First of all, I managed to fanagle myself a new guide: Casper (the 1996 cartoon based on the liveaction movie starring Bill Pullman and Christina Ricci, not any of the classic incarnations). Yes, another show about dead people, lol. Unfortunately, unlike all of my other show guides, I do *not* in fact have access to more than about a dozen of the episiodes. This show has absolutely no info beyond the titles and airdates available online, either, so this is a guide I will not be able to complete without help, should any ever come along. But I can fill out the episodes I do have info on, and I fixed the show summary. Maybe now there won't be so much confusion about which version of Casper this guide is for - if people actually stop to read the summary I wrote. Also, I plan to conact missribs about changing or at least deleting the current show picture, which is of the classic Casper. No wonder there's alreay one review on there for the *classic* cartoon and not the 1996 one. (And while I'm at it, I *still* need my fanart taken down as the show pic on the Beetlejuice guide. I only asked snide to do it what, three times I think?) An update on my snake: she's doing okay I suppose, she's still active and she took a mouse yesterday (yay). I gave her her first at-home shot on Saturday and that went well; she'll get another tonight. I'm still struggling with her humidity levels and am also making adjustments to her heating setup. More money... And speaking of money and where it comes from, I may have lost my job...again. Yes, this is the same one I was a temp for, then I got hired permanently, then they had to let me go, only to bring me back as a temp...and I had to leave yesterday because there was no more work for me. My boss won't be in until tomorrow so I worked it out with someone else there that I would stay home today, and she can contact me tomorrow if she wants me back in. I took all my stuff home with me just in case. And, if I lose this gig (again) the temp agency says they have other, similar jobs lined up. So. Here's my boxie! I went up another level today! (I'm leaving the links to all the icons, I figure they'll show eventually, right?) [QUOTE="Sparky's Stats: 1-10-06"]

          Rank       :   Snagglepuss      Level      :   21            Forum Posts:   1439  Percentage :   09%           Guides Edited: 6
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As of right now, theneitherworld.com does not exist, because I have deleted my old account at Yahoo domains and am in the process of opening a new account at another webhosting provider. At this moment, everything is gone, nor can I check my email. Just a heads-up. I'm waiting for a confirmation message on my backup email account, and I will hopefully be able to begin the transfer tonight (but it can take up to 24 hours for them to activate my new account). Expect my site to be patchy for a while. Thanks.

I got the bloodwork result from the vet a few minutes ago (see two blogs ago). My beautiful Duchess is ill. :( First of all she has some python disease that hasn't any cure, and the vet says that all one can do is hope she can fight it off as long as possible. She also has parasites, and they're going to give her a shot for that. She *also* has a high white blood cell count and I'm going to have to give her injections at home every three days for a month (at least I have experience with syringes...). Since my brother won't touch her I'll have to do it alone, so I'm waiting on some advice from the folks on the ball-pythons.net forums on how to restrain her. Of course, injections aren't exactly going to help us become friends. :( I'm really worried about her, and I'm mad at myself for 1) buying a snake I didn't know the history of and 2) not taking her to the vet right away. I've had her almost a year. To be a little fair, I only started taking care of *myself* about a year ago, and then I took the bird to the vet a few months ago (I love Duchess but Kiwi comes first). But still. I'm very sad right now. :(

