OK, so I want to write about the cowgirl's (awesome) wedding. I do. And I will. But frankly, today was a bit rough. I've been struggling with fears lately that my cancer will come back, and today I had a hard time thinking about much else. So finally tonight, I visited engrish.com on a mission to find some much-needed comic relief. But I was still too wound up to really enjoy the mangled English the way I usually do. Then, for the first time, I noticed a button off to the left-hand side of the home page that said "Make your own Engrish!" Curious, I clicked on it and found instructions for (duh) making your own Engrish. Basically you go to babelfish and you type in a sentence in English, translate it to Japanese, then cut and paste the Japanese characters into the original box and translate it back to English.
I figured I'd give it a go and see what happened. So I typed in, "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" and here's what came out when I did the translation:
"The orphan of fast brown jumped over the lazy dog."
That made me smile. Encouraged, I typed, "I went to the store to buy a camel, but instead I bought a cat." Where that sentence came from, I have no idea. For one thing, I'd never buy a cat. I'm allergic. But I (shockingly) digress.
Anyway, here's the translation: "I did buying the camel to the store, but the cat was bought to substituting."
OK, definitely starting to feel better. Then, after a moment's thought, I wrote, "I am scared I will get cancer again." And this is what popped up: "I having made can to have, me am the cancer which is obtained for the second time."
Mission so accomplished.
Now it's your turn. Don't lie, you know you want to try it. Just promise to post the results in the comments below. Come on, I can use as many good laughs as I can get.
Alright, back on track with wedding news tomorrow or Thursday at the latest. Thanks for your patience! Or, to put it another way: your perseverance thank you!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Deed Is Done!
Well, the cowgirl and cowboy are now officially hitched, and the wedding couldn't have been more beautiful and fun if I'd planned it myself. (Actually, if I'd planned it, it would have turned out something like this. Yes, horrifying and more than a little disturbing.)
More details to come...
More details to come...
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Countdown to the Cowgirl's Wedding
I'm off tomorrow to California's enchanting central valley to help the cowgirl finish getting ready for her upcoming nuptials on Saturday. Does anyone else think the word "nuptials" sounds weird? And has anyone noticed how many times I've used the word "weird" in the past few posts?
Anyway.
I'm very excited for the weekend and can't wait to procrastinate on updating the blog with details about it when I get back. Until then, you know the drill — be good and miss me, my darlings! WIth all the usual love and kisses from your friendly neighborhood frogg princess...
Anyway.
I'm very excited for the weekend and can't wait to procrastinate on updating the blog with details about it when I get back. Until then, you know the drill — be good and miss me, my darlings! WIth all the usual love and kisses from your friendly neighborhood frogg princess...
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Playing Catch-Up
Contrary to what you might think given the length of time since my last post and now, Boston did not kill me. Neither am I still there. In fact, I've been back for more than a week, but life has been going at this pace that is somewhere between not-slow-at-all and totally-insane, so there you have my reason for not updating the blog sooner. That, and the fact that I'm trying very hard to win the "Least Consistent Blogger of 2009" award. If it doesn't exist, I'm going to be bummed.
The rest of my Boston trip was great, though. And by the way, all the doom-gloomers who are busily prophesying the end of reading and literacy and books and so on would have been heartened by the many people who turned out for the inaugural Boston Book Festival on October 24. Especially when you factor in the fact that it was pouring rain most of the day, and when it wasn't raining, the wind was blowing. (Actually, sometimes the wind was blowing while it was raining.)
One of my treasured book festival memories occurred as I was signing up at one booth to win a free Kindle. Not that I am in favor of the Kindle per se, but hey, I'm as American as the next person, which means if it's free, I'll take it, thanks, and then sell it on eBay for a tidy profit. (Actually I'm lying about selling stuff on eBay. I'm way too lazy for that.) But the point is, as I was signing up for the free Kindle raffle, I overheard not one, but two people ask, "What's a Kindle?"
Hallelujah.
Another memorable moment for me was the entire John Hodgman/Tom Perotta conversation, held in the hallowed and gorgeous sanctuary of the Old South Church on Copley Square. For those of you who don't know who John Hodgman is, he's the PC on the "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" commercials. For those of you who don't know who Tom Perotta is, he's written some books, one of which was the novel Election, which got turned into a movie. I don't really remember much about the presentation except that it was very funny, and contained three of my favorite quotes of the day:
1) John Hodgman: "I always wanted my own megachurch."
2) Tom Perotta: "I just wonder what it's like to be disturbingly ubiquitous."
3) John Hodgman: "It's nerd time, but the law still applies."
You kinda had to be there, especially for that last one. But trust me, it was hilarious.
