A Fistful of Awesome

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:19:59 GMT

A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A well-written and insightful YA novel about a young boy (13) coming into his own in a Shaker family. At times heart-warming, at heart-breaking, it is a powerful book that mixes memoir and fiction.

If On a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this book as part of my Experimental Book Club and thoroughly enjoyed it. Many reviews are quick to point out that it is ten novels rather than one, but that's not entirely true. It is a postmodern novel that works with the ideas of reading, writing, and what it means to be an Author and a Reader. Not for everyone, but thoughtful and beautifully written.

View all my reviews >>

The Giving of Thanks

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 01:20:31 GMT

I'm thankful for Thanksgiving. It has always been my favorite holiday. Even when I was a kid, Thanksgiving trumped Christmas.

It's a day centered around getting together and eating. It's a day for taking stock of what's good in your life. As Americans, we spend too much on "the pursuit of happiness" (thanks, George Carlin) and not enough on just being happy with what we have.

I'm thankful for waking up this morning next to the warm snuggliness of the woman I love. I'm thankful that she's always in my heart and I in hers, even when we're miles apart.

I'm thankful for my legs and my heart for getting me through the 5-mile race I ran this morning and the half-marathon I did less than 2 weeks ago. I'm thankful for the health and psychology that allows to overcome physical obstacles and meet my goals.

I'm thankful for the bounty from our CSA and our farmers market that rosepurr turned into a fabulous feast today and that has filled my belly for all these months.

I'm thankful for my job, which has been secure throughout this economic downturn and still has been the best job I've ever had.

I'm thankful for our cats, who entertain me and are great company.

I'm thankful for books and reading and great writing. They inspire and entertain me. They motivate me and raise my will when it's at its ebb.

I'm thankful for having the good taste to appreciate these things and the discipline to pursue them and keep them close.

I wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving.

[Posted for LJ Idol Season 6 - Free Topic - The Giving of Thanks]

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:26:11 GMT

First We Read, Then We Write: Emerson on the Creative Process by Robert D. Richardson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A short book (really a long essay) on Ralph Waldo Emerson's approach to the writing process and product, culled from his journal, letters, and essays. As an Emerson fan and an aspiring writer, I found it motivational, inspiring and fascinating.

I discovered this book through John Banville's review in the New York Review of Books (link to a preview of the review but a paid subscription is required to view it in its entirety).

View all my reviews >>

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:07:47 GMT

Because you need to be punished and you haven't had enough stupid yet today . . .

A good day to be at work

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:30:32 GMT

I'm at work today. This is not as bad as it sounds. I like my job. Today, my boss is off. Actually, all the pains in the ass are off today, too.

Let me make it clear: my boss is NOT a pain in the ass, which is good. But I work with several people who are. Magically, they are all off today. Maybe they are at a pain in the ass convention. If there is such a thing, please let me know where so I can avoid it. :)

Bright sunshine comes in through my office window. Almost everyone - faculty and students - is gone so the place is quiet and there's really nothing to do but be here in case I'm needed.

So I'm doing a long overdue office straightening, email purging, and catching up on some work-related reading (as the afternoon wears on, the reading may get less work-related).

Tomorrow, I will get up early to run the Boulevard Bolt here in Nashville. Then rosepurr and I plan a walk around the beautiful Radnor Lake. Then it's on to turkey and all the fixings. Hooray!

The rest of the weekend I don't think either one of us even plan to get dressed. We're going to drink a lot of coffee, eat leftovers, read, and watch TV. Our apartment complex scored a deal with the local cable provider so we got a discount on cable. Before, we just had basic cable, which was pretty much the channels you could previously pick up with a basic antenna plus a bunch of religious programming. Now we have real cable. Which is why we spent Saturday night curled in front of the TV watching made-for-Syfy Kevin Sorbo movies.

Real cable is a dangerous thing.

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:22:44 GMT

With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching (YUM!), there is a short voting period for this week's LJ Idol.