I know you frequent-bloppers out there have probably already encountered and commented on this topic, but I haven't been able to blop much lately so I'm tackling it myself. I have a favorite holiday movie. In fact my brother and I are currently collaborating on an extensive fansite for it. I'll blog about that when there's something to see. But this is about a film I saw last night, which now has the honor of being my most-hated holiday film of all time. The movie in question is Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights. I half wanted to see this when it was out in theatres because not only was it animated but it was a Sandler film - and yes, I *do* enjoy Adam Sandler films. But this is *nothing* like his other films. An astute reviewer on IMDB pointed out what I realise is the whole problem with the movie: Sandler's regular films appeal to people because Sandler, on film, has a certain charm, even when he's being an ass. But his cds lack that charm, and an animated Sandler is like an animated Sandler cd. The whole movie is annoying and disgusting, with offensive situations and sterotypes, unsympathetic characters, poorly-written songs, feces-eating deer, and a cd version of Sandler. The animation is good though, and I liked the scene in the mall where Sandler's character encounters all the store logos like the Foot Locker guy and the See's Candy lady. That was cool. The GNC pill bottle was my favorite character in the whole movie. Lol, it was funny though, I devoted one and a half hours of my life wathcing this piece of garbage, and about 2 minutes before it was over my brother came in and started the dishwasher. I yelled at him to turn it off because after taking that filth for that long I'd be damned if I didn't get to see how it ended! It ended with a Whitey having a siezure, by the way. And that's not a spoiler. Has anyone else seen this movie? What do you think of it? And what's your *most hated* of all holiday movies?

(sorry, this post does not contain alcohol :D ) [QUOTE="Sparky's Stats: 12-26-05"]

        Rank       :   Cow Bell      Level      :   20            Forum Posts:   1373  Percentage :   42%           Guides Edited: 5
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Okay for Christmas I got 3 Rockapella cds and a dvd of their live concert from my brother. I enjoy Rockapella in passing, I have both of the old Carmen Sandiego albums on tape, and I've mentioned numerous times to Jim that I've been meaning to pick up one of their regular albums and give it a whirl. And now suddenly I have 3 cds and a concert dvd. Um...hope I like them. :D Jim also gave me the Disney's Hercules soundtrack on cd which I have been looking for forever, and the Miracle Thaw defrosting plate. You ever see that? It's a black metal plate that defrosts frozen meat. Yeah I know, sounds like a boring Christmas present but as I've been looking for one for years (I have to eat a lot of portioned meat on my diet so I'm everyday defrosting meat) it was an awesome gift. :) Dad got 6 dvds for the two of us, one being Madagascar, which I wanted anyways...The others, eh, but whatever. :) Lessee, Dad also got me the Ove Glove (hey, I can use it for changing the snake's heatlamp bulbs, right?) and a(nother) blanket. Woo. Um...I probably got something else that I don't remember now. ;) Anyways, to the topic of this blog's title. A couple of weeks ago Duchess (my ball python) started making a mysterious noise that had me absolutely baffled. She has a history of upper respitory infection, which causes a snake to make a very distinctive noise usually called "the empty lotion-bottle noise" because it sounds exactly like someone trying to squirt lotion out of a bottle that's empty. Or like, a mustard bottle. That's *exactly* what a snake URI sounds like. But this was a completely different noise. I can't even really describe this one but it was more of a...slow, prolonged...creaking noise. *Really* weird. And she only made it when she was crawling around at night. In fact, she would always stop whenever I got out of bed to look at her to see what on Earth was going on. I was completely stumped but I did assume it was a respitory problem, and made an appointment with the exotics vet for this morning. Then I was up late Christmas Eve when she was active and I figured out the noise. :roll: OMG, you know what it was? It was Duchess' body sqeezing between her driftwood and the tank glass. *Squeee-ee-e-eee-ee...* That's all. o_o God I felt stupid, even though she'd never made it before (I think maybe she just grew fat enough to not fit easily through that gap anymore!). But I decided to take her in for a checkup anyways as I'd never taken her before and had had her since February. I'm a bad snake Mommy. Well according to the vet Duchess isn't hydrated enough. Well, they should have seen her when I first got her, *that* was dehydrated - but apparently it's still not good enough. So I made her a new "humid hide" which is a plastic container with a lid, and a hole cut in it, and a damp rag inside so she can go in and be in a humid place. And I had to get rid of the driftwood because it sucks up too much humidity (plus the vet hinted at mites) so I bought her a new "mock-driftwood" ornament made of resin. I also had to take her "tree" away. She inherited the tree from my late newt - it's a resin aquarium ornament that looks like a hollow tree. She barely fits in it but she stuffs herself in there and thinks it's great. However it wasn't so great this morning when I had to pry her out of there to get her in her pillowcase and she got snarky and started striking and I had to get out the snakehook I had hoped I'd never need....anyways so no more Mr. Tree. Anyhow so the vet took blood for tests and the tech brought the carrier back out to the waiting room. I asked if they had put Duchess back into her pillowcase and tied it off before putting her in the carrier and she didn't know; so we looked in there and scared an old lady who came over to see what manner of cute furry critter I had, when she asked what it was and the tech and I both blurted "Snake!" Anyways Duchess was in the bag but it wasn't tied and the tech cheerfully informed me that the blood test had made Duchess "grumpy". Greeeaaat. :( Anyways if raising the humidity in her tank doesn't work I have to take her out and soak her in water myself several times a week. She's not used to being handled, so that'll be fun. And if that doesn't do it, I have to give her injections. *sigh* Well good job I'm good at giving injections, huh? Well, that's my post-Christmas day story. :D

