"This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!!"

Sorry there have been no new updates here in awhile. I've been pretty busy and something had to give.

My work has been crazy because we're transitioning over to a hospital-owned practice and everything is totally new- new computers, new hours, new protocols, new bullshit. So in between that, my hubby's new job, the Memorial Day holiday in which I was not home, the big horse-racing weekends (with the Belmont Stakes this weekend being the last biggie for a while) and my horror blog I've been a bit over-extended.

I've also started writing for a brand-new major horror website, The Blood Sprayer, so I've been burning the midnight oil coming up with new articles for it as well...
I was pretty psyched to be asked to join the site, as it's in its infantile stages and that makes me a staff member from ground zero, so I was honored. It has some of the best talent in the horror community (and quite a few friends of mine) hanging out there writing great articles, so if you are so inclined, check it out!
My first three articles are here, here, and here, with the fourth coming sometime this week...

So anyway, I hope to get back in the groove here sometime soon. Bear with me.

Congratulations Bill !

Couldn't let the occasion to go by without a mention:

My brother graduated college yesterday! (woot! woot!)



Graduating magna cum laude with a degree in Music Education from Clarion University, he now has the daunting task of finding a job in this lovely economy of ours. But I am absolutely sure that no matter what, he will touch the lives of whomever his path crosses.

He'll kill me if I get too sentimental on such a public forum, but suffice it to say, he has been and continues to be one of the single most important people in my life - and I am utterly proud not only of his academic accomplishments, but of the outstanding individual he has become.
Warm, witty, honest and just down-right swell. Ask anyone, they'll agree.

Thankfully we were able to witness his big day, considering Mother Nature decided to dump a Nor'Easter in our laps this morning. So thanks be to my Jeep, as well as my careful hubby.

Since I forgot my camera (duh!) I have no pics of him in cap & gown yet. (My future sister-in-law to be has promised me some!) But I will leave you with this one, taken by yours truly way back in the day.



Congrats, Bill !!
And all the best awaits you, I'm sure.
Love ya.

As the world turns...and no, I don't mean the soap opera.

I haven't posted in awhile, but I've been so busy over at Fascination With Fear lately that it doesn't leave me much time to think anything but horror. Generally, for me that is not a bad thing:)

But as I was perusing the internet this morning I found the following little tidbits, all of which made me guffaw or tsk out loud.

*James Harrison (Steelers linebacker)'s mom is rowdier than her son. Apparently
she kicked the crap out of someone and got arrested.



Perhaps she should join the obviously threadbare offensive line and help protect our tattered and apparently vulnerable QB!!

*Miley Cyrus withdrew her song, The Climb, from Grammy consideration. I'm having a great deal of problems understanding why on earth it was actually being earmarked for a nomination in the first place.

*A 98 year old woman in a nursing home in Massachusetts was indicted on murder charges for strangling her 100 year old roommate. Apparently the centenarian had been "taking over the room".
(You can't make this shit up.)

*The New England Patriots' mascot was arrested in a sex sting.



Now that's funny, I don't care who you are. (But if you're a Steelers fan like myself, it's pretty darn hilarious!)

*Tiger is taking a break from Golf. What happened? Did I miss something? (snark snark!)

*The Duggar family had their 19th child three months early. You know, best wishes to them and everything, but how about you stop having children now? This is like a circus. Are they trying for a football team (offense and defense, apparently!) or what?
Are they Amish?
Stop. Having. Kids.

*What the heck is up with this chick's hair?



Perhaps she is trying out for an 80's hair band?



Aaarrrggh!

*I still have absolutely no desire whatsoever to see 'Avatar'.
Ever.
Never ever.
With cherries on top.

*Al Qaeda apologizes? Read it here, and stare in disbelief and extreme doubt, as I did.
I'm thinkin' no.

CNN's Hero of the Year (2009) was pickpocketed in Manila.
What a world, what a world....

This just in...

YES!!!

First star to take the "honor" twice in one decade... and only the third celebrity to do it twice (Brad Pitt and George Clooney being the other two)....
All I can say is -

Yum...




Yum...




Yum...

WE REMEMBER....



9-11-01

Gone but not forgotten.

As the world said farewell today to a legend, I can't help but think of all the great memories I have of listening to his music - in particular the Thriller album.



