"September?  You'll arrive at the tailend of the rainy season"

"Ah yes, winter is quite the rainy season in Sydney"

"Rainy Season...."  "...rainy season..."  "RAINY SEASON"

I blame every person who mentioned this without grasping both my shoulders and furiously shaking me into comprehension for my total surprise that it rains here. Hard. Everyday. All day. And very very cold rain it is. With wind.

And what do americans do when it dumps for the third day in a row?  The same thing aussies do apparently...hit the mall.  So we bundled up, grabbed our umbrellas and bus passes and headed for the 6 story mini-mall in Bondi Junction. But this is not your run of the mill shopping center.  You could virtually live there, and we practically did- for 5 hours at least.  Beyond the gazillion stores and beauty salons, there are fancy restaurants, bars, internet cafes, chiropractors, grocery stores, child-care, a chinese healing center, a state-of-the-art 10 theater cinema and, of course, Target.  We ate lunch (vegan falofel for me, gourmet japanese noodles for aust), bought a long-overdue hairdryer (hence the lack of pictures of me thus far), looked at apartments and jobs online and finally caught a flick, Tropic Thunder.  It was my first time in a legit mini-mall in years, but I must say it was a good day.  Let's just hope I never have to set foot in there again though.

In a land where dollars are round, a red pepper is a capsicum and distance can be measured in clicks, it's nice to know that some things stay the same. Hipsters, apparently, are universal. Same skin-tight jeans, same over-priced vintage inspired chucks. It seems you can pay for designer rips in your jeans on any continent. This was my first observation Friday night in the smoky (from a fog machine, not actual cigarettes) club we stumbled into after an hour of wandering around Darlinghurst in search of some decent music, or at least a bar where we could sit back and relax. My second observation? Australians may not win any dance contests, but it's not for lack of trying. There was the group of 4 girls convulsing next to the dj booth, trying to blend in but overdoing the goth-fashionista angle with an explosion of black lace, leopard print, lycras and shredded black jeans. I knew they were faking it by their even hair cuts and labeled purses (and the fact that they clearly had studied their fair share of Nylon issues to perfectly execute the look), but I have to give props where due, and these chicks were rocking out... one channeled Elaine Bennis while the others focused on some simple leg twists, giving Olivia Newton John's character from Grease, post slick makeover, a run for her money.

There was also a displaced 80s playboy, complete with multi-colored Member's Only-style jacket over a tight yellow tee, neon green sweatband and stonewashed jeans. His moves covered the dance floor (and by dance floor I am referring to the crowded area between the bar and the string of black leather couches along the back wall). At one point I thought he'd had an aneurysm as he froze mid-move, but before I could call for help, I spotted the familiar swing of an isolated forearm....thank God for The Robot.

These few completely stole the thunder of the 6 drunk lesbians, slow-dancing (to not-so-slow music) and applying makeup on one another, or the hyper group near the door, mistaking repeated air-punching for an acceptable dance move. But what about that couple on the couch, she in unripped dark jeans tucked into slouchy boots and he in head to toe Mad Men attire? Sticking out like a sore thumb, that would be us, trying unsuccessfully not to pass judgment as we laughed uncontrollably between sips of our watered-down beer.

"Faces" è uno degli ultimi dischi del chitarrista ungherese Gabor Szabo prima della sua prematura scomparsa. Uscito per la Mercury nel 1977 sotto la produzione di Wayne Henderson [Crusaders] e suonato assieme a una buona parte dei Pleasure [quelli che fecero uscire "Joyous"], Ernie Watts e altri musicisti ancora, è un disco con tanti bei momenti, dove il jazz non manca di confrontarsi con altri stili e influenze di quel periodo.

Meritano assolutamente una segnalazione: "Magic Misty Faces", canzone riflessiva e vagamente mistica, la meravigliosa "Gloomy Day" [e quì sono di parte, perchè ogni volta che si arresta il piano elettrico e riparte la chitarra con le voci in sottofondo vado a star bene, forse per il legame con un certo pezzo che la campionò.. "Carcere a vita" di Neffa], di cui mi piacciono molto anche il solo di chitarra e quello di piano elettrico, "Alicia", sostenuta delicatamente dai fiati, un pezzo elegante e davvero piacevole, l'affascinante e sognante "The Last Song" con degli archi che toccano [e ha pure una serie di bei suoni che mi ricordano dell'ottima library music] e infine "Estate" con il suo lirismo, canzone di Bruno Martino in cui Szabo fa del jazz con la chitarra in uno dei modi che mi piacciono di più, cioè con tranquillità e poesia.

