It’s a Cat’s Trophy

Posted on November 30, 2016 by Linda Andrews

The hubbinator came home the other day to a horrible smell. Seems one cat caught something and shared it with the other four. Little piles of throw-up everywhere (in assorted colors, too).

After cleaning up the mess, opening the windows to air out the house, and checking to make certain all kitties were still alive, he sat down at the computer.

And realized the keyboard didn’t work.

Because there was vomit on it. He cleaned it off, took out the batteries, then tried again. Alas, the cats’ have claimed another trophy. My Mac keyboard.:(

When I arrived home, he broke the news. I thought I could just replace it with the one from my iPad (they are the same) but realized there would be multiple steps involved and decided instead to remove the wired one from the PC and plug it into the Mac.

It worked. Sort of. 

There were no shortcuts available for copy and pasting, as well as others.

But the biggest issue was the touch of the keys. I wasn’t typing on PC keyboard; l was pounding on it. And to make matters worse, I type by touch and the different spacing threw off my mojo and tanked my productivity. 

So instead of ordering a $100 replacement from Apple, I ordered a knock-off brand from amazon for $15. Still not the same but the shortcuts are there and the spacing of the keys is the same. 

It works for now.

Until next time!

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The Christmas Time Paradox

Posted on November 28, 2016 by Linda Andrews

Yes, I’ve been binge watching Christmas movies. In my defense, they started at midnight and kept going until midnight. I had to show how much I approved by tuning in. Hey, some folks watch sports. I watch Christmas movies.

Even though many of the tropes are the same, it’s the feel-good payoff at the end that keeps me watching.

But it also raises questions.

Like the  one where the day repeats, over and over again until the main character learns her lesson and finally the calendar resets.

We get it; we’ve all watched the movies. The most famous being Groundhog Day.

The same storyline has shown up in Christmas movies. Which begs the question, what happens when the timeline resets? I mean, some of those characters must have spent months if not years learning those lessons.

So how is the missing time accounted for? Do they age during those repeating days? Or is it a kind of stasis where time stands still and those used days come off at the end of the character’s life?

It’s okay, I’m gonna finish my eggnog and return to the movie marathon.

Until next time.

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Happy Thanksgiving USA

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Linda Andrews

Tomorrow starts the long Thanksgiving weekend where we Americans will stuff ourselves almost more than the Turkeys most of us will serve.

But today is prep day. I’ll be making the cherry cheesecake, prepping the salad, and double checking the ingredients for the homemade rolls and sauerkraut and spareribs for tomorrow’s dinner.

One thing I won’t be doing is going to the stores and shopping. This is family and friends time, where phones and TVs will be off and conversations will flow as we catch up. And I get to watch my oldest host her first holiday in her new house.

So to all those who celebrate, have a Happy Thanksgiving.

And for those who don’t, you’re halfway to the weekend.

In the meantime, I can’t forget the cranberry sauce.

cranberries, cranberry

© Valpal

Until next time.

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You Knew It Was Coming

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Linda Andrews

I’ll admit, I get irritated when I see Christmas decorations before Halloween is even over. (Note: This does not apply to craft stores, when I expect to see Christmas items in August). I mean really? Don’t they know that the time between Halloween and Thanksgiving is to mourn the end of Halloween?

But apparently, some folks haven’t gotten the message.

I did believe I lived in a neighborhood of like minded individuals until I took the dog on a walk last Saturday and saw someone  had their Christmas lights up and on.

Ug. No. That’s not right. Sure, you can put them up. You have the time. But turning them on…

That’s supposed to wait until Santa appears in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

Don’t get  me wrong. i love Christmas lights, but not before Thanksgiving. There has to be some order to the universe, people!

Until next time.

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Tis the Season

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Linda Andrews

Thanksgiving is almost upon us, and you know what that means–Christmas movies. I’ll be the first to admit that since giving up cable/satellite nearly 10 years ago, the only time I missed it was during the holiday season. Why?

Because I love Christmas movies, and I love how new stories are always waiting to become favorites.

I wish that channels would offer subscription services so that I might just stream the Hallmark Channel instead of having to pay for so many channels that I don’t want to watch. They do offer one for the Hall of Fame movies, but I want all of them, not just some of them. Heck, I’d even like it if they threw in a half hour program of their old commercials.

But I digress.

I’m happy to say, I have found ION television which plays Christmas movies all day Saturday and Sunday starting after Thanksgiving, but in the evenings of one of the sub channels, there’s Christmas movies on now.

And they’re awesome. No, I’m not just saying that because Netflix doesn’t have many up yet.

I’m saying it because, Christmas movies are the best examples of how to tap into the viewers emotions to give them that feel good sigh at the end. And they’re pure entertainment.

Of course, I still watch my old favorites on DVD/Blu-Ray, but it’s always fun to find a new movie to add.

Until next time.

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I Did It

Posted on November 16, 2016 by Linda Andrews

For the first time ever, I participated in NaNoWritMo. If you’ve never heard on of it, November is the yearly challenge to writers and aspiring writers to write a book in a month.

The idea is get through the rough draft then edit the words into something coherent. The catch is the 50K  word count. 

I’ve written 51K as of yesterday. But the story isn’t even finished.

So now I’ll keep writing and hope to have the rough done by thanksgiving.

