his suggestions were listened to but but kept getting shelved, put into the Parking Lot --- and this was a workshop that was specifically organized to address and brainstorm "radical" ways for the group to be more open and welcoming to others. That evening, someone also mentioned (and I know this was meant in a very sincere way) some things to keep in mind when speaking to people "of color". I didn't wince but it was a very uh, traditional way of looking at things and I wondered where they lived all these years. It was clearly meant as a nice gesture or reaching out, though. While I could see that people were trying very hard to get beyond their mindsets, I could also see the very visible struggle. The group was about 98% Caucasian. Intrepid soul that I was, I didn't even think about being one of only 2 or 3 who looked different until then. I needed to mention this because I know we've had discussions about "why people can't get this or that topic/issue already!!!" but I wanted to highlight the way simple words like "diversity", "inclusion" and "welcoming" can bring completely different pictures to people's minds. *and I can just imagine how KAndre and KeepingFaith would have reacted at that meeting of the group with "the most liberal tradition" in Houston, who quite likely didn't even count them as Houstonians back then* I don't think people can say to others, "why can't you be more open to my issues" without considering how open they are to other issues or ideas. And many things are hidden under explanations like, "you just don't understand this job, industry, community, society."

that about sums it up Are you having a better day today? hope so I thought i read a while back that the organization was going to start including programs for adults since Michael is an adult now. Does anyone else remember that? I had more sleep last night so today should be fine but this is a week of intensive meetings. At least I'm having a better day than my new teammate Aron -- he's been in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea since last week. We were jealous at his being able to escape the long somewhat boring seminar that began on Feb. 17 here until we heard about what he had to deal with on that day. Hadn't heard about a TBAF adult program but I'm glad that it's in the plans. It's the right thing to do as a next step. How did your birthday go?

so... he's too sore to perform anywhere and he wants a pompous-sounding name?

Am I the only one who logged on and saw just the October 2008 blog, nothing else? Did he pull it back? I need to see th blog, please?!!! *Note to self: the first think to do upon leaving the theatre is to change all the phones back from silent mode* Thanks for checking, Couchie! ETA: *sheepishly* Ooops, I guess I just forgot to log in...

Oh, that place looks so beautiful. And I love the horses, even though *sniff* we're not allowed to ride. Yes, my teammate works out of our office in Halifax. It's on Founder's Square, she said. We call that area our Sable location because our platforms are around Sable Island. Topic: Cute guy was born on the year of the horse, earth horse to be specific. I think Reed's a water dog. Horses and dogs are compatible. Getting back to Sable, I wanna go! -- definitely an addition to my bucket list. My bucket list is not really aligned with the National Geographic List because they have too many cities. While there are special ones like Jerusalem I wish there had been more representation from villages. cindi, sorry about the link. Glad the alternative link was posted. wandacleo, if no one has given you an mp3 by tomorrow night I'll make you one. I just had an extra long day and will be (unexpectedly) watching a play tonight so I'm going to get home v. late. And when I do, I still owe goldarngirl a clip for the 2008 CFC montage that she's been waiting on since for 3 days. *sorry!* That was some show! It would have been great to see it and wow on the pics!!! And that track list looks suspiciously like one of my favorite playlists! Whoever picked the songs had a difficult job (I know I wouldn't have been able to eliminate songs from so many specials) but in the end I totally agree with their choices!!! I probably even have a similar CD burned already -- 'course it didn't come with a label with THAT picture which I completely agree with as well!!! Niiiiice choices!!!

*waves wildly at ausdon* Good to know I wasn't all alone! Kareneh, thank you! Muah! Gotta run now -- have a meeting with a team member from Sable (what are the odds?) who's here in Houston for the week (but oh, it'll be an 8-11 and 12-4 thing, sigh! I hope I stay awake. She's very nice and chatty, though, so that'll help). Maybe I should add Sable and riding a Sable pony (are they really ponies?) to my bucket list!!! If I we can't meet up in Norway/Denmark, this'll also be a good alternative. Have a nice day, everyone!!! :nature-smiley-014:

