September 30, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
4:17 PM (Pacific)
Have I written about this before? It's been on my mind, on and off...
The only real difference between a Third World society, and a First World one, is...the middle class. We tend to forget that, because we still have a middle class. Lose it and oops!
Why is the middle class so key? If you have only rich and poor, then only the rich become educated. The rich don't have to work, so the majority of that education is wasted as far as society is concerned. The poor work, but they can't afford to become educated.
The middle class on the other hand, can afford the education, but they also have to work. That's why you get educated people doing the work.
Just a few thoughts for those who, ah, can't seem to grasp what a middle class is.
Okee...finished getting autotrader.com to update our dealer info. Now I'm having a problem with doteasy.com. Or...? Their FTP has always been slightly weird. Anyway there's no reason I can't do the site offline, it's just that I won't actually be able to send any of it up yet.
pfffff
September 24, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
7:37 PM (Pacific)
Hummm...I think what I said before calls for some clarification.
Did I sound angry? I am, but certainly not at anyone who innocently asks me if I work. It's how I would ask the same question myself.
It's that, I started working when I was fifteen. I've held jobs ever since. I've worked those 60-hour weeks and I did a stint working 7 days a week--not recommended. It's not the work that gets tiring, it's seeing the same faces every day without a break.
When I got my degree, it's not because mommy and daddy put me through school? Thank you. I went back to school when I was 27 years old to get an undergraduate degree. No, I did not know algebra (I dropped out of junior high). I figured it out using logic.
I did not have the rest of my life to catch up on all the stuff I missed out on, not having been to high school. I had to take classes and pass them.
I had a few semesters of just going to school but that was it. After that I had to work.
I worked and went to school...yes, I used to fall asleep during class. I worked full time in Oakland and went to San Francisco City College ($13/unit!) at night.
Then I got pregnant. Did I drop out of school? Hell no? I took more classes since my work place didn't exactly care for pregnant women and they suddenly decided (I was five months along) that there was some kind of a problem? (I found out soon enough that I wasn't the only pregnant woman to get harassed out of her job in that department by that management.)
Lessee...so I was pregnant and taking five classes. I got preterm labor. One of the instructors kicked me out of the class and the other four let me do the work from the hospital. I had to lie on my back for two months and take drugs. I remember the one that makes you constantly thirsty, but you can't drink anything. They measure your urine to make sure you aren't sneaking in water. Some of the drugs were in an IV tube.
After I had the kid I went back to school. Mind you, if I had known then what I know now, would I have done that? I still can't say. If anyone at this point thinks it's easy to finish a degree when you're in my situation, then they have got their head up their butt.
Hummm...at my peak semester, I took ten classes at once. Two different schools. Two of them were Java classes. Heh heh! I don't remember the other eight classes. :)
I graduated, started grad school and then got pregnant with my second kid. The same bad pregnancy. I threw up the first five months...I finished the grad classes I was taking. One guy was okay, the other...Perl...I was getting straight A's through midterms. But I got a B in that class, after I started throwing up. What could I do? Take an incomplete? You think things would have gotten easier for me the following semester?
I walked around on eggshells during that pregnancy. After that...did it make sense to go to work? Who would take care of my kids? I already missed out on the first one's babyhood. It does matter. We're a brainwashed society...we kid ourselves to think that it's the same if a stranger raises a baby rather than its natural mother. We are deluded....
I have never regretted staying home with my kids. I would never be able to know them the same way otherwise. But the system is rotten. We make women choose between their own children, and every measure of wealth and self-esteem in their own society. Hey, I chose the kids. But I'm not stupid. I know when I've been had.
Ummm...just wanted to clear up. I do know what it is to work.
Mmmm...Stooges. My favorite scene actually was not the ice block. It was the fish truck. The Stooges decided to buy their own fish truck. I forget what happened exactly but they had to rush out of some place...Larry and Moe threw Curly in the back of the truck and drove off.
When they pulled the truck over, Curly was frozen stiff. They put him on a spit over a fire. They were turning the spit and Curly started to smoke. He jumped off the spit and ran to this pool of water and jumped in and all this steam came out.
