Check this out and pass it on...Especially all ya'll living in CA

Up later today, a new entry in the Smell of Fear, or a queer essay topic. Haven't decided yet.

No story today
I went to type up my entry and had a good bit done and then wa la, it was deleted. I'll take that as a sign that I need to start over. Plus, I am out of time. I actually have something to do today. So, no entry today. Sorry.

Man, Karma's a killer...

Sincerely,

RDD

Queer Essay Topic Thursday...submitted by Trillian
"Mental Radio"
I always have at least one song playing in my head.

Just recently, I've realized that sometimes, this may be an effort by my subconscious mind to communicate something to me.

For instance, the other day as I was driving along in a daze, a rather obscure song "Lemon Tree" by Fool's Garden started playing in my head. Just as I obliviously sped past my exit, the lyrics reached the point

"I'm driving around in my car
I'm driving too fast
I'm driving too far..."

The day I found out that the man who (I thought) was the love of my life was getting married, Harry Connick Jr had been in my head singing "But Not For Me"

When my sister called to tell me she was expecting her first child, the instant the phone rang my mental radio tuned to the John Lennon lullaby "Beautiful Boy."

And as I sat in my Doctor's office as he told me I needed exploratory surgery because they couldn't figure out what's wrong with me, I heard Matchbox 20 singing "I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell"

So, have you ever heard a song, mentally or not, at a particularly opportune moment?

If your life had a soundtrack, what would the theme song be?

Queer Essay Topic Thursday
From Bubba's idea and in honor of Valentine's Day, please submit your "ideal" conversation heart message.

As an alternative, suggestions for Valentine's Day gifts, ideas for a special evening, etc. are welcome. Please!

C U LATER,

RDD

Queery Essay Topic Thursday...
Query Letters

Today is your chance to write a Query letter. Describe to me your idea for a movie plot that will star Ben Affleck and resurrect his career to his Oscar glory days. If you don't know what a query letter is, read here Query Letters I love.

I can't wait to read what you all come up with.

Up next week, in recognition of Valentine's day, will be Bubba's "Conversation Hearts".

Stay tuned tomorrow for a new entry in The Smell of Fear, along with the actual pictures Marty took. It will be an eye opener...

Good Afternoon...
I wanted to take a moment to announce a new blog, er, I mean blarg. It appears Nelson, Gus's friend, will be keeping a blarg, and he would like to cordially invite you, one and all, to his new domain.

Nelson's Blarg

The link is above, and I have provided a permanent link in the left hand margin. (And no, that wasn't a hand crack, Gus.)

Please visit Nelson and help him feel warm and cozy in his new digs.

Sincerely,

RDD

P.S. A new "Smell of Fear" entry will go up this afternoon.

Queer Essay Topic Thursday...submitted by feenxc
a few days ago, i was sitting out back of work, taking a short break. i was just staring off into space, emptying my mind and ignoring my surroundings, when i noticed this cloud that looked just like a chick. kinda cool. the next one to blow by looked like a dolphin, jumping out of the ocean, at the peak of it's leap, with that perfect curve to it's back. absolutely beautiful.

the next one suddenly caused concern. for right before my eyes, i watched \/\/ \/\/. go by. and yes, my mind supplied the third \/\/.

so my challenge to you is to go look out the window, or open the front door, or walk out onto the porch, and tells us what you see. it could be a cloud formation, that snowman in the neighbors yard that resembles some kind of phallic symbol, your neighbors themselves, anything. just go look, use your imagination, come back and talk to us. go ahead, you can do it... walk away from the puter, go on... dare ya!


Administrative note: I'll be right back. I gotta go look out my front door....

Chat@Vat. Part II: By Janis...

In 1995 in commemoration of 100 years of Cinema the Vatican issued a
list of its "great films" to celebrate what it viewed was best about
the medium. For this the Vatican created a committee, which ultimately
came up with three categories in order to create its top 45 list. The
three categories were: "Religion", "Values", and "Art". The best film
list is listed below after the vat chat...

Note: The following chat is a work of fiction. None of it is true.

SBC Yahoo! Messenger: RANCE has joined the conference.

SBC Yahoo! Messenger: WILDCARDINAL has joined the conference.

SBC Yahoo! Messenger: GIGGLEPRIEST has joined the conference.

SBC Yahoo! Messenger: MONK'S_UNCLE has joined the conference.

SBC Yahoo! Messenger: VATMAN has joined the conference.

SBC Yahoo! Messenger: SAINT_MISBEHAVING has joined the conference.

RANCE: What'd you guys think of the boss's request to come up with a
top 45 film list?

WILDCARDINAL: Hmmmm

GIGGLEPRIEST: i like it. it was about time. if you know what i mean....

RANCE: It's gonna be tough though coming up with a suitable list.

SAINT_MISBEHAVING: Why?

RANCE: How are we gonna determine what goes in and what doesn't?

