Inspiration Abounds...

I never did get around to listing some of the positive things that occurred in my life in the last decade, but while thinking about what I might list (like adopting my dog Daisy - who is a joy to me everyday - and creating and running SpeakOUT), instead I actually started to realize what creative people I have in my life.

I have been blessed to meet and know some very talented people...I don't want to embarrass them by naming names, but I would like to list their talents: singers, musicians, painters, photographers, writers, playwrights, jewelry makers, costume makers and arts & crafts queens and kings! While some of these people do not make a living off of their passions, they are not mere hobbies either. All of the people I am thinking of have gotten paid for their talents or have been featured in galleries or published. It is very inspiring! I regret that these people do not know the extent of my awe for their creativity and my pride in their accomplishments.

I also know several individuals who's passions have given "birth" to support groups, websites, businesses and organizations over the last decade supporting that which they hold most important. These groups rang from religious beliefs to social or medical issues. Having done this myself, I know how much of yourself that you put into such an accomplishment. Each of these people have my deepest respect.

Knowing these individuals has inspired me to further pursue my own artistic side in the coming decade. I was very proud to have some of my writing published in Outlook Weekly. I would like to continue down that path. I'm also planning on getting back into the mix when it comes to LGBT issues...break time is over. I'm ready for a new decade - I hope it is ready for me!

Songbird...

I was watching the Graham Norton show on BBC this past New Year's Eve and was introduced to a talented singer I had not heard of: Sharleen Spiteri. She was awesome! I can't wait to hear her new album of movie songs.

You can see her here performing Xanadu - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km929Ggl0oo

Check her out! http://www.sharleenspiteri.co.uk/

Green Day With the 'American Idiot' Cast, '21 Guns' -- Song Premiere - Spinner

Green Day With the 'American Idiot' Cast, '21 Guns' -- Song Premiere - Spinner

Check this out...pretty awesome!

Things that are wrong in this universe...

Pastor Rick Warren Appeals for Close to $1 Million in Donations for Saddleback Church - Sphere News

I saw this on AOL and it makes me sick! Just like our very own World Harvest Church/Rod Parsley cry for help...this showcases exactly what is wrong with organized religion. It is what gives "Christianity" a bad name.

I never bought into the whole paying your way to heaven scam...but there are plenty out there who do. I believe a person's actions not monetary donations will be the true test in the end. It doesn't stop these mega-churches though.

Why don't these pastors (who should be living a humble life) sell off their million dollar homes, expensive cars and boats to make up the missing money? Maybe they should stop running their own TV stations. The list goes on. It is such a scam and it angers me.

I once read an article in a magazine about a couple who needed financial help - they were spending more than they could bring in. One of the reasons was that they were giving like $300 a month to tithe at their church. The counselor advised them to dramatically reduce this amount until they could get caught up on their bills. They flat out refused...and tons of angry letters followed. I thought it was absolutely the right advise. These people couldn't pay their electric bill but they just doled out $300 to their church. Is this really what Jesus would want?

These "men of God" ought to be in jail. These Mega-Churches ought to be illegal. Until their flocks wake up and realized they are being duped, however, it never will happen.

God save us.

POP! goes the Decade...

Last night I watched this cool video from Newsweek – it’s the decade in review in only seven minutes: http://2010.newsweek.com/video/decade-in-seven-minutes.html

It’s hard to imagine that in 1999, there were no I-Pods, Wii or even Facebook!

I know that yesterday I was 'Ms. Downer'…and well, I still think the 00’s pretty much sucked, but it wasn’t a decade without some high points too.

Let us focus on the fun stuff today:

Pop Culture:

The OO’s will certainly go down in history as the beginning of over-sharing and self-importance: I got ‘My’ own ‘Space’, found a few friends on Facebook, started a blog and learned how to Tweet.

The OO's were also the decade to bring everything 80's back around again:

I rekindled my love for an old gem in Weird Al Yankovic…a musical genius!

I re-discovered the hilarious and multi-talented Neil Patrick Harris.

I finally got to wrap my arms around Boba Fett when I met Jeremy Bulloch!

I finally got to meet my favorite New Kid, Donnie Wahlberg...and saw NKOTB in concert again!

They finally made the movie – Freddy versus Jason – and my 80’s inner horror geek rejoiced! (Ok…it sucked – but still!!)

