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Small Talk: Out of Genoa


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Just waiting for our Thanksgiving to be over this weekend then it will be turned into witches, orange lights  and pumpkins. We go to our son’s house to see our grandkids and hand out candy while they all go out. I’ve always loved doing that and really miss doing it now that we are in the country. 

Edited by PatsyandEddie
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4 minutes ago, PatsyandEddie said:

Just waiting for our Thanksgiving to be over this weekend then it will be turned into witches, orange lights  and pumpkins. We go to our son’s house to see our and hand out candy while they all go out. I’ve always loved doing that and really miss doing it now that we are in the country. 

I used to stay home while my husband took our son to all the aunts, uncles and grandparents house after I took him around the neighborhood earlier. I loved doing that but we haven't had a trick or treater in years. Our neighborhood is all young professionals and retireds now.

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4 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Whelp, today I dragged out all of my Halloween decor. I've got lots of spider webby lace to go over lamps and windows. I have sparkly spider webs for the windows and archway. I have my Alice Cooper jack in the box and I have three big hanging bats coming from Amazon. I have a string of black velvet chandeliers with black crystals and amber lights. Whew. When DH gets home he's gonna put it all up. Does anyone else have their stuff all ready to go? Probably I'm late this year. I think I'll make cranberry nut bread, we've got a butt load of pecans.

That sounds fun!

I am late this year....and I have a work trip that I'm leaving for on Sunday and won't be back until very late on Wednesday night.  I'm thinking next weekend I'll try and get some Halloween stuff up.

I live in a development with 125 residences and we don't have  too many children trick or treating.  I've been in my house since it was built in '96, and rarely see many kids.  That said, kids just don't "play" outside like they used to.  They're all inside, playing with their computers....no one is playing outside.  I think my development is mostly older couples, like my husband and I, or younger couples with no children yet.  The few with children end up going to business areas to trick or treat or they wind up in their neighborhoods they grew up in, with their parents taking their kids out!

Edited by lovemesomejoolery
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5 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Whelp, today I dragged out all of my Halloween decor. I've got lots of spider webby lace to go over lamps and windows. I have sparkly spider webs for the windows and archway. I have my Alice Cooper jack in the box and I have three big hanging bats coming from Amazon. I have a string of black velvet chandeliers with black crystals and amber lights. Whew. When DH gets home he's gonna put it all up. Does anyone else have their stuff all ready to go? Probably I'm late this year. I think I'll make cranberry nut bread, we've got a butt load of pecans.

Plenty of time, Peaches. 

Mr.Stunt does most of the decorating and started three weeks ago, His latest project, a retired life-sized Mummy, is having the motors upgraded: makes the figure moan, stagger and reach out when you pass by the motion-sensor. It's horrible.

I'm labor, food, liquor, paper products, order pumpkins, guest list and invitations, costume organizing, wrapped Bowling for Crap gifts (game played at parties), program music. I changed out the daily dishes to my Halloween Homer Laughlin china

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The tea-stained gauze curtains are hung and slip covers are on the furniture, and daily driver décor packed away in exchange for skulls and spiders and bats and sugar skulls and "poison" bottle collection, singing skull choir, monster movie posters, owls and ravens are perched in the light fixtures,, Bowling for Crap (game played at parties) gifts are wrapped.

Melvin went mental when the boxes came out and decorating upheaval began. He's hiding in the patio garden, suspicious of what horrors to come. Cat tranquilizers for everyone!

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6 minutes ago, Cupid Stunt said:

Plenty of time, Peaches. 

Mr.Stunt does most of the decorating and started three weeks ago, His latest project, a retired life-sized Mummy, is having the motors upgraded: makes the figure moan, stagger and reach out when you pass by the motion-sensor. It's horrible.

