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Infiniti M35 / M45 Prices Paid and Buying Experience
Enter your experience here!
There's $4000 dealer cash on the 2004 M45 this month.0
bdhplayer Posts: 14Doublecheck the number. Last month it was $5000 when I bought my M45. I can't imagine it went down from Aug to Sept0
I did and it did! Then again, I got mine when it was a $7000 incentive0
kcc7 Posts: 2How much I should expect as discount to new 2004 leftovers. I saw a dealership in texas advertised $9,000 below sticker. Could do better? Thanks0
bodble2 Posts: 4,519I got mine for free! I just have to drive around and advertise the car for them.0
bsouth808 Posts: 1Although it took a couple of trips and a few phone calls to other dealers I got the car with the Premium Package for MSRP. I was told by several people that it was a deal and that I had better jump on it if offered.0
"Although it took a couple of trips and a few phone calls to other dealers I got the car with the Premium Package for MSRP. I was told by several people that it was a deal and that I had better jump on it if offered."
you should check out the m45 message board. seems like pricing may be softening, at least in some markets.0
m4dennis Posts: 2I hope to get this topic going again!
I am ready to buy an M45 Sport, but cannot find a dealer in northwest Florida or Alabama willing to sell below MSRP. I am hoping people will start sharing their buying experiences and strategies here to help those of us who are in the buying process. Thanks for any help provided.
We bought an M45 Sport last night at North Houston Infiniti. We were looking at M35 (to trade in 1999 Q45T bought new). I didn't like the way the M35 drove. Did like M35 Sport and non-sport M45, but they seemed "hard pressed" to find a non-sport M45 anywhere in the nation that was acceptable to me w/ the options (wanted base) and colors (dark). Ended up buying black on black (again) w/ journey package, that expensive trunk mat, and wood trip. Paid full retail. Received only $12,000 for our Q45t that had 45,600 miles on it and was in great condition. We were taken, but at least they were pleasant. They tried to give us $10,500 for the trade-in, and edmunds came up w/ $12503 for "clean" and over $13,000 for "excellent". We met the clean specs by far but not excellent. They would have gone to the $12503, but we'd spent ages driving cars that night, etc.
They were friendly, but they abandoned us a number of times for great amounts of time, knowing we currently owned 2 Q45Ts we bought new and had traded one of those in from a Q45T and that we'd been owners for 8 years. The dealer here gives blackberrys. Is everyone doing that? I just activated a Sidekick II with a year's contract 6 weeks ago.
Bring in BOTH Kelly and Edmunds statements on condition of your car. At least they didn't change anything when we told them we were paying cash.
This car is coming from Alabama.0
Didn't mention my Q45T was a 1999 w/ only 45k on it0
wannabgood1 Posts: 25I have a quote in hand from a chicago area dealer on an m45 lux with journey, nav for $1500 off msrp with no negotiating. Submitted via web to dealer and quote came back via email. Shopping other dealers now. Anyone else in chicago bought one of these or have any quotes and shopping now?0
esenior Posts: 1Just ordered my M45 a few weeks ago from Discover Infiniti in San Diego, CA. They didn't have any cars matching my requirements, so had to order it. I ordered :
M45 Sport (Black on Black/Aluminum)
Technology Package with Sirius Sat Radio (to match my Dish Network)
Journey Package
DVD Navigation
Mobile Entertainment (for the kids)
Trunk Mat (Space Saver)
Aero Kit
Chrome Rims (Dealer provided, normally $1500)
Before tax and License - $58k
Probably could have gotten it a few bucks cheaper, but wasn't worth the haggling, and frankly, Jack (our salesman) has treated us really well.
By the way....I also drive the GS430 (VERY comfortable, but felt gutless) and the 545I (comperable performance, but the M's interior was better).
- Eric
P.S. I'm new to the forum...just joined this evening.0
tomc1227 Posts: 20Has anyone leased an '06 M35 or M45? How do the lease payments work out?
If you've gotten a good lease deal, please post the MSRP, selling price, cap cost reduction, drive off and monthly payment before tax.
(Sorry to ask for so much, but leasing is complex and all this info is needed for the rest of us to be educated before we walk into the dealer!)
gjsctc Posts: 9im looking at m35awd and non sport m45 with journey and tech package.acan anyone tell me if they have bought a car with these options and for how much.0
I live in PA
I got the M45 sport with everything.
MSRP was $62,950.00
Selling Price - $59,998.00
rate - 2.020
term - 42 mths
miles - 15k
residual - 59% $37,140.50
Due on Delivery - $1,988.01 which means my cap reduction is $978.13
monthly payment - $797.85
tax rate - 9%
I had to order the car as they did not have a M45 sport in my color Liquid Platnium/Graphite Interior/Rosewood with Premium package, aero kit, full size spare0
jrock65 Posts: 1,371aegis,
Congrats on your purchase. Your selling price of $59,998 may be THE most expensive Infiniti that the company has EVER sold.
A fully loaded Q45 is $63,800, but the actual selling price is much lower than $60,000.
Maybe you should ask them for a free T-shirt.
However, I am confused. According to www.infiniti.com, the M45 Sport is not available with the Premium Package.0
very funny.....I have the 02 Q45 right now, and looked at the new ones. yes, they are selling in the 57's and 58's.
Your right, it is not listed on the web site. I sat down with the sales guy today and the sales price I was able to build on the site was lower, because of this. But the premium package which costs $10,500 and includes the rear reclining seats, was a package. I let the sales guy know there was no premium package on the site and he didn't realize this. But the tech, journey, and premium pakages are all available.0
Got a call from the dealer today....they can't do the premium with the sport model. so the site and you were correct. Now I have to decide between the 45 and 45 sport. I have the extra options that the premium gives me on my Q45 and love them, but there is a difference in the drive of sport and no sport.....tough choice now0
Solicited quote via internet from Chgo area dealer for M45 Sport MSRP $56,780. Came back with quote of $56,130 with explanation that car is demo with 200 mi on it so this is the reason for coming down off sticker. Shouldnt demo warrant a bigger discount? Are M45 Sports still that hot that sticker is the deal?0
tayl0rd Posts: 1,926No. Keep workin' 'em.0
from what i've been reading, about $2000 below msrp (new) seems to be the area where a lot of people are buying cars....and no the m45 sports are not particularly 'hot'...i think the m35x is the most soft after variant relative to production.0
burry Posts: 37M45 Sport
Trunk Mat
Quote: $3,140 off MSRP if willing to Order Car
Comments ??0
mikestevens Posts: 17The quote I got on a loaded M45 Sport was 200 off MSRP--$200! I was ready to laugh...0
msu79gt82 Posts: 541Seems like a good deal to me; usually they discount more for cars on the lot as opposed to a special order.0
Visited one Chgo area dealer for Ms this weekend and not coming off sticker. Did you get deal done at $1500 or more below sticker. Also looking at M35x as AWD is attractive. Dont think I really need the 50 extra horses of the M45 and Chgo weather may make AWD useful. Comments anyone?0
gfish1 Posts: 3Can anyone share what deals they've seen for an M35 in the San Fransisco Bay Area? Best I got was $500 off MSRP.
blackm35 Posts: 1I just bought an M35 w/premium pkg @ sacramento infinti at prox $1500 off MSRP. It was not my first choice in color or package but i grew tired of finding the color and pkg i wanted. I had a few different dealers searching the west coast for inventory and/or incoming cars that fit my criteria. I had been quoted MSRP and 4-6 mos to order the M35 exactly as i wanted. The difference between this one w/premium and the M35 sport w/tech,journey & Sirius was about $700. I bit the bullet and won't look back. Good Luck.0
legendman Posts: 362Dont think I really need the 50 extra horses of the M45 and Chgo weather may make AWD useful. Comments anyone?
Well, the M45 is a rocket, and I believe that there are some performance enhancements unique to the M45 under the hood (aspiration related I think), so if a super fast, torquey car is something that really turns you on I would say go for it. That is, if you don't mind spending thousands more to get it. If "fast" is good enough for your style of driving, I would say that the M35 is still a great car.
AWD brings a lot of road grip, cornering ability, and safety to the table. I am from Chicago originally, and I would not live there with a rear wheel drive only car. It would have to be AWD or front wheel drive given the snow and icy road conditions, not to mention the occasionally heavy rains.
You could save some tax money if you buy in Lake County or just across the border in Wisconsin. You might be able to get a better sales price in Wisconsin, as I suspect the market there would be a bit softer than would Chicago and suburbs, but that's just a hunch,
Let us know how it works out.0
Just bought M35 non-sport last night. Didn't like the rough ride of the sport. With Journey and Navigation it stickered at $46,010. I paid $44,600 (about $400 less than carsdirect.com quoted me) I also rec'd 4.55% financing for 60 mos. They originally told me 5.75%, I then said my credit union did 4.75%, so they beat it. Negotiate the rate!
Other notes:
No trade in
Bought Graphite ext., Black int w/ wood grain - incredibly beautiful.
Southern California - Infiniti of Mission Viejo0
I gave the M35 and M35Sport extensive test drives and I think the difference is significant. The Sport package rides very rough - you will feel every bump on the road. I just sold a Saab for that reason.0
This discussion has been closed.