SBC Yahoo! Messenger: SAINT_MISBEHAVING has left the conference.

MONK'S_UNCLE: Rance, why don't you admit that you're JP2?

RANCE: Me?

MONK'S_UNCLE: Yeah, you! LOL.

RANCE: LOL. What happened to "saint_misbehaving"?

GIGGLEPRIEST: lmao

MONK'S_UNCLE: don't know.

GIGGLEPRIEST: Rance, don't deny!!!!

GIGGLEPRIEST: LMFAO!!!!

VATMAN: ROFLOL!!!

RANCE: Sorry, can neither confirm nor deny...

SBC Yahoo! Messenger: SISTER_JANIS has joined the conference.

RANCE: There you are. What happened?

SISTER_JANIS: Sorry guys I got booted out...

RANCE: Is your yahoo misbehaving? You logged on as Janis?

SISTER_JANIS: LOL. oops didn't realize. Oh well...

RANCE: LOL. Okay, back to business... We need to come up with a
rating system first.

VATMAN: I know one!

RANCE: Bring it on!

VATMAN: Rated R for "religious"

GIGGLEPRIEST: How about rated G for GOD? lol

MONK'S_UNCLE: Rated MO for morally offensive. lol

SISTER_JANIS: How about rated XXX for you know what...

RANCE: lol

GIGGLEPRIEST: ROFLOL!!!

VATMAN: The #1 must see movie has to be "Passion of the Christ"!

SISTER_JANIS: I agree. Rance tell us about Janet.

RANCE: No guys, this ain't the forum to discuss Janet.

MONK'S_UNCLE: Oh c'mon Rance, don't be a p....

RANCE: Me?

MONK'S_UNCLE: Yeah, U!

GIGGLEPRIEST: ROFLOL

SBC Yahoo! Messenger: SISTER_JANIS has left the conference.

RANCE: Okay, you guys ain't taking me serious today.

VATMAN: We always take you serious.

RANCE: Where did now "sister_janis" go?

GIGGLEPRIEST: she left again?

WILDCARDINAL: Hey Rance, how about rated H for going to hell?

RANCE: LOL.

SBC Yahoo! Messenger: LORA has joined the conference.

GIGGLEPRIEST: There she is.

WILDCARDINAL: Hey Lora what's going on with you today?

LORA: Damn that yahoo. I got booted out again. I hate yahoo!

RANCE: This time you're logged on as "Lora".

LORA: Oooops

LORA: LOL.

LORA: Sorry....

RANCE: How many screen names do you have?

LORA: I have one more....

GIGGLEPRIEST: which one?

LORA: redraspberry!

VATMAN: LMAO!!!!!

RANCE: lol

LORA: You can laugh all you want. I'll bet Rance has more than one,
too...

WILDCARDINAL: very funny guys!!!!

GIGGLEPRIEST: lol

MONK'S_UNCLE: ROFLOL

RANCE: Well I can neither confirm nor deny... but anyhow, back to
business we need to come up with a system that ain't CONDEMNING
movies but rather something that gives it a Big Thumbs Up! What'd you
guys say?

WILDCARDINAL: Hmmmm

GIGGLEPRIEST: Sort of a "pick o' the pope"?

RANCE: LOL, yes!

LORA: Sounds good to me...

RANCE: Okay well each of you come up with a list and provide good
reason as to why you chose this film as oppose to another and than
we'll merge the list together. HOw does that sound?

VATMAN: Excellent idea, RAnce!

GIGGLEPRIEST: Yes, very good. Ave, Rance!

LORA: More work! More homework I guess! But that's fine by me....

RANCE: Okay, laterus!

SBC Yahoo! Messenger: RANCE has left the conference.

SBC Yahoo! Messenger: VATMAN has left the conference.

SBC Yahoo! Messenger: MONK'S_UNCLE has left the conference.

SBC Yahoo! Messenger: WILDCARDINAL has left the conference.

SBC Yahoo! Messenger: GIGGLEPRIEST has left the conference.

SBC Yahoo! Messenger: LORA has left the conference

The Vatican's top 45:

Here's the list, followed by the name of each film's director, nation
of origin and year of release.

"Religion"

La Passion Ferdinand Zecca (France, 1903)

The Passion of Joan of Arc Carl Dreyer (France, 1928)

Monsieur Vincent Maurice Cloche (France, 1947)

Flowers of St. Francis Roberto Rossellini (Italy, 1950) Ordet/The
World Carl Dreyer (Denmark, 1955)

Ben-Hur William Wyler (United States, 1959)

Nazarin Luis Bunuel (Mexico, 1959)

The Gospel According to St. Matthew Pier Paolo Pasolini (Italy, 1964)

A Man for All Seasons Fred Zinnemann (Britain, 1966)

Andrei Rublev Andrei Tarkovsky (USSR, 1966)

The Sacrifice Andrei Tarkovsky (Sweden/France, 1986)

The Mission Roland Joffe (Britain, 1986)

