Leap Year Sales

Just wanted to mention there are a lot of sales going on today for the leap year.
I noticed at least one good one on spirithalloween.com and a few of my scrapbooking websites.

The Cricut Cutting Machine

So after years of watching commercials for this thing, I finally succumbed.

I bought myself a Cricut machine for cutting paper shapes, vinyl, and fabric.  The main intention is instead of buying a ton of paper punchers, I can make stuff like that on this machine.  I'm thinking it's going to be working on a lot of my projects for my up coming Halloween party; so I have a lot of time to learn exactly how this thing works best and prepare my projects.

I just barely cut out one little bat so far on printing paper, so I don't have a proper critique of it yet, but I'm working on that.

More to come.

Any of you interested in buying one of these?  I got mine for a deep discount on Overstock.com.

Oscars Follow-up

So yeah, the Oscars were crappy and boring and predictable as usual.  The only highlight for me was the Cirque performance.
I watched my fashion round up of the event and had to say none of the dresses stunned me either.
It was really just a ho-hum experience for me.

I just find it hard to watch during a time of economic crisis where rich people wear dresses that cost more than what most people make in a year and get a gift bag for free worth of thousands of dollars of product and get treated to free meals and luxurious parties.

It's the 1% on tv while the 99% watches.
Difficult to be ok with during our economic recession/depression.

What did you think?
Like it, love it, or didn't even watch?

The Oscars....Does anyone still care?

So, as I'm writing this post, I'm watching the Oscars.  Well, I'm fast forwarding through the commercials....and the speeches I'm not interested in....and the presenters....really all I care about is the fashions, and the hot guys. 

I remember a long time ago when the Oscars meant something to me.  When they had a lot of good movies coming out and I could root for one that I really liked that I had actually seen.

In years of late, it seems there are less and less good movies coming out and too many recycled ideas, remakes of movies that don't need to be redone, and plenty of crap.

I haven't seen any of the nominated movies this year simply because I didn't think they looked good.....Hugo was the only one I wanted to see and I just never got around to it.

You know who the academy members are that vote for the Oscars?
Older white men.  Men who are in their 50's and up....not women, not African-Americans, not younger people.....old, white, men.  These are not the majority of people who are going to the movies these days.  They don't have a well rounded opinion or a fresh perspective of movies.  How can these people be left to decide what's excellent for the masses?

I don't think it's fair.  They've never allowed the public to help decide some winners and it's obvious.

Do you realize that the year The Dark Knight came out it made the most money that year, and not only that....it was the best film of the year as well, and not just according to me, according to a lot of us armchair critics and movie fans alike.

The Dark Knight was not nominated for best picture even though it should have been and it should have won.  Do you know what movie did win?

Slumdog Millionaire.
Not to say that movie was bad, it wasn't, but it wasn't NEARLY as spectacular as The Dark Knight.
Anyone who loves The Dark Knight as much as I do knows that Christopher Nolan wasn't even NOMINATED for best director and he should've been and he should've won.  Do you know who did win best director?

The director from Slumdog Millionaire.

To say that these academy voters are out of touch with reality is saying it politely.

So I ask, does anyone care about an Oscar anymore?  Other than people in the industry?

I know I don't because they never nominate who I would vote for to win, and the movies that do win, quite honestly are not that good.  Shakespeare in Love won best picture and that movie wasn't very good.

Please someone tell me why they even televise them anymore.  It's just Hollywood congratulating themselves on their "stunning achievements" and showing how much money they all have and how wonderful their lives are.  WE, the regular folk, cannot relate to them or any of the festivities on tv.  Hollywood and the academy are both way out of touch with reality and I really don't get excited over the Oscars like I used to.

So far, the highlight of the show was seeing Christian Bale looking sexy as ever and the Cirque du Solei performance, which was amazing.

So, off I go to fast forward, er...watch...the rest of the show.

Maybe someone will win that I like this year....at least they don't have the loser hosts that they did last year.  That was a train wreck.

I never knew North Korea was doing this...

How the U.S. Could Pressure North Korea Tomorrow: Quit the $100 Bill

By DAVID WOLMAN

Time.com Fri, Feb 24, 2012

U.S. negotiators are heading into a second day of what have been dubbed "serious and substantial" talks with North Korean officials. Yet amidst all the discussion of how the U.S. will attempt to work with Kim Jon-un, there has been little (open) speculation as to whether Dear Leader Junior might crank up production of $100 and $50 bills. No, not North Korean 100- or 50-won banknotes, worth about as much as old tissues. I'm talking about fake greenbacks -- or, as the U.S. Secret Service has dubbed them, "superdollars."

These ultra-counterfeits are light years beyond the weak facsimiles produced by most forgers, who use desktop printers. As an anti-counterfeiting investigator with Europol once put it: "Superdollars are just U.S. dollars not made by the U.S. government." With few exceptions, only Federal Reserve banks equipped with the fanciest detection gear can identify these fakes.
Yet as unpatriotic as this may sound, perhaps America would be better off if Kim Jong-un were to try and enrich himself with D-I-Y Benjamins. Let me explain, by way of a little background about superdollars.