Fortuna che c'è internet, io ho dovuto ordinare questo disco da Seattle [non è stato stampato su cd, e che io sappia nemmeno ristampato su vinile] e di recente l'ho convertito in digitale e messo a disposizione in sharing; tuttavia ho notato che qualcuno nei mesi scorsi ha fatto altrettanto e mi ha anticipato. Meglio così.. vuol dire che ancora più persone potranno goderne. :-)

Non vi resta che cercarlo!

fabio

His dissertation:

Mom, the picture guy told me not to smile because of my gray tooth!  I didn't listen; I smiled anyway.  Actually mom, I had the BIGGEST smile!

GO BUDDY!!!!!!

You know what, I'm okay with my boy not listening to this man.  How dare him to tell my boy not to smile.  His gray tooth is part of his 1st grade charm :o) 

Note****For those of you who don't know about Carter's gray tooth let me explain.  We were at his cousin's (Bayleigh J.) 1st birthday party in 2007 when he knocked his tooth on her rocking horse and according to Carter he's had a PIRATE tooth ever since.  He's not bothered by it and neither are we since it's a baby tooth.  But, why in heavens name would we want to NOT remember his pirate tooth when we look back at his pictures in the years to come?

So, Carter had his first day of school on Tuesday and really likes it!  He is going 2 days a week 9-2 and I am really impressed with his teachers!  Ben picked him up from school on Tuesday and Carter said, "Dad, my teachers are the greatest!"   (This is always a good sign)

My sweet little man! 

Back to the title of my post...Caroline and I dropped Carter off at school today.  I had all these grand plans of running errands with only one child in tow...when I felt the need to just stay home and PLAY with my little lady.  We have had such a good time...of course the first thing she wanted to do was READ READ AND READ some more!

We read for an entire hour...every book in the house!

Then we went on a walk..the weather is beautiful...crystal blue sky...cool breeze...WONDERFUL!

Caroline asked to get out the play-doh.  She had a blast not having to share with Carter:)!

Caroline helping me with the laundry!

Caroline will start school next week 1 day a week..the day I work...still not leaving me 1 hour to myself!  I was sulking about this fact...while everyone else's kids go back to school and mom's have time without the kiddos.  Until today!  I really felt like God was showing me the blessing of getting to keep this little missy all to myself...only if it is for 5 hours a week.  So I will stop sulking and I will begin to look forward to every Thursday when it is just us girls!

Gotta run....gotta take a nap before she wakes up!

"It is only through ridiculous and pandering Western governments, and the Western news media, in their support for the broader 'Chechen cause,' that these terrorists have for so long been able to continue on with their own efforts at genocide and garner the international support they have. It is a situation that must change." Source
Islamist jihad is a worldwide threat. You have to read the source first. This is not a threat against a US school. These things murdered many in Bresnan in Russia. It was horrific. This is a threat against Russia. Until Russia and China wake up (along with our politicians) and realize that the US, Russia and China can differ but not be enemies and that radical Islam is a common threat we will never have peace. They have to wake up to the fact that Amanutjob of Iran is a world wide menace.

Aaaannd.... I don't really know what else to say.... I like computers a lot! :D

[/First Post Assignment Thingy About Computers and Stuff] :P

We landed in Sydney yesterday after an easy 3 hour flight. Upon boarding the plane, I had a sudden panic that Austin had missed the memo on appropriate male attire for flying as every man around us was sporting dark jeans, a blue button-down and navy backpack, but was relieved to learn that no, this wasn't some mass fashion statement but the Fiji Rugby team. Needless to say, we felt pretty safe flying alongside them.

Once settled into our temporary apartment, we took to the streets to check out the beach. Amazing, as expected. Sydney, or at least the small bit we've seen, is similar to San Francisco in that there are extremely steep hills leading to the shore (and not all down, which is weird), so while I say that the beach was amazing, I am taking liberties and assuming that what I saw was, in fact, the beach, and not some mirage created from the dizziness and exhaustion I felt from the journey down.