(First of all no Boxie; I'm waiting until my latest batch of subs get looked at before I bother to do another one.) Before the passing of my mother years ago and subsequent alienation of my father, my brother, and myself from her side of the family, Christmastime meant two things: one, my mother's cousin Flo's partially indigestible lasagne, and two: The Cheesecake. Now, my mother was a fullblooded Italian, from Brooklyn - her grandparents, who lived in their basement when she was growing up, were from Italy. Her grandfather spoke little English, and one of the few phrases he *did* know ("Sommammabeesh!") could often be heard, muffled, through the kitchen floor. But I'm here to tell you about The Cheesecake. I admit I forget where the recipe came from, but I belive it come from Italy with my great-grandmother, and it may have been passed down to her, for who knows how many generations. It ended up eventually in the hands of my grandmother (whom I never met). Now, I inherited something from my grandmother: I *hate* having other people in the kitchen with me when I'm trying to cook. It drives me bonkers and I don't even know why. I'd never be able to be a professional chef because I'd always be throwing towels at people, yelling at them to get out of my way. Anyways, Grandma was like that, and therefore she never taught my mother how to cook. It was instead my grandfather, who was a great chef and stuffed his own sausages and everything, who taught my mother how to cook. But in any case, as Grandma was the keeper of The Great Cheesecake Recipe, my mom never was able to learn how to make it. I suppose I should pause the story now to describe The Cheesecake. Cheesecake comes in many forms as you know, some is fluffy and light, some is creamy. Some is almost chewy. Some is sweet and some is very cream-cheesy. Some is made with sour cream and has a tang. I'm not delving into the realm here of "fancy" or "flavored" cheesecakes, just the basic kind. Many of you probably have never given a second thought to cheesecake but Brooklynites, especially the Italian and Jewish ones, live and die by their cheeseckaes (and their bagels) so this is a lore I grew up with. Anyways, The Cheesecake is rich. It is textured but immediately becomes smooth in your mouth. One would make themselves sick if they tried to eat a large wedge in one sitting, but a small slice satisfies everyone. People who had previously sworn to never touch a cheesecake have tried The Cheesecake and been converted in a semi-religious fashion. It is The Cheesecake. Well, my mother defected from Brooklyn at a young age (which is another story) and escaped with some friends to Los Angeles to start life anew. But the knowledge that she did *not* have access to The Recipe lay heavy on her mind for years. When she went back at last for a visit, she did what anyone would do: she stole it. She crept downstairs in the pitch black, forgoing even a flashlight, somehow found the kitchen (perhaps it was a faint cry of "Sommammabeesh!" that put her on the right path), removed The Recipe from its hallowed spot, and took it upstairs. Under her bedsheets she copied it to a notebook, and the slipped the original back. No one suspected. And that's the Legend of The Cheesecake. We used to tell it the way some people talk about Macabees. I suppose that isn't actually the end anymore, as I have added a new chapter. Mom - like her mother - never *hid* the recipe. I always knew exactly where it was, in the yellow recipe box in the pantry. But I was forbidden to make The Cheesecake myself. I could watch (we *all* watched), but even after I was in my 20's I wasn't to make it. When my mother passed on I took nearly all of the cookbooks, as well as the yellow box, and the recipe is mine now. I admit freely here and now, that I have altered the recipe(!!) I add a sour cream topping, because I personally like a tartness that the lemon alone can't impart. There have been no complaints. Again and again I am assailed at family functions (of course, this is my father's side of the family) by people wanting The Recipe. But I will hang on to it for now. I have no plans to have children, but I will choose my heir wisely, no fear. And now let's talk about cheesecake! What kind of cheesecake do you prefer? If you hate it, that's okay. :)

