I have 2 English papers due next week 2 visits that need to be done today 3 new shows that need to be watched 4 animals that need to be looked after ...and only 1 of me to accomplish it all!! AAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHH!!!!! That guy with the cloning device is looking reeeeeaaalllly great right now...

Okay. So I just introduced my boyfriend to the blog. And while he thinks that most of my posts are adead on, we seem to be in a knock-down drag-out deathmatch over the issue of Locke's sanity. HE claims that Locke is just misunderstood...he's just been through a hell of a lot and is really quite practical and useful to everyone else on the island. I think the man not only isn't playing with a full deck but is two steps from being sent to the Craphole Island funny farm. What's stopping the other Lostaways from deporting him? The need for boar meat and Locke's collection of knives--all 400 of them. Need I say more? My boyfriend has just come in the room chanting "Locke: the Man, the Myth, the Legend." I'm wondering how much it would cost me to have him committed right along with Locke... (Course, he's thinking the same thing about me...)

...who thinks that Lost's John Locke is definetly scary and slightly unbalanced. (You'll note I did not call him crazy.) I just don't get it. And the worst part of it is, everyone I know seems to think he's this great and wonderful presence. My friends think so. My forum mates think so. Even my boyfriend is trying to convince me of the wonderfulness that is Locke. (It's not working.) I think the man needs help. Here's the facts that support my theory... 1) Locke is absolutely convinced that "the island" is the end-all be-all in decision making. If that's true, then why bother making any decisions at all? Apparently the answers will "come" to you. 2) Anyone who thinks whacking people over the head to prove their point is a good idea seriously needs a second opinion. 3) The whole "sacrifice" bit...I don't think I would be sleeping easier knowing there was someone out there that could "decide" I was next... Basically, those are my chief concerns about the guy. That, and serious mental illness runs in the family... Now, since there are those out there who will condemn me to hell for naysaying their hero, let me point out I don't think he's all bad. Locke has his good points. He's skilled in the outdoors. He's a bit philosophical. He has a knack for understanding certain people. (The other ones he just annoys.) And he has shown some pretty cool random acts of kindness. But is this the guy I would be putting faith in to make decisions on my behalf concerning my health and welfare? Un-uh. Nope. Absolutely not. I expect I'll recieve backlash for this one, folks, so please, comment away.

Okay. I now officially feel like I'm trapped in Oz. Or the alternate reality that is Craphole Island. (If you're a Lost fan, you'll understand.) For several days now, me and my fellow compatriots have been individuals without a country. Or to be more precise, Tv.com members without a blog or a forum. It seems like every other day the powers-that-be are adding something "new and improved" to this site. I think they seem to forget that when they upgrade, they knock all of us offline for a week or so. This is what, the fifth or sixth time this has happened? Perhaps the powers-that-be are holed up watching a Tool Man marathon. I dunno. In any case, it's good to be back up and running. I personally use this site for three reasons--the Lost forum, The Closer episode guide and everyone's favorite blog. (I even have non-Tv.com-ers that read me fairly often. Apparently I'm interesting and sometimes funny.) Everything else is icing. If anyone wanted to install something new on this site, how about a program that effectively eliminates 404's, WSOD's and other bug-like problems? Somebody got anything like that lying around? Side note: Today is Rememberance Day. After what's happened in the past few weeks, there seems to be so much now to remember and reflect on from the past five years, I think. But then, I'm young, so what do I know?

If you know me, either online or in person, youprobably have guessed that I an really cynical of government. But let's be precise. I love the system of government, but not the politicians. I always find they're nicely screwing things up at the expense the people of the United States. If you have been watching news coverage of the aftermath of the Katrina Catastrophe, you might be inclined to join me in my cynicism. Nowhere have I seen a situation in which people are in the direst of straits--no pun intended--and the damn governmental agencies can't get their act together. This is not to say that all of them have been dropping the ball. Nuh-uh. I have been impressed with the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the National Guard, and the countless people stranded in that war zone that have been helping their fellow person out. To them I say: Keep up the good work! I also have to give kudos to the countless journalists who have not only been showing those of us outside the Gulf the desparity of the situation, but have been trying to lend their services to help other in need as well, even if it's just getting word out to family members for people who otherwise have no avenue of comunication. But they are playing another important role---in showing just how much the governent has screwed up their response from the get-go. if you've been watching the news, especially CNN, you'll understand. Of particular note was the interview when the head of FEMA---the guy in charge of the supply and rescue operations---admitted on live television that he had "just found out" about the situation at the New Orleans Convention Center Thrusday afternoon...four days after the hurricane hit and two days after it effectively became a breeding ground for disease, filth and the dead who were steadily rising in mumbers. The networks had been broadcasting about the conditions there for two days---doesn't this guy have access to a radio or a TV or a CB device or something? There have been more incidences that I have noticed, but that was by far the worst. This tragedy also marks the only time, in my 24 years of drawing breath, in which I watched not one but two United States Senators get the ass-reaming they so justly deserved. Anderson Cooper is my new favorite news anchor because of this. The guy has been covering the situation live for a week, watching the flooding and the destructionand the people in dire need of assistance on various levels, andhe ends up with interviews from two Senators who stand there and pat themselves on the back for the "efforts" they and their buddies in Washington have been giving. Of particular note was his line in his exchange with the Senator from Louisiana: "I've been down here for four days and have seen a city flooded out, massive destruction of homes, people without food and water, people dying of disease and filth--I saw a dead woman floating facedown in the street being eaten by rats--and you are patting your Congressional buddies on the back?!? Get down here and do something!! It was so richly deserved. So, if anyone has complaints about my opinion of our politicians, please feel free to PM me or post a comment with an example of how they have been helping the situation---other than passing bills or being shamed into seeing the destruction for themselves. I'll be happy to stand corrected.