That's my favorite Stooge sketch.
Oooooohhhhh...what's good? The Goon Show. It was a radio show. I had a record of it long ago out of the library.
My favorite part of that one...it was supposed to be World War II in England. No one was supposed to put on any lights. If you put on a light, the Germans would see it and drop a bomb, right?
So these guys would be talking and some guy would start lighting a cigarette. The others would go "No! No! Don't do that!" and you could hear the match lighting. Then--right away--you'd hear this bomb falling. It was insanely funny. They did it a couple of times.
September 23, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
5:08 PM (Pacific)
nyuck nyuck nyuck Why do I always think of the Three Stooges? I love the Three Stooges. It's not only because they're funny. It's because those films were made before there was a middle class. Either you're rich or you're...well, a Stooge.
I love the one where they have an ice truck. The guy has to pick up the block of ice and carry it up this huge flight of stairs to deliver it.
Naturally, as soon as he gets to the top of the stairs, the ice has melted. So he has to go all the way back down again, pick up another block of ice, carry it all the way up again, where of course it melts by the time he gets to the top...
Oh yeah. Homeschooling. Well, that would be like people around here asking if I "work." I love that one. I never know what to say.
I mean I know what they mean, but the question is a joke. Yes, I work. I just don't get paid for it. I would get paid if I were taking care of someone else's kids though. That would be working.
pfffff
Naaaaowww, honestly I don't know anyone around here who homeschools. But I'll bet there are plenty who do. I'm out of the loop so I don't know about these things.
Hum. About those owl pellets. They must be lucrative, really. Well imagine producing them. All you do is buy some owls and make sure they eat. You don't have to pay the owls. lol After the initial investment, it's all cream.
Well I have faith in Google. I think AdSense is a relatively new program...it is getting better I think. For example, we now have ads in the Beauty section for natural cosmetics lines like Burt's Bees and Lavera. Kewl! And they have the odd companies. I never heard of AmeriMark until I saw our own ads for them. They specialize in discontinued and oddball products including cosmetics. Imagine finding Rose Milk lotion, Heaven Scent lotion...4 odd shades of Clinique lipstick and a bunch of stuff L'Oreal no longer makes...
About that neighbor. Well, sometimes people mellow with age or experience. Either that or they get more conservative. ??? Who knows?
September 22, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
5:58 PM (Pacific)
Okey dokey...the reason a file won't show up... Once in a very odd while, our FTP server goes down. If you try to publish anything, it returns a "452" error--no space left on device.
Now of course there is plenty of space left on the device. Or there should be. I have to think Infinology is dorking around with something...but what happens is that whatever you were trying to publish, gets zeroed out. Literally, if you look at the file on the server, it'll say zero bytes length.
When the server is up again, you will need to republish the file.
Why that happens, I have no idea (I'm going to surf around on the Net, I'll bet there is some answer there). I've already complained to Infinology. I can stand it happening a couple of times but that's it.
Hummm...weeellll...yeah I couldn't believe that Cadillac. Imagine jacking the seat up. You could also adjust the softness of the seat (maybe I'm imagining that? it was a few years ago, that particular car).
I drove one where the transmission started slipping--right as I was driving the dang thing. !!!!! Luckily for us, the odometer wasn't working either. Otherwise we'd be stuck with a car with bad transmission...very expensive to fix.
Mostly it's pretty straightforward though. I can remember the odd this or that...cars dying, breaking down, one where we had to keep stopping and putting water in it...
Oh get this. We had this Ford truck and it died, mysteriously. Nothing would bring it back to life. You couldn't jump it, etc. Finally this guy suggested that the battery was loose. Guess what? The battery was loose.
My Isuzu...I had an Isuzu for some years. At one point you had to jump it every morning. I mean literally, every morning. The battery? you say. Nope, it wasn't the battery.
Finally I realized one very simple, insanely simple thing. You had to turn everything off--the radio, the heater, stuff you might casually leave on. I mean the radio did not work without the key in the ignition, so I'd half the time leave it "on." You had to go through and make sure every switch was off in the car.
After that I never had to jump it again.