There's a lot more I could say about the book festival, but this post is already long, and there's still a whole 'nother day of the trip to talk about, which encompassed a drive to Maine. Argh, I suck at blogging! OK, we're doing the rest in pictures. Here we go:
That's a pic of the Visitor's Center at Kittery, ME, one of the nicest rest stops I've ever been to. It was there that we learned about the existence of Lenny the Life-Size Chocolate Moose, who resides at a candy shop in Scarborough, about an hour from the Massachusetts border. Of course, we had to go see him:
Since Lenny also lives not far from Portland, we cruised up there for a late lunch. (A fact that makes it possible for me to boast that I've been to Portland, OR, and Portland, ME, less than six months apart from each other. Because, you know, that's something to boast about.)
Here's Portland in all its cuteness:
And here's me in all of mine:
I don't know if you can read the sign, but it says, "DEMILLO'S LONG WHARF SERVING NICE PEOPLE SINCE 1954." I wonder what they do to not-nice people. Not serve them, I guess.
Here's a sign I saw outside a store:
I think that speaks for itself.
On the way back to Boston, we drove through Kennebunkport, which was pretty much adorable. And then there was the coast:
As a copywriter with clients in the travel industry, there have been numerous times where I've had to write about the New England coast even though I've never had the opportunity to go there until now (thank God for my advanced degree in fiction writing!). So I'm relieved to note that the many adjectives I've deployed to describe said coast (stunning, spectacular, dramatic, etc.) are, in fact, accurate. (Although you wouldn't know it from the picture. Oh well.)
Anyway, there it is, my not-so-quick Boston sum-up that still leaves much to the imagination. And I'll leave you now to employ that as you will, but not before extending my deep gratitude to the gracious friends who let me take over their living room during the entirety of my stay, not to mention showed me around (and even, in one case, made the supreme sacrifice of climbing the Bunker Hill monument's 294 steps with me). Thank you, thank you, thank you!
OK, back to all of our regularly scheduled lives...
The rest of my Boston trip was great, though. And by the way, all the doom-gloomers who are busily prophesying the end of reading and literacy and books and so on would have been heartened by the many people who turned out for the inaugural Boston Book Festival on October 24. Especially when you factor in the fact that it was pouring rain most of the day, and when it wasn't raining, the wind was blowing. (Actually, sometimes the wind was blowing while it was raining.)
One of my treasured book festival memories occurred as I was signing up at one booth to win a free Kindle. Not that I am in favor of the Kindle per se, but hey, I'm as American as the next person, which means if it's free, I'll take it, thanks, and then sell it on eBay for a tidy profit. (Actually I'm lying about selling stuff on eBay. I'm way too lazy for that.) But the point is, as I was signing up for the free Kindle raffle, I overheard not one, but two people ask, "What's a Kindle?"
Hallelujah.
Another memorable moment for me was the entire John Hodgman/Tom Perotta conversation, held in the hallowed and gorgeous sanctuary of the Old South Church on Copley Square. For those of you who don't know who John Hodgman is, he's the PC on the "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" commercials. For those of you who don't know who Tom Perotta is, he's written some books, one of which was the novel Election, which got turned into a movie. I don't really remember much about the presentation except that it was very funny, and contained three of my favorite quotes of the day:
1) John Hodgman: "I always wanted my own megachurch."
2) Tom Perotta: "I just wonder what it's like to be disturbingly ubiquitous."
3) John Hodgman: "It's nerd time, but the law still applies."
You kinda had to be there, especially for that last one. But trust me, it was hilarious.
There's a lot more I could say about the book festival, but this post is already long, and there's still a whole 'nother day of the trip to talk about, which encompassed a drive to Maine. Argh, I suck at blogging! OK, we're doing the rest in pictures. Here we go:
That's a pic of the Visitor's Center at Kittery, ME, one of the nicest rest stops I've ever been to. It was there that we learned about the existence of Lenny the Life-Size Chocolate Moose, who resides at a candy shop in Scarborough, about an hour from the Massachusetts border. Of course, we had to go see him:
Since Lenny also lives not far from Portland, we cruised up there for a late lunch. (A fact that makes it possible for me to boast that I've been to Portland, OR, and Portland, ME, less than six months apart from each other. Because, you know, that's something to boast about.)
Here's Portland in all its cuteness:
And here's me in all of mine:
I don't know if you can read the sign, but it says, "DEMILLO'S LONG WHARF SERVING NICE PEOPLE SINCE 1954." I wonder what they do to not-nice people. Not serve them, I guess.
Here's a sign I saw outside a store:
I think that speaks for itself.