The "super" moniker does not stem from any particular talent on the part of the North Koreans. It's a matter of equipment. The regime apparently possesses the same kind of intaglio printing press (or presses) used by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. A leading theory is that in 1989, just before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the machines made their way to North Korea from a clandestine facility in East Germany, where they were used to make fake passports and other secret documents. The high-tech paper is just about the same as what's used to make authentic dollars, and the North Koreans buy their ink from the same Swiss firm that supplies the US government with ink for greenbacks.
Forging $100 bills obviously gels with the regime's febrile anti-Americanism and its aim to undercut U.S. global power, in this case by sowing doubts about our currency. State level counterfeiting is a kind of slow-motion violence committed against an enemy, and it has been tried many times before. During the Revolutionary War, the British printed fake "Continentals" to undermine the fragile colonial currency. Napoleon counterfeited Russian notes during the Napoleonic Wars, and during World War II the Germans forced a handful of artists and printing experts in Block 19 of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp to produce fake U.S. dollars and British pounds sterling. (Their story is the basis for the 2007 film "The Counterfeiters," winner of the 2007 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.)
Superdollars can be viewed as an act of economic warfare, but Pyongyang's motive is probably more mundane: The regime is broke. The 2009 attempt to raise funds by devaluing its already pathetic currency revealed not only the country's fiscal desperation, but also the abuse Dear Leader was willing to inflict on his people. The won was devalued by 100 percent, which meant 1,000 won suddenly had the purchasing power of 10 won. (Imagine waking up to a learn that a slice of pizza costs $250.) Officials set a tight limit on how much old money could be exchanged for new, so whatever value existed within people's paltry savings evaporated overnight. Compared to devaluation, generating quick cash by counterfeiting some other country's more stable currency looks downright humanitarian.
The superdollar affair has a certain comic-book quality: copying the currency of the evil capitalists so you can buy cognac and missiles. But Washington isn't laughing. At the end of December, Ireland's high court rejected a U.S. request to extradite former Workers Party president and IRA veteran, Sean Garland, for his alleged involvement with the superdollar plot. There is also the question of what exactly the North Koreans hope to procure with all of this "money." According to the House Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, superdollars may be part of the regime's effort to acquire materials for nuclear weapons.
Since the superdollars were first detected about a decade ago, the regime has been pocketing an estimated $15 to $25 million a year from them. (Other estimates are much higher -- up to several hundred million dollars' worth.) That sounds like a lot of money, but compared to the $1 trillion in cash circulating in the great ocean of commerce, a few hundred million is chump change. Although certainly costly for small business owners who unknowingly accept a bunch of forgeries, counterfeits probably won't bring about a crisis of faith in our paper money anytime soon.

Yet taking the long view, maybe a rash of new superdollars from the hermetic regime of Kim Jong-un would be beneficial. How so? Because counterfeits have a way of reminding people of what material money is and how it functions, and that could lead to a discussion of its pros and cons. Cash is, and always has been, such an uncontested part of everyday life that we rarely stop to consider its toll on society as the currency of crime, to say nothing of the heaping expense of printing, transporting, securing, inspecting, shredding, redesigning, reprinting, re-inspecting, and redistributing it ad nauseum, plus the broader costs of prosecuting and incarcerating the thousands, if not millions, of people who commit cash-related crimes. That's not to suggest we could get rid of paper money tomorrow; we still don't have a substitute that's equally convenient, universally accepted, and adequately secure. But that day may be closer than you think. (Coins, however, we could -- and should -- do away with. As in, right now.)
Superdollars, and the untold billions of (electronic) dollars spent combating them could be the wake-up call that finally forces us to think more clearly about the costs of physical money. If killing all cash strikes you as a little too radical, consider for a moment what it would mean to get rid of high-denomination banknotes. Who would be most inconvenienced if Washington were to outlaw $100 and $50 bills tomorrow? Cartel bosses in Juarez, Mexico jump to mind. So do human traffickers in China and Africa, aspiring terrorists in Afghanistan, wildlife poachers, arms dealers, tax evaders, and everyday crooks who hold up mom and pop groceries. And, or course, North Korean government officials.
So then. At the risk of infuriating cash-hoarding militia members, anonymity-obsessed ACLU'ers, the U.S. Treasury, Russian mob, Laundromat owners, and just about every person who has ever hid a purchase from a spouse or income from the government, I would say this to Kim Jong-un and his posse of counterfeiters: Bring it.
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I saw this article the other day on Yahoo and had to repost it. 

It's shocking to me that another country is so good at forging our money and no one is doing much about it.

The article's take is not what I expected, but it's thought-provoking.
Should we really get rid of the $100.00 bill?  I can't remember the last time I even had one in my hands....must've been years ago.

What do you think?  Get rid of coins and large bills or no?

Disgusting that animals are dying this way

Concern And Anger Over Fatal Horse Injuries In The Filming Of HBO's 'Luck'

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Written by: Karie Meltzer

In the pilot episode of the new HBO horse racing drama "Luck," a horse set for an improbable victory snaps her ankle and has to be euthanized on the track. The scene is stark and unforgiving, but the truth behind it is more so: In the filming of another scene from that same episode in 2010, a different horse actually did break its leg and had to be put down.
And in 2011, during shooting for the seventh episode, another horse sustained a similar injury. That horse was also put down.
"Luck," created by David Milch of "NYPD Blue" fame, stars Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte and explores the dark underworld beneath the glamour of horse racing. But in this case, truth is even sadder than fiction.
According to a statement from the American Humane Association, both horses fell during racing sequences, and veterinarians found their compound fractures to be inoperable. An AHA representative was on set when both accidents happened.

After the second death, HBO was asked to suspend the filming of racing scenes while its production staff worked with AHA to improve safety for these sequences. The AHA added an extra veterinarian to check the horses at the beginning of the day, and take radiographs of the horses' legs before the animals were cleared to appear in any racing scenes, which are simulated so the horse actor never runs full speed or the full length of the track.
In a statement prepared for ThePostGame.com, HBO said it fully complied with the more stringent rules, and immediately worked with the AHA and the California Racing Board for a full investigation and necropsy on the two horses.



"From the very outset of this project, the safety of the animals was of paramount concern to us," the HBO statement reads. "Recent assertions of lax attitudes or negligence could not be further from the truth. We partnered early on with American Humane Association, who is the only mandated authority in the industry, and we work very closely with the AHA and racing industry experts to implement safety protocols that go above and beyond typical film and TV industry standards and practices."
Still, the Time Warner Inc.-owned HBO hasn't released many details about the horses, and that has caused concern in the animal rights community.
Vickery Eckhoff, a contributing blogger on Forbes.com, writes, "As to those 'wonderful animals' the AHA extols, it's a bit hard to know how wonderful given that HBO isn't releasing any data on the horses themselves. Who were they? Fillies or colts? Bays, chestnuts or greys? Names? Ages? What about their breeding? Any stakes winners in there?"