If you liked my entry (or even if you didn't), you can vote here. I am in Tribe Beauty. Voting ends tomorrow.

Thanks for your continued support. Happy Turkey Day!

So Quiet in Here

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:06:02 GMT

Very quiet today here in the library. I'm not complaining, but it is making time drag.

Sigh.

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:18:25 GMT

For all you fellow book junkies out there,

Stephen King has a fascinating review of a new biography about and a new collection of stories by Raymond Carver. When I was in college, Carver was worshipped as immortal among my creative writing professors. So I find the revelations about how Carver wrote versus how much his editor Gordon Lish actually contributed to his trademark style.

I like that King describes the biographer as enamored of Carver the writer while pointing out how much the biographer avoids Carver the drunken asshole. Why are so many artists bad people? King may be a bit self-condemning in this way as he has struggled with the bottle himself. The alcoholism may have played a role in the whole editorial brouhaha as Carver needed publication and a rise in self-esteem since he quit drinking. Lish could get him those things, but only on his terms.

Anyway, the review is a fascinating read. I find it completely appropriate that King, who was not highly regarded by my literary establishment wannabe creative writing professors, writes very intelligently about Carver as a man and as a craftsman. I'm curious to read both the biography and the unedited versions of his stories.

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:27:32 GMT

I have a friend who for many years was sickly, moody, and just not a fun person to be around. Very intelligent but seemingly anti-social and difficult.

She had been to many doctors over those many years. They attributed her weaknesses to a lack of breast feeding as an infant (her mother couldn't - it wasn't even a choice.)

Then a new doctor, not a nutritionist but someone interested in nutrition and its affect on our systems, found that she was allergic to wheat and corn.

Corn is in almost everything we eat. Everything processed, anyway. And wheat is similarly omnipresent. These days she eats meat and lots of veggies. A light meat and a salad with a dressing of her own making (mostly olive oil and some herbs) is a basic meal.

The difference is dramatic. She's a whole different person. Dynamic, outgoing, fun, full of energy with a healthy pallor and the mother of two vibrant little girls.

Our minds betray us. We have no idea how they work, but we know that so much of our mood, so much of who we are, depends on the chemicals in them and put in them. Drugs can change us, of course, but more subtle changes can make us different people.

I love rosepurr but without her coffee she's this:

(For the VI, it's an angry bear.)

My parents were worse. I work a mean coffeemaker.

We know this even though we may not realize it. We justify someone's crankiness in a number of ways (there's an added excuse for women). When we see someone unusually happy or they do something stupid, we ask what they're smoking. We drink to relax, to take the edge off.

As for me, I believe, deep down, I'm a gentle soul. Passive, even, to a fault. Here I am:

(For the VI, an adorable polar bear cub.)

However, I have some blood sugar issues so when I don't eat, I'm more like this:

(A picture of an apparently angry polar bear trying to eat a man's head. It may just be playing, but I'm glad I'm not that guy anyway.)

Those moments aren't us. Yet we act on those emotions that are just a bad balance of chemicals in our brains.

I have seasonal affective disorder (SAD) (link to the Wikipedia entry). As the days grow shorter and colder, I'm irritable and lazy and sleepy and much more difficult. rosepurr and my family should be nominated for sainthood.

Knowing, as G.I.Joe said, is half the battle and it helps to know that my problems are pharmacological rather psychological.

So I know I'm not mad at the world. I'm just hungry.

I know I'm not lazy. I just struggle with gray days.

I know not everyone in the world woke up that morning with the intention of pissing me off. I'm just irritable because I haven't seen the sun in three days.

Still, it's me. It's who I am at that moment even if that's someone I don't like or never aspire to be.

We act on those false emotions. They're not even false. If they were false, we'd be acting, an Oscar-worthy performance. They are who we are. Yet they're not.

The worst lies are not the ones we tell ourselves. The worst ones are the ones we are.