I’m not sure if I’ll participate next year. It just seems anticlimactic to reach a goal but not have a complete book.

Until next time.

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It’s Time Again

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Linda Andrews

Like most folks who work full time, I look forward to my days off. The plan, as usual, is to sleep in. Alas, reality and plans rarely mirror each other.

Rain or shine, work day or day off, I wake up at the same time every day.

The hubbinator can sleep in, for hours after the alarm usually rings.

Yet, I rise and shine even when I don’t have to.

The good news is that on my day off I can go back to sleep after I rise, shine, feed the cats, and walk the dog.

I rule at naps.

Guess it all balances out in the end.

Until next time.

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Happy Veteran’s and Remembrance Day

Posted on November 11, 2016 by Linda Andrews

You’ve heard the line; this is the day. On November 11th, 1918, an armistice was declared pretty much ending the First World War. Many of the Commonwealth nations (those former colonies of Britain that didn’t have an armed revolution to declare their independence) celebrate today as Remembrance Day and their celebration of the day goes back to November 11, 1919 and is a pledge to honor those who died and their families. After World War II, the day now remembers all the fall in any war.

Here in the US, the day was celebrated as Armistice Day (Originally celebrated by the King of England in 1918) until 1954 when the name was changed to Veteran’s day to honor all those who served (both alive and dead) during the wars the country endured. Our Memorial Day is closer to the Commonwealths’ Remembrance Day. The night long vigil to watch over the dead is a remnant of times when many feared being buried alive (given the medicine at the time, it was a real possibility) and the corpses of soldiers being mutilated by the enemy.

Many of us recognize the poppy as the symbol of this day and its use came from two poems: In Flanders Fields by John McCrae (A Canadian) and the poem it inspired by Moina Michael called We Shall Keep the Faith. Ms. Michael’s work is often credited with making the poppy a symbol of the Great War and used the sale of the flowers to raise funds for ex-servicemen.

Remembering our service people is vital, for they have given us so much and are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice because we the people messed up and didn’t stand up when we should have. So I will leave you with this poem by  Pastor Niemöller who was sent to a concentration camp in 1937.

“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Perhaps the greatest honor we can give our Veterans is to not need them to clean up our mistakes.

Until next time.

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No Matter Who You Vote For on Tuesday, Remember This

Posted on November 7, 2016 by Linda Andrews

Every American has one of these:

img_0567

Yes, that is the cabinet where I keep my plasticware. Some of you may brag about having the vintage margarine and dessert topping storage, but some of us don’t remember to save them and are forced to buy new stuff.

It starts off like this:

img_0568

But it always ends up in the cabinet above. With more lids that don’t match the bottoms. While I’m sure some of you may have prosaic explanations, I’m certain those missing socks from the dryer turn into random lids. It’s the only explanation for how all the bottom parts are square and the lids are round.

Of course, I’m trying to fool the system but now purchasing different shapes.

In the meantime, I’ll be cleaning out the insanity and feeding the recycling bin with the unmatching lids/containers because let’s face it. Leftover season is nearly upon us.

And for those of you who don’t have a drawer or cabinet like the above, please know the government likes to dissect extraterrestrials, so you may want to fix that and try to blend in with the rest of us earthlings.

Until next time!

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Zombies

Posted on November 4, 2016 by Linda Andrews

No, I’m  not talking politics. I’m talking those original undead. Sorry to sound like a Tanya Tucker song, but I was a fan of the genre before it was cool.

I remember the days when zombies were created by Voodoo and not a virus, or because Hell filled up.

My first introduction to zombies was the classic: White Zombie with Bela Lugosi.

It was, quite frankly, a weird movie, but it stuck in my head as particularly wonderful and so my love affair with zombies began. The movies were fun escapism and cemented my view that true zombies can only shamble along, because (Hello!) they are dead tissue which won’t work as well as living tissue (no running!).

Notable exceptions are the Resident Evil movies (T-cells cause a mutation) or the 28 Days (Weeks) where is was an infection by Rage (not really a zombie at all).

I love the whole genre, but the most disturbing take on the genre was the classic, George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (70s edition).

Not only did it feature people trapped in a mall (who hasn’t thought about living in a mall), but the notion that hell filled up and sent all the souls back, just added to the horror.

It was only after I watched Dawn of the Dead that I saw Night of the Living Dead and appreciated Mr. Romero’s vision all the more.

So  yes, I stalk Netflix looking for the next zombie movie and will watch anything, no matter how bad they are-including the ones with biker chicks, strippers, and in languages other than English.

Some of my favorites are:

Dead Snow (although Dead Snow 2 was awesome and funnier)

Reanimator (while not the best, it came out during my HS days and I love it for the memories it resurrects. Hehe). Yes I have watched the sequels.

Horde

REC

Zombieland

Shawn of the Dead

Fido (I loved this even more than Shawn of the Dead)

Cockney vs Zombies

Honorable mention to Night of the Comet (not really zombies, but still a good story)

Worth mentioning: Army of Darkness (and it’s sequels, but not really zombies per se)

There are so many bad movies that I enjoyed even as I groaned but these are the ones that I’ve watched more than once..

Please share any that you’ve enjoyed.

Until next time,

 

 

 

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