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Cannes Lions: live from the Guardian Speakers' Lounge
Yannick Bolloré, chairman of the communications company Havas, joins the Guardian's Mark Sweney in the Speakers' Lounge at the Cannes Lions advertising festival. He discusses the failed Publicis-Omnicom merger and why advertising firms are increasingly acquiring technology start-ups2:53
Creative director and co-founder of Dutch marketing agency describes how his company helped the children's charity Terre des Hommes to catch paedophiles in the Philippines2:58
Neil deGrasse Tyson of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey: 'Science needs a little bit of marketing' - video
Astrophysicist, author and host of the popular National Geographic TV show joins Mark Sweney at the Cannes Lions festival2:54
Chief marketing officer joins Mark Sweney to discuss how the multinational markets its products in hard-to-reach parts of the globe2:37
Ad agency founder tells Mark Sweney that the Cannes Lions festival is in danger of losing its way by fetishising digital marketing3:33
Gareth Neame scotches rumours that the show's fifth season will be its last. He says that writer Julian Fellowes and the star-studded cast remain on top form3:25
Chris Maples, European vice president of music streaming app Spotify, denies his company is underpaying recording artists and says previous record industry refuseniks are coming round to the service3:38
Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL, joins the Guardian's Mark Sweney at the Cannes Lions festival to discuss the changing advertising and digital media landscape3:38
Cannes Lions festival: BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti tells the Guardian's Mark Sweney that his site is still grappling with 'native advertising' – the blending of marketing with their user experience. He discusses how BuzzFeed is recruiting foreign correspondents to beef-up its news operation – without abandoning the fun content that made it popular3:30
Cannes Lions festival: Bradford-born star of UKTV tells Mark Sweney how working with Panasonic set him on course for on-screen work3:23
Magazine's editor-in-chief tells Mark Sweney that it has a long history of tackling issues such as equality in the workplace3:32

subset: commoncrawl


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Admission $5
This is a hangout time especially for new mommies & babies. Come after your little one's morning nap for a little socializing and unstructured playtime. We have AC, nice clean toys, and a nice plush no-shoes carpet. Please bring a blanket or towel to lay your baby on if they are still in the spit-up stage. Pre-walking babies only.
Please RSVP email@example.com
Back to All Events
Admission $5
Admission $5
Earlier Event: June 26Breastfeeding Support Group
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Sorry all for the minor necro-post, but I was wondering if the OP would be willing to provide the svg. That way we can all get any resolution we need on-demand without needing to request one.
All the best,
Just use the 2560x1600 version, crop it to the fitting aspect ratio and resize it to your resolution.]]>
All the best,
Looks pretty good. Thank you!
A 4:3 version would be nice, if possible (1280x1024 would be perfect). ^^'
Up there now. Sorry for the delay ... again.]]>
The Arch logo is plain and simpel. Plainly and simply aesthetic. I like the gradient in the picture.
One question comes to my mind: Do people really use wallpapers with the logo of their distro?
Yep, yep I do!
Oh and nice wall! I will definitely be using it!]]>
Thanx, I needed a wallpaper like this. Thumbs up !]]>
Nice! Could I get a 1280x800 one. Thanks
I like that A 1920x1200 version would be nice.
Up there now. Sorry it took so long, have been pretty busy.]]>


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Interested in buying an issue of Salad? Carrying it in your store? Want to submit or pitch an idea? Subscribe? Collaborate? Email firstname.lastname@example.com
We're on Twitter, if you're into that: @doublesalad
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FEMA, the Association of State Floodplain Managers, the South Dakota Office of Emergency Management, and Pennington County are pleased to offer a FEMA E273 course in Rapid City, South Dakota beginning on March 20, 2017.
This course is designed to provide an organized training opportunity for local officials responsible for administering their local floodplain management ordinance. The course will focus on the NFIP and concepts of floodplain management, maps and studies, ordinance administration, and the relationship between floodplain management and flood insurance.
Local officials responsible for administering local floodplain management ordinances, including but not limited to floodplain management administrators, building inspectors, code enforcement/zoning officers, planners, city/county managers, attorneys, engineers, and public works officials. Federal/state/regional floodplain managers also are encouraged to attend. The course is designed for those officials with limited floodplain management experience.
Becoming a CFM - Informational Video: CLICK HERE (YouTube 5'04" Video)
Basic Course Information
COST: 4-Day Course is Free - Registration required.
DATE: March 20 – 23, 2017 (Monday – Thursday)
TIME: 8am – 5pm MT
LOCATION: Pennington County, Administration Building
Emergency Operations Center
130 Kansas City Street, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701
DEADLINE: 5PM (MT) February 15, 2017. (Registration by postal mail MUST be received in our office by 5pm on 2.15.17)
For more information:
Go to the COURSE FLYER: CLICK HERE
Basic Exam Information
March 24, 2017 (9am-Noon MT)
COST: Variable CLICK HERE
DATE: March 24, 2017 (Friday)
TIME: 9am – Noon MT
LOCATION: Pennington County, Administration Building
DEADLINE: 5PM (MT) March 15, 2017.
For more information go to the EXAM FLYER:
**Confirmation of Course Registration**
Confirmations on course registration will not be sent until after the February 15, 2017, deadline. Confirmation notifications will include more detailed information about the Course, Exam, Location, and discounted Hotel Accommodations. Please be advised that all South Dakota Certified Floodplain Managers will get preference on registration.
P.J. Conover, MS, CFM
Directo, Pennington County Planning Department
130 Kansas City St. Suite 200
Rapid City, SD 57701
Office: (605) 394-2186, Ext 1404


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Kimberly Brix hails from a good family, but when her parents cut off her allowance for too much partying, she decides she needs to get some money another way. Girls at school tell her about a sugar daddy site where girls can be paid good money to keep these men happy. She meets up with Michael, a rich businessman who has the biggest dick she has ever seen! They have a few drinks at his place, and things heat up pretty quickly. He takes her into the bedroom where she sees what he has to offer. Sucking on his huge black shaft, it gets even bigger, and makes her gag when she swallows as much as she can. She spreads her pussy wide allowing him to ease his massive girth into her. It makes her moan loudly, and fills her up like she's never experienced! Then he takes her from behind giving her his entire length before she climbs on top, which makes her squirt over and over again, drenching him in her juices. She begs him to cum inside her pussy, and he does, filling her up until she overflows all over his drained dick.
Watch the world's best HD Interracial videos! Featuring beautiful girls in first time interracial.


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What struck me most about the Queen's speech was not the draconian plans to combat terrorism or crime. With an election coming up, that is just advertising. The government has plenty of powers to combat terrorism. But still feels the need to convince tabloid readers of how illiberal it can truly be.
No, the astonishing thing was how petty and technocratic were most of the 37 bills and draft bills proposed. Seven years on, and perhaps just five months until the general election cuts through the legislative programme, and what are we talking about? Cutting the number of National Lottery funds from three to one. Amalgamating existing laws on animal welfare. Making school inspections shorter. Tidying up the rules on public inquiries. Means-testing legal aid in magistrates' courts. Boosting local government's powers on fly-tipping and abandoned cars. Shuffling the nature and countryside agencies. Fusing the powers of the Welsh Ombudsman. Setting up a Welsh transport users' committee.
What a truly depressing list of administrative desk-shuffling. Most of it seems aimed only to make the statue-book look a bit neater (if a lot longer, too). More (like the proposed extensions to disabled access, or increasing the penalties on in-care mobile phone use) amounts to just changing or extending measures passed in the last seven years.
Couldn't they get it right first time? Is this dreary list really the best our national politicians can do for us?
I must admit: as a bit of a techie too, I was secretly pleased to see the plan for part-privatizing the Probation Service, though it goes nowhere near far enough. But then its chance of surviving a truncated parliamentary session is roughly zero.
And the chance of a number of other bills surviving is about zero too. Crossrail (too late, anyway, after so much prevarication, to help Britain's 2012 Olympics bid) is clearly a gonner. I don't hold out much hope for the bill allowing councils to provide better school transport. The Supreme Court idea might well get clogged up in the Lords, who have grave doubts about it. The plan for living wills could be just as controversial. As might the measure to test people for drugs after they have been arrested. And while the EU constitution referendum will certainly be forced through, it will provide bystanders with a great deal of amusement on the way.
So what are we left with? Gambling: a liberalization truncated after intense lobbying from the established vested interests. (So instead of competition, we're allowing just eight super-casinos. Super-monopolies, more like.) Railways: abolishing the Strategic Rail Authority which this government created, and trying to unscramble the mess unleashed by ex-DTI minister Stephen Byers. Various other solutions to non-problems.
And, of course, the headline-grabbing measures to crack down on serious (and non-serious) crime and make us all carry ID cards. (It's interesting that even the US, after 9/11, hasn't chosen to adopt and ID-card scheme. But then American politicians perhaps have a greater grasp of constitutional liberties than ours.) Still, it's all good electioneering stuff.
But what mention is there of the really deep structural dysfunctions in our public services? Enabling school heads to manage budgets over three years rather than one? How pathetic. It's time to give heads complete control over their budgets, and their land and buildings too, and scrap the LEAs. Give parents a voucher for the cost of their kids' education, and make schools compete for their custom. Incentivise good heads to take over failing schools. That will do more to raise the quality of sink schools than simply shifting their most disruptive pupils out to mess up the education in the good ones.
Same in health. Foundation hospitals are a central bureaucrat's idea of freedom. Just get the Whitehall and local bureaucracy out. Empower patients with cash, competitively-provided social insurance, or savings plans along ISA lines, so that hospitals will be desperate to welcome them in, rather than treating them as a necessary inconvenience.
And tax. It's not just become too high, it's far too complicated. Tolley's Tax Guide, the accountant's bible, now runs to 7,344 pages across four volumes. So let's follow the lead of nine other countries, including four EU members: scrap all the complicated rules, loopholes, exemptions, credits, and rebates, and introduce a flat tax. About 19% on incomes over £18,000 should do it. Since it's not worth cheating at that rate, the rich start paying a lot more – as the other flat-taxers have found. The poor, of course, pay nothing, unlike today. And since low tax rates make work more worthwhile, you get an instant boost to economic growth.
That's a modest programme that should be do-able between now and May 5. But it would do a lot more to change life in this country than what our tired politicians are actually proposing.
Dr Eamonn Butler is Director of the Adam Smith Institute


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Okay, I think that October is Pastor's Appreciation Month. Does anyone here "celebrate" that by doing something special for their pastors? I used to give small gifts to the pastors that I was close to (2 of 15 pastors): flowers, take them to lunch, a CD or book, etc. I'd like to do, or help organize, something small for the senior pastor and children's pastor of our new church.
I thought about having the children sign a picture frame with colored sharpies, then putting in a group shot from sunday school? Any thoughts? Any ideas? Any ideas for the senior pastor? Do you think he'd appreciate a gift certificate for a nice restaurant plus a "certificate" for babysitting services for his children on that night?
I really want to acknowledge them because they are wonderful people!