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HBO confirmed the horses involved in the accidents were racehorses, and although the network says it shared full details with the AHA and California Horse Racing Board to comply with standards, it considers other details to be privileged. HBO did stress that only experienced movie horses and even mechanical horses were used to simulate the painful scene in the pilot.
"The breakdown scene in the pilot was accomplished through a combination of computer-generated visual effects and multiple trained horses being used, edited together in post production to depict a highly realistic and heart-wrenching scene," the statement read. "No tranquilizers or drugs of any kind were used to accomplish this scene. Any sequence such as this, or the bumping of horses in a race, was done with mechanical horses or movie horses."
Kathy Guillermo, a PETA vice president, is not satisfied with what's been done in the aftermath of the deaths.
"Racing itself is dangerous enough," she told the Associated Press. "This is a fictional representation of something and horses are still dying, and that to me is outrageous."



Anyone familiar with the racing industry knows it can be treacherous for both horses and jockeys. Between 500 and 800 racehorses die every year on the track. A thoroughbred's bones are thinner and more vulnerable to devastating fractures. And while horses don’t run at full racing speed for television, they can still be injured on set.
In 2005, two horses died on the set of "Flicka," a 20th Century Fox family movie starring Tim McGraw. One horse fractured its tibia during a running scene, and another tripped on a lead rope and broke its neck. Still, the AHA said the deaths were unpreventable, and that no one involved in production violated any safety precautions.
Working with horses is clearly a significant risk for filmmakers. The set of "Luck" is equipped with an ambulance for horses and one for jockeys. Horses can only run three times per day, and HBO says veterinarians who specialize in racehorses are present for any running or training. Dr. Rick Arthur, equine medical director for the California Horse Racing Board, has even said the racing industry could learn from HBO's safety measures.
But for some, stricter regulations won't make up for the lost lives of the two nameless horses. Bloggers and activists like Eckhoff have suggested the show be stopped completely. Yet a second season of the show is in the works, which means more worry that another horse's luck will run out.
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First of all this show should be using CGI as much as possible for all the dangerous stuff and leave the horses to just walk around and look pretty.  They should not be running them at all.

I think it's terrible that 2 horses have died for no good reason for entertainment and that the Humane Society isn't pushing harder for this show to be suspended until they can figure out a way to make a damned tv show without killing innocent animals.

This is so outrageous to me and angering I get physically ill.

crop circles only different

Crop circle snow art is exceptionally cool

By Ben Silverman

Yahoo! Games Editor – Wed, Feb 22, 2012

(Photo credit: Simon Beck)

Are aliens giving up cornfields for cold, mountain air?

Nope. Turns out these incredibly awesome snow designs are the work of decidedly human artist Simon Beck, who takes the concept of a crop circle to new heights by strapping on a pair snowshoes and getting to work.

"They are made by a kind of reverse orienteering," he explains on his Yahoo! Groups page. "The main lines and points are surveyed using a sighting compass (as used for surveying orienteering maps), with distance either by pace counting or string."
It can take Beck hours of trudging around in the snow to create his masterpieces, which can run the size of a soccer field. Why go to the trouble?

"The main reason for making them was because I can no longer run properly due to problems with my feet, so plodding about on level snow is the least painful way of getting exercise," he says. "Gradually the reason has become photographing them, and I am considering buying a better camera."
You can see more of his work on his Facebook page.

(Photo credit: Simon Beck)
(Photo credit: Simon Beck)
(Photo credit: Simon Beck)
(Photo credit: Simon Beck)
(Photo credit: Simon Beck)
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Even though I hate the snow, this is very wonderful art with a harsh medium.
Stunning to look at, I'd hate to be out there trying to shape all these snow circles.
Enjoy the beauty though!

The Machinist

Released: 2004
Drama, Mystery
Director: Brad Anderson
Starring: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Running Time: 101 minutes
Rated: R

The breakdown: An industrial worker, who's lost a lot of weight and a lot of sleep (in fact, he hasn't slept in a year) can't figure out what's happening to him.

This was a very interesting and hard movie to watch.  It certainly keeps you guessing as to what's going on with this man so as to make him a complete insomniac.

I really don't want to ruin this one for you so this review is brief.

He works in a machine shop during the day and at night goes to this airport cafe to have coffee and pie.  He makes friends with the waitress and learns more about her and her life as he spends more time with her outside of her job.  She has a young boy that needs a father figure and the machinist seems to genuinely like the boy.

If you're a big Christian Bale fan, the state of his body is alarming.  He ate only an apple a day for months to shrink down to a measly 100 pounds or so for this role.  He looks like a walking skeleton and I think he took this role way too seriously as far as dropping too much weight for a movie.
Though this method was severe, it wasn't needed as his performance is good and the movie really throws you for a loop until the end.

See it if you haven't yet and are looking to figure out a mystery.

4 out of 5 for a unique movie with solid acting and writing.

Black Swan

Released: 2010
Drama, Mystery
Director: Darren Aronofsky (He did The Wrestler [fantastic movie])
Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey
Running Time: 108 minutes
Rated: R (as it should be)

The breakdown: The downward spiral of a ballet dancer who's so obsessed with perfecting her craft she loses her mind.