I don't care one little bit about the controversial life he led in the last several years, I really don't. I am proud to say I loved his music and thought he was probably the best performer I have ever witnessed.



His influence on other musicians is, for lack of another word, legendary.
And if you ever doubt his talent, just click here!



All those Grammys, all that immeasurable talent. Probably no one as versatile as the 'King of Pop'...



goodbye...

Independence defined.

Sending prayers and love overseas and around the globe...



Hearing that yet another operation is underway in Afghanistan as of yesterday (their time) just makes me think of all the servicemen everywhere who attempt to help others defend their own freedom and rights - and the sacrifice they make being away from family and friends.

My cousin Jackie's hubby is in Afghanistan, so our family all has a front row seat to the hardship something like this brings. As I pray for Aaron, I think of all the others who stand beside him in our military and hope they continue to stay safe and come home soon!

As we all celebrate yet another Independence Day this weekend, can we all just say some prayers and try to think of all the men and women in the Armed Forces who will not be here (for one reason or another) to celebrate the 4th alongside their loved ones...

We appreciate the risks they take, the duty they feel, and the cost they pay to keep this country safe and free.

Thank you.

You've simply GOT to hear this.

This is Susan Boyle, a contestant on 'Britian's Got Talent', a show very similar to American Idol - complete with Simon Cowell as one of the judges.

Simon is his usual snarky self here, but he can, occassionally, be surprised.



This clip is circling the internet like a mad dingo to a baby, but if you haven't already seen it, you simply MUST click on this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luRmM1J1sfg

Seriously. Don't wait.

In my opinion...

Oh. My. God.

Can we possibly be spared any more friggin' press about this publicity-seeking, disability benefit-abusing, food stamp-hoarding, child-stockpiling, Angelina wanna-be?
Please!

The media is pushing her down everyone's throat, which is exactly what the deplorable, miserable wench of a human being wants.

Those eight children should not be permitted to go home with this woman.
Sorry.
And the doc that implanted her eggs should be arrested. Or at the very least have his medical license revoked.
Sorry again.
And as for six kids she already has at home....
I pity them.
They have my sympathy.

A New Era

No matter what you believe or who you may have voted for, the day has come to put aside differences and just wish the best for our country.

Barack Obama was sworn in today at noon and deserves our respect and support as our 44th president.

Let's hope change truly is on the horizon.

Sad news

I am always interested in the news.
Especially random, off the wall stuff.

While on CNN's website yesterday I saw a notice that the World's Ugliest Dog had died.


"Gus"

Gus was a 9 year old Chinese Crested dog who won the 'Ugliest Dog' title this summer.
He lost an eye in a fight with a cat, and lost one leg due to a skin tumor.
Naturally, he had no hair because of his breed.
But he sure looks happy in the above photo, eh?

He was rescued by his owner after they heard he was being kept in a crate in a garage.
Poor Gus had cancer, and the prize money from his win went to his radiation treatment.
Good to know he had caring owners at the end.

Rest in peace, Gus, knowing you were so ugly you're cute!

On a side note:

Now, in my mind, sweet old Gus had nothing on a previous Ugly Dog winner:


"Sam"

Oh my goodness!

America has spoken

Here it is, people...



Get used to it.
I'm sure alot of folks thought it would never happen, but apparently -it has.

As I sat tonight, inexplicably mesmerized by the vote count on CNN, history was in the making.
And around 11:30pm, McCain conceded and it was all but over.

At midnight, we watched Obama make what I would call an excellent speech, full of promises for the growth of America. Hmmm... guess we'll have to take him at his word for the time being.

I will definately say he is a good-no, great- speaker. I actually wanted to listen to the entire thing, and I can say without any provocation, that I have never, EVER, seriously listened to an entire speech made by a president. Sad but true.

My only other thought is that I wish his name didn't rhyme with Osama. I know he can't help that but seriously, it's just not cool.

McCain was quite gracious in defeat. I thought his concession speech was a good one - an attempt to unify America and hope for better days ahead.
That's really what it's all about at this point.
Though I am a Republican, I do not always agree with party ways - and I do agree we need a change. I'm not one to say who I vote for, and people that know me know who I voted for, so I guess I will leave it at that.