I'm labor, food, liquor, paper products, order pumpkins, guest list and invitations, costume organizing, wrapped Bowling for Crap gifts (game played at parties), program music. I changed out the daily dishes to my Halloween Homer Laughlin china

s-l300.jpg 174037316983_1.jpg

The tea-stained gauze curtains are hung and slip covers are on the furniture, and daily driver décor packed away in exchange for skulls and spiders and bats and sugar skulls and "poison" bottle collection, singing skull choir, monster movie posters, owls and ravens are perched in the light fixtures,, Bowling for Crap (game played at parties) gifts are wrapped.

Melvin went mental when the boxes came out and decorating upheaval began. He's hiding in the patio garden, suspicious of what horrors to come. Cat tranquilizers for everyone!

WOW!

Sounds like fun!  I'm going to have to try the Bowling for Crap game at one of my parties.  Great idea.

And I LOVE Homer Laughlin, too!

Edited by lovemesomejoolery
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1 hour ago, lovemesomejoolery said:

WOW!

Sounds like fun!  I'm going to have to try the Bowling for Crap game at one of my parties.  Great idea.

And I LOVE Homer Laughlin, too!

Mr.Stunt's birthday is on Halloween and he loves a costume party. We have a party for friends and work colleagues the Saturday before Halloween, and Mr.Stunt's birthday party is on Thursday the 31st.

Bowling for Crap is hilarious. We have a hill in our back yard. We set up four hula hoops where the contestant rolls a bowling ball down the hill, in or through the hoop; you get three tries, if you miss, but we make it easy by the judges moving hoops in front of the ball during the roll. When you roll through a hoop, you choose a wrapped prize from the table. The prizes consist of flea market/dollar store/yard sale finds, soap and lotion sets, toys, beach towels, candy, games, movies, gift cards, Etsy Failures, tube socks, y'know … crap. There are three booby prizes … literally … Three dollar store brassieres (red, purple, green) satin, overly decorated and oversized (This year it's 2 tickets to the Lakers, Denon headphones, esthetician spa visit). Once the game is complete, gift trading is allowed.

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Sounds like fun!  Our friends have a big Labor Day Party every year and I'll tell her about that.  She has the perfect backyard for it.

We went to a Christmas party a long time ago where the hostess had a game.  Everybody brings a gift of $15 or less.  It could be cool, funny, stupid, useful, whatever.  They all went into a pile and we drew numbers for order of picks.   Ist goes, opens then 2nd picks and if they like 1st's gift better they can claim/trade it.  Then 3rd goes, can chose 1 or 2's gift instead and on down the line.  We had about 25-30 people and it got funny.  This one awesome blown glass paperweight must have traded hands 20 times.  I had it three times but lost it in the end.

Damn...I still miss that paperweight.

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1 hour ago, OhioSongbird said:

Sounds like fun!  Our friends have a big Labor Day Party every year and I'll tell her about that.  She has the perfect backyard for it.

We went to a Christmas party a long time ago where the hostess had a game.  Everybody brings a gift of $15 or less.  It could be cool, funny, stupid, useful, whatever.  They all went into a pile and we drew numbers for order of picks.   Ist goes, opens then 2nd picks and if they like 1st's gift better they can claim/trade it.  Then 3rd goes, can chose 1 or 2's gift instead and on down the line.  We had about 25-30 people and it got funny.  This one awesome blown glass paperweight must have traded hands 20 times.  I had it three times but lost it in the end.

Damn...I still miss that paperweight.

We did the same thing!  I can't remember anymore what it was called, but we had it after Christmas and the idea was to bring something you wanted to get rid of, maybe even a present from the Christmas just passed, under the assumption that one person's junk was another person's treasure.  It was so much fun.

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Edited by Cupid Stunt
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23 minutes ago, Capricasix said:

That is my favourite AiC song...but Layne was in such bad shape there 😢 

A friend posted Chris Cornell’s cover of Billie Jean on Facebook the other day. Still a devastating loss 😢😢

Layne was a wreck, but he was trying so hard to be present.

There are so many excellent Chris Cornell solo videos. He has been sorely missed. 

