I got my first two Blogathon sponsors today - Mac and Laurence. Yeah! Thanks, guys!

You know you want to be like these cool kids, so go sponsor me.

.: 31 words at 06:01 PM in Participation, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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Last year I participated in Project Blog where you blog every half hour for 24 hours staight to raise money for charity (you can read all of my posts here).

I'd been planning on participating again but somehow Blogathon 2005 totally snuck up on me and to make a long story short, it's next Saturday and I haven't even started raising money.

Last year I raised slightly over $400 for Heifer International, who I'll be blogging for again this year.

If you're not familiar with Heifer International, they supply poor locations around the world (including here in the United States) with a gift animal - a goat, llama, water buffalo, rabbit, etc. - which the people of the region are then taught to take care of. The animal supplies the people with food, (milk, eggs, meat, etc.) items like fur that can be sold or used to make clothing, and much more.

The best part is that the recipient of the animal is then required to give some of the offspring to another family or group of people in need. They in turn do the same and so on and so forth. By teaching people how to become self-reliant and having them help others, Heifer has assisted millions of people in becoming healthy, happy individuals that can stand on their own two feet. In essence, Heifer is the embodiment of the sentiment "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man, feed him for a lifetime."

For every $5.00 that you pledge to sponsor me, I'll put your name in a drawing for a set of my Burn It CDs, four CDs in total.

In addition, every half hour I'll put up at least one mp3 from my ginormous mp3 collection up for download. The music really ran the gamut and included stuff like The Lord of Acid's Pussy, Hooverphonic's Club Montepulciano, and Touch & Go's Would You...?.

I would love to top my goal from last year, so please sponsor me. It's for a really great cause and you get to watch me make sleep-deprived posts and download free music, so everyone wins.

.: 367 words at 08:30 PM in Participation, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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Because I'm nice, enjoy some random .mp3s from my ginormous music collection. Don't be a dick, right click. (Limited time only, so download them while they're available.)

Zero 7 - Destiny
Hooverphonic - Mad About You
Counting Crows - Accidentally in Love
The Ataris - San Dimas High School Football Rules
Supreme Beings of Leisure - Strangelove Addiction
Peter Malick Group with Norah Jones - Heart of Mine

.: 68 words at 08:33 PM in Media Consumption, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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I've been feeling a little under the weather today and wasn't sure how I was going to spend my evening, but I guess I do now!

I'd noticed when I pre-ordered Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince that you could choose standard shipping and, if it wasn't delivered today, the book would be free. I almost chose that option, but now I'm glad I didn't since I got my book today anyway.

Excuse me while I disappear for a few days now.

.: 82 words at 08:07 PM in Media Consumption, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (4) :.

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I've been too busy and/or too tired to really blog around here much, but here's a quick catch up, as much as my benefit as for yours, of the last few weeks:

Friday, July 1st: Marc and I went to see Land of the Dead (good zombie film, though I found myself way too distracted by what a nice suit Dennis Hopper had on; I am so weird) and then went to Zimm's for martinis. Good apple martinis, but the DJ must have thought either that everyone there was there to hear him or that there were 900 people there because, damn, he was loud. We then went to Katz's (Katz's never kloses) for food and then to Marfreless for more delicious martinis.

Saturday, July 2nd: party at Kenny and Elaine's. Lots of fun and I got to see people that I hadn't seen in a while including Pat and Hanna.

Sunday, July 3rd: poker night at Kevin and Kimberly's. Six people played and I doubled my $20 and drank apple martinis mixed by Kevin. I miss playing cards regularly.

Wednesday, July 6th: I met Bruce Campbell! I was actually really nervous to get to meet him; again, I am such a dork. We totally had a moment when he signed my book (and called me dear) and talked about how I spell my name. Okay, probably not a moment, but I made it one in the life that I lead inside my head, so it counts.