[Posted for LJ Idol Season 6 - Topic 6 - Bearing False Witness]

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:48:43 GMT

Murder on the Leviathan by Boris Akunin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A classic set-up for a nautical closed room mystery with the usual twists and interesting characters. It was good enough to keep me turning pages (or keep listening, as I did this via audiobook), but it's not exceptional. A decent mystery story.

View all my reviews >>

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:43:54 GMT

I'm still working on the 101 things in 1000 days that I mentioned forever ago. It's more like someone plinking a toy piano in the back of my mind these days - a constant irritation or consideration rather than something I'm actively working at.

Today I pulled out a copy of the list. (Now that I completed the VERY BIG PROJECT at work, I'm working on straightening up my office, which may qualify as another VERY BIG PROJECT.) In reviewing it, I found that I have accomplished several things while failing at one spectacularly.

1. See a classic movie on the big screen.

rosepurr and I caught "Nosferatu" on the big screen here on campus Halloween night. It'd been years since I've seen it. I just remember it being a good film and I was right.

2. Visit our friends in Minneapolis.

We visited them last week on vacation. It was fun, too. The weather cooperated so we got to do a lot of fun things, including seeing the Mall of America and doing a 9-mile run (okay, maybe that's just my idea of fun) around Lake Calhoun. One of the other things we got to do was . . .

3. Hash!

I've been talking about it for awhile, but our friends in Minneapolis, purple_phys and tbec are already part of the group up there, so for our virgin hash, we ran through woods, crossed train tracks, darting oncoming trains, and drank.

For those of you who have no idea what hashing means, the short version is always "A drinking group with a running problem." There's an entire vocabulary, but really it's about creating running and walking trails as an excuse to exercise and drink beer (like I need any reason for either, but especially the latter). rosepurr and I are planning to attend Nashville's group soon. The Music City Hash House Harriers website has a lot of detail about the hashing phenomenon.

On on!

4. Run a half-marathon.

I mentioned this earlier and I couldn't recall if it was on the list. It is. Huzzah! I ran a better time than I expected and I had a great time. As I've gotten older, I'm not as fast as I once was, but endurance has gotten much easier to build. The first couple of miles of everything just seem to suck, but then I find my rhythm and feel like I could go on a long time. At the half, I ran 10 and a half miles before I walked at all (damn hill!).

Overall, I'm doing well. But there are a couple of items that worry me.

1. Write a blog entry every time an item is complete.

Obviously then, this entry should be at least 4. Perhaps this wasn't the best goal to set. Many of my 101 things are linked together and, as here, will be accomplished together. So I'm rephrasing my goal to "Write blog entries about each completed item."

2. Complete Nanowrimo.

I have a very hard time with Nanowrimo this year. Today is the 18th and I don't even have 3000 words. Vacation is partly to blame, but I have to make the time and put my ass in the chair. I have to get past the mental blocks I have (too numerous to mention) and just work. Maybe lightning will strike and I'll burst out in the week or so I have left, but it's not looking good.

Sigh.

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:54:26 GMT

Junior Ray by John Pritchard

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
An entertaining and often hilarious novel about a sheriff's deputy in the Mississippi Delta who decides he needs to kill Leland Shaw, a WWII veteran who just escaped a mental institution. The novel is written in the first person and very much in the dialect of Junior Ray, who is racist, sexist and ignorant. This makes it sometimes difficult to read, despite its shortness. Sometimes, however, Junior Ray inadvertently provides keen insight into the human condition. The book, like its narrator, is profane, irreverent, and hysterical. Highly recommended for those who aren't squeamish.

View all my reviews >>

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:24:36 GMT

I continue to roll on in LJ Idol.

If you liked my entry this week, please vote here.

Thanks for your support.

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:32:25 GMT

"Girl, you're a beauty like I've never witnessed
And I've seen the Northern Lights dancing on air" - John Hiatt, "Icy Blue Heart"

I ran my first half-marathon today. I expected to write about the beautiful moment when I crossed the finish line, full of accomplishment and happy with myself.