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Multi-Lingual Streaming
Live streaming is not a new addition to our repertoire, we've been doing this for several years now. However, there is always room for improvement and new technological approaches.
Today we streamed an event from Brussels with multiple language support. What does that eventually mean? Viewers of the stream were able to choose which audio channel they want to hear: Dutch or French.
This service was complemented by a login feature and a live question module. This way users were able to propose questions directly from the streaming platform, and a selection of the proposed questions were answered by the panel: an easy way to interact with your audience.


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Just up this week are the top entries and selected works in The Poorwill Gallery's Online Pinhole Competition. My photograph "Corrugation" was chosen by the gallery's owner, artist (and pinhole photographer) Diane Worth Doty. She also included my pinhole photographs titled "Terrior" and "Dardenne"
I shot "Corrugation" and the others last December (I think. I keep lousy notes). I had been waiting for a day in which a cold front and snow were predicted, and Mother Nature did not disappoint me. I loaded up my Zero2000 pinhole camera with some 120 black and white Shanghai GP3 film and headed to one of my "go to" places that I have been visiting since I was in high school.
The front came through right on time as the weatherman predicted. But I wasn't expecting the raw wind that came with it. I was dressed warmly, just not warmly enough. Standing next to lakes and streams, bits of sleet and snow slapping my face, I could only take a couple of shots at a time before I had to return to the car to warm up. Because of this shoot, I ordered fingerless gloves that very afternoon.
When I got home, I announced that I had suffered for my art that morning. My fingers became so cold I could not bend them. I could barely see through my glasses covered in snow and ice. And several times I had to close the shutter with my finger because the cable release became frozen.
I shot the GPS at ISO 50, and most images took several minutes to expose. I was hoping for lots of blurry trees waving in the wind, but the disparity between sky and ground was so great that the tops of the trees disappeared, giving most shots an alien world look. Overall, these happy accidents turned out to be interesting. I particularly like "Corrugation" because of the way the clouds look corrugated.
I have been avoiding the dreaded "Artist's Statement," but one was required for submission. I tried not to be too pompous. Here it is:
"I use cameras the way painters use different brushes. I am intrigued by the way light is rendered by a camera in general, and the way light is rendered by different cameras using different films in particular. As a writer, I am dedicated to using language to precisely tell a story. I strive for the same effect in photography. I shoot primarily black and white because I grew up with family photos that were black and white, because that was how I learned to shoot, develop and print film, and because black and white decontextualizes the viewing experience. I dream mostly in black and white, and this greatly influences my perception. I have recently begun to explore the possibilities of the infinite depth of field offered by pinholes. It is an additional challenge to see the way these lensless cameras render the world. My photographs are almost exclusively full frame and in camera, with limited adjustment in either a wet or digital darkroom."


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Kite Beach Inn is a 26-room beachfront hotel located directly on Kite Beach in Cabarete, on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic. Kites can be launched on Kite Beach directly off our property. You can also take kiteboarding lessons with our affiliated IKO kiteboarding school Kite Club Cabarete right next door.
At Kite Beach Inn, you have the easiest and most direct access to Kite Beach. We pride ourselves in providing the best valued hotel rooms right on Kite Beach. Kite Beach Inn also provides a casual, friendly and fun atmosphere where you can simply hang out and relax or meet other like-minded people and make friends. Many of our guests enjoy surfing in the morning and kiteboarding in the afternoon. Guests also enjoy the vibrant Cabarete nightlife with many clubs and restaurants located along the beach in downtown Cabarete.
Kite Beach Inn provides modern amenities allowing you to be as active or relaxed and comfortable as you wish. You can chill out on our many lounge chairs around the pool and on our wood deck, connect to the real world via free high speed internet, eat and drink at our Coco Loco beachfront restaurant/bar, play beach volleyball or rent water sport equipment. Kite Beach Inn also has a diesel back-up generator for 24/7 electrical service, hot water, a communal kitchen, on-site security, maid service and paid laundry service.
Our on-site hotel managers can arrange taxi service, book tours, book kiteboarding lessons and surfing lessons for our guests. We pride ourselves in providing excellent customer service because we understand happy guests mean good word-of-mouth and repeat guests.
If you are looking for the best and most affordable hotel location in Cabarete for kiteboarding, Kite Beach Inn is for you. We look forwards to meeting you.
Hotel & Lessons Package deal
1 week Hotel & Kite package! 7 nights in standard room with air conditioning, 5-day/10-hour beginner kiteboarding course including equipment and IKO certification. 2 people minimum booking for Semi-private or Group lessons PRIVATE: USD $899 per person. Private room, 10 hrs private lessons inc. personal Equipment SEMI-PRIVATE: USD $599 per person, 2 per room, 10 hrs semi-private lessons inc. personal Equipment GROUP: USD $449 per person. 2 per room, 10 hrs group lessons inc. shared Equipment. (2 people minimum booking for Semi-private or Group lessons)
Standard Rooms & Studios
This accommodation is right on Kitebeach next to the Kite Club school, you'll be right where all the Kite action is! Rooms can be booked as single, double or twin occupation, and sleep up to 3 people max for no extra charge. All Standard rooms come with en suit bath, 1 queen or 2 single beds, air conditioning, digital cable TV and free WiFi. You'll have easy access to the pool, kite beach and all of Kite Club facilities. All Studios come with air conditioning, private bath, digital satellite TV, WiFi, kitchenette with fridge. Ground floor Studios come with 2 or 3 single beds, great for freinds on a budget! Sleeps up to 3 Ocean view Studios come with 1 queen + 1 single bed and a balcony with ocien views Penthouse Studios come with 1 queen bed and stunning ocean views. You'll have easy access to the pool, kite beach and all of Kite Club facilities. Standard Room USD 49.00 per night Standard Room 2 Twin Beds, air conditioning, en suit bath, digital cable TV. Ground Floor Studio USD 69.00 per night Studios come with air conditioning, private bath, 2 or 3 single beds, digital satellite TV, WiFi, kitchenette with fridge. Ocean View Studios USD 79.00 per night Studios come with air conditioning, private bath, 1 queen bed + 1 single bed, digital satellite TV, WiFi, ocean view, kitchenette with fridge.


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Nadia McGregor - The Revolution Kid/
This week we talk to Nadia McGregor founder and director of School of Design Thinking. It is a fascinating discussion covering Nadia's current work with design thinking and what that actually is. Also as an Iranian born woman, design thinking has had a great affect on her life and what brought her to New Zealand.


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In "Understanding Comics" Scott McCloud made it cool to take comics seriously. Now the man hailed by graphic icons from Neil Gaiman to Alan Moore is back with a brand new graphic novel, five years in the making! The Sculptor reworks the classic tale of an artist willing to do anything to succeed, including making a deal with Death. Join Scott McCloud as he takes to the CHF stage to discuss life in and outside of comics.
GET THE FACTS: On average, 96% of CPS elementary school students had access to arts instruction in the 2015-16 school year.


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Crime - Sacto 911
Detectives release suspect sketches in Walnut Grove robbery, killing
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department has released sketches of two men involved in a home-invasion robbery and killing in Walnut Grove last month.
The department also released a photo of a sport-utility vehicle that may have been used by three men involved in the shooting that left Thomas Rehberg, 40, mortally wounded.
Three people, including Rehberg, were inside a home in the 14200 block of River Road in Walnut Grove at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 22 when two men knocked on the door. When the door was opened, the intruders pushed their way in and tied up the residents.
During the robbery, Rehberg was shot. He died at the scene.
The intruders fled in a 2000 to 2005 white Chevrolet Tahoe. They were dressed as construction workers, including orange vests, white helmets and work boots.
One sketch shows a black man in his early 50s, about 6 feet 2 inches tall, with short or no hair, and with sideburns and a goatee. The other sketch shows a black man in his mid-30s to early 40s, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, stocky, dark hair, mustache and a tattoo on his forearm.
The third man was described as young with dark brown hair.
Bill Lindelof: 916-321-1079, @Lindelofnews


text:
COLOGNE (Hollywood Reporter) - Cannes' 2011 slate seems designed to avoid the pitfalls of last year's competition, which failed to produce a single Oscar winner, crossover commercial success or grand cinema scandal — the three boxes any great film festival worthy of the name needs to tick.
For its 64th edition, beginning Wednesday, Cannes appears intent on reasserting its claim to the title of world's best film festival, with an auteur-heavy lineup that includes Pedro Almodovar, Lars von Trier and Terrence Malick.
The fest is also putting the focus on youth with a generous sampling of the hottest up-and-comers in global film, from Nicolas Winding Refn, the Danish director of the Ryan Gosling vehicle "Drive," to Julia Leigh, the Aussie first-timer behind the edgy "Sleeping Beauty."
On the star front, Cannes this year is an embarrassment of riches, playing it safe with big names such as Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Eva Longoria, Jodie Foster, Antonio Banderas and Owen Wilson. Not to mention France President Nicolas Sarkozy and first lady Carla Bruni, who will likely hog the opening-night spotlight when they show up for the premiere of Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris," in which Bruni has a cameo.
But in Cannes, the films are the stars, and it's with this year's competition lineup that the festival really shines.
The hottest ticket is Malick's long-gestating "The Tree of Life." The drama, starring Pitt and Penn, was originally set to bow last year in Cannes before perfectionist Malick withdrew it to tinker further. The delay has only heightened the film's enigmatic allure, and expectations are high.
"It was very important for Cannes to have this movie because we have been talking about it for a year now," says Xavier Leherpeur, a film critic for French movie magazine Studio CineLive. "I want it to be great."
Malick has been to Cannes only once before — in 1979, when he won the director prize for "Days of Heaven." But even sight unseen, "Tree of Life," which screens May 16, is the odds-on favorite to win the Palme d'Or.
That said, Malick has some stiff competition.
Almodovar — who, despite three previous attempts, hasn't won Cannes' top prize — throws his bonete back in the ring with "The Skin I Live In." The film is a genre departure for the Spanish master of melodrama. A horror thriller, "Skin" stars Banderas as a plastic surgeon who hunts down the man who raped his daughter.
Von Trier, who took horror to new heights (and lows) with "Antichrist" two years ago, returns with his stab at science fiction, "Melancholia." Starring Kirsten Dunst, Kiefer Sutherland and Alexander Skarsgard, the film is wryly referred to as a "beautiful movie about the end of the world."
David Gritten, a film critic for London's Telegraph, says "Melancholia" could be this year's grand scandale. "Von Trier probably took things as far as he could with Antichrist," Gritten says, "but when it comes to scandals at Cannes, you can never rule him out."
If von Trier doesn't deliver in the shock stakes, the baton might pass to Leigh, whose debut, "Sleeping Beauty," is an erotic drama about a woman (Emily Browning) who falls into a narcoleptic form of prostitution.
Less scandalous but equally well regarded are Belgian filmmaking duo and two-time Palme d'Or winners the Dardenne brothers, who return to the competition after a three-year absence with their drama "The Kid With the Bike." But other Cannes heavyweights making up this year's roster appear willing to push the envelope in unexpected ways, including Romania's Radu Mihaileanu, whose "La Source des Femmes" tells the story of a group of village women who threaten to go on a sex strike. Then there's the normally sedate Nanni Moretti, whose curiously titled "We Have a Pope" looks at the relationship between a recently elected pontiff and his therapist.
As for whether this year's lineup will still have any buzz come Oscar time — never a certainty, especially after last year — a handful of titles could appeal to Academy voters, including Refn's action thriller "Drive," which is bolstered by the presence of Gosling and Carey Mulligan, two of the most lauded young stars onscreen at the moment. Then there's "We Need to Talk About Kevin" from British helmer Lynne Ramsay, which is getting major buzz for its performances by Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly as the parents of a teenage boy who goes on a shooting spree.
As for dark horses, keep an eye out for "This Must Be the Place," an English-language drama from "Il Divo" director Paolo Sorrentino. If the plot — gothic rocker-turns-Nazi hunter to avenge his father — doesn't sound out-there enough to generate interest, then Penn in a jet-black wig and mascara is sure to be one of the more enduring images on the Croisette this year.


text:
Quote of the day...er...week...umm...hey, look, a quote!!
For old quotes, look here.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Doin' the Bump(er)
I don't have a photograph of the first one, although I'll try to get one soon. White background, black lettering, very simple, it says:
I don't know what your problem is, but I bet it's hard to pronounce.
I don't have it on my car - rather, it's in a notebook with a few other favourites. Aren't you just thrilled? I know, I know, you can't wait for the next one. Well...too bad
Now I'm off to a long day of motorcycle racing. Wee!!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Rain, Four Days, and a Mess
If it does rain over the weekend, it'll be an interesting few days. Starting Thursday, I'll be working in the tower over at the track, running communications for the AMA motorcycle event. They don't run in the rain. I am torn between hoping the weather is fine (I like these guys and hate to see them lose track time) and hoping the rain continues and the lake once again fills. Not that I live near the lake, but our drinking water comes from there, among other places, and I actually like flushing my toilet once in a while without feeling guilty.
Rain or not, for the next four days I'll be at the track (Road Atlanta, if you're interested), up in the tower, juggling radios, emergencies, timers, and whatever else they throw at me - but mostly, course communications and dispatch for emergency vehicles. Sounds fun, huh? It is. I may bring Bob the Wonder Computer along every day, but won't likely be on the Internet until I come home at night.
While I'm working all day at the track, Mum (who has also done tower duty over there) will be hanging out with the Evil Genius at home. This is because T will also be at the track, working as a corner marshal (if you've ever watched a televised race and seen those folks in white who wave flags, run to wrecks and assist drivers/riders, put out fires, run across the track to retrieve debris, and generally look like they're hot, tired, and having a blast - that's a corner marshal).
Since Mum's staying for four days, I really needed to go clean her room. T and I were recently cleaning out the space under the stairs (no, not looking for Harry Potter, although I think we found a few hairy spiders), and before anything went back I needed to sort through all of it and toss some junque. No kidding, there were things that have been under there since we moved in - I'm thinking that we haven't missed the for eight years, so maybe I can toss 'em. Whatever else I did, I needed to get the mess out of there, because I'm pretty sure she won't want to sleep in the old port-a-crib or on the floor under the bed (the only two options before we sorted all that mess off the bed).
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
A Georgia Bulldogs game, complete with onlookers:
Ride 'em crowboys!
The Nascrow winner's circle:Town crowyer:
That's just a few of them - there was a nativity scene complete with scarecrow people dressed as animals, and entire scarechoir, brides and grooms, a grouping of Sheriff's Deputies, and more - about twelve hundred in all if the numbers are to be believed. They need four-thousand to make the record - I am kind of hoping they make it!
You can't beat small-town America for finding odd amusements.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Between Sea and Sky
I would drift, float, sometimes slip into the water, lay on my back, and just...be.
When I moved away from the shore, I missed it, and a place deep within my psyche still yearns for that place between places.
Land-locked, I would climb trees to find solace, making my way deep into the woods where cool shadows curled around each other, played tricks with the light, held secrets and mysteries, kept little stores of snow hidden away from the spring melt. Up high, nestled in the topmost limbs, I would feel the tree sway in the wind, let myself sway with it, listen to the hushing of air through the branches, smell the pine-and-loam of the forest below. With a book, bottle of water and an apple, I could stay up there for hours and just...be.
When I moved from New Hampshire to Georgia, I was bereft - no sea, no magnificent old conifers to climb, and surrounded by people who I didn't know and who thought me worth teasing and bullying because I was different from their norm.
Without the solace of the tides or the creaking embrace of the trees, I found Night.
Outside the house I shared with my Mum and Big Brother, I found relief from the heat, from prying eyes and wagging tongues, from television and telephone and The World. There were the stars above, and I fancied they were laughing, singing, dancing just beyond my reach. The moon would caress me with her light, wrap me in pale silver-blue coolth. I would lie in the grass, staring up and out, and just...be.
Throughout my life, for as long as I can remember, I have preferred solitude to company. A lonely old soul, am I. As a child, I did fine among people - I could laugh, play, socialize, and be content, but I spent more time alone, reading, coloring, or wandering the lanes of made up lands for hours on end.
The older I get, the more I value solitude, and the less I have of it. I wonder if the reason I am so often out of sorts is because I am so infrequently left to myself.
Sometimes my mind wanders down unfamiliar paths, and I catch myself wondering what like would be like if I were alone. Would I have a little house? A condo? An apartment? Would I have some sort of shop (a bakery, perhaps, or a fortune teller's den) and live above it? Would I write more? Would I feel myself struggling to breathe, as I sometimes do now, because my life is wrapped around me too tight? Or would I be content? What if I had Bird, but no T? What if...?
Don't get me wrong - I love Mum, and Bird, and even T (poor devil), and I love my friends, too...only, it would be nice if I could have days when I was alone with my thoughts and my madness and could just...be.
Rain on Me (and You, and Half the State)
Drought conditions can make a body a little funny about weather - every cloud has the potential to be a terrific blessing, if only it would wring itself out over key places, like one's home or the reservoir/lake.
Last night, a few ragged remnants of Fay rolled over our patch of Earth and came to rest for a time, graciously bringing a hostess gift of rain.
Inches of it.
More than four inches, to be something more than vague but less than precise.
Again, whew.
Mum's home town made the Weather Channel for their four-and-a-half inch bonanza. Her pond went from pathetic puddle to white-water fed turmoil overnight, and she spent more than an hour first thing this morning cleaning out the overflow pipe so her pond could feed the larger pond nearby. Both ponds have suffered, in the last few months.
This morning, I looked out and saw a world gone green again. It has been yellowing, browning, wilting, fading, turning to a whisper of its former self, and now it is verdant (for a little while, any way)
We are expecting more rain, I am told. I'm glad for that - in the last few months, we've had...well, nothing, really. Dry, drier, driest, it's been.
If it rains later (forecast calls for rain through the next two days), I will go out and gleefully dance in it, maybe splash some puddles with the Evil Genius.
Wanna join us?
Sunday, August 24, 2008
All Good Things...
The closing ceremonies were stunning, but that's not a surprise.
I was delighted to see one of the people who has entertained me the most in film - Jackie Chan. Yeah, yeah, I like Jackie Chan movies. No, he's not exactly the height of Chinese culture, and what he has to do with the Olympics is beyond me, but it put a smile in my face to see him there.
The Chinese put their best foot forward throughout the games, welcoming foreign guests with dignity and grace - and if there were a few scandals along the way, well...at least they didn't have a giant blue sperm for their mascot, and no one tried to blow them up, so they are two up on Atlanta.
Ultimately, I am glad that I watched what I did - not everything, because my pesky family kept wanting to do things like eat, sleep, and occasionally leave the house so they didn't grow moldy - and I'm proud (for the most part)(and the ones I am ashamed of, well - they got a good dose of instant Karma every time) of the humanity involved with these games. People strove, and win or lose, every athlete was one of the very best the world has to offer. For two weeks, a mixed bag of my fellow Earth-dwellers didn't just get along - they cheered each other on, comforted each other through disasters, and gave each competition their very best efforts.
And now, on to London. I have a feeling they watched these game, the opening and closing ceremonies especially, and gave a collective "Aww, crap."
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Boys With Toys
OK, now that the disclaimer's over with...
If you don't have a son, or a small boy, teenager, or adult male in your life, you might not get this. If you grew up in a tribe consisting of only women, you really won't understand.
What is it with boys and their...erm...junque?
Really...the Evil Genius has to be reminded dozens of times a day (sometimes an hour) that he is not to have his penis out in public, most times "public" being defined as anywhere but his bedroom or bathroom (which I have deemed appropriate places for him to have the little feller out for...whatever), especially anywhere other people can see it.
Does he listen? Nope. Seconds later, he's at it again, pulling it out through the flap in his underwear, or out the side through the leg hole, or just walking around clutching the entire package through the fabric with a far away look on his face.
Y'all, he's five-and-a-half. Now, I know they play with in in the womb, and when they figure out their chubby baby hands can be controlled, they start up again once they're out in the world...but honestly, if playing with yourself really could make you go blind, he'd be wearing dark glasses and walking with a cane or a dog or something.
I don't have an issue with him and his favorite pastime - I get it, really. Still, every now and then I want to remind him that that thing is attached, so please quit pulling on it like it's made of rubber, and no, I really am not interested in how many ways you can make it bounce up and down or side to side, thank you, and if you keep doing that it's going to stay that way!
I had no idea they were so...stretchy. I didn't really want to know, to be honest - while I think the male anatomy can be an endless source of amusement for those who consent to get involved with it, I wasn't really game for enduring my son's marathon self-amusement years. Neither is anyone else. Our poor roommate, J, is afraid to look away from the television on the rare occasions he emerges from
Last week, I had to utter a sentence I would never have thought necessary (and before I had my own kid, I spent nearly twenty years raising or teaching other people's children - you'd think this would have come up) - I had to tell my son not to play with his penis and then pick his nose. Unable to leave well enough alone, I went beyond the call of duty (and the bounds of sanity) and explained that was like sticking your penis up your nose. Yeah, he laughed until he nearly wet himself and I realized I'd made a tactical error. Sigh.
When it's just us at home, I'm not all that pressed - but he really needs to learn to keep his hands North of the Mason-Dixon when we have company or are out in the world. I'm considering one of those shock collars they make for dogs...but then he'll end up on the cover of some funky S&M/B&D magazine* when he's twenty, I just know it.
So what's a gal to do?
*Not that there's anything wrong with that if it's what you're into - but do you really think your mother wants to know she's the reason you all done up in a gimp suit?? Yeah, I didn't think so.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Fish Story
He leaves on Wednesday mornings because he has to be in the office on Monday and Tuesday afternoons.
On office days, I pack him dinner to take along (he works from four to midnight), usually a sandwich, some chips, a few cookies - you know, standard lunch/dinner-at-the-office fare. Once in a while, though, I pack him leftovers from the previous night's meal...especially on Tuesday, when he missed dinner on Monday and it's something I know he'd like.
Monday this week, I cooked a bit of salmon for dinner - and by "bit", I mean half a sockeye caught wild in Alaska. Mmm. While T has tastes that often run to Krystal burgers and whatever's on the dollar menu at the local drive-through, he does like my cooking enough to eat things he wouldn't have before we met - including salmon, and new potatoes with dill-butter.
Since he missed dining with us Monday, I packed it for his Tuesday dinner and gave him the usual microwave re-heating instructions - heat for thirty seconds at a time, turn over, repeat until food is warm enough for you, enjoy.
It usually works just fine.
On Tuesday night, though, something went horribly (and hilariously) wrong. All I can say is, it's a good thing that T works alone in the evening.
He set things in motion, thirty seconds at a time, and left the room for a moment to check on...whatever.
No kidding. Boom.
Apparently, I packed him a loaded fish.
Yep. It exploded. All over the interior of the microwave. With a boom.
He said he ran into the room thinking the microwave had exploded or something.
It was fine, just redecorated with a salmon-pink interior!
He called me and wanted to know why I didn't warn him, but honestly? I've never exploded anything in a microwave. I don't use them often - just to re-heat the occasional meal when I'm in too much of a hurry for the oven or stovetop, and to make popcorn.
I'm kinda sorry I missed it.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Oy, My Head is Spinning
I have been reading, and reading, and reading, and eating a hot dog, and reading and reading, and downing twenty or so Twix miniatures, and reading, and eyeing the bottle of scotch...
Luckily I did some of this leg work last year, when I thought I was almost finished with one of my longer pieces. Yeah...almost finished...did you know that most writers get the first eighty-percent (should that actually be hyphenated?) done in fairly short order - but the last twenty can bumfuzzle 'em? Yep.
Where was I?
Oh, yeah, dazed and confused on the Internet.
I did some legwork last year and found a few websites dedicated to helping aspiring authors. No, not to part with their money - I do know enough about this racket to know that legitimate agents don't ask for reading fees and one doesn't generally pay to publish one's own work unless one is OK with the vanity press [Hey, back off, I'm not disrespecting the vanity press...it has its place in the world...just not my world. Yet. I'm hoping I don't have to resort to that, but hey...I won't write (hah!) it off entirely, at least not for the children's stories - I even have (potentially) some artists that I believe would do some brilliant illustrations for me if I begged hard enough and offered up bribes of fresh baked cookies, muffins, and bread.] - but to find representation and (one hopes) be published.
There being so very many sites out there (it's mind boggling, truly), I narrowed it down to a couple that were laid out in a way I could navigate without requiring a map, Sherpas, or liquor.
I have spent the last few hours bouncing around one of those sites (Agent Query), trying to make heads or tails of this whole finding-an-agent/writing-a-query thing. Whew. At least they provide a tool to narrow down the list of people I might irritate to a few pages-worth of names. Twenty one. Pages, not names. And that's for the children's story/stories, because the not-a-mystery (yes, Kit, I know it's a mystery...but it really isn't a whodunit sort, because you know whodunit from the start) isn't quite done with the whole proofing/editing phase (thank you Kit, for being one of my victims/proofers. There are some other folks having a go at it, too, but Kit has actually read the dad-blasted thing once and is going through it again...that's yeoman's duty, y'all!).
It's taken hours because I'm diligently reading each agent's mini-blurb, then (where I may) link-hopping to read up on them and their agency, on what (or if) they are looking for in new authors/material, and (when they're kind enough to provide them) their thoughts on query letters.
Something that troubles me, though, is how many agents want you to be published before you contact them. Umm...hello? If I knew how to get bloody published, I wouldn't need help, now would I??
There are different guidelines for fiction, non-fiction, and children's stories. Send text, don't send text, e-mail, don't e-mail,...I mentioned a spinning head?
I remember why I gave it up last year - TMI. What, you thought TMI was only for personal tales involving unfortunate bowel activity or sexual misadventures?
Now I am sitting here with a bowl of orange Jell-O (there's always room for it, dontcha know?) wondering what the Hell I was thinking.
Still, I think I have enough information to have a go at making a couple of queries...and the names I found accept e-queries, so I won't be out postage or printing, so that's a bonus.
Tomorrow, I will try to write some query letters in preparation for e-mailing.
Y'all, why can't it be as easy as "I wrote a story, wanna see?"
Oh, Help
Hell, I'd rather let a stranger light my hair on fire than give them an opening to tell me how many ways my writing (or whatever) isn't good enough.
I keep saying I am a writer, albeit an unpublished one.
It's time to remedy that unpublished part, and for that...well, I need to grow a pair. OK, maybe not really, since growing a pair would make me a medical oddity, and while garnering my place in talk-show history might also make my fortune, it isn't exactly how I picture funding my retirement...or at least my kid's future education or some solar panels or the next run to the grocery store. I won't aspire to paying for fuel for the van - that would just be asking too much.
So I finally finished some things - one longish Not-a-Mystery and several short children's stories - and I've been sitting on them. Again, not really...that would hurt my bottom and make for some terribly wrinkly paper, and also I don't print hard-copy...but I have been letting them languish on my hard drive for a few
The trouble is, while I enjoy writing my stories, and while I felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment when I actually completed something longer than a few paragraphs or pages (90, 212 words, to be precise)(Yeah, have I mentioned that I sometimes can't shut up??), that doesn't mean anyone else will share the sentiment, and I haven't done anything with them.
I'm worried that they just aren't good enough. I'll keep writing no matter what, but...but I am just not interested in throwing myself in front of the bus - the bus, in this instance, being the publishing world in general and agents in particular.
Don't get me wrong - agents are terrific folks, from what I've seen, and they're eminently useful when you know bugger-all about getting published - but they're strangers, just the same...and querying them (to me) is like begging the cool kids in school to let you eat lunch with them when you just know you're not good enough - it takes guts, more than I apparently have.
So here's where you come in (no worries, you don't have to do anything difficult) - if you've got a kind thought to spare, send it my way...because for the rest of this week I am researching how to write a query letter, who is interested in representing the sorts of twiddles I write, and flinging myself under the fast-moving, twenty-ton, cross-town bus...
I know, I know, there are so many people out there with bigger worries, but I am feeling just a wee needy and self-centered at the moment - I'm tired of feeling like I don't contribute anything to my family's upkeep, that I don't have value because I don't earn my keep, and I really don't have any marketable skills except my ability to string words together in song or story.
So wish me luck, if you have a little to spare, please.
And that quaking you feel? It's not a tectonic event - it's me shakin' in my shoes.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Just Ouch
You know how you can be walking along, maybe with your arms full so you can't see the floor, and maybe you don't have shoes on because you're indoors and it's hot, and maybe you move your foot and possibly your foot isn't quite where you thought it was, and you mash your pinkie toe into an impediment?
And maybe you're walking kinda fast? Like mach two-hundred?
And your toe kinda goes "POP!!" or something, and you dance around with your arms full and try very hard not to say cuss words and throw what you're carrying down because it's fragile?
Yeah, like that.
And last evening? My foot got tangled up with something (I have no idea what)(possibly an octopus or one of those carnivorous vines like in Jumanji) and yanked into something else (it could have been a book, or it could have been a granite block randomly placed where my foot would find it) and that same pinkie toe hit that something else (my vote is for the granite block) and I hopped around again and shouted a very rude word just about as loud as I could, frightening the cats, startling T and J, and making the Evil Genius giggle like a loon.
Now it's all poofy and turning colors and isn't speaking to me any more. Poor pinkie toe.
Ouch, y'all. Just ouch.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
I never listen to my own CDs. I wrote the songs, rehearsed them, performed them, and sang them elleventy-million time to get the recording just right (OK, really I usually only have to do them once or twice unless there's an equipment problem or outside noise interference, but it feels like elleventy-million times). I don't need to listen to them - I know what they sound like. I wonder if other musicians feel the same way.
I don't read my own stories, once they're written and proofed and done. Same thing - I wrote 'em and they're done, and I may be a little tired with them. Think Dean Koontz gets that?
When I am angry, unhappy, or generally in a dither, I bake. Baking is therapeutic. Baking makes my house smell nice, makes my son happy, and provides me gifts to ply the neighbors, friends, and family with. Last night I was angry. This morning, I baked. I am still irked, but it is more manageable and the Evil Genius not only doesn't have to fear for his life, he has cinnamon-sugar muffins to munch. Win-win, from his perspective.
Apparently, once I get mad, I stay that way for a while. If I were a volcano, I'd be Mauna Loa - sort of slow to erupt, but relentless once I get going, with the occasional outburst to keep people on their toes. The funny thing is, I used to be such an even-tempered person...almost unflappable. These days, I find myself getting angrier and angrier about stupid shit like people who don't use their blinkers or drive while watching videos, texting, and chatting on the phone, or being put on speaker phone - rude behavior, in general, is making my eyes twitch. I may need to move to Montana, where there are more cows than people - and when's the last time a cow swerved into your lane because they were too busy texting to drive properly?
Vonage ads are a special kind of annoying.
My house smells like muffins rolled in butter and dipped in cinnamon-sugar. This is a happy smell. Mmm...
In the time it took me to write this post, the Evil Genius has inhaled (because I don't think he actually chewed them) three muffins, a bowl of blueberries (a big bowl) and asked me for an apple.
Bob Books rock the house; if you have a beginning reader in your vicinity, get 'em Bob books - they start with some basic foundation words and build up to sentences, complex words and sounds, and plots. The Evil Genius plowed through the first three sets in short order and is now plugging away at set four. War and Peace can't be far behind.
Why is DirecTV advertising on DirecTV? If I already have it, why do they need to sell it to me? My brain hurts...I need a muffin.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Here There Be Dragons
I took him with me last night because he didn't deserve to be cloistered with Mad Mommy in Casa de Crazy all night. This evening we went out so he could play with a friend, because I didn't want to sit at home and snap at him until I got so pissed off I wanted to lock him in his room just for being a normal, healthy, active little kid.
I don't feel like explaining why I'm angry. Honestly, I started to - it got long. I mean, even for me, it was too freakin' long, and y'all know I'm all about some War and Peace type entries. It got personal, and it got hurtful, and I was just getting angrier, and I decided it just wasn't worth the effort.
So now I'm writing this instead. Really, we're all better off. Well, maybe not me - I still feel like shit.
I am seriously considering taking my kid, selling the one thing of monetary value I have besides my van (the family heirloom diamond engagement ring that my mother wore and passed on to me, the stone for which one of my ancestors dug up from an Egyptian tomb a bazillion years ago and had cut at Tiffany's - OK, long story I'll tell later), and going on a two week cruise where he's in child-care all day having fun with camp counselors and other kids and I sit on the deck and drink stuff I can't pronounce but that makes my face go numb, flirting unsuccessfully with bartenders, cabana boys, and anyone who doesn't run away in abject fear - all without a cell phone and without telling anyone exactly where we've gone or when we'll be back because I just don't think they'd miss us or even notice we'd gone. Maybe Mum would like to come along - after all, I'd be hocking her ring, it's only fair I buy her a ticket, too.
Oh, hells, I went long anyway.
I will end (at last!!) with this - it is difficult enough to go through life on the balance beam that is mental illness without having to dodge (figurative) wrenches flung at my (figurative) head by someone who should know very well what they're doing and either hasn't grasped it yet or just doesn't care...either of which means I am not worth the effort, which just brings me back to why I'm pissed off and don't need to write any more tonight.
Right now? Here there be things that even dragons fear.
I went out with Mommy on a date last night because Daddy is not home right now and he said I was the Men of the House and In Charge, so I had to take care of Mommy and got out with her, so we went to Borders and Friday's and I had macaroni and cheese and mandarin oranges to eat and we colored on the kid's menu and I had lemonade to drink and only dropped a little of the macaroni and cheese from my spoon.
I like macaroni and cheese, don't you?
I watched the 'lympics with Mommy, and we told the Korean man to show the tall bar who's boss and he did and Mommy cheered because he didn't fall like he did from the rings, which Mommy was sad about because she said you don't want to win because someone fell or got hurt but because you did your best and it was better than their best, but I still think winning is the best thing.
Mommy was cleaning my room and I told her a story about a train and the aircraft carrier and the bugatorium while she was cleaning, and we looked for all my monster magnets but only found most of them but that's OK because I told Mommy to keep an eye out for them and she said she would, so they won't be lost.
I told her about the spiders in the garage. When we got home tonight, we saw a cricket in the driveway when we went to get the mail, and I had to investigate it and tell it about our night, and it sat still and listened very carefully until we went inside, and then I told mommy about the bugatorium and the spiders in the garage. The spiders start out as black widows but they turn into big-legged daddies and then they don't change any more. All the spiders start out as different ones and turn into big-legged daddies and then they can't change any more.
The bugatorium had little blue fuzzy bugs, but Mommy swept them up so now they aren't there any more, but that's OK.
Today we are going to Gramlin's house to bring her tables and now I have to go get ready to go because Mommy says we have to hurry up so we aren't too late and Rosie - Rosie is our van - has to have fuel and we don't go through the car wash any more because it's a waste of water but I really miss doing that so I hope we get to do it again soon.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Drive-By Memeing
Do you hold grudges easily?
Nope, I put a lot of effort into it - they're wriggly little things!
Do you suffer pain from a past hurt?
I don't suffer, I endure...and sometimes I even grow stronger.
Can you handle constructive criticism?
If it's truly constructive.
In this world what makes you the happiest?
The cosmic dance and the Evil Genius.
What are your thoughts on sex before marriage?
Before, during, after, without, whatever - as long as it's safe, sane, and consensual, it's none of my business.
Do you believe colors express your personality?
If I wish them to, yes.
Are you a private person?
On the surface, no. Deeper in, yes.
Who do you respect the most?
People who are active in their personal evolution, and fearless in the process.
What is an interest of yours that others would find silly?
Quantum Physics. I mean, I suck at math and scraped through Chemistry by the grace of a kindly (and somewhat insane) teacher, so how on Earth did I get hooked on physics? Ah, the delightful oddity of it all...
What are your thoughts on the world?
It's roundish, greenish, blueish, and rather messily kept by the dominant denizens. Also, I love it, and everything on it, deep, abiding, and absolute.
Do you believe there is a god?
Gods, Goddesses, it's one big pantheistic party 'round here.
Do you fall for romance movies?
If they're comedies, too...or the older black and whites...then I'm OK with them, but they're not my favourite cuppa.
Do you fall in love too quickly?
Do you believe in destiny (fate)?
I believe that we create our fate, that we choose our destiny in the moment.
Do you often get annoyed by cell phones?
And their users, yes.
Do you catch yourself running from situations?
I only run when chased. I'm more of a face-it-as-it-comes kinda gal. Unless there are explosives involved.
What would you consider to be your best talent?
Naivete. Really, it takes a lot of skill to remain this clueless at my age. I work at it. What, you don't think that counts? Fine. Music. I can shake the earth with my song, and have changed lives with it, too. That's pretty good, no?
Which do you value more, family or friends?
They are all the family of my heart. yes, I know, that's a non-answer - but you should know better than to ask an Aquarian to pick a favourite or choose sides.
How do you define love?
Reluctantly - it's like defining Gods, they become limited to the definition you give them. I'd rather let love grow wild and free in its own way than restrict it to some narrow definition.
Do you like card games?
Some of them, very much. Ever played Fluxx? Fun!!
Have you ever made out on a couch?
Mmm...nope, but hope springs eternal.
Ever been swimming in a lake or river?
Often. I have much love for the water. If you've never gone skinny-dipping in the dark of night, when the moon is new and the stars are bright, dancing their light across the rippling water, or when the moon has silvered the surface with her fullness, then you have missed a truly wonderful experience.
Ever been to a bonfire party?
Yes - among of the perks of being pagan, we have lots of fires, drumming, dancing, and song.
Have you ever been on a horse?
Yep...and off when I wanted to be on, but the horse had other ideas.
What's irritating you right now?
The seeming self-involvement of the people who share this planet.
What radio station(s) do you listen to?
Are you afraid of the dark?
Oh, no - I embrace the darkness, both internal and external. Without that darkness, without the shadows, I would not know the glory of light. Also, there is something welcoming about the star-stippled night, something primal, visceral, and other poetic words.
Do you get distracted easily?
That depends entirely on what I'm doing, and with whom.
What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night?
Felt like an asshat.
Is this year the best year of your life?
I don't know, I haven't experienced them all, yet.
Do you have any strange phobias?
I don't think they're at all strange. No fear is a silly fear when it's the fear you are experiencing.
Is it easier to forgive or to forget?
The memory is long, the heart large. Forgiveness comes easy, but I do not forget - I learn.
Do you give out second chances too easily?
Too easily? No. Easily, yes.
Have you dated people who weren't good to you?
That would imply I dated.
Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?
It depends on what they've done that created the need for one. I think sometimes one acts in such a way as to negate any new opportunities.
Where is your cell phone?
In the car, languishing.
What time did you go to sleep last night?
Sometime around two.
Are you excited for the future?
Hopeful, perhaps.
Your first ex shows up randomly at your house, what do you say?
"I'm sorry, but you must have the wrong address." I don't have any exes.
When was the last time you yelled at someone?
Last night, right before I felt like an asshat.
When was the last time you talked to one of your best friends?
In person? Yesterday evening. Online? A little while ago.
Have you done anything you regret in 2008 so far?
Of course.
Is there any emotion you're trying to avoid right now?
No - I'd rather just ride them out than avoid them.
Have you ever slapped anyone?
What's your last text message say?
I don't text.
Have you ever been called Prince/Princess?
Do you wear make up everyday?
Nope - I avoid it like the plague and usually wear it only when on stage or attending a formal event.
Who do you go to when you need someone to talk to?
The Goddess, usually, or myself - I try not to burden the people I love with my crap.
Oh, How Lovely Is The Evening
Nice, huh?Bird played with Sweetcheeks, Littleman and Noodle in the fountain, then ran and played in the park.
I only took a few pictures before the batteries crapped out. Sigh. If I get permission, I'll post pictures of the other boys, too.
I wish we had a park like this near home - this one is a twenty minute drive away on a good traffic day. Worth the drive now and then, but not every day.
When we got home, I was informed by the Evil Genius that the light in his room had a power surgery and needs a new lightbulb. Heh...
On an unrelated note - does anyone else think the male Olympic gymnasts look like human exclamation points?
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Teeny, Tiny, Itsy, Bitsy Torture Devices
Need I say more?
The Evil Genius decided that he wanted to build according to the directions today, rather than use his imagination. What that translates to is: Mommy gets to dig through elleventy-million Legoes to find the one the size of a sesame seed that goes in the right spot.
Or the one that's exactly like thirty-three others only it has a sticker on it.
Or the little hands that go with the Lego man, because someone is very thorough when he takes the Legoes apart, and they have to match and they can't be grey because this particular Lego man has on a white space-suit, and so his hands have to be white, too, but all you can find in the bottom of the Lego bin are grey ones. We won't even discuss the visor for his helmet. The orange one. One orange visor in the bottom of the bin, when all the rest of the visors are grey. Nope, not going to talk about it.
That howling you hear? Coupled with hysterical laughter? Yeah, that would be me.
Have you ever tried to type cross-eyed from Lego-rummaging? Oh, well...he's trying to help, anyway.
You know how helpful a five-year-old can be.
It's going to be a long day.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
What Say You?
Monday, August 11, 2008
You Say "Muffin Top" Like It's A Bad Thing
It must be nerves - they know I have plans, muahahaha!!
Muffins, anyone?
The cast:
3/4 cups mlik
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 egg
2 cup all purpose flour (I used unbleached, and you can use whole wheat if you like)
1/3 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder (yes, I know that's a Tablespoon, but work with me here)
1 teaspoon salt (see? This way you only dirty one measuring spoon)
1 cup fresh blueberries (picked through for bugs, weirdoes, or random things kids thought should go into the berry bucket)
Heat oven to 400. Hot stuff!
Grease the bottom of muffin cups or line them with foofy paper thingies. I like foofy paper thingies - look at the colors, aren't they festive?
Wow that looks really...unappetizing. Moving on.
Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt all at once.
Spoon batter equally into muffin cups. Try to actually get it into the cup and not, you know, all over the pan, the stove top, your shirtfront, and two of your three cats.
Sprinkle the tops with sugar if you like (I like). Bake at 400 for twenty minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from pan immediately.
Mmm. Fend off Evil Genius who wants a muffin NOW!!! because the berries are like little, sweet, blue lava bombs in there.
Brew some coffee or tea, or pour some juice, and breakfast is served.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
B-2 Bugs Find Me Irresistible
...would not be lurking to one side while I fixed dinner.
I have no idea how we get so many dishes in the sink on a day we're not even home...must be dish gnomes. Next time we go out, I'm leaving my giant stinging bug-friend on guard - the thing would frighten off a Marine!
Friday, August 8, 2008
Olympian Measures
Holy crap...stunning.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
The Pickle Fairy
I am five.
I go to school at home because Mommy says you don't inflict an Evil Genius on the unsuspecting public school system. I asked her what "inflict" means and she said I should look it up. I will as soon as I can spell it. I asked what "unsuspecting" means. She said I should guess. I know what Evil Genius means.
We went to the bank yesterday and Mommy gave me a quarter for the gum machine. There was a little kid there and he was first, so I waited my turn, but he couldn't do it do I helped him because you have to help little kids when they need it. He got a big gum, but I wanted the small ones so I got small gums - five of them!
Yesterday, Mommy let me have a cheeseburger from Burger King, and guess what? The Pickle Fairy been at Burger King! There were three pickles on my cheeseburger! Three! Mommy said it was a pickle
Mommy asked me if The Pickle Fairy was busy, putting all those pickles on cheeseburgers. I said she has a secret way to get inside when they're closed to get all her work done - she digs underneath. That's her secret - she tunnels under when it's closed and puts pickles on everything.
Mommy liked Burger Chef when she was little. She liked to peel the top bun off her cheeseburger and take the pickles off, then eat the cheeseburger and then the pickles. Mommy is weird.
She thinks pickles from Burger King taste like soap. She's funny!
She likes fried pickles, though.
I like the apple fries, too. I ate them first. There was a box and some sauce, but I didn't want them, just the apples. I like apples. Do you? I offered to share with Mommy, but she didn't want any, even though I bit them all to make sure they were good apples.
I have three loose teeth. One of them is wiggly, and I can move it a lot with my tongue. The dentist told me I should save it and The Tooth Fairy would give me something for it. Mommy didn't tell me about The Tooth Fairy, just the Pickle Fairy. And the Cheese Fairy. And The Poo Dragon who lives in the septic tank and so that's why we poop in the potty so The Poo Dragon can turn poo into earth and make all the trees happy. Mommy is funny. I asked her if The Poo Dragon ate the poo or was made of poo, and she laughed and said I had a funny
Uh-oh, I have to go now - Mommy is awake and I'm not supposed to play on the computer in the morning, and I'm not allowed on the Internet because Mommy says I will reprogram it and crash the world. Or maybe she just thinks it's not safe, even though I'm the only one who can go on the Internet and be safe, but she really doesn't think so and so I have to go before she catches me. You won't tell, will you?
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Vote Or You'll Be Sorry
I wish to remind you that you may have runoff elections in your area today.
Big deal, you say. Who cares? I'm busy.
I vote. Every time. If necessary, I pack the Evil Genius into the car and bring him along to charm the ladies (and occasional gentleman) who run the precinct. They are, for the most part grandmotherly sorts who love it when kids come along. I let him push the occasional button, and he is thrilled to be part of the process. It does not matter if it's raining, freezing, or hailing felines, canines, assorted rodents and aliens. I vote.
I am a pagan, well read, political Buddhist (middle-grounder, no party affiliation because I'm all about the cause, not the propaganda or the dogma)(yes, I said dogma)(and I meant it). I am half hippy, half redneck, somewhat politically conservative and fairly socially liberal. I give great thought to the issues that concern me, and slightly (but only slightly) less thought to the ones that aren't as pressing in my opinion.
I am clinically depressed, agoraphobic, a touch paranoid and a dash OCD.
And I vote. Every time.
Let me reiterate - I am not always happy about the fact I'm still kicking, often deeply miserable, don't like leaving my house, think you're all out to get me, and everything has to be just the way I think it needs to be or the world will come to an end. I am nuttier than squirrel poo! And I'm voting!!
So you can either take that as an inspiration - Gee, she makes it to vote, why can't I? or a goad - Oh dear god above, she votes and if I sit on my butt and don't do the same, she'll be making all the decisions about who runs what!! I don't much care why you vote as long as you get the hell out there and take part in the process.
Yes, even the runoffs, even if it's for some local position like Chicken Inspector and you don't care.
People died to secure this right. Don't waste it.
Remember - silence equals assent, and a failure to vote equals silence. If you don't vote when you can, you don't get to complain and I will tell you to shut up.
Get to it.
Monday, August 4, 2008
If I May
I am speaking of mine arse.
No need to back away from the computer in an effort to save yourself the horror - I have not posted a photograph of the enormous thing, nor will I - I do not Have Mrs. G's fortitude in this regard.
A while back, I did put a thingie at the bottom of the blog (bottom, hah!) that shows weight loss. It's called "Getting Rid of My Fifty-Acre Ass". I have decided to join Mrs. G's 5K Ass Project, and so have made a new thingie that perches just above my fifty-acre ass thingie (oh, good grief) that will show how many laps I've swum or miles I've walked to date, these being activities I can be counted on to make at least a half-hearted effort at.
I am pointing this out so you can go look at the tremendous work I have done and laugh yourselves silly when you realize you do more before breakfast than I've managed in a week.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Bzz, Bzz...
A friend or two will be coming over to bake bread and fairy cakes today, so there's that.
I have a new photo manipulating program to play with, thanks to S - not Photoshop, but something similar, and boy was I up late playing with it!
We had a terrific night last night - we must have done a hundred readings...at least! We met early, had a lovely dinner at Mimi's Cafe (Holy crap, their servings are HUGE!!)(Also, the apple crisp? Don't get between me and that apple crisp...you'll lose a limb.), then hung out in the Borders cafe loading the new program onto Bob the Wonder Computer and plating with it. Eventually we set up our reading space, tricked it out all gypsy-fortune teller like, and got to reading.
We were there until one-thirty. In the morning. Yeah. After all the customers were gone, we were doing readings for employees!
Of course, when I got home I had to play some more with the new program, and didn't get to bed until three-fifteen.
I was awakened this morning by a butterfly landing on my shoulder. OK, not really, but that's what it feels like when Bird kisses my shoulder to wake me up. I wouldn't have minded about seven more hours sleep, but I really should get everything ready for our baking day - I want to get the bread dough made up si it has risen by the time guests arrive - don't want to keep them waiting. That said, if it turns out OK (I've never done this recipe before) I may have another blog post out of it.
Wait, what am I saying? If it turns out a disaster, I'll have a blog post, too!
Bzz, bzz, I am a busy bee today. I hope y'all have a good one!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho...
There's a book release at Borders tonight and my friend S and I were asked to come tell fortunes for the release party. The book is called Twilight, and it's part of a series of paranormal books.
S and I did readings for the last Harry Potter release party. People stood in line forty-five minutes for us. For us. Not the book, for us. Well...they stood in line for two or three hours for the book, but we were still a wee chuffed with ourselves about that.
It was kind of them to ask us back - this time, we have some business cards made up (thanks, S!), because we want to make ourselves available for parties. Hey, why not? Someone suggested we put out a tip jar, and if the manager doesn't mind, we will. we don't charge anything for the fun, because Borders is kind enough to let our discussion group invade the cafe every Thursday night, and they're always just as helpful as can be about finding or ordering books. I know it's their job, but they're terrific beyond the bounds of the job description.
I can think of worse ways to spend Lammas night than with a friend in a bookstore, giving people pause.
Wait, you don't know what Lammas is?
Well, you've come to the right place!
Loaf Mass, it was called long ago, a day to celebrate the first of the grain harvested and ground to flour. It's a day for baking, for sharing the bounty of the field with family and friends, for celebrating the hope of a Winter without starvation and the renewing of the cycle in the Spring.
Sharing bread is old, a tradition rooted back beyond religion to something so primal it didn't even have a name. Bread is life. Bread is a blessing. The wedding cake we have today began as loaves that were broken and crumbled over the bride's head for luck and fortune, fertility and abundance.
When you greet new neighbors, if you follow old traditions, you bring them bread or some other baked good. Houses aren't warmed until bread has been baked, or at least served in them. There are bread traditions in almost every faith.
Lammas, Loaf Mass, a day to bake, to break bread with friends and celebrate the wonder of grain and all its goodness.
It's also a day for beer and ale, if you're into those sorts of things.
Celebrate the harvest with me today. Take a bite of toast, or a sweet, tart, crisp apple, or a sun-warmed tomato fresh from the vine, or anything that smacks of "harvest", and savor it. The taste, the texture, the hours of sunlight and gallons of rain that went into the making of it. Taste of the wind and the earth, as well. Whatever you've planted, I hope it comes to fruition and will sustain you through leaner times, as the grain from the field carries us all through Winter.
Blessed be, y'all, and happy Lammas.


text:
Build wooden ramp
By steeleyann
Accepting offers for: Hurry!
Location: Austin, Texas, 78704
Category: Handyman & Assembly
Budget: $ ?
Payment type: Pay Directly with Cash or Check
Complete by: Feb 16, 2016
Posted: Feb 8, 2016
I need someone with some carpentry experience to attach three 2x6 support boards from a 8" high deck to end flush with the yard. I have all materials ready to go and power tools to cut the angle for the slope. Should be about 3 hours or less work time. I don't trust my math to cut the correct angle needed for the slope to make the ramp sturdy. I will pay $40 an hour.


text:
Welcome to Body Solutions Chiropractic and Rehabilitation Center
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Companies are located in St. Charles and Chicago Illinois. Our doctors are dedicated to helping you with all your health cares objectives -- Our treatment plan combines the use of numerous treatments.
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40 w 222 Lafox Rd., St. Charles IL, 60175
Phone: 630-762-9415
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7311 W. Forest preserve Dr., Chicago IL 60634
Phone: 773-625-2424


text:
S&L Podcast - #266 - Are You Reading Too Much?/
This week we dive into our (non-spoilery) thoughts on the Witcher and get excited about a movie based on Ted Chiang's story and a TV series based on George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards. But Brad poses a question about how one tells if they're reading too much.
Tom: Water
Veronica: Omission Lager
Stephen and Louie: First Arrival trailer (Based on The Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang)
Mark: George R.R. Martin's Wild Cards is coming to television.
Tamahome: Help Decide Which Characters Will Be in GRRM's Wild Cards TV Show
Robyn: StoryBundle is currently offering a space opera themed bundle
Tamahome: The Self-Published Scifi Sensation Zenith Is the Latest eBook to Make the Jump to Physical Media
Amy: Vote for DragonCon awards! Nominees
Sandra: Announcing the 2016 Aurora Awards Winners!
BARE YOUR SWORD - add time stamp!Feedback from the audience
Lots of you wrote in with suggestions about the angel noir author that Rob started a few weeks ago. Well, none of us were right! Rob himself says that he was mis-remembering the whole situation... but he told us in the best way possible:
"I was back in my office by five. It'd been a case with as many turns as a lost millenial playing Pokemon Go while driving. As dangerous too. And now that it was finally closed, I wondered if it was worth it. Turns out that what I was looking for? It didn't even exist. All I'd done was proven I'd gotten old. I'd forgotten things. I'd warped them to fit my own twisted narrative. I pored myself a slug and didn't bother to taste it as it went down, then left my office again to go home. It was late.
The streets were darker with something more than night."
Rob says he can't, of course, take credit for the last line: "To be clear, that last line isn't me, it's my favorite Chandler quote"
The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski
Next episode: Thursday 8/25, then the next episode after that: Tuesday, 9/14
Our show is currently entirely funded by our patrons. Thank you to all the folks who back our show and if you would like to support the show that way head to patreon.com/swordandlaser.
You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find links to the books we talk about and some of our favorites at swordandlaser.com/picks.


text:
I met a friend for poutine in what he claimed was the best spot in Ottawa. S & G Fries & Burgers is a small shack on a strip-mall boulevard in the outer burbs. Unfortunately, my friend only remembered when we got there that the place had no indoor seating. This had not been an issue the last time he'd been since it had been a nice summer day, and there are picnic tables outside on which to enjoy your poutine while looking at the traffic whizzing by. Those same tables are there year-round, but seem a less welcoming option in mid-February subzero temperatures. Today, they were surrounded by 4 foot snowbanks, but it was a relatively mild -5C and the tables themselves had been kindly shovelled off, so we decided to eat there anyway.
Tag Archives: Classic
Poutine Review: S & G Fries & Burgers in Ottawa
Filed under Classic Poutine Reviews, Ottawa, Uncategorized
Poutine Review: Patate Mallette
Patate Mallette is legendary for many reasons. They're known for the best poutine on Montreal's south shore. They also serve poutine to go in a hot-dog bun. And, if you eat in house, the poutine sauce is served separately in a teapot, allowing you to add it gradually so the fries don't turn to mush. Genius!
I have yet to visit their legendary riverside location in Beauharnois, but caught up with their food truck at a town fair in rural Quebec.
Filed under Classic Poutine Reviews, Montérégie
Poutine Review: Cantine Dave et Dan
This seasonal "shack à patates" an hour east of Montreal lies off the highway to Quebec City in backwoods Saint-Liboire. I've taken the Saint-Liboire exit many times over the years, since that's where you can find the cheapest gasoline between Montreal and Quebec. But it's worth driving beyond the gas station to the town itself. After some 5km through cornfields, you will arrive at an undiscovered gem: Cantine Dave & Dan.
Filed under Centre-du-Quebec, Classic Poutine Reviews
Poutine Review: Chez TI-PITate frite
Located just 40 minutes south of Montreal, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is Quebec's seventh largest city, with just under 100,000 people. It's slightly more interesting and slightly more underrated than other cities in its league, but don't get too excited. There's a striking cathedral, some nice brick architecture in the city centre, a few interesting shops, and some good cycling trails along the Chambly Canal and Richelieu River. The city is surrounded by farmland and a massive dystopian-looking military complex.
People here seem fond of bad puns. A pool-hall/steak-house is named "Sharkcoal." A bar advertised itself as being "au BAR de l'eau." Some artisanal veal purveyor was proud to say "ça VEAU la peine." But the most inexplicable of all bad puns in town was local fast food legend Chez TI-PITate frite (which combines the hillbilly nickname "Ti-Pit" with the popular Quebecois word for potato: "Patate").
Filed under Classic Poutine Reviews, Montérégie
Review: Resto Richard, home of the Interfromage
Ancienne-Lorette, on the fringes of Quebec City (and briefly part of it from 2002 to 2006), has a history dating back to the 1600s, but it is mostly known as the uninspiring suburb by the airport. When I asked a friend who lived there to tell me the most interesting thing about the place given its nearly 400 years of history, he didn't mention its massive church.
Filed under Classic Poutine Reviews, Quebec City
Poutine Review: Chez Tousignant
Celebrity chef Stefano Faita, famous for his exagerrated permasmile, just opened a third restaurant in Montreal's Little Italy with his comparatively non-hysterical-looking business partner Michele Forgione. First there was the well-reviewed gourmet upscale Italian restaurant Impasto, followed by an excellent Neapolitan pizzeria called Gema. Now, they've moved away from Italian toward traditional Quebecois fast food classics at Chez Tousignant.
Tousignant opened up yesterday in the former digs of Café Espresso Vittorio on rue Drolet near Jean-Talon Market. There's a clean 1950s retro look to the place, with a hand-painted menu, white and turquoise tiling, and stainless steel tables. The unnecessary-yet-seemingly-mandatory big screen TV in the background played The Offspring videos on MuchRetro, (not quite the same kind of "retro" as the decor).
Continue reading
Filed under Classic Poutine Reviews, Montreal
Poutine Review: Le Fameux, Viande Fumée et Charcuterie
Sorry for the blurry photo – I had a few drinks.
I love this charming old-school Greek restaurant with its leather booths and wood panelling. You can definitely find better food in the city, but Le Fameux is the perfect place for late-night revelry because the booths are cozy, the middle-aged waitresses can handle the drunk crowd with charm and brio, it feels like a time-warp (with a few unfortunate modern intrusions), you can get poutine, and you can also get more drinks.
Unfortunately, I always come in here late at night after having had a few drinks, so it's hard to judge the food objectively, but I'll try.
Filed under Classic Poutine Reviews, Montreal


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What agent wouldn't be delighted to have the renowned Jill McDonald join their already stellar roster? I am absolutely gleeful to represent Jill starting today!
Jill brings a portfolio rich with decades worth of stunning illustration. Her color palette and cut paper/paint work is striking and unique. I adore her lettering and the whimsy she finds in the very smallest detail of her work.
Jill's archive is crammed full with sugar-plum-wonderful Christmas illustrations, florals like you have never seen, and narrative composition that makes for the sweetest dreams. You'll notice that Jill also has a particular knack when designing for boys - a rarity in this corner of the market.
Oh, and did I mention - stunning florals for grown ups too?
Please join me in welcoming Jill to JNA. We are so very pleased to have her with us! To see Jill's brimming archive, just send me a request. Enjoy! - Jennifer