ToughPigs.com

A great news related Muppet site. It would have been here earlier, but I accidently posted it to the Realm blog.

I gotta stop doing that!

Herndon

Obviously, I'm bored. I knew about two other towns named Herndon, and decided to see if I could find more. Our town definitely dominates the Internet!

Amusing sight of the day: I was leaving the dentist office, and noticed someone sitting in the car next to mine. Hispanic fella, his car all decked out, el salvador bumper stickers, tattoos, little mustache, typical 'tough' young guy for the area.

Usually you see guys who are waiting for someone reading newspapers or listening to CD players. He was concentrating very hard on a wordfind puzzle. The kind we used to buy for my great-aunt.

It just made me laugh.

Movie Review:The Muppet's Wonderful Wizard of Oz

I was very concerned about this combination, some things just don't need updating or alterations! It did have its good points, fortunately!

They didn't blatantly copy the film, but kept to the book. They turned the shoes back to silver, they included all four witches, and the mice (well, rats) saved the Lion and Dorothy from the Poppy Fields. The Emerald City had wonderful Art Nouveau elements, a nod to the time period when the books came out. They had to wear special green glasses while in Oz.

There was one more minor thing I was very impressed by. Miss Piggy looks absolutely wonderfulwith black hair. Get rid of the blonde, honey!

I still hate the prawn, the monkey and the green guy (Johnny?). Never been too impressed with Bobo, either. I'm a bit confused right now because Frank Oz isn't listed in the credits! I'll figure it out later. The sound was a bit . . . noisy. Too much going on? Not sure, it just sounded off. But other than that . . .

Cute to see. Not sure if I'd want to own it. You just can't beat the real thing.

Joke of the Day (seen on the realm message boards)

Sitting on the side of the highway waiting to catch speeding drivers, a State Police Officer sees a car puttering along at 30 MPH. He thinks to himself, "This driver is just as dangerous as a speeder!" So he turns on his lights and pulls the driver over.

Approaching the car, he notices that there are two older female passengers, one in the front seat and one in the back - eyes wide and white as ghosts.

The driver, obviously confused, says to him, "Officer, I don't understand, I was doing exactly the speed limit! What seems to be the problem?"

"Mrs. Harkness," the officer replies, "You weren't speeding, but you should know that driving slower than the speed limit can also be a danger to other drivers."

"Slower than the speed limit?" she asked. No sir, I was doing the speed limit exactly... 30 miles per hour!" the smug woman says a bit proudly.

The State Police officer, trying to contain a chuckle explains to her that "30" was the route number, not the speed limit. A bit embarrassed, the woman grinned and thanked the officer for pointing out her error.

"But before I let you go, Ma'am, I have to ask... Is everyone in this car ok? These women seem awfully shaken and they haven't muttered a single peep this whole time." the officer asks.

"Oh, they'll be alright in a minute officer. We just got off Route 119."

An Exotic Evolution - washingtonpost.com

Must have been a slow news day. They got bored with the geese, haven't heard about the beavers in ages, so the reporters focus on something more mundane in DC. Black squirrels!

I know I've seen one in Herndon (and a white one, too) so they're really starting to spread. I remember it was years before I saw ANY squirrels in our neighborhood. I guess they spread out to the suburbs, too. Slightly less chance of being roadkill, but only slightly.

Was at my sister's today, having been invited for dinner and to see her gardens, new water pond, and whatever else they had changed. The gardening gene seems to have skipped me, but I did admire the pretty colors and unusual features of everything she had. When I asked how she chose which flowers to buy and how to plant them, she simply replied: "I bought what I liked." Her water pond was in a sealed water hose container (looked like a low, wide flower pot) and they had even added some goldfish.

The tour meant a lot of time spent outside. (I imagine I will feel miserable later.) The cats watched us from behind the new screen door, which they loved because they could see and smell so much. Erin told us about the bumblebee that made his rounds on the deck, and how the cats talked to him. Anna even made this unusual "baaaaaah" sound when she saw him.

This particular bumblebee is very diligent. I'm not very knowledgable about hive life, but he seems to be a sentry. He chases after birds, bugs, other bees and whatever else moves into his 'territory.' Erin and Andrew have resigned to his presence, as each bumblebee they kill gets replaced by another.

Do you know what it's like to be stared at by a bumblebee?

I hate big bugs that make buzzy noises. They just freak me out. I kept getting told, "Oh, shoo him away, he doesn't have a stinger, blah blah." I hate the noise, and I hate getting hovered over. He HOVERED over my head. Or beside me, about face level. At one point he flew around me in circles. I sank lower in my chair. I waved my arms. I "baaaahed" at him. He stared. And hovered. And buzzed.

Either he liked me, or I was suspicious.

Could it be he found out about the chocolate frog?

krautboy: Star Wars Convention pics

Eh, what the heck. Have a look. Laugh a bit. Spend a little more time on your costume.

Happily Ever After: Dollhouses, collectible miniatures, and toys in Leesburg,VA - Home

There's a miniatures store in Leesburg. I must go.

If only to convince myself that no, it's NOT actually closer than the one in Falls Church and the other one in Vienna.

Item learned for the day. Brazilian martial arts! I found lots of sites for Capoeira, but chose to go with the wikipedia description just for simplicity.

Capoeira - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WDFW Auto-loading Kent Eagle page

The yearly Eaglecam in Kent! There's two eaglets this year. Momma seems to sit on them most of the time.

In the past week, both my mother and my grandmother's cousin have been approached in parking lots by women begging for money. They'd lost their job, they needed to feed their baby, blah blah. My grandmother's cousin proceeded to interrogate her beggar about said baby, and then told her she was sorry, but she didn't feel she could believe her. My mother told the woman to go to the nearest church and they would take her to any number of local food banks. The woman moved on without a word. Later, Mom called my uncle the policeman, who said it was generally a scam and not to give them anything.

I don't think we've ever encountered anyone seriously begging in this area. (although I would count scout troops who hang around store entrances and door to door salesmen.) Is it legal? Do you think it works? If I were truly penniless, would I walk up to someone on the street and ask for money? Would it work? I've always been amazed at what some people would do if you just ask them politely. I've always been a bit glad I'm not exactly a pushover.

Crazy eBay mom

My sister was in the beginning stages of this. Fortunately, all small stuff, toys and christmas ornaments, and she appears to have grown out of it. Depressive spending, we thought.

This, however, is unbelieveable.

Pardon me, I have to go realign my jaw back into place.

Angel Moxie

In spite of it's girly-power cuteness pretenses, it's really rather amusing and very well drawn. The storyline is simple, yet detailed, and the characters tend to make me chuckle. Check it out!