31.10.02 ... been googled

what Googlism knows about me:

• amanda is an outdated version
• amanda is amazed
• amanda is awed by the fisher
• amanda is set to give consultancy the creative edge
• amanda is a great show
• amanda is the coolest and from mars
• amanda is 5 stories tall and is one of the oldest buildings in my city
• amanda is a chocolate point siamese cat with stories (meow)
• amanda is in good company wearing her mini dress in purple
• amanda is an array of devices for detecting muons and neutrinos
• amanda is designed to handle large numbers of clients and data
• amanda is optimized to take advantage of tape drives
• amanda is currently having a small rebellion against (ha!)
• amanda is the most academically successful of her friends
• amanda is located on the west bank of the auglaize river
• amanda is rather complex
• amanda is a detector being constructed at the south pole
• amanda is a film about an extraordinary horse and a boy named biddle
• amanda is the heir apparent
• amanda is caught up in the american war of independence
• amanda is exactly 14 minutes old in this picture
• amanda is a little panda bear who lives in the forest
• amanda is eating super blue green algae
• amanda is available from ftp
• amanda is available as a motivational speaker and via phone
• amanda is no exception

I wonder how they got ahold of my baby pictures. And yes, appearances notwithstanding, I can be FTP'd.

What do they know about you?   [ œ .. ]

30.10.02 ... what they're searching for - issue 5

This issue of "what they're searching for" brings two things to mind:

1) a surefire way to get an idea of the lewd and unsavoury things people are using the Internet for is to mention the words spanking, schoolgirl and naked on your site, bring to a boil, simmer, and then check your referrer logs. The search string referrals might look something like the ones in this issue.

2) Don't tell me the Internet is making librarianship redundant. If it's free pictures of naked librarians you want, or pictures of families camping nude, I can provide far better ways to construct more effective search statements.

[See issues 1, 2, 3, and 4.]

28.10.02 ... disney who?

reading London, Fodor's 2003 Rough Guide to England

Remember that conversation I mentioned that spawned the almost-trip to Florida? Well, all that talk of the almost-trip to Florida has led to a definite-trip to England.

It went something like this:
MJ: if we're getting like 10 days off, why limit ourselves to Florida?
AEJ: where else did you have in mind?
MJ: well, why not look into other last-minute warm destinations?
AEJ: like an island? the caribbean?
MJ: why not?
AEJ: well, if we're talking a major-ish trip, what about Europe?
MJ: my travel miles will probably cover it
AEJ: how about England?
MJ: I would LOVE to go to London

This is usually the way we make decisions in our household. We start with an idea (a budget trip to Florida), we do a little research (expedia.ca and a trip to Travel Cuts), talk some more about it (see above), rationalize a little (10 days off, why not make REAL use of it? again, see above), and end up making a decision that is miles away from where we started, both in location (Florida/England?) and budget.

That said, the flight is costing us less than the trip to Florida, and we're extolling the virtues of loyalty plans all over the place because the combination of about four different travel reward programs is paying for one ticket and about four nights of accomodation. Take my personal information, sell it to anyone who displays an interest, house it all on an unreliable server that is susceptible to the late night exploits of dirty hackers, and slap me silly. If you're offering travel points of any kind, I'll sign anything.   [ œ .. ]

26.10.02 ... fall back time

Ever since Daylight Saving Time (yes, it is singular) began, I have been out of sorts. This happens to me every year - it feels as though I will need a few good months before I stop feeling the effects of that lost hour. And tonight, we get it back. Meg has some delightful suggestions on what to do with this hour gained, at least two of which I will be enjoying.   [ œ .. ]


...

I had a lovely Amelie dream last night. Michael and I were in the apartment of a certain someone we know who is full of negative karma, and we had all sorts of fun with her stuff. You know, switching the salt and sugar, pouring honey into the bottom of all her drawers, pouring Javex into her bottles of bubble bath, and other acts of relative innocuous pranksomeness. Sometimes a good dream is all you need to set your world right.

Picasso was born 121 years ago today, and I was pleased as punch to see Google celebrating the occasion.

