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Well, hell. Here we are again. Monday, I'm gonna try to make peace with you this week. I'm also going to try like hell to catch up on my blog visits.

Robin Update - She's supposed to be moved out of ICU and into the Step Down Unit, which is super good. She has also been moved from the Critical list to the Serious list. She still has a long way to go, but it's a huge plus. The collective good vibes, blessings and prayers have surely helped immeasureably. Thank you all.

{fun site of the day} Drawing Board [via: j-walk]

A few months back, I linked this Stamp It Out site which is free and you can create a set of stamps using your own image, making a single stamp or a sheet of stamps, if you have pictures of yourself already saved. Skyler had saved a few of me before the scanner crapped out on us last year. An older pic.

The Bush Tax: How Much Is It Costing You?
[via: six different ways]

{Quote For The Day}
In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. ~Albert Schweitzer

Too many Divas, not enough stage.

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Just a brief Hello. I'm still in Tennessee at Mother's and visiting Robin when we can. Thanks for all the love.

saturday morning me
coffee'd/yoga'd/showered/
black embroidered vest/green t-neck/jeans/
in my Mother's house/on my sister's pc/
eating Christmas candy/channel surfing/
a total saturday slovenly slug today/
so hows about you?/

This is my favorite time of the day. Aw shit, there it goes.

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If you celebrate Christmas, I hope today is very special and filled with much love. If you don't celebrate it, Have yourself a super fabulous Thursday.
Merry Christmas!

Aluminum Tree Museum
This Brevard, North Carolina Aluminum Tree Museum serves as the perfect foil to wrap up holiday hilarity. The shop sells aluminun tree "seeds" for planting and there are 45 different aluminum trees on display. Did your family ever have an aluminun tree? With the rotating color wheel that shone on the tree?

Anne is a Christmas birthday baby. I hope you have the best birthday ever.

Happy Birthday Anne!

{blog site of the day} Queer Visions

{quote of the day}
Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.
--Hamilton Wright Mabi

Four specialists have seen Robin and they still don't know what's wrong with her. A CT scan is scheduled so maybe they'll know more after that. It doesn't appear to be related to any previous problems with her liver. I continued to be extremely grateful for your love and blessings.

Just smile when you open up that fruitcake package. And swiftly re-gift that sucker.

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Update on Robin - She's in critical condition in the Neuro-Vascular (?) ICU. I'm waiting for further word from my Mother and probably will go over to Tennessee as soon as I can tie up some loose ends here. So I'm waiting......and praying.....

Instead of dreading that family dinner this year, try to enjoy your relatives this holiday season. That annoying old Uncle with the week-old stubble, stinking brandy on his breath, and obscene innuendos. The sibling who Mom always seemed to like best. The brother-in-law whose tall tales and non-stop chatter sends folks in the opposite direction. And any other quirky family members you may have. See them with new eyes, be thankful for them this year and all the days to come. Warts and all.

{fun site of the day}
Make-A-Flake - cut out a snowflake.

{x-rated site du jour}
Pixel Porn - NSFW (Not Safe For Work)

{helpful site of the day}
Here's an old website template generator. (It's what Firda used before Book of Styles.)

{Quote For The Day}
One must still have chaos in oneself to give birth to a dancing star. ~Nietzsche

"...On Discover, on Visa, on American Express, On Mastercard too, I sadly confess."

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My Mother just phoned to say that my sister is in the hospital and it doesn't look very good. Something about her lungs and a fever. She has HepC and Cirrhosis. I'm waiting for a further update and I'm scared to death. After pacing endlessly, I decided to try to busy myself online.

If you offer prayers or good vibes to anyone, please offer one up for Robin. Thanks.

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»Asheville Artist, James Bursenos, has some nice art on his site, including his interpretation of Santa that was featured in the recent Cannabis Culture, explaining the Psychedelic Secrets of Santa Claus. [via: mefi]

»Any of you out there remember "The Sponge"? Elaine of Seinfeld fame helped popularize them when she'd deem some poor prospective date as "sponge-worthy". It may be available again soon after further testing. Viva la Safe & Spontaneous Sex!

{blog site of the day} KnitWitology

I'm not getting older...I'm getting bitter.

