Stewie, motivation, chocolate, breakdowns, and PULP FICTION in 30 seconds

Called my sister earlier: she says she and Jon have to help Eric lead worship, and for once I'm amenable to going in early (pickup at 9:05 or thereabouts?) since Steph still has a bunch of cards to sign. It'll be a long day, but my plans are mapped out... at least, I hope so! I just pray that they won't have to go in with my dad... no chance for Steph to sign cards then if that happens! I'll call 'em tomorrow morning to see what's up, heh. Maybe I can get some sleep now since I didn't earlier! Something tells me that it won't work like that... which is BAD for me. :P

Doing a quick check of blogs right now since I didn't have time to do so earlier: Jen says she updated her blog, but I can't get in to access it. Eh, I'll ask her about it tomorrow at some point. Dawn has a picture of a cute birthday cake with Stewie from FAMILY GUY on it / her and a friend's dog, plus some more musings about teaching people who don't really want to speak to you. Dave is sapped of any motivation, and just wants a change in scenery. Steph is NOT impressed with this year's Canucks slogan: "We are all Canucks" carries the impression that they're calling everyone else losers... eugh!

Vivian has stuff about salmonella and a Hershey's chocolate recall - she's glad it wasn't Lindt! She has stress from all those assignments due by December 1, plus her injured mom and others around the house who seemingly won't do anything to help. Yay for slicing your finger with plate breakage at 9 PM while TRYING to cook something, and tears! (NOT) There are pictures of FRENCH VANILLA CAPPUCCINO, plus unrelated musings about water and how she enjoyed the AGM last night. It's true she deals with stuff in different ways than others might, but then she wouldn't be the somewhat cynical cheerfulness that we all love! Spoz has funny poop analogies for a roadtrip in Adelaide / Melbourne and other places. Hahaha, always good times reading stuff. :D


Today's Naked Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

Early in the day on August 30, 2004 a man was seen playing with a brown, pit bull-boxer mix near an elementary school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. About 1:20 PM, police were called to the scene when workers from a mowing service found the man unconscious, naked and bleeding on a yard near the school. He was missing his genitals, which had apparently been bitten off by the dog. "The lawn crew hit the dog with a pipe, causing it to yelp and run away," Detective Jeff Arbogast said. "When police arrived, the man woke up and started running away from the officers. They had to take him into custody so he could get treatment." Arbogast added he had no idea why the man was naked or why the dog bit him, but added, "I think there's a little more to this whole thing than we know."

Culled from: Tribune
Generously submitted by: Katchaya

**********************************************************************

Sounds to me like the guy got what he deserved!! He won't be raping any more dogs! Of course, the article went on to say that they were looking for the "dangerous dog." I hope they never found her...

*******

Follow-Up Du Jour!

The other day, I featured some photographs that were purported to be of an individual who put an M100 rocket into his mouth and lit the fuse, with devastating results.

Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Picture 4

Evonne is not so sure:

"While very well done, they are indeed FAKE! I say this from my armchair forensic learning. There is no blood on the man's shirt, and there should be. The positioning of the blood is wrong. It shouldn't be underneath him like that. No scorch marks, just tissue. However, that IS some GREAT make-up effects."

I don't know... they still look pretty real to me. Does anyone have any definitive proof?

*******

Morbid Mirth Du Jour!

Here's Pulp Fiction in 30 seconds as re-enacted by bunnies.

Thanks to Mrs. Nowak for the link.

*******

Morbid Link Du Jour!

B sent me a link to an article in Outside magazine about "an Australian diver named Dave Shaw [who] finds a dead body at the bottom of one of the deepest diving holes in the world. He can't bring the body up right away, but he knows it is the body of another (20 year-old) diver who went missing about 10 years before, and he tells the parents of the deceased that he will go back down there and retrieve the body. He does just that, and it's interesting seeing how the whole story plays out."

The article is, indeed, an excellent read - well worth the 11 pages in length.

Oddly stable cursor, certain people, cold food in a pot

Hmm. My cursor seems oddly stable now, which is something I'd have taken for granted just a few days ago. Weird... but perhaps I should look around for other alternatives anyhow: hard drive / computer external case, here we come? (heh) Who knows, since it might be the odd deceptive calm before it all comes crashing down. Good thing for the virtual hard drives, haha.

Before I went out to Awana today, I was surprised to see that a certain person had responded to a post I'd made asking for computer leads. I made my own choices months ago in a matter between us, which I'm still comfortable with. But still, that was a surprise to see. Of course, I was nothing but mature in dealing with it: just short answers were sufficient, haha. Internet people seem to be recommending NCIX stuff for my needs, so we'll see how that goes. (this is why I need to save money instead of spending it all the time!)

Henry and I talked for a bit about the water situation this week: it's still kinda not clear in Richmond, but it's all good as long as we don't have to boil it or be put off by its gross brown appearance. At Awana, Andrew was telling people about the power outages at his house just as they were going to eat some dinner. Somehow, I don't think Henry's suggestion of chopping up the turkey and putting it in a hot-pot style thing would work! Later, Andrew told me that he DID get my email, but of course he wasn't going to read the story (BENJAMIN BUTTON) now. Amos told me that there was a power outage at his school, and that each of the three floors had a teacher with a flashlight: they got to go home early at 1:45 that day!

Afterwards, Henry asked me what I was doing. It turned out that he WAS staying for the dinner, despite what he told me earlier. So I just did that... it was easier, and who could really pass up free food? The kids were so cute singing songs to the parents, and the Powerpoint presentation was so adorable featuring the children! Due to the water issues around here, it wasn't hot pot.. Emily described it as "a bunch of cold food in a pot," which was pretty much accurate. We had fish, broccoli, tofu, pig skin, and other stuff which was fine. Quan looked REALLY sleep-deprived, and Mike / Joey / Henry / the teen girls bugged Anita about cops and speeding. (her husband Jeff is a cop, and has horrible / bloody taste in movies) They also talked about Korean movies you could get online, the expensive prices at 7-11 ($12 for candy and chips?!), and tweens. Mike told me that he WOULD look it up on Wikipedia later... good call. :D

We all went downstairs later to peek / laugh at the karaoke session. Winnie didn't want to hear her parents singing love songs to each other, so we told her to cover her ears! In the sanctuary, a bunch of kids were throwing Uno cards around while Stanley practiced worship songs on his cool guitar. Some people went into my dad's office to borrow some stuff, so I used the garbage can in there. Later, I got Chrystal to give me my stuff from downstairs when Henry was ready to go. Interesting time out, heh.

Thanksgiving Horoscope for Virgo

You're the sign most likely to bake up elaborate dishes and make beautiful centerpieces. Your signature dish: Turkey, cooked to perfection. Your signature dessert: A pumpkin tiramisu that you thought up. This holiday: Resist the urge to clean up - unless you're hosting Thanksgiving at your own place!

What's Your Thanksgiving Horoscope?

... that is SO NOT ME! o_O

Not getting enough sleep, AGAIN / Virtual and real hard drives

WHY DID I GET UP AT 7:30? Evidently, my body doesn't think it needs to sleep, which is worrisome. Maybe I consumed too much bitter tea last night... Jeremy asked if it just tasted like tannic acid. I should have let him try a bit of mine, haha! The "different woman" Teresa didn't care for it, as she was telling us later. Everyone has their own taste, I suppose. :)

Oh well... before I attempted to sleep, I emailed Dylan about changing my address on the Fellowship mailing list. My sister said that at least he'd have the email right there... and thanks to Gmail's saving your sent mail, I have a record of it too. Hey, I've now been added to the list... excellent! :D I also emailed Twin Andrew the story we were talking about a few weeks ago during Awana: F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I didn't include the George Carlin quote it reminded me of, though: the kid's only 16, after all. ;)

I also made a backup of my computer data stuff, but I don't think it'll work too well if the backup is on the drive that's most probably dying. Eep. Maybe I'll ask someone to be my virtual hard drive backup for certain files since I can't email executable files to anyone! Or maybe not, since I just found Xmail Hard Drive via Google, and it let me save an EXE file. (Bookworm Crack) I'd like to know what "Using: 26 (1)" means, though... never mind, I figured it out. I'm using 26 MB (1%) of the total capacity of this Gmail account. Unlike what my brother asserted last night, my brain is NOT on permanent vacation! :P

Wait... now this doesn't work as well as I thought it did... it saves data in an incomprehensible Notepad format? Weird... hey, BTI WebStorage works as I'd expect. Problem is that it only offers 10 MB of storage. I did more digging around, and Media Max offers 25GB for free, which I find eminently reasonable! Sweet! It doesn't seem to save changes made to my documents, though. THAT SUCKS! Oh well. The multi-file option's also being stupid right now and refusing to let me upload anything! Sigh.

