The Dummies' Guide to Piyer Speak

I need a hobby...

2009-05-19T14:26:42Z

I was trying to figure out what to do with my time this summer -- beside pre-studying for German I (if it runs!) -- and nothing appeals to me. It's either not practical, too boring, too expensive, or just... too much water under the bridge to be a realistic option. And yes, that is what you think I am talking about. Fandom is weird. You can be out of it for years -- never even think about it, except perhaps when you notice Anne's name in a book on sci-fi -- and something causes you to take notice of it again, and you feel it calling to you: a siren luring you back to the world of Pern...

Speaking of Pern, what the heck has happened to all of the Pern writing clubs --- and why do I feel like I asked that before? There's scores of forum clubs with scenarios and dragon colors that make me want to go *twitch*, but expect for the obvious three of TW, AW, and DF, serious canon writing clubs seem to have faded from the scene. How different that is from when I started.

So, assuming that anyone is actually reading this and has gotten down this far, are there any suggestions as to what should I do this summer as a hobby? The only must-have requirements are low or no cost and I need some friendly / positive human interaction.

Have a happy...

2009-05-10T03:46:17Z

Happy mother's day, everyone. {{{HUGS}}}

Limo Driver...

2009-01-29T15:32:48Z

Billy Graham was returning to Charlotte after a speaking engagement and when his Plane arrived there was a limousine there to transport him to his home.
As he prepared to get into the limo, he stopped and spoke to the driver.
'You know' he said, 'I am 87 years old and I have never driven a limousine. Would you mind if I drove it for a while?'
The driver said, 'No problem. Have at it.'
Billy gets into the driver's seat and they head off down the highway. A short distance away sat a rookie State Trooper operating his first speed trap. The long black limo went by him doing 70 in a 55 mph zone.

The trooper pulled out and easily caught the limo and he got out of his patrol car to begin the procedure.
The young trooper walked up to the driver's door and when the glass was rolled down, he was surprised to see who was driving.
He immediately excused himself and went back to his car and called his supervisor. He told the supervisor, 'I know we are supposed to enforce the law.... But I also know that important people are given certain courtesies. I need to know what I should do because I have stopped a very important person.'
The supervisor asked, 'Is it the governor?'
The young trooper said, 'No, he's more important than that.'
The supervisor said, 'Oh, so it's the president.'
The young trooper said, 'No, he's even more important than that.'
The supervisor finally asked, 'Well then, who is it?'
The young trooper said, 'I think it's Jesus, because he's got Billy Graham for a chauffeur!'

I need help finding a book...

2009-01-10T05:03:37Z

The book is "The year when stardust fell" by Raymond Jones. I read this in grade school as a YA trade paperback. All I can find now are hardcover copies ranging from 50 to 400+ dollars -- way too much for my blood. If anyone happens to know where I can find this in the $1 to $10 dollar range, could you let me know? Thanks.

A thought for Christmas...

2008-12-25T02:57:16Z

In trying to decided on what to post here this holiday season, all of the traditional standbys seemed too... cliche for my taste. And so, on this Christmas Eve, I have decided to go with a World War II era ad from the New York, New Haven, & Hartford Railroad entitled "The Kid in Upper 4." Regardless of our feelings toward the outgoing president, let us not forget the young men and women who are far from home at this time of year...

"The Kid in Upper 4"

"It is 3:42 a.m. on a troop train.
Men wrapped in blankets are breathing heavily.
Two in every lower berth. One in every upper.
This is no ordinary trip. It may be their last in the U.S.A. till the end of the war.
Tomorrow they will be on the high seas.
One is wide awake ... listening ... staring into the blackness.

It is the kid in Upper 4.

Tonight, he knows, he is leaving behind a lot of little things - and big ones.
The taste of hamburgers and pop ... the feel of driving a roadster over a six-lane highway ... a dog named Shucks, or Spot, or Barnacle Bill.
The pretty girl who writes so often ... that gray-haired man, so proud and awkward at the station ... the mother who knit the socks he'll wear soon.
Tonight he's thinking them over.
There's a lump in his throat. And maybe - a tear fills his eye. It doesn't matter, Kid. Nobody will see ... it's too dark.

A couple of thousand miles away, where he's going, they don't know him very well.
But people all over the world are waiting, praying for him to come.
And he will come, this kid in Upper 4.
With new hope, peace and freedom for a tired, bleeding world.

Next time you are on the train, remember the kid in Upper 4.

If you have to stand enroute - it is so he may have a seat.

If there is no berth for you - it is so that he may sleep.