Marc and I went to Romano's (Mmmmm. Pizza.) and next to Marfreless (Mmmmm. Apple martinis made with sour apple rum instead of apple pucker.). We then met Jeff and Elizabeth back at the River Oaks Theater for Bruce's Q&A and to see The Man With The Screaming Brain.

Bruce didn't seem as personable as he did in some of the other Flickr pictures of him, so I suspect he had a bad day or something, especially since the Q&A was actually three hours later than it was supposed to be.

It was still fun and while the movie wasn't exactly great, it was still pretty cool to see in a theater filled with Bruce Campbell fans. Or maybe it was the martinis before hand. Btw, this is the best Bruce Campbell picture ever.

After the movie, we went back to Marfreless since the rumor was that Bruce was going to be there, but he didn't show. Drats!

Friday, July 8th: met Katie at her house so we could get a bite to eat before the big Technology Byte's Tenth Anniversary Party.

We went to Farrago's where I had just about the best pizza ever (crispy, but not too crispy; perfect amount of sauce with tiny chunks of tomato) and some yummy pink lemonade martinis. It was an even better dinner when Chris and Katie paid for the whole thing. They are so sweet and I love them.

Next up was Kaveh Kane's for the party. It was a lot of fun seeing Sat, Jay, Barrett, and the rest of the gang. Sat and I popped into the bar next door since Kaveh Kane's doesn't serve hard liquor and I got to try out my apple flavored cocktail sugar. Pretty good stuff, though I think I would like it more if it was of a finer grain.

The party broke up around midnight, so Sat, Kendall, and I went over to Twelve Spot. I just love the look of that place with the exposed brick and the high ceilings. Kendall left after a bit, but Sat and I sat (heh) and shot the shit since we hadn't talked for a while.

Last stop of the night was Frank's Pizza (Mmmmm. Pizza.) for some delicious food. I'm always amazed at how packed that place is at 3:00 in the morning.

Sunday, July 10th: lunch with my family at Tila's on Shepard to celebrate my aunt's birthday. Their regular margaritas weren't very good, but their raspberry ones were. The service kind of sucked, but I had the absolute best cheese quesadillas ever. They were freaking delicious. The roasted corn was also really good, but the chili pepper on it was too spicy for me.

I got home just in time to get a call from Kendall saying that she was taking her massage table to Katie's, so I headed over to her house. After a really nice massage, Kendall and I went to Sambuca for a drink.

Lara, our bartender, made the best apple martinis, so I need to talk to her to see what she did different. These two old guys kept hitting on us, so we left and went to The Flying Saucer where we had the best bacon cheese fries. The Saucer makes shitty drinks (unless you like beer), but their bacon cheese fries are to die for. We called Sat and he joined us for a while too.

Tuesday, July 12th: trivia contest night at The Flying Saucer! Sat, Jeff, Elizabeth, Amber, Melissa, girl and boy, and I played a kick ass match of trivia, leading ten other teams for most of the twenty questions. Unfortunately, we fell behind and finished only third. We won a $10 gift certificate good for next Tuesday, so I'm going to try and go back out.

We then went over to Sambuca for a drink where the talented Carol Fran was singing the blues. She was awesome. I was a little disappointed since the nice waiter who put on my tiara one time when I was there before a Tiara Happy Hour was kind of a dick and put everyone's drinks on my tab. I think I'm still owed like four martinis.

Wednesday, July 13th: The El Orbits were having their monthly show at Sambuca, so I headed back downtown. Since Technology Bytes is on at the same time, the original plan was to go to the Saucer or somewhere else with WiFi, but thanks to an unsecured network, I was actually able to connect from Sambuca's bar, listen to the show with one headphone, The El Orbits, and chat in the IRC channel at the same time, all while having a delicious apple martini. It was quite a bit like heaven.

Quite a bit like heaven, that is, until we left at 9:00 to get some food and I found a parking ticket on my window when I went to go put my laptop up. Since there were cars parked both in front of and behind me, a sign next to my car saying that parking was not permitted from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm (I parked at a little after 7:00), Katie's parked there before, and a cop that we flagged down said he wasn't sure why I got a ticket, I was pretty pissed off.