Time to TRY going back to bed... at least I set my alarm in case I *do* fall asleep! I'll ask my friends about real hard drives later since virtual hard drive storage space only goes so far, heh. Yeah, I also asked the Internet... we'll see on those two things in future, I hope! Someone says you can get 80GB drives for less than $80 nowadays... that's cheaper than I thought, but I'm wary now. (hehe, go figure... but sometimes I do take caution when it comes to the Internet :P)

You Are 46% Thankful

You are certainly a thankful person, and you tend to remember what's going well in your life. You truly are a lucky person - be sure to appreciate how good you have it!

How Thankful Are You?

Just because I put "sometimes" to most of the questions... *grumble*

Cursor Flicker and Computer Dying / Suffocating / Girl Scout Cookies Thin Mints

I just checked my phone for any calls I might have received while being out all day. Who the heck is calling me from the 204 area code? I know nobody in Manitoba! Man, I deleted THAT one really fast. Wish I hadn't, so I could post the phone number on the Internet. Then again, am I really THAT evil? YES! (sort of... muhahahaha)

Damn, I think my computer's slowly starting to die. The cursor has just started to flicker, which I noticed when I got home. I think the problems with the browser suddenly closing (which happened three times since I got home tonight!) could be related to that as well as the Firefox extensions. Then again, what do *I* know about computers? It's true that the hard drive has sounded like it's dying for some time... yikes. Not sure what to do on this one, but I *should* go to bed since I have Awana tomorrow. I'll think about it then, haha.

Here's a pre-emptive RIP for my computer, though. (just in case I should get up and find it totally dead...) RIP, Computer Hard Drive. :(


Today's Suffocating Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

Following the capture of British-held Calcutta by native rebels on June 20, 1756, some sixty-four British prisoners were locked up for the night in a small prison cell, measuring just eighteen feet by fifteen feet, with only two small windows for air. The crowding and oppressive heat proved more than the men could stand, and they soon began to suffer from lack of air, as well as dehydration. One by one they began to drop, and by morning, all but twenty-one had suffocated to death in the cramped prison cell. The incident gained widespread attention at a time when British colonial rule was expanding in India. Originally the number of men crowded into the cell had been put at 146, but that figure was later found to be exaggerated.

Culled from: The Pessimist's Guide To History

**********************************************************************

Ghastly!

Now here's a stunt that even the Jackass boys won't try. A determinedly suicidal man stuck an M100 firecracker (which packs a punch equivalent to 1/4 of a stick of dynamite) into his mouth and lit the fuse. Only those with an iron stomach should bother clicking these links:

Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Picture 4

Thanks to Ericka for the pics.

*******

Wretched Recommendations!

marilyndale has a fiction recommendation for us:

"Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk is a novel made up of stories: twenty-three of them, to be precise. Twenty-three of the most horrifying, hilarious, mind-blowing, stomach-churning tales you'll ever encounter -- sometimes all at once. They are told by people who have answered an ad headlining 'Writers' Retreat: Abandon Your Life for Three Months,' and who are led to believe that here they will leave behind all the distractions of 'real life' that are keeping them from creating the masterpiece that is in them. But 'here' turns out to be a cavernous and ornate old theater where they are utterly isolated from the outside world -- and where heat and power and (most importantly) food are in increasingly short supply. And the most desperate the circumstances become, the more extreme the stories they tell -- and the more devious their machinations become to make themselves the hero of the inevitable play / movie / nonfiction blockbuster that will surely be made from their plight."

"Chuck Palahniuk's six previous novels are Fight Club, Survivor, Invisible Monsters, Choke, Lullaby, and Diary. He is also the author of a profile of Portland, Fugitives and Refugees, and the nonfiction collection Stranger Than Fiction. I have read Fight Club, Choke, and Lullaby, and would highly recommend his work to anyone."

Thanks, marilyndale. By the way, I am familiar with this book only because its cover struck me as one of the most beautiful covers in the history of novels. If you CAN, in fact, judge a book by its cover, then Haunted is a true masterpiece.

Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk


Girl Scout Cookies Thin Mints

If those cute little cookie peddlers aren't posted outside the market, it may be tough to get your hands on these the most popular cookies sold by the Girl Scouts each year. One out of every four boxes of cookies sold by the girls is Thin Mints. This recipe uses an improved version of the chocolate wafers created for the Oreo cookie clone. That recipe creates 108 cookie wafers, so when you're done dipping, you'll have the equivalent of three boxes of the Girl Scout Cookies favorite. (See? That's why you bought those extra cookie sheets.) You could, of course, reduce the recipe by baking only 1/3of the cookie dough for the wafers and then reducing the coating ingredients by 1/3, giving you a total of 36 cookies. But that may not be enough to last you until next spring.

Chocolate Cookie Wafers
1 18.25-ounce package Betty Crocker chocolate fudge cake mix
3 tablespoons shortening, melted
1/2 cup cake flour, measured then sifted
1 egg
3 tablespoons water
Non-stick cooking spray

Coating
3 12-ounce bags semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
6 tablespoons shortening

1. Combine the cookie ingredients in a large bowl, adding the water a little bit at a time until the dough forms. Cover and chill for 2 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a portion of the dough to just under 1/16 of an inch thick. To cut, use a lid from a spice container with a 1 1/2-inch diameter (Schilling brand is good). Arrange the cut dough rounds on a cookie sheet that is sprayed with a light coating on non-stick spray. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the wafers from the oven and cool completely.

4. Combine chocolate chips with peppermint extract and shortening in a large microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl. Heat on 50 percent power for 2 minutes, stir gently, then heat for an additional minute. Stir once again, and if chocolate is not a smooth consistency, continue to zap in microwave in 30-second intervals until smooth.

5. Use a fork to dip each wafer in the chocolate, tap the fork on the edge of the bowl so that the excess chocolate runs off, and then place the cookies side-by-side on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm. Makes 108 cookies.

Yay! Richmond doesn't have to boil water anymore!

When I got up today, white Eric had already left messages with me on MSN asking if I could bus to Cambie / Jacombs (and then asking whether I was awake yet a couple hours later). I ignored that temporarily in favor of checking my email: surprisingly, I was done with everything (including friends pages) in like half an hour. So then I typed to him in all caps that I was never awake, and that I was typing in my sleep. He wanted to know what approximate time the bus would get there, as he didn't want me to wait in the (heavy) rain, which I appreciated. I checked the transit website, told him the time, and was off to take a shower (which was okay according to public health) before I went to the mall to buy / mail stuff. Good thing I had enough money to do so after I cashed a cheque and sent off a money order, haha. (damn service charges...)

Speaking of the bank, Clement's ex Jocelyn was my teller today: nope, I didn't have to show her my ID card, haha. We talked for a bit about how we were, and she asked about my siblings too. She started working there in August, and it's two minutes away from home: seems so very convenient! From there, it was off to buy some security / bubble-wrap envelopes... why do I always leave long envelopes at home?! Bleh. Then I went to Yuen Shing: no caramel Pocky means that someone will have to be content with strawberry crush and chocolate. Similarly, no certain bookmarks at Coles means people will have to make do with other ones! Replenished my supply of stamps, postcards, and Christmas seals while buying Vivian S. a Hanukkah card... I know it isn't for some time, but I can be really organized when I want to be. ;)

Bought some milk / honey Pocky, a moon bookmark, and a caramel Aero bar for myself before I went to the post office to mail a bunch of stuff. Then I waited for the bus in the rain... when I got to the community centre, Eric was there waiting for me. I told him that the website was on crack, even if the rain made the buses even more not on schedule than normal. :P We had a car incident, but the weather and time were NOT on our side... so it was off to being stuck in traffic: we wanted to MOVE, especially since we were late! He asked me whether I had received the email about dinner with the AGM tonight: nerp squish, and it was a good thing he told me since I was kinda planning on Pho! I threatened him with dropping toilets on his head, haha. He asked whether I'd lined up for a PS3 this morning, so I asked him if he was planning on doing the same for the Nintendo Wii - nope, since that's on Sunday morning. Good priorities, even if he's not a Sony fanboy. :D (I heard "Days of Elijah is in E" as "Elijah is meaty"... oh dear, I'm going deaf already! :P)

I saw my siblings when we got to church, and Steph told me that Grandma is treating us to the Keg for Jon's birthday dinner on Sunday: HOW AWESOME! After a while of listening to Jeremy go crazy on the drums, I went upstairs where Karen / Jen / Vivian were. Vivian was complaining about a certain somebody inconveniencing her - I need to send him an email about something, too. Karen, Jen, and I talked about the rice / mango pudding / broccoli / peanut sauce / chicken dinner: I was very grateful for that since I hadn't really eaten much up to that point! Then we discussed various aspects of our personal lives and blogging, too. The strong tea was made with bottled water... everyone's toilet water seemed to be brown, and some showers had to be taken using the brown water. YUCK!