If you have to wait for a seat in the diner - it is so he ... and thousands like him ... may have a meal they won't forget in the days to come.

For to treat him as our most honored guest is the least we can do to pay a mighty debt of gratitude.

~The New Haven R.R."

How To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity

2008-11-26T02:31:13Z

I received the following from a friend in an e-mail. In passing it along to y'all I challenge each of you to do one of these items and post about the reactions you got in your journal.

To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't disguise your voice!

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, ask If They Want Fries with that.

4. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.

5. In the Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write ' For Marijuana'

6. Skip down the hall Rather Than Walk and see how many looks you get.

7. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

8. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is 'To Go'.

9. Sing Along At The Opera.

10. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You have a headache.

11. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream 'I Won! I Won!'

12. When Leaving the Zoo, Start Running towards the Parking lot, Yelling 'Run For Your Lives! They're Loose!'

13. Tell Your Children Over Dinner, 'Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go.'

And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity

14. PICK UP A BOX OF CONDOMS AT THE PHARMACY, GO TO THE COUNTER AND ASK WHERE THE FITTING ROOM IS.

Send This E-mail To Someone To Make Them Smile.

It's Called
... THERAPY

Pleasantness meme

2008-11-05T02:46:54Z

1. Stop talking about politics for a moment or two.
2. Post a reasonably-sized picture in your LJ, NOT under a cut tag, of something pleasant, such as an adorable kitten, or a fluffy white cloud, or a bottle of booze. Something that has NOTHING TO DO WITH POLITICS.
3. Include these instructions, and share the love.

Nanowrimo...

2008-11-02T11:09:04Z

1861 / 50000 words. 4% done!

This and that....

2008-11-01T07:41:02Z

So, it's half past three in the morning on November 1st and I am wide awake. No, I didn't just get home from any sort of Halloween party -- in fact, for the first time in a couple of years, I didn't even dress up for the thing. With no classes on Fridays this semester and no other plans, there wasn't any point.

Instead, I spent a few frustrating hours at the Billy Rose Theatre Collection of the New York Public Library researching my term paper for theatre history class. It was frustrating because all of the material I identified as being of use to me was not on site. Some is actually located at a different location, and others are out of circulation for barcoding and digital cataloging. The former means another trip into the city, and the latter means I can probably forget about seeing it before my paper is due. *grumble*

Why is it that things never seem to go easy???

Anywho.... It's November 1st which means that it's time once again for NaNoWriMo ( http://www.nanowrimo.org ). This year's novel has a working title of "Untitled Melodrama: 2008," and so far I 555 words. Do I think I can do all of my classwork plus write 50,000 words? No, but NaNoWriMo is fun, and so I shall just go with the flow and see where it takes me. Best of luck to all of you who are working on a novel too!

Quiz time...

2008-06-14T15:55:09Z

Rules:

You can only use one word and it's not as easy as you might think. Now copy or forward, change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It's really hard to only use one word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? desk

2. Where is your significant other? unfound

3. Your hair? short

4. Your mother? sunburned

5. Your father? dead

6. Your favorite thing? writing

7. Your dream last night? musical

8. Your dream/goal? formative

9. The room you're in? bedroom

10. Your fear? health

11. Where do you want to be in 6 years? working

12. Where were you last night? Val's

13. What you're not? rich

14. Muffins? blueberry

15. One of your wish list items? vacation

16. Where you grew up? Brooklyn

17. The last thing you did? this

18. What are you wearing? boxers

19. Your TV? off

20. Your pet? Dogs

21. Your computer? PC

22. Your life? bumpy

23. Your mood? mellow

24. Missing someone? Yes

25. Your car? none

26. Something you're not wearing? bra

27. Your summer? unplanned

28. Your favorite color? blue

29. When is the last time you laughed? today

30. Last time you cried? Friday

31. Who will resend this? anyone

You're all tagged :o)

Freedom to photograph public spaces...

2008-06-01T00:43:27Z

Here in New York City train buffs have been having a bit of trouble with the police and transit employees when taking photos on the subway system. According to the MTA's own website, taking photos or videos by the general public is LEGAL -- but try telling that to the police. Down in Washington, DC, they have been having a similar problem when trying to take photos or videos inside of Union Station. Amtrak says it is legal, but as this FOX News video shows, not everybody knows that. Priceless!

You can't do that here!

Two shows down, 3 to go...

2008-05-10T05:18:21Z

Little Shop of Horrors has the potential to be the best show the club and the department have done in a very long time. We've had a roughly two-thirds full house Thursday and Friday nights, and Saturday afternoon's show just might sell out -- a first in years!

