I Ain't Afraid of No Daleks

A proper Adirondack sunset tonight--very much like this one:

Rumour has it that the genuine skull--belonging to a Polish pianist---used in Hamlet had to be removed from performance, and replaced by the antique replica used in all the other RSC Hamlet performances, because the director thought that people knowing the skull was real, might distract them from an intregal part of the play. Surely, the director doesn't think so little of his audiences?

I know that maybe some audience members may be more shallow and banal than they used to be--but for the most part would like to think people came there to see Hamlet, and not a skull...which they could see in any natural history museum, or really, any museum with an exposed mummy (such as is the case at a small museum that's in the city of my birthplace).

I say---balderdash, rubbish, and what a load of tommy-rot.

From what I hear, they found out they would would have had to once again re-gain permission from the government to re-use the real skull in London--such as the process they went through in Stafford, and the paperwork would take ages to go through.

Now, that makes a lot more sense to me!

I've also read where, allegedly, when Tennant was told he was holding a real skull, he dropped it. Erm--maybe. But, while I know Tennant's a city boy, and might object to getting dirty or being around animals and such...he really doesn't strike me as being that much of a sissy boy---tho' I suppose, anything is possible. He's only human, after all.

Me, a real skull might a elicit a "Huh, gee, what do you know?" I would think it's cool, rather than creepy. But then, this is the girl who grew up next to two large cemeteries, and once, with several neighbour kids, tried to open the lid of a metal casket that had been chucked into a deep ravine next to the Catholic cemetery....no, after a couple of days of trying, we didn't succeed...thankfully.

Check out this rock formation, along Tennant Creek in Australia. The formation is known by the polite name as the "Devil's Marbles."

Some of you readers here in the USA, may not have noticed this, but the US fashion industry is grossly bigoted against the overweight.

I mean, basically, when it comes to clothing, Americans in the fashion industry basically baldly get away with telling fat people to go sit at the back of the bus, and use separate drinking fountains--and no one cares. In a shallow, souless modern American culture, it's considered perfectly acceptable.

The biggest 'CRIME' of the industry, is that without consulting their consumers--they've lowered size standards. What was once a XXL--fitting someone who took a 20-22, is often now only for someone who is a 16-18. And...the bastards get away with it.

Why? It's not to help people lose weight, because quite frankly matey's, this only pisses people like me off--and getting people to feel negative, instead of positive about the clothing they wear, is NOT the way to go about making people change how they think, behave or feel!

Yes, the fashion industry are the KKK of the overweight person's world.

Are they changing sizes to save money? No--unless it's to stop selling to fat people. Are they changing sizes because people are getting thinner? No--people are not getting thinner.

Also, the overweight are always charged extra for their "plus" or "women's" sizes---we even have our own SEGREGATED sections of department stores--so, not only does the fashion industry push their hate of fat people onto the people themselves--they foster the negativity, by encouraging department stores to segragate fat people to their own tiny little department---

---and that's another thing: Even tho' there's actually just as many fat people as their are thin one's in the USA---fat people are given far less fashion choices, and far smaller selections. Fat people are often perceived as having no taste in clothing as well, and it can be quite difficult for the overweight to find tasteful attire...WHY, if these people are so into fashion, do they not GET that fat people look better in solid, dark, or neautral coloured clothing? Tailored clothing, belts, etc, look GREAT on fat people, but the fashion industry ignores this, and just keep giving us the same shit to wear, year in, year out.

Oh, some designers have woken up and seen the light, from time to time. But, the bulk of the fashion Nazi's are still living in the dark ages, and should be designing white hoods and staging cross burnings instead of fashion shows.

It seems one town in Spain is fighting global warming and the high cost of energy--by turning to dead people.

A small working class town near Barcelona has made the past meet the future by placing solar panels on masoleums in a nearby cemetery. The cemetery is located on a flat, open piece of land, which gets a high amount of sunlight. By placing a renewable energy source in the cemetery--462 solar panels, to be precise--it is estimated that they can produce enough of that energy to power the equivilent of 60 homes for upwards to a year.

One town official feels that they are honouring the dead, by allowing them to help provide for a better future for the citizens of the town. The town has been working on the project for three years--admitting that convincing people that putting solar panels on their loved one's graves was a good idea, was a very hard thing to do. But, town officals worked with cemetery officials, in waging a public educational campaign, and soon won over the majority of the people.