Oh yeah...the world of used cars is a wide, wide, wonderful world. I had this Dodge and the parking brake broke, literally. I couldn't untrip it. What you have to do, is get a screwdriver and open the face where the brake is...inside the car. From there you can untrip the brake.
And the VW van...the horn started going. I was driving it and making a turn and the horn went off. Then it just started going off...I was driving down the street and it sounded as if I were leaning on the horn (okay it's funny in retrospect). VW horns are LOUD too if it helps paint a picture for you. :)
What to do? I don't know how to fix that. I think there's a wire in the steering column that you have to fix. I just pulled over and took the fuse out. Heh heh! Okay it's a quick fix, not a solution, but sometimes you need a quick fix.
September 21, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
5:18 PM (Pacific)
Scroll down to #28 Bill Gates. Actually the reference has already been archived, it's Sept. 2.
Dain...republish...your...bloooooog.
Not much happening today, the usual car lot stuff--picking up cars. I think I've driven every make, if not model, of car ever made. The Cadillacs are extremely comfortable. You can jack the seat up and down; insanely comfortable. Thing is, you can see the needle going down on the gas gauge.
It's very hot today but it doesn't bother me much. Got some cleaning done in the AM.
September 20, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
2:31 PM (Pacific)
Looks like the FTP server is up (okay how else could I publish this? :) .)
Stuff that was "published" while it was down, will need to be republished.
September 18, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
11:14 AM (Pacific)
Okee dokee...we've opened the Cafepress shop. More items will be added gradually...we will have a mousepad, that's for sure.
September 16, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
5:53 PM (Pacific)
Nyuck nyuck...that's done. I couldn't find the R.E.M. so I put on Bryan Ferry's "Taxi" CD. Surprisingly good music to mop to.
Well, let's make it fun. Why shouldn't it be fun? If men had to do it, wouldn't they bring in a couple of hookers or something, to make it more fun? lol
Actually I haven't figured out a way yet. I used to put on this cool Mariah Carey tape. Now I can't find it. Well I have a CD player and some CD's, I've got R.E.M. Would you believe, all my Clash stuff is still on vinyl records.
Okee...finished Food & Travel. We can't put Google ads on Food...any food. All that pops up are ads for low-carb and Atkins products. Nary a single cookbook, cookware site, spice co... The Travel section gets better food ads.
Anyhow we still need to develop the food section so advertising at this point is rather moot.
Weather: crystalline. Late summer San Francisco Bay Area.
Thinking about making a second cup of joe.
I keep forgetting about the spellcheck feature! Someone was kind enough to reset ours. Okay let 'er rip.
September 15, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
7:01 PM (Pacific)
Okee...Health is finished. Now it's just Food & Travel and The Mall.
Okeeeee. Finished Tech, Personal (not much to do there, but we might put up standardized bio pages for the staff :) ), Interactive and Home Management.
Leaving Food & Travel, Health and of course The Mall to finish up.
I'm pleased.
Ohhh Caaaaaarolllll...we now have Google ads for owl pellets all over the home section. *g* Apparently owl pellets are a hot item Google-wise. You learn something new each day.
September 14, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
10:38 PM (Pacific)
Hummm...I always like to order the house wine. If it's a good restaurant, the house wine has to be good. :)
Stressed out today. Hummm...you know I've always lived under stress. I've always been stressed out. At one point I finally figured out how stupid it was. It's a Third World thing really. The people create stress where there's no reason to. And it's not stress leading to producing anything. Except possibly more stress.
I hope by "Third World" no one thinks there's no such thing as the Third World inside the First World. Of course there is. Third World is a state of mind.
Didn't get too much done today, it was impossible. Just added a link to the Blog Index on the menu and footers. Why not?
Okee...I've finished the HTML section. Yes, I am aware that I'm going to have to rewrite most of it, fairly soon. As well as convert the whole site over from its present state of old-style HTML.
I will do that when I can't run the site anymore from the browsers that I use. :)
I'm going to finish the Tech section and then go back to Food & Travel. I've already started Tech so I feel I should finish it.
