« February 2003 | Main | April 2003 »
"Save it for Queen Doppelpoppolus!"
I'm listening to Fett's Vette by MC Chris for about the 11th time. (Along with MC Front-a-lot and April. You gotta love Nerdcore Hiphop and Voice Actresses with Radio Shows.)
Speaking of Music, The Ethel Merman Disco Album has been reissued on CD. I think this means that the world is coming to an end. The fact that Acts of Gord has been updated and MetaFilter seems to have disappeared, along with all the war talk, points to the End Times. We're all gonna die.
I'm working on packing up all of my stuff and so far I've filled exactly one box. It's filled entirely with Star Trek novels. After packing the box, and realizing I needed some reading material. I headed over to startrek.com to see what the new books are. I noticed that not only are the Star Trek TNG movies in a box set now, the Animated Series is on VHS. Why not a DVD? The Fanclub website has even more stuff. Including a Captain's uniform baby jumper and the Mr. Spock Teddy Bear. I want that bear!
another test post
yes, it's another test post time here at malbela. When you see one of these, you know I've messed something up.
Posted by aristan at 08:02 PM | Comments (0)
God Bless the Onion
God Bless The Onion...
Bush Orders Iraq To Disarm Before Start Of War WASHINGTON, DC—Maintaining his hardline stance against Saddam Hussein, President Bush ordered Iraq to fully dismantle its military before the U.S. begins its invasion next week. "U.S. intelligence confirms that, even as we speak, Saddam is preparing tanks and guns and other weapons of deadly force for use in our upcoming war against him," Bush said Sunday during his weekly radio address. "This madman has every intention of firing back at our troops when we attack his country." Bush warned the Iraqi dictator to "lay down [his] weapons and enter battle unarmed, or suffer the consequences."
Posted by aristan at 03:06 PM | Comments (0)
MS Whore
My copy of Windows XP and my mouse from New Egg have apparently left Atlanta, so they'll be here soon. I can pray for today, but it's gonna be tomorrow.
New Egg is cheap, gives you lot of info about your order, and just has a lot of stuff. I'll probaly buy more from them. I've already got my eye on a TV/FM card, but I should really just be looking at stuff to make myself a right purty new machine. This one's gonna be totally obsolete soon.
Maybe I should set up a wishlist.
Posted by aristan at 10:57 AM | Comments (0)
De-Frenching America
I've sat here, listening to the comments made when the House of Representitives decided that "French Fries" and "French Toast" were Un-American. I've heard of shop owners pulling all the French wine off the shelves, changing names of products, or just not selling French products at all. Sure, removing the word "french" from our language could prove a point, but it's also been pointed out that French Fries are from Belgium and French Toast was originally called "German Toast".
I'm not even going to mention the fact that "Freedom Toast" makes me think of "Victory Gin" from Orwell's "1984".
Reading an article from, of all things, The Christian Science Monitor; I came to realize that American Society and the English Language have been extremely influenced by France and French Society. To try and remove French influence from America would be impossible.
Let's get to the heart of thematterthing: Ahugebig percentage of the words inmoderntoday's English are of - gasp! - Frenchoriginbeginnings. What if, as a result of thecurrent diplomatic disputetoday's falling out between lands, the Frenchdemandask for their words back? We could all be linguistichostagescaptives
Take it further.
Change the name of the White House. It's officially the "Executive Mansion" . That'll be changed to "Guy in Charge House". In fact... don't bother changing the name of the White House, just burn down all of Washington, DC. After all, it was a planned city that was designed by a French engineer, Pierre-Charles L'Enfant. Maybe we should burn down the town of Fayetteville NC, home of Fort Bragg, because Fayetteville is named for General Lafayette, a french man who was also a American Revolutionary War hero.
Should we take down the Statue of Liberty? Lady Liberty was a gift from France. I don't think we'd want that huge copper French Bimbo in the harbour, now do we?
And Cosmetics and Fashion. Do away with them. They're mostly via France. And Spagettios. Sure they're an Italian-esque food... but the company who makes them? Franco-American.
Now, I wonder if there's a market for Freedom Ticklers.
(Christian Science Monitor link via MetaFilter)
Posted by aristan at 08:49 AM | Comments (1)
Salted Wrinkly Dogs.
My hands smell like Hawaiian Punch and Chocolate Mousse.
No, I haven't been watching some sort of 4 year old pseudo gourmets, but rather I've spent the morning making bathsalt and knitting as I listen to my David Sedaris Box Set. Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't be almost 100 and have a vagina.