But the beautiful moments of this day came earlier. I woke up at 4:30 this morning, about two hours before I needed to. rosepurr was snuggled into me. We live near a highway and often hear traffic noise. At that hour, though, there was none of that. I lay in the dark, staring up at the ceiling, nervous with anticipation over the race, listening to rosepurr's snores. I feared I would never get back to sleep.

I got up and went to the bathroom. When I came back I lay in bed apart from her. Without a word, without even a break in her gentle snores, rosepurr scooted over and snuggled in against me, warm and soft. My nervousness evaporated. I fell asleep.

When the alarm went off, I went through my morning routine without even thinking about it. I showered, put on my race gear, fastened my race number to it, stretched a little, ate an energy bar.

My dad used to set his alarm for early in the morning and I usually slept right through it. rosepurr slept through my alarm. I came in to say goodbye and she looked so cute. She had cocooned herself with all the blankets so that only her head peeked out. She snored with a contented smile on her face. I kissed her cheek and told her I was leaving (she was running some errands and would meet me at the finish). She reminded me to start slow (I have a bad habit of starting too fast and burning myself out) and said she loved me. I wasn't to the bedroom door before she was snoring again.

Those moments are the ones more likely to stay with me, and I am fortunate enough to get to relive them for many days to come. Yes, the half was an accomplishment and, yes, I was glad to see the finish line, but seeing my wife happy in the home we've made together is much more beautiful.

[Posted for Season 6, Topic 4 - "Moments of Devastating Beauty"]

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 04:54:19 GMT

Those of you who know me know how I feel on this issue, but I post this story to rouse more ire. Have a great weekend.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/78655.html

In Remembrance

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:13:59 GMT

"Smile. It makes everyone wonder what you're up to." - original author unknown

If you drive past me on the highway, if I can spare the attention, I will look into your car and see what you're up to. If I'm stopped at a light, I'll check on you in the rear view mirror. It entertains me. Some people thwart this effort by having dark tinted windows. But most people are as visible as if they are on television.

This morning, for instance, the cute young woman behind me at the red light was feverishly picking her nose. She must have got what she was after because she smiled when she was done.

For the most part, though, people look either serious or bored when they are in the car, whether driving or riding. Of course, there are a lot of exceptions to this rule. New young drivers, for instance, look terrified or giddy or even both. In the summertime, a car full of college-age kids (yes, I'm old and call them "kids" now though I once said I never would) is often full of smiles and laughter, in eager anticipation of antics. Some people have never gotten comfortable behind the wheel and clutch it with a death's grip, 10 and 2, eyes fixed straight ahead, mouth in grim determination.

Most people, though, are simply focused on getting where they want to be. This is not criticism. rosepurr sometimes asks me what's wrong when nothing is wrong. My default facade is apparently somewhere between concern and disappointment. Very few people have faces that automatically fall into smiles.

This past weekend, the world lost one of those people. (Why is it people I like keep dying lately?)

My grandparents passed away when I was very young. I have some memories of a couple of them. I was ten when the last one passed away. I remember the scruff of his unshaven face when he kissed my cheek. His was the first funeral I ever attended.

My best friend Drew (who seems to come up often in my journal these days) was blessed with two of the finest people in the world for his grandparents, and, in my own way, I borrowed them as my own. Anyone who ever met Grandma and Grandpa B would agree. I have never heard them say a negative word about anyone. In fact, I've even heard them say much positive about people I had no use for. They were generous with their time, their laughter, and their love. They were active in their church and community. They attended concerts at the elementary school, though their children and grandchildren had long since grown up and moved on.

Grandma B made sure to kiss us on each cheek because we couldn't go out into the world lopsided. She praised Grandpa B for surviving on her cooking, her "burnt offerings." She told wonderful stories about her family. She had grown up in England, was there through World War II.

When they were in the car together, no matter where they were going, Grandma B's face held a smile. She was with the man she loved. They were married more than 60 years. Everything they did was an adventure even if it was just a quick trip to the store for milk.

