I actually stress myself out about the realization that I'll likely be stressed out in the future.

Not so sure this is normal. Like, I have this hideous workload that, from today's perspective, it looks like I'll have to work on the days we're given as holidays, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. (Or the days after, which are both Sundays).

And this stresses me out. It's far enough in the future I should just do all I can to see that it doesn't happen (and deal with it if it does). But what do I do? I stress.

So the blog may be semi-blank again. No real time to read others' blogs, either. This is the second crazy holiday season in a row, though, truth be told, I think my sanity was better last year.

Stress about stress.

hln

Posted by: hln at 08:42 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1 Hmmmm... wonder if some chocolate-covered chocolate would help that? :-)

Posted by: Harvey at December 15, 2004 01:27 PM (ubhj8)

2 i know what you mean, i do the same thing. just happy to know someone has named the condition.

Posted by: sarahk at December 17, 2004 06:53 AM (HtWwm)

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1) Everyone else keeps blogging. People, don't you know the world's supposed to stop for me?

2) News keeps occurring. See #1.

3) It isn't wise to eat too many of your test cookies, as your waist might expand. Give them to your husband instead.

4) Buck Rogers is really funny.

5) We really DO have five cats, and, boy, are they demanding.

6) These little games called Zuma and Bejeweled (now you understand why I've been gone).

7) The earth is round! Really, it is.

John Nance novels.

9) The female of the species is more deadly than the male.

10) Tech books are REALLY cheap on half.com

11) My 10 year-old keyboard finally died.

12) Brian knows how to hang curtains.

13) Heather does not.

14) How to organize 5 - 15 year-old puzzle books to keep only what you'll actually use.

15) The need to organize everything else in the house.

16) And, finally, "hey, my blog is REALLY bare."

hln

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During the postseason baseball games, the commercials have tended to be dry and highly repetitious. Not so for the Emerald Nuts commercials, each of which has made me at least giggle. First there was the Egomaniacal Normans, and I was hooked from there.

So I finally found the product at the grocery store. We Noggles are nut consumers, especially on salads, so I picked up some cashews, since we already have quite a stash of both pecans and walnuts. Mmm, cashews.

Slate seems to agree with me about the Emerald Nut mania.

There's no better way to make us remember a name than to shape the entire campaign around the name itself. Each ad hammers home "E.N." for "Emerald Nuts." I can't think of a campaign more likely to "get credit" for its spots—the mnemonic ensures that we'll never forget which product these ads are for.

And the ads themselves are goofy and appealing. My favorites: "Elegant Naysayers" (a teenager wears a frilly, aristocratic costume—and hates everything) and "Evil Navigators" (a guy in the passenger's seat gives directions from a map ... and then calmly spins his head 360 degrees, a la The Exorcist, before grabbing a handful of nuts from a jar on the dashboard).

But the true genius here isn't the content of the ads. It's the length, the abundance, and the careful scheduling of the ads. According to Diamond's vice president of marketing, Sandy McBride, once the "E.N." idea was settled on, everything else fell into place. They decided to run a whole lot of 15-second ads instead of a few 30-second ones. In part this was because the joke is so simple, it can't fill even 30 seconds of airtime. But Diamond also knew that, with a limited budget, it would get much more bang for its buck. There are 15 different spots in the campaign right now. (McBride says they shot them all together, in three days.) The diversity helps prevent ad fatigue, where we've seen the same spot so many times that we tune it out.

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That was the big headline on the Drudge Report this morning. Yeah, I clicked it.
Who "fakes it" more? Democrats. Perhaps that alone is the answer.

I'm waiting for the "who's happier with self" poll. I bet the answers will be the same, especially among the personally responsible crowd, which is usually in the conservative/libertarian arena.

hln

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Brian and I have been following the Cardinals in playoff baseball. Because neither of us is a TV watcher except for live sports, we're really not all that attuned to commercials. But we have seen quite a lot of the two new Subway commercials wherein Jared lightly snarks on McDonald's fat content.

Brian said, "yep, Jared's gained back a bit of that weight." And he has, that Jared boy. Probably nothing that will affect his health, but you can see a bit of pudginess and lack of muscle definition even through his dorky sweater (that thing will probably show up on e-Bay some day, and boy is it ugly).

So I paid more attention each time the commercials appeared (oh, those half inning breaks). You know what it really is. Jared Fogle has MANBOOBS!

They're not huge or anything, but they're there. Some incline presses posthaste, m'man.

hln

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Bumper sticker I saw on a car today - picture of an American flag with text that read "these colors don't run the world."

What I thought: "Someone tell that to France."

hln

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For all of you Google and other search engine visitors for the search term "Samus Aran naked" (for there are many), I give you this.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Playboy is taking a chance on silicon instead of silicone. The October issue of the men's magazine features several video game characters posing in the nude - images created by the game companies through detailed computer illustration.

"Hopefully the purists won't get too bent out of shape. This is just the next version of the pinup," said Playboy senior editor Scott Alexander, who developed the project.

The computerized models are part of the magazine's video game preview, titled "Gaming Grows Up." The five-page section starts with a topless image of the half-vampire, half-human title character from "BloodRayne," a leather-clad woman who fights with three-foot blades attached to her arms.