That said...I'm really pleased with this Netscape 6.2. It's a great browser. You get that lush, beautiful Netscapeness, as opposed to the quick'n'dirty, butt-ugliness of IE.
Okee dokee...I've finished up through Fashion. I haven't touched Food & Travel yet. I did some of Tech already but, I've decided to just go through the entire site from the beginning, page by page.
September 13, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
11:03 PM (Pacific)
I'm fixing up the Tech section. Actually I'm redoing the whole site somewhat. The titles of the pages should be bigger and clearer, I think. And...being as we don't have a typically "girly" design, I added in a gif that says that we're a chick's site. :)
Of course I had uploaded most of the Tech stuff before I viewed it on my new Netscape 6.2. *pfffff* What a bust. Why does this Netscape squash all the graphics together? So I will go back (promise) and add some space betwixt our coffee graphics and that "we are a chick's site" gif. I wish I had time to do it tonight.
Ultimately I am pleased with how the site has developed, looks-wise. I think the design has grown, as the site has grown.
September 12, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
6:01 PM (Pacific)
It was hot today. We're having a heat wave that's for sure.
My son can tie his shoe!!!!!!!!!! Okay he's probably a little old for doing it now. But he is like that. He'll take forever to learn something, then one day, bam! he does it as if he'd been doing it for years.
I finally figured out why he has problems writing. I'm such an idiot. Of course, if you see a letter on a page and you've never made it much (again he's been slow to even want to write anything), you won't know where to start. For us...if I see a Chinese character, I have no idea how to make it. Where to start. I can copy it but it's incredibly awkward.
I am tired like a dog. It must be the heat; normally I don't feel this way anymore.
Oh yeah--that magic moment. You know, the one where you clean the house and--it almost, kind of, stays that way, for a while. It doesn't just get messed up and dirty within the hour.
I ran out of my TwinLab Daily One Caps. I'm trying now to use up that Kirkland Premium with Herbs vitamin I bought before. I'll give it a few days. If my acne starts returning, then I'll go spring for the TwinLab.
Reading the respective labels, they seem remarkably the same. The only real difference I can see is in the levels of the B vitamins. The TwinLab has enormous amounts of these; the Kirkland doesn't.
Hence if there is a difference, acne-wise, the implication is that it's the large amounts of B vitamins that "cure" the acne.
Hummm...
September 11, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
9:49 PM (Pacific)
Yup...I'm really loving these Google ads. They're so...targetted. You can't beat the technology. It's stuff I like to look at.
I can try some on the Homeschooling section if you like. I didn't put them on certain pages...like the Diet Blog. It might pop up ads for diet pills or stuff which isn't healthy. And Body Image...likewise.
According to Google, they are supposed to work on IE 4.0 or any browser that supports the iframe tag. Rotsa ruck.
Today was 90+ in San Francisco, I think. SF is usually cold so that's saying a lot.
I tried commenting on your blog but enetation was down. I'll try again later on.
Okee dokee...more AdSense up. At least now, my IE 4.0 pops open a box asking if I want to continue running scripts on the page. If I click No, then it won't crash.
Therefore, Netscape and IE 4.x still function on the site, so I'm happeeeeeeee!
Some pages and sections won't have AdSense...I like AdSense, but there are some things that should not be commercialized. Like diets, body image, children's sections, stuff like that.
Fashion and beauty are good though. You need to know where to shop.
September 10, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
9:58 PM (Pacific)
Oh well hot diggety dog. :) I got some of the AdSense up on the Fashion Blog.
But. It does not work with 4.x browsers. I downloaded Netscape 6.2...actually I had to; the Google AdSense program itself does not work with 4.x.
That in itself is not bad, since most of our users use 5.5 and up. What's bad is that it crashes on IE 4.0.
Tried putting in some code today to detect IE 4.x and not run the ads, if so. But Google has not made it easy. I don't wanna beef or anything--it's brilliant, it crawls pages and uses text to determine which ads to serve--but isn't it just plain Javascript? The same stuff I use to write our ads to our pages? How complicated could that be? It should work on 4.x.