5 hours ago, boes said:

We did the same thing!  I can't remember anymore what it was called, but we had it after Christmas and the idea was to bring something you wanted to get rid of, maybe even a present from the Christmas just passed, under the assumption that one person's junk was another person's treasure.  It was so much fun.

We do the same thing for Christmas with Mr.Stunt's family; called a Pink Elephant. They have more money and stuff than they will ever need or consume, but they love gag gifts and surprise packages.

Each attendee brings a gift to correspond to their gender ($25 max), wraps it and tosses it in the pile. We draw lots, and once the gifts are distributed, we open them and lot number one starts the trading; they can trade their gift or pass. The person that has their gift taken in trade can steal back their gift (a gift can only be traded and taken back once per turn) or trade for another gift, etc. If someone passes on trading, we move on to the next lot number to take their turn to trade or pass. The trading goes on until all the participants take their chance. It can become very competitive, and non-aggression pacts are formed. The judge (host of the party) keeps things moving and friendly. After the game there are negotiations for trades outside of the game; the judge turns a blind eye to those negotiations.

2 hours ago, OhioSongbird said:

I'm sure a few of those presents at hers were recycled.  Who would know?  

*small voice*  I've been known to re-gift a few things over the years....

         🙄

Been there ... If I can't think of a better recipient, I make sure the re-gift and original gifter do not meet again.

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My car broke down tonight after work. Thank God my step father was awake and able to drive to the gas station I was at and he and I pushed it to a parking space then he drove me home 🙌🏼 George wasn’t with me. It’s bitterly cold tonight. Ugh now I have to get it towed and learn if it’s fixable hopefully and how much. He seems to think it is the fuel pump. A car is an absolute necessity in the suburbs. 

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5 hours ago, lovemesomejoolery said:

Anyone out in California, be safe.  I just saw on the national News that a fire broke out in East LA today.

I have family in Southern CA who are safe but wow......it's very scary.  Just be safe everyone!

I was at the tower today to signoff on the new digital installation and fire suppressant coverage. We arrived at 6AM and left shortly after 1PM. It took 4 hours to get back to the office. Evacuating 100,000 people out of the fire area has the city in an uproar.

saddleridge-fire-porter-ranch-universal-

The middle of photo is Porter Ranch and the tan building is Universal City 

We're in Burbank, about 25 miles south and west of the Saddleridge Fire. Still too close for comfort. 

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I know I sounded stupid above. I hope above all else it’s fixable and not that the engine exploded or something.  Best case scenario if it’s the fuel pump that will completely tap me out of my bank account and cash I have on hand, not even taking into account the towing. We all heard it was #hotgirlsummer I think it’s gonna be #brokegirlfall. I cannot continue to work esp random ass shifts waitressing, be vegan, take G to a sitter without a car and after being carjacked and the attempted abduction I’m not super keen on public transportation with strangers, and George, my tiny dog, can’t go on it with me also, it’s not reliable in the burbs like it is in Chicago proper or used to be (I’ve taken the bus in the my burb before during the Polar Freeze last winter and 50% of the time it was late and once went so off route veering off to a Metra Station  I was a hour late to work). 

@Cupid Stunt I fucking hate these wildfires. Everyone says the animals have instincts and run to safety. But many can’t due to the speed of the flames or just being slower animals (skunks rabbits baby birds and stray or left behind dogs or animals hindered by a physical defect or injury) and I’ve seen the pictures and videos of those who didn’t. I also feel an ache for those humans who lost homes or get harmed. Heartbreaking. 

Has anyone heard from @AngelKitty ? 

I agree @peacheslatour and @Capricasix. I also was very affected by the loss of Tom Petty (something about him seemed so earnest and good and just someone who’d be around to grow old continue being normal) and I’m still fucking upset when I think about Heath Ledger. So young and so immensely talented. What a huge loss.  His performances in Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight were flawless and he demonstrated he could play charming and comedy in other roles as well. I honestly believe had he lived he would have continued on the realm or eclipsed Daniel Day Lewis in his gifts acting. Even DDL has said as much tearfully.  