More later...

Opening night...

2008-05-08T06:54:06Z

It's 2:40am. I got home about 2 hours ago from the final rehearsal for Little Shop of Horrors. Things went well, although there are a few rough spots remaining. Tomorrow night should be interesting.

I'm sleep deprived, and yet I am wide awake right now. So I'm watching the pilot episode of Queer as Folk. *sigh* I'm so much like Michael it's not funny.

If you are coming to the show, let me now ASAP so that I can reserve tickets for you. For the first time in a long time we might actually sell out some or all of the performances! *crosses fingers*

You are watching DTV... NOT!!!

2008-05-04T07:35:33Z

Okay, so we got the $40 government coupons in the mail this week and went to Radio Shack on Saturday to buy a DTV converter for one of the TVs. Setup went easily enough, but the stations... Oy Vey!

There are a number of DTV stations broadcasting in New York City, but you wouldn't know it from flipping through the channels via the converter box. I now have fewer stations than before I set it up, and some of them are just so much pixelated garbage on the screen. I realize that we still have a number of months before the switch over, but hell! if this is the level of signal reception the majority of non-cable, set-top antenna users are going to be getting come next February, the government is going to have a riot on its hands. DTV as a service sucks. I did manage to get one station in strongly, and that was wonderfully crisp, but still... They need to fix this issue if they want the American public to embrace the change without demanding the recall of every idiot who voted for this switch.

Name that show...

2008-04-13T05:29:12Z

Edit: We have an answer... It was "Earth Star Voyager" -- a two part pilot of which, it would seem, I only saw part one.

I need some help from y'all. I recall a TV movie about a spaceship launched with a crew made-up of primarily teenagers because of the duration of the round trip to the planet they were being sent to explore. Before the ship got very far they were attacked and had to construct a makeshift weapon and mount it in a hanger or cargo bay or airlock (something like that) to defend the ship. It cliff-hanged there and, as far as I know, never returned to the air. I think it might have been a Disney movie, or at least aired in the Sunday at 7pm slot Disney movies typically air. This ran circa late 1980s or early 1990s -- I think it was pre-1992 as I believe I was still living in Brighton Beach when it aired (and so it could have aired on cable).

Can anyone put a name to this faded memory of a sci-fi show?

This and that....

2008-02-26T04:28:49Z

I should be in bed seeing as I have an 8am class (D'oh!) in the morning, but I am wide awake and somewhat bored. Thus you have this totally random and meaning less entry just for the sake of making one.

EDIT: Hey! This is entry #777. Amazing how time flies.

Today's dose of smile:

This and that....

2008-02-24T06:04:03Z

Time for a bit of an update.

Let's see, in the last two months I've started and then dropped a math class over the winter session after I scored 45 (out of 100) on the first test. ~_~ I figured that it was better to drop it than risk a serious hit to my GPA. In place of it, I am taking an intro to computers course in the spring (which starts in 2 days). In addition to that I am taking 4 other classes: stage lighting, performing arts experience, photography 2, and the science of nutrition (oh joy!, oh rapture!). The science, computer, and performing arts classes are my last requirements for graduation. Where has the time gone?!?!

The proofs for my graduation photos arrived in the mail today. They aren't too bad, and there is even one I'd like to use as a head shot. And then I looked at the prices for the various packages. Having spent a great many hours in the darkroom last fall, and more this coming spring, I am acutely aware of just how much of a markup they are tacking on (the biggest package is $250, but there is only about $30 worth of material there -- and that's taking into account the film and chemicals as well as the paper). Maybe I should think about becoming a professional photographer. :o\

Health-wise, I'm doing pretty good. My only problem was one from hell. I managed to do something to my left shoulder at the end of last year. I thought it would work its way out, but a month later it was still bugging me. So, I went to the doctor, got some pills, took three doses, and ended up in the ER at three in the morning with my throat swelling shut from an allergic reaction. Needless to say, I'm going to stick with my ooches and ouches and over the counter pain relievers from now on.

Mom is doing well. Just a little shortness of breath and aches from the cold weather.

The dogs, bird, and fish are doing well too.

Finally, a bit of photoshop handiwork from yours truly:

Oops!

2008-02-22T16:30:10Z

Last night they were predicting 1 to 3 inches of snow for New York City.

As of 11am this morning, we have 6 to 8 inches on the ground with more coming.

