eclectica, a weblog [ summer oh-one ]

eclectica, a weblog

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Thursday, September 27, 2001
You know you live in Redneckville when...they have a front page story about Terry and Bobby Labonte two days in a row. One of Corpus Christi's only claims to fame, I guess, besides Selena and Farrah Fawcett.
Posted by Joanna @ 05:16 a.m.

Tuesday, September 25, 2001
The idea of bio/chemical terrorism is extremely frightening. I wonder if it is really as unlikely as they say...? The very thought of that happening makes me shudder.

Oh, great: A new virus that capitalizes on the WTC attacks. Some advice: Just don't open up any files that have .exe as the extension -- unless you are totally sure of the source, even then be careful.

America is poised to plunge into a war without specified enemies, with no defined end, and so far without an expansive and honest discussion of the consequences. Those with reservations about this war must speak loudly and clearly the two words upon which all freedom ultimately rests...
No war.
Posted by Joanna @ 08:20 a.m.

Saturday, September 22, 2001
Like many Americans last night, I was watching the Tribute to Heroes telethon. It was nice to see celebrities acting like normal people, although I saw John Cusack nonchalantly chewing bubble gum while everyone else was singing "America, the Beautiful." That was just disrespectful.

I'm so glad that this wasn't Presidentally sanctioned! If it were, we'd definitely not be living in a free country!

I don't have any other links to post, but I do have a bit of news: I finally have my computer built, up and running. I'm probably going to get online access soon, so I'll be able to work on this log and some other projects that I have been planning. I'll keep you updated.

Have a good weekend and don't let the attacks alter your life too much -- go do what you normally would on the weekend. We're Americans, after all. We can get through this.

(Sorry if that sounds too "keep-your-chin-up." I guess I'm just trying to help myself get through all this horridness.)
Posted by Joanna @ 07:00 p.m.

Tuesday, September 18, 2001
Updates from me have been sporadic in the last couple of months and probably will be so in the coming up months, especially in light of the events of the past week.

I don't feel like 'blogging. I can't stomach inane, silly stuff; I just don't have the heart for it now.

Everything is crazy and up-in-the-air. I'm not done with this yet: I'll post occasionally.
Posted by Joanna @ 06:44 a.m.

Wednesday, September 12, 2001
My brother was on his way to Knoxville, TN yesterday morning on an American Airlines plane when the terrorist attacks happened. They stopped in Dallas when the FAA shut all planes down. He's still there. My dad is driving up there tonight to get him. I can't express how glad I am that he's safe.

I have no words to describe how I've been feeling over the past days. I felt like I was going to be sick, literally, when I saw the images of people jumping and falling out of the Center. Horrendous, awful, heartbreaking - those words can never encompass the horror of yesterday.

Are we going to war over this? I don't even know where I stand on that subject. Everything is so muddled now.

I have no more words right now, so I'll let you read what some others have to say.
Posted by Joanna @ 07:27 p.m.

Tuesday, September 11, 2001
God help us all. I mean that literally.
Posted by Joanna @ 11:28 a.m.

Sunday, September 9, 2001
Oh, this is evil: Scumwear. I'm so glad I found that link! Go here to keep the scum off your site.

Ok, so it's a bit 5th grade-ish, but hey, it looks like it might be fun: Make your own paper.

Hmm, I find the title "Steal it Back" misleading. It's an online police auction site, and from the title it seems as if you may be able to get your stolen items back (if they have them), but no, you have to buy them. Hmmph.

I don't really cook that much, but this site surely is informative: Cook's Thesaurus.

The Smurfalizer isn't very amusing. Too bad.

I taught myself HTML using online tutorials, so I know that they can be extremely useful. I'm definitely going to be using the Advanced CSS Layouts tutorial!
Posted by Joanna @ 06:04 p.m.

Friday, August 31, 2001
I've been busy lately, haven't even written in my paper journal much. Oh, well. I'll try to get some good links up later today.

Oh, by the way, Kelley's back. Sounds like she had a great summer!
Posted by Joanna @ 09:14 a.m.

Saturday, August 18, 2001
I don't buy this theory, but hey, if it's true, then pop music will become less popular -- which is fine by me!

This event has always given me to the creeps -- even though I wasn't even alive when it happened.