After four torturous weeks of waiting, I finally have my Game Neverending login. Wahoo! See you there.   [ œ .. ]

25.10.02 ... friday five

1. What is your favorite scary movie? The Shining.
2. What is your favorite Halloween treat? Those precious little kitkat bars. So tiny.
3. Do you dress up for Halloween? If so, describe your best Halloween costume. Not usually. I once won a competition for my black cat costume. The prize was more of a testament to the lameness of the other costumes. My most lame costume? A schoolgirl: tweed skirt, white shirt and fake freckles. Original.
4. Do you enjoy going to haunted houses or other spooky events? Yes. Although there is a sad shortage of haunted houses in this city.
5. Will you dress up for Halloween this year? No. Although we are planning to spend the evening at my parents' new house, catering to the trick or treaters. Maybe a witch's hat is in order.
  [ œ .. ]

24.10.02 ... and from way out of left field...

ingest Life of Pi, Yann Martel (yes, still) imbibe Rotten Apples, Smashing Pumpkins

When my favourite radio station started playing Eminem, I was outraged. They are supposed to be a rock/alternative station, and they have been known to do things for shock value in the past, but this? I complained to various family members about this new development, and I also almost called in to the station to leave one of those rambling diatribe messages because yes, I too have some edge in me.

But then a funny thing happened: I started to like the song. The one I'm talking about it Lose Yourself, from the 8 Mile soundtrack. Jason rightly notes that the song is "surprisingly uplifting, positive, and even poignant", and I couldn't agree more. So even though, strictly speaking, The Edge should not be playing rap, I'm a happy little clam as long as they are playing this one.

And who ever would have thought that we'd be saying this: how about that new Nirvana song?   [ œ .. ]

23.10.02 ... briefly

Good news for CanLit: Yann Martel wins.

I've updated the index page to include 100 things. Now you know way more about me than you ever need to.   [ œ .. ]

22.10.02 ... we might go, yes we might

What started out as one of those random conversation quips (i.e.: "I wonder what it would be like to spend new years at Disney World?") has turned into a full blown almost-trip. Which is bizarre, given that we are usually really low-key about the whole new years thing, usually prefering to spend it watching videos with family or, as in the case of last year, sitting around a dining table for about four hours eating whole lobsters with ridiculous (yet essential) plastic bibs around our necks.

How's this for deceptive pricing: Jets Go will fly us to Fort Lauderdale for $75 and is offering that rate as a two-for-one deal. Sounds like an offer we can't pass up, right? Wrong. Because that only gets us there, getting back will cost us $175 each. So even though one of my menu selections was for a round-trip fare, this is what they served up. The blighters. So it will work out to around $850 for both of us to get there and back. Not all that attractive when all is said and done. Still, the idea of bringing in 2003 at Epcot Center is reeling us right in.

In site news, I have added a search function (one of the link options above) thanks to Atomz. Let me know how you like it. If I hear good things, I plan to add it to Bibliolatry, the more serious blog cousin, and arguably the one in greater need of a search feature.   [ œ .. ]

21.10.02 ... dust off your Remingtons

For all of you who have once said "one day, I will write a novel about it" or "there is a novel in me waiting to be written" (and there are a frightening number of you), NaNoWriMo is here for you. And take heart: this one is about quantity and not quality. Finally.   [ œ .. ]


... Booker bust

ingest Life of Pi - Yann Martel imbibe Come Clean - Puddle of Mudd

I am about two thirds the way through the Booker shortlist and have admitted to myself, just minutes ago, that I will not have completed the last two books before tomorrow. Who knew that we'd watch four films this weekend? I have to admit that the entire exercise has sort of reminded me of what it was like to be an English student with a reading list that was longer than I could possibly complete in the required time. While I loved that pace, and still miss graduate school, I really appreciate being able to take my time with what I'm reading nowadays. And the freedom to be able to compile my very own reading list is positively intoxicating. The finalists for the Governor General's Literary Awards have been anounced, and I am resisting the urge to embark on a whole new challenge.

I've been toying with the idea of doing a retrospective rating of the books I've read at the end of the year. My very own top-ten list. I don't think I'd rate them all, but to be able to have an answer ready for the infrequent readers I meet who insist that I recommend something for them to read, well, that alone would be worth the effort.   [ œ .. ]

20.10.02 ... information what?