Someone dropped the ball. :o\

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-01-01T11:25:41Z

Okay, this is a little bit late in the night / morning, but that's only because I didn't get home until an hour ago. I went to a party at a friend's house, and it was... wonderful. Great food, great conversation, and great people. Though it wasn't in the original plan, mom came to the party too, and, as usual, was an awesome asset to the affair. Since we were supposed to each bring a dessert, I baked a two-layer strawberry layer cake and covered it with white frosting, shredded coconut, and a marzipan frozen lake ringed by snow-people. Yes folks, I am a creative and talented cook -- something which keeps surprising my friends.

Have a safe and happy new year. *hugs*

During the Interval...

2007-12-22T08:01:51Z

Nope, this has nothing to with a Pernese interval but a theatrical one. Presented for your enjoyment, from the folks at Avenue Q: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF5gcEQVxL4

Dear Santa... and other memes

2007-12-21T09:21:05Z

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

This year I've been busy!

In May I committed genocide... Sorry about that, derryderrydown (-5000 points). In April I bought porn for nanovix (10 points). In June I gave rock_sister a wet willie, then I took it back (-5 points). Last month I gave amajos a life-saving blood transfusion (50 points). In March I turned livingthedream in for eating carbs (3 points).

Overall, I've been naughty (-4942 points). For Christmas I deserve a lump of coal!

Sincerely,
piyer

The bananna hammock doth protest too much, methinks.

Which work of Shakespeare was the original quote from?

...and them pussycats is quick!

2007-12-21T09:13:34Z

Having just returned home from a private preview of "Sweeney Todd," I find that I finally have a use for that sailor and lady icon I've had lying about for an age. The movie was wonderful. It's true to the original musical, but it feels fresh and original in its directorial vision. Go see it!

Oh, by the by, I'm back. Did you miss me? This past semester started off with the long days of doing classes by day and rehearsing a show (The Mark of Zorro) by night. And then, when that was over, I had final papers to put together -- things that had been put off because of the show. In addition to that, I became addicted thanks to one of the readings for my CPE exam (it's basically an college exit exam that tests your writing skills). The reading spoke of a video game called SimCity. I made the mistake of seeking out the game and buying a copy. There should be a warning label. That game is highly addictive.

I shall endeavour to post more often.

More later...

The Mark of Zorro!

2007-10-12T06:17:15Z

Tonight (Friday) is opening night for the play I am in: The Mark of Zorro. If you are in New York City, you have no excuse (that I will accept) to not come to one of the performances. Bring your friends and relatives too.

The Brooklyn Theatre Arts Project, Inc. (BTAP)
Presents

The Mark of ZORRO

A new experiment in interactive, environmental & improvisational theatre resting on the backbone of a classic work with a fresh adaptation.

based on the 1919 short story series of Johnston McCulley
Adapted/Directed by: Anthony Augello

Featuring international sensation:
Alexander Merinov formerly of The Moscow Circus

Follow and interact with Zorro & others on this epic journey; protecting the weak and innocent citizens of Brooklyn. Cheer Zorro as he attacks injustice with sword and whip in the Great Hall, Fountain Garden and even within the revered Christ Church itself. Marvel at Zorro’s acrobatic prowess and skill with a blade, as he fights off legions of soldiers and ultimately goes head to head with the powerful Captain Ramon in a surprising finale.

The Cast
Trisha Arnold, Claire Bacon, Frank Barra, Jess Beveridge, Paul Campione, Shelly Christian, Vanessa Gibens, Babi Jonas, Rob King, Alan Kleipass, Vito LaBella, Talia Marrero, Karim Mazarou, Andrew Mcfarlane, Brandon Medina, Kira Neel, Vick Nitucci, Ann Pielli, David Roffe, Miguel Sierra.

Production Staff
Anthony Augello, Paul Campione, Erin Deveau, Courtney Hansen, Carlo Rivieccio

$5 Seniors & Children, Gen/ Admin $8 with this flyer, $10 at the door

Show Dates: October 12, 13, 19 & 20 – 2007 – 7:00pm
Location: Christ Church Bay Ridge 7301 Ridge Blvd. Brooklyn, NY 11209 Directions: Take the R train to 77th st. and 4th Ave. More info: http://www.BTAP.org

Happy birthday to....

2007-09-04T14:54:54Z

A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Vix.

The sky is falling...

2007-08-19T05:23:19Z

Okay, maybe it wasn't the sky, but it sure made a heck of a crash nonetheless.

Half of our bathroom ceiling crashed to the floor this evening thanks to a leak from one of the apartments above us. No one was in there at the time, thankfully, but mom did not need this on top of everything she has been through this week. ~_~