Cat Love

My littlest cat, Miranda, hates me. She's hyper-sensitive to change, and there's just been too much change in her life this last year (from moving to getting Lulu and other stuff) for her to ever forgive me. I swear she plots assassination attempts against me. She "plays" with wine corks, but I think she's building a weapon of some kind and will use the corks as ammo when she collects enough.

Last night when I got home from my trip I couldn't find her for hours. But then when I went to bed she came to me and laid with me all night! It was as if she was saying, "I still hate you, but I missed hating you." It was a Hallmark moment.

This is a picture of the face she makes when I pick her up. See the misery that is her life from being domesticated?

"Home Crap Home"

One of my favorite sayings from one of my favorite movies, 1986's The Money Pit. Also, it sums up how I feel after taking a much needed vacation. I always feel that way when returning from a trip. It doesn't matter where I've been, whom I've seen, or how badly I've needed to get away; I'm just always so damn glad to be back home. I guess it's because I really like my life in Buffalo. I love the city, my friends, my job, my life. My family is close enough in Cleveland that I can see them whenever I want. And I truly do need vacations to rest and appreciate all I have. But when I return, I can't help but say each time "Home Crap Home."

Superman's Cape

Back around Halloween I noticed all these children running around in inappropriate Superman costumes. They all had that stupid burgundy-brown cape instead of the one true red cape worn by real Supermen for decades. I don't like Earth-Hue Superman; I like Primary Color Superman. Blue, Yellow and RED; it keeps things simple. Plus, down the road, if I ever have kids, I don't want to hear them say, "My Mom is so old that Superman's cape was still red when she was little."

Missing Digits

Why do cartoon characters never have five fingers? I'm sure I'm not the first to notice this. Does anyone have an answer? Look at this wide array of characters I've sampled. They all have 4 fingers. Are 5 really that hard to draw? I'm baffled.

My biggest fear

This picture so completely freaks me out. I can't even explain how much this terrifies me. I know it's photoshopped, but this is seriously my worst fear. I love to swim, particularly in pools. But this strange thing happens when I'm swimming alone where I hear the chilling theme song from Jaws in my mind and irrationally convince myself that a shark who can withstand chlorine is eyeing me for dinner. I wonder what Freud would have to say about that?

Well, I have to throw some pop culture into this to divert my attention, so here's some random Jaws facts for you.

• The mechanical shark used in Jaws was named "Bruce" by the cast and crew.
• Jaws is considered the first "Summer Blockbuster" and started the trend now so ingrained in our culture.
• Jaws was nominated for 4 Academy Awards and won three (Best Sound, Best Original Score and Best Film Editing)
• Charleton Heston was rejected for the role of "Chief Brody" (played by Roy Schieder). It was the cause of bad blood between Heston and Steven Spielberg, each of whom vowed never to work with the other.
• The Brody's cocker spaniel (barely seen in the movie, and not the black lab "Pippet" who was presumed to be eaten by the shark) was actually Steven Spielberg's dog in real life.

My blog is nothing if not educational.

Bacon!

I've never really met any celebrities or otherwise famous people (except for many of the fine musicians in the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. You guys are beyond celebrities.) But last night I was at a party and also in attendence was an artist named Ron Burns. I'd never heard of him before, but we talked for awhile and I found him quite fascinating. All of his subjects are dogs. So I googled him today and it turns out he's pretty famous. So I'm thinking that if he knows any celebrities, I can then six degree myself into having a Bacon number. Cool!

Care instructions for Mogwai

Just thinking about the fantastic 80s movie Gremlins. In case you happen to adopt a mogwai from petfinder.com or a local shelter near you, it's very important that you remember these three care instructions:

1. Keep them away from bright light, particularly sunlight.

2. No baths! You mustn't get a mogwai wet. (So no need to worry about not using Pantene on your male mogwai).

3. And most importantly, never ever feed them after midnight, not even Mighty Taco.

I would also add these rules:

4. Don't name your mogwai "Gizmo." It's a little unoriginal. I think "Cha Cha" for a female and "Clyde" for a male are much better.

5. Don't play any Justin Timberlake songs or your mogwai just might hum them to you.

6. Don't let your mogwai wear a dental grill. It may fight you because they like to be trendy with mohawks and stuff.

Also, help control the pet population and have your mogwai spayed or neutered.

Rocky 6000

I'm not making this up. There is another Rocky movie coming out on Christmas Day. I love Rock, but if Rocky V was overdoing it, how is VI going to help? Stallone is being sly (Ba-zing to that pun!) with disguising the fact that it's a sequal to the third power. It's entitled Rocky Balboa. See? Sounds like it could be a pre-quel, or even a whole new, mildly-related thing. The movie poster even looks a little retro. But no, it's numero seis. I think Sly just knows that the average person can't count to 6 in Roman numerals so he gave it a simpler name.
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I will say that, even if it means there will be a Rocky VII where Sly hangs up his walker to step back in the ring, I so hope that Rock doesn't go all Apollo on us. No one wants to see their hero die in the ring, especially one who solidified the Iron Curtain for a few extra years. (If you haven't seen Rocky IV then don't even try to understand this paragraph. Furthermore, if you haven't seen Rocky IV, do yourself a favor and check it out. There are very credible arguments that it is the best Rocky of all.)

A dream come true, Chocolate Shampoo!

I found a miracle yesterday! A true masterpiece of human ingenuity. I couldn't believe my eyes. Could it be? Could such a perfect product be real? But it is real, and it's wonderful! The best thing about it is that it's a 3-in-1 product; shampoo, shower gel AND bubble bath. I was skeptical that such a product would properly cleanse, condition and prepare my hair for styling, but it was as good as, if not better than, my recommended Herbal Essences line. This is a limited edition product made by Philosophy available in Sephora stores and at Sephora.com, and I give it two combs up and a Godiva truffle (that's the equivalent of like 7 stars!).

World AIDS Day

Today and every December 1st is World AIDS Day. I am involved in some local AIDS organizations in Buffalo personally and through my working at a church. It's a cause that I came to champion after a fantastic storyline on, of course, General Hospital. Yes, I'm serious, and I know it's pathetic, but if anything it goes to show you that soap operas aren't a waste of time.

In 1995 General Hospital's beloved character "Stone" died of AIDS at the age of 19. He also infected his girlfriend Robin with HIV. (She's still on the show dating Dr. Patrick Drake.) But Stone and Robin are fiction, and sadly there are millions of real people living with HIV/AIDS. I'm thinking of them today.