I am questioning how I could have lived as an information professional and cyber junkie for this long without knowing about hyperbolic browsers. They are these incredible three-dimensional directories that, if you've ever done any sort of database design, helps you really appreciate the complexities of relational databases. They tend to load painfully slowly if you are on dialup (like I am right now), but with a better connection, the possibilities are endless. This one by inxight is neat, and WebBrain is positively psychedelic.   [ œ .. ]

18.10.02 ... the friday five

1. How many TVs do you have in your home? 2
2. On average, how much TV do you watch in a week? Recently, only about 3 hours a week. And that's not including hockey games.
3. Do you feel that television is bad for young children? I think too much television is rather counter-productive for anyone. Anything that requires such a little brain power can't be a good thing. Having said that, there are a whole lot of shows that can be seriously educational, and not just for children.
4. What TV shows do you absolutely HAVE to watch, and if you miss them, you're heartbroken? Amazing Race.
5. If you had the power to create your own television network, what would your line-up look like? It would be a cross between A&E, TSN, TVO and the Discovery Channel.   [ œ .. ]

17.10.02 ... times, they are a-changing

How about this new format? I'm pretty stoked. Here's what you're looking at: the date now appears below each post, right beside the permalink and the comments. If you haven't tried the comments already, I urge you to do so. Go on, make me look popular. The driving force behind this change is the fact that often, I feel the need to post here more than once a day. And the fact that the date did not show up with every post (it was set to show up everyday instead) irked me. So I tweaked and played, the results of which you are now looking at. Thanks.   [ œ .. ]

16.10.02 ... forms, forms, grrr

what they're searching for • issue 1 • issue 2 • issue 3

I have been wrestling with forms for a very long time. Too long in fact. If there are any kind souls out there who can suggest a good resource or two on getting my unwieldly forms to work, I will give you a prize. Really. I can wrestle no more.

Here is what they're searching for - issue 4. There were at least two searches I chose not to include for the sake of decency, not because the standard of what I consider to be decent is so very high, but mostly because I occasionally have to face a lot of the people who read these pages (and in all likelihood, their standards are much higher than mine):

• berlitz lis
• conan download for all times
• debutante offerings
• here's my personal spanking pictures
• incest novel
• patrons prejudice stereotypes librarians reference library
• pics of red hot chilli peppers nude
• wholesale cabbage patch shoes
• shakespeare explications on homophobia
• "nolan's ebook on identity in librarians"
  [ œ .. ]

15.10.02 ... that much sleep must be a sin

ingest The Story of Lucy Gault, William Trevor imbibe The Bends, Radiohead (the Friday Five got me in the mood)

Thanksgiving weekend was delightful. Two amazing thanksgiving meals, lots of time with family (although never enough), and just books and sleep the rest of the time. I can't even tell you how much sleep Michael and I got this weekend because you would be too jealous. Having to work on Saturday was even a good thing since most of the kids had made their way to their respective dining tables, leaving me free to catch up on the mounds of paper that have been relatively unattended in recent weeks.

As previously discussed, a film page has been mounted and all debt goes to the four word film review because an original thought is just too hard to come up with anymore.

I received a lovely little email from Gloria, the instructor who is leading the wine tasting course I'm taking, which was all the encouragement I needed to make the decision to start the course tonight. So if you're trying to reach me, I will be in front of my computer with a bottle of red at my elbow, my wine dictionary at hand, and I can practically guarantee a pleasant and contented demeanour.

And now, This-or-That:

1. DisneyLand or DisneyWorld? World.
2. Amusement park or Themed park? themed, if that.
3. Seashore or Mountains? seashore, hands down.
4. Hotel/Motel or rental house? rental house.
5. Guided tour or aimless meandering? are you kidding? flaneur is my middle name.
6. Drive or Fly or Boat? drive.
7. Close or far away from home? far away.
8. Daytrip or by the week? both.
9. Camping in a tent or the Holiday Inn? camping.
10. Rent a car or drive your own? drive my own.   [ œ .. ]

11.10.02 ... film, five and giving thanks


I'm thinking about adding a film page. I have been thinking about a film page for a very long time, but a couple of things have been holding me back. 1) I'm not nearly as comfortable writing about film as I am about literature; 2) I would feel the need to rate the films I watch and I can't come up with a decent and equitable rating scale; 3) I find numbered scales to be very difficult to deal with because of the relativity factor: I saw film X last week and liked it a lot so I gave it 4 out of 5 stars, and then I saw film Y this week and I liked it way more, so I want to give it more stars than the film I saw last week, but 5 out of 5 stars is probably too good a rating, and it leaves no room for film Z that I will see next week and probably like even MORE. A rating scale presupposes relative judgements and, as you can see, I am no good with relative judgements. I have been inspired by the people over at the four word film review though, and I will probably end up swiping that idea and transforming it into something terribly original like the "five word film review."

Today's five is completely unfair. I usually detest those "if you were the last person on earth..." or "if you only had three months to live..." scenarios, and these questions aren't all that different. Here's my attempt all the same, although there is at least one question I refuse to answer.