I've been up most of the night, knitting and listening to Coast To Coast AM. I also tried to watch the copy of the Michael Jackson special that Kisai was kind enough to send me, but upon inserting the tape into the VCR, It got stuck, and I had to dismantle the VCR to remove it. I'm afraid to put it into the other player.
I filled out the FAFSA form to get a grant for school. Hopefully they'll give me enough to cover everything. I'm leaning toward majoring in Internet Technologies, what appears to be something I'd find very interesting, but I'm worried that there may be no job market out there for it anymore. Tech hiring is at an all time low. Do I want a Degree that could make me the most highly educated McDonald's counter help? Do I want a degree from a Community College?
I'm not sure anymore. I got to think about it.
Meanwhile, on the Linux front....
I'm so frustrated with D/LX. I know there's a learning curve when moving from Windows to Linux, especially when you've been thrust into into it like I have. But I feel so dumb when I can't even get wine (a windows "emulator" which swears it's not an emulator but a "Compatiblity Layer") to work properly. Dammit, I just wanna play the Sims. Is that a Crime?
I'm downloading the ISOs for the current beta version, which apparently is very stable even though it's labeled as being unstable. I'll let you know what happens.
Posted by aristan at 10:11 AM | Comments (0)
Another One gone, and another one gone...
All together now: "Another one gone/and another one gone/another bites the dust".
Why am I singing?
Because I'm no longer a Windows user.
Sure, I could give you reasons like the fact that Linux doesn't crash as often, that it installs easily and set up all my hardware without me doing anything other than choosing passwords and letting it know what screen res I use. I could tell you that I support open source software, that I wanted to learn one of the most interesting Operating Systems in ages. I could even tell you that I dislike Bill Gates and Microsoft with a passion.
All of that would be true. But it's also be wrong.
I stopped using Windows because I farked up the computer so bad, I couldn't reinstall from my QuickRestore discs. My entire hard drive was wiped clean. So now I use Lycoris Desktop/LX.
Lycoris Desktop/LX is considered the best "starter" linux according to a lot of things I've read. So I'm glad I had the disc lying around.
I'm liking it so far. It's a lot like Windows XP, with out all the annoying stuff.. I'm having a hard time installing things though. DLX uses rpm files, and even auto installs them for you... but it doesn't tell you where it puts them. I'm not familiar enough to know if there's a special magical place installed programs go, so I'm lucky that I found AIM & Bluefish and was able to create shortcuts to them.
If anyone who has knowledge of Linux, Desktop/LX, or just wants to be there for me when I cry that something else has gone... leave comments, IM ME (malbelaCom) or email me (aristan@malbela.com).
Posted by aristan at 02:14 AM | Comments (0)
MD to MC?
Doogie Howser star to play Cabaret's Emcee
Doogie Howser star Neil Patrick Harris; most recently of high caliber, oscar worthy roles in "Undercover Brother" and "Starship Troopers"; has finally hit Broadway. Broadway, fast on it's way to proving its Branson with less "old people" smell and more "urine" smell, has become the haven for Film and TV stars looking to become "legitimate" stage actors.
Harris is taking the role over from Alan Cummings (who Annie adores) and will wear the sparkly nipple rouge.
(pic & warning via April Winchell who really needs to have permalinks!)
Posted by aristan at 06:43 AM | Comments (0)
Vice & Virtue Survey
Going to get my Learner's permit later today. I'm scared.
If any of you are having problems accessing the site with the www. prefix, please let me know. for some reason, when I use Mozilla to access my site I have to drop the "www" to get to the index page (every other page works fine).
This only seems to affect my Mozilla browser... IE 6 works fine, and Mozilla 1.2.1, AOL 8, & IE 6 on the other computer work perfectly. Anyone know what's up?
My first CUT... it's just so damn long, and it'd make this page huge... Click for the Vice & Virtue Survey.
Stolen From Clu:
Vice
ANGER
Who did you last get angry with? Really angry?
Xplo... but I think it was my fault as much as his.
What is your weapon of choice?
Great... now I have that Fatboy Slim song stuck in my head. If I had my choice... a nice pair of pistols, with crossed gun belts
Would you hit a member of the opposite sex?
I have. Even ones I'm not related to. And it was because she was a damn bitch.
How about of the same sex?
yes.
Who was the last person who got really angry at you?
Moi? Surely you jest, mon ami.
Do you keep grudges, or can you let them go easily?
I keep grudges unless the person does something to redeem themselves. It really doesn't take much for someone to redeem themselves though.
SLOTH
What is one thing you're supposed to do daily that you haven't done in a long time?
look for work.
What is the latest you've ever woken up?
8pm. Seriously.
Name a person you've been meaning to contact, but haven't.
Can't think of anyone in particular.
What is the last lame excuse you made?
The basic. "Oh. I Forgot."
Have you ever watched an infomercial all the way through (one of the long ones...)?
Well... the remote was all the way over there!
When was the last time you got a good workout in?
today. I heart DDR.
How many times did you hit the snooze button on your alarm clock today?
None. It's not plugged in.
GLUTTONY
What is your overpriced yuppie beverage of choice?
Bottled Water & Starbucks Frappacino... or however it's spelled.
Meat eaters: white meat or dark meat?
Which ever runs slowest.
What is the greatest amount of alcohol you've had in one sitting/outing/event?
hmmm I think one time I drank an entire bottle of cheap champagane... but we all had one and it was over a period of like 6 hours.
Have you ever used a professional diet company?
yes... most. embarrassing. moment. evar.
Do you have an issue with your weight?
oh, if you only knew.
Do you prefer sweets, salty foods, or spicy foods?
spicy. it's not good unless you cry.
Have you ever looked at a small housepet or child and thought, "LUNCH!"?
...
LUST
How many people have you seen naked (not counting movies/family)?
Not commenting.
How many people have seen YOU naked (not counting physicians/family)?
... see above.
Have you ever caught yourself staring at the chest/crotch of a member of your gender of choice during a normal conversation?
don't make it sound so dirty.
Have you "done it"?
::bats lashes:: done what?
What is your favorite body part on a person of your gender of choice?
eyes
Have you ever been propositioned by a prostitute?
no
Have you ever had to get tested for an STD or pregnancy?
yes
GREED
How many credit cards do you own?
none
What's your guilty pleasure store?
clothes: Banana Republic or Old Navy because I'm a prep dammit. Shoot me. Mediaplay for games, books, & CDs. Paper Skyscraper for more books & fun junk.
If you had $1 million, what would you do with it?
hire someone to make all the hard choices for me. Like what to order at Starbucks, or which movie to see, etc.
Would you rather be rich, or famous?
Better Famous than Rich. Better Rich than Notorious
Would you accept a boring job if it meant you would make megabucks?
no.
Have you ever stolen anything?
not since I was like 6
How many MP3s are on your hard drive?
apparently 800. but they're mostly stuff from Japan, public domain radio shows, live bootlegs, or just strange stuff you can't even buy anymore.
PRIDE
What one thing have you done that you're most proud of?
finally graduating
What one thing have you done that your parents are most proud of?
see above
What thing would you like to accomplish in your life?
So many things... so little time.
Do you get annoyed by coming in second place?
yes. second place winner is the first place loser.
Have you ever entered a contest of skill, knowing you were of much higher skill than all the other competitors?
no.
Have you ever cheated on something to get a higher score?
nothing important
What did you do today that you're proud of?
calling & yelling at my old Web Host
ENVY
What item (or person) of your friends would you most want to have for your own?
someone's job. anyone's.
Who would you want to go on "Trading Spaces" with?
as the opposing team? My sister. as the designer? I want Vern to do my house.
If you could be anyone else in the world, who would you be?
I have no idea.
Have you ever been cheated on?
no.
Have you ever wished you had a physical feature different from your own?
yes.... i've wished I was thinner... shorter... had different color hair, eyes, wish I could grow a decent beard...
What inborn trait do you see in others that you wish you had for yourself?
a backbone
Do you wish you'd come up with this survey?
Well... no. but thanks for asking.
* Finally, what is your favorite deadly sin?
Pride.
Virtue
FAITH
What religion do you follow?
unclassifiable.
What religion were you raised as?
none really
Do you believe that forgiveness is a religious property, or a human property?
human
Do you believe in magic?
o/~ in a young girl's heart o/~... thanks, now I have the Fatboy Slim song out of my head.
What was the last promise you broke?
I don't know.
Have you ever said the words to a prayer and not meant it?
no.
Do you believe that anyone could be perfect?
no.
HOPE
Did you get everything you wanted over the last holiday season?
no, but I was happy with what I got.
Regarding your future, what is the best thing you could hope for?
to be happy. That's all I really ask for anymore.
Do you let yourself get your hopes up for something even if you know that there is a large chance of failure?
yes.
Have you ever bought a lottery ticket?
whenever I'm in Texas or Florida. but I love Scratch Offs better.
Do you gamble? If so, what game or activity?
nothing other than lottery & scratch offs.
Have you ever had something called off on account of bad weather, but then gone ahead and done it anyway?
huh?
CHARITY
What causes do you support?
MAPP, when I can.
What causes have you given money or time to?
A good cause who knows how to get their point across without being sappy or annoying.
Have you ever worked in a soup kitchen or done another kind of outreach for the homeless?
no.
Would you ever consider joining the Peace Corps, Amnesty International, or another travel-inherent worldwide charity group?
no.
Do you give money to the homeless on the street?
yes.
Have you ever helped out a friend with basic needs, like rent or food?
yes.
What's the greatest extent you've gone to help a friend in need?
... not sure ...
FORTITUDE
What are you most afraid of?
that people don't really like me.
What did you do today that was really brave?
nothing
Who is your favorite superhero, and why?
Wonder Woman... she just kicks ass. The Lasso rocks.
Would you put your life in danger to rescue someone?
yes.
If you were to face the Wizard (from the Wizard of Oz), would you want more courage, more brains, or more heart?
courage
Have you ever gotten stage fright? If so, when? If not, how do you avoid it?
yes. in all kinds of places
Do you consider yourself to be a leader or a follower?
I'm actually a "rallyer". I'm a leader who can make all the followers feel like it was their idea to begin with.
JUSTICE
Have you ever been summoned for jury duty?
no
If they reinstituted the draft (for both genders), would you go, or would find some way out of it?
Do you support capital punishment (the death penalty)?
yes.
Do you believe that Dubya is rightfully President of the USA?
ugh, I hate this question. I don't think he won the popular vote or the Electoral college vote. But I do feel he's the rightful president because the Supreme Court gave it to him and Al Gore conceded. The End.
What was your favorite media circus trial?
oh... I guess OJ, but I'll be even more happy when the Michael Jackson trial you know is gonna happen gets started.
Have you ever written a letter to a politician?
Yes.
TEMPERANCE
What do you have the hardest time moderating yourself on?
budgeting my time. I can never stop doing something when I should.
Do you collect anything?
yes... but most people call it being a packrat.
Are you addicted to anything?
pork rinds. don't ask.
Have you ever put anything on layaway or used an installment plan?
yes.
What's your preferred method of paying for things?
debit card. preferrably not my own.
Tell us one thing you wish you hadn't let yourself do:
quit school, never learn to drive
Do you feel that you obsess over things?
yes.
PRUDENCE
Who is the wisest person you know?
so many people for so many different reasons
Have you ever participated in a vigil?
yes.
Do you take advice when it's given?
not always.
What area are you wisest in?
I don't know.
Do you drive defensively?
I drive in terror.
Have you ever had unprotected sex outside of marriage?
no.
What did you learn today?
that I should go to bed.
* And of course, what is your favorite heavenly virtue?
Justice
Posted by aristan at 03:17 AM | Comments (0)
Damn you Crazyhosting
Crazy Hosting just sent me an email....
Letting me know they'd billed me again.
I left a rather nasty message on their voice mail (that's all the number you're not supposed to abuse goes to) demanding that they call me today.
I doubt they will.
Posted by aristan at 04:07 PM | Comments (0)
Disturbing. Simply Disturbing.
I'm slowly working on getting the entire site back, even though it involves editing ever page in the old archives to that they work, then compiling a main archive page just for them. I've already gotten the Hosted Page about done, even though Dustin is leaving us for his own domain soon. I'm also working on the "About" page... even though it's hard to nail anything interesting down... how can someone write about themselves? I'll work something out...
Taking a break from working on the site, I checked out the site stats to see what was going on. If you've never had your own website, you don't know the pleasure we get from looking at the stats.
Seeing how people got here, where they wandered while they were here... it's fun!
The best part is looking at the section that tells you what search terms got people here. What you say is broken down, your patterns or writing no longer exist. If someone is interested in two words at seperate ends of the page... they can still find your site.
Looking at my stats I notice that I'm pretty high up for the search "free layouts". That ok... I make free layouts... I like people to use them.
A little further down... "Frenchie Davis nude"... ok. I'll buy that... I talked about Frenchie and the whole American Idol Scandal. Sorry to everyone who came here looking for Nude Pictures of Frenchie, I don't have them.