The following can also be found as a comment to betts4's blog on the hurricane aftermath, but I felt I needed to post it here too... =================================================== How many hundreds of thousands of people are without? How many more have been lost? By far, this is one of the worst domestic disasters ever to occur, at least in my short lifetime. Even the images I am seeing are staggering. Whole cities--sizable cities--are reduced to splinters. Water has become both a scarce commodity and the killer that is causing all this destruction. What saddens me the most is the thought of the X's being painted by rescue crews on houses---[color=red]red[/color] for the injured, [color=black]black[/color] for the location of dead. Nature in her fury has taken these people, and her cruel wrath keeps them from being put properly to rest and their families to mourn. [color=blue]Everything happens for a reason, or so they say---but what is the reasoning for so much devestation?[/color]

Okay. Most of you who are reading my blog probably know me pretty well by now, and you also know that I'm not a cold, heartless (word I wanted to use was censored). My previous blog entry was trying to poke fun at the insurance game that is played after major natural disasters. It may not happen this time, or in all cases, but in both mine and my family's experience the insurance you pay for doesn't always cover the problem you got. I too am still reeling from seing the images of several thousand miles of populous coastline that are in what I can only describe as complete and utter devestation. I can't begin to imagin how people are coping there. I even am saving newspapers off the press with photos showing me the impossible-to-believe-yet-very-much-true. I have, as of 9/01/05, deleted that particular entry due to its callousness. In short, my heart and thoughts go out to those millions affected by Katrina.

It's all about the Pentiums. Or more precisely, who gets to [color=blue]keep[/color] them when it's time to move away. See, I'm moving across town in three weeks, and my stuff by default comes with me (of course). This also means the desktop computer I bought comes with me too. Pretty simple, right? [COLOR=BLUE]OHO! NOT SO![/COLOR] When I came home one night to rant about he cable company and their racket on high-speed, my mom looks at me and says, "I thought you were going to leave the computer here." [color=blue]Riiiiiiight. Hokay.[/color] Now, understand, my mom has a computer science degree, but she has [color=blue]no frickin' clue[/color] as to how to get onto it, let alone navigate it. That's what [color=blue]I'm[/color] for. I tell her, "Mom, you never use the computer. In the nearly two years I've owned it, you have gone on it a grand total of [color=blue]zero[/color] times. Your sister has you beat with a grand total of [color=blue]one[/color] time. Why on earth would I leave it here?" Her reply? "How else are we gonna look stuff up if we need a cool recipe or a movie off that site you buy from [Amazon.com]?" Yeesh. However, I told them if they wanted to kep my desktop, they'd have to buy me a new computer---and as it happens, notebooks have gotten cheaper...so this might work in my favor after all... :twisted:

...and no, I don't mean the topless bar. I recently discovered (to my great surprise) that I apparently am worth tracking on this site. No, I'm not narcissistic--nor am I an egomaniac. I just find it surprising that people I've never really spoken to find what I have to say interesting enough to want to be alerted to when I post. And why do I find it surprising? Because in my boring everyday existence, I'm not exactly what you'd call popular. In fact, I'm more like the quirky chick that you either found oddly fascinating or too weird for words. Deja vu seems to apply because I was rather surprised when my company merged last year and I found that I was fairly well-liked by a lot of the new people I worked with as well as some of my old cronies from my old building. I [color=blue]so[/color] enjoy going to work now more than I used to. Also, in my last year of high school, I found (again, to my surprise) that I was apparently a wel-known figure on the school campus---people I didn't even know would stop me in the hall and greet me by name. Wild. I suppose there's a lot more self-analysis that has to be done to fully understand this (until recently) undiscovered side of me. :)

People are often told that the Mafia (or whatever organized crime is referred to as in your neck of the woods) has a stranglehold on racketeering schemes. [color=purple]NOT TRUE.[/color] Let me be the first to inform you that there are two organizations that have those time-honored wiseguys beat. Number 2 on the list of People Legally Stealing Your Money is your cable provider. What other place can tell you that to go from 10 channels (five of which you will [color=purple]never[/color] watch [color=purple]anyway[/color]) to the next level package is gonna cost you $50 a month? It's even worse if you want to get high-speed Internet. Then they can soak you for cable [color=purple]and[/color] Internet at a nifty price tag of [color=purple]only[/color] $100 a month. No wonder SBC and DISH network is making a killing in my area. But the cable morons are amateurs. Number 1 on the list of People Legally Stealing Your Money is none other than your local college or university, be they Ivy League to Big 10 to state-sponsored to the area community college. Those people are [color=purple]professionals[/color] when it comes to separating you and your hard-earned money. Have you ever walked into a college bookstore? The prices are outrageous. I myself spent over $300 for books, pencils, paper, and a couple pens. I probably could have bought half the stuff at Staples for a hell of a lot cheaper. The real joke comes at the end of term---when the bookstore has this magical period called "book buyback." Now [color=purple]there's[/color] a robbery in progress. Each semester I take back the textbooks I no longer need or never want to see again, only to find that the $65 book I bought is now worth only $27. The real irony is when I go to buy a "used" textbook, I'm certain they've marked up the "purchase price" they paid us poor college students by some 20% and are charging $42 for the textbook that was worth them only paying you $30 for. And people wonder why college students are drowning in debt...