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43 minutes ago, Petunia13 said:

I know I sounded stupid above. I hope above all else it’s fixable and not that the engine exploded or something.  Best case scenario if it’s the fuel pump that will completely tap me out of my bank account and cash I have on hand, not even taking into account the towing. We all heard it was #hotgirlsummer I think it’s gonna be #brokegirlfall. I cannot continue to work esp random ass shifts waitressing, be vegan, take G to a sitter without a car and after being carjacked and the attempted abduction I’m not super keen on public transportation with strangers, and George, my tiny dog, can’t go on it with me also, it’s not reliable in the burbs like it is in Chicago proper or used to be (I’ve taken the bus in the my burb before during the Polar Freeze last winter and 50% of the time it was late and once went so off route veering off to a Metra Station  I was a hour late to work). 

You didn't sound stupid; more upset because you could be facing a financial crisis with a car repair. You have a lot on your plate, regular expenses, family and George that rely on your having a car, trying to get to work and home safely … and I suspect you have many concerns being on foot and on public transportation after your car jacking. It feels overwhelming.

Breath. Give George a chance to sooth your nerves. Try to rest. 

I'm praying for you.

-- Just a thought: I wonder if the people you have tow or fix your car has a job opening; maybe you can negotiate a payment schedule with hours worked. 

Edited by Cupid Stunt
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4 hours ago, Cupid Stunt said:

I was at the tower today to signoff on the new digital installation and fire suppressant coverage. We arrived at 6AM and left shortly after 1PM. It took 4 hours to get back to the office. Evacuating 100,000 people out of the fire area has the city in an uproar.

saddleridge-fire-porter-ranch-universal-

The middle of photo is Porter Ranch and the tan building is Universal City 

We're in Burbank, about 25 miles south and west of the Saddleridge Fire. Still too close for comfort. 

Your picture puts it in perspective, location-wise.  That is a little too close for comfort for me, too!    All it takes is an ember from that fire to spark somewhere else, with the wind.

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Quote

I know I sounded stupid above. I hope above all else it’s fixable and not that the engine exploded or something.  Best case scenario if it’s the fuel pump that will completely tap me out of my bank account and cash I have on hand, not even taking into account the towing.

No way. Car problems are the absolute worst. I feel horrible for you. I like Cupid's idea above, maybe with your automotive experience there is some way you can trade for the fuel pump. Stay calm , remember you're a Prevert!

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4 hours ago, lovemesomejoolery said:

Your picture puts it in perspective, location-wise.  That is a little too close for comfort for me, too!    All it takes is an ember from that fire to spark somewhere else, with the wind.

It's a big fire with the Santa Ana winds pushing it along. We have nine work families that had to leave their homes in the evacuation; We've got them housed, praying they don't lose it all. 

Last night aerial photo from KABC on the 118 freeway border, Oakridge Estates area -- You can see where the fire jumped the freeway into Chatsworth (those have been put out):

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Edited by Cupid Stunt
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Robert Forster, Oscar Nominee From 'Jackie Brown,' Dies at 78

Robert Forster, the stalwart leading man whose Oscar-nominated performance as a nefarious bail bondsman in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown made for one of Hollywood's most heartwarming comeback stories, has died. He was 78.

Forster died Friday at his Los Angeles home of brain cancer, his publicist told The Hollywood Reporter.

With his chiseled good looks, steely chin and earnest gaze, Forster exuded a raw truthfulness. He made his film debut opposite Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor in John Huston's Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967), then sparkled as an ethically challenged cameraman in Haskell Wexler's ultra-realistic Medium Cool (1969).

Forster then took on no-nonsense, heroic title characters on television to build on his stardom, portraying a dogged 1930s detective on NBC's Banyon, which premiered in 1971, and a Native American police deputy in New Mexico on ABC's Nakia, which bowed in 1974. However, the shows lasted just 15 and 14 episodes, respectively, before being canceled.