Indiana Jones dusted off his fedora one more time and we finally got to see Episodes 1-3 of Star Wars (OK...technically Episode 1 was released in 99.)

Elsewhere...The OO's left it's mark when...

I learned that some vampires sparkle and I rooted for some Gryffindor wizards.

I was astonished to find that the best Bond had yet to come when I fell for Craig’s version in Casino Royale.

British Man of Many Hats, Hugh Laurie, knocked my socks off as an actor, author and musician.

I said “Seriously” a lot and called everyone “Mc” so-and-so for at least a year.

I got my news from Jon Stewart and fell in love with his zany cast of characters.

I preferred Tina Fey’s version of Sarah Palin…and thankfully the majority of the country agreed.

I got LOST, dug Bones and checked into hospitals Seattle Grace, Sacred Heart and Princeton Plainsboro regularly.

Queer As Folk became the first television series I actually paid to be able to view…and I discovered that a man named Gale could make me weak in the knees!

I out-grew my long-held subscription to Glamour and traded it in for Redbook.

I got hooked on Post Secret.

Adopted a Webkinz or two.

TMI got kicked-up a notch with the introduction of the term "Va jay-jay."

I got "green"!

I celebrated Same Sex Marriage victories - in my own country!!

I helped elect the country's first black president!

There's more...I know I'm forgetting so much...but those are the things that stick out in my head tonight as I write this.

Tomorrow I'll focus on the good things in my own personal life.

Good Riddance...

Greetings Dear Readers…I am back after a lengthy time-out. I hope life treated you well in my absence. Since my last entry, life has kept me busy (and aged me a year older back on November 10^th). My children have also increasingly been hogging the computer (and thus keeping me from getting online long enough to blog)…but hopefully I will not stay away so long again.

As these last few days of 2009 tick down, I like many others have become reflective. Mainly I was thinking about the past year and the ways my life has changed since the year before, but my son got me thinking on a larger scale. He is obsessed with the fact that we are about to change decades. (Considering this is the first time he has ever experienced this, I guess I can see the excitement.) So now I’m pondering the 00’s - or whatever you prefer to call this decade we are currently still in.

From my point of view, this has been a decade to forget! Not that there haven’t been good things to celebrate and cherish – like the birth of said son in 2000 – overall though, this has been a terrible decade.

Being a glass half-empty sort of gal, I think I’ll focus on the bad before the good…

During this past decade, I have watched my country steadily crumble under the leadership of the worst president in our history – George W. Bush. Economically we are in the crapper…my husband became one of the countless Americans who lost his/her job (of 12 years) – and then again only six months later when he was let go from the job that replaced the old one - during the recession. This of course changed our lives immensely – mainly for the worst. Although I don’t have the tax forms in front of me to prove it – we are probably worst off now than in 1999. We still only have one vehicle and do not own our own home.

I won’t even bother to pull out my soap box on the devastation that 8 years of Bush brought upon the civil rights of this country’s citizens. I am only grateful that because of this, my social conscious finally awoke and I became a much more aware, active participant of the human race…

If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make the change. (The Man in the Mirror ~ Michael Jackson)

Our lives were forever changed by the events on September 11^th, 2001. These events continue to affect our lives as we are still entangled in not one but two wars. I once felt justified that we went to war with Iraq after 9/11; but once the death toll of Americans killed in Iraq reached and surpassed that of those lost in 9/11 (and we still had not captured Bin Laden), I had to rethink my usual pro-military stance.

I’ve already mentioned the addition of my son to our family in this decade, but my family unit was also permanently altered when my parents divorced…leaving me essentially without my father in my life. Brian lost his father as well when he took his own life.

Medically it has not been a banner decade in my home: Being diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorder has altered the person I am today. Brian was diagnosed with vertigo. Brandon was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Heck, even Meg had to get glasses.

I have lost more friends this decade than I would like to remember…

I have lost the gift of gaming in my life…

This has been a trying decade in my marriage to Brian – but we are still hanging in there.

Career-wise, I’ve been a temp at my current place of employment for almost a year now. Is this what I get for all the effort I put in working my way through college, while raising a family? I am nowhere near the job I thought I would have at this time in my life. Brian isn’t even working and is trying to re-create himself.