I really want to fight it, but the fine is only $35 and I'd rather not have to lose vacation time to fight something that small. As Katie said, it's a win-win for the city since they know most people will pay the ticket even if they shouldn't have gotten one because it's easier.

After a bite to eat at St. Pete's Dancing Marlin, we went back to listen to the rest of The El Orbit's show. Man, I've really missed them. Kendall picked up some admirers (I did too, but since they were out of towners and older than I'm really looking for, I pretty much danced when asked to, but didn't pay them much attention).

Kendall wanted to go to another bar after Sambuca closed at midnight, so we went upstairs to The State Bar and talked for a few more hours.

Despite the ticket, the night had still been mostly awesome, but while we were getting ready to leave Kendall, who'd had a lot to drink and always does this when she's a bit inebriated, lifted me up, stumbled on the uneven sidewalk, and fell backwards. She landed on her ass, I fell on my knees, and right onto a sharp sign outside the front door, cutting a huge gash into my arm.

It really hurt, but I didn't cry until we went back upstairs into the bar's bathroom and I saw it in the mirror. It was really bloody, a few inches long, and I started to freak out that it was going to scar.

As of right now, it still really hurts, looks incredibly gross, I have scratches and bruises on my upper arm (and on my knees where I hit the ground), but I don't think it's going to scar, or at least not too badly. It's getting lots of hydrogen peroxide and Neosporene applied, so I'm hoping for the best.

So, that's the last couple of weeks around here. Most of those night ended with me not getting home until well after 3:00 or 4:00, so is it any wonder I took tonight easy?

Natalie's birthday is being celebrated Sunday, so even if I do nothing tomorrow, I'll still be out and about. Sat and I also talked about seeing the Peter and James Duo Monday at The Continental Club and trivia is Tuesday, so looks like my wild life is never done. What I wouldn't give to own a nice little condo downtown or in midtown so I could shave at least an hour of driving off each night. Curse living in the sticks!

.: 1582 words at 11:46 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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The latest version of Movable Type, 3.2, is now avaible for public beta testing.

The new version is awesome, with lots of changes, and I'm not just saying that because I work for Six Apart. ;-)

If you're interested in checking it out, go join the beta. It should be lots of fun and very interesting!

.: 59 words at 01:52 PM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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I've been meaning to do this for like a month, but time has completely slipped away from me lately. Looks like this will be a sign up in summer, get your CD in the fall Burn, but what the hey.

The last Burn was a rehash of the very first theme (driving music), so I've decided to do another rehash this theme as well. It's probably my very favorite theme ever, so I hope you like it too.

The Theme:
I live in Texas and it is freaking hot outside. Driving to a friend's house yesterday I passed a digital thermometer that said 106°. That's freaking hot.

In honor of the blistering Texas heat, this Burn (appropriately enough) is about hot music. And by this I mean music so sensual, so sexy, so scorching (like all the s words?), that it makes you hot, just like you too were out in the Texas sun. This would be the music you would want playing in the background if you were really into someone to go with the sexual tension in the air.

Here's how it works:
After the sign up period, people will be put into groups of 4. You will then receive an e-mail from me telling you the names and addresses of the people in your group. You burn 5 identical CDs. Keep one for yourself and send the other three to the other people in your group and one to me. New Rule: Since so many people have been complaining that they haven't gotten CDs from people in their group, I am now requiring that you send one to me so I can keep track of who sent them out and who didn't. I hate to do this, but it seems the best way to keep track. This does not mean you'll be getting a CD from me. You should then receive three new CDs from the other three people in your group.