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Ramblin' Susan here. I got nothing. I'm spent. Figuratively and literally. And another thing.... I've got too much red hair and not enough grey/white. I want Johnny Winter white, damnit, when I finally go completely grey.

Did the wild-eyed last-minute grab 'n' go shuffle this morning. Sales ladies fell over themselves to help me. As if in some Stepford Wives coma or The Bodysnatchers scenerio. A rare site, indeed. Stopping by the bank, I was ready to read the riot act to the bank manager for failing to post Friday morning's cash deposit until Monday, but she was in such good Christmas cheer and straightened up my account without a confirmation. Or a confrontation. How often does the bank screw up and it's clearly their fault? Then my car kept trying to turn into the ABC store, (liquor store) and I fought the urge to comply and drove the rest of the way home with my blinders on, arriving with my ass planted firmly aboard the wagon, as opposed to falling off of it. Hello, Monday. Bite me.

{Fun Site Of The Day} Amuse Yourself. [via: my pal at kaneblues who has a fun update on the Orange Alert today.]

{Quote For The Day}
Life is short and we do not have too much time to gladden the hearts of those who travel the way with us, so be swift to love and make haste to be kind.
~Unknown

Why is Christmas just like a day at work? You do all the work and the fat guy with the suit gets all the credit?

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Winter Solstice

{blog around the block} "Saddam was actually found by kurdish militants, after a tipoff by the iraqi Dschabur clan..." Read more from Stu Savory. Does it seem like most stories break across the pond and the next day, we in the US finally get it? It's Joy's Birthday today! Her writing is honest and genuinely heartfelt. Shirl is nursing the f** at home this weekend. I hope you're healed soon. And have any of you "C" list bloggers checked in with MEG yet? "A" list bloggers need not apply. Bsti explains why s*T*a*R*e has been closed down. They were basically screwed by their host, Hostsave. 2003 Porn Titles from Movies on Lindsayism; the whole damn site is a good read.

Can I trade this job for what's behind door #2?

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[pic via: the always shiny and wunnerful chapel perilous]

»Good Morning to you. I've got an inch or two of lovely snow this morning. Very beautiful. Did my Canadian friends send it down to me?

»See Saddam Photoshop Entries - Very good. [via: jwalk]

»The Greatest Week In Rock History - 34 years ago today, Billboard Charts had a outstanding album lineup. This I'll have to agree with. Beatles, Led Zeppelin, the Stones, Santana, Crosby, Stills, & Nash, and more. [via: mefi]

»{local} Warren Haynes, famed guitarist and Asheville native who splits his time between playing with the legendary Allman Brothers and the band he founded, Gov't Mule. Ebrahim and Rezvan Ebrahimnajad, an Iranian couple of the Baha'i faith came to United States two years ago with their two sons as refugees seeking religious and political freedom. They now have a new home from the money Haynes and his fellow musicians raised at last years Christmas Jam. The 15th annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam is at 7 tonight at the Asheville Civic Center. Maybe I'll see you there. I hear it's sold out.

»saturday morning me//
1 cup of joe/oj/1 nasty cig/black hat/
navy sweatshirt/black sweatpants i slept in/
moccasin houseshoes-i'm a vision I tell ya/
watching: flurries outside/
listening: husband picking out "Blackbird"/
did someone get tish some tea?/
who's wearing frogshoes this morning?/
so hows about you?/

I won't disclose my age, but let's just say it's between twenty and Wal-Mart greeter.

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The Lord Of The Right Wing Three years ago five United States Supreme Court justices stole one ring and gave it to Gollum. Gollum W. Bush. It's time we take it back!


Forecasters give Asheville chance for White Christmas. What are your chances? My webcam on the right shows some snow in the mountains today, Friday afternoon. Some of the mountain areas have reported 12-14 inches and more at noon, but down on the flats we only have a dusting.

{blog site of the day}Antiwar Blog

If you can't laugh at yourself, allow me.

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Keith Richards is 60 years old today. That Richards has reached 60 at all is a source of some amazement. For a long time in the 1970s when he was "a human chemical laboratory" - his own description - you couldn't have got decent odds on him making 40. He lived on a diet of heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, barbiturates, LSD and heaven knows what else, washed down with industrial quantities of Jack Daniels. Many of his drug buddies, including Gram Parsons and John Belushi, failed to make it.