Portman plays Nina, a girl who still lives at home, and loves ballet.  In fact, she loves ballet so much she's completely obsessed with it and it rules her life.  She wants the lead in "Swan Lake" desperately and gets it after the original lead dancer becomes too "old" to dance anymore and is fired from the company, played by Winona Ryder.  Ryder in fact, is not really too old, but has most likely lost the affections of the director of the ballet company, and may also have a body that is plagued with problems from dancing so long.  With "Swan Lake" there will be 2 dancing roles for one lead ballerina.  The White Swan - angelic, beautiful, controlled, virginal, and the Black Swan - sexual, free, and dangerous.  So Nina is perfect for the white swan part, but the black swan part is not her strong suit.  I've never seen "Swan Lake", but for this movie the story of the ballet goes like this (and it's explained in the movie that the classics have been reimagined so I'm not sure how different this version is):
A princess is turned into a white swan by a magician's curse, and can only be human again if her prince pledges eternal fidelity to her.  The prince is tricked by the magician, who has crafted his daughter to look exactly like the princess so that the prince will sleep with her and therefore, he will not remain faithful to the true princess.  Well, he sleeps with the magician's daughter and the princess is so distraught that she will remain a swan forever, she commits suicide by jumping off a cliff.  (but.....swans can fly.....so that doesn't really work, but whatever, just play along I guess).

Nina has been a ballet dancer her whole life (at least it appears this way).  Her controlling mother was also a ballet dancer so who knows if Nina even wants to be a dancer, in her heart.  Her mother apparently never made it very far in dance and gave up what career she did have, to give birth to Nina.  She doesn't let Nina forget this point.  Her mother has now turned to painting to feel creative.  (This makes for an interesting, creepy scene later.)  The father is never discussed and isn't in their lives so we are never reminded there was a father.
Anyways, Nina and her mother share a very small New York apartment and it seems her mother lives for pampering and controlling Nina.  It is arguable that Nina has never even been out on a date or had sex, even though the character is supposed to be in her early 20's.

There are a lot of disturbing things going on in this movie, not that this aspect of the movie makes it bad.  For one thing it shows how badly dancers hurt for their craft.  Nina is seen getting her bones cracked and manipulated to ease pain in her joints and continue working.  Her body is a terribly thin frame to be lifted by male dancers and she hardly eats anything.  Her mother is incredibly suffocating and never gives Nina any privacy.  Nina has no apparent friends and certainly no boyfriends (it seems her life and career leaves no time for such distractions.)  And of course, most disturbing of all, a young woman who loses her grip on reality and completely loses her mind.  At different points in the movie she's scratching at her skin intensely and thinking she's growing feathers.

IF this movie had stuck to a non-supernatural feel and went for realism, then it would be a great character study movie.  Fantastic, I would've said.  A girl who is obsessed with dancing, consumes herself with passion and perfection and descends into a terrible state of mind where there is no satisfying her desire to be perfect....genius!  It would've been just as good or better than The Wrestler, this director's other movie.  In fact, he said these two movies started out as one where the wrestler would've fallen in love with the ballet dancer. Anyway,

I did not like this movie as a whole.  I did like parts of it though.  For instance, Natalie Portman did an excellent job playing this role.  I understand why she got the Oscar. 

There's a painting scene that I referenced earlier that's very effective.  My favorite thing about this movie actually, because it's so well done.  But if you blink you might miss it.

I did not like the whole movie precisely because where it ran off the rails was when they started to make it feel supernatural, or paranormal/horror in nature.  This simply ruins the purity of the drama that's already there and succeeding.  They tried to make you believe maybe Nina was schizophrenic, maybe psychotic - ok, that's fine.  The director used a lot of mis-direction and they left a lot unexplained to the point where the audience becomes confused at the end - not ok.  Anytime a movie leaves me feeling confused, or I'm angry because I'm confused -the movie was not successful.  The director fails.

I'm not saying using mis-direction is bad, I'm neutral to the technique.  I'm not saying that mental illness is clean, simple, and easy to understand, but it's in the details of how you show it.  Execution has to be flawless for this plot to work.  There were a lot of missed opportunities to explain some situations where the audience would have a better idea of what was real and what wasn't.  I call it the Ah-ha moment - you know, where everything they've shown you makes sense and you say ah-ha, I see what they were doing there.  I don't think they had to take anything away from the movie, but they needed to add to it for it to come across better.  The director, thus the film, missed the mark for me.  Instead of it coming off brilliant, it came off as unfinished, messy, and feeling like the director couldn't explain some situations he had created so you get that loose end feeling as well.
This movie is convoluted, which might be the whole point.  I get that.  She's mental unravelling.  Of course, she's going to hallucinate, but the lack of clarity for the audience makes the movie fail.  It's a cop out for the director to present a whole bunch of scenes and just say, "Oh let the audience try to figure all this out."

I can only give the film a 2 out of 5 and that's mostly for Portman and the possibility that this could've been so much better had it dropped the supernatural vibe.

PS
I recommend that if you want to see a good movie for madness - The Shining is a great example.  This is a horror movie that shows mental illness because of paranormal powers, but it mixes both together beautifully.  Black Swan meanwhile tries to say it's 95% drama (real life) and 5% scary paranormal stuff but that 5% is enough to ruin the movie.
The Shining is truly scary, truly good drama, truly someone losing his mind as well, just done much much more effectively.

Happy Birthday!

Just wanted to devote this post to a birthday shout to my cool uncle.

Hope it's great, and filled with lots of chocolate cake and gifts!!

The Strangers

Released: 2008
Horror
Director: Bryan Bertino
Starring: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward
Rated: R
Running Time: 86 minutes

The breakdown:  This is an excellent film if you want the pants scared off of you!


There's this couple at the beginning of the movie having what appears to be a good time at a friend's wedding reception when the man asks the woman to get married.  She says no, so then it becomes awkward as they go to this isolated vacation house that they are staying in for the weekend.  Of course, they didn't think they would've broke up that weekend, so they talk, alone....in this house in the woods....and it seems like they might stay together after all.  They are making out (yes they just kinda' broke up) but there's a knock at the door.
A strange woman is asking for someone who is not there.  This deeply disturbs the woman and she feels uneasy.
As the night unfolds, the couple is the target of three masked strangers that break into the house and are hellbent on killing the couple.

This movie is NOT based on any one particular true story, but this is what the opening credits suggest.  It is merely based on murders and break-ins that happen all the time in this country, so no there's no one story exactly like this movie.