Okay, I know I'm a snarky witch, but this thread on the Support Forum has just made my year complete. I hope it doesn't get deleted even if it's locked, but in case it does (and one day it will be anyways) here is the brilliant first post:

there's this guy, Digger3000, he's ruining the jimmy neutron forum! he's not letting people go off topic or post fanfiction or flame people or advertise websites or download episodes or spam or anything! what do we do?tatabba

People never cease to amaze me. :shock: And asking the staff for help with someone who won't let people break the rules makes sense how?? (read the following posts to see how they feel about following rules) If they've been on TV.com for more than 5 minutes they have no excuse for not being aware that *all* of those things are against the TOS. This poster wins the "WTF Were You Thinking" award, courtesy of me. You can bet they'll get chewed apart by the rest of the JN fans when they find out that someone told the STAFF that they were over there breaking the TOS... I probably look like an ass for making this journal but if I didn't I would have been tempted to post in the thread itself. I had to say *something*. edit: And...It got locked.

Beetlejuice asked to star in this year's holiday banner, and I said why not...now I know why not! :lol: The exchange in that scene (from "Keeping Up With the Boneses", where BJ was forced to work as a mall Santa to pay off his credit card bills) went something along the lines of: Kid: Phew, Santa, you *stink*! BJ: Comes from ridin' behind all those reindeer, kid. So...I guess I'm done Christmas shopping. I'd *like* to get my brother something else, but if I don't find something oh well. My Dad made out like a bandit this year, but I guess it makes up a bit for the fact that we try not to see him more often than necessary. :D (Bah-ha) Vaughn Tada, the storyboard artist on Foster's Home that I've been corresponding with, wants to send me some studio swag for Christmas but the poor man's having serious problems with his incoming email, so I don't know if he got my address. I told him though that I'd rather have some photocopies of his artwork, so I'll let y'all know if/what I get. :) Well, I bought a coat today. Can you believe I did NOT have a coat until today? Just sweatshirts and pullovers, and a superthin raincoat. No single item both warm enough on its own as well as waterproof. So. Now I actually have a coat. It took me all day to fight the crowds and shop the department stores to find and buy one item for myself but darnit, I did it. [QUOTE="Sparky's Stats: 12-17-05"]

        Rank       :   Fall Guy      Level      :   19 (still!)   Forum Posts:   1320  Percentage :   94%           Guides Edited: 5
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Okay I'm new to the OT forum, but why exactly was the "What was your favorite game as a kid" thread deleted?? I had *just* posted in it responding to Roxie's "NARC" post and now it's gone; it and my previous post in that thread are gone from my posting history and everything. Anyone know what was wrong with that thread? Sometimes it's a mystery to me as to why these threads vanish.

I'm sure I'm not the first person to notice this, but I simply cannot resist mentioning it. I'm reading the rules post in the OT section now, and it contains the following sentence in regards to becoming a TV.com moderator:

You can send a PM to Snide and ask her to consider you, but don't expect a reply since hundreds of people PM him about being a moderator.TVcom_Moderator

:shock: ...Shocking!! :lol: Yeah you know if I'm bored enough to be *in* the OT section I'm bored enough to make a blog entry like this. :P