Billy and Stella arrived with baby Benjamin, whom everyone tried to entertain. Eric noticed his tiny Senators gloves, so people were bugging Billy about them: apparently, Stella just found them somewhere, so that was more acceptable than her buying them! There was a cute Old McDonald mitten, with animals on the finger tops and a book to go with it: he loved that! The AGM went all right: Jon kept forgetting that he couldn't second motions, so he got Jeremy to do it for him, haha. Eric, Vivian, Dylan, and Karen Choo are our new Committee in 2007: good times, haha. (I didn't really know that Eric was running for it!)

Jon wasn't impressed when I handed him a pile of cards to sign in the middle of the AGM (after I'd signed Vivian's Hanukkah card), but this would be one of the only times that he could do this when I saw him! (I had to explain that one to Connie, whom I gave her sister / brother-in-law Kenny and Winnie's birthday cards to later) We bugged Vivian by using some French during the meeting ("THE FORBIDDEN LANGUAGE!" quoth Jeremy), and bugged Dylan over his typo: "2006 objections" rather than "2006 objectives" WAS rather funny, haha. After the meeting, we discussed the Sunday lunch: Steph's going because of the Grey Cup! Jon tried to convince Vivian to go, but she has 10 assignments due in the next two weeks... ouch!

The "different woman" Teresa talked to me for a while, saying that my sister had "Susanna's voice," and that some guy at church looked like a white guy, but not really. (uh, okay...) Later, the guys and I milled about downstairs: Citrus really did not look too enthused about going to see Fiddler on the Roof on Sunday, which was Danielle's excuse for not going to the lunch. (we bugged her about the Edmonton Eskimos, haha) I grabbed Eric's water bottle for him since he'd forgot it upstairs: he told me that I'd deprived him of that experience / exercise. But I got more exercise by returning a pencil that Steph stole from Dad's office, so that was fine too. Jon and Jeremy had a craving for Steamworks (not Pho or Dragon Ball bubble tea, which Jen was too full for), so we dropped them off at the Skytrain station before heading home.

We tried listening to the radio to find out what the hockey score was, but Eric's radio cut in and out at the crucial times... we also cringed at all the cheap-sounding sponsors for various things! Good times, indeed... especially since Richmond doesn't have to boil water anymore! But I'll throw away my toothbrush anyhow since I did the same as Dianne: we brushed our teeth, forgetting that the tap water wasn't supposed to be used for that purpose! Hey, I just checked the hockey score online: we won 4-2 over the Blues, who got blown out last night as well. (we tried deducing the score from the number of goals that people got: at least 2-1, we thought)

Chocolate, shapes, cooking on all burners

Here are various OK Cupid and Quiz Heaven tests.

WHORE NAME

HAMBONE

Take this quiz at QuizHeaven.com

what's your career for the future?!

Santa

Take this quiz at QuizHeaven.com

Statist You scored 38% Personal Liberty and 29% Economic Liberty!

A statist believes in moderate to high government intervention in both personal and economic matters. They generally believe in a centralized state with a social safety net and laws restricting personal liberty. They tend to support war and foreign intervention. Extreme statists border on being totalitarians, while others lean towards being centrists.

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 10% on Personal You scored higher than 14% on Economic

Link: The Politics Test written by brainpolice on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Caramel Caress You are 59% sweet like chocolate!

You're a pretty balanced person. You like your fair share of high-brow stuff, but at times, you also like to just kick back and chill. Those who take the time to get to know you will discover that you're a great friend and companion.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 19% on Sweetness

Link: The which chocolate are you? Test written by paradise_is_pin on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Damn, this quiz is now making me hungry for chocolate ice cream. Note to self: Buy some next time I'm at Save-On.

The Solid Hexagon Your personality matches Geometric Profile Number 39

J*sus f*cking bananas, you're about as exciting as moss dying in a forest full of old-growth trees. Yes, you're solid and damn few people can f*ck with you, but please try something new every once in a while. Maybe a threesome? How about a line of coke? No. Your interests are obvious, your motivation is average, and your passion... my God... I'd rather have sex with a hot desk lamp than follow YOU to the bedroom. Okay, that was harsh. Maybe I just have a problem with normal folks. To your credit, you are confident / versatile in your interests / headstrong as f*ck. You'd make a great college professor... but I'd set your beard and / or leg hair on fire one week into the first semester just to watch you dance. - - - - - - Yeah, I've got you pretty well figured out by now. You're into my style, so check out my fashion. http://www.ubervanity.com (Don't worry about losing your place on OkCupid. It will stay open in a separate window)

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 14% on WhichShapeRU

Link: The Shape Test written by _Vanity_ on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Three Burners You scored 60 range!

You know your way around a kitchen. You can make a complete and satisfying dinner suitable for most guests, or make lunch for three differently allergic (or very fussy) kiddies all at the same time. Though your ability to juggle all of these ingredients is rare, you may find yourself under-appreciated. Add just a few more exotic ingredients to the spice rack of your mind and you will dazzle even the most effete gastronome, and finally receive all the credit you deserve.

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 7% on range

Link: The Are You Cookin on All Burners Test written by pelicangirl on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Orange You scored 20 Factor A, 28 Factor B, 87 Factor C, and 28 Factor D!

You're an orange! Peeling you is a little tough, but inside... you're sweet and tangy and filled with Vitamin C. You're organized into sections, which is pretty cool.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 5% on Factor A You scored higher than 27% on Factor B You scored higher than 88% on Factor C You scored higher than 0% on Factor D

Link: The What type of fruit are you Test written by quantumkitty on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

GJ finally working, Sunday lunch with kimchi, Girl Scout Cookies Shortbread

At last GJ is working, so I can now cross-post and edit / tag entries over there again! Good thing too, since 12 entries in all needed to be edited... and four needed tagging in my communities! I just wish that the SYSTEM dude had better grammar when telling us about the outages... "we KEPT working till 3 or 4 AM" would have been better than what he DID use, which was clunky. :P

Jon emailed us about Sunday dinner again... I swear, I keep telling him to change my email address on the list. He hasn't yet... thank goodness for YM notifications! Since the Grey Cup football game starts at 3 and Sunday School ends at 12:45-1, we'll have lunch this week at Nathan's place before we eat lots of junk food during the game. Apparently, Jeremy's going to cook something really simple: I'm in for steamed rice, kimchi, and broccoli! For overseas readers, this is real football and NOT soccer. :P


Girl Scout Cookies Shortbread

Since they only sell these once a year, right around springtime, you're bound to get a craving sometime around fall. And if you're still holding onto a box, they may have begun to taste a bit like used air-hockey pucks. Now you can toss out those relics and fill the box with a fresh batch, made from this clone recipe for the first variety of cookies sold by the Girl Scouts back in 1917.

1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons beaten egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus an extra 1/4 cup reserved for rolling)
1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1. In a large mixing bowl... cream together the shortening, sugar, vanilla, and salt with an electric mixer.
2. Add the egg and beat mixture until it's fluffy. Add the baking soda and mix for about 20 seconds, then add the buttermilk and mix for an additional 30 seconds.
3. In another bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.
4. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix well with an electric mixer until flour is incorporated.
5. Roll the dough into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap, and chill it for 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
7. Roll dough out on a well-floured surface to 1/8-inch thick and punch out cookies with a 1 1/2 to 2-inch cutter (a medium-size spice bottle lid works well). Arrange cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet.
8. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes 60 cookies.

Corey's Thanksgiving, Nina saying that Yazmine's huffy, email being LATE, morbid facts

Corey says he'll be in Texas again for a week starting on Saturday. Ah yes, Thanksgiving with a bunch of relatives and such! Guess I'll have to find new people to talk to or something, haha. (or go hardcore on my latest project...)