In any event, my main hope is that some nutjob doesn't attempt to take Obama out before he even settles into the White House.

Whether I agree with America's choice or not, I wish the best for this country.
We'll see if Obama is it.
Congrats to him and his connections.

It's your right and your duty!

SO GET OUT THERE!!!

Justice

Here is a sight I'm happy to see.


Photo: Pool/Getty Images

Someone is finally getting their due.

O.J. Simpson is being taken into custody after being found guilty on all charges of robbery and kidnapping stemming from an incident in Las Vegas a year ago in which Simpson and five of his thug friends stormed into a hotel room and held the people inside at bay while they attempted to 'retrieve' (steal) a bunch of Simpson memorabilia from his football hey deys.

What a jack-ass. Can this man just not stay out of trouble? Was no lesson learned?

Many feel, including myself, that he should have been convicted back in 1995 for murdering his wife and her friend. And believe me, in my mind it has nothing to do with him being black - I just felt that he was indeed guilty but was unable to have a fair trial due to his monster-popularity in the sports world.

Celebrities often get off easy and this is one time where the coin toss just didn't benefit the home team, you know?

He could potentially spend the rest of his life in prison, but I don't think we'll see that, not at all.
He may spend a Michael Vick-type amount of time in prison, but that's about it.

In any event, I like the above photo of him in handcuffs.
Unlike the famous 'glove', they seem to fit him quite well!

Saving the Animals of Ike

I just read a good story on MSNBC that I thought would be of interest to any animal lovers out there like myself.

It's about the animal rescue efforts down in Texas after Hurricane IKE's devastation.

photo: TX Parks & Wildlife Dept.

People can be truly caring and sensitive. I wasn't always sure, but now I know.

IKE displaced thousands of animals and volunteers have pulled together to save and rehabilitate these lost souls.

photo: Houston SPCA

That is a baby squirrel, people!
The article says 550 baby squirrels were brought to the SPCA!!
That's alot of squirrels!

Read the heartwarming article here.

Donate:

Habitat for Horses

Houston SPCA

Ike

What can I really say that hasn't already been said regarding the devastation and destruction that was Hurricane Ike?

Just a few photos I found online pretty much say it all.

This is a scene from Galveston, before.

Awesome, eh?

Looks like it could be Hawaii.

Looks really gorgeous.

Typical beachfront barrier island from the sky..

Then... the warnings came.

Ike was coming.

Getting out. Everyone seems to be going one way....

The sign says "Hurricane Forming In Gulf"...

no shit.

Satellite photo of Ike approaching...

Ike from space..

Galveston Island, after Ike.

Photo: USCG

Galveston

Galveston

near the sea wall in Galveston

nearby coastal town of Gilchrist,TX

Hollywood Community Cemetery in Orange, TX
AP photo/Tony Gutierrez
(how disturbing is that?...)

Animals were not amused by the storm, either.

not-so-happy alligator on sabine pass, TX
(NOT its regular habitat)

small pic, but brutal.

How do you even begin to clean this up?

Bolivar Peninsula (TX)

Houston did not escape Ike's wrath either.

JP Morgan building
Downtown Houston

And of course other states had flooding as well.

an example: Hackberry, LA

Here in western PA, Ike coming through provided a major windstorm sunday night, knocking out power and bringing down tree limbs all around the area, including my own backyard. We more than likely had gusts of up to 40 miles per hour. The wind was just howling! It was a surreal scene, though, as we stood out on our deck to experience it, the moon (nearly full) shone down from a near-clear sky. It was weird.

Now, triple that wind speed, add storm surge and flooding, and you can only imagine what these folks down south went through as Ike tore a path through.

Nasty.

And I thought they'd retire Gustav's name.
I'm thinkin' no more Ike.

Eye to the Sky

An ominous evening...

Downtown New Orleans late sunday evening.
Photo by Jim Seida / MSNBC.com

Here's hoping Hurricane Gustav (as of now a Cat. 3) is not a repeat of almost exactly three years ago when Katrina hit New Orleans. Right now it's not looking the best, that's for sure.
I'm back to watching The Weather Channel again.

They have evacuated an unheard-of 2 million people from the city of New Orleans and they have pretty much battened down the hatches at this point. All they can do now is pray.