1. If you could only choose 1 cd to ever listen to again, what would it be? The Bends - Radiohead.

2. If you could only choose 2 movies to watch ever again, what would they be? The Graduate and Heat.

3. If you could only choose 3 books to read ever again, what would they be? Wuthering Heights, Life After God, and anything by Beckett.

4. If you could only choose 4 things to eat or drink ever again, what would they be? Cheese (I refuse to choose which kind), MJ's fetuccine with portobello mushrooms, red wine, and anything from my mum's kitchen.

5. If you could only choose 5 people to ever be/talk/associate/whatever with ever again, who would they be? Remember I said I might refuse to answer at least one question...? Besides, you know who you are.   [ œ .. ]

10.10.02 ... CanLit rocks

reading Unless - Carol Shields listening A Rush of Blood to the Head - Coldplay

The fact that three Canadian writers have made the shortlist for the Booker Prize this year has me celebrating for a couple of reasons. 1) I'm a huge fan of Canadian Literature and any sort of collective nod makes me rejoice, not so much because I crave the validating force that such a nod can have, but also because getting on the shortlist means people will start reading and buying their books (not that Shields and Mistry need any help); and 2) recently, I've been thinking that reading all the titles on the shortlist of a major literary award before the award is announced would be a neat thing to do. So the happy announcement of the Booker shortlist was all I needed to spur me into action, and I have thus taken it upon myself to read all six shortlisted works before October 22nd (the day the award is announced). Ambitious? Perhaps. But 6 books in 12 days is achievable, what with the two long weekends I am working with.

I have installed comments thanks to haloscan, so if you read something here that you just have to have your say on, click on "say something" and pour forth, dear friends.   [ œ .. ]

9.10.02 ... what they're searching for - issue 3

Who can resist when these are so good? Here's where we've been: issue 1 and issue 2.

• roman the librarian sex god
• critics on homophobia
• family child incest pics
• finger printing little boys
• nude news readers
• biblical tricks
• laura flanders upside down
• dewey decimal matters context problematic fires
• "hunch over" external spaces inside the hole
• metaphors for sexual ambiguity   [ œ .. ]


... truth and confessions

All the good, old fashioned bean spilling and cathartic guilty confession sharing that has been going on over at dooce has me in the mood to spill some of my very own beans right here. It's not just about allowing oneself an occasional indulgence, but also very much about flying in the face of the whole "indie cred" and anti-consumerism movement that is so noble, but oh so difficult to be true to. Be gentle.

• I have never not shopped on Buy Nothing Day.
• I eat meat and enjoy it.
• I read Martha Stewart Living.
• I bought bridal magazines when planning my wedding.
• Starbucks is an important part of our Saturday morning ritual.
• I own CDs by Take That, Hootie and the Blowfish, Shania Twain, and Kenny G.
• I went to a Gypsy Kings concert.
• I watched Titanic four times.
• I watch Gilmour Girls, Dawson's Creek and Felicity.
• I don't think Disney is evil.
• I used to know all the words to "Ice, Ice Baby."
• I used to dress my cat in my Cabbage Patch kid's clothes.
• I owned a Cabbage Patch Kid.   [ œ .. ]

8.10.02 ... this and that and this-or-that

reading How to be Alone - Jonathan Franzen listening Speaking French - audio lessons

Like wine? I'm taking this yummy course at the Wine Spectator School and I need people to talk wine with. Go on, no one likes to drink alone (or talk to oneself).

Today's This-or-That is a bit lame. I reserve the right to refuse to answer lame questions, and I'm exercising that right today.



  [ œ .. ]

7.10.02 ... reconsidering things

There's nothing quite like a three-day weekend to get me in the mood for a wholesale cleaning and all-round purge of things forgotten or no longer required or just plain in need of reorganization.

The picture project: all our photographs have been sitting in their lame developer's envelopes in a wicker basket on the lowest shelf of a little bookcase. I would have been happy to leave them there if it wasn't for two simple reasons: 1. the basket had reached maximum capacity and the overflow was making its way to my desk, which is entirely unacceptable because I cannot have a messy desk; and 2. since the said wicker basket was on the lowest shelf of said bookcase, the cats routinely used the basket as a scratching post/teething station, and have managed to eat through the delicately woven layers and were beginning to set upon the photograph envelopes themselves. Ergo, a new storage solution for the photographs was becoming imminently necessary.