{timewaster of the day} Visit Tongsville - Take a Flash-based trip through town with the innovative Brits who created classic videos for Beck, Supergrass, Badly Drawn Boy, REM and Fatboy Slim. Make sure to click away on every building and store you pass by... lots of fun and surprises await!

Is President Bush gay? It's all so damn fabulous. Betty Bowers' satire site poses the question.

Get a George In The Box toy for only $29.95. [via: coolios]

Got ready to go to the LOTR premiere showing last night, and decided to call first to check on ticket availability. "4 tickets left", they said. First come, first served. So I missed out on last night. Did anyone get to see it? I think Alexandra did.

{blog site of the day} Eurotrash

Is it time for your medication or mine?

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Bitch Soap for that special bitch on your Christmas list. Split personality? There's Virgin/Slut Soap. Or perhaps you are a Dirty Girl?

Artists from the worlds of theatre, television and fashion will gather at Manhattan's Lot 61 (550 W. 21st St.) on Dec. 22 to read "Dinah the Christmas Whore," three holiday stories written by David Sedaris. It stars Isaac Mizrahi, Carson Kressley (of Queer Eye), and Ben Shenkman (recently Louis in HBO's Angels In America).

Have you been by to read Healing Iraq since Saddam was captured? Worth your visit to read Zeyad's poignant and honest words over the past few days.

Bust Bob Petition
Send a letter to Robert Novak's bosses urging them to fire him for "outing" Valerie Plame. [via: skippy]

Happy Birthday, Nurse!
Nurse Ratched is celebrating her birthday today.

{blog site of the day} Dong Resin's Joint--Very entertaining. His "Merry fuck you" post is dripping with holiday cheer.

This is my favorite time of day. Well, there it goes.

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Good Morning!

»Sas only began painting in 1999 spurred on by a fateful camping trip where after ingesting acid for the first time and having "one hell of a bad trip"she came to realize that being sane again (somewhat) was the best thing ever and that she would no longer allow herself to be intimidated by brushes and paint. hallucinogenic will definitely expand your artistic horizon, say this college Art Major. [via: sixdifferentways]

»David Sedaris' Winter Tale piece in New Yorker. (Must be Sedaris week here at EBC.)

»American Film Institute Honors Year's Top 10 Films

»"It's the Santa Stampede," I explain, hoping an explanation will be enough. "You know, Santarchy: mischievous, barhopping Santas. Nice guys. They do it every year." Santarchy looks like good hell-raising fun.

»Wanna create something? Jackson Pollock site. **edited to add: [via: J-Walk].

»Trying to get my favorites added to Bloglines again. It's much easier to zip zip through it for mondo speedo blog reading. Leave me a note or email if you have that capability.

»Blog Bits - Queen of Cups has her inlaws visiting. Tish, of Fatshadow, is expecting her Mother and Step-Father any moment. Laurie's had inlaws over this week. Johnny B landed a good job at the local newspaper. From the radio to print. Good deal! Bev's father is visiting her family.

»blog site of the day - More Than Donuts

»What morbid cretin took the time to make this site? [via: anne's]

»{quote} You'd do well to take your own advice. ~me

This site is best viewed on company time.

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It's Monday. You know the drill.

{create} See your name on a Movie Poster. caution: makes a nice personalized poster, but it crashed my sadu (slow-ass dial up) system.

{quiz} Things You Swore You'd Never Do, But Now Are - just how old are you getting? Take the quiz. I'm 56% an ageing hypocrite. [via: j-walk]

{local} Robert Redford's upcoming film, The Clearing, makes the cut for Sundance. The film was shot here in Asheville, NC, last fall and Redford was quoted as falling in love with our mountains and people. Release scheduled for Spring 2004.

Amy Sedaris' Playgirl Interview - must read for Amy Sedaris fans.

{explore} Art and Culture - Covers all the bases; music, design, etc.

{quote} When I realize that there are only 3 colors, 10 digits, and 7 notes; I know I am capable of great things. ~Unknown

Have you crashed your Windows today?

