The Float Designs You
The Float Designs You Won't See at This Year's Gay Pride Parade
Too funny. It figures Dan Savage has something to do with this; I think he's a riot.
link from encorswish.
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June 29, 2001
.php blues
.php blues
To those of you who tried to access this blog over the preceding 12 hours, please accept my apologies. My hosting company upgraded to the latest version of PHP (4.0.6) overnight. That version didn't like something in the .php code for dotcomments, so I had to pull out all PHP code, and re-publish all my pages. I am, once again, without a comments system until I either figure how to make dotcomments and my hosting company play nicely together, or I make the switch to greymatter.
June 27, 2001
Dancing with myself (oh,
Dancing with myself (oh, oh oh-oh....)
I am so stoked! Mixdaddy Ron was kind enough to send me a copy of the leatheregg summermix2001. I brought it into work, and "chair-danced", groovin' between calls. What a great pick-me-up on an otherwise routine day.
June 26, 2001
Tony Danza - Song
Tony Danza - Song and Dance?
I happened to catch The View today, and found out that Tony Danza is appearing at Feinstein's this week, singing, dancing, and storytelling. Is it just me, or is anyone else surprised at this? I had no idea he had a cabaret act.
Tony Danza was one of my first TV crushes. How interesting to see how he's evolved. Another sign we're all getting older (*sigh*) - he recently turned 50!
What's Cookin' - Weekend
What's Cookin' - Weekend of 6/23
I tend to do a lot of cooking on weekends. When I decide I'm going to do a "cooking weekend", I'll plan to cook three to four entrees that serve anywhere from 4-6 people. Sometimes I have guests over, but, more often, the resulting food gets divided into single serving containers and goes into the freezer.
3 things I use heavily:
- a Crock-Pot® Slow cooker
- Reynolds® Oven Bags
- Reynolds Wrap® - for "packet cooking".
This week's recipes:
- Swiss Chicken Casserole
- Chicken With Pesto Cream Sauce
- Microwave Orange Roughy*
*(the local supermarket didn't have any roughy...nor anything similar. I used Tilapia instead.)
- Oriental Pork Tenderloin Packets
For more recipe ideas, go see:
- my gurlz Pat & Betty at reynoldskitchens.com
- dinner unplugged™
- Crockpot Recipes and Resources
June 25, 2001
Progress... Major steps taken
Progress...
Major steps taken by the BF this weekend. Until now, he has kept his school- age children and me almost completely separated while he determines the best way to integrate me into his life with them, and I've been letting him figure that out on his own. On Sunday night, he invited me over to the house for dinner and TV with the kids in residence.
It was a delightful evening. His kids are really fun to be around. Granted, they still haven't been fully apprised of the situation, but this was a great first step.
We had to alter our Sunday TV habits this week... no Queer as Folk, of course. So we watched a number of other pay TV shows we like... Sex and the City, Six Feet Under, and Arliss. This was the first time I ever watched pay TV with a pre-teen in attendance. Funny how I never really noticed the language until last night.. when every "f**k" grated like nails across a chalkboard, and both the BF and I took turns diving for the "mute" button on the remote.
Vicarious Living Since Central
Vicarious Living
Since Central PA Pride is not for several weeks yet, I have been vicariously enjoying the pride experiences reported by Beau, Tinman, and the Blogstalker. Although Beau was apparently pulling a joke, somehow I have no problem imagining him in a pair of rubber shorts with hubby Jeff, gettin' down and funky in the midst of a bunch of shirtless disco boys. Is that so wrong?? :)
Hurray for Tinman and his very positive Pride Day experience. Here's hoping you get the opportunity to learn more about "Wales...".
WTF? Hmmm, wasn't there
WTF?
Hmmm, wasn't there a big hoo-ha about Sinead being a lesbian just a few months ago? Suddenly she's getting married. Mmm-kay. From bald Pope-Picture-Ripper to "Mother Mary" to lesbian to happy bride - to - be?
Somebody better hope she's setting aside serious funds for therapy for herself and her kids... lord knows they'll all need it someday.
June 23, 2001
Outage follow - up:
Outage follow - up:
As I predicted, I received an explanatory e-mail from my hosting provider about the Friday/Saturday outage:
Date: Sat, 23 Jun 2001 10:34:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jason Hatch <*****@your-site.com>
To: ***************@your-site.com
Subject: [Your-Site]: Service Restored
Sender: *********************@your-site.com
Reply-To: *****@your-site.com
Dear Customer,
I'm writing to inform you that we experienced a hardware issue with our Network Appliance filer Friday night into Saturday morning (10pm - 9am EDT) that caused an interruption of web and FTP service. We worked through the night to correct this problem and we were able to resolve it without any loss of data. Part of the delay was due to the shipment of replacement parts. One part came in within 3 hours, unfortunately the other took a bit longer. Mail was not affected by this problem.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this outage may have caused. At Your-Site, we take our uptime very seriously. Needless to say, we are working hard to improve the reliability of our service and to reduce the likelihood of problems like this happening again.