Angry Little Girls. [via pcjm]

Well, whoop dee do, Carson Daly is going to host "Later." All I want to know is: Why do people find him so attractive? To me, he's annoying.

Please, oh, please, make this not true! I absolutely loathe(d) the 80s! (Except for a few of the cartoons...) It's bad enough that the 80s styles are becoming popular again; we do not need a TV show about the decade! Oh, well, I did like "Freeks and Geeks," so maybe it won't be too bad. (Hmm, I guess in about ten years they're going to come out with "That 90s Show." I wonder what that will be like. Heh.)
Posted by Joanna @ 04:32 a.m.

Friday, August 17, 2001
The Frontier House: Kind of like The 1990 House, but it looks even more interesting!

The earth has two or more moons? Cool.

The Zeppelin's back.

"Most Europeans give Bush poor marks: Polls show most think decisions based entirely on U.S. interests" Uhm, ya think? He is the President of the U.S. Heh.

Attack of the killer cloned seaweed. It sounds like a cheesy horror movie, but it's happening in Austrailia.

The world's fastest computer was unveiled on Wednesday. I was raised in church, so when I read that they (the author[s] of the article) called it "the beast," (ya know, Revelations and all that) I got a bit freaked out. It's definitely weird.
Posted by Joanna @ 5:00 a.m.

This is right: Don't get in debt in the first place! That's what I'm endeavoring to do. I'm trying to save at least half my money; while that hasn't worked out yet, I do have money in the bank, I don't have any debts (no credit cards, either; and yes, it is possible to live without them!)
Posted by Joanna @ 3:40 a.m.

I just finished reading "Good Omens" and found out (via Megg) that there's going to be a movie based on the book. It should be good.

Heh. The Visible Barbie Project
[via swallowingtacks.com]

Ever wondered if you were serial killer material? (Yes, it's creepy, I know!)

Wow, Twiggy is still around!

If she (Why do they think it's a female?) ever existed, Nessie (The Lock Ness Monster) might be dead.

All I can ask is: WHY?!

Who needs money?
[Thrift: Consuming for less @ get crafty. I absolutely love that site!]
Posted by Joanna @ 01:25 a.m.

Monday, August 13, 2001
TV has a patron saint?! Well, I guess it needs one. Heh.

The mayor of Chicago wants all the citizens of that city to read "To Kill a Mockingbird" at the same time as a way to promote literacy. Some people are worried that it's not politically correct enough and will offend some. How stupid.

Afro Ken. That brought to mind a picture of Barbie's main squeeze with a big ol' fro.

I love collaborative projects like this.: 20things In fact, I'm thinking of starting one myself. (If anything comes of it, I'll be sure to let you know!) [the above two links via mood swings]

If you want to know how much you're "worth," check out humanforsale.com. (If you don't want to get spammed, opt out right here after you get the email that gives you your price.)

Yes, get rid of laugh tracks! I absolutely can not stand them; if a show needs one, it doesn't deserve to be on the air.
Posted by Joanna @ 03:50 p.m.

Ugh, this is so ugly. Tigers are beautiful animals, but that is just too much!
[link via sg7]

The Zen of Being Poor. Being poor is socially unacceptable (or so they say). It shouldn't be.
Posted by Joanna @ 02:37 a.m.

Saturday, August 11, 2001
Heh. How to make a Dammit Doll:

Whenever things don't go so well...
And you want to hit the wall and yell...
Here's a little dammit doll
That you can't do without.
Just grasp it firmly by the legs
And find a place to slam it
And as you whack the stuffing out
Yell, "DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!"

Make your own bra. Looks interesting, surely would save a lot of money...but it seems like it would take a long time, and I don't have a sewing machine.

Can you tell I've taken up a new interest in crafty things? ;)

Oh, oh, oh, I want! Heh, especially the a - line tank dress.
Posted by Joanna @ 08:47 p.m.

Tuesday, August 7, 2001
LMAO! That has to be the most hilarious - or most disgusting - thing I've heard about in a long while!
Posted by Joanna @ 05:35 p.m.

Thursday, July 26, 2001
Yes, I'm still alive, just been really busy lately. I'm going to try to do a good update in the next couple of days. No promises, though. Thanks for reading! :)
Posted by Joanna @ 08:22 a.m.

