Last night I stood on our back porch and watched a really impressive lightning storm for a few minutes. It was miles away but that’s one of the things about living here - you can see the lightning hit like it’s just across the street but not even hear the thunder. There were streaks that went clear across the horizon and lit the sky almost as bright as noon. The rain started at about 9 pm. Then the came hail on and off - sometimes hitting the roof really hard as the wind blew. The thunder came too. Sounding almost exactly as the lightning hit. Some booms were so loud the dog barked. Melon ran for cover under the bed. The lights flickered a few times. I thought it was going to stay off for a minute there. Cody was at work he said they could hear the hail on the roof - which means it was hitting quite hard. Winter and I went to sleep at about eleven listening to the rain. Sometime in the night the hail and thunder woke us up. I think she was barking again.

This morning the porch roof had holes in it. One part is dented and is leaking heavily. I think a branch hit it but I’m not going out in the rain and hail and mud to check. The whole thing will probably have to be replaced. At one time I’d thought about making the back porch an outdoor room - putting an old dining set and my easel out here. Sometimes I have pipe dreams about walling it in and making it into a big kitchen and breakfast room. Right now I just want a roof on it.

I’m really glad we had those four trees cut down over the summer because they probably would have done some serious damage. The hail hitting the small pencil tree in the front makes the whole yard smell like crushed pine.

I wish the Bernalillo county clerk would answer the damn phone. We haven’t gotten our registration confirmations and today’s the last day to register to vote.

I’m almost out of Tazo awake tea. And Netflix is taking its sweet time sending my BBC drama smack aka Series 2 of Upstairs Downstairs. That show has me hooked.

I need to update my book list I haven’t listed the last five I’ve read.

is probably best known for the shower scene in Psycho but I preferred her as Rose, staying cool-as-a-cucumber despite Frank Sinatra’s sweaty neurotic episodes in The Manchurian Candidate. And as the bitchy pushy clubwoman in The Fog.

Lovely Janet Leigh tribute site

She passed away yesterday at 77 with her daughters by her side.

Excite News

I’m stealing this from Chasing Daisy but it’s just too damn funny to risk you not reading it. This is where she got it.

Top 25 lines in Star Wars that can be improved by inserting the word “Pants”:

1. A tremor in the pants. The last time I felt this was in the presence of my old master.
2. You are unwise to lower your pants.
3. We’ve got to be able to get some reading on those pants, up or down.
4. She must have hidden the plans in her pants. Send a detachment down to retrieve them. See to it personally Commander.
5. These pants may not look like much, kid, but they’ve got it where it counts.
6. I find your lack of pants disturbing.
7. These pants contain the ultimate power in the Universe. I suggest we use it.
8. Han will have those pants down. We’ve got to give him more time!
9. General Veers, prepare your pants for a surface assault.
10. I used to bulls-eye womp-rats in my pants back home.
11. TK-421. . . Why aren’t you in your pants?
12. Lock the door. And hope they don’t have pants.
13. Governor Tarkin. I recognized your foul pants when I was brought on board.
14. You look strong enough to pull the pants off of a Gundark.
15. Luke. . . Help me take…these pants off.
16. Great, Chewie, great. Always thinking with your pants.
17. That blast came from those pants. That thing’s operational!
18. Don’t worry. Chewie and I have gotten into a lot of pants more heavily guarded than this.
19. Maybe you’d like it back in your pants, your highness.
20. Your pants betray you. Your feelings for them are strong. Especially one. Your sister!
21. Jabba doesn’t have time for smugglers who drop their pants at the first sign of an Imperial Cruiser.
22. Yeah, well short pants is better than no pants at all, Chewie.
23. Attention. This is Lando Calrissean. The Empire has taken control of my pants, I advise everyone to leave before more troops arrive.
24. I cannot teach him. The boy has no pants.
25. You came in those pants? You’re braver than I thought.

(Insert snarky comment about my old dancing, nightclub-owning character in SWG here)

I watched Pumpkin on Sundance yesterday. It was pithy, funny, silly, and sad with a great soundtrack. There was a ‘David Lynch meets an ABC after school special’ style that made it come dangerously close to being camp. Most characters are stereotypes that contradict themselves at some point and it almost seems like none of them are listening to each other at all. Was very similar to But I’m a Cheerleader, but was a bit funnier.

I probably wouldn’t watch it again but I’d buy the soundtrack.

You’re Betty Grable!

What Classic Pin-Up Are You?
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Does anyone else find it ironic that the new victoria’s secret commercial has the opening of “Monkey Man“? Of course it stops right before the lyrics start heh.

Did I ever mention that I used to be a licensed radio deejay? Yeah I worked for a very small jazz station in Birmingham when I was in high school from 88-90. I did the “Alternative” Saturdays (had to bring in my own albums of course) and a few period jazz shifts. And these were the days when Alternative meant something…hahahahaha! As far as I know my fcc license is still valid but I haven’t worked in radio since.

Sometimes I think about starting a shoutcast station. In the meantime I set up a little sidebar of downloads I’ll change regularly.

a few technical notes:
Please right-click and save-as..no streaming please it’s kinda rude. Feel free to post requests in the comments. No direct linking or I’ll post a nasty file there instead. I also will keep changing the directory the songs are put in so don’t bother direct-linking to that either. Please buy the album if you like the song. Sometimes the money actually gets back to the artist. note: The song files will be removed in one week. With all that said I hope you enjoy!