For Christmas this year, I want a new (nicer) job and a new (nicer) place to live. Thank you.

Well, the smell in the building is back--actually woke me up at half-past six this morning, and is so bad, I had to go open the front door downstairs and am sitting here freezing my bottom off, 'cos I've had to open the living room window, as well.

It stinks like nail polish remover or something.

The stinking chav redneck yuppie landlords have done ZERO about the situation (oooh, big surprise there), so I sent them an e-mail through their naf real estate business, very nicely telling them to fix it, or else I call in the fire department--and the city, tomorrow.

It's making me sick to my stomach and burning my throat, eyes and nose....fortunately, the cats seem to be okay, but I do worry about them, 'cos animals get sick a lot easier than humans, when it comes to dangerous fumes.

I so gotta' find somewhere else to live! I don't know how or where, 'cos a move will be more expesnsive than I have the funds for. Maybe I should start playing the horses...if I win a nice trifecta, I could make a packet large enough to hire some actual removal men--and pay for the security deposit on the new place, as well, ha-ha.

Just kidding, by the way. I'm not big on gambling. It's okay if you can spare the cash and you don't go overboard with it get carried away.

But, this is ludicris! I just got over pneumonia! I shouldn't have to blinking sit here, with my windows wide open, in flippin' December!

Today I called an older woman, who said she didn't want to continue her membership, because she didn't see the point--a bit baffled, I made the mistake of asking why.

It seems her son had gotten rich and somehow squandered his weath in such a way, as to basically destroy his life. The woman didn't say--and I certainly didn't press--what that was..whether it was drug or alcohol additction (same thing really), a serious injury from an attack or accident, aids or other disease, or prison execution (some US states still do have the death penalty), is anyone's guess. But, I guess her beloved son threw his life away...

...and now this poor woman was simply, as she put it, "waiting to die." Of course, that sort of alarmed me, so I kept her talking for a bit--didn't enjoy that--to try and gauge whether she was on the verge of harming herself. After a bit of a talk, I was pretty certain she was in no immenent harm, as she said that all she was doing was waiting to see what was going to happen to her son, and then, she didn't know.

In hindsight, I'm kicking myself. I really hate myself tonight. Because, I should have taken her name address and phone number, and passed my concerns on to the local social services in her area...I could have looked it up on the internet...but, I was so rattled by the conversation---mainly because it brought home my own state, back in autumn of 2006...and sometimes I still feel that way, but not nearly as intensely as before...but, I dropped the ball--maybe not only dropped it, but slammed it ten feet into the ground.

Maybe this woman won't ever harm herself, maybe she was just looking for a sympathetic ear--then again...

I have tried really hard all day, to forget it...but tongight it's come back to haunt me. you see, my friend Bobby killed himself, and I will always wonder if there wasn't something I could have done--I try to tell myself no, but there's always that thought in you mind---and now, I will always wonder if I could have prevented a woman's suicide, if I'd just been a little less thick-headed and selfish.

I guess I'll never know.

Rules: Choose a singer/band/group. Answer the following using ONLY titles of songs by that singer/band/group Band/Artist

1. Are you male or female? "I'm gonna be..."
2. Describe yourself. What Makes You Cry?
3. What do people feel when they’re around you? My Old Friend the Blues
4. How would you describe your previous relationship? Throw the 'r' Away
5. Describe your age. A long, long time ago
6. Where would you want to be now? Hit the Highway
7. How do you feel about love? Over and Done With
8. What’s your life like? Misty Blue
9. What would you ask for if you had only one wish? Make my Heart Fly
10. Say something wise. The Part that Really Matters...

There's this new scam in the USA, coming out of Canada. A male caller calls a senior, claiming to be a grandson in trouble, and asks the senior to send them money--via western union money gram or some such. Seniors have been bilked of funds ranging from 1000 dollars, to as much as 21,000 dollars. So far, the US government has been powerless to stop these con men, as the men use virtually untracable phones--or throw the phone away after each use.

Whoopsie--made a mistake in my hurry to catch the bus, and posted this in my Roasting David Tennant blog. (Yes, I'm mildly chagrined.)