Saturday, July 14, 2001
New layout; I got tired of the old one, even though I haven't been updating much. This layout is just temporary, it doesn't even have a graphic to go with it. Oh, well.

I think I'm going to be updating more from now on; I like 'blogging so much that I don't think I'll give it up just yet ;)

So saying, I'd better give you some links, right?

I think I linked to this site earlier this year, but it deserves another link: InThe90s.com. I was born in 1980, but I'm a 90s child (Hey, I was only ten in '90!) I can just see it: In 20-30 years, the 90s will be back in style, but I'll be old and frumpy and won't be able to enjoy it. Heh, just joking!

If my brothers ever did this to me, I'd have to think of some sort of major revenge, something horrid and nasty. But of course, they'd never do that to me; they know better! ;)

This is rather neat: E-blots, kind of like a Rorschach Test. They show you a scribble, then you tell them what you think it looks like and you get to see what others thought of it, too. One thing I wonder about: Why do they give you such silly nicknames? I'd rather be a number than "pungent peachpuff"! (Which is the nick they gave me)

Wills on the Web has a section devoted to celebrities, but I like the "ordinary" people's wills the best; even more interesting is the will of a cryonocist.

This is pathetic.

Boy or Girl? Old Wives Tales: I wonder (well, no, I don't) why all if the mother displayed any negative things during pregnancy, the child was supposed to be a girl. Old fashioned sexism, of course.

There's going to be an online version of the Sims out early next year. I can hardly wait!
Posted by Joanna @ 05:10 a.m.

Thursday, July 12, 2001
I'm beginning to buy components for my new computer; so far I've bought: a sound card, 256 mb of RAM, a CD-RW, and a keyboard. Why am I buying the pieces separately? My dad knows how to build computers, and I can get one much cheaper this way, and it will be much easier to upgrade when I decide to do that. Hopefully, I'll have my whole system together and running within a month or two. Heh, I'm such a geek; you probably don't care about my computer ;)

Once I get my computer up and running and get a phone line installed in my room, I'm going to get a domain. I think I'll go with Blue Domino for a webhost. They're local and seem to have a great deal going!

Speaking of domains, Quiddity has a new home @ quicklikeabunny.net. By the way, Happy belated birthday, Megg!

iMood has 9 new faces, which is kind of nice, but I miss the original smiley! Ah, well.

If you're thinking of starting an online journal, you might want to read this essay. I don't consider my weblog a journal or diary. I really don't write personal stuff here; or if I do, it's just little blurbs and I don't care if anyone knows about them.

Gomosexuality. Uhm, is this for real?
Posted by Joanna @ 09:40 p.m.

Tuesday, July 3, 2001
Unknown News has got their own domain now. Cool.

Well, I went back on my word to update on Thursday or Friday. Sorry. I'm getting really bad at updating. It's just that I haven't had much time to surf the web lately. But why am I apologizing? I'll update when I can. If you want to be notified when I post a really good and really long entry, I suggest that you join my notify list.
Posted by Joanna @ 02:53 a.m.

Thursday, June 28, 2001
I can hardly believe I haven't posted since Saturday! I don't want this weblog to totally languish! I just have been busy, and since I use computers and the internet at work, I don't always feel like getting online in my free time. I have tonight and tomorrow night off (Thursday and Fridays are my weekend), so I should have at least one good post on one of those day.

I thought Karen had stopped blogging, but no, she just moved her site without leaving a redirect message.
Posted by Joanna @ 07:51 p.m.

Saturday, June 23, 2001
This is totally outrageous: "A huge section of South Texas south of Kingsville is being considered by the Navy as replacement for the embattled bombing range in Vieques, Puerto Rico, local officials said Friday." Kingsville is a city that is only about 60 miles away from where I live!

I'm amazed, the Warped Tour is coming to my town. Highly unusual. Maybe we'll actually be getting some good shows from now on!
Posted by Joanna @ 04:05 a.m.

Tuesday, June 19, 2001
Culture Shock is a great new e-zine. Oh, man, this makes me want to update my 'zine! I'm waiting until I can get my own computer, though; right now, I'm having to use my brother's.

Get a free CSS layout template @ glish.com. I've been using CSS for more than a year, but I haven't really delved into it's intricacies. I'm going to have to do that soon.