Italy, Australia, Egypt, Ireland, Scotland, more of England & France, the rest of the US, Canada..... Why, yes, I am planning on winning the lottery, retiring and traveling for the rest of my life! The trick is to be born right at the time when your parents are working on their lists, so that you get to tag along for free! I was almost done with my list before I even knew I needed one. Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Agra, Lourdes, Rouen, Peshawar, Rome, Giza, The Cotswolds, Grasse, Oberammergau, Verona, Orcas, Nanjing, Interlaken, Manarola, Jericho, ...it would be nice to add Copenhagen and York, and maybe Cuzco, Petra, Xian and anywhere in Antartica... also it would be nice to see the previous ones as an adult, not as my parents' daughter... *looks around* Now I'm the only one NOT in bed... but I don't mind having a conversation with myself... ETA: This is a YouTube link for "The Dream" (Defying Inequality - The Broadway Concert)!!!

Can't believe this but I'll probably have to pass on trips for now because I think I'll be traveling a lot later this year on my job and I wouldn't want to spend on something now that I may end up getting for free later. But Denmark? *little squeee* I've never been there and I just put Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid statue on my "will definitely do in this lifetime if humanly possible" List. Thank goodness our vendor is based in Bergen, Norway -- a couple of my new teammates were just there 2 weeks ago.

I know this is going to seem very picky I was very picky and I apologize. I was frustrated yesterday and DST is a touchy subject for me because I had to deal with it when they moved it to March unexpectedly and we had to scramble to make sure we were prepared for it -- like a mini Year 2000 over a matter of weeks. And I really hate March to begin with, though that's another story. aikim, I appreciate the countdown everyday and I miss it terribly when it's not around, whether due to snow, computer viruses or not knowing what a cute guy has up his sleeve. I'm sorry that I was grumpy.

I'm sorry! It was just one of those days. I hope yours went better. As a matter of fact, I hope you had a perfectly lovely day!!! Happy Birthday!!! I think we saw the same show last year. *sigh! good times!*

I know this is going to seem very picky but there are a couple of things. In the the US, DST will start at 2:00 am on March 8 in your local timezone. I think 7:23 am on February 23 is not 12 days and 2 hours away from DST, it's 12 days, 18 hours and 37 minutes. Also, unlike the EU which will implement it simultaneously the US will convert to DST at 2:00 am in the local time. Is the countdown for DST in Chicago, NYC, SF or Mecca/Raleigh? Conversion date: Sunday, March 29, 2009 London - DST starts at 1:00 AM local standard time Paris - DST starts at 2:00 AM local standard time Athens - DST starts at 3:00 AM local standard time Conversion date: Sunday, March 8, 2009 NYC - DST starts at 2:00 AM local standard time Chicago - DST starts at 2:00 AM local standard time San Francisco - DST starts at 2:00 AM local standard time

moved to PM...

How many points do you get for loving specific parts, er... pairs of parts? Will saying it multiple times help? Or in different languages?

Since Amazon doesn't actually charge your card until it ships, what does it matter -- unless Amazon only gets a limited supply and has to prioritize like it's doing with Kindle. I'm pretty sure it hasn't charged me for my Kindle2 though I've been on the waiting list since day 1.

Nevermind!

Does it even matter if Clay's name is on it? Not really, I was just curious in case something else needed to be arranged like flights and housing or if I need to clear out a room for whatever it is.... I'm in a logistics mindset these days. (I'm sure Solo was scared to read that... or suspicious!) But really, what is it that we're buying? Heee. you are something else. There might be some new album next month from Clay..it's available for pre-order on Amazon. Maybe RCA will open its vault and give us Clay music from not until eternity. Ok I hope for: Kyrie Tears Run Dry do we have any other idea what he's done that was never released? That SCC song? Bring it all on. prays it's new stuff prays it's new stuff Ok, bought!!! Thanks, couchie!!! ETA: *suddenly remembers what happened with AIW* Uh-oh... Should I have ordered more than 3? Since this could be the "last of a partnership" album, they might not release enough and then I'd have to go scrounging about all the Walmarts in Houston just to gather enough copies for those who need them. Hmmmmm... Does anyone recall what happened with the Walmart/Sony.com orders and how those turned out?

Does it even matter if Clay's name is on it? Not really, I was just curious in case something else needed to be arranged like flights and housing or if I need to clear out a room for whatever it is.... I'm in a logistics mindset these days. (I'm sure Solo was scared to read that... or suspicious!) But really, what is it that we're buying?