After a delightful dinner at a tapas bar in the neighborhood, we headed home for our first night in Australia. Fast forward 8 hours when, after one allergy attack, three creepy monkey calls from outside the window and a hovering dampness that usually accompanies mildew, we poured over our computers in search of a new home. We looked at several throughout the day and learned that, while we will have to compete with other mold-free apartment hopefuls for minute accomodations costing a small fortune, we might actually be able to live close enough to the beach that the walk there won't induce asthma attacks or shin splints.

And, fingers crossed, we might actually be able to afford it. Austin popped into a restaurant to grab a quick drink while I checked my email at an internet cafe, and by the time I caught up with him, he was practically tying on a cook's apron. For a very good rate they offered him a job, and he's considering taking it while he looks for a "real job." Afterwards, we passed several other For Hire signs in restaurant windows. "I can definitely get a job," he mused. "Just have to decide which sh*tty one I want." Welcome to Sydney.

******Updates*******

TheRJCarter has continued his harassment of a children's group on

YouTube with more "dirty tricks" and lies. See his latest videos.
**************************************** **

On January 28, 2008, an "article" full of lies and distortion was published by

an Internet site, The-Trades.com:

Editorial:
YouTube: Pedophile Playground
by R.J. Carter

One target was a group formed by a 13-year old boy on YouTube who edits

together video clips submitted by other kids on important topics such as

Earth Day and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

R.J. Carter called this kid's group "a for-profit children's video-making

organization with
over 6,000 members worldwide".

A blatant lie.

This group is comprised of a handful of KIDS, and anyone can see the

"members" by simply watching any of their videos.
There they are. There are no "secret" or "anonymous" people (adults OR

kids) "running" or involved in their group.

He also described "an organization vying for corporate sponsorship from

Nike and CBS".

Another lie. Nowhere have they ever asked to get any sort of "sponsorship"

or money.
The links to CBS and Nike were on their website as a partial list of

YOUTUBE sponsors to contact to voice concerns about how YouTube was

treating their patrons. It has nothing to do with trying to get them as a

sponsor for their group.
This was made perfectly clear on the site.
If this is how badly RJ reads, he should have no business writing

ANYTHING.

R.J. Carter wrote his article in a way that implied links to this kid's group

with online child predators, child pornography, pederasts, boy-lovers, and

pedophiles.

This is in no way true.

Does R.J. Carter have no shame? How dare he do this to kids that have

done nothing but good. Who have shown concern for others in the YouTube

community, and for issues that affect all of us.

What have these young people ever done to deserve this treatment? How

cruel and heartless are these sick adult men with nothing better to do then

torment children for fun?

For over a year, this hate group, the YouTube Yahweh Clan, has harassed

this young teenager and his friends with death threats, pornography,

spamming, degrading videos, and disgusting sexual insults.

Those whom have been reporting harassment against these kids to

YouTube and Law Enforcement are labeled "pedophiles" by Troyriser

TheRJCarter, and the Yahweh Clan, a typical form of intimidation by this

group of criminals, whose activities have included felony crimes such as

forgery, perjury, and fraud.

They call these activities "LULZ".

For a history of the Yahweh Clan hate group:
http://www.youtube.com/user/DynaCatlovesme

If you are being stalked or harassed, Irish282 has videos that show you

how to report abusive videos and users:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Irish282
Irish282 also has some logged videos on this subject posted by others that

may be of interest.

Keywords: Irish282 Logansperman2 RJ Carter therjcarter Troyriser encyclopedia dramatica ytyc pedophile playground yahweh clan Cyberbullying Cyberstalking

I'm driving them nuts.

Gage especially, partly because I imagine he wakes up every morning rubbing his hands together in anticipation after having spent an entire night dreaming up new ways to aggravate me, and partly because he's 12 and hates having his picture taken. When I do manage to convince him that he won't be blinded by the flash (and even if he were, I'm sure with modern medicine it could be corrected- it would be worth it to have that perfect shot, one that doesn't consist of him glaring at me and telling me to "get a hobby", to which I answer, "I do, it's photography... now smile, dammit.") he refuses to smile. Apparently, it's not considered cool to smile if you're a 12 year old boy... somehow it lessens the Coolness Factor he's striving for.

"Mom, c'mon... I have a reputation to protect."