It is very high drama and tension as the criminal activity scenes play out.  It will certainly keep you on the edge of your seat, but overall, it's pretty effective.  Good acting, good plot, and scary as hell.  This is one of the horror movies that really scares you, because this could really happen to anyone.

I give it 4 out of 5 for high tension scenes that make you very scared and nervous.

Chilblains - what are they you ask?

So yeah, when I moved to a cold climate my toes started to hurt.

Not just hurt, they felt like little swollen blisters had formed in some uncomfortable spots on my toes.
At first, I thought they were just blisters and would go away, but when they didn't, I started to research.

Chilblains are a very very mild form of frostbite.  In a situation where it's cold, but you're not outside in very cold winter weather, your skin will still tell you, it's too cold for it.  My house gets down to 64 before the heat kicks in, so I run around in sweats all the time.

Defined by the Mayo Clinic's website they are:
Chilblains are the painful inflammation of small blood vessels in your skin that occur in response to sudden warming from cold temperatures. Also known as pernio, chilblains can cause itching, red patches, swelling and blistering on extremities, such as on your toes, fingers, ears and nose.


Thankfully I have not got these anywhere else, but as weird as it is, it clears up in warm weather completely.  In fact, almost within a week.  There's really nothing I can do about it though.  I wear thick socks and try to keep my feet up, but they're always there every winter.

I just thought I'd share, since I'm frustrated and in pain and realize new things happen to my body all the time as I get older.....it kinda' sucks.

Taxes!

Ugh.  It's that time of year again for me to get the taxes done.

If it's one thing that can make me super uneasy and nervous - it's taxes.

I hate to do them, but I use that Turbo Tax program and it does make things a lot easier.

I just did mine and thankfully I don't have to pay this year.

Good luck to you all that still have to do them.

Godiva Chocolate Sale Online!

Just wanted to let you know if your honey did not get you what you wanted for Valentine's Day it's time to take charge of your own destiny and happiness and buy your own chocolates.

My favorite of all time - Godiva is having a little post V Day sale on the website (godiva.com.)  I wish I got a kickback for my plugging them, but the chocolate they make is divine.

It's expensive, I know, but it's sooooooo worth it.  Try the half open oyster or one of the truffles with nuts or ganache, those are the best!

I hate big banks

New bank fees to watch for in 2012

By Jennifer Openshaw | MarketWatch – Wed, Feb 15, 2012

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — As a bank customer, you may have experienced some pretty big changes lately, including a shift in debit-reward programs and a scary but ultimately unsuccessful push to introduce debit-card usage fees. But you should steel yourself for more changes in 2012.
The fact is, banks are still working to recover from the estimated $10 billion hit to revenue as a result of new laws and regulations.
“If the theme of 2011 was fee reorganization, 2012 is going to be all about structuring a new fee foundation,” said Alex Matjanec, co-founder of MyBankTracker.com.
Already, a checking-account customer may be charged as many as 49 different fees — and that’s just the median number of fees, according to a study by the Pew Institute of 250 types of checking accounts offered by the 10 largest U.S. banks. See an infographic of the Pew's study results here.
Many new or higher fees are designed to offset revenue losses from the 2009 Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act and other new regulations, or simply to help banks reduce their costs by, for instance, encouraging you to use the Internet.
“New fees that you’ve never heard of before, such as those for getting paper statements, will be coming,” said Pam Banks, senior policy counsel for Consumers Union. Read more: Your bank wants to be your new best friend.Read more: High fees? Here’s how to fire your bank.
Here are more changes you’re likely to see in the year ahead.
Overdraft fees
It’s painful when you’re hit with an overdraft fee, but Banks says they’re likely to get worse, going as high as $40 or $45, depending on your bank. That’s up from an average of $27.50 last year, according to Moebs Services, and higher than what credit unions generally charge.
If you’re a bank customer, consider asking for a link to your savings or other eligible accounts to protect against overdraft fees. But beware: if you lack funds in those back-up accounts, you’re still likely to be hit with an overdraft fee.
Also, ask if there are any fees associated with this backup “overdraft protection” policy. Most institutions may charge a fee of some type, typically $5 to $15, but  significantly less than facing the overdraft fee outright, according to Matjanec.
Monthly minimums
Monthly fees on some checking accounts can run about $14 a month or almost $170 a year, according to BankRate.com, but new requirements are on the horizon.
“We’ve already seen fees kick in in December that might continue into this year — stealth fees like increasing the monthly minimum balance requirements to avoid maintenance fees,” Matjanec said.
Citibank’s EZ checking, no longer available to new customers, requires a balance of $6,000 to avoid the $15 monthly fee, rising from a minimum of $1,500 to avoid $7.50.
It’s part of an effort to encourage you to share more of your “wallet” with banks. Consider talking to a bank rep to inform them of any multiple accounts you have. You may be able to both avoid fees and increase the interest you earn on accounts.  For example, consider linking your checking and savings accounts if they are with the same bank to increase your monthly minimum balance overall and avoid additional fees.  Another promising alternative is to do a direct deposit of your paycheck.
Wiring money
Looking to send money the same day? You should watch out for new fees here, too, especially if you’re a frequent user. Some banks are already starting to increase wire transfer fees or even charge for incoming wire transfers that previously were free. TD Bank, for example, is now charging $15 for an incoming wire, up from zero.
Card replacement
Lost a card? Too bad there’s not a GPS tracker for your cards! The fees to replace them are going up and we’re likely to see more.
Bank of America, for instance, now charges $5, up from $2 previously. If you need your card within 24 hours, it’ll run $20 (in part to pay for the overnight delivery).
Other fees
In an effort to reduce costs related to hired help and to mailing paper statements, banks will also provide more incentives to do it yourself, online. PNC and BBVA Compass are now charging $3 and $5, respectively, to have funds transferred with the help of a phone rep, although you can do it free online.
And those paper statements? Yes, they’re a real cost and banks may start charging you for them, too, or reducing other fees for going electronic.
TD Bank, for example, will reduce your monthly maintenance fees by $1 if you choose electronic statements over paper. You may also see monthly statement fees with some banks.
Be loyal, or else
One final prediction: In addition to more a la carte fees, much like we’re seeing in the airline industry, we’re likely to see new incentives to keep you from switching banks.
Remember the two-year commitment you’re required to make with your cell-phone company or face a hefty fee for early closure? Banks like USA Bank and PNC now charge $25 for closing your account within 180 days. Chase tested the concept but opted not to roll it out, Matjanec said.
I should point out, conversely, that it sometimes helps to stay with a bank for a long period of time if they provide decent service. If you’ve been a customer for, say, the last 28 years, you’re liable to be treated differently. If you make a mistake and get hit with a $45 overdraft fee, I bet you can talk someone into waiving the fee — just like some of the credit-card companies do for their loyal customers. But don’t do it too often.
Consumers would be helped if they could have a clearer, simpler view of fees. Like credit-card bills, especially before the 2009 CARD Act, it can be hard to figure out what you’re really paying. Banks are getting better at this, but it can help to ask questions or ask for a fee schedule (or look for one online).
If you have the time, sit down with your bank rep to review fees and develop strategies to reduce them using products the bank offers.  Do a little homework, gathering facts from the bank’s website, before you have a chat.
You’ll probably still pay more fees than you did a few years ago, but you’ll wind up better off than if you ignored the changes completely.
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Do you remember a bank called Norwest?  That used to be my bank a long long time ago when I first opened up a checking account after I got my first job.  They had free checking, free debit cards, no minimum balances, and no fees.  Then Wells Fargo came along and swallowed my bank whole leaving me little choice.  I didn't want to go with Bank of America or Chase or any of the others, so I thought it best to just stay.  So now, years later, Wells Fargo is increasing fees like many other banks and I have to have a $1500.00 minimum daily balance to avoid a $5.00 a month fee.  This isn't going to work for me so I'm in the market for a small bank that is more reasonable.