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I'm knackered--but, got the check cashed! The guy who was supposed to take me never showed up--and I was panicking, 'cos I'd only bought groceries to get me through to Wednesday...figuring I could pick up something from the convenient store for Thursday, til' my shopping day on Friday...but when the guy didn't show up, I really got worried...no food for either me or the cats in the house...and I paid a small bill that was due yesterday, leaving me a net worth of 87 cents exactly, until my check came this morning.

But, all's well that ends well...well, sort of. See, I promised this guy some cash if he'd help me cash this check, and he did finally show up--after someone else went out of her way to help me...so I told him it was okay, never mind--but, god, I thought the guy was going to cry. He's in a wheelchair and he's got two kids, so I guess he'd been counting on the money...so, even tho' he didn't come through as promised (he admitted he forgot about it), I still will give him half the money, because...maybe I'm a sap, but it's Christmas, and hell, it's not like I've got a big family to buy for or anything...and he's struggling financially, I believe, so I'll just write it off as 'paying it forward'---people have helped me out, so I think it's my turn to pay life back a little by helped a couple of other people out. And, this guy is really a sweet guy, in fact if he wasn't already married with kids, I'd probably have a crush on him...he's really a nice man.

I'd give him the whole thing originally promised, if I could, but I had to pay this other person to help me out instead of this man--and, I'm not Donald Trump, I do still have to look after myself, no one else will do it. I hate being like that, by the way, but I really have to follow reality sometimes, instead of my heart--if I did win the lottery, I'm probably one of these people that would have to hire someone to manage my money, or I'd be giving it to every poor person going, truth to tell.

So, I did go to the mall--I hadn't hardly had anything to eat today, so I treated myself to an Arby's roast beef and cheddar. They had phone cards on sale for 2 dollars off at one of the department stores, so I got a phone card--and, popped into TJ Maxx to window shop...really, just to window shop...I told myself...ha! I walked out with a pair of black designer jeans for 16 dollars. I bought cat food--found my nephpew a small gift...Spiderman 3 for 10 dollars, he still likes Spiderman, apparently (doesn't everybody?)

I also bought a set of outdoor lights for my balcony--been wanting to do that for 2 years, but never could spare the cash--they had lights on sale for under 10 dollars--all kinds of funky and unusual light...got them home, got them all out of the box...and cut my hand! One of the bulbs was broken, and I hadn't noticed until I was unraveling them. Greeat. It's hard as hell to get to the mall--the buses only run every 45 minutes, and cab fare is 11 dollars round trip--that's without the tip.

And, I get home, and once again the hallway and back of my apartment is filled with those noxious fumes again--of course the landlords don't give a flying fig--chav redneck yuppie bastards.

Well, gotta' trudge back to the mall, before I lose the recept and have to eat my 6 dolars--bus just went by so I have to hustle on down to the bus stop.

PROLOUGE:

Well, I'm back from the store--and glad I went back...found some nice lights on sale for less than the one's I bought, and saved a dollar--and going out the door, spied some thermal longjohns (thermal underwear bottoms) on sale, and snagged them--an item I do truly need, after last weeks bout standing in the cold, playing "guess where my legs have gone" 'cos they got so cold I lost all the feeling in them. 9 dollars, on sale--5 dollars off! Playwrite27 is very happy about that, you have no idea. I was wondering where I could find an affordable pair (last pair I looked at was 23 dollars--Geez! I want to keep my legs warm under my jeans and trousers, not wear 'em to the bloomin' office!) And, these are nice--they can double as pyjama bottoms, with a tee shirt..they're navy blue with little skiers and snowflakes on them. I would love an actual pair of pyjamas, but not going to spend another penny on myself--I'll wait to see what's on sale after the New Year.

And, I went to get my snow boots off of layaway--and they LOST them! I hung around for 20 minutes, while the kid searched the back room--they were no where to be found, apparently, and the boots I had picked out are now out of stock in my size (naturally)--but the manager was very nice and apologized, and even gave me a special rain check--noting that I'd already made a partial payment on the boots, and when they come in, she'll call me. It's not that big a shop, dunno' how they could lose my package, but somehow they managed it. Good thing there's only flurries in the forecast--and, I've still got my ugly black rubber wellies, in a pinch. They won't keep my feet warm, but they will keep them dry.