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{art} International Snow Sculpture Championships held in Breckinridge, CO, each Jan/Feb. Here's one of last year's winners carved from a 10 ton block of snow. More pictures from the past few years are featured. [via: reality carnival]

"Coalition forces generally tried to avoid killing Iraqis who weren’t taking part in combat. But the deaths of hundreds of civilians still could have been prevented by abandoning two misguided military tactics." Human Rights Watch said in a comprehensive new report released today.

Rise and shine; it's a beautiful day. My older, uh, younger sister is having a birthday today. I can't pull that off anymore. By now, everyone knows I'm really older.

Happy Birthday, Robin!

{create} Make a Snowman card - (It's set up like MrPicassohead.) [via: riri's] Or visit Ugly Christmas Lights site. [via: sixdifferentways]

{local} Asheville - The Next Hollywood?
Local Songwriter/Musician Malcolm Holcombe playing tonight at Westville Pub. Heard his new song on the radio yesterday.

saturday morning me//
half-smoked cigarette/half a cup of coffee/
half assed husband making cheese grits/
jeans/moccasins/football jersey/
fell outta bed with a nappy head/
sounds: chemical brothers -"get yourself high"/
so hows about you?/

I feel a sin coming on.

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Good Friday morning to you. It's a blue thing now. Or a grey thing. Extra credit if you can recognize this bluish color from a site or publishing system found in the blogging community. And no, it's not Blogger....

Would you think a large protest against terrorism and for democracy is newsworthy? Especially when the protesters are Iraqui? So why is it almost a nonevent her in the US media? A Great Day In Iraq is an Iraqui's first hand account of the event with pictures.

Are you sure you want to delete the entire Bush administration? Yes. Let's.

Orange, red, blue, black - they're just thin, rubbery bracelets that come in a rainbow of colors, but they're causing quite a stir. First made popular by Madonna and other pop stars in the 1980s, "jelly bracelets" are making a comeback with teens and some grade-school kids. My 15 year old wears them all the time. I asked her about it, and she's aware of the rumors and laughingly brushed me off, somewhat embarassed. Whatever that means. This discussion is not closed, but I don't want to scare her off either. Tread lightly, Mother.

Bill Maher's take on Howard Dean
"Dean campaign is basically Friendster for people who listed politics as one of their interests. Not to say that they're not sincere, but it did smack a bit of the convenient hippies of the 60s, the guys who went to the peace rally, more to meet hot chicks into freelove and bra burning, and stop a war they might have to go to, than any political quest."

Mick Jagger to be knighted today. I'd have more respect for him if he turned down the offer, but I don't see it through British eyes.

Pixel Museum - a nice photography and digital art place

If I don't get my 23 and a half hours sleep, I'm cranky all day.

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Good Morning to you.

Ken Bowser Illustrations - Very talented guy with very funky and fun illustrations. I snagged a few.

The 12 Days Of Kitschmas - for the best in bad taste religious gifts. Which reminds me of a decorated yard I saw on local tv one year with an extravagant nativity scene. And above the manger display, in all his Las Vegas glory, was one lifesize Elvis Presley, keeping watch over the manger. The natives got very restless over that unique display and the homeowner was asked to take down the Hunka Hunka Burning Love. It was indeed one Blue Christmas without Elvis.

Most Popular Christmas Toys of the 1900's
1958 Hula Hoops, and the Frisbee.
1968 Fisher Price little people and the Spirograph.
1978 Star Wars toys and Battlestar Galactica.
1988 Ghostbusters car and Marshmallow man.
1998 Beanie Babies, Furby, Playmobile video system, and Lego Robot’s Revenge.

Stew Albert's Party Rules - One man's view of his Hep C treatment. I wish him well. My sister is going through that same treatment now.

Look on the bright side. And while you're doing that, I'll be over here looking through your stuff.

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Good evening/morning to you. I'm up late doing some online shopping. Hunting that great bargain.

{political}
So John Kerry unloaded the "f-bomb". If you've never uttered the f-word, raise your fucking hand. It's one of those ready-made moral issues that simply by blasting it, you feel superior by proxy. "Did I expect George Bush to f - - - it up as badly as he did?" Kerry said. How else can you succinctly describe it?