That said, I'm rather pleased with 6.2. I did check the system requirements first and it's like half the size of the next higher Netscape. So far it's running good.
How nice! Blogger put in both a spellcheck and a file upload button. I'll have to try them out.
I'm guessing it's these new features...not the features themselves, just that they're adding them in...that's causing those random Blogger log-outs. I had one not that long ago. Irritating. If you write an opus, you have to remember to copy it to the clipboard before trying to preview it.
Diners? Strawberry Shortcake notebooks? I can stand the ninety degree fall weather. :) I loooooooove hot weather.
September 9, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
9:49 PM (Pacific)
Mwahahahahaha...then you have to check out those very socks. They had a bunch...with cats, monkeys, dogs, I forget...the best one is the bear drinking coffee.
I'm going to try downloading that browser again in a minute. Oh yeah, check this out:
Apparently Doumar is an Arab. They had a feature in Saudi Aramco magazine about the invention of the ice cream cone, and they featured Doumar's restaurant in my hometown--Norfolk, Virginia. (It seems Abe Doumar is one who claims credit for the invention.)
I remember the old Doumar's sign better than I remember Doumar's itself, frankly...the one in the magazine is a new sign. The old one was similar--two huge ice cream cones.
Woo! Dain finally updated her blog. (Yes I am slavishly reading it; a vicarious online Yale education.)
Well what can I say. Sometimes women help each other. Sometimes they don't. To generalize otherwise, is to buy into one myth or the other.
Weather: overcast, cold. There's a sudden burst of roses in the back yard. The ones that mildewed last year, have virginal green leaves. The ones that didn't, don't. I still haven't sprayed them. I'll have to figure out if there's a non-toxic way of doing that.
They've started the asphalting again. I think they'll finish up here today.
Lessee...I finished our new business cards. We do our own; we use Word for Windows. Next step will have to be the website. It badly needs updating, it's just a matter of which cars we still have and what's on the lot.
Sheesh...was trying to download a new Netscape. Tried it from both Netscape and IE...crashed both times. *pfffff* It's a two-hour download; I'll have to do it tonight.
Why the download? Usually I'm the last person to "upgrade." I used to be all for it, until I found out that "upgrade" usually means twice as much code, twice as many errors, for a paltry few new features. But now, some things just don't work on my old browsers. Anyhow I'll get to see how everyone else already sees the site. :)
About lists...hummm. Once in a while, I'll get into list mode. If it's something I'm really going to forget. Most of the time I can remember things if I count them.
I'm going through a small budgetary crunch myself. I think the key is to combine frivolity with practicality.
Like...socks. I actually need socks. My Costco socks are starting to fall apart. So, what to do?
The logical thing is to go to Costco and get a six-pack of socks for $10. So I went...and they don't sell those socks anymore. All I saw were athletic socks and that's not the kind I want.
Next bet might be Old Navy. They sell good socks at a good price. But, they're not "colored" socks; just basic colors like navy blue.
So--on to Target. That's the next-cheapest place around here. The best price for socks there is $2 a pair. They also have the luxury, $3 pairs as well. :)
I got 5 pairs of the $2 ones in the best, richest colors. What the hell! Black socks cost the same. It can be said that I don't know how to match my socks :) but I've been wearing black, white and grey socks for years so what the hey.
Now...I did get one of the $3 pairs as well. (Okay technically they have $5 pairs but why bother.) They are too cool. They have pictures of coffee drinks, a slice of strawberry cake, and a teddy bear drinking coffee, on them. (If you go to Target I'll bet they have the same pair there.) Made in Korea...imo, they make good socks...it's a blend, but 70% cotton is nice and comfortable.
So looking at it...a couple of extra bucks, but the same net six pairs of socks. And lots of fun.
Sometimes you do have to cut the fat. I myself, can think about the same purchase for weeks. I don't go out and buy stuff impulsively much. I just allow myself a little luxury...I did get that MAC "Jubilee" lippy. But, another lippy? No.
Heh heh...I never had much money when I was growing up. And there's a major class system in Virginia. I always had people trying to look down their noses at me. So--I learned to have fun without money. People whose self-esteem depends on money, are ultimately losers. One teeny crisis and bang! they don't know how to handle it.
