Strawberry Swing

I was stuck in traffic today. I am always stuck in traffic. I guess it is just what I do. Every day after a long day of work I like to get on the freeway and idle my car, or better yet, I love alternating between 5th gear and 1st gear, speeding up and slamming on my brakes. That is really fun. My car loves it too, especially when it is 95 degrees.

So I was stuck in traffic again and getting anxious, bored and tired. I turned off the news, cause I am tired of hearing about oil spills and unemployment rates and put in one of my favorite CDs. Coldplay Viva La Vida.

Maybe it is dumb, but music that I love still manages to affect me. And I love this music. It makes me happy. Then I thought of the video to Strawberry Swing and it made me smile. Life is OK. Because hey, somewhere there is a sidewalk artist telling a story about a super hero.



Do I think the things they do are cool because I like them or do I like them because they do cool things?

I don't know.

Trekker vs. Trekkie

Someone told me that real Star Trek fans like to be called Trekkers. To which I said, "Hey! I come from a long line of Trekkies, and I have never heard of that before." Trekkers??!  Is this a new thing? Am I out of the loop? Or was this someone just mocking me, cause Trekkers sounds like someone going on a long journey, not someone who can speak Klingon.

I asked the internets for images of trekkers and all it gave me was a bunch of pictures of scooters and SUVs, and this:

Which I tried for a while to understand, but gave up. I mean, what is going on with his ears? Why would you want your ears coming out of some sort of handle thingy on your hat? Maybe if I was a real trekker......

Maybe we should ask this guy------>

















Or we can go to the other source of all knowledge, wikipedia:

"Some Star Trek enthusiasts prefer the term "Trekkie", while some others self-identify as "Trekker". Self-identification as a "Trekkie" became even less popular after a famous national television parody in 1986 (see In Popular Culture below); several self-described "Trekkers" were quoted as saying they "had a life" (contrasting themselves from "Trekkies").
In the 1991 TV show Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special, Leonard Nimoy attempted to settle the issue by stating that the term 'Trekker' is the correct one.
In the documentary Trekkies, Kate Mulgrew stated that Trekkers are the ones "walking with us" while the Trekkies are the ones content to simply sit and watch Star Trek.
The issue is also shown in the film Trekkies 2, in which a Star Trek fan recounts a supposed incident during a Star Trek convention where Gene Roddenberry used the term "trekkies" to describe fans of the show, only to be corrected by a fan that stood up and yelled "Trekkers!" Gene Roddenberry allegedly responded with "No, it's 'Trekkies.' I should know — I invented the thing." Generally, fans of film and television franchises make up their own nicknames, as with the "Browncoats" who are fans of the Firefly television series."


So I guess they cleared that right up.

More Bike Sharing - Deco Bike Miami Beach

I know I already geeked out about bike sharing. But Miami Beach has got it down. $15 month!!!! You can get maps on your iphone and the stations are solar powered. They are marketing the whole thing as the truly green transportation method. Equivelent to 3000 miles per gallon. Now I could go for that.

DecoBike Miami

 

I assume you don't have to wear a bikini when you ride them, but their website certainly doesn't convince me otherwise.
What do I have to do to convince Salt Lake to start a program like this? 
The bike sharing, not the bikinis....

Dynamic Architecture

This is just too much. Buildings that spin with the wind, using it to generate power to fuel the building?? What will this guy think of next? Now I have to plan a trip to Moscow.... or Dubai to see this.
http://www.dynamicarchitecture.net/

Impro Everywhere

So I found a new favorite website, that I had to share. But, before I tell you about it I want to give you some background.

Most of you know that I was a drama geek in high school. I was also a band geek, choir geek, dance geek, among other things, but that is probably more than you needed to know or remember.
Anyway, I was also on an improv team.  It was an anti-drug thing. We went around to schools and did skits about why substance abuse is bad. It was really fun. For one thing we got out of school all the time, which any high school kid loves, and for another thing we went to elementary schools, who always thought we were awesome. But the real point here is that Improvisation is the most fun way to act.
Good times.


So I happened on this Improv team's website, who instead of acting on stage, take their scenes out to the world. Usually their main point is to see what they can get away with, never letting on that they are an acting group. Some of it is really silly, like the guy who seems like he is going to commit suicide by jumping off a ledge, but the ledge  turns out to be about 4 feet off the ground. Or the time when they were being the New York City Synchronized Swim Team practicing in a fountain. Other times it is just cool, like when they threw someone a Surprise Wedding reception. The couple was sure happy and didn't seem to care that the "guests" and "family" were people they had never seen before.


I would LOVE joining a group like this.


Anyway, here are a couple of my favorites.

the broken camera woes

This is a tale of a broken camera and a girl who once loved it. It is a very sad tale. I used to have a camera. Then one day there was a tragic accident and now my camera is a lifeless metal box. That is the whole story. I would post a picture but I don't have a camera to take the picture with.
Here is the last picture my camera ever took. Not bad, eh?

At least it went out fighting. What a good little camera.


The end.


Well you know that isn't really the whole story.
I took it to the camera doctor. I told him the sad story of the cold day and the gloves that didn't allow for good grippage. Of the unfortunate dropping while the lens was extended. He told me the surgery necessary to fix the bent lens would be more than the little camera was worth.
So now I am a girl without a camera. It is a sad place to be. Everyday there are reasons I need my camera.
Now this actually is the end of the story.
And mostly this is just an excuse to post a cute picture of my hubby.

Ramblings about disgusting cold sores

So for the last week I have been sporting my very first cold sore of my life. I realize now that I have always been a bit proud to be a person who doesn't get cold sores. Maybe I was snotty, I don't know. Both my husbands get them, so I was especially glad to apparently be immune. And I struggle with canker sores so it seemed an even trade. However now I am not so sure.
Last week I got a bit of a sunburn on my lips from the Moab trip, and last Tuesday my lip became irritated. Wednesday I woke up to find a huge swollen lip with a big sore on it. At first I just couldn't believe it.  I spent too long researching if it could be anything else. Because, I DON'T GET COLD SORES. How could this be happening to me? It really felt and looked like someone punched me. I am not 100% sure that someone didn't.
According to the internets... it is very common to have a sunburn bring on a cold sore, and probably I already had the virus it just hadn't demonstrated itself yet. Also, they say that probably most all people have the virus, they just don't all get cold sores. Weird.

So the thing about cold sores is they hurt, they are super ugly, AND unlike canker sores, everyone can see them. I am not a fan... at all. The problem is that because it is on your lip, it never gets a chance to heal properly. It is either getting wet from food or drink or saliva or it is getting stretched out from the mouth  opening to eat or talk, or laugh (which I am trying to avoid). I really wish I had been documenting it with photos so I could totally gross you out with the progression. Right now it is in the phase of being a red scab that cracks and bleeds when I try to eat. I am so sick of it. Asia says I could hide it with blood colored lipstick or lipstick made of blood. But she also wanted to pick it off, so she is just gross. I kinda wanted to pick it off too, but it is no use, it just grows another one. None of the remedies help. I think the only thing that will help is talking about all the gory details.

Did I mention that I am really sick of it? How long do these stupid things last anyway? I am starting to think I will have it forever, which I am just thrilled about!!! Besides even if it goes away, whats to keep me from getting another?

Just thought I'd share, aren't you glad I did?
I think I'll go get some heart shaped ice, maybe that will make me feel better.