Random and unrelated

Book title of the week.

Much more in this vein.

Finally, I just found out that our new book returns coordinator wrote the made-for-Hallmark-Channel movie Shark Swarm! How awesome is that?

Save yourself $10.75

Sadly, no. I don't buy "Poppy doesn't love me as much as he does Jeb, so I'll show him!" as a reasonable motivation for W's career trajectory.

Otay!

Book of the week

And, if you get a chance, check this out.

Broken but fixable

Poor You'll Eat It and Like It: I've abandoned blogging for FaceBook these past few weeks. Why attempt to create original content when I can fight zombies and werewolves, tend to my online farm, and send good karma and virtual cupcakes instead? It's a huge time suck. I'm not reading, I'm not watching movies, I'm not writing or playing the piano or cross stitching or any of the other things I enjoy and find fulfilling. I sometimes feel as if I've been dropped into a pit and I'm not even attempting to climb out. And I've fallen in love with FaceBook's chat feature -- for the first time, I get IM.

FaceBook is but one of a number of things that have been distracting me lately. My mind is anywhere but on my job and other obligations. I just feel like playing and being irresponsible; and while a little of that can be a good thing, I find myself at moments teetering on the edge of propriety. I know I need to snap out of it and get back on the straight and narrow, but I'm finding it hard to deal with temptation these days.

The only project I have been able to set my mind to, and have nearly finished, is a small landscaping endeavor in our backyard. I created a sort of meditation spot near our back door.

The arbor/bench has wisteria growing over it. The wisteria has never bloomed, possibly because I took an ax to it a number of years ago in a vain attempt to get rid of it; it just kept growing back, so I finally got it something to vine over. I planted some new rosemary and lantana to the right of the arbor, and on the left is some well-established rosemary and Spanish lavender. It's a very fragrant spot. I plan to plant a semi-dwarf orange tree behind the bird bath sometime in the next few weeks.

The lantern has a small oil candle in it, and I'm going to get a comfy cushion for the bench seat. By next spring it will be a pleasant spot to relax with a good book. The next project I have planned is a new paved patio for our picnic table, but I don't know when I'll have the focus to get started on it. Looking at the new meditation spot gives me hope that I can get it together soon.

Book of the week

"Gold is where you find it -- and so is sex appeal!" declares a 1953 story from the magazine Sexology, part of this fine collection of articles from the publication's archives. Other gems of wisdom gathered here include:

"We are far too preoccupied with female busts, declared Dr. Goodrich C. Schauffler, a gynecologist teaching at the University of Oregon."

"Fetishes are the love beggars' crumbs of happiness."

"Virgin-wives, as a result of their frigidity, are generally sadistic."

"Growth of this hair on [female] thighs, as well as on the legs generally, means an almost irresistible inclination towards sensuality."

"...[In] the sexual sphere Hitler was completely frustrated and unable to complete the sex act with a single one of the many women with whom his name was linked."

Bread and circuses

From today's Huffington Post:

Palin also claimed she was eager for the debate since the media had been 'censoring' her: "Getting to speak directly to Americans without that filter of mainstream media trying to I think maybe censor some of my comments as we lay out those contrasts between these two different tickets."

That's not even a sentence. God, I can't wait until the debate!

UPDATE ::: 6:40 P.M.
Ooooh, I think I could have some fun with this.