I’m sure there is more…of course there is more…but I think you get the bleak picture. We lost our sense of security; kicked out a planet (Pluto) from the solar system (As a Scorpio, Pluto was my ruling planet! Hey! Maybe that’s why I’m so adrift…I have no planet!) & almost lost New Orleans to the sea. This decade can’t be over fast enough if you ask me!

Tomorrow…I (attempt to) look on the bright side!

Happy Birthday - now remove that stick from your ass!

Tomorrow is my husband's birthday. He hates that it is his birthday...and therefore I hate him. (My logic teacher would be so happy!) For the past 13 years I have tried and failed to make Brian's birthday special for him. Doing so is pretty hard since he never tells you what he wants, shrugs over the gifts he is given, has no friends to celebrate with and he can't stand his relatives. He is a total grouch and just makes me miserable.

But I try - I get him nice things and put thought into it. I take him to a nice restaurants. I try. He does not care though. I might as well be trying to set him on fire instead. He just sits there - sour, ungrateful and makes me feel worst. Couldn't he just pretend to thankful for my sake?

Tonight we took him to Bucca di Beppo and had them bring him a special cupcake after dinner. They didn't sing to him though - unlike at other tables - and I was a bit upset about that, but I could tell he was relieved. Then I took him to the Container Store because the single thing he did ask for were plastic containers to hold our cereal (because he hates that the kids don't close the boxes up)...and guess what, we left without buying them. Too expensive...the holes were not the right size...blah.

I talked him into walking through a small section at Easton that was all lit up for Christmas (which I love and he hates). We ended up at Godiva and I wanted to buy him a special piece of chocolate for a birthday treat...he wanted nothing to do with it. So I picked something and the kids wanted to look at the fountain because it was all lit up. So they ran about and we were alone, under the stars and twinkling lights. The fountain looked beautiful. I put my arm around him and said something about it being romantic...to which he grumbled something snarly about the kids.

Damn it! Why can't he allow me treat him nicely? What I am supposed to do? Ignore him. Tell him to fuck off?!

The worst part is that my birthday is next month. He - a hater of birthdays - really doesn't care to make any special occasion of my special day. I WANT to have attention lavished upon me. I WANT nice gifts and a fuss. I'm married to the anti-Martha Stewart, so for years I just suffer through his "attempts". This year I sent him an email about how the nation tour for Star Wars in concert was coming to town. I wrote "hint, hint...what a nice gift for a birthday or Christmas". Instead of surprising me, this morning he just blurts out "So how many tickets are you expecting me to buy for that thing." What?! I was crushed. Why can't he sweep me off to a nice birthday dinner and give me the tickets? I may as well have just bought them myself and saved him the energy of having to think at all. I ended up telling him to just buy one. He will. He is an ass.

I hate being a husband basher...I don't want to be that woman...but I can hardly stand to be around Brian anymore. He is so down and negative every moment of the day. We don't talk. We occupy space in a house together - but we are not together in a home, if you know the difference. Sex? What is that? I tickled him with a feather duster at the Container Store and cooed at him with a French accent - he just rolled his eyes and wandered into the next aisle. I point blank asked him when he wanted to get lucky this birthday weekend - he ignored me and flipped the channel on TV. Where's the remote to this marriage? I want a different channel!

This life I'm living is toxic.

Good Wife lives up to the hype...

The Good Wife - CBS, Tuesday Nights 10PM

I was able to find some time this evening to hit my DVR and watch a couple more fall premieres, including CBS' The Good Wife. It airs opposite The Forgotten, and boy did I choose to watch the wrong one! This one has plenty of potential.

First, it would really have to be a stinker of a script for this cast to drop the ball: Julianna Margulies, Chris Noth, Christina Branaski, Matt Czurchy...hell, even Grams from Dawson's Creek is in this thing! Luckily the writing was good and the characters interesting. Plus Christina B. barley annoyed me at all. A miracle! I'm already planning to add this show to my must DVR list.

Here's the run down: "The Good Wife" is a drama about a politician's wife (Margulies) who pursues her own career as a defense attorney after her husband (Noth) is sent to jail on charges of political corruption - not to mention his extra-marital affairs. Margulies will not only have to deal with her career but also with keeping her family together by providing a stable home for her two children and a nosey, but caring mother-in-law.

Yes, it is a bit of a chick show...but fear not because at its root, the show is basically another court room drama. If you like those, you'll like this. Plus Margulies does a great job at showing vulnerability while still standing strong.