Forster captained a spaceship in Disney's ambitious sci-fi thriller The Black Hole (1979), but it proved to be a box office disappointment. Other lowlights soon followed, including Alligator (1980), The Kinky Coaches and the Pom-Pom Pussycats (1981), Vigilante (1982), Hollywood Harry (1986) and Satan's Princess (1989).

By the early '90s, the actor was down to supporting roles in such low-budget efforts as Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence, Body Chemistry 3: Point of Seduction and Scanner Cop II and supplementing his income with speaking engagements. 

"I went 21 months without a job. I had four kids, I took any job I could get," Forster told the Chicago Tribune in 2018, raising and then lowering his hand to indicate his fortunes. "My career went like this for five years and then like that for 27. Every time it reached a lower level I thought I could tolerate, it dropped some more, and then some more. Near the end I had no agent, no manager, no lawyer, no nothing. I was taking whatever fell through the cracks."

A fan of Forster since he was a kid, Tarantino had brought the actor in to audition for the part of aging gangster Joe Cabot in 1992's Reservoir Dogs, but he had his heart set on casting Lawrence Tierney. Tarantino never forgot Forster, however, and as he was crafting the screenplay for Jackie Brown (1997) — an adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1992 novel Rum Punch — he wrote Max Cherry with him in mind. 

"Years had gone by and I ran into him in a coffee shop. By then my career was really, really dead," Forster recalled in a 2018 interview with Fandor. "And we blah-blah'd for a few minutes, and then six months later he showed up at the same coffee shop with a script in his hands and handed it to me.

"When I read it I could hardly believe that he had me in mind for Max Cherry, except that nothing else made any sense. So when I asked him about it, he said, 'Yes, it's Max Cherry that I wrote for you.' That's when I said to him, 'I'm sure they're not going to let you hire me.' He said, 'I hire anybody I want.' And that's when I realized I was going to get another shot at a career."

After Jackie Brown, Forster was inundated with offers and worked in such films as Psycho (1998), Me, Myself and Irene (2000), Mulholland Drive (2001), Human Nature (2001), Like Mike (2002), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Firewall (2006), Lucky Number Slevin (2006) and The Descendants (2011).

In 2013, Forster was cast as the key Breaking Bad character The Disappearer in the AMC series' penultimate episode, with the show's team citing Max Cherry as an inspiration. Forster reprised the role in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, which opened in theaters and hit Netflix on Friday.

He also portrayed Gen. Edward Clegg in the action film Olympus Has Fallen (2013) and its 2016 sequel and gave a stirring performance in What They Had (2018) as a distraught husband trying to care for his wife (Blythe Danner) as she battles Alzheimer's. 

Robert Wallace Forster Jr. was born on July 13, 1941, in Rochester, New York. His father worked as an animal trainer for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. (As a nod to Forster's dad, a circus poster is displayed in Max Cherry's office.)

Forster attended the University of Rochester intent on becoming a lawyer, but those plans went awry. "I was a senior. I followed a girl into the auditorium, trying to think of something to say. They were doing auditions. This girl was already in the play. I said, 'That's how I'm gonna meet the girl!' " Forster said. The production was Bye Bye Birdie, and he got a spot in the chorus. He not only met the girl, June Provenzano, he married her, and they had three daughters.

After graduating in 1964, Forster headed to New York City and made his Broadway debut the following year in Mrs. Dally, a three-person play that also starred Arlene Francis and Ralph Meeker. He received a rave in the "Broadway Ballyhoo" column of The Hollywood Reporter, and that led to a screen test at 20th Century Fox. One of the last performers put under contract by studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck, he auditioned for Huston, who put him in Reflections in a Golden Eye.

In the movie, Forster portrays the free-spirited Pvt. L.G. Williams, who becomes the obsession of Brando's Major Penderton and rides a horse in the moonlight and in the nude.