I called my old friend Nina earlier: she's doing fine, and says that her son Dylan will go to his father's for overnight stays soon. He appears to be happy to see him, so that's a good thing. Her ex was nasty towards her, though! She told me that the power went out at her workplace yesterday afternoon, so they just chilled for an hour or so. Today, it was better. She asked if I still talked to Yazmine: of course not, since she ended our friendship over 50 cents! Seems Yazmine was very curt with her on the phone recently when she just called to see how she was, since her tone of voice was "DON'T BOTHER ME!" Not sure when Nina and I will get together, but maybe by the end of the month... next weekend's not good since it's my brother Jon's birthday. We'll work something out...

Email is being weird today: my Morbid Facts newsletter went into my spam folder (!), and I got an email notice of a testimonial written in JULY! Crazy stuff... the double notifications of confirming subscriptions to things like the Bonehead Awards / This Is True / Stella Awards / Heroic Stories did NOT help. At least the ArcaMax / Wordsmith things weren't like that!


Today's Curious Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

India's first execution in 13 years has claimed an additional toll of at least two children dead in mishaps as they re-enacted the highly publicized hanging of a man convicted of raping and murdering a schoolgirl.

In August 2004, 41-year-old Dhananjoy Chatterjee was hanged in the eastern city of Calcutta after 13 years on death row. Two weeks after the execution, 14-year-old Prem Gaekwad died when he tied one end of a rope around his neck and swung the other end on a ceiling fan in his Bombay home, in an apparent re-enactment. "The boy's father told us Prem was a very bright but curious kid, and kept asking questions about how Dhananjoy would be hanged," said assistant police inspector Dilip Suryawanshi. "Dhananjoy was the top news on all TV channels for so many days, and Prem would watch very closely."

The previous week, a 12-year-old girl died in the eastern state of West Bengal, when she tried to demonstrate for her younger brother how Chatterjee was executed. And a 10-year-old boy in the same state almost died when he and his friends acted out the execution... taking the roles of Chatterjee, the hangman, a doctor, and the prison warden. "Children have a natural curiosity about anything out of the ordinary," psychiatrist Anjali Chhabria told Reuters. "Also, several newspapers and TV channels had given detailed sketches of execution by hanging, making it easier for kids to imitate."

Culled from: Reuters
Generously submitted by: Ladyfreud

**********************************************************************

Okay, this is just a guess, but I'm betting they don't show much in the way of violent imagery on television in India, so these kids didn't have a lot to choose from to satiate their primitive desire for imitation. This is why it's so important to bombard children with a multitude of violent images every day. They will make wiser choices - and imitate a shooting or a stabbing instead of a hanging. It's far safer bet!

*******

Wretched Recommendations!

Becky has a film recommendation (this was actually submitted last year, and the film is now out on DVD):

"I am a big Kevin Gage fan, and recently read on an unofficial fan site that the movie CHAOS is finally being released to a limited number of theaters in August. Here is a synopsis of the film from Kevin Gage:

'Kevin Gage plays the title role in this graphically violent exploitation film. "It's based on true events about two girls who try to score the drug ecstasy at a rave party from some people they don't know," explains director David DeFalco, "which basically puts them in a world of hell. They are exposed to the most evil, sadistic, brutal people on the planet, and they are basically obliterated by this one monster of a human being, nicknamed 'Chaos.' The end of the movie has the parents confronting the killers." '

"DeFalco makes some effort to justify the film as a warning to young people. The official Chaos web site states that each year, 100 youths are abducted and murdered by strangers. In an interview on the site, he claims that 'We had a female DA at the Cineramadome screening of CHAOS who, after seeing the movie, said it should be shown in all schools.'

"More from DeFalco: 'The most common question I get asked regarding CHAOS from people is "What's the purpose of making a movie like this?" My answer to that question is because it is a very real and unfortunate part of life that is as fascinating as it is disturbing.'

"The working title for Chaos was The House in the Middle of Nowhere.

"If you wish to delve deeper into the movie, check out its official website. The TESTIMONIALS section is especially interesting."

Chaos (2005)

*******

Morbid Lyric Du Jour!

Keith shares some morbid lyrics: "My kids like this song by the Arrogant Worms. They have good taste. The album should be available on Amazon.com"

Rippy the Gator
by the Arrogant Worms

Hi kids! Welcome to the Uncle BoBo show! Are you ready to sing? Come on, let's go!
Billy and his family
Went on a holiday
They went down to Florida
To laugh and dance and play
Bill went in for a swim
He didn't see the harm
But when he came back out again,
He was short an arm!

'cause Rippy the Gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Rippy the Gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Passing the time by ending children's lives
Down in the bottom of the swamp, swamp, swamp

Billy and his father
Went out to play some catch
But Billy missed the pass
Because his arm was unattached
The ball flew past his shoulder
And it rolled into the swamp
When he went wading after it,
His leg became a stump!

'cause Rippy the Gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Rippy the Gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Passing the time by ending children's lives
Down in the bottom of the swamp, swamp, swamp

Billy and his father
Joined a three-legged race
They were tearing up the field
No one could keep the pace
But Billy tripped and did a flip
And landed in the muck
He was running out of limbs
And also out of luck!

'cause Rippy the Gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Rippy the gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Passing the time by ending children's lives
Down in the bottom of the swamp, swamp, swamp

Billy was all dirty
He really had to wash
But he couldn't use a towel
'cause his limbs had been gnawed off
He went into the water
To get all clean and bright
But when he was finished
He was only half his height

'cause Rippy the Gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Rippy the gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Passing the time by ending children's lives
Down in the bottom of the swamp, swamp, swamp

Billy's father rolled his wheelchair
Up upon a hill
He wanted to take Bill
Where he would not get killed
But he left him on a slope
And into a swamp he rolled
They dragged out his head
But there was nothing down below!

'cause Rippy the Gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Rippy the Gator went chomp, chomp, chomp!
Passing the time by ending children's lives
Down in the bottom of the swamp, swamp, swamp
Passing the time by ending children's lives
Down in the bottom of the swamp
(down in the swamp)


This song is available on The Best Of The Arrogant Worms.

Bookstore raiding memories, boiling water, quizzes

Helen emailed me a Chapters coupon to me and Irene since she knows we like to read. She got it from Winnie, which is cool. But you have to print it out, and then it's also for Sunday... I dunno about that, since I'll probably be busy. I remember the time a few years ago when I got three Chapters coupons for the Richmond store from Awana, and used them all: Corey asked me how the bookstore raiding was, hahaha. Reminds me that today is Helen's son Nicholas' first birthday. Dang, I knew I should have made Jon sign those birthday cards even IF he was on the phone with Harmony for at least two hours! Oh well.. Always tomorrow for that... and for mailing a bunch of other stuff out, too. (hopefully, even though it's Friday and the Fellowship AGM!)

There's a "boil water advisory" on because of water turbidity from the storm... good thing I have a lot of bottled water! My sister thinks it's really funny because I have an excuse not to shower. Har har har. :P Actually, it says showers are okay.. but I'd rather not risk it till I have to go out... yeah, I'm lazy. Shush. :P

Note: I don't believe in tarot, but I'm taking the quiz below anyway. ;)

You Are 68% Perfectionist

You are a true perfectionist. You are both demanding of yourself and others. While it's great to have goals and standards, they don't need to be sky high!

Are You a Perfectionist?

Your PMS Disaster Level: Medium

You definitely are a bit of a wreck once a month. But as long as you remember to take it easy, your PMS isn't a major crisis.

Are You a PMS Disaster?

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent, you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.

The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius, and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks, and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication... but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time, however, can also result in great creativity / psychic powers / visions / insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Fiddle Faddle & Screaming Yellow Zonkers

Fiddle Faddle & Screaming Yellow Zonkers

I know the most popular candy corn out there is Cracker Jack, but my favorite has always been Screaming Yellow Zonkers and Fiddle Faddle from Lincoln Snacks Company. Fiddle Faddle is butter toffee-coated popcorn with almonds thrown in. Screaming Yellow Zonkers (you gotta love the name) is similar, but without the almonds. The secret to the yellow coloring of the Zonkers: buttered popcorn.