{The few. The proud. The fringe.}
Dear one actually slung the Christmas lights around the front of the house. Sweet child o' mine graciously straightened them out. Did I miss the memo that says you're supposed to put up your Christmas tree and decorations the day after Thanksgiving? You know how I feel about rules that "they" make. They. Who The Fuck is "They"? My Mother always said that. "They" say you're not supposed to wear white after Labor Day. But I digress. Years ago, Christmas decorations went up randomly around the neighborhood and seldom before the first week of December. Now, it's just a collective rush to get them up sooner each year. It's a conspiracy to perpetuate holiday stress.

{web woes}
My web host, Your-Site had problems yesterday. That's the 2nd ½ day of down time they've had in one year's time, so I think that's pretty damn good. ($5.00 a month) Isn't it? And at $7.95 a year to register the EasyBakeCoven.net domain name, I'm satisfied.

{URLS GONE WILD!!}
Annika VonHoldt - artist extraordinaire
Make a Chinese symbol for your name
Habbo Hotel - check in a virtual hotel
Online painting - painting. online.

{Quote}
We don't see things as they are; we see things as we are. ~AnaÏs Nin

Insert pretentious blog quote here.

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Ready to kick Monday's ass?

Liberal Friendly & Unfriendly Places - See if your US city is listed. Asheville, NC, is listed with several references to it being a New Age Mecca. Sixty Minutes or someone did a story once proclaiming us as a best-kept secret/Gay-friendly, New Agey fru-fru kinda place. Which actually sums it up nicely.

Angels In America on HBO didn't disappoint. It was enormously entertaining. Part II is next Sunday. Did you notice who played the Rabbi at the funeral in the beginning? I didn't until they rolled the credits. Wow.

December 8 - Musical Events
1947 - Gregg Allman's Birthday
1943 - Jim Morrison's Birthday

John Lennon died on this day, December 8, 1980. A beautiful memorial to John Lennon can be found in the "Strawberry Fields" section of Central Park, in the shadow of his home in the Dakota building. The original Strawberry Field(s) in actually in the Liverpool area.

{quote for today}
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make..." (i think he wrote these words)

~John Lennon

Bush to stimulate economy with magic dildo.

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Good Morning! It looks like '$500 Deductible Day' throughout the East with the winter storm dumping snow in shifts. But seriously, please stay safe and warm, everyone.

Blogs For Dummies? Powerpoint For Blogs?
Where do we draw the line on independent Weblogging? (Or web publishing.) Independence is not a trend or an option, but a principled stand. Aren't blogs proudly the internet's underground? Born from frustrated journalists, editors, diarists, and freelancers pissed with the party line spewed all over the media? Steeped in the alternative tradition of trend-busters who eschew ads, and main stream internet? Why do so many outsiders try to rein us in? And tame us like the wild beasts we are? Give us prizes, run contests, rate us, and interview us? Will we fall the way of Alternative Music that began broadcasting in basements, and now includes most everything that's not hiphop or Justin T? Or Indy Films that began as friends making movies with friends for friends, and now every metropolis has an Indy Filmfest? Do we drag blogging kicking and screaming into mainstream AOL and Microsoft? Oh, wait. We already did. Although I think it was originally intended for people, not corporations; as in free push-button publishing for the web, not bought and paid for, it does come down to a personal choice. Are you a seperate entity, or do you have something to sell? I happen to like the cozy mole-like underground existence of weblogging to be as independent as possible. I think most of you do, too.


URLS Gone Wild!!
Random Name Generator - for all the writers.
Dear Penis - song and cartoon - your daily helping of corn.
Crossmind - Web Design - culling web talent.
flag-blackened - for the anarchist in you.
Ironic Times - weekly satire

saturday morning me//
coffee#2/cig #2 smoldering in the ashtray/
black burnt velvet top/black twill pants/
black ballet flats/chopstick-held bun/
b&w polka-dot glasses/quilt on my lap-brrr/
sounds: toots & the maytals - sometimes it's rough/
smells: zucchini bread-mmmmm/
so hows about you?/

The smoke I'm blowing up your ass is also good for the environment.

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