I'm thinking about moving my money to a credit union, hopefully I can still pay all my bills online, but even if I can't, I still can't stand how greedy the big banks are and have always been, and I won't support them by banking with them anymore.
They have always made plenty of money off of us customers and it's time people showed them what we can do as customers.

When I do take my money to a little bank or a credit union I will promise to never put my money in one of these big corporate America banks again.

Happy Valentine's Day

Just wanted to send out a Valentine's Day message to all the readers out there.

My day was filled with watching tv and eating Taco Bell for lunch.

Not much of a celebration in my world, but I am looking forward to playing Skyrim tonight.

Maybe have a little wine before bed!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

Lost Tapes

This is a series put on by the Animal Planet that seems to air whenever it wants to, so it may be hard for you to find without a DVR.
Basically it's a hysterical (but not intentionally funny) show that's supposed to be scary.
I watch it for laughs alone, as it has never EVER scared me.



It runs in 30 minute shows and each one is supposed to focus on something we've all heard about.... poltergeist, aliens, the Loch Ness monster, big foot, werewolves, vampires, etc.  They have "experts" in the supernatural subject of the week, talk about theories and how they could be real, to back up the "actual footage" they show in a documentary style home movie.  The "actual footage" is really not real.  It's just actors pretending to have something to do with the given subject material as they make up a story that involves whatever the monster of the week is.

If you haven't seen it, it's so bad, it's funny.  Don't expect any great stories, or acting here.  (Part of the fun.)

I give the show a 1/2 stub out of 5 for what it's supposed to be, BUT a
3 and 1/2 out of 5 for being terrible funny.

28 Days Later

Released: 2002
Horror, Sci-Fi
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston
Running Time: 113 minutes
Rated: R

The breakdown:  The most realistic zombie tale you will ever see.


I love this movie for it's realism.  You will not find a better zombie flick.  At the very beginning these animal activists release what they think are harmless chimps from a research facility in the middle of the night in England.  What they don't know is that these animals have been experiments of a lab trying to make super soldiers infected with rage. 
Later we see Cillian Murphy waking up in a hospital bed with his head shaved.  He was in a coma and has no idea why the hospital is completely deserted.  He roams the streets and realizes all of London is vacant.  He spends the rest of the movie finding other survivors and trying to stay alive and uninfected.
I don't want to ruin it for you because it's soooooo good and you should see it!

I give it a 4 1/2 out of 5 for being low budget, but exceptionally brilliant.

Whitney Houston's Death

Whitney circa 1985.

It's just too sad that Whitney Houston passed away today in California. 
She was only 48 but I thought she was much older.
So far, I would guess she died of a drug overdose, or a heart attack due to drug abuse over the past 20 years of her life.
It all went bad for her when she started dating that stupid no talent Bobby Brown.
She was doing so well for herself before he came around.
I feel bad for her 18 year old daughter who she leaves behind.
Just very very sad.

What an idiot!

Victoria’s Secret Model Quits to Reserve Body ‘for My Husband’