I want those 22 minutes back!

Accidentally on Purpose - CBS, Monday Nights 8:30PM

Horrible...horrible...horrible! I managed to make it through this entire hot mess - but just barely.

Jenna Elfman is a likable, good-enough actress - but she is just never going to find another vehicle on TV and she ought to stop putting us through the grueling nightmare of her "next big thing." Seriously!

How in the world this show got the plumb time slot between How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory is beyond my comprehension. Who is Elfman banging at CBS? Even my 12 year old daughter, who willingly watches such shows as Keeping Up With the Kardashians, couldn't manage to watch more than 5 minutes of this episode.

In the first episode, the "cougar" (Elfman) hooks up with the (questionable) hottie (Jon Foster), has sex twice and gets knocked up. Wait there's more...then her "boy toy" gets tossed out of his apartment and is living in a van - so she of course invites him to live with her. Since she doesn't want any complications however (too late!), they can't have sex anymore. Huh? Add to this mix his loser guy friends and her desperate gal pals and hilarity never ensues. Even the funny and talented Ashley Jensen (from Extras) is just a wash in this show.

If I haven't turned you away from the horror of this sitcom yet, let me add just two more words: Grant Show! Yes, Mr. 'Original' Melrose Place (hey...maybe he should wander over there) is also in the mix as Elfman's boss/sometimes lover. You know it's bad people.

Friends don't let friends watch this crap!

Easy to forget...

The Forgotten - ABC, Tuesday Nights at 10PM

The fall TV season unveiled another new show last night…The Forgotten. I was actually looking forward to seeing this one because it stars Christian Slater from (among other things) last season's prematurely yanked My Own Worst Enemy on NBC. Despite what the critics had to say about MOWE, I actually enjoyed it and found it getting better with each episode. I was very disappointed not to get to see where that all may have went (my take: Henry and Edward would eventually merge into one conscious being).

Besides, anyone who knew me 'back in the day' knows that I have adored Christian since his Gleaming the Cube days! Pump Up the Volume was an essential film in my adolescence. He was a genius in Heathers. So I swore one day I'd be Mrs. Christian Slater…well, that didn't happen and despite his rocky path in life, I still love him. That's why it is so unfortunate that he is associated with this easily forgotten Bones/Scooby-Doo knock-off.

Here's the basic plot - a group of every day people (Slater's character was once a police officer) belong to the Midwest chapter (Chicago) of a national organization whose members search out the identities of Jane & John Doe victims that the police have given up on. They also seek to solve their murders. Slater's character began working with this group after the unsolved abduction of his own daughter two years previous. Other people have their own reasons - some are simply bored with their everyday lives. The group has been successful enough that the police give them some cooperation - and Slater's ties to the department seems to come in handy.

There is little to say positive about this show. Most of the characters are cookie-cutter space wasters. The victim's voice-overs do not add to the show and are not very effective in producing empathy for them. The "artist" of the group seems to be the most realistic of the group, but his character is so similar to Angela on Bones that it should fall under some sort of copy-right infringement. Plus the guy reminds me of Heroes Milo Ventimiglia…but I like Milo. Everything seems to come pretty easy to this group - making one wonder how the cops couldn't figure it out as well. Some of it is far-fetched…like deciphering the brand of black nail polish from a photo of the victim's hand. Mainly I'm just amazed why anyone speaks to these people - they have no authority. C'mon!

I know this show underwent a major cast change and ultimately a change to the pilot…and plus the pilot is rarely a good indicator of what the show can be (remember the Friend's pilot?)…so I'll watch again next week. Everyone deserves a second chance…but if this gets aired past 6 episodes I'll be very surprised. Too bad - I love seeing Christian on TV each week.

Today I decided to take my afternoon break outside…and what a treat! Despite being in a huge corporate area, this building does have a very nice out door break area. It is like a little woodsy oasis. There are tall trees and plants galore. I love to sit there and watch the squirels bounce all over the lawn. When the place isn't over-taken by smokers, it really is a nice retreat. You would hardly know that we are right next to an off-ramp into Dublin from 270! Actually, I find the hushed whizz of the cars passing from behind our wall of trees soothing. Today there were leaves falling all around and one couldn't miss the distinct aroma of autumn in the air. Welcome to my favorite season of all….Happy Equinox!