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September 24, 2004
crazy weekend sans apples
We've been trying to figure out when to go to the Nashoba Valley Winery and go apple picking but this weekend is out, and so is next weekend, so hoping that we'll still have good pickings over Columbus Day.
We're highly popular this weekend, so popular that I've had to say no to some dinners that sound wonderful and to a Chowder Fest that someone I know has been key in planning. But it sounds great, so if you are up for some fresh cooked New England clam chowder, head over to the:
The Marina Bay Chowder Festival
2 Seaport Drive, Quincy
Sunday, Sept 26th 2-4pm
$10 donation for adults, Kids 12 and under free.
Entertainment is the Kadima Band and there will be clowns for the kiddies!
All proceeds go to Operation Mom, a military support group based out of California. One of the things that they do is send off care packages to soldiers overseas.
There will be more clam chowder than you can shake a stick at, with a competition between 12 restaurants: Alfredo's, Bare Foot Bob's, Fowler House Cafe, Jimbo's South, Joe's American Bar and Grill, Siro's, Outback Steakhouse, Skyline, Hingham Bay Club, Rick's Cafe, and two local nursing homes. There will also be a gift certificate raffle for various restaurant gift certificates.
So if you get a chance, check it out. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous and Marina Bay is a really beautiful place. My girlfriend bought a condo down there and believe me, I can't wait to go visit her again! Definitely a great place for an early fall afternoon. The views are breathtaking!
Posted by crystallyn at 05:56 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
September 22, 2004
creepy scary not halloweeny
I talked to my father today, who told me that my brother had been bit by a brown recluse spider, one of six poisonous spiders in the US. They are common back out west, as are black widows and we used to see them all over the place. I remember black widows in our basement even, and we just knew to stay away from them.
So my father is telling me about this as I'm driving home from work (with a headset mind you). Apparently Chase got bit several days ago and finally, two days ago he showed my dad and at that time it was a hard nodule raised about four inches off the skin, with a swollen red ring and a brown mark in the center where he had been bit. My father wigged out and told him to get to the doctor, but Chase doesn't have medical insurance so he was balking. In the morning though, it was bad enough that he told his boss (he's a foreman at a construction company)--his boss made him work the whole day first. So after work he went to a "doc-in-a-box" as my father calls them, just a local emergency center.
Well, of course they were highly concerned and immediately went in to dig it out. They had to dig out the nodule, which was at least an inch under the skin as well. They gave him a shot in the cheek (did my father mean actual cheek or asscheek?) and then three localized shots as well as drugs to take overnight. He went back today and they were going to have to dig more out. Apparently it's more severe than they thought.
But as my father was telling me this, I had to have him stop, because I was driving and I've noticed, as I get older, when I hear or see things sort of "disturbing" I get extremely nauseus and faint. This has happened a few times, once while reading "The Penal Colony" on the bus, once when I saw a co-worker have an epileptic fit, once when watching a movie at a film festival about heroin junkies, and a few other times. I'm not talking about seeing a horror film that's violent or anything, but rather more cerebral things, or things related to people close to me or by people close to me. So as I'm hearing about the bite and them digging it out, I feel my stomach starting to get queasy. Had to shut my father off in mid-sentence. I think he thought I was insane. Instead I told him that the place I'm contracting at wants to hire me! So that was good and when I got to the grocery store, I let him tell me the rest of the story.
When I got home, I wanted to find out more about what happens when people get bit. Oh my god, oh my god. I still feel so completely sick. I just hope to god that my brother got help in time.
Here is one URL (of several I found), but BE WARNED NOT FOR THE QUEASY: Brown Recluse Spider Bites
Please keep him in your thoughts.
Posted by crystallyn at 07:36 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
September 20, 2004
Speaking of concerts,
Barry Manilow is right around the corner!
Even better, the day after, Joe and I are heading to P-Town for our 4th anniversary celebration...we go to the Cape every fall and celebrate. We're staying at a very cozy little B&B that looks great! I'll be able to tell all the queens at breakfast about Barry! We also have dinner reservations at one of our all time favorite restaurants, Chester.
Mmmmm can't wait!
Posted by crystallyn at 06:54 AM | TrackBack
September 19, 2004
I had FUN
last night! They Might Be Giants put on an absolutely amazing show at Avalon. We stood near one of the bars in the back and had an awesome view. I screamed my lungs out, belting out the words to Particle Man, Birdhouse in Your Soul and really great new songs off of The Spine.
I can't wait till the Boston show goes on sale now!
I picked up a t-shirt, which has a wonderful John & John '04 emblazoned across it. I like the double entendre there, and it's a shame that the other John & John (the political ones) haven't picked up on that slogan-wise. Kerry needs a catchy phrase and some savvy marketing to pick up where his lack of charisma has left him.
Posted by crystallyn at 11:36 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 08, 2004
crystal
is the 4,128 most commonly used word in the English language....and you can see it at Word Count.
I'm ranked higher than the word "fuck" (5598) and "terrorism" (9035) and much much higher than "loser" (14211) and even higher than "boston" (8099).
Joe is cooler though. He's at 2,133. My brother, Chase is at 5,380. My sister is really out of luck. Misty rolls in at 15,562. My kitty (13131), Romeo, is at 14,939. My cat is more popular than my sister. But my dad, he's the coolest of all...at 1,119. Joe's mum, Rosie, is 8,541 and his father, Lionel is 15,068, still beating Misty out. My mom fares the worst...Lynette comes in at 74,764 out of 86,800 words in the archive.