Fiddle Faddle (butter toffee with almonds)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 bags plain or natural-flavored microwave popcorn
1/2 cup roasted almonds

Zonkers
1 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 bags butter-flavored microwave popcorn

1. For either recipe... combine sugar, butter, corn syrup, water, and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat. You're going to bring the candy to 265-275 degrees, or what is known as the hard ball stage. For this, it's best to use a candy thermometer. If you don't have one, don't worry. Drip the candy into a small glass of cold water. If the candy forms a very hard, yet slightly pliable ball, bingo, you're there. Watch your mixture closely so that it doesn't boil over.

2. While candy cooks, pop both bags of popcorn and spread about 2 quarts or 1 1/3 bags of popcorn (plus almonds for Fiddle Faddle) on one large or two small cookie sheets. Put the popcorn in your oven set on its lowest temperature. This will keep the popcorn hot so that the candy will coat better.

3. When your candy has reached the hard ball stage, add the vanilla.

4. Pull the popcorn from the oven and, working quickly, pour the candy over the popcorn in thin streams. Mix the popcorn so that each kernel is coated with candy, put the popcorn back into the oven for five more minutes, then stir once again. This will help to coat each kernel. You can repeat this step once more if necessary to get all of the popcorn coated. Pour popcorn onto a large sheet of wax paper to cool. Spread the popcorn out, but be careful...it's hot.

5. When popcorn is cool, break it up and immediately put it into a tightly sealed container, such as Tupperware. This will ensure that it stays fresh. This stuff gets stale very quickly in moist climates if left out. Makes about 4 quarts.

Schizophrenia, Evelyn Dick, dead babies in cement, and monster paintings by kids

Today's Schizophrenic Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

A 28-year-old man accused of decapitating his mother and displaying her head on the front porch of their home because he believed she was Satan was acquitted of murder by reason of insanity. Judge John Scotillo ruled Tuesday, August 24, 2004 that Karl Sneider of Palatine, IL suffered from mental illness and "lacked substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality" of killing his 49-year-old mother, Kathryn Sneider. During four days of testimony, four doctors said Sneider was schizophrenic and suffered from delusions and hallucinations.

According to court testimony, Sneider told police he was Jesus Christ, his mother was Satan and that her death in January 2003 signaled the triumph of good over evil. The two got into a fight after she told him he should be committed to a mental hospital. He then stabbed her, cut off her head with a kitchen knife and put her head on the front porch.

Culled from: Associated Press
Generously submitted by: lefttwist

**********************************************************************

That'll learn her, dern her!!

Random thought: Isn't it interesting that fundamentalists kick up a fuss over mythical "satanic" ritual killings, yet murders are committed all the time in the name of God or Jesus? Such a funny little world.

*******

Wretched Recommendations!

zale has a book recommendation for us:

Torso: The Evelyn Dick Case
by Marjorie Campbell

"This is a favourite of mine, not only because it is local (and involves dead babies inside suitcases encased in cement), but because the body was found by children. Children who were friends with my father, who had asked him to go with them on that fateful day - unfortunately, Dad didn't go."

It's always fun to have a connection to an infamous case of morbidity!

*******

Morbid Art Du Jour!

Here's a brilliantly simple - and effective - concept: take monster pictures drawn by children and "flesh them out" so that they are painted in an adult style. The results are truly beautiful!

Thanks to Grim747 for the link.


I *have* read this torso book, and found it fascinating!

Stormy weather / errands / dream about gold necklaces and medicine

There's a major windy rainstorm here with many power outages / trees falling into houses / flying Porta-Potties and other debris, and a building under construction has collapsed at Commercial / Pandora. Thank goodness nobody was hurt, but I want to see a picture of the collapsed building, hahaha. (hey, you knew I was morbid :P) The next non-rainy day is MINE and not my grandmother's, unless she is going to my area anyhow. I need to mail postcards, Christmas cards, strawberry / caramel / chocolate Pocky, Harry Potter bookmarks to a bunch of people from holiday_wishes. (gotta BUY the bookmarks from Coles, and the Pocky at Big Crazy or Yuen Shing!)

I'm not taking the "Is He A Good Boyfriend?" / "Are You A Good Driver?" Blogthings quizzes. No boyfriend here unlike SOME people, and I can't drive in any event!


I had a weird dream which involved a bunch of us at a conference. We knew we were going to meet my brother's girlfriend for the first time, and were surprised when Eunice showed up with Jon. She said that the girl was kinda plain-looking, so we wouldn't have to worry about competing with her in that department... yes, even Steph and I worried about it, funnily enough! In walked Jon with this Chinese girl, who WAS plain-looking as advertised. Then we all went to Shoppers Drug Mart to find Triaminicin (cold medicine) / raspberry and juniper soap, lotion, and hand sanitizer before we all packed up some stuff. While we were at the store, we decided to grab some more candy and food items to sustain ourselves. Then we logged onto Our Place to find that HPotterFan and Tonks had gotten married, and there was a thread congratulating them on the nuptials. Everyone said something, bumping up the replies to at least 100. After that, we went back to the conference centre.

My mother wanted to know whether I'd deliberately lost some gold necklace of hers since she'd given it to me... um, of course not? After asking around, I found that Jeremy and Eric had it... they were dangling it off the edge of a bed's headboard. We gave it back to her, and she was asking us questions about what we did to it beforehand. Uh, nothing? So we left for a session with Auntie Rebecca, who was lecturing us about not serving properly. She had this whole easel presentation about our spiritual gifts... during all that, I was writing duplicate names in with crayon on some paper I had. (Sara Maddox, other Saras, Cindy, Jesse...) The dream ended shortly after that. No idea what triggered it: I have NEVER met Harmony (maybe at Christmas?), haven't needed cold medicine for a long time, and haven't really been on the receiving end of a lecture from Auntie Rebecca! (although she DID preach on Sunday... and my mom's a different story)

Fatburger

Man, I am not coping well with certain things. Yikes. Maybe it's coz I was like the LAST TO KNOW?! UGH.

Fatburger

Southern California - the birthplace of famous hamburgers from McDonald's, Carl's Jr., and In-n-Out Burger - is home to another thriving burger chain that opened its first outlet in 1952. Lovie Yancey thought of the perfect name for the 1/3-pound burgers she sold at her Los Angeles burger joint: Fatburger. Now with over 41 units in California, Nevada, and moving into Washington and Arizona, Fatburger has become the food critics' favorite, winning "best burger in town" honors with regularity. The secret is the seasoned salt used on a big ol' lean beef patty. And there's no ketchup on the stock version... just mayo, mustard, and relish.

Replace the ground beef with ground turkey and you've got Fatburger's Turkeyburger all up and cloned.

1/3 pound lean ground beef
seasoned salt
ground black pepper
1 plain hamburger bun
1/2 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped iceberg lettuce
1 tomato slice
1/2 tablespoon mustard
1/2 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon chopped onion
3 dill pickle slices (hamburger slices)

Optional
1 slice American cheese


Grill the unsuspecting beef patty in a hot frying pan. Slap the hot side and the cold side together.

1. Form the ground beef into a patty that is about 1 inch wider than the circumference of the hamburger bun.
2. Preheat a non-stick frying pan to medium / high heat. Fry the patty in the pan for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until done. Season both sides of the beef with seasoned salt and ground black pepper.
3. As the meat cooks, prepare the bun by spreading approximately 1/2 tablespoon of mayonnaise on the face of the top bun.
4. Place the lettuce on the mayonnaise, followed by the tomato slice.
5. When the beef is done, place the patty on the bottom bun.
6. Spread about 1/2 tablespoon of mustard over the top of the beef patty.
7. Spoon about 1/2 tablespoon of relish over the mustard.
8. Sprinkle the chopped onion onto the relish.
9. Arrange the pickles on the chopped onion.
10. Bring the two halves of the burger together and serve with gumption. Makes 1 burger.

Tidbits
If you want cheese on your burger, put a slice of American cheese on the face of the bottom bun before adding the beef patty. The heat from the meat will melt the cheese.

Being eaten by lions, torso murders, remodelling the kitchen with coffins

I think I'll go check out Facts About Multiples, as it's been updated. Then maybe I'll make storm / heavy rain preparations, such as shutting this computer down for a bit. We'll see...


Today's Tasty Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

In March 1898, the British started building a railway bridge over the Tsavo (SAH-vo) River in East Africa. Over the next nine months, two large male lions killed and ate nearly 140 railway workers. Crews tried to scare off the lions and built campfires and thorn fences for protection, but to no avail. Hundreds of workers fled Tsavo, halting construction on the bridge.