I knew that the conventional photo album would not suffice since my photographs range in size from classic to panoramic and another size somewhere in between. My sister suggested photo boxes, which I initially dismissed, but later realized were my only option. So, photo boxes it is then. After a successful (and thrifty) trip to the mall, I returned with two photo boxes, attractively covered with handmade Japanese papers, and proceeded to spend about three hours organizing my photographs in chronological order. Funny how a domestic annoyance that has been ignored for months can be dealt with in a pleasant few hours, with the aid of two small boxes and some index cards.

The shoe project: this one does not have such a happy ending. The plan was to reorganize the hall closet and tame the unwieldly mountain of shoes that was growing at the closet's base. Starting with nothing but zealous good intentions, as most home projects begin, I pulled all 36 pairs (I lied when I said 20, the number is actually 28. Hence the need for the purging and reorganization project) out of the closet and into the hallway, only to throw my hands up in dismay a few seconds later and hurl all 36 pairs back into the closet, into a pile that was a little more sad and disturbed than the one that spurred the reorganization zeal in the first place. It appears as though I cannot tame two household demons in one day.   [ œ .. ]

4.10.02 ... tidbits and five

ingest Reading in Bed: Personal Essays on the Glories of Reading - Steven Gilbar imbibe Blue, Green, Orange - I Mother Earth

Jane is doing an article for Bitch Magazine on women bloggers, so help her out, and soon because the tyranny of a deadline looms.

Just found Weblog Bookwatch, a script that searches blogs for links to books at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Powells. A neat little concept if you are keen on keeping your finger on the book-reading-blogger pulse. I might have passed over it with nary a glance if it wasn't for the fact that Small Pieces Loosely Joined is listed as the most mentioned book right now, curiously one that also tops my own to-read list.


The Friday Five:

1. What size shoe do you wear? 7.5-8, depends on the kind of shoe.
2. How many pairs of shoes do you own? far too many. easily 20 pairs.
3. What type of shoe do you prefer (boots, sneakers, pumps, etc.)? sandals.
4. Describe your favorite pair of shoes. Why are they your favorite? can't say enough about my brand new Birkenstocks. also really enjoying my new brown boots.
5. What's the most you've spent on one pair of shoes? maybe $200? too much.   [ œ .. ]

2.10.02 ... what they're searching for - issue 2, etc.

reading Savage Girls and Wild Boys: a History of Feral Children, Michael Newton listening By the Way, Red Hot Chilli Peppers

Yesterday was a good day. We left the house at 6.45 and I got to work at 7.35. The work day lasted about an hour longer than I expected it would, but I was not suffering from the usual deadbeat fatigue I do when I usually put in a 10 hour day. The drive home was positively uplifting, even though I got on the highway at *exactly the same time* as everyone else. Michael and I had a brief discussion on the way home about whether or not we would go running, and instead of reaching an impasse, we came to the decision that we can't let our respective fitness aspirations rest so firmly upon each other. If I want to go running, I should just go running; I should not talk myself into not running because he doesn't feel like running. And vice versa. It was a liberating conclusion for both of us. So, after a 30 minute run, I came home, showered, poured myself a glass of wine, and watched Fallen on TV while Michael made dinner. We had finished eating by 8 pm and it wasn't even 8.30 before we both started dozing. So, to bed early, where it took me all of 3 minutes to fall into a deep, restful and rewarding sleep. It was a good day.

I promised more if the searches that lead to these pages kept getting interesting. You decide:

- grand cayman classified apartments
- ray tomlinson pics
- angry librarian
- books on being an expatriot
- card tricks textbooks canada
- dark book very-little child porn
- dead cat pics
- incest novel mother son
- old fashioned microphone
- spanking confessions
- spanking pictures   [ œ .. ]

1.10.02 ... today's this or that

1. Front or rear wheel drive? front.
2. Car or truck or van? car. Pontiac Sunfire GTX 2002.
3. Fancy or utilitarian? definitely utilitarian.
4. Power or manual windows/locks? power. what a treat!
5. Small econobox or giant luxo cruiser? econobox. great mileage.
6. Factory or aftermarket radio? factory. our first mobile CD player, all very exciting.
7. Lease or buy? buy. the interest rate was too good to refuse.
8. Perform own maintenance or farm it out? farm it out for sure. usually back to the dealership (suckers, I know).
9. Hi-test brand name or cheap-o fuel? pretty hi-test but not really brand name.
10. Run-it-till-the-wheels-fall-off or a new one every two years? we usually run it until it runs no more, but we are reconsidering this stance.   [ œ .. ]