If you have any comments, questions or concerns about this incident, please respond to me personally.
Sincerely,
Jason Hatch
June 22, 2001
Geez! How embarrassing! Tinman
Geez! How embarrassing!
Tinman was asking for suggestions on hosting providers, as he is contemplating getting his own domain and moving his blog off Blog*Spot. I sent him and e-mail telling him how great I think my provider is, how pleased I am, etc. So, he went to check my site tonight.
Tinman: "are you *sure* that (your provider) is that good?"
Matteecentral and my provider's home page are both down right now. Is my face red?
UPDATE 0900 EDT 6/23/2001: Nine hour outage. This is the first lengthy problem I've experienced since moving to Your-Site in February. I suppose if I had an-e commerce or mission - critical business site, that would be unacceptable. Since it's just a personal site, and since I only pay them 7.00 a month for hosting, I'm not too concerned. If this happens more frequently, well.... we'll see.
June 21, 2001
Pronunciation Guide Ian(sie) wants
Pronunciation Guide
Ian(sie) wants to know:
"How do you pronounce Matte (sic) anyway? Because, re-reading, I see I put Matte, ratty and tatty in the same sentence. Oops."My reply:
It's "Mattee.. (also spelled Matty, Mattie)
like tatty
and ratty
and catty
(not a fatty)
like Patty( as in Duke, Hearst, LuPone)
sorta like "Daddy"
have I answered your question?
I'm Mattee!
Don't you wish you
Don't you wish you had a cool e-mail address?
Yahoo! has a strange idea of "what's cool", IMO. Yeah. Real cool, dude.
<bitchy queen> "Get a load of HER!" </bitchy queen>
June 20, 2001
I'm certifiable... I completed
I'm certifiable...
I completed my online exam for a certification required by my client. Now I'll be able to throw some initials behind my name on a business card or resume (not posting the certification or initials here...I get enough weird searches as it is).
June 19, 2001
Stumped... Jonathan, what the
Stumped...
Jonathan, what the hell is a "french crack"?
Excuse me whilst I
Excuse me whilst I remove the foot from my mouth...
(06/22/2001: not to mention correct my spelling errors! D'oh!)
Readers of Jonathan's and/or David's Blog may be aware that these hansome handsome Brit bloggers are crossing the pond for a visit from 20-30 July. In an e-mail exchange with Jonathan, I said that a blogmeet would be in order, and that I wouild even love to schlep in from Pennsylvania to meet them. He responded positively to the idea.
One small problem.
I don't live in New York. I've spent very little time there. How on earth am I to arrange a blogmeet when I would have no idea where to suggest we meet, much less how to get there once a location is decided?
*sigh*. Just another example of speaking (or in this case, typing) before thinking.
It's that time again....
It's that time again....
The Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival kicks off in the city of brotherly love on July 5. I'm making the trek to Philly for both weekends with my "film seesters"... Joe, Paul, and Bill and I are going to gorge ourselves on film, food, and fun! Last year, we managed to squeeze in as many as six films a day.
June 18, 2001
Ooooh! Ron got a
Ooooh!
Ron got a mention on MeFi for the musical challenge on the Road Rally 2001 Site.
Farewell... We'll miss you,
Farewell...
We'll miss you, baby....
Yeah, Baby.... Jocko has
Yeah, Baby....
Jocko has redesigned. Cool graphics, HOT pictures, plus some bio stuff and his workout routine. You go, boy.
June 15, 2001
Glam I am... If
Glam I am...
If you're a sturtle-head like me, you know that Running with Scissors, et. al. are mounting a production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. On the movie site, you can discover your "Glam Rock" name.
Just call me Midnight Love.
link via v-hold.
June 14, 2001
Hillside Report Yes, it
Hillside Report
Yes, it took me long enough, I know.....
First of all, I was lucky enough to be permitted to leave work early Friday night, so we got to the campground just before midnight. Mark and I got our tent and cots set up in about 20 minutes, then moseyed down to the bonfire to hang out. It wasn'y long before we both tired out, after a work day and 2 1/2 hours on the road, so we hiked up the hill back to the tent and cuddled in our double sleeping bag.
Most of Saturday was spent either preparing for, being at, or winding down from the Pennsmen Party at our site. Lots of beer, lots of punch, lotsa men, lotsa boyz. Since Mark and I are, well, gregarious, we were kept busy "working the crowd". More parties that night, and fun at the bonfire...which was needed, as Saturday night was colder than Friday.
Sunday we just relaxed... at at the canteen, hung out by the fire, until finally rousing ourselves to pack up and go around noon.
OK, that was the G-rated version. Wanna know more? E-mail me at this address.
Ooh, freaky... Reading Blogstalker
Ooh, freaky...