And it's not just him, either... whenever his friends come over and I try taking their picture, as soon as I mention the word "cheese" (which may be part of the problem, maybe if I were to tell them to say "emancipation", the result would be different... not only would they smile, they would more than likely jump up and down with joy), they instantly change from kids laughing and having a good time to miniature replicas of Nelly... they stand there with their thumbs hooked in the pockets of their jeans, chins tilted toward the ceiling, an air of  "WORD TO YO' MUTHA" on their faces.

Needless to say, I haven't gotten very many pictures of him this week.

Carter's a bit more tolerant of me and my new found fetish, but even he's beginning to lose his patience.

"Mom, this is annoying. Will you stop taking my picture ALL THE TIME!"

He amuses me (not because he loves me and wants to make me happy, but because he's learned that I'm persistent and not above bribing him with a frozen coke to do my bidding... you'd be surprised at what that boy will do for a frozen coke), but because I'm not used to instant shutter speed, I usually end up with a picture of him rolling his eyes toward the ceiling and his mouth open in exasperation.

One night him and Mark were playing a rousing game of Countdown, and I thought nothing would please my readers more than to take pictures of the two of them in various stages of play... so I grabbed the camera and started snapping pictures. They had been playing for a while, and evidently Carter needed somewhere to rest his weary hand.

I wasn't paying attention to the pictures I was taking, and didn't notice the fact that he was flipping me the bird until I had already taken the picture. A more responsible and mature parent would have asked him what he was thinking or lectured him on the fine art of finger management... I however, started laughing (which shouldn't come as a surprise- when I was helping Carter with his definitions this week, I giggled every time I mentioned the word "reproduction" because part of the definition was "sex cells").

"Carter, look at this picture! Whaddya doin'!"

He got up from his chair, looked at the picture... and immediately started laughing.

"Oh my gosh, that is SO funny! I didn't know what I was doing, I just had my hand there!"

Sigh... his first rude hand gesture. They grow up so fast, don't they?

]]> http://escapefromthegrind.wordpress.com/?p=26 Tue, 02 Sep 2008 04:18:14 +0000 austindandridge http://escapefromthegrind.wordpress.com/?p=26 (carter)

“Ulav Cidy”

“What’s that?” I could barely hear the man’s voice above the roar of the plane’s engine, not that my ears were my main concern at the moment. My stomach was taking priority, and as we lurched downward towards visible reef below, I felt the fish burger and Fiji Gold beer I’d had for lunch respond by leaping to my throat.

“You’ll love Sydney,” he repeated, smiling. Ah yes, enter our enthusiastically bobbing heads. We’d had this conversation several times during out trip to Fiji, and it always progressed the same way. Our American accents would immediately cause anyone in the vicinity to inquire about our trip, and upon discovery that we have never stepped foot on Australian soil, we would receive their personal opinion of every city and region in the country. We really didn’t have to talk much at all, and every opinion of different: “Melbourne is rubbish,” “Melbourne is the place to be,” “The gold coast is heaven,” “if you’ve seen Florida, you’ve seen the gold coast. Skip it,” and so on and so on.

This particular gentleman was from Brisbane, and had turned around in his seat to explain why we should ignore the advice of everyone else we’d met and definitely spend time there. Seat is the wrong word, for there were no seats or armrests or aisles in this plane. Did I say plane? I meant flying twin bed. There were 3 padded benches in a row to seat 6 small or otherwise squishable people, and the benches went from one side of the plane to the other, so that you had to get to your seat from outside. I tried to stretch my arms out, just for fun. Right palm flat on the right wall, left elbow on the left wall. If I leaned back far enough I could rest my head on our luggage, which was piled up behind the last bench.

“So, what are you going to do in Sydney?” Hmmm, best to pretend I didn’t hear this either. We’d started catering our answers to this question to who we were speaking with, judging what kind of work they themselves were in and therefore where they could help us. Remaining vague always helped too. “Something in restaurants, something with pilates.” “Financial stuff, magazines.” “The wine industry” (this last one being Austin’s newest answer). Truth be told, we will take whatever work we can find.

Another lurch, and then a nosedive towards the Nadi runway. I held my breath and stared jealously at the 1 year old in the front bench, naively munching on dry cereal and smiling back. As we bumped along the ground, smoke rose up to our right and the smell of sulfur filled the plane. Ahhh, Nadi. Fiji’s own Newark, NJ, an industrial stopover between one fabulous location and the next. Even though the air was thick with smog, it felt good to actually breath again.