The only time I ever saw her without a smile was the last time I saw her. She didn't recognize me. Alzheimer's is an awful thing. She wasn't sad, though, even in a room full of strangers who seemed to know her. She clutched Grandpa's arm for support. It wasn't even fear. She loved people. She was just confused and a bit overwhelmed.

She passed away this weekend. I've spoken with Drew and Grandpa B, for obvious reasons along with his age and his own illnesses, is having a really rough time of it.

I hope you all will keep Grandpa B in your thoughts. And, for Grandma B, next time in your car, smile. Find the good in the moment, the sheer joy in being alive.

Goodbye, Grandma B. We love you & we miss you.

[Posted for LJ Idol Season 6 Week 3 - "Smile"]

Because you need it

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:07:48 GMT

LJ Idol Week 2 - Vote Now!

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:06:11 GMT

While I mentioned it briefly in my last entry, I want to remind everyone that this week's LJ Idol poll is up.

Here is my entry.

Here is a link to the vote.

Thanks for your support.

Halloween

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:56:11 GMT

Not a traditional Halloween, but fun in its own way. I ran a 5K late yesterday afternoon. I did about what I set out to, which is good. I didn't wear a costume, but a lot of folks there did. Which means did I get to outrun Kratos, Lara Croft, and Rainbow Brite. However, I didn't outrun the dead sorority tennis players or the Hulk or the Ninja Turtle. rosepurr got her hair colored pink and a bright star painted on her cheek and greeted me with a kiss at the finish line. YAY!

After a couple of free beers from the race sponsors, we went over to campus for a viewing of "Nosferatu," the classic silent film (1922). They had a 6-piece ensemble playing live with the movie. The group apparently just does soundtracks for silent films, writing and playing and touring. They were fantastic and the music added even more creepiness to an already creepy film. I'd seen it before, but it had been many years. I'm always amazed by how well it holds up. It's still eerie and mesmerizing and the pacing is extraordinary.

Then, because I was ravenous, rosepurr and I stopped off at Red Robin on the way home. Word of advice: Red Robin is deserted late on Halloween night. Which was kind of awesome. While we had a great time out and about, we were a bit people'd out. So we shut down Red Robin with peachy drinks and a Monster Burger with turkey patties instead of beef (a small effort at eating healthier).

Today, we're busy bees. Which kind of sucks. I just want to lay around on the couch, preferably in nothing more than underpants, reading a good book between dozing spells. But there's laundry and other housework to be done, LJ Idol posts to read and vote upon, a Nanowrimo novel to begin (it would probably help if I had any ideas), and some attempts at rest before the new workweek (which is promising to be harrowing) begins.

Sigh.

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:08:56 GMT

‘PW’ Unveils Top Titles of 2009 :

Seven books from the Random House imprints, two from Norton and one from Penguin comprise the first-ever Top 10 list of the best adult books of the year as compiled by the review editors of PW.

Really? Really? It's not even November 1 yet, and I'm hit with my first "Best of" list.

Sigh.

I guess I should have seen this coming when I saw Christmas decorations in the stores over the summer.

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:49:30 GMT

It's time.

You've waited too long.

I know you've longed for it, like a good meal, a glass of wine, a cigarette, or a vacant bathroom stall.

And, because I love you, I'm gonna give it to you.

Do you think you can handle it?

Do ya?

Really?

Okay then.

Hot library smut.

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:44:48 GMT

Superman: Shadows Linger by Kurt Busiek

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A graphic containing two separate, distinct Superman stories. Busiek's a good writer and the stories flow nicely. They are entertaining enough, but nothing extraordinary.

World War Hulk by Greg Pak

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is what would happen if Michael Bey ever get hold of the Hulk franchise. It's the Hulk on steroids, taking on all comers.

That said, there's a reason people go to Michael Bey movies. They may not make much sense or challenge you in any way, but they are entertaining. And this is that, moving along at a great pace with lots of action, which is probably all anyone expects given the title.