September 8, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
11:33 AM (Pacific)
September 6, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
9:51 PM (Pacific)
Heh heh! Well that sounds like a riot. I haven't had a decent night out drinking since...erm...199x? It was right after the earthquake in L.A., the big one. I think the Northridge earthquake. Ah here it is...
NORTHRIDGE EARTHQUAKE. TIME: January 17, 1994: 4:30:55 am PST
Isn't the Internet great? 1994 then. It was in Seattle...which is the most fun city in the world to have a night out drinking, because the people there have no sense of humor. You can't shock anyone here.
Hm. STOP SMOKING! I used to smoke. Quite a few years...around ten years, really. The last three years of it, I was cutting back. I had already quit before I got pregnant which was, lessee, 1996, so I turned 31 that year...yes, about ten years.
Remind me to put the comments up...it's not a big deal.
I am not sure about MUA. :) They have some polls on the site, some advertising, they also have a Cafepress shop. They probably have other stuff going on. It's an extraordinary site.
Milani...it's a drugstore line. I've seen it here at Longs Drugs. A lot of places don't seem to have it though.
I think the question is this. How much do you want to wear orange eyeshadow? You can MAC it. I don't MAC often, but when I do, I have no regrets. :) I would investigate "Samoa Silk." It's very soft-looking, peachy-orange. I've half a mind to get one myself; I have no orange shadow. Only pinks.
Heh heh...well the typewriter itself is dead. I'm sentimental about dead technology. Most programmers are. I'll probably work more "courier" stuff into the site...
Hey Carol--you want comments on your blog? I can put them. I'll feel terribly guilty because we can't donate anything to enetation yet. :) But who knows...the coming year should see us fat, rich and happy.
Anyhow YACCS comments is still down.
Hum. Not much going on today. I signed us up for Google AdSense. That'll be good.
I'm going to transfer my recipes from Green Choi to the forums. No one ever goes to Green Choi. sigh! We gets lots of hits on the forums, let's give 'em something to look at.
I'm still thinking of adding a messageboard or blog to the Food section. Some things are not quite recipes, and not quite diet-oriented either. We need a place to yak.
I love how on makeupalley, people post what they're making for dinner. Okay most of it is not what I'd make :) but the idea rocks.
How was your nite out? :)
Hummm...while I was at the MAC counter, I did check out some orange shadows. "Samoa Silk" was quite pretty although I think it's subtler than the Nars one. It's matte...part of the new Veluxe shadows.
Then there was "Snappy" at Femme Noir. Entirely different--darker, brown-orange, a bit sparkly.
They had a couple oranges from the original collection but nothing caught the eye. To be fair, the samples were so sampled, it was kinda hard to tell.
September 5, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
6:17 PM (Pacific)
Well have fun! :)
Hummm...btw, Andrew H.'s blog is one of the best. [link] First of all, he has pics of Dom Joly up. Then, there are the comments from WackoSisters. Dunno...thought it was funny.
What I was going to say was, why people like to hang out with you. I can tell you why. It's because you're an honest person. Straightforward. You've got class. That's why.
Moreover, I think it matters more and more, the older and older you get--honesty. When you're young, you're easily impressed. If someone is charming, effusive, ingratiating, flattering...you tend to think there's something to it. When you get older...it's like you realize that most people who are like that, want something. Something that's not in your better interest.
The phrase that comes to mind..."charming thieves." Most thieves are actually quite charming. Right up until the moment they take your money. Then--bang! That's when the charm suddenly disappears. And a thief is always a thief. That never changes.
I've known many such people. I think part of it is my own fault, why I fall for the shtick. I don't anymore. The last time...was...the last time. I vote for the straight and the straightforward.
Do you think the sidebar is too narrow now? I shaved 14 pixels off of it. I can't decide yet if it's claustrophobic or is it art?
Haw haw. You think I know how to spell? I used to... I use Microsoft Word now. I open it up. Any time I'm not sure of something, I type it in there. Good ol' Bill Gates. I shouldn't diss him that much.