While sunbathing topless is strictly prohibited at Plantation Island, you can certainly still show your … tats. Kiwis and Aussies apparently love their ink, and it appears in the most unexpected places. Take the modest middle-aged mother dutifully applying sunscreen to her son, for example. She stands to adjust her visor and watch him dive into the waves, but what is this? Something peaking out from her matronly high-waisted khaki shorts (and not the stylish kind)? Could it be the poisonous end of a rather large rattle snake? Or check out the family of four at the Nadi airport: mom and pop doling out orange juice and muffins with matching barbed wires encircling their left biceps. Every couple or family had at least one display of body art, but the grand finale of this tattoo explosion came on the beach of Malololailai one sunny afternoon. Two wrinkly old men were carefully making their way down to the ocean, chuckling in their micro-mini shorts, which seemed suitable swimwear ("swimmers") for every Australian male age 5-105. Each had their fair share of permanent arm-adornments, but as they passed my lounger and waded into the water, I saw the most spectacular tat yet. Covering the entirety of the fatter, squattier man’s back was a life-sized depiction of the Mona Lisa. Perfectly piercing eyes, same indeterminate smile. Only this Mona Lisa was dressed as a Native American, complete with feathered headdress and tomahawk.

We finally started feeling normal yesterday (Saturday), which isn't surprising considering Wed-Fri was a 48hr blur that began with rain in Charlottesville and ended with Fijian beers on the beach. We woke up early, took a stroll around the resort and had some breakfast, and then Austin left with a group to surf a nearby reef. I took the time to explore the island a bit.

Malololailai is the second largest island in the Mamanuca Group, and you can walk from one end to the other in under 20 minutes. It is covered by 3 resorts: a "couples only" one to our right, ours, and a swanky hotspot to our left (which also contains the sailboat marina, so it's a mix of posh guests and salty "yachties"). Plantation Island (where we're staying) is definitely the place to take kids, and it's fun to hear all their accents, but maneuvering a full cup of hot coffee through the breakfast buffett among a sea of tiny heads proved very challanging. We may very well be the only Americans on the entire island. With another island (I believe Malolo), Malololailai makes up a horseshoe, encircling a beautiful bay at high tide (and something of a sandpit at lowtide).

The resorts are all made up of bures (boo-rays), which are like single-standing or duplex-style thatched huts, with weaving pathes, so that they look like manipulated Fijian villages. When our cheapest-available hotel room wasn't ready upon arrival, Austin sweet-talked our way into a bure upgrade near the ocear. The 3 resorts are large, our's has a 9-hole golf course, but they spill into eachother so that, when walking along the beach, the only way you know you've left one and entered another is the color of the beach umbrellas (the wooden lounge chairs are identical). At one point, walking to the edge of our resort, I found myself in a football field-sized open field, and realized with a start that I was in the middle of the airstrip. The "airport" looks more like a poolside tiki bar than anything else, with an openair thatched hut, and is on our resort's property.

For dinner last night we wandered away from all the family-fun to another restaurant between our resort and aother. We listened to a band, with a singer whose voice resembled an early Bob Dylan mixed with Alanis Morsiette, play everything from Johnnie Be Good to Old McDonald Had a Farm (pig noises included), but they let us join in on their kava bowl so we didn't care what they sang. Overall, it's definitely paradise, but we are getting anxious to arrive in Sydney and get settled.

This clip is proof of the over the top bias against Republican and conservatives in the MSM. Keith Oberman is a tired sports caster that has taken up a political hit mans job for NBC. His coverage of the Democrat convention was gushing, "They couldn't have done a better job."

Now he turn the cannons on using the worst mockumentary film maker to support his biased views. This is exactly what the leftist, socialist, marxist MSM thinks of the Americans that have conservative views of politics and government.

The more damage that Obama gets in the polls the more the Leftist Dems. in the biased MSM will lash out with their intolerant views of conservative thinking Americans. Remember that The Democrat party had Michael Moore sit with former Pres. Jimmy Carter at the last Democrat National Convention. The media and hollywood is in bed with the Democrat Party!

Aunt Blonde is going to ignore the fact that they are so rooting for the wrong team instead of her Chicago Bears and let them enjoy the ignorance of their youth.  

But, like the Emperor, Uncle Spider-Husband is not as forgiving.  Someone's going to be lobbying hard for Packers tees all-around come Christmas time this year.