The rules:
- If you're not going to follow through and make your CDs, please don't bother signing up. It would be a shame if one or two people ruined this for their group. If you signed up last swap and didn't send your CDs out, don't sign up this time.
- You must live in the US or Canada. If there's a intrest in this in other areas, I may do a swap at some point down the road that includes other countries, but I'm going to limit it to the areas where I know most of you guys live.
- If you live in the US, you should be willing to ship to Canada. If you live in Canada, you should be willing to ship to the US. The postage is a teeny bit more, but nothing that's going to break the bank.
- Remember that most people can't play mp3s in their car, so make sure they're something that will play in a standard car stereo. I tend to use .cda or .wav files. I have put together a list of Burn It resources for those not familiar with making CDs.
- Please be sure to put your name, URL, or e-mail on your CD somewhere. I get at least a few CDs every Burn that have nothing on them at all. Let me repeat this again: Put your name, URL, or e-mail on your CD. I swear, getting several CDs a day without this info makes me want to ban people. Be nice to your organizer and make it easier for her to keep track of you.

Guidlines on creating your CDs:
- Include a track listing. If someone like an artist, they might want to buy more music by them. Let us know who it is.
- Fill up the CD as much as you can. There's 80 minutes on a blank CD. Don't half-ass it and make a 30 minute CD.
- You should definitely use a jewel case when sending your CDs to protect it during mailing. You can get them cheap anywhere.
- I know a lot of people are graphically inclined, so feel free to make your CD a work of art.
- Don't be afraid to put on "cheesy" music. If you like it, others probably will too.
- Don't be afraid to put on music that no one has ever heard before either. Billboard or MTV may never have known this music, but you did, so that's what counts.

If you've gotten this far and you still want to sign up, send an e-mail (change the AT to an @ in my e-mail address) to me and make sure you reference the swap in the subject line. You must include the following information (please send your info even if I already have it; it's too hard for me to keep all this is one spot):

- Your name
- Mailing address
- Your blog URL
- Your e-mail address
- New requirement: If you want to be in one group or two. (You can send the same CD to each group. You don't actually have to create two different mixes.)

Sign-ups will continue through end of day Friday, July 29th. By Monday, August 1st, I will send e-mails to everyone letting you know who is in your group.

You should have all of your CDs burned and in the mail NO LATER THAN Wednesday, August 24th. This gives you at least a full three weeks to create and ship CDs to your three group partners and me.

Please spread the word! More people equals more music! Just be sure to link to this URL, because eventually this entry will cycle off the main page. Also, feel free to swipe one of the buttons here and link it to the category page here.

If you have any other questions, you can e-mail me or leave a comment.

Special thanks goes out to Alison for both the inspiration and allowing me to use most of her rules and guidelines.

Enter your e-mail address to be notified of the next Burn It mix CD swap:

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.: 1023 words at 10:37 PM in Burn It, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (3) :: All the Voices Say... (10) :.

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Gah! I just got the mail and I have another bill in there from that stupid kidney stone procedure that I had in April, this one to to the tune of $162.

I wish when you had a procedure like this done they'd give you some kind of clue how many other people are going to need money in addition to the $2,800 I had to give them the day of the surgery. At this point, we're rapidly approaching $4,000 and it's anybody's guess if another bill or two or three are going to show up.

God, I hate insurance companies.

.: 101 words at 02:02 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (4) :.

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Since last Friday, I have been out five nights where I haven't made it home before 3:00 in the morning. It's only 9:00 pm, but I am going to bed right now. Man, I'm beat.

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On Wednesday, July 6th, Bruce Campbell, the star of such cult classics as The Evil Dead, Army of Darkness, and The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., will be in town signing his latest book Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way before showing his new movie "Man with the Screaming Brain" at the River Oaks Theatre. I missed him when he was in town signing If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a "B" Movie Actor and I've regretted it ever since.

Bruce is talking and doing a Q&A at 6:00, with the signing around 6:40. "Man with the Screaming Brain" will then be shown at 10:00. More information can be found at the Murder by the Book signing page. Seating is limited for the speaking engagement, so I'm going to try and arrive around 5:00 or so.

If anyone is interested in going, e-mail me at kymberlie AT neuroticfishbowl.com so I can keep an eye out for you.

.: 158 words at 11:44 PM in Notable News, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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