Go Gators! myspace layouts, myspace codes, glitter graphics 2007 National Champs x 2

Thursday, June 29, 2006

"I'll be taking these Huggies and
whatever cash you got." ~Raising Arizona, 1987


Buon giorno everybody!

HI! MY NAME IS BRAK.
IT'S TIME FOR
"LEARNING TO TALK ITALIAN"
Lesson One


Zorak: If you were in an Italian restaurant and you wanted to order the soup of the day You'd ask for the "Zuppa di giorno"

Space Ghost: Zuppa di giorno.

Zorak: And if you were interested in the squash of the day, you'd ask for the "Zucca di giorno"

Space Ghost: Zucca di giorno.

Space Ghost: Zucca di giorno. Hey! Look at me Brak! I'm speaking I-talian!

Brak: "Belle conino" (Nice Doggie!)
Zorak: Yes Space Ghost, And if you were in an Italian restaurant, the waiter would say "Spaco Ghosto à un grande babbuino"
Space Ghost: Spaco Ghosto à un grande babbuino. What's that mean?


Zorak: Space Ghost is a baboon.

Space Ghost: Oh yeah?

Zorak: Yeah!

Space Ghost
: Yeah, well if I just happened to see you in an I-talian restaurant... You know what I'd say? "Mama miya, here comes a-one -a spicy meat-a-ball!"

(Space Ghost zaps Zorak with his mighty power bands)
Zorak: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! "Finito"

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

“Not much meat on her,
but what's there is choice".
~ Pat and Mike, 1952

Government researchers estimate there are between one and two million alligators in the state of Florida. At my house, we call that a ‘guess-ti-ma-tion’. Alligators live in Florida’s marshes, rivers, swamps and lakes and are found in all 67 counties. Growing up to 14 feet in length and weighing as much as 1,000 pounds, a gator on your back porch or in the Publix parking lot can ruin your day.

Surprisingly, (or maybe not) there have only been 351 recorded attacks on humans in the past 58 years. Until recently, there had been only 18 fatal alligator attacks in Florida since 1948. Let’s put this into perspective....

In the past 30 years, approximately 300 people have died from being struck by lightning in the state of Florida.

This past May, my sister in law contacted me to say she and her kids would be visiting from California in mid-July. Central Florida had recently had an epidemic of fatal alligator attacks and her husband was wary of letting them vacation in our Sunshine State. During one week in May, three women had been victims of alligator attacks!

A jogger was killed along a Florida canal near Ft. Lauderdale and was believed to have been stalked by the alligator before he attacked and killed her. Another woman's body was found in a lake north of St. Petersburg, both arms having been torn off. She had been in the water for three days. In a third alligator attack, a 23-year old woman was killed by a nine foot alligator while snorkeling in Lake George near Ocala.

Last week, a 74-year-old Punta Gorda woman beat off a 5 foot long alligator which had attacked her while she worked in her garden. Finally, yesterday on the six o’clock news, a heart-broken gentleman was explaining how an alligator had eaten one of his two dogs during a late afternoon walk. “He opened his mouth like this,” he said, doing the two armed ‘gator chop’ so well known in Gainesville. (I think dog collars with alligators on them are incredibly tacky).

We’ve moved into their space, they are fighting back.

Safety Tips (you only need two and they are simple ones)

● Leave alligators alone. During mating season (May to June) don’t go near any body of water not salty or chlorine treated. (This may not always be true as alligators have been found in backyard swimming pools).
● Make your dog leave alligators alone. Alligators eat fish, snakes, turtles, small mammals and birds, but prefer domesticated dog. It tastes like chicken.

I can’t write about alligators without being reminded of my favorite Thunderbirds episode, appropriately named, Attack of the Alligators. Let me set it up for you…......
In a house on the Ambro River, scientists have developed a chemical that when consumed by animals can make them grow to huge proportions. They plan to use it to end a food crisis but Culp, their boatman, has other plans. When the theramine is accidentally poured into the swamp the scientists find themselves under siege by three gigantic alligators...






This sounds remarkably like an idea I once had for a sci-fi script,
but let’s not go there.

I don’t think I can end this without mentioning my favorite reptile, Gomek. Okay, yes, I know I am cheating, but I can’t help it. Gomek was a salt-water crocodile, but he lived at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. Even stuffed, as he has been since his death in 1997, Gomek is still incredibly creepy.


"Captain, it is I, Ensign Pulver, and
I just threw
your stinking palm tree overboard.

Now, what's all this crud about no movie tonight?"
~ Mister Roberts, 1959

I got the heads up this week from my friend, Desert Phoenix, about the do's and dont's of publishing military information and about not giving away state secrets and all. Seems I was in way over my head and I am totally thankful she stepped in and straightened me out. Otherwise, I might have been hauled away in the middle of the night and you know how the neighbors can talk. Thank you, Army Girl! I went back and deleted half of my postings and hopefully, I can do much better in the future. Maybe there is a handbook of some sort to keep me in line.......