I just logged on and went to the last page. Have no idea what y'all are talking about but I'm buying!!! ... btw, what did I just buy? ETA: Sorry to post without reading, but in case it's a timed thing I just want to be sure I have my marker in. Will start reading the day's posts now... it was supposed to be a short-errand list day that turned out to be much longer than I expected but I learned a lot today so it's all good!

:pickme: Another Hargao lover here -- the ones with the transparent wrapper, right? Dumplings are wonderful everywhere, no matter what they're called! Love these two guys together! Now Stephen Fry is brilliant! He, to me, can be at times the epitome of an English gentelman who is slightly eccentric. He doesn't care what anyone says about him and has a very successful career. He certainly doesn't suffer fools gladly. Have you seen the game show Qi? Content: Clay is smart and I don't think suffers fools gladly. Also he doesn't care what anyone says about him. Although we really don't need content here because almost anything we post can relate back to Clay. For example: Pierogis...I love Pierogis and I love Clay Aiken...Gnocci, cute name for a puppy and Clay has dogs. See told ya! djs111 Love the Kumars! Another really good show. I only watch Graham Norton when he has a guest on that I like. I'm really not fond of silly British humour and he is just so OTT. One weekend, can we watch all these shows that we'd planned -- Shogun, Thornbirds, Black Adder, Fawlty Towers, etc. Why oh why do we end up watching Clack every.single.time?!!! *Nod-nods that that intelligence sure is hot!!! ... and he can sing too!* ETA: Not so sure if the "naive" part isn't just an urban legend. Maybe I'm extra-sensitive to this because a lot of people who meet me for just 2 minutes think I'm naive --- rotfl, recalling all those Best Buy salesmen who thought they could talk me into worthless electronics -- How do people get judged to be 'naive' anyway? I need to find out because I keep getting picked on 100% of all the jury selections I've been on.

I do too, especially after something like this: :lmaosmiley-1: Yes, I do write in a colorful way. What I really wanted to do was have some fun exploring some a few questions about the news. Whenever there is a change, people want to know what it involves and how it affects them. What happens now that there is no label? If the answer is, ""there will be a new label, a better one [tm:will turner]" then all is well If the answer is, "there will be a new label, just like the old one" then nothing much will change If the answer is, "there will be a new label and it could be worse than the old one" then there is some concern but nothing can be done about it until the announcement is made. besides, people seem to think it impossible for anything to be worse than RCA. Until an announcement is made, there isn't any label as far as we know. That brings up a different set of questions. How concerned do we need to be that there is no label? How important is it to have a label? Has anyone ever done a cost-benefit analysis of labels? What do they offer, and what do they cost? Are they a "can't live with them, can't live w/o them" kind of deal? Well, to keep the "G" alliteration, you could call him "Guy", or if he's French "Gee" *g*. Actually, I'm thinking of naming him Gnocchi (nyō'kē, nyŏk'ē)... it's an Italian potato dumpling. Insomnia-inspired naming! I'm Italian, it's a "g" name even though the g is silent, and it has a bit of an Asian sound to the pronunciation, which is fitting since he's a Chinese Crested Powderpuff. I like gnocchi, annabear! -- both the edible kind and your cutiepie!!! And I tried Pierogi too just last year, and liked it as well. I had several kinds. They (gnocchi and pierogi) don't look similar to me even though they are both dumplings,. The gnocchi I had were tiny, almost like noodles. Pierogi (to me) are more like potstickers. {{{Smitten}}} I hope the next one works out! ETA: Best villain brothers for me: Peter and Simon Gruber!! (and the tank top helped too)

and oh, he's so cute, annabear!!!

Couchie, Bella, thanks! It's a dream whose time has either come or will be coming soon. All businesses are trimming down to the essentials and even in the past I never could understand the excesses by some in the entertainment world. We closely watch what we pay for groceries and electricity and gas, but how many people are outraged at the profit margin of selling a one CD album? And it wouldn't be as bad if the profits go to the songwriters, performers, musicians, engineers and editors but these people make approx. a penny or less (I think) per album. I used to say that if CDs were sold by gas stations at the same profit margins they do on gas, the DVDs would be $1 apiece and the CDs even less.

Thanks, liney! In the end it's his business and as long as we have opportunities to buy his music and watch him perform that's all tha matters.