On the first day of filming, Huston told him to look through the camera lens. "You see those? Those are the frame lines. Now, ask yourself this: 'What needs to be there?' " he told the Tribune. "So with that one piece of Zen advice, Huston gave me the responsibility and the authority to come up with what's supposed to be in that frame."

After guest spots on N.Y.P.D. and Judd for the Defense and supporting roles in the features The Stalking Moon (1968) and Justine (1969), Forster had his star-making turn in Medium Cool. The film, which dealt with government intrusion, race, the Vietnam War and the rising importance of TV news, became a touchstone for the cultural upheaval happening throughout America with its innovative blending of dramatic fictional footage with documentary images that Wexler had captured during the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National convention in Chicago.

"That was all real stuff. That was, they tell me, the best or only real example of cinema verite in American film," Forster told The A.V. Club. in 2000. "I think the phrase 'The Whole World is Watching' was coined at that exact moment, when the military was trying to separate the crowd from the press. They were pushing them, separating them, and the crowd was yelling, 'Don't leave us, don't leave us, the whole world is watching.' "

Following Forster's return in Jackie Brown (he lost the supporting actor Oscar to Robin Williams of Good Will Hunting), David Lynch tapped him to play Det. McKnight in the hypnotic Mulholland Drive. And when the filmmaker decided to revive his cult ABC series Twin Peaks in 2017, he called upon Forster to play Sheriff Frank Truman, brother of Harold Truman (Michael Ontkean in the original series). 

Lynch "tried to hire me the first time he did Twin Peaks, but I was busy, I was doing something," Forster told Vulture in 2018. "He is a very, very good guy. And when we did the second Twin Peaks, he was very generous to me and gave me the kind of part that I enjoy doing probably the best — a straight shooter, no nonsense, not a wild, offbeat character."

Forster also kept busy playing recurring characters on Karen Sisco (as Carla Gugino's father in another Leonard adaptation), The Grid, Huff, Alcatraz, Last Man Standing (as Tim Allen's dad) and, as the patriarch of a family of supernatural beings, Heroes.

Survivors include his longtime partner Denise Grayson; his children Elizabeth, Bobby, Kate and Maeghen; and his grandchildren Tess, Liam, Jack and Olivia.

Forster said that when his career was at its lowest ebb, he had what he called an "epiphany."

"It was the simple one," he said, "when you realize, 'You know what? You're not dead yet, Bob. You can win it in the late innings. You've still got the late innings, but you can't quit. Never quit.' "

-- Chris Koseluk

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Just had to share this.  I do the order-on-line groceries and hubby picks them up on the way home from work.  He came home Tues nite with about 15 bags (typical as sometimes they only put one or two items in a bag, others are full).  Anyhoo I start opening bags and "Uh, I didn't order this or this or this."  Ended up with 3 bags that were not ours, 2 bags of my order missing.  I debated calling them but hubby said "I am not driving back into town!"  Mind you it's 20 miles away.  I imagine the other person was as surprised as I was.  I didn't get anything I couldn't use...2 cans of biscuits, mashed potatoes, sour cream, cream cheese, bag-o-salad, snack yogurts and fruit cups, etc.  I lost milk, soy milk, green onions, fresh potatoes and tomatoes so I figure I came out even.  Never had a problem before so they must have been understaffed or overwhelmed.

Am I a terrible person 'cause part  of me feels guilty? 

Must be that Sunday School learnin'..... 

Edited by OhioSongbird
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31 minutes ago, OhioSongbird said:

Just had to share this.  I do the order-on-line groceries and hubby picks them up on the way home from work.  He came home Tues nite with about 15 bags (typical as sometimes they only put one or two items in a bag, others are full).  Anyhoo I start opening bags and "Uh, I didn't order this or this or this."  Ended up with 3 bags that were not ours, 2 bags of my order missing.  I debated calling them but hubby said "I am not driving back into town!"  Mind you it's 20 miles away.  I imagine the other person was as surprised as I was.  I didn't get anything I couldn't use...2 cans of biscuits, mashed potatoes, sour cream, cream cheese, bag-o-salad, snack yogurts and fruit cups, etc.  I lost milk, soy milk, green onions, fresh potatoes and tomatoes so I figure I came out even.  Never had a problem before so they must have been understaffed or overwhelmed.