On the way back to Boston, we drove through Kennebunkport, which was pretty much adorable. And then there was the coast:
As a copywriter with clients in the travel industry, there have been numerous times where I've had to write about the New England coast even though I've never had the opportunity to go there until now (thank God for my advanced degree in fiction writing!). So I'm relieved to note that the many adjectives I've deployed to describe said coast (stunning, spectacular, dramatic, etc.) are, in fact, accurate. (Although you wouldn't know it from the picture. Oh well.)
Anyway, there it is, my not-so-quick Boston sum-up that still leaves much to the imagination. And I'll leave you now to employ that as you will, but not before extending my deep gratitude to the gracious friends who let me take over their living room during the entirety of my stay, not to mention showed me around (and even, in one case, made the supreme sacrifice of climbing the Bunker Hill monument's 294 steps with me). Thank you, thank you, thank you!
OK, back to all of our regularly scheduled lives...
Friday, October 23, 2009
In Boston!
OK, I haven't been in Boston long, but I have to say - so far, it's definitely near the top of my "Coolest Cities I've Been" list. And I'm not just talking about the weather (though admittedly it was a little on the frigid side today for this California girl).
Here's a quick list of what I did today:
1) Walked the entire Freedom Trail.
Whew!
What, is that not enough? Come on, it was 5 miles roundtrip! Alright, alright, here are some specifics for all you details-lovers out there:
1) Took the Red Line to Boston Common, where we saw a bunch of kids running around screaming and collecting autumn leaves. At least I think that's what they were doing, but it was hard to tell amidst all the running and screaming. I then lost my 7-day bus pass, all because I ignored a homeless man who was yelling at me.
Hmm, that sounds too weird to even try to explain, so I'll leave it at that and move on to
2) Checked out the cemetery right next to Boston Common, where Paul Revere and many other famous people are buried. Here we learned that Paul Revere would never have shouted "The British are coming" on the night when he supposedly did his midnight ride (but kind of didn't really), because at that time everyone in the colonies was still British and it would have been like running down Mass Ave and shouting, "The Americans are coming!"; i.e., very strange. What he actually would have said I can't tell you, because we learned all this by eavesdropping on a guided tour and it just seems unsporting. Sorry.
3) Visited the Old North Church, where we learned that the oldest church in the country is actually in New Mexico, courtesy of a man with an iPhone who was helping to settle a debate between two North Church docents upon whom we - OK, I - was eavesdropping.
4) Climbed the 294 steps up to the top of the Bunker Hill monument which, it turns out, is actually on top of Breed's Hill. But did I mention the number 294? I just want to make sure, because that's a lot of steps. 294, to be exact.
5) Visited the USS Constitution, but didn't take a tour because we got impatient at how long we were waiting (outside, in the cold) and got out of the line. Of course, the moment we did, they took the next group of people, which would have included us had we been more patient, and we probably would have been more patient if we had been less cold. But alas. So we consoled ourselves with a visit to the USS Constitution museum instead. Not quite as experientially historic, but definitely warmer.
5) Bought cannolis at Mike's Pastry. I should tell you that before I came on this trip, I asked a bunch of friends who had either a) lived in Boston or b) been to Boston, what things they would recommend me to do/see. Pretty much every one of them said to go to Mike's Pastry and try their cannolis. I now know why.
6) Used the restroom in the Omni Parker Hotel. The Omni Parker is famous for many things, not least of which is the fact that John Wilkes Booth stayed there 10 days before he killed President Lincoln. (I'd like to say that someday it will be famous for the fact that I made a pit stop there, but chances are that's not too likely. Oh well.)
So, can I say "Whew" now? In fact, let's all say it together: "WHEW!"
Thank you.
Here's a quick list of what I did today:
1) Walked the entire Freedom Trail.
Whew!
What, is that not enough? Come on, it was 5 miles roundtrip! Alright, alright, here are some specifics for all you details-lovers out there:
1) Took the Red Line to Boston Common, where we saw a bunch of kids running around screaming and collecting autumn leaves. At least I think that's what they were doing, but it was hard to tell amidst all the running and screaming. I then lost my 7-day bus pass, all because I ignored a homeless man who was yelling at me.
Hmm, that sounds too weird to even try to explain, so I'll leave it at that and move on to
2) Checked out the cemetery right next to Boston Common, where Paul Revere and many other famous people are buried. Here we learned that Paul Revere would never have shouted "The British are coming" on the night when he supposedly did his midnight ride (but kind of didn't really), because at that time everyone in the colonies was still British and it would have been like running down Mass Ave and shouting, "The Americans are coming!"; i.e., very strange. What he actually would have said I can't tell you, because we learned all this by eavesdropping on a guided tour and it just seems unsporting. Sorry.
3) Visited the Old North Church, where we learned that the oldest church in the country is actually in New Mexico, courtesy of a man with an iPhone who was helping to settle a debate between two North Church docents upon whom we - OK, I - was eavesdropping.