  By Jennifer Abbey

One Victoria’s Secret angel might be turning her back on lingerie modeling but she’s not giving up her modeling wings.
Model Kylie Bisutti, 21, has decided to leave Victoria’s Secret because it clashes with her Christian beliefs.
“I just became so convicted of honoring the Lord and my body and wanting to be a role model for other women out there who look up to me,” Bisutti said today on “Good Morning America.”
The California native beat out 10,000 hopefuls in 2009 to win the Victoria’s Secret Model Search. She was 19 and recently married at the time.
But wearing the coveted angel wings and walking the runway with Adriana Lima and Miranda Kerr wasn’t quite what Bisutti had hoped for.
“I was growing in my relationship with the Lord and my faith.  I’m a strong believing Christian,” Bisutti told “GMA” of how her thoughts on the job she has described as her “absolutely biggest goal in life” began to change.
“It was more of just a heart issue for me,” she said.
Though Bisutti has cited her husband and her desire to keep their marriage special as factors in her decision to leave her lingerie modeling days behind, she said the decision was hers alone.
“He was so, so supportive of me and I’m so thankful that he let me grow and let me come to this decision on my own,” she said of her husband.
Bisutti’s decision to leave the lingerie company was also spurred on by an encounter with her 8-year-old cousin.
“I was doing my makeup in the mirror one day and she was watching me,” Bisutti said.  “She looked at me and was like, ‘You know, I think I want to stop eating so I can look like you.’”
“It just broke my heart because she looks up to me and I didn’t want to be that type of person that she thought she had to do that to be beautiful,” she said.  “Thousands of girls that think that being beautiful is an outer issue and really it’s a heart issue.”
On Dec. 1, one day after the nationally televised Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, in which Bisutti didn’t appear, aired, the model posted to her Twitter page, “For all of you that were looking for me in the Victorias Secret runway show this year, I wasn’t in it. I have decided not to model lingerie Because I personally feel that I am not honoring God or my husband by doing it. My marriage is very important & with divorce rates rising I want to do everything I can to protect my marriage and be respectful to my husband. God graciously gave me this marriage and this life and my desire is to live a Godly faithful life, I don’t however judge others for what they do. Everyone is convicted on different levels.”
Bisutti says her headline-making decision does not mean she is giving up her modeling career altogether.
“I’m definitely going to pursue modeling,” she said on “GMA.”  “I just want to be more wholesome about it and the jobs that I am going to choose are always going to be honoring the Lord.”
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I'm sorry but this girl at 19 enters a contest to become the next model for Victoria's Secret and now she doesn't want it?  She knew what kind of company Victoria's Secret was at the time, it's not like they've changed recently - the ads are everywhere - they always do ads for skimpy underwear and lingerie.  She beat out a whole bunch of other girls who would do anything to get that job and now she leaves?  How insulting to all the other girls who really wanted that job.

And the whole "Christian" belief system stuff?!  She could show just as much skin in a bikini in the pool or at the beach, but that probably isn't a problem for her or her husband.  So rediculous to "save" your body for your husband......you just can't be a model and "save" your body.
Absolute moron, plus she'll probably be divorced in a matter of years and then where will her husband's opinion of her be?  And she'll have lost out on all the money she could've made as a model.
Stupid.
I can understand the whole 8 year old little girl issue with her body and saying she wouldn't eat.  All you have to do is explain to the little girl and set a good example by eating healthy and working out with her.  You wouldn't have to quit being a model for that either though.

Purple Squirrels!

This purple squirrel was found in the backyard of a Pennsylvania couple.  They say they didn't dye it and have no idea why it is purple.

I got this picture off of Yahoo and I'm not sure it's authentic.  How could this possibly happen in nature? 
I don't think it's real, but I love pics of cute squirrelies!

What?!

GOP targets child tax break for illegal immigrants

By ANDREW TAYLOR

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are looking to stop illegal immigrants from claiming federal child tax credits, including refund checks averaging $1,800. It's an effort that has roused anger among Hispanics and some Democratic lawmakers.

The proposal would require people who claim the credit to have Social Security numbers as proof that they're legal workers. It's being offered as a way to help pay for extending the Social Security tax cut for most American wage-earners.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada says the proposal unfairly goes after the children of poor Hispanic workers. Such kids often are U.S. citizens because they were born in this country. On the other side, Republicans and some Democrats say it's silly to even debate whether the government should be cutting checks to illegal immigrants.

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Ok so I just read this article today and got all angry.  I'm also confused.....if illegal immigrants are claiming tax credits doesn't that mean they are filing tax returns, and if that's true can't the feds go in and deport them for not being here legally.
There's only one word that everyone should be paying attention to when it comes to illegal immigrants...ILLEGAL.  That means, first they are here illegally and that's already breaking the law and they should be deported immediately.  I don't care if they have kids here or a job here, they shouldn't be living here illegally. 
Man this article makes me crazy.

Party Alert!

So I know it's February.  I know no one else is thinking of Halloween except for me, but I did want to mention to all the readers out there that I'm planning a great Halloween party for the month of October.
Granted this year might be the last we all have on Earth if the Mayans are right so I'm planning a big BIG party to end all parties.
To all of you who were invited last year, the invitation still stands for this year and I'm just going to be inviting more people to hopefully have more than 4 show up.
So I'm prepping now.  Planning decorations and invitations now.  Menu to work on next.

Just a little save the date for you guys!  Even though I haven't officially set a date.  (It will most likely be mid-October on a Saturday night.)

It'll be a lot of fun and you can expect to see a few animatronic monsters, lots of candles, pumpkins, spiders, games, a witches potion table, and a few scary surprises in all corners of the house.

More info coming along in the next upcoming months.

Can't wait to see you guys there!

PS
If you have any suggestions please toss 'em my way or if you want to volunteer yourself to help me set up or bring food.

Puppy Bowl VIII Review

Alright, so if you watched the Puppy Bowl you know they changed a few things.
First off the ref, he's an actor and the other one was a producer for the Animal Planet so I don't think he's out of a job, but I didn't think there was much of a difference between the two.  I say put in the old producer ref next year, I'm sure he's still there.
Their side line reporter/correspondent Jill Rappaport?  I've seen her on CNN for a long time doing entertainment news and now she's an animal advocate?  Get rid of her!
Meep the bird!  I love him, he's a cockatiel and a bird I've had in my home almost my whole life.  He was so very cute.
The pigs - it was the same shots over and over again and they didn't do anything super cute.  I say bring back the bunny cheerleaders.
All the regular stuff was as cute as ever - the blimp with the hamsters, the puppies, the kitty half time show, the kiss cam was cute as well.  My favorite puppy was Oscar the black dachshund.
So there goes another Puppy Bowl and here's looking to next year's action.

Department 56 Halloween intro's are out!

I'm so excited to see the new products for Halloween available from Department 56 this season.

My village is getting pretty big, but I'll always make room for new additions like these:


This is called Hilda's Witch Haunt and retails for $75.00
I definitely want this one.