New band (at least to me) alert: The Calling.
Posted by Joanna @ 04:42 p.m.

Saturday, June 16, 2001
I just archived the April and May entries here.

I'm feeling lazy right now, so no links. Maybe later.
Posted by Joanna @ 06:48 p.m.

Friday, June 15, 2001
Just a quick note: In the past week or so, I've read one book about Atlantis and am still reading another about it. (see my "reading" and "past reading" sections) I just wanted to say that this is not because of Disney's Atlantis movie that opens today. I had no idea that they had even made an Atlantis cartoon. Ergh. I hate when stupid coincidences like this happen!

Anyway, the Atlantis myth is truly fascinating and if proven true, even in part, it would be amazing! If you want more information about it, I highly recommend that you read "Gateway to Atlantis ," by Andrew Collins. I'm currently reading it and the theories described so far have been well researched and written.
Posted by Joanna @ 05:27 a.m.

Tuesday, June 12, 2001
I use iMood, because it's a fun distraction, but uhm, why would anyone want to pay $15 to buy an iMood mousepad or coffee mug?!

I was once a Wendy's minion for two months, so I can really relate to this article. Thank God that's over! :)
Posted by Joanna @ 03:08 a.m.

Sunday, June 10, 2001
It's flooding in Houston (and surrounding areas, of course), and it's really bad: "...one woman was found drowned in a downtown office building elevator that lost power and went to a basement level where it became caught in deep water." What a horrible way to die!
[want to help?]
Posted by Joanna @ 07:21 p.m.

Friday, June 8, 2001
I've decided to start a notify list, since my updates have become sporadic lately. This way, those of you who read my weblog regularly (thanks!) won't have to come back every day just to see that I haven't updated. Send an email to eclecticablog-subscribe@topica.com to subscribe, if you want.
Posted by Joanna @ 07:02 p.m.

Tuesday, June 5, 2001
No links right now. A little vent, though...
I love being able to download music off the 'net (even though with only dial-up the downloads go at a snail's pace), but I wish there were some way that I could pay the bands/artists directly. It would be great if the fans and artists could bypass record companies. I'd gladly pay my favorite bands $15-$18 to be able to download their CD(s). Right now, I can't do that. I'd probably get in major trouble if I sent a band the money, saying, "this is for the songs I downloaded online." I'd get sued. And the ironic thing is, I'd be one of the people who actually wanted to be honorable about downloading music. :(
Posted by Joanna @ 06:02 p.m.

Saturday, June 2, 2001
I got this piece of spam today. Normally, I don't even look at junk mail, but the subject line piqued my interest: "Cleaning up TV profanity!!" This is part of what I found in the email (I've removed their formatting) :

New Invention Removes Profanity From TV And Movies!
"TVGuardian"
New invention: The "TVGuardian". It literally will not allow profanity to be spoken on your TV! Imagine automatically replacing the following phrases on TV anytime you watch with the ones beneath them!
As you hear it: It's a G_ _ D_ _m shame! TVGuardian's Replacement On Your TV: It's a shame!
As you hear it: Move your A_s! TVGuardian's Replacement On Your TV: Move your tail!
As you hear it: She's such a B_ _ _h! TVGuardian's Replacement On Your TV: She's such a nag!
As you hear it: That's b_ _ _s_ _t! TVGuardian's Replacement On Your TV: That's baloney!
As you hear it: Did you two have S_x? TVGuardian's Replacement On Your TV: Did you two have hugs?
As you hear it: J_ _ _s, you scared me! TVGuardian's Replacement On Your TV: You scared me!
As you hear it: F_ _k you, B_s _ _ _d! TVGuardian's Replacement On Your TV: Go away, jerk!
As you hear it: Oh, S_ _t! TVGuardian's Replacement On Your TV: Oh, Shoot!
That's what TVGuardian does! It replaces good for bad!

This is the question I most want to ask the people who are selling that product and the people who are buying it: If you're so offended by profanity, why are you watching shows that have profanity in them? The shows are also are going to have violence and sex in them. Is it ok for you to let your kids watch sex scenes, as long as the characters are saying they're having "hugs"? Heh.

Erm, I suggest that if you want good food you don't go to McDonalds!
Posted by Joanna @ 05:47 p.m.