Reading Blogstalker today, where the EB had memories triggered by this mix tape he was playing:
"We were in London, staying at that ratty President Hotel...."I'm almost certain I stayed there in 1983... and if so, he's right, it's ratty.
I was 18, just inching my way out of the closet, and in England for a high school choir and Band tour. Somehow, I ended up with a single room (as I recall, most others had to share), and I remember savoring that respite, that privacy in a strange country.
I was in the midst of an illicit (and highly dangerous) fling with an adult back home (who should have known better), and I needed time to clear my head and stop feeling like such a freak. I had always felt like an outsider, but it was even worse now that I was actively sexual (with "an older guy", R. was about the age I am now.) I remember slipping out to a newstand, and buying a british porn mag.... similar to First Hand or Beau. I remember "wanking" myself several times that night, (crying too, as I considered the double life I was leading), thanking the stars for that private room.
Too bad I didn't know where the queer clubs were. Wouldn't it have been fun to run into Jonce, Ian or David? Where were you eighteen years ago, boys?
June 11, 2001
Quote "Congrats to winners
Quote
"Congrats to winners 12.5, 12, 11 and 10 in the EAST WEST Twister Finalists. If the rest of the pics are as hot as number 10, things could turn fun!"-Chris of encorswish < BLUSH > Gosh... < /BLUSH >
June 08, 2001
Into the Woods I'm
Into the Woods
I'm off to the Endless Mountains for Leather/Levi Weekend #1 at Hillside. Gee, wonder if I'll have any bloggable stories...?
Hey, I made the
Hey, I made the top 12.5!
Some of you may find this hard to believe (while others of you know what trash I am..), but I have a confession to make... I entered the East Coast / West Coast 12500 Naked Twister Contest. Originally, I'd asked RJ to keep my identity secret, because.. well, I don't know why...I mean, who am I kidding? It's not as if this queen's ever going to run for office, or anything.
Imagine my shock this afternoon to see my naked torso listed as Mr. Number 10. God, I can't believe it! Lets see, I'd like to thank my family, my boyfriend, and the members of the Academy for bestowing this honor upon me...(oops, wrong speech..)
Seriously, thanks, boyzzz. Body image issues, me??? All forgotten now.....
Where I've been.... My
Where I've been....
My regular readers will note that my blog entries have been sparse this week; When I have posted, the entries have been rather lame (thanks, Jonce, for your inquiry into my mental health, but I assure you, we're all fine... the voices in my head said so).
I have the kind of job that has a lot of down time. Although sometimes call volume is high, and sometimes I have projects to do, for the most part, I'm sitting waiting for the phone to ring. Up till now, this has been prime blog posting and reading time. I never worried much about it, until the last couple of weeks.
I'm aware that all visits to sites outside the company firewall are monitored, and company policy explicitly states that the internet is for work purposes only. Last week, some of my regular blog reads began being blocked by the company filtering software. To me, this indicates that someone is watching my surfing.
I think this is a non-issue with my client manager, but I can't be sure. Although my performance evals have been excellent, the fact is, I'm a contractor who can be sacked with little notice. While I can make the case that I'm teaching myself web-design by surfing these sites (entirely true), the fact is that web-design is not part of my job function.
My updates may be less frequent, but I will strive to provide content worthy of my audience. Thanks to Danman and moosedogtoo for the new linky - love, I hope you keep coming back.
June 05, 2001
M is for.... -
M is for....
- Moss. Pulled all this dead/dying moss out of a mere 6 -by- 6 foot patch of my front yard. Any wonder why I have no grass?
June 04, 2001
More must-see (pay) TV...
More must-see (pay) TV...
My descent into Pay - TV obsession is continuing apace with the premiere of Six Feet Under, the latest offering from the mind of Alan (American Beauty) Ball.
Sunday night's episode introduced us to the Fisher family, owner/operators of a funeral home in Pasadena. Nate (the handsome Peter Krause, snackier then ever with his scruffy beard), dutiful David (Michael C. Hall), wild-child Claire (Lauren Ambrose), mother Ruth (Frances Conroy), and Papa Nathaniel (Richard Jenkins) (killed when his new hearse is broadsided by a mass-transit bus.)
The sudden death throws this already-dysfunctional group into even more of a mess. Each character seems to have their own well of secrets that threatens to overflow at any moment.
I worked in a funeral home over several summers, so I was interested to see this show. I can tell you that a lot of what was presented rang true...Ruth's frustration at her husband "never leaving the business", the pressure felt by David to "keep the business in the family", the rebellious ones either fleeing (as did Nate) or acting out (Claire).
Of particular note was David's secret relationship with a cop. God, have I seen this scenario. Life divided neatly in two. Something tells me this won't be a secret for long...
Fortunately, the BF has the pay channels and several VCR's. We'll have plenty to watch this year, that's for sure.