View all my reviews >>

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:07:51 GMT

"Life is hard."

I had a tax professor in law school who repeated that sentence like a mantra. That was it, just "life is hard." When my corporate tax class ended, the dozen of us tax nerds (we were like a gang) bought her a mug that said "Life is hard" down the side. (She was a 'round-the-clock coffee drinker, a Mr. Coffee took center stage on her office desk.) We tax nerds thought she was fantastic. The students for whom tax was a chore and a requirement called her the Dragon Lady.

Of course, she knew of what she spoke. She was an overweight chain smoker who was debating retirement as her husband was ill. She would stand outside in the coldest weather with the other smokers, desperate for her fix, and hack up her lungs. She taught us how the IRS could criticize, punish, fine, and imprison taxpayers for their misdeeds, intentional or not. Taxpayers found little sympathy in her class. If you don't want to pay income tax, she said, there's a simple way to avoid it. Don't have any income.

Every generation thinks they have it harder than the one that comes after it. Often, they're right. I know cavemen had it tougher than I do. I know those who lived through the Great Depression and the World Wars have battle scars I will never have (nor want, thank you). By the time my dad was my age, I was 18, heading out to college after being a pain in the ass for at least 13 years. He worked hard to pay for my tuition and all the other stuff I needed. Like food.

There are people in my generation who have it tougher than I do. There are people who I guess already qualify as the next generation who are currently serving overseas that have it infinitely harder than I do.

So I have a woman who loves me, a house full of nice things, a job that pays reasonably well with decent benefits that has moments of satisfaction, and a soft growing belly. There's no shame in that. Isn't what all my ancestors and predecessors lived tough for?

I'm not a tough guy. I only have moments of toughness.

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME:

Years ago, my best friend Drew worked at a camp along a reservoir in upstate New York. The camp had a wood-burning sauna. One January, I went to visit. We fired up that sauna, the flame bright orange, crackling and popping in the frigid night.

The sauna was right next to the reservoir. While the fire blazed, we cut a hole in the ice.

We got in the sauna. Naked. Sat on wooden benches that felt like the sun. Sweat rolled down us like water in a shower. Salt burned on my tongue.

"You ready?" Drew asked. Famous last words.

I nodded. I didn't have words.

We screamed as we ran out into the dark and jumped into the water. I think my heart stopped. It leapt up into my throat. My testicles chased it.

We screamed louder. Then we ran back in the sauna.

I don't remember much else about that night. I'm sure we drank; we usually did. I do recall there was a lot of laughter.

But mostly, I just remember that rush when I hit the water. It hurt more than anything else I remember. So cold. I say it felt like my heart stopped, and for a second I did think I would die. But it was also glorious.

It hurt and was magnificent.

Life is hard, indeed.

[Posted for LJ Idol - Week 2 - Uphill, both ways, barefoot]

A question for the ages

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:24:58 GMT

I don't know why Allison Moorer isn't more popular. She's a beautiful woman with a fantastic voice who makes fantastic music. Maybe it's because she's more interested in making music that appeals to her rather "finding an audience." Maybe it's because she's Steve Earle's wife and Lord knows he's burned some bridges.

Anyway, I'm listening to her latest as I write this. It's called "Mockingbird."

[Clicking on the album cover picture above will take you to Amazon.]

Except for the title song (which she wrote), it's a collection of covers of songs written by female songwriters. Things from a incredibly sexy version of "Ring of Fire" to Nina Simone's "I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl" to Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now." As if that weren't enough, Buddy Miller produced the record. And Steve Earle plays on it.

In short, it's awesome. And I just read she's in the studio for a new album early next year. Hooray!

thndrstd_2000@yahoo.com — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:13:40 GMT

Mad props to roina_arwen for finding this. I hope she won't mind me reposting.

(For the VI: A photo of a polar bear seated on a rock with his head is ducked down and one huge paw covering his eyes. The caption reads, "I'm ashamed of what I did 4 a Klondike bar.")