03.08.10
Posted in My TV Show, Off the cuff at 12:26 pm by loretta
To make up for yesterday, I went to all the movie slots at Cinequest on Sunday. I chose Professor at 11:30, but I wish I had seen Lost Persons Area instead. I reluctantly settled on Applause at 1:30 because I’d already seen Buried Prayers (quite good, but I should see something new), and wanted to see Solitary even less than Applause. Keith joined me at 4:15 for Cleanflix, and I finished up with The Escape at 6:45, instead of The Orange Girl (which I wish had been in the 1:30 slot). You can read my reviews as I post them on the “What’s Up Wit’ That?” site.
Currently I’m having issues with pictures there, so I may post without pics, and revise later. -_-;
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03.07.10
Posted in Off the cuff at 12:00 pm by loretta
Yesterday was sautéed because I was wiped by Friday’s circus. I mentioned the lack of chairs and drinks, yes? Plus there were other contributing factors. I was not great company. I did finish a couple of articles for the website, though.
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03.05.10
Posted in My TV Show, Off the cuff at 11:53 am by loretta
I’m running behind on my goal to deliver 1 complete show every Thursday to KMVT until I get caught up. Usually I would wait to run errands until after I finish, but we needed some things, like milk. I practiced not being a doormat by lying to panhandlers disguised as charities, and petition signature gatherers:
“Come sign petitions!”
“I think they only let you sign once.”
“You already signed?”
“Hmm-hmm”
“There’s some new ones.”
“Since yesterday?”
“You signed yesterday? Oh.”
(bwahaha)
Normally, I would look them over, but I wanted to finish editing before I went to the station. Sadly, even though I ate lunch at the desk, I didn’t finish in time.
Rusty’s show, “King’s Connections” was fun, but since it was my first time, I hung back directorally. Next time, I will crack the whip more, so that we can get it going faster. “Keith Explains!” went well – Keith was funny, and mostly moved quickly through the Cinequest film plots without getting bogged down overmuch.
After post “Keith Explains!” coffee at Coffee Society, I finished editing the episode, and left it to render overnight.
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03.04.10
Posted in My TV Show, Off the cuff at 12:01 pm by loretta
Yesterday was a U-turn. I forced myself to turn from the glamour and excitement of Cinequest to focus on things at home. Like laundry, and having a show to turn in Thursday.
That said, it was slightly circular, as I hopped ADD-style from one thing to another. The feeling at home was a mess of my own making, reassuring diversions that kept me busy and engaged in every corner. Even the earthquake (a tiny 3.2) was nothing more than a quick look up, and a resumption of activity.
I was at peace with my messy, pigtailed hair, as long as it stayed out of my way, and it did. I made sure to hit Amphigory to restock hair color and pick up some cute braided scrunchies.
I decline to comment on allegations of generosity.
with help from Keel’s Simple Diary
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03.03.10
Posted in Off the cuff at 12:25 pm by loretta
OK, it’s still just a personal blog, but I found something that may help me write more and more often, “Keel’s Simple Diary.” I found it in a bag of unsorted swag from ComicCon (although I’m not positive if it was ’09 or ’08…). I figured it was another blank book because it’s white, and it says “Simple Diary” on it. If so, I have way plenty of those, so I would give this one away.
Peeking through the shrink-wrap, though, I saw text. I thought maybe it was a too-cleverly titled novel. While I’ve been pleased to find so many free books among the swag at ComicCon the last couple of years, some are rather odd. I peeled off the shrink wrap, but no, it is a diary, but with a note and instructions. It was a portion of the instructions that caught my attention:
Why Simple Diary?
There are three reasons why most people, although they have tried, won’t keep a diary:
1. Not every day is very eventful.
2. It actually takes a lot of discipline to write.
3. In retrospect, many find what they have written embarrassing.
All three of those statements are dead on for me, especially #3. I keep old diaries, but I cringe whenever I look through them. Over the years I’ve gotten tired of cringing, so I stopped writing. Hopefully this book will help change that.
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08.19.09
Posted in Family, Off the cuff at 8:23 pm by loretta
My boyfriend’s sister in law was kind enough to give me their neglected worm bin when I started declaring an interested in having one. I made a little container to collect vegetable scraps and coffee grounds and have been feeding the worms regularly until they are fat and happy.
When I went to add in a full container of compost this weekend, there was a new tenant inside the bin – maggots!
They turn my stomach but I tried to think about it rationally. They are also eating the garbage. I figured they would be gone within a day or two but upon feeding the worms today, they are still there and in greater numbers.
So I needed to do some research. Why were they there? Would they hurt the worms? Are they good for my worm compost then? These and other questions I researched online.
They turn out to be the larvae of the Black Soldier fly. This type of fly has larvae that feed specifically on compost. The adults are not pests. They don’t bite, sting, or even eat. Their only job is to look pretty and breed. They die in 2 days.