Am I a terrible person 'cause part  of me feels guilty? 

Must be that Sunday School learnin'..... 

I'm with peacheslatour - and your husband!  You did good and the other person did as well.  

A little guilt is a good thing, but only a little.

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On 10/11/2019 at 4:41 AM, boes said:

We did the same thing!  I can't remember anymore what it was called, but we had it after Christmas and the idea was to bring something you wanted to get rid of, maybe even a present from the Christmas just passed, under the assumption that one person's junk was another person's treasure.  It was so much fun.

On 10/11/2019 at 9:52 AM, Cupid Stunt said:

We do the same thing for Christmas with Mr.Stunt's family; called a Pink Elephant. They have more money and stuff than they will ever need or consume, but they love gag gifts and surprise packages.

Each attendee brings a gift to correspond to their gender ($25 max), wraps it and tosses it in the pile. We draw lots, and once the gifts are distributed, we open them and lot number one starts the trading; they can trade their gift or pass. The person that has their gift taken in trade can steal back their gift (a gift can only be traded and taken back once per turn) or trade for another gift, etc. If someone passes on trading, we move on to the next lot number to take their turn to trade or pass. The trading goes on until all the participants take their chance. It can become very competitive, and non-aggression pacts are formed. The judge (host of the party) keeps things moving and friendly. After the game there are negotiations for trades outside of the game; the judge turns a blind eye to those negotiations.

We call it White Elephant or Yankee Swap. And a gift is only allowed to be swapped twice- keeps a bit of the tension down. My friend had one a few years ago with a $20 limit. I spent $26 on Motorhead's first album on 180 gram vinyl (before Lemme died). I was very pleased with myself and jealous of who was actually going to get it. Someone chose my gift. It didn't take a soothsayer to know exactly what it was- I was hoping some audiophile would be stoked for vinyl. He was like, "Oh GREAT! What am I supposed to do with THIS?" I got to choose second to last so I took the record back. 

On 10/11/2019 at 10:04 AM, peacheslatour said:

His loss hit me harder than any other celebrity's. 

Chris was so shocking. So was Prince. I think my saddest musician loss was David Bowie and recently Daniel Johnston.

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We just had a fire here that wiped out 4100 acres. Hubs and I were on the westside and were told about a fire on the "Pali", the one and only road that connects to central, where we live. It's 22 miles away and it took us 8 hours to get home. I was pissed until we actually got to the fire which was unbelievable. It was still blazing on both sides of the highway at one o'clock in the morning and miles of cars with families were waiting to get to their homes or hotels on the westside. Sadly there is no communication. No reports were updated on the radio or interwebs- frustrating. Stay safe, California!

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Fire crews clean up hot spots in the Saddleridge hills.

  • He sold illegal AR-15s. Feds agreed to let him go free to avoid hurting gun control efforts -- Why? The judge in the case had issued a tentative order that, in the eyes of prosecutors, threatened to upend the decades-old Gun Control Act and "seriously undermine the ATF's ability to trace and regulate firearms nationwide." A case once touted by prosecutors as a crackdown on an illicit firearms factory was suddenly seen as having the potential to pave the way to unfettered access to one of the most demonized guns in America.
  • The Fragility of American Citizenship -- Some people are learning that their birth or naturalization certificates aren’t enough to prove citizenship, a problem that the Fourteenth Amendment should ideally prevent.