Before work could resume, chief engineer Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson (1865-1947) had to eliminate the lions and their threat. After many near misses, he finally shot the first lion on December 9, 1898, and brought down the second three weeks later. The first lion killed measured nine feet, eight inches (3 m) from nose to tip of tail. It took eight men to carry the carcass back to camp. The construction crew returned and completed the bridge in February 1899.

Culled from: The Field Museum

**********************************************************************

Talk about a pair of cool cats! The lions are on display at the Field Museum here in Chicago, and of course the movie The Ghost and the Darkness was made about them.

*******

Tragedy Strikes The Comtesse DeSpair

The most horrendous thing happened to me today. My Thunderbird inbox became corrupted! (I know - for such a pious Comtesse, I found it quite astonishing as well!) And, of course, I hadn't performed a recent back-up, so I've essentially lost all of my pending emails. This is, quite naturally, immensely distressing to me... but I've tried everything I can do to restore the file and nothing works - it appears to be hopelessly corrupted. (As Thunderbird support says, "If none of these procedures work, count your losses" - gee, thanks!) Of course, I'm smacking myself on the forehead until bloody (much like the latest Peaches video) for being so stupid as to not perform a regular back-up of my inbox, but what can I do? Suffice to say, I will be much more diligent in the future.

I was up to about mid-September in replying to my emails, so if you have contributed anything in the last few months and you haven't heard back from me, please feel free to send your submission to me again (mailto:despair@asylumeclectica.com). The saddest thing about losing the inbox is missing out on all those wonderful links, trinkets, brushes with morbidity, morbid sightseeing suggestions, and the like that I receive from you every day.

I am playing TAPS for those lost missives as I type.

*******

Wretched Recommendations!

zale has a book recommendation for us:

"The Thames Torso Murders of Victorian London by R. Michael Gordon details some wonderfully gruesome murders that have unfortunately been overshadowed by Jack the Ripper and his crimes, though the book does try to link them together."

The Thames Torso Murders of Victorian London by R. Michael Gordon

*******

Morbid Link Du Jour!

Now, here's a PROPER way to remodel a kitchen: Coffin It Up!

Thanks to dusty for the link.

The POINTS MEME.... how much do you know about me?

I don't understand how I went to bed at 1:20 AM, yet was awake at like 7 AM or earlier. My body must hate me... o_O

Nina called me while I was out yesterday... hmm. I left a message on her voice mail, so maybe she'll call me back.

I knew I forgot something yesterday... oh well, my mom doesn't NEED her cell phone, right... ?? ;) (but yeah... I'll give it back to her sometime...)


The POINTS MEME, ganked from Jennifer and Renee:

Comments are screened, of course. ;)

(2 Points) My name:
(1 Point) My last name:
(5 Points) Take a stab at my middle name:
(3 Points) Who was my first celeb-crush:
(2 Points) Do I have any children:
(2 Points) How old are they:
(2 Points) What work do I do:
(3 Points) What am I afraid of:
(2 Points) Do I smoke:
(3 Points) Do I drink:
(2 Points) Do I have any siblings:
(2 Points) How many:
(1 Point) Do I like 'em:
(4 Points) What's one of my favorite things to do:
(2 Points) How many tattoos do I have:
(3 Points) What's my favourite type of music:
(2 Points) What's my favourite TV show:
(2 Points) Who is my favourite band / artist:
(4 Points) Am I shy or outgoing:
(3 Points) Am I a rebel or do I follow the rules:
(2 Points) What's my favourite colour:
(3 Points) Name something I hate:
(4 Points) Name a talent I have:
(4 Points) What kind of shoes do I wear:
(4 Points) Do I have any pets:
(2 Points) Who am I dating right now:
(5 Points) What is my favourite school subject:
(5 Points) What is the colour of my room:
(5 Points) What is my worst habit:
(5 Points on creativeness) If I were stranded on a desert island, what would I bring:

80-85 Points — Stalker Extraordinaire!
70-79 Points — Hard-Working Stalker
40-69 Points — Decent Stalker
20-39 Points — Stalker-In-Training
00-19 Points — Crappy Stalker or New Stalker

Post Reply, duck, pomegranate, Famous Amos Raisin-Filled Chocolate Chip Cookies

Note to self: NEVER click "Post Reply" when replying to journal comments via email at my parents' house. It doesn't work since they block pop-ups. Used to work on Yahoo, but not on Gmail for some reason. So now I have to click "View the thread starting from this comment" first before I can reply to any from the townhouse... that really slows down my productivity!

I spent some time with my grandma today, and we took the 410 to my cousin's place so she could pick up a comforter, which she decided was too cumbersome to carry on the bus. Heh, I had to restrain myself from activating the bell pull when the bus reached Cambie / Jacombs since that's where I meet Eric sometimes on Fridays. Grandma asked whether Harmony was pretty, and I had to say that I hadn't really seen a picture of her (except on Jon's laptop screensaver a while ago). She then thought that Jon had misunderstood her when she was trying to tease him about his girlfriend, but I later found out that he only pretended to mishear her since she always thinks he has no idea of what she's talking about most of the time anyhow! Then I joked that I wasn't there with her, and she asked about Eric and Jeremy. (she knows Eric as "white kid" and Jeremy as "the tall guy with the beard who had Pho with us that one time") Yes, Jeremy has a beard... no, he is NOT from Toronto even if he's from Jon's schooling. (that would be Harmony and other assorted people :P)

Getting into the house took ten minutes because Grandma mistook one key for the other, and had to enlist the neighbor's help! Aaron and Joyce knew we were coming over, and I had to restrain myself from actually taking some of their black-and-red Sour Keys candy / a bottled water, although Grandma gave me some candy from the cupboard. They have Bath and Body Works black raspberry and vanilla foamy soap in the washroom... I've been advised that the closest store is in Bellis Fair Mall in Seattle. Oh, well.

After that, we went back to the townhouse: all she ended up getting from her old place was a cellphone and an umbrella, heh. Jon was at a coffeeshop, and Steph was out with Vivian.. I thought they'd gone to the States, but they didn't want to risk the storm warning for that area. At least Steph got new Aldo work shoes since her old ones have had a big hole in them forever: not good if it's raining! We had dinner after everyone got back: lamb, duck, fish, guava, pomegranate, yogurt / coffee ice creams, shrimp, tofu, milk tea, coffee, red rice, veggies, and some other assorted stuff. Let's say that pomegranate seeds and juice are NOT what you want on your clothing, since purple stains are very hard to get out! (Vivian has Tide To Go since she's very clumsy... I try not to be, but I have an excuse too)

At least Vivian could eat SOME stuff, but not the shrimp and coffee ice cream since she's still on her modified allergy diet. She took a look at Jon's Hebrew stuff after he got a phone call from Harmony (and disappeared into his room with the door closed), and said that she could understand some of it because she was in Hebrew school from age 2-12... but the specialized squiggles for singing are something else entirely! My parents are surprised that Jon doesn't have a hard copy picture of Harmony, and wanted him to email a picture to Mom so Grandma could see... "I thought Jon would have a white girlfriend!" (then Mom thought that his friend Christine was STILL chubby... she isn't as fat as Mom thinks!) I also brought up that girl (Auntie Deborah's niece) who called a long time ago looking for Jon... good thing he was at violin lessons or something at the time! "Tell him that I like him," indeed...

It was a good time, and I even gave Jon advice when the topic turned to his election on the ESCC at church. "I wonder if he has TIME for a girlfriend, especially a long-distance one since those are more work! Trust me." He didn't say much about that, heh... but he better listen! Vivian said that the Spanish equivalent to "It's all Greek to me" is "It's in Chinese!" Hahaha. We also translated certain things in Chinese to English for Vivian, such as stuff about her allergies / stuff said to Grandma / stuff she said to her. ("Sit down at the table! Eat! Mother of my mother, come downstairs and eat oranges! Have gum!" etc.)

Later, Mom gave me ten dollars because she asked if Grandma had paid me for my time today: nope, because maybe she thought that the $20 she gave me on Sunday was good enough. Oh well, at least Mom says she'll compensate for the times when she doesn't, even though Mom's told Grandma about the payment thing. Later, Vivian drove me home... I should probably get her a Hanukkah card, even though it's not a BIG holiday like some people seem to think. (but she thanked me for her birthday card, and thanked Jon for also signing it) She's going to Mexico for Christmas, and loves the gifts at Hanukkah... I would too, if I got eight days of 'em in a row. ;)


Today's Tasty Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

A man and his two sons have been arrested on suspicion of murdering a neighbor and then eating parts of his body after he tripped over a woman relative at a dance. The three men are suspected of stabbing neighbor Benjie Ganoy to death last month in a remote village in the southwestern island of Palawan, Philippines. They ate his ears, tongue, and arms after roasting the body over a fire, provincial police chief Michael Garraez said. "They stabbed him repeatedly, cut off the man's ears, pulled out his tongue and ate it," Garraez said. He was quoting a sworn statement by a witness, who said he had been forced to eat some flesh taken from the victim's arms. Garraez said there was no tradition of cannibalism in the area. He said the father had apparently been angry after Ganoy accidentally tripped over his daughter during a dance party. Police said the victim disappeared after the dance party on July 17, 2004. The witness led them to the burned body almost a week later.

Culled from: Reuters
Generously submitted by: Ladyfreud

**********************************************************************

Is it me, or does it seem like there has been an increase in the stories of cannibalism lately? You know how if rats are overcrowded, they'll start attacking and eating each other? I think that's what's happening to us. Just a hypothesis, of course...

*******

Morbid Trinket Du Jour!

The ever-wonderful Archie McPhee has outdone themselves with this nifty set of sideshow action figures:

Bearded Lady
Tallest & Smallest Man
Strong Man

And my personal favorite (and yours too, I'm sure): Frog Girl & Lobster Boy!

Well done. I'm looking forward to further entries such as Jo-Jo the Dog Faced Boy, Siamese Twins, and many many more!

*******

Morbid Link Du Jour!

Andrew sends us a link:

"You may have seen this one already, but Wonderbaby is an interesting recollection of one person's long-awaited visit to the T.D. Mütter collection, and includes links to sketches made by the author: a rare treat for the curious, as photography there is not permitted. Enjoy!"

Since I can't draw, I was forced - FORCED, I tell you!!! - to sneak some shots when I went to the museum a few years ago. My travelogue is available here.


Famous Amos Raisin-Filled Chocolate Chip Cookies

Categories: Cookies
Yield: 72 servings

2 cups Margarine; softened
3/4 cup Packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup Granulated sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 medium Eggs
2 1/2 cups All-purpose flour; sifted
1 teaspoon Baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 cups Raisins
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
Recipe by: St. Louis Post-Dispatch 11/27/95

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat margarine, brown and white sugars, vanilla, 1 teaspoon water, and eggs with electric mixer in large bowl until creamy and thoroughly blended. By hand, stir in flour / baking soda / salt until well mixed. Stir in raisins and chocolate chips. Spoon the dough by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Leave 1 to 1 1/2 inches between cookies. Bake 8 minutes or until cookies are browned to your liking. Yield: About 6 dozen.

Holiday Wishlist for 2006

Holiday Wishlist for 2006

Can't believe it's that time again! I've been granting some wishes here and there, and already have a load of stuff to take to the post office!

1. Postcards, especially from other areas of Canada / international countries.

2. Souvenirs, same as above.

3. Stickers, especially rainbow ones for an autistic kid I know... he LOVES them!!

4. Anything with a Dragon on it, since I am a Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac.

5. Books... I love to read! They can be about anything, although I love history and trivia.

6. Christmas Cards!! I love getting mail!

7. Letters and notes... I'd like to get to know YOU!

8. Candy and chocolate, especially stuff from other countries.

9. New Friends.

10. For YOU to have a great holiday season... do something kind for a stranger!

Necropolis Railway, homicide photos, Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies

Right now, I'm borderline okay... I guess that's an improvement. Will be posting my Christmas wishlist soon, since two people have emailed me asking about it. Maybe tomorrow sometime...

Today's Mute Yet Truly Morbid Fact!

In 1854, Brookwood Cemetery (near Woking, England) was consecrated. Sir Richard Broun and Mr. Richard Sprye came up with the idea of transporting both the dead and the bereaved to the necropolis by railway. The idea did not win universal approval, and the Bishop of London found the proposal to have the dead from widely different social backgrounds, all traveling in the same train 'offensive.' Finally, the idea gained acceptance. The Necropolis Railway ran from Waterloo in London to the North Station at Brookwood - for Roman Catholics, Jews, Parsees, and the Dissenting sects - and thence to the South Station, where the Anglican dead were unloaded. The railway continued to operate until the destruction of the London terminal in the Second World War. Today, both the cemetery stations are long gone. Only the platforms remain as a mute reminder of a once-flourishing trade.

Culled from: Death: A History Of Man's Obsessions And Fears

**********************************************************************

A photograph of the surviving station can be found here.

*******

Wretched Recommendations!

Onyx has a book recommendation for us:

Death Scenes: A Homicide Detective's Scrapbook
Text by Katherine Dunn
Edited by Sean Tejaratchi

"Great book, excellent photos. I fell in love with it in Borders last week and alas, had no cash so I was dragged out of Borders, bookless, by an impatient friend after I made him wait around while I read the entire thing. Definitely a book worth owning."

I second that emotion - this is one of my all-time favorite morbid books, a five-skull masterpiece. Here's my review of it from The Library Eclectica:

This is probably the most captivating gore book ever published. Jack Huddleston was an LAPD officer from 1921 to the early 1950's who kept a scrapbook of hundreds of black and white photos showing all variety of horrible: accidents, suicides, murders, illness, execution, and other oddities that must have captivated his fevered imagination. Many of the images are disturbingly graphic - and all the more disturbing when accompanied by Huddleston's plain, "just the facts, ma'am" captions. Addresses are included with many of the images - which makes me wonder how shocking it would be to be looking through the book and see that your kitchen was the site of a grisly baby beheading in 1943. Yes, these are the sort of things that I ponder while falling asleep at night...

*******

Ghastly!

Here's an occupational injury you should strive to avoid.

Thanks to Sandy for the link.


Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe By:
Serving Size: 1 Preparation Time: 0:00
Categories: Desserts, Cookies, Low-Fat

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

1/2 pound Butter or margarine
1 cup Light brown sugar -- packed
1 cup Sugar
3 Eggs
3 cups Bisquick
1 cup Cornstarch
1/2 cup nonfat milk powder
2 tablespoons Sanka or coffee powder
1 tablespoon Unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon Vanilla
1 Package semi-sweet chocolate pieces (12 ounces)
4 ounces Pecans, well-chopped

With electric mixer, high speed, cream butter until light and fluffy. Beat in sugars, beating until very creamy. Beat in eggs, then each remaining ingredient except chips and pecans. When dough is smooth, work in chips and pecans with spoon. Make grape-sized pieces of dough for each cookie, placing 1" apart on ungreased sheet. Bake at 350° for 14 minutes or until golden brown. 12 dozen itsy bitsy cookies. Freeze unbaked cookie dough to thaw, shape, and bake in 4 months.

We're going to the GREY CUP, baby!

On the way over to church this morning, I made my sister sign a bunch of birthday cards. She also told me certain things about our brother that had been ongoing for three weeks... well, at least now I'll have an answer for Auntie Rebecca if she asks me a certain question again! These developments also have me questioning certain things in my life too... not sure if that's a good thing or not, heh. Wish I could give my brother advice about it without sounding too weird, so perhaps I won't. My grandma also gave me $20, and my sister gave me $2... quite the profitable car ride, haha. At least it financed my decision to go watch the football game with the guys!

I gave Vanessa her birthday card with the money in it for her dad, and joked that the money was for her birthday.. as much as I'd like to give her that amount of money, that's not possible! Wished Emily Lam a happy birthday, then sat through service. Afterwards, I went downstairs and gave Vivian HER birthday card which was two weeks late: what can I say except that my siblings and I are never in the same place at the same time? Then I went outside in the rain, where Jen quickly decided that it was too cold to loiter for long. Nathan called Jon, who wanted a bunch of people to wait for him before going off to Sunday School at Frog Hollow for the last time. Jeremy figured that it was warmer with the rain than without it, and recounted a time where he saw this guy with a huge golf umbrella whose pants were just as soaked as his! (that's when you know it's bad!) I was undecided on whether to go watch the game, but Jen said she'd go because she didn't want to be the only female in the group... then she later BAILED! Ugh. Vanessa thanked me again for the card and such, then Jeremy told me the score of last night's hockey game. At least a 3-2 defeat to the Flames is slightly better than 6-0 because the team scored some goals!