Axel's Costume Shop retailing for $85.00
It looks like the bay window has a rotating scene back lit in white so I'm interested to see it in person.

And of course, not only do they have buildings, but the people and landscape details to go along with houses.


This is Hilda she goes with the first piece I showed you.  She retails for $17.50
Her broom looks to be on a spring so it moves a little with a bit of wind.

So there's a peek if you don't know of one of my hobbies.
This looks so much different when you have a complete village set up with trees, a background, and landscaping done, but trust me, it's addictive to build your own little world.

If you come to the party in October, you will see my village "Shudder Valley" all set up in it's lighted glory.

Grimm the television show

Airing every Friday night on NBC at 8pm.


NBC has the worst ratings of the four big networks and I see why.  Normally, they have no good shows on any night of the week, but Grimm is the one bright spot they have going for them.

Basically a cop gets a visit from his aunt, who he hasn't seen in years.  She's dying of cancer but before she passes away she has the opportunity to tell him he's special.  The cop comes from a long line of Grimm's.  They travel the world looking to destroy all sorts of bad guys, but they also have a special task force of Grimm Reapers out to put the Grimm's down for good.  When she died she left him a third wheel full of books, weapons, and potions to help him keep the family tradition alive and himself.
To his credit, he hasn't told anyone, not even his girlfriend, about his new special job. 
This show's only been on a few months but I liked it from the first episode.  TV right now is really lacking in original shows that aren't "reality" competitions and who don't have doctors, lawyers, or crime scene investigators in it.  Granted this show does have a lot of cop stuff in it, but it's certainly revolving around supernatural story lines and not gritty crime scenes with "normal" crazy serial killers.

I like that it's different from everything else out there (except for Once Upon A Time.)  I'm not sure which show idea was first and which one is copying the other, but this show is stronger than the other.  The writing is better, the stories are better, and I care about the characters more.  Though both shows are based on fairy tales or Grimm's tales, this show has had a strong sense of direction from the pilot, compared to O.U.A.T. which was a bit cheesy for the first 3 episodes and confused.

If you haven't seen this show, it's not too scary, but it can be dark and has a lot of adult situations.  I think Monroe is the best character on the show and he provides all the comic relief. 

I give it 4 and 1/2 out of 5 remotes for originality and a good mix of scary, humor, and supernatural.

Trick 'r Treat

Released: 2007
Horror (but more funny unintentionally)
Director: Michael Dougherty
Starring: Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Dylan Baker
Running Time: 82 minutes
Rated: R

The breakdown:  A short little monster named Sam punishes those who do not follow the Halloween rules.  Meanwhile, a few stories of others' Halloween night experiences sometimes overlap in a small town in Ohio.


Oh this was a lame movie.  I watched it on the Logo channel and thought that I must've missed a whole bunch of movie due to editing, but since the running time is so short, I probably didn't.  On my Halloween forum all the members told me how good this movie was and they were trying to give away a free copy, but I politely declined when I hadn't even seen it.  I'm glad I did now that I have watched it.  Of course, those people think American Horror Story is a good show when it's absolute rubbish.  Anyway,
there's 5 stories going on in this movie.  One is a whole bunch of girls trying to get a date for a party in the woods.  Teenagers pull a prank on a loser type girl in the rock quarry, a school principle loves to kill people, especially on Halloween, a hermit who doesn't like Halloween is paid a special visit, and a very brief story of a wife who hates Halloween and her husband that loves it.  Overall, this movie was poorly thought out and should've never hit the screens (big or small.) 
The "bad guy" Sam is a short little runty thing with a potato sack over his head, when you see it unmasked, it is kinda' a cool looking monster, but that's the highlight.  Other than it's real face, the "bad" guy is laughably bad or downright silly in most of his scenes - it kills people with a Halloween lollipop for God's sakes....how stupid is that?
The most interesting story of the four is the teenager prank story, but of course, it's pretty short and predictable.  It did have the most promise for character development though.

I won't waste your time with a real synopsis because, yes, it is that bad.

I have to give it a 1 out of 5 stubs for the make up and the promise of a good story with the teenagers.
Do not waste your time, especially if you love Halloween - this one's a trick.

Puppy Bowl Sunday!

Just wanted to remind all of you that don't watch the Super Bowl that their is a good alternative...if you like puppies that is.
The Animal Planet Channel is running their annual Puppy Bowl on Sunday, February 5th at 3 pm E/P.
This would be Puppy Bowl VIII for those of you just joining us.  My husband and I plan on shopping that morning and then ordering a pizza and making a big day of it.
It's always adorable and hard to resist watching the little doggies play.


How could you resist a mug like this?

Face Off - the television show

Airing every Wednesday night on the Syfy channel (don't ask me why they spell it this way instead of sci-fi which is more accurate and not silly) at 9 pm central time.  Perhaps they liked the fact that syfy.com wasn't taken as a domain name?
So the show is a competition based "reality" show where lots of people come together to do the best movie monster make up they can do.  Sometimes they knock you out with what they're capable of in a very short amount of time.  The creativity is phenomenal (most of the time).

Anyway, this show can be very neat, but also very ridiculous.

Here we see a beetle human hybrid from season 1.  This would be under the very cool category for me.



Some more cool stuff from season 1.  Frog Prince.




Here's the frog in the "frog Prince" idea from one of the finalists last season.  It's too bad that the "prince" is grabbing his crotch in this shot.  I'm sure he's not really, but it looks like it.

While last season I thought was pretty neat, this season so far, doesn't have the same razzmatazz.

Some of the ideas have been very lazy and lack the work required to finish the contestants ideas completely.  When you can't finish what you envisioned the end project looks silly in the end.  Maybe the show creators just need to come up with better ideas, but it's still young in season 2 so we'll see what they have in up coming episodes.  Hopefully the lazy contestants will be shown the door soon and some real talent will come out in later episodes.

Have you watched this show yet?  If you have let me know what you think.