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Brian tells you what the world would be like if it were "all about the oil."

It involves real imperialism! Go read.

hln

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I've commented recently to Brian that I don't like Pizza Hut's updated logo. I think it was changed sometime in the last three years or so - the kinda scribbly print when it used to be block letters with a horizontally levelled "hut." That logo promised stability and memories for me, but I guess today's brandmeisters felt it was out of date.

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That stinker husband of mine asked for it.

He's been this blogging fool, using his main computer to type, and streaming the convention in on the eMac that's hooked to the T1. Yeah, we Noggles have it rough here.

So, yes, George P. Bush does have a beautiful smile. The word "yum" does come to mind. The twins didn't impress me much - tried to be too cute, and it didn't fly, but I loved Schwarzenneger's speech. Loved it. Must get transcript of the "know you're a Republican if" section. Often, I feel like I'm the last Republican on earth (save the spouse). The convention's helping to rid me of that.

hln

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Olympic Google is pretty cool.

I'm a big fan of the Olympic Games, preferring the winter Olympics over the summer, though. I'm still awed by gymnastics and swimming (neither of which I can really do, though I sure gave both a shot as a child. I remember falling off the balance beam when I was 7 or so. That balance thing has never been a strong point). And this year I'm sure I'll tune in to some cycling.

hln

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Brian sent me this. Thought I'd share.

Attack kitty decided it'd had enough of this overseas flying, according to this SF Gate article.

A Belgian airliner made an emergency landing after an agitated passenger -- a cat -- got into the cockpit and attacked the co-pilot, the airline said Tuesday.

The SN Brussels flight from the Belgian capital to Vienna, Austria, had been in the air about 20 minutes Monday when "it was noticed" that a passenger's pet had escaped from its cage, "although it is not yet clear how," according to an airline statement.

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1 Eric Catpton?

Posted by: Harvey at August 11, 2004 07:32 AM (ubhj8)

2 Your little spam problem has been dealt with

Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 12, 2004 08:12 AM (+S1Ft)

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For what else could be the caption here.



This is Atari Party V, which took place last evening. Brian has a full chronicle of it, including 31 pictures. If you want to take a look at our house, and, as he's pointed out, see that we do have friends, here you go.

(If you're new here, I'm the slightly drunk looking chick with the sunburned nose looking right at the photographer.)

The sunburned nose is actually from the, oh, 57.5 mile bike ride I undertook that morning. I didn't renew the sunscreen, so, there you have it. The ride was in gorgeous weather and was slated for 46 miles. I did my food management according to that, so, you see, when I got lost for what was, I guess, 11 miles, I was a bit worn out, hungry, and grouchy. But I made it back in one piece, albeit ravenous. The poor salad I ate not too much later - it never had a chance to escape.

hln

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More headline fun. Ravenwood has the story, but I've got the headline.

Woman Arrested for Eating in Subway. I guess Jared's gone all take-out now. Wants to avoid being fingerprinted.

hln

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Why is it that women are never called cross dressers? I mean, a man puts on a pair of high-heeled shoes, and, whammo, he's a cross dresser. I grab Brian's dress shoes for a day of mall strolling, or, you know, perhaps wear his jeans, no big.

While I realize none of these things is a full-blown Victor/Victoria scenario, I was still wondering.

hln

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I had one of those days where I feel invisible to everyone (my lunch plans forgot me, etc.) Maybe it's because yesterday I was somehow banished to Sarah K's dreamworld.

i was at my house, but it faced south instead of west, and the Noggles lived across the street, but we'd never met except online, because they were like the cool, popular neighbors on the block, and i was seen as the bookish freak who spent all my time on the computer when i wasn't fighting with my lawnmower (ok, i added that part). it was 6 a.m. or something like that, and Heather was about to pull out of her driveway. i waved through my screen door, and she walked across the street to my house. i had a friend over, a new potential blogchild (have no idea who she was or what she looked like, just a smudge-blogger, a bludger if you will), and the blogchild started jumping up and down while i was trying to be so cool. "hey, SarahK, hey, SarahK," bounce bounce "isn't that Heather of angelweave? holy cow, she's like, coming over here! oh! what do we do?" thud. i drop-kicked her and told her to shut up.

Posted by: hln at 06:28 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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I suppose "this page intentionally left blank" wouldn't cut it for an entry...

hln

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1 bonfire entry!

Posted by: Ted at July 16, 2004 06:38 PM (ZjSa7)

2 DOH! Ted beat me to it :-)

Posted by: Harvey at July 17, 2004 09:31 AM (ubhj8)

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Something must be warped in my brain today.

China Culls 20,000 Chickens to Contain Bird Flu.

I took it as "hmm, let's give bird flu to THESE 20,000 chickens and let the other 40,000 go unscathed."

hln

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Parent's close watch may prevent STDs

But if both parents are watching, the rate actually goes up.

Apostrophes are my friends.

hln

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The Thornhill branch of the St. Louis County library system has this program where new bestsellers (or projected bestsellers) are purchased in multiplicate and available for seven-day loan with no renewal.

A week ago, I saw My Life - probably 6 copies of it. Today when I stopped, there weren't any. Bet those who checked it out can't finish it in a week. But, then again, maybe the font is like the penmanship paper. See Bill govern.

hln

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