When Jon got there, we bugged him about girls for a bit. For some reason, I mixed a girl up with her sister (whom I *have* met), so that produced some laughs about two girlfriends at the same time. I quickly decided to go to the adult Sunday School since the plan was to just leave after Sunday School for Hell's Kitchen (the pub where we'd be). I told some people to wait for me for a couple minutes while I let Mom and the toddler Sunday School class know about my plans. After that, Vania introduced her cousin Christine to Eric and Jen since we were riding in the car to a pit stop at 7-11. I haven't been to an adult Sunday School class in a few years due to helping with the babies / toddlers, so it was nice to have the experience.

Eric and I dropped Vania and Christine off at church, then went around trying to find an efficient way to get to Hell's Kitchen. By the time we got there, we figured Jon / Jeremy / Jen / Nathan would be there already, but they weren't. We let a lot of people go ahead of us as a result, then conferred with the guys when they DID get there. Since they didn't have the volume up on the relatively small TV sets, they decided to go elsewhere. We ended up going to Bimini's Tap House across the street, where we watched the BC Lions clobber the Saskatchewan Roughriders 45-18! (that 29-4 lead at halftime certainly helped... their quarterback seemed ineffective against the CROWD NOISE, haha) Some of the commercials left a lot to be desired, like the one for Subway's new sandwich: "Oh no! My stomach is empty! I'm going to writhe around on the floor in front of my family!" Not good if you consider that most people here don't know what real hunger is! (not that I do, but the people in Africa and similar countries?) Certain football players had cool dreadlocks and hair in general, so we joked that one guy had deliberately lost his helmet to show off his hair. The plays were awesome at times, too... IN YOUR FACE if you try to taunt us! (time-count violations, 80 pages of CFL rules including one about two teams somehow gaining simultaneous possession of the ball, etc.)

It was a good time even though I know like next to nothing about football. Jon thinks that we should do this at a house next week (GREY CUP!) so we don't have to figure out tips (especially since we stayed for 3.5 hours) or taxes. After that, we all went in different directions: Eric drove me home, so we discussed our candidacy for being in the insane asylum for a while. We shared about our wet feet (DEFROST HEAT FEET)... no, we don't literally share the same wet feet, but I couldn't dry his feet for him no matter how much he wanted that, haha. He's not doing much tomorrow since I was the only one who really replied to his email about THE PRESTIGE, although he might practice his singing since he's leading worship next Sunday. Then I told him certain personal things, so we'll see how that goes. He was surprised that I've written some Christmas cards already, and I am too! Wow... I have the organization and DRIVE, baby! When he dropped me off, he told me to get out of his car and to have a lovely evening. Heh... despite recent events, I think I'll try my best with that one! (hopefully the rain will dissipate even more - it was more manageable when we left the tap house than it was when we came in - so I can mail my stuff out already!)

What Strange Holiday Is Your Birthday?

UGH, I HATE IT WHEN I RESTART AND THE COMPUTER TAKES ALL MY COOKIES WITH IT! BLAH!

Got this from David S., via Myspace bulletin:

Keep adding. :) Just search your birth month, then repost as "What Strange Holiday Is Your Birthday?" Heh, this reminds me of that list I used to have years ago! (the one I just posted recently)

Bizarre American Holidays

1. Gina - Nov. 19 - Have A Bad Day Day?!?!?! WTF! Screw THAT!
2. Shelly - Sept. 6.... Fight Procrastination Day
3. Christy - January 3 is..... Festival of Sleep Day
4. Abby -- August 2 is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day (PERFECT!)
5. Beth ~ November 5 ~ Gunpowder Day. (How boring! Hopefully, yours will be better!)
6. Amber - January 8 - National JoyGerm Day and Man Watcher's Day (So exactly what is JoyGerm?? But I'll take the National Man Watcher's Day... now I have an excuse... haha.)
7. Crystal - October 19th.... Evaluate Your Life Day... Go figure!!
8. Janice - May 13th...... Leprechaun Day!!! Yippee! I was always wondering why my favorite color was green!
9. Navetta - Feb. 28 is... Public Sleeping Day.... perrrfect ;)
10. Kelly -- Nov. 13th is.... National Indian Pudding Day... WTF??
11. Suzanne - August 26 is..... National Cherry Popsicle Day..... YAY!!!
12. Lindsey - August 15th is National Relaxation Day..... WOOOOHOO!
13. Andrea ~ September 11th (yes, you heard me) is...... No News is Good News Day. Wow. How....... insightful.
14. Sara - October 31st is National Magic Day and Increase Your Pyschic Powers Day (yay, me!!)
15. Bridget - February 23 - International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day!!! Who knew????
16. Michelle L. - September 29 - Poisoned Blackberries Day (hmmm, okay?)
17. Rachel C. - April 1st - One Cent Day (what the hell, jokesters and cheapasses!) :)
18. Sheena - March 25 - Pecan Day and Waffle Day
19. Heather - May 16th - Wear PURPLE for PEACE DAY!
20. Travis - October 1 - World Vegetarian Day and Magic Circles Day
21. Hilary - November 9 is..... Chaos Never Dies Day - No wonder!
22. Jeramie - June 30 - Meteor Day. How boring!
23. Tracey - April 2 -- National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day!!!
24. Karen - July 14 - National Nude Day...... WOO HOO!!! I want everyone nude for my birthday! :o)
25. Jen - June 21 is.... Cuckoo Warning Day (Now that explains a lot! Anyone surprised? Hehehe!)
26. Carrie - February 27 - National Polar Bear Day
27. Kristina - May 14 - National Dance Like A Chicken Day
28. Penny - July 16 - International Juggling Day.... (okayyy....)
29. Jenny - May 9th - Lost Sock Memorial Day (uh, sure)
30. Crystal - September 30th: National Mud Pack Day, haha.
31. David - December 30 is.... Festival Of Enormous Changes At The Last Minute and National Bicarbonate Of Soda Day
32. Eric - August 15 is National Relaxation Day and National Failures Day
33. Leslie - September 17 is National Apple Dumpling Day

My brother never tells me ANYTHING! / Organization / Entenmann's Pound Cake

I called my sister earlier: she said that there had been an informal hangout night at Nathan's tonight which was organized by the Daniel Fellowship, but open to everyone. She wondered why I hadn't been there, and I said that Jon hadn't said a thing about it yesterday: all I had heard about last night was discussion on where to watch the football game! AIYA, what a nice brother. :P (she's picking me up at 9:15 tomorrow - later today, really - and has a busy day with Vanessa and Vivian S. coming up) It could be argued that I needed the time to work on my project - in fact, I finished Phase 1 today - but that's not the point! My brother is CLUELESS sometimes! UGH.

Earlier, I was complaining to Corey that my butter didn't spread AT ALL. He gave me this helpful tip: "Put it in the microwave for a few seconds." Actually, I'd been wondering about that... so I did it, and the butter now seems like it would be easier to spread. :D

Am accumulating a load of stuff to mail out sometime next week, maybe. There are cards and postcards for Billy / Marilynn / Trisha (fdolarhyde13 / blindedxheart / _angel_of_nite_) and their mom Janina (mrshannibal). Also, pencils and card / postcard for Holly (tribute_mutant), stuff for John (snooooopy) and Corey (dwcorey), and cards for Maryann / Teunis / Soleta / Julie (julie709) / Danielle (gabizoidal). Kaitlin (norsk) is also getting a card and postcard... while Charlotte (charshark), Natalie (chibi_blackie), and Shannon (tearfulgoodbyes) are getting cards... Darren (dfrancis) is even getting a birthday card AND a Christmas card! I've also written some cards for other friends of mine: Ivan and Karen, Citrus, Danielle, Eric H. (lddude), Eric M., and Vania. Hey, this is how I keep myself organized, mmkay? So if you have any objection to these types of paragraphs, you can just flake off!


Entenmann's Pound Cake

½ lb Real butter
2 cups Powdered sugar
3 large Eggs
1 2/3 cups Flour
1 tablespoon Lemon or vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray an 8½" Pyrex loaf dish with Pam. Cream butter with sugar on high speed of mixer for 5 minutes. Add 1 egg and then a little flour, beating 2 minutes. Add 2nd egg and half of remaining flour and beat 2 minutes. Add 3rd egg, rest of flour and extract, beating 2 minutes. Spread thick and creamy batter evenly in prepared loaf dish. Bake 65 minutes, or until tester inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in baking dish on wire rack 30 minutes. Remove from dish. Slice ½" thick. If freezing, be sure to slice before freezing loaf. Thaw to use within 6 months.