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Bees land on asclepias, or milkweed, in the pollinator garden. Different insect and bird species are attracted to different flowers. Planting a variety that blooms throughout year is the ideal way to attract pollinators.  -- James Gagliardi/Smithsonian Gardens

  • Pregnancy discrimination continues, 41 years after US ban -- Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination by employers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. In 1978, it was amended to forbid discrimination based on pregnancy in any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay and job assignments in companies with 15 or more employees.

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  • The hunt for Asia’s El Chapo -- The Asia-Pacific region is awash in crystal meth. A multinational task force is on the trail of a China-born Canadian national who, police tell Reuters, is the suspected kingpin of a vast drug network that is raking in up to $17 billion a year.

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4 hours ago, ByTor said:

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LOL @Cupid Stunt, I have this guy on my coffee table...but sadly not the Devo one, now I want to make him a hat!  He might as well be a music reference, he's sitting on top of Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass 🙂 

You can get the energy domes online! I have one in red and blue. I also have glow in the dark Devo shoes. I'm a huuuuge fan of the band and Mark Mothersbaugh's art. He came into a schlock shop I was managing about 10 years ago and I almost had a heart attack. He was so nice and his wife took a picture of us and emailed it to me😍

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I also am worried about @valleycliffeand @AngelKitty. I still remember when Left plelange disappeared randomly mid convo and never came back and something about that really unsettled me. I mean this y&r community here is so kind and close knit, I honestly appreciate so much about each of you and have been so grateful to be a part of this group. We really all genuinely care.

I got the news today it’s my fuel pump. 💸 💀 🤷🏼‍♀️ So worst (likely) case I will have to walk and bus and Uber for a few months. It’s so trivial to mention. 

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15 hours ago, ByTor said:

he's sitting on top of Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass 🙂 

So I was in a restaurant on Yonge St a few years back, and Geddy Lee was also dining there. 🙃  It was cool, no one disturbed him.

Rush played at my high school and I truly hated it and had to walk out of the gym and sit in the hall.  It is not that I don't like concerts or rock music.  I just couldn't stand Rush! 

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bannana...I'm with you.  Never cared for Rush.  I love all sorts of music...good music.  Every genre has good and bad.  One night we had a gig and we were tearing down when the owner put on Rush at full blast.  I had a headache by the time we were done.  Had to keep stepping outside to get away from it.

Side story:  Baby bro's favorite band was Rush and we had some serious discussions on music.  He was an awesome guitar player but never went out to play on stage.  He'd been asked but declined.  He passed about 5 yrs ago....13 yrs younger than me (I'm the oldest of 4).  Mom always worked nights...she and Dad split when I was 15 or so so my next younger brother and I practically him raised him and our sister.  I changed his diapers...which I never let him forget!

We always had a special bond and I miss him every day.

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A Shinkansen bullet train rail yard is seen flooded due to heavy rains caused by Typhoon Hagibis in Nagano, central Japan, October 13. Kyodo/via REUTERS

  • State Sanctioned Terrorism  … I don’t know what else to call it -- 'Like a Prisoner in My Own Home': Black Family Says They Were Arrested for 'Loitering' in Their Own Front Yard -- Obviously, we don’t know all the facts in this case, but do we really need to? Even if they were being loud and boisterous enough to cause their (presumably) white neighbor to call the police, they clearly were not loitering, as they were on their own property. They weren’t drunk, on drugs, armed, or anything. They were in their yard. And the cops came and arrested them. Two days in a row. If there's a Goddess, they'll receive a multimillion dollar settlement from the town, and can move out of that shithole.

MEA/Columbus Day Weekend always ends in teachable moments.

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  • Woman arrested and fined in Philippines island of Boracay for wearing tiny bikini -- Traveling with her boyfriend, PNA reported the woman had been told by staff at her hotel that the swimwear was "inappropriate" -- but she wore it anyway. "They were told not to by the hotel management, but they said it was a form of art," Boracay Inter-Agency Management and Rehabilitation Group (BIAMRG) chief Natividad Bernardino said in a phone interview with PNA.
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