4) Climbed the 294 steps up to the top of the Bunker Hill monument which, it turns out, is actually on top of Breed's Hill. But did I mention the number 294? I just want to make sure, because that's a lot of steps. 294, to be exact.
5) Visited the USS Constitution, but didn't take a tour because we got impatient at how long we were waiting (outside, in the cold) and got out of the line. Of course, the moment we did, they took the next group of people, which would have included us had we been more patient, and we probably would have been more patient if we had been less cold. But alas. So we consoled ourselves with a visit to the USS Constitution museum instead. Not quite as experientially historic, but definitely warmer.
5) Bought cannolis at Mike's Pastry. I should tell you that before I came on this trip, I asked a bunch of friends who had either a) lived in Boston or b) been to Boston, what things they would recommend me to do/see. Pretty much every one of them said to go to Mike's Pastry and try their cannolis. I now know why.
6) Used the restroom in the Omni Parker Hotel. The Omni Parker is famous for many things, not least of which is the fact that John Wilkes Booth stayed there 10 days before he killed President Lincoln. (I'd like to say that someday it will be famous for the fact that I made a pit stop there, but chances are that's not too likely. Oh well.)
So, can I say "Whew" now? In fact, let's all say it together: "WHEW!"
Thank you.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Off to Boston
Well, friends, I'm heading out on a red-eye to Boston tonight for a (much needed) long-weekend vacation. I'm quite excited, as I've never been to Boston before, and have wanted to go for ages. Plus I get to catch up with old friends I haven't seen in way too long. Fun!
I haven't mapped out any sort of itinerary for my time there; I do want to walk the Freedom Trail and visit Boston Common and whatnot. But I've been very lackadaisical about researching things to do. Mostly what I want to do is chill out and enjoy being someplace that is totally NOT California. Oh, and maybe hit up a book festival that just happens to be occurring on Saturday. (And no, I didn't plan my trip with the festival in mind; I didn't even know about it until a couple weeks ago! Although it's funny, isn't it — I went to Portland to see Powell's, now I'm traveling across country and going to a book festival! I am such a nerd.)
Not sure if I'll have a chance to update while I'm away, so if not, enjoy the rest of the week, be good and miss me, my darlings.
With love, and of course kisses, from the frogg princess...
I haven't mapped out any sort of itinerary for my time there; I do want to walk the Freedom Trail and visit Boston Common and whatnot. But I've been very lackadaisical about researching things to do. Mostly what I want to do is chill out and enjoy being someplace that is totally NOT California. Oh, and maybe hit up a book festival that just happens to be occurring on Saturday. (And no, I didn't plan my trip with the festival in mind; I didn't even know about it until a couple weeks ago! Although it's funny, isn't it — I went to Portland to see Powell's, now I'm traveling across country and going to a book festival! I am such a nerd.)
Not sure if I'll have a chance to update while I'm away, so if not, enjoy the rest of the week, be good and miss me, my darlings.
With love, and of course kisses, from the frogg princess...
Towards a Better Commodity of Faith
I don't know about you, but if I were going to run a campaign to raise awareness about atheism, I'm not sure I'd have picked New York City as the kick-off advertising venue. Seems like a waste of money. I mean, aren't you kind of preaching to the choir? (So to speak.)
Not that I am a particularly big fan of religious advertising, either. But aside from those God billboards they had a few years back, I can't really think of any I've seen that weren't on church grounds. (Maybe someone else is less oblivious to their surroundings than I am? If so, feel free to correct me in the comments below). Anyway, I'm probably more troubled by the commodification of faith that is so richly on display in your local Christian bookstore. Even the most die-hard Christian bookstore-shopper has to admit, the idea of reducing Christian faith to a cute blurb on a keychain made in China (!) is at least a little bit weird.
And by the way, that reminds me. My "favorite" pastor, Joel Osteen, has a new book out: It's Your Time. Please don't buy it. You could spend your hard-earned, recession-plagued cash on something so much more profitable. Something like this, perhaps.
Not that I am a particularly big fan of religious advertising, either. But aside from those God billboards they had a few years back, I can't really think of any I've seen that weren't on church grounds. (Maybe someone else is less oblivious to their surroundings than I am? If so, feel free to correct me in the comments below). Anyway, I'm probably more troubled by the commodification of faith that is so richly on display in your local Christian bookstore. Even the most die-hard Christian bookstore-shopper has to admit, the idea of reducing Christian faith to a cute blurb on a keychain made in China (!) is at least a little bit weird.
And by the way, that reminds me. My "favorite" pastor, Joel Osteen, has a new book out: It's Your Time. Please don't buy it. You could spend your hard-earned, recession-plagued cash on something so much more profitable. Something like this, perhaps.
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