They and the larvae will not hurt my worms. In fact, they will help feed them with their waste. The only concern is that they have a tendency to out-eat the worms. So there should be plenty of food.
Black soldier fly larvae prefer moist composting areas. This indicates my compost bin is too wet. I had thought the catch tray would take care of excess moisture but I guess the compost is too close together to let it all drain. The solution is to fluff up and dry the compost by adding more bedding.
I use shredded paper for bedding. We shred anything with our name or address on it to help prevent identity theft. I figure if a worm eats it, that’s even better prevention. So I mixed in some more shredded paper, spread it out, and fluffed it up. Hopefully, that will help discourage the black soldier fly larva from returning.
I’m okay with some soldier fly larvae composting. In fact, some people have bins with only soldier fly larvae, but I have a worm bin and I don’t want to starve them. If I can keep the maggot level down so they don’t starve the worms, that would be okay.
But they still turn my stomach a bit.
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01.22.06
Posted in Off the cuff at 7:58 pm by loretta
I seem to be one of those people who like to live in the moment. In the last minute before. There are so many little things to keep on top of, but they skitter from my fingers like marbles. It doesn’t help that I like to play, rather than work. Even this blog must seem to be work, since I procrastinate so.
I have too many interests, but they’re interesting, so I don’t want to give any up. Ah, well. On to the next thing.
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11.12.05
Posted in Off the cuff at 9:29 pm by loretta
After my blog self-combusted on the server and it took Keith a while to fix it (broken leg and all…), I’ve found it hard to get back in the habit of writing. So much has happened since I last posted: my Mom’s ALS diagnosis, my trips to ComicCon and Nebraska, Keith’s broken leg, and school.
Today I went to my first ALS support group meeting. I was the only person there besides the “staff” and the presenter for a while, so I had to sit through the presenter’s pitch for wheel chairs. I did get some useful information, but some depressing information, too.
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05.30.05
Posted in Off the cuff, Travel at 1:23 am by Administrator
So, today is Memorial Day in the U.S., when we remember those who have fought and died for our country. Usually we celebrate by having BBQs and partying. I know few people who actually visit gravesites besides the president. However, Japan’s Memorial Day is some other day. It was just Monday to them. That doesn’t mean that memorials aren’t in the news however. Every day in the paper I’m finding another new article about Prime Minister Koizumi’s controversial visits to the Yasukuni Shrine.
The Yasukuni Shrine is essentially the Japanese equivalent to Arlington National Cemetary. Anyone who served their country during a war is buried there. In America, no one questions the president’s visits to Arlington—they expect them. However in Japan, it’s a different story.
Amongst all the thousands and thousands of normal Joe’s (maybe normal Kentaro’s in Japan) who died following the orders of their country are 18 men classified as war criminals from World War II. Because of these 18, Yasukuni Shrine has become a symbol of Japanese Nationalism to her neighbors, especially China and South Korea. Many prime ministers choose not to visit the shrine because of the political fallout.
Granted, China and South Korea do have cause to be upset. Those 18 men were the primary masterminds behind a lot of the Japanese atrocities of World War II, including the Nanking massacre, where an estimated 400,000 people were raped and killed in a short period of time to send a “message” to China. Ick.
But to forbid a national leader to pay his respects to the other thousands of people who just did their duty? That seems a trifle unfair. When Ollie North dies, he will be buried in Arlington, despite his involvement in Iran-Contra. I’m not keen with the idea, but it’s his right. (OK, so Ollie is all I’ve got, and he’s a weak comparison, I know. But the U.S. has managed to “win” all it’s wars so far, so what can I do?) I wouldn’t not visit Arlington, just because of him. There’s a lot of other men and women buried there, too.
There have been some efforts at making “amends”. Koizumi says he’s just visiting as a private citizen, but no one’s buying that. There have been suggestions to move the war criminals to a different site, or start a new memorial site, but they’ve gotten a fairly chilly response. Every day, a seemingly new group asks Koizumi to stop going, but he says no.
In the meantime, China is making unhappy noises, and South Korea is recalling visiting dignitaries. It may be that the publisher of The Japan Times has a political beef with Koizumi, especially since he usually visits only once a year.
It’s a big issue here. Happy Memorial Day.
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05.28.05
Posted in Off the cuff at 2:05 am by Administrator
So, apparently this blog software only puts recent articles on the big page. Keith says that’s because normal bloggers post every day, sometimes several times a day, like Wil Wheaton does.
I am not your average blogger though, so it’s a little frustrating not knowing if people see that you posted a new, but late listing. Please check the archives periodically to see if there’s something you haven’t seen.
Currently, I’m up to May 5. I have one more post for Golden week, then school stuff should help me catch up fast. I’ve been pretty busy, though, with presentations, papers, homework, and the English Drama Club. Be patient, and I’ll tell you about it.
Thanks.
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