Other than that. There isn't much going on this week.

Mo is at TMA volleyball camp, both middle school AND varsity. She says her size 10.5 shoes are too small and she needs new ones. I certainly hope the young lady grows into those feet. Eileen is burning up valuable brain cells playing Warcraft for endless hours and he's wearing out the leather on the couch watching t.v. I don't understand why Dad doesn't put him to work. It's not like he has a hard time putting the rest of us to work, right Jim?

Me? Well, I have these volleyball
Tshirts for the GVC I am getting ready to mail to the sand box. Seems they were SO good the screen printer kept some for himself and asked permission to use them as examples on his website.
Well, aren't WE something?

From now on, if it seems like I am talking in code, giving strange names to everyone and being more vague than usual, it's just me trying to behave myself.

Remember ~ Goose Lips Stink Chips.

PEACE OUT

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Miss Zoe Harry Eugene

"If they move, kill 'em." ~ The Wild Bunch, 1969


If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I don't really have a lot to say about these. Mo and I picked these out just for the laughs.

Miss Lily

Monday, June 26, 2006

'Have you checked the children lately?'
~ When A Stranger Calls, 1979


Summer Daze
Author Henry James said his two favorite words in the English language were 'summer afternoon'. Old Hank apparently never spent time with two teenagers on a rainy summer afternoon.
For my birthday, I received this card that sums up how I feel on certain summer days. They are everywhere and nowhere. They hover over you when you are trying to work, but just try to lay hands on one of them to do a chore and they are nowhere to be found. They eat all day, but have forgotten where the dishwasher is. They are unfamiliar with the concept, 'what is filled up, must be emptied out' (dishwasher and the trashcan). They fix themselves at least fourteen drinks per day, but never finish one. They are bored, they are too busy. They are tired, they won't go to bed. They are hungry, they don't know what they want to eat. They are happy school is out, they can't wait for school to start.


"It will not always be summer," said Hesiod, 8th century B.C. Greek poet.

Thank the gods for that.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

The 18th Anniversary of My 29th Birthday

My family really loves me. I know this, because they woke me up before eight a.m. on a Sunday to tell me so. Mo coordinated a delicious breakfast with grits, toast, fresh fruit including kiwis, bacon and coffee spiced with cinnamon. (I cleaned up the kitchen. Remember that Mother's Day when it took me two days to get the dishes washed? : ) Yummy.

Eileen played 'Happy Birthday' on the accordion. It's worth the price of the ticket just to watch his facial expressions. All of my children should be actors.

Big Mo used her beading skills and made me two sets of colorful bracelets. Your brother printed out four free carwash tickets. Dad capped off the family gifts with a Brighton wallet. Fab. You know how I love a good wallet. Not that I ever have any money in it.....

We went out to dinner at the Macaroni Grill. (M.D. and Dad claim it is a Irish restaurant ~ Mac Aroni), where I wore the beautiful necklace you sent to me from the sand box.

Did you see it in the picture of me and Mary Lee?

One of my funniest presents was from Aunt Diana. She takes oodles of time thinking of the perfect gift and ships it overnight, express mail to make sure it is on time.

The gift? Wicked Italian for the Traveler, for our trip in October!

Chapters include:
Classic Border Pleas
Fending off Gypsy curses
Italian Drugs You May Need
Lying to Policemen, the National Pastime
Beautiful Names of Revolting Dishes
Your Emergency Confession
Authentic Screaming for Spectators
Men: Unleash the Latin Lover Inside You
Women: Deflate the Latin Lover Behind You
Denying your Infidelity

Phrases we might want to learn before our trip:

'Non ero molto in forma quando ho fatto la foto' ~ I was not at my best when the (passport) photo was taken.

'Avevamo riservato una camera con vista!' ~ We reserved a room with a view!

'Cos'e quell' odore?' ~ What is that smell?

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Things to Do While Waiting

So I have come up with something else to do while I wait for you to come home. As you know, one blog leads to another and still another, and while strolling through them the other day, I stumbled on something I really liked.

BooksforSoldiers is a website where I can post a list of all those books crammed three deep on my shelves, stacked on the tables and piled on the floor. I have long wanted to do something to 'weed them out' and this is perfect. Not only can I weed out some of these books (to free up space for more, of course), but I can do TWO of my favorite things: pass beloved books along to others AND make a soldier's life a tiny bit better even for a moment. Everyone wins. Hallelujah.


When does THAT ever happen?

http://booksforsoldiers.com

The Volleyball Club is officially official. It only takes making a T-shirt to make something official, you know. There has been so much enthusiasm here at home about the club, I am afraid we'll run out of shirts.

"Serve and Defend"