So we will join them in that effort and hope this is not a disaster of epic proportions, again.

Apparently Gustav hit Cuba as a category 5 storm (!) but as of yet there have been no deaths reported. Though it hit in an area rich in tobacco crops - there goes all those Cuban cigars, people.

You'd think New Orleans would get a free pass on this one and the weather gods would spare them... but sometimes that just isn't how it works. I hate to think this could be called "The Big Labor Day Storm" (replacing the previously identically-named 1935 hurricane in the Florida Keys)- but maybe the fact that it is on a holiday will be better, perhaps some people have been away anyway. That storm in 1935 hit the Keys as a Category 5 though, and I don't think we are going to see anything quite that furious.

I have read on various websites that nearly 90% of the city has evacuated. I cannot fathom that task, and commend law enforcement and the National Guard for getting that job done. Now we can only hope they are able to keep the looters away and the post-storm crime to a minimum.

In any event, I have a feeling that the name Gustav may be retired from the hurricane name list this year - and that is never a good thing.

NOAA satellite image of Gustav in the Gulf of Mexico.

What's been happening?

So, what's been happening in the world? I haven't written much this month - not much going on here I guess but in the world:

The Olympics carry on. We have watched some here and there but are not at a vigil with the television.




*Michael Phelps has broken several world records in his completion of a perfect 8 for 8 races - he won all 8 GOLD medals in his sport of swimming. Awesome. He is now the winningist (is that a word? Will check.) Olympian in history.


Mega-congrats to this dude!

*The women's gymnastics team got silver in the team round and a gold & silver in individual.

*The hubby has been enjoying the women's beach volleyball (of course).

*I prefer the Equestrian but it must be on late at night cause I've not seen much of it.

*Some chick from Romania KICKED ASS in the women's marathon. She was a full minute ahead of the silver & bronze medallists. Suppose she gets practice running from all the vampires over there in Romania, eh? (seriously though, kudos to her!)

*I cannot, for the life of me, understand what the hell 'water polo' is all about. Point please? It just looks so dumb. At least add some horses, right? That'd be a hoot.

ANYWAY - That's it for my Olympic attention span.



Tropical Storm (possibly upgrading to hurricane status at any moment) Fay is about to hit the Florida Keys. It already killed several people in the Carribbean. Batten down the hatches!


Laurence Fishburne is joining CSI this fall to help fill the vacancy that will be left by William Peterson (who is downscaling his part quite a bit). Should bring a good kick to the series, as well as filling the token African American character spot (missing due to the killing off of Warrick's character (boo!) last season)...


Larry strikes a rather good CSI-like pose..


In understandably boring and overblown news, supposedly Barack Obama is going to pick a VP running mate soon. Whatever.
It'd be anarchy if he ended up picking Hillary Clinton as his mate, huh?

'Tropic Thunder' ruled the box office this weekend.

Looks super-stupid. Not a fan of Ben Stiller.
Like Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black though.... suppose the hubby will want to see it eventually. Note to self: add to Netflix queue.

The upcoming latest Harry Potter movie has been bumped from Nov '08 to July '09. That noise you heard was the moaning and groaning of millions of obsessed fans. One bright note: The producers of 'Twilight' have moved their release date up (from Dec. '08) to fill that void. That should pacify some. Me included, as (shoot me now) I'm not much of a Potter fan...

I'm looking forward to Bella & Edward on-screen.

In horseracing, Proud Spell (in my fantasy stable) won the prestigious Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. Yippee!


photo: Barbara Livingston/DRF
(Proud Spell is on the right, beating Music Note)

However, her connections say they are not planning on running her in the Breeders' Cup Distaff ('scuse me, "Ladies Classic"- Doy!) - I assume because it is being run on an artificial surface at Santa Anita. Bummer.

Also some very SAD racing news as well - today, Genuine Risk (one of only three fillies to win the Kentucky Derby - she won hers in 1980) died today in her paddock.

I believe she was 31. Old for any horse.
Apparently she just passed away peacefully in her paddock.
Definately the way to go.

Genuine Risk: 1977-2008
*photo by Barbara Livingston

Rest in green pastures- you were a true heroine of the sport!

Later!