It's time to play the music - it's time to light the lights

"As a superstar, moi knew it was only a matter of time before I would be asked to star in my own music video. And how could I say no to Weezer, with the adorable Rivers, Scott, Brian and Patrick begging me to be their muse." ---Miss Piggy

"It was wonderful returning to the set of The Muppet Show to tape Weezer's new music video for "Keep Fishin". I know I speak for all the Muppets when I say it was great working with such a talented band. I just hope Pat has recovered from Miss Piggy's extra attention--both the kissy kissys and the karate chops, sheesh." ---Kermit the Frog

Just when I think I couldn't love Weezer more, I go and see this. My favorite track on Maladroit ("Keep Fishin'") and the Muppets are in it! And Rivers Cuomo is clean-shaven once again. I...need a moment.
posted at 01:30 AM | link-

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Turn me on tonight, 'cuz I'm radioactive
Todd just found this for me -- Blog.Elements, the periodic table of weblogs for 2002.

I am 93, Np, (Neptunium): Neptunium is a radioactive rare earth metal. It is the first transuranium element to be artificially produced. Edwin M. McMillan - Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1951 - and Philip H. Abelson first found neptunium in 1940 after uranium had been bombarded by neutrons from the cyclotron at Berkeley, Calif. Neptunium has been produced in weighable amounts in breeder reactors as a by-product of plutonium production from uranium-238. All neptunium isotopes are radioactive. Neptunium, a silvery metal, exists in three crystalline modifications. Neptunium is chemically reactive and similar to uranium. Neptunium ions in aqueous solution possess characteristic colours: pale purple; pale yellow-green; green-blue; colourless to pink or yellow-green.

Pretty freakin' cool, no? Don't you stand, stand too close - you might catch it.
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Robyn is...
Here's a fun one I got from Michele -- type your name and the word is (with quotes around them) in Google, and see what you come up with. The following are my top 15:

Robyn is...Here
Robyn is...my sexy swinging wife that love sex at swingers sex parties
Robyn is...caught up in the hectic pursuit of attending high school while maintaining a career as a much-booked country singer throughout southern Ontario
Robyn is...mean
Robyn is...hard put to think of something as impressive; she even considers stealing
Robyn is...a pitcher/first baseman who has the potential to see time at both positions (at least I'm not the pitcher AND "the catcher")
Robyn is...currently doing a short solo tour of the United States
Robyn is...abroad alone in this hostile land
Robyn is...one of our international priorities
Robyn is...the trendsetter of the 2000's
Robyn is...a professional photographic model
Robyn is...available to give presentations or workshops at your college, university or community group
Robyn is...only 14...her amazing yodeling and singing talent is past her years
Robyn is...in fact, one of the few art dealers in the world
Robyn is...super cool! She smells okay too!

So what is/are you?
posted at 06:31 PM | link-

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Birthday and anniversary greetings
Happy first day of summer everyone! I wanted to wish Todd's brother, Brian a very happy birthday -- and also pass along anniversary well-wishes to Lynn and Michael. I can't believe it's been five years since we joined you at the Disney World Wedding Pavilion! Here's to many more happy years ahead for all three of you...

posted at 02:45 PM | link-

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Today's the day we'll say "I Do"
The Today Show is throwing yet another wedding on-air -- click here to vote on this year's couple. (I voted for choice #3, Rick and Dori, because of the way she got her ring and I got mine.)
posted at 05:32 AM | link-

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The price is WRONG, Bob
I haven't used Priceline.com for awhile, but I thought what the hey earlier tonight and bid on an overnight hotel stay for this weekend to surprise Todd. I somehow managed to snag a room at a 4-star Florida Hilton for sixty bucks! (The Hilton website offered a "discount rate" of $239 for the same room, same weekend.) Since we're not getting a full-week's vacation for awhile, and Todd has an extra week's worth of personal days to burn as a result, he's taking Monday the 24th off. Hilton, here we come!
posted at 04:57 AM | link-

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If you need me, let me know, gonna be around
July 18, 2002 is "International Blog MEETUP Day". Check to see if there's a gathering in your community! Both Tampa and Orlando are listed... (Link thanks to Christine.)
posted at 04:07 AM | link-

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Sock it to me, baby!
As a rule, I don't like Heather Graham all that much, but this photo is just damn cool.
posted at 05:14 PM | link-

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Well I hate to say but pop ain't going solo
Todd just sent me this link about one of my biggest peeves these days...the radio. We're too poor to fork over the bucks for satellite radio, but we just can't subject ourselves to the constant crap that is the Tampa Bay airwaves. No, I do not want to hear Creed for the 337th time today, thankyouverymuch, Mr. DJ. Instead, we live off CDs and MP3s.