It's good though...that happy ranks (848) higher than sad (2847). Heart is 712.
Content is 1678.
Joe tells me he's seen this before and that I should enter my birthday as the rank to see what I get. 6571 is "rebel." Hmmm. His birthday comes out to be "phase."
Even more interesting is the way that we use Word Count. Query Count tells us the dirty truth about us all. I come in at 815 there. Joe at 128. Fuck is #1. Sex #2. The #3. Love #4. Shit #5. Cunt #6. God #7. Granulation #8???????????????
Posted by crystallyn at 06:08 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
September 07, 2004
and more
I honestly don't understand why on earth ANYONE thinks that AK47s and Uzis should be available to anyone other than military personnel. Absolutely boggles my mind.
Posted by crystallyn at 08:18 PM | TrackBack
i find this exceptionally disturbing
Out of all the asinine things...
"On Monday, September 13th, at midnight, the national ban on military-style assault weapons will expire, allowing these murderous weapons back on our streets.
Congress is feeling the heat and is prepared to renew the ban, if the president will only ask -- but President Bush is letting the ban expire, on behalf of the gun lobby.
In 2000, President Bush campaigned on a promise to renew the ban. Yet today, after we've endured mass murders like Columbine and terrorists have bought assault weapons on American soil, President Bush is letting the ban expire.
Bush is jeopardizing our safety for the sake of an endorsement from the National Rifle Association. As reported in the newspaper The Hill, "The National Rifle Association's (NRA) endorsement of Bush is on hold until after the ban expires."[1]
Since 1994, the assault weapons ban has taken the deadliest military- style weapons off our streets, dramatically cutting their use in crimes by 66 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, and reducing the murder rates of police officers and the public.
This is not a partisan issue -- the assault weapons ban was supported by Presidents Reagan, Ford, Carter, and Clinton, and by Republicans Tom Ridge and Rudy Giuliani. The ban is supported by 74 percent of American voters, by Republicans and Democrats on the committees that investigated 9/11, and by virtually every police officers' association including the Major Cities Chiefs Association, International Brotherhood of Police Officers , National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), National Black Police Association, and Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association.
Yet President Bush is letting the ban expire, as he refuses to call on Congress to send him the ban renewal for his signature.
If he lets it expire, beginning Tuesday the 14th of September, an 18-year-old will once again be able to buy an AK-47 assault rifle in most states..."
Footnote:
[1] The Hill, "Gun makers get ready for big demand," September 2, 2004. Full excerpt from MoveOn.org.
There is an additional article that was published in the NY Times reposted here because the NY Times is a subscription only site (albeit a free one).
We need to do something about this...guns are out of control in this country. Just this weekend three youths died in Boston as a result of gun violence. Our schools and communities are no longer safe. Again Bush-hole is just plain WRONG.
Posted by crystallyn at 06:55 PM | TrackBack
September 02, 2004
I love this happy ending!
So I came home and Joe had me listen to the new Tears for Fears song off the album Everybody Loves a Happy Ending. I can't wait till it comes out next week! It's been WAY too long.
Another wonderful bit of music came my way this week--the new Bjork album, Medulla. It's a very different album for her, even more lyrically beautiful than her previous ones. She has the Icelandic Choir backing her up on many of her songs. It's really growing on me and I think it ranks up there with her Selmasongs album from the movie Dancer in the Dark, which, if you haven't rented it yet, head to Netflix NOW.
And silly me, I didn't know that They Might Be Giants have two websites! I always knew about tmbg.com but not about the other. Their new album The Spine
is amazing! Just as wacky as all the others, but deliciously different. I can't wait until we go see them on the 18th!
And WOOOHOOOOOO Ken Stringfellow has a new album out! How did I miss that? I used to know him, way back in the Posies days.
I have a picture of me talking with him and Jon Auer, but well, it's not scanned and I looked SO darn geeky. Turns out that he's opening for REM on October 29 but I bet there is no way in hell to get tickets. I'd kill to see him...REM would just be a bonus. Looks like Jon Auer has an album coming out in 2005 which also makes me infinitely happy!
Duran Duran is FINALLY almost ready to release their new reunion album, Astronaut. WOOOOHOOO John is back!
It's pretty scary to think that I've worshipped them for 24 years now. Ouch, I'm old.
Posted by crystallyn at 07:59 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Happy Belated Birthday!
to crystallyn.com that is!
I didn't even realize it, but it slipped by in July, marking nine years of existence! I didn't begin blogging until 2000 but I did have a website which went through various incarnations in the five years prior. It's come a LONG way. Back in 1995 I owned two domain names. Now I own three (down from five last year).
I am a geek.
Posted by crystallyn at 06:30 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
September 01, 2004
!!!
A quip from the RNC, which has made my stomach churn so I haven't been watching, but I couldn't ignore this wonderful comment:
"I think Laura Bush is the most elegant first lady we've ever had," said Trudi Dickert, a delegate from Virginia. "She is ... a Southern lady in many ways. She knows her place."
Knows her place?!!!! And what is that?!!!
Oh, oh, I'll just keep my mouth shut. I'm just too pissed off. I guess I don't know my place, do I?
Posted by crystallyn at 06:28 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack