Oh For Fun!

I'm Schroeder

I saw this quiz over at All Things Jennifer and thought it was kind of fun.

Shocking!  I'm Schroeder!  I'm down with being Schroeder.  Not only are we both musicians, but I like his laid back disposition.  Who are you?

Which Peanuts Character are You?

You are Schroeder!
Take this quiz!

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Succulent

I don't have a very good track record with indoor plants.  I've proven myself to be a fairly good gardener, but potted plants tend to wither away under my supervision.  This is partially due to the fact that I travel many weeks out of the year, and partially due to the fact that I take weird pleasure in letting my plants get really thirsty, and then watching them spring back to life when I finally water them.  I'm kind of an asshole to my potted plants.

A few years ago I discovered the perfect plants for me.  I believe all of these guys fall into the "succulent cactus" category.  They are hardy, like a normal cactus, but they are minus all of the prickliness of their spikier relatives.   In fact, these plants are down right plump, and their "leaves" have an interesting fleshiness that I find very appealing.  No matter what I do (or don't do), the succulents refuse to die, and only a small amount of tender care has produced great results.  Succulents are unassuming, hardy, and all around charming little plants.  You should get some.

7 Weird Things

It's seven in the morning, and for some reason I popped awake an hour ago and I haven't been able to get back to sleep.  Boo!  I figured that since I can't sleep, I might as well get blogging out of the way for today.

I got tagged by the lovely Jennifer to do a 7 weird things meme.  Normally I am a big brat about doing memes, but since I'm already in the dog house for not blogging with Courtney, and I am tickled that Jen would include me on her illustrious meme list, I am going to suck it up and do this one.  However, like all memes, I refuse to pass it on.  Memes die with me.  That's just how it goes.  This particular meme is pretty non-offensive, I think.

1. I am stubborn as HELL.  I'd like to think that I mostly show up for the important things in life, but man, if I decide that I don't want to do something, I'm pretty immovable. 

2. I recently roped a lot of people into doing Nambloobleepeffthis.  I'm really sorry about that guys!  Particularly you Courtney, because if I remember correctly there might have been some guilt applied.......um, something having to do with a baby crying in sadness.  I can't quite remember the particulars.  If I could absolve all of you guys of this dreadful commitment I would.  In fact I do.  *clapclapclap* *tossing glitter into air*  There!  You are free! 

3. Yesterday I ate half a roll of Thin Mints for lunch.  I'm not sorry.

4. The other day at work, one colleague was coughing and another colleague who was sitting several yards away had some cough drops; apparantly the solution to this problem was to throw a cough drop across the stage.  I was staring off into another direction when I was hit in the viola with a flying cough drop.  Uncool, colleagues.  UNCOOL.

5. One problem I am having with Nadadblopblack is that I can't keep track of what I have and have not already blogged about.  I keep coming up with ideas, and then I think, "Wait.  Have I already blogged about this exact thing?"  I am willing to bet that I have already inadvertently repeated a story and you guys have just been too polite to point it out.  Have I?

6. I have no idea how to set the clock in my car.  When other people get into my car they ALWAYS comment on the clock blinking the incorrect time.  It just doesn't bother me that much; certainly not enough to get out the manual and to learn how to fix the problem.  When people comment on my car clock I always offer to buy them lunch if they can figure out how to set the correct time.  They never can.

7. When I was a little kid, I used to feel guilty that due to my right-handedness, my right hand got to do more stuff than my left hand.  To compensate for this discrepancy, every once in a while I would try to favor my left hand, so it wouldn't feel bad. 

Gotcha!

Ohhh.  I am SO going to forget to blog one of these days!  I almost forgot today....again. 

Good thing I remembered!  I mean, what would the interwebs be without this gem of a post?  Heh.

Fall Back On Me

Is there anything better than putting the clocks back an hour?  I love this day.  I love the extra hour of sleep, and I even love the suddenly dark evening.  My apartment feels so cozy.  I'm actually looking forward to winter this year.   

Weird, huh?

Prepare to Have Your Mind Blown

Dude.  Go look at this optical illusion.

When I first saw the dancer, she was moving in a clockwise direction which indicates that I primarily use the right side of my brain.  This makes sense because apparently the right side controls feelings, and creativity, and all of the fruity things that I am.  BUT, after a few frustrating minutes of staring, I got her to switch directions, AND NOW I'M STUCK IN MY LEFT BRAIN!  I keep going back to check which direction she is moving, and even after a prolonged break, I'm still all left brainy.  What the hell?  Are there any tasks I should be doing while my left brain is all cued up?  I don't want to waste this opportunity to get in a little quality time with the left side of my brain.  Should I be doing my taxes right now or something?

(I got this link from kottke,  and it was his suggestion to "focus on a point a couple of inches below her feet", that got her to finally switch directions for me.  Be patient.  She'll switch eventually, and when she does, your mind will be blown.)

The Willful Caboose is the Balm!

In some online correspondence this afternoon, a friend used the expression "the bomb", as in, "Kate, your new hockey blog, The Willful Caboose is the bomb!" (Okay, that's not exactly what he said.  Truthfully, he didn't mention my blog at all.  My point is simply that he said "the bomb".)  I have a funny relationship with the expression "the bomb" particularly when I see it written out, because for years I wasn't sure if it was "the bomb", or "the balm".

Say them out loud. 

"The bomb."  "The balm."

I'm telling you, it could go either way.

To this day, I think the expression "the balm" makes more sense.  Balm (as in, lip) really is the bomb.

Sid and Crunchy

Sid and Crunchy meet.

It's Non-Controversial Links Day!

1. Hey look at this!  An artist named Tim Knowles made art by attaching pens to the branches of trees.  I love the pictures of the trees holding onto their pens in front of their easels.  They look so sweet!

I love these. 

2.  Will someone please tell me why I think this is so damn funny.  (click on the video to see the funny bit)

3.  And finally, in an obvious effort to reestablish myself in the good graces of my beloved Cousin Mary, I offer this flickr set entitled "Atrocious Apostrophe's".

The Danny Seidenberg Effect

Over the years, Courtney and I have had our share of off-the-beaten-path crushes.  Courtney in particular is good at finding the princely qualities in the most froggish of men.  I don't know where Courtney initially developed her ability to be so forgiving, but I definitely had a moment in college when I realized that class was just a lot more interesting if I could find it in my heart to be hot for the professor.  Let's face it, every single person on earth has his or her attractive qualities.  Isn't it a much nicer world when we can focus on the alluring aspects of one another?  I am here to tell you that once your 19-year-old mind has been opened to the hotness of your music theory teacher, it's really not that big a leap to find almost anyone attractive.  Courtney and I still have weekly conversations about men in the periphery of our lives who have in some small way managed to capture our fancy.

Way back in 1995 Courtney and I met a man who forever altered the way we discuss our crushes.  We were participating in a month long "winter term" seminar with the Turtle Island String Quartet.  The personnel of the group has since changed, but at the time they had a guy named Tracy Silverman playing violin who was, by almost anyone's standards, pretty good looking.  Tracy Silverman was the obvious heartthrob for twenty-year-olds to chose (and Courtney and I did spend a fair amount of time admiring him), but somehow our conversation always came back to the violist, Danny Seidenberg.  Although Danny wasn't as typically good looking, he was funny and laid back, and even though he had a mustache (of all things), he also had a certain....something.  Over the course of the week, Danny became a growing obsession with Courtney and me, and the more we discussed his fine qualities, the hotter he became.  We were in the midst of what we would later (and forever more) refer to as, The Danny Seidenberg Effect.

Courtney and I have slightly differing opinions about the definition of The Danny Seidenberg effect, but to me an essential aspect of The Effect is the conscious and willing decision to be hot for a guy who wouldn't ordinarily light your fire.  It's an intellectual crush, not so much in that you are hot for the guy's intellect, but in that you use your own to decide, "Hey, this guy has some awfully charming characteristics.  I'm going to have a girlish crush on him."   The Danny Seidenberg Effect doesn't apply to guys you are actually in a position to date, it merely exists to make daily life more interesting.  Because of the age difference, Danny Seidenberg would have made an unrealistic boyfriend, but having and discussing my crush on him was highly enjoyable.

I encourage everyone to open their hearts to The Danny Seidenberg Effect!
 
(private to Danny Seidenberg:  This being the 21st century [and since I made no effort to change your name] you will eventually find this post.  It would terrible if you took this in any way other than a loving tribute.  Also, when I googled your name in search of a picture, I was pleased to find that you are still in fact, quite hot.)

Coming soon to Oh For Fun......The David Filner Syndrome.