One station in town has what they call "Sunday School" on Sunday nights. We actually find ourselves purposely going out during this time just to hear decent music. They play all "old school" alternative music, before it even was alternative music, during the 3 hour program. All the best in new wave and retro from early Depeche Mode, Talking Heads, The Smiths, Violent Femmes, Jane's Addiction, The Pixies, etc.

Beyond that, we're pretty much screwed. The show ends and we're back to six days and 21 hours of more Clear Channel "all Jimmy Eat World, Puddle of Mudd, Blink 182, and Linkin Park all the time" -- with playlists created specifically with 14-year old girls in mind. I also find it amusing that Tampa Bay has not one, but two self-proclaimed, "new rock alternatives". Unfortunately the "alternative" the other station is talking about includes piping out Ricky Martin and Eric Clapton over the airwaves. Yeah, I guess they didn't get the memo.

"FM is creatively tired," said Lee Abrams, a veteran radio consultant now employed by the satellite radio company XM. "The attitude is, 'We're making money. Why change it?'

"They make their money, they pay the bank, everybody is happy," Abrams continued. "And music is very low on the totem pole."

You said it, brother! For more of the above article, visit CNN.com.
posted at 03:19 PM | link-

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The greatest thing since bread came sliced
Here are a few blog reads for your Thursday viewing pleasure:

desine.net -- I just LOVE this design
The Aurora Chair -- you can thank Jason for Blogrolling
Annessa's Blog -- my next partner in "Florida Blogger Goldschlager" crime
color me pink -- if I bribe her, maybe she'll bring us Sonic and let us use her pool
Nasty Bastard -- just look at those eyes

And if that's still not enough for ya', here's 10 more from last month...
posted at 04:05 AM | link-

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Better cut off all identifying labels...
I'm down to the oldie-but-goodie part of my t-shirt pile as a mountain of dirty laundry starts to grow. The one on top tonight? An OU NROTC Naval Ball shirt from 1992. I love this shirt. It's old. It's comfy. It's one of those that just makes you feel safe and snuggly when you put it on, because it reminds you how you got it. It was a loaner (that I obviously never returned) after a fabulous fall break in Pensacola... Everything I had to wear home had sand on it, so Bryan tossed me this shirt my final morning in town.

What's your favorite "I swiped this from my ex and never returned it" possession -- clothing or otherwise? Is there a good story behind it?

(P.S. Bryan, if you ever read this one day -- you can't have the shirt back. Sorry, but I've had it longer than you did now.)
posted at 11:53 PM | link-

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Yakkety-YACCS, don't talk back
Until this weekend, I didn't even know it was possible to export/import YACCS comments from Blogger into your Movable Type entries. (The Timekeeper found the link for me for his blog.) I'm about to attempt it for the first time, so I'll report in the comments how it went. Wish me luck! And detailed, step-by-step directions are here if you want to attempt it for your own blog.
posted at 08:44 PM | link-

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Update those links
Stacy has a new domain for Blogatelle. Make sure to update your Blogrolls and bookmarks!
posted at 04:47 PM | link-

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Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man
Todd just sent me this link to an eBay auction...the auction title says it all! Too bad the auction has closed. They would have made such a lovely Christmas gift for him!
posted at 04:25 PM | link-

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Wait this is death here - I haven't even been to NYC
You've gotta feel bad for Britney. She's so depressed over the Justin break-up, that the poor thing can't even lip-sync anymore. Maybe lip-sync reminds her of N'Sync? But thank goodness the topic will bring us yet another album. Oh joy. (Article from MSNBC.com.)
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You say it's your birthday
We'd been married almost three months when I had a series of tests on my heart that darn-near killed me. (I was hooked up to a crash-cart during them.) Todd felt so sorry for me watching it all, that he promised me a puppy if I could just hang on. The next weekend, the same weekend Todd turned 24, we brought home Claire. (It's a family name. No really, Todd named her after Claire Danes.)

Our lives haven't been the same since. She's not just a Cocker. She was a human in a past life. Our dog tells jokes. Our dog snores like a 90-year old Jewish man. Our dog cheers with us when OU and the Bucs make touchdowns. Our dog doesn't just wag her tail -- she shakes her whole groove thang. Our dog is our child and she will melt the heart of anyone that meets her...even non-dog lovers. I'll put money on that. (Because I was a "cat person" myself until we got her.) So today, we both celebrate the sixth birthday of our little baby -- sometimes a lady, sometimes a tramp. (Just like mom.) But always our Claire. Carob-covered bones for everyone!

posted at 01:51 AM | link-

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Let them eat cake
It seems like a lot of people are singing the We So Po' Blues right along with us today, so I baked us all a cake to cheer us up. Here's your slice! If you hurry, Todd's still licking the beaters, so you can sneak two...

posted at 07:47 PM | link-

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No more wookin' pa nub
Since my husband is listing his interesting Yahoo/Google hits, I thought I'd list a few of mine today as well:

jello wrestling photos 2002 -- You'll have to ask Dave for those!
is you is or is you ain't my baby -- Sorry. I'm his blog blog baby.
what is the typical package guys want in a girl? -- Uhhhh...shouldn't the girls be wondering about the package on a guy instead?
celebrities with perms -- It's no longer 1988. Just say no.
ass liking kiss free photos -- I don'ta thinka it means what you thinka it means...

And now...a moment for us... I just wanted to say thanks to Chris (who just mentioned me on the air again!) and Gretchen (for her most amusing retraction). You could have thrown things at us, short-sheeted our beds, and put salt in our sugar shakers. But you didn't. You understood. August is gonna be soooo painful now -- Todd really planned on turning 30 sitting on Gretchen and Cat's laps. But you'd better believe we'll be first in line to read the daily updates and dig through the 'Dex photologs!

P.S. Forgot to mention (although I e-mailed her), Chris said Meryl's name on the air today, too!
posted at 05:54 PM | link-

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Snoochie poochies
Remember moviepoopshoot.com from "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back"? Well Kevin Smith just launched it as an official site!

"Uh...just what the hell is moviepoopshoot.com, you might be asking. After all, as far as anyone knows, that name was nothing more than a parody site in Kevin's last movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. So, what are we doing back here now? Is this our bid for respectability, our attempt at garnering critical praise? Our way to do right by our mothers and stop with all the poop jokes?

Oh, hells no. And at the same time, yes. See, the thing we've noticed out there in this expansive World Wide Web is that there are entertainment sites galore. There are serious news sites and rumor sites and review sites and porn sites... luscious, loving porn sites... er, sorry, that's a bit off-topic. But there's something for everyone. We know that. We're not trying to replace that. Some of the sites out there do a better job at what they do than we ever could. Instead, what we're intending to do is offer a slightly off-kilter (some might even say askew) look at all the elements of pop culture that we're into. Movies. DVDs. Comic Books. Music. Books. With the occasional foray into wrestling, video games, toys and maybe even porn. Sweet, luscious porn..." (From the "Inside Information" page.)

I'm just waiting for Todd to ask for one of these for his birthday...
posted at 03:52 AM | link-

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Hunka hunka burnin' love
Last week it was "Hollywood's 25 Hottest Blondes". This week it's the "25 Sexiest Men Still on the Market". Is it just me, or did the men end up with much more flattering photos?
posted at 03:30 AM | link-

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Reality Bites
So I'm sitting down paying bills tonight, and figuring out what gets paid this weekend as well after Todd's next check. While doing the mental math I flip through the calendar and think "mortgage check...bills check...mortgage check...bills check...", but notice that "extra paycheck" is written in Todd's handwriting on a payday for the mortgage. So I called him in and we did some fast page-flipping and calculations. Oops. Big oops.

You see, he gets paid on an every-other-week system rather than the first and fifteenth of the month. This leaves us with an "extra" paycheck each year that falls just so -- meaning it's a bills-free and mortgage-free two weeks. This year, it was "supposed" to be at the end of July by our original calculations as recorded on the calendar. But it's not. Math is hard and we screwed up. It's the check at the end of August.

Why does it matter, you might ask? Because the end of July is when we planned on booking (and paying for) everything relating to Gnomedex. Now that "extra" check will be showing up the week after the conference. Meaning...in the grown-up world...we won't be showing up. We just don't have the money out of our normal day-to-day budget to swing something that massive.

Surprisingly, I've taken it quite well. Normally I'm prone to throw huge, massive hissy fit tantrums in such instances. But instead I'm just bummed like I've let people down. Not that it revolved "around" me...but there were so many people I wanted to meet and get the chance to know face-to-face. Now I'm left with maybe next year...

We've decided to book a fall trip to New Orleans instead at the end of August. This October will be the 10th anniversary of when we met and first started dating, and the 7th anniversary of when Todd proposed. And we did marry there after all... So there you go. The true joys of being a one-income family. Anyone want two Gnomedex tickets real cheap -- it's New Orleans or bust now. Sorry Chris.

posted at 01:10 AM | link-

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Oh Lisa, you and your stories...
There's a lot of left-wing vs. right-wing brouhaha going on over at Stacy's right now. Someone asked for the original reasons we liberals hated George W. so much. Well, for starters, it would be a never-ending string of quotes like this:

"And so, in my State of the—my State of the Union—or state—my speech to the nation, whatever you want to call it, speech to the nation—I asked Americans to give 4,000 years—4,000 hours over the next—the rest of your life—of service to America. That's what I asked—4,000 hours." —Bridgeport, Conn., April 9, 2002

So sue me. I prefer my President to sound, uhhhh, Presidential -- and not so much like Homer J. Simpson 24/7. If that means a few displaced cigars here and there, well then so be it. (Quote, and many more just like it, from The Complete Bushisms.)
posted at 05:01 PM | link-

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Sloppy seconds
So Mikey didn't seem to think Todd's two photos with Darren's Dance Grooves counted as the extra-promised photos. So just for him, here are two more from our weekend o' fun. (photo 1, photo 2)

Have a great week ahead everyone!
posted at 05:03 AM | link-

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Shine like it does
All coding, no play, make Robyn something, something, something... There's still a day or two of tweaks yet, but the basic design is finally ready to roll. This is the reason I didn't get to share in all of the fun at Todd's blog Sunday night -- Horologium! Can someone please pass the bi-focals?
posted at 03:32 AM | link-

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Ahhhhhhh...wipeout!
Hope everyone is having a faboo weekend! Here are a few pics from our day in Orlando and Cocoa Beach. Check Todd's blog for more here in a bit!

1. let's go surfin' now
2. the best for your stick
3. let's play Frogger

Added later: (photo 1, photo 2)
posted at 04:45 AM | link-

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Dear Daddy, I write you in spite of years of silence

Father of mine
Tell me where have you been
You know I just closed my eyes
My whole world disappeared...

Father of mine
Take me back to the day
When I was still your golden girl
Back before you went away...

Father of mine
Tell me what do you see
When you look back at your wasted life
and you don't see me...

Sometimes you would send me a birthday card
With a five dollar bill
I never understood you then
and I guess I never will...

I will never be safe
I will never be sane
I will always be weird inside
I will always be lame...

Today my husband and I both join the legions of other 70s and 80s children (whose fathers left them, remarried, and promptly forgot they even existed) in sending a hearty "FUCK YOU" to the men who donated the sperm to make us all possible.

I did it without you dad. And quite honestly, I feel I'm a better person for it. So wherever you might be -- just know you will never, EVER be allowed to hurt my children one day the way you hurt me.

Happy fucking Father's Day. And thanks for saving us the cost of a Hallmark and a stamp.

Love,
Robyn
posted at 04:11 AM | link-

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