Ok... I'm also the 20th top site for the search "Grace Adler Shoes".. Grace Adler, one of the main characters on NBC's "Will & Grace" apparently has a fashion following... and they're following her to my site. Don't ask me why.
Then... I don't know how... I don't know why... but number 9 is... "SHARON OSBOURNE NUDE".
Dear God.
Don't get me wrong, Sharon isn't Quasimodo... but I don't know many people who'd scour the internet to find pictures of her naked.
And I've just realized that next month, one of my top search terms will probaly be "Quasimodo Nude Pictures".
Posted by aristan at 03:20 AM | Comments (0)
Wake Up...
Just woke up from the strangest dream... I don't remember much of it. Only the very end.
Grandma stood over me, she reached out, shook my shoulder and said "Wake up. Something bad is gonna happen."
I immediatly woke up and had to call her.
She's fine, she was asleep. She thought it was funny that I called her at 7 in the morning because I had a dream she woke me up.
I'm thinking of going back to bed now...
Posted by aristan at 07:38 AM | Comments (0)
Dear Crazy Hosting...
I just sent this email to my old host, Crazyhosting.net. I feel it really says everything that needs to be said about their service.
To whom it more than likely will not concern in the slightest,This is the second email that I have sent the staff of Crazy Hosting this week in order to find some tiny bit of information about how to release myself from the bondage that is your service.
I have come to realize during the few months that I've been under the yoke of Crazy Hosting, that it is apparently company policy to give as little information to and to have as little contact with the customers as possible.
I have sent several emails to Crazy Hosting and tried to contact you via the instant messenger services your site swears you're always on to no avail. I am almost ready to contact you via the long distance telephone number you have listed on the site, along with the demand that I not abuse it. I'm choosing to wait on this option as I'm afraid you answer your phone the same way you answer your email, and I only get 60 hours of long distance a month.
Have you attempted to contact me? Should I be waiting by my mailbox for a ransom note made up of words and letters cut from the pages of the Highlights magazines I'm sure litter your office? Should I bid on the Little Orphan Annie decoder ring I saw on Ebay so that I may decipher any contact you do make with me, just in case it's in whatever code the last email was in? Should I stand outside and watch for smoke signals? I sure hope not, it's kind of smoggy around here.
Since I started the ill fated journey that has been my association with Crazy Hosting, I have come to realize several things. I have come to realize that I may enjoy sending emails into what very well may be a bottomless pit. I have come to realize that Crazy Hosting doesn't really seem to think it's important to view websites on their servers between the hours of 6 pm and 1 am eastern time. I have come to realize that dealing with any company that questions their mental stability in their name is a very risk proposition.
Just for the record, I emailed you on the 27th of January in order to find out why my site had been up and down more than Anna Nicole on a rollercoaster. My site would be down, or restored from a several week old backup, or it'd be back up as normal and then disappear a few hours later.
In short, I'd like you to know that your service is, while almost nonexistent, horrendous. You seem to have misspelled "downtime" on your site as "uptime". Your service and support have made me wish for the days when churning butter was a valid form of entertainment. How do you feel that you've made me want to become Amish?
Recently I found a new company to host with. Their prices are only slightly higher, but I'm recieving twice the space; four times the monthly transfer; and not only do they answer their emails, they answer them during the same phase of the moon, something your company seems to have to wait to change. Their site is beautiful and includes lots of information.
The interesting thing is that my new host appears to be run by a gang of high school girls.
Sure I have to wait for them to get out of school or finish their algebra homwork, but I will get help, and get help that day. There's no praying for the apparently required Papal intervention to get some help for my site.
How's it feel to be showed up by Teenage Girls?
Checking my calendar, I note that the next Full Moon is the 18th of this month. Therefore I expect some sort of communication with your company by then. You can email me at ramungo@carolina.rr.com or contact me by phone. These are the best ways of reaching me. Your current method of ESP is just not cutting it.
Yours,
Robert A. Mungo
Malbela.com
Posted by aristan at 02:09 PM | Comments (0)
Salem Witch Trials
Today marks the 311th anniversary of the beginnings of the Salem Witch Trials.
On this date in 1692, three women were accused of being witches. Later that day, Tituba, one of the women accused and a slave, confessed to the "crime".
Find about more about the Salem Witch Trials at The History Channel website.
Posted by aristan at 03:43 AM | Comments (0)
Posted by aristan at 02:28 PM | Comments (0)