NASCAR shirts...I take my hat off to you. That is too cool. I wish we had a Wal-Mart. The nearest one is San Leandro. You can drive there, but it's a journey.
Weeeeelllll...the site is the site. Either Nordies likes it, or they don't, but we're not changing the site. We average now well more than 300 unique visits per day. We'll get much more than that in the coming year. So people like our site; they find it useful. That's what we're here for.
Hummm...I got logged out of blogger. What the...? I had this whole beautiful piece about how honesty becomes a commodity, the older you get. i.e. the more you've been screwed over by charming, yet dishonest people. Dang. I'll put it in again later.
I've decided our sidebar is too big. 'later!
September 3, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
6:48 PM (Pacific)
Okee dokee...
I have actually finished both Tech and Fashion, but I'll wait until we open the shop to upload them.
Leaving the Mall...that is the last thing I'll need to do. Whoopee!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hummm...I think it is something of an age difference. Punk was from the 1970's. I remember the '70's quite well.
Punk...I thought most of it was rubbish. I liked the Sex Pistols though. I thought they were funny. If you take it out of context, I don't think it makes any sense.
The thing is...the '70's was a period of excess. It was also pre-tech. Ergo, young people needed music. There was no Internet, no cable tv, no other creative outlet. You could write but no one would publish you.
So there was this enormous gaping need and nothing to fill it. The groups at the time were huge, stadium-type bands. Some of them were good--Fleetwood Mac, Linda Ronstadt, etc. Excellent really.
But rock and roll, was never meant to be huge, or excellent, necessarily. I don't know how to put this. I listen to stuff now that would have made me puke in my youth. :) Rock and roll is for young people, not people my age.
So...punk. Punk was about, imo, converting anger into energy. The Sex Pistols had a song like that: "Anger is an energy." At the time I thought that was entertaining, but crap. In our culture, to this day, anger is seen as a negative emotion, but it's not. All emotions are the same, neither positive nor negative. It's what you do with them.
I am very sincere in that. You can be the happiest bastard in the world :) and still produce nothing out of it. Likewise, you can be the angriest bastard in the world and do something--something to help other people. So which is the negative emotion?
Weeeeelllll...I remember my grade school years best. I dropped out of junior high and didn't go to high school at all. (Don't ask; I don't recommend it.) I had jobs. In that regard, I don't remember that part of my life much either. It picked up when I got married and went to college.
I'll say that it's never too late to have a youth. We are still young in the sense, if we play our cards right, we'll have forty or fifty years more to live. You can do a lot in forty or fifty years. The key is to stay healthy.
September 2, 2003
posted by Colleen Shirazi at
7:15 PM (Pacific)
Okee dokee...I've "finished" the Fashion section. It's finished in the same sense as the Tech section, i.e. I've done as much on it as possible. I won't be able to finish the Cafepress stuff until we open the shop.
Here's a blatant plug: we got a Lancome affiliation! Check out the ad (I promise to keep it current) on thebroadroom.net Beauty.
Weather: San Francisco Bay Area fall. Similar to summer only sliiiiiiiiiiiightly cooler. :)
Okay...busy, busy, busy. I need to change all the image links on the site that open into new windows, from target="_blank" to target="name". Why? Get this--Green has an IE version 5.50.4522.1800IS. In it, the images disappear if you set them to target="_blank".
Bill Gates...I can defend ya no more.
Heh heh...I read Dain's blog and Carol's blog every day. It's great. You get fresh lit...and I have read some linked to from Dain's blog. Quite diverse.
I don't think I'd want to be famous, either. I think...every little thing you do, becomes the subject of scrutiny. And you attract lunatics.
Hummm...I think Goth to Carol, is like punk to me. ? It's what was happening when we were young. I don't mean the superficial aspects of punk...the Mohawks, the pink hair, the pierced noses. I think what sticks, is the spirit. When you're young, you rebel, or you should rebel anyway.
I prefer the later, Clash style of punk. i.e. when they moved away from green hair and just wore black and white. That really appealed to me...the notion that you could simplify. I still prefer simplicity.
Current Blog