Babette's Feast Gabriel Axel (Denmark, 1987)

Francesco Liliana Cavani (Italy, 1988)


"Values"

Intolerance D. W. Griffith (United States, 1916)

Open City Roberto Rossellini (Italy, 1945)

It's a Wonderful Life Frank Capra (United States, 1947)

The Bicycle Thief Vittorio Di Sica (Italy, 1948)

On the Waterfront Elia Kazan (United States, 1954)

The Burmese Harp Kon Ichikawa (Japan, 1956)

Wild Strawberries Ingmar Bergman (Sweden, 1957)

The Seventh Seal Ingmar Bergman (Sweden, 1957)

Dersu Uzala Akira Kurosawa (USSR/Japan, 1975)

The Tree of Wooden Clogs Ermanno Olmi (Italy, 1978)

Chariots of Fire Hugh Hudson (Britain, 1981)

Gandhi Richard Attenborough (Britain, 1982)

Au Revoir les Enfants Louis Malle (France, 1987)

Dekalog Krzystof Kieslowski (Poland, 1988) (this is a series of 10
one-specials).

Schindler's List Steven Spielberg (United States, 1993)


"Art"

Nosferatu F. W. Murnau (Germany, 1922)

Metropolis Fritz Lang (Germany, 1927)

Napoleon Abel Gance (France, 1927)

Little Women George Cukor (United States, 1933)

Modern Times Charles Chaplin (United States, 1936)

Grand Illusion Jean Renoir (France, 1937)

Stagecoach John Ford (United States, 1939)

The Wizard of Oz Victor Fleming (United States, 1939)

Fantasia Walt Disney (United States, 1940)

Citizen Kane Orson Welles (United States, 1941)

The Lavendar Hill Mob Charles Chrichton (Britain, 1951)

La Strada Federico Fellini (Italy, 1954)

8 1/2 Federico Fellini (Italy, 1963)

The Leopard Luchino Visconti (Italy, 1963)

2001: A Space Odyssey Stanley Kubrick (Britain, 1968)

Are you ready to rumble?
Get your queerness in gear and lend me your ear. Our friend Wendyjo is in charge of this show.

Let's face it, we all enjoy reading Gus Openshaw's exploits on the high seas, and we all have a soft spot in our heart for dear lil' Bob the Pi-Rat. But did you know lil' Bob's wide-flung family has a long and rich seafaring history? (Regrettably, many of his kinfolk came to an unfortunate end, ranging from grievous "accidents" involving seagulls, cabin cats, and galley cooks, to poor great-great-great Aunt Hortense getting smoooshed under Capt' Francois le Clerc's peg leg way back in 1554 (may she Rest in Peace)).

Here are some more family members:

Robmousson Crusoe: currently stranded somewhere on the Miskita Islands, he was flung overboard tail-first from a Princess Lines Cruise ship by a shrieking woman wearing a garish sequined evening gown. He managed to paddle to shore, and the only things on the island to sustain him are an Astronauts' packet of freeze-dried Swiss cheese and his wee little laptop, powered by a herd of centipedes rolling a coconut around in a circle.

Lil' Bob's cousins' 23 times removed, identical twins Yung Fat Gai and Sum Kim Chee, floating around Hong Kong Harbor on a Chinese Junk with occasional shore-side stops on the Kowloon Waterfront at General Lo's Emporium and Tiki Bar for beer nuts and spilt sake.

Myt-E Maus, (the family rebel who wants to be a rap star, bragging he will be bigger than Alvin and the Chipmunks), currently bunkin' down on P.Diddy's vacation yacht inside a pair of sparkling white Adidas T-Mac 4's

What family members can you add to lil' Bob's family tree, past or present? You are only limited by your imagination and Openshaw's publisher's lawyers.

Administrative note: Don't forget to check out Gus' book. To do so click here: Pirates of Pensacola

Return of the nun...
Just a few notes first:

Don't forget that Thursday is "Queer Essay Topic" day. Show up prepared to participate.

Friday will be "The Smell of Fear..." continued. Bring your wubby and anything else of comfort.

I'll now return you to your regularly scheduled program...Janis, the nun.

Rubber Duckie asked that I write something about myself, and I agreed
to do so. Having read through Rance's blog in order to understand the
dynamics of this interesting online community I shall begin from the
beginning with the same words that Rance once used: Call me Janis.

I'm an ex-nun. No, wait I can neither confirm nor deny that I'm an
ex-nun or even a nun for that matter. All I can confirm is that I wrote
those poems that were posted last week on this wonderful blog.

But nevertheless, Rubber Duckie asked that I say something about
myself and man did she raise the bar high when she said that I'd say
something about myself. I wasn't planning on saying anything.

69. Yang and Ying. Flip-flopped. I loved how Bubba wrote that she
liked the idea of me 69ing. I love the idea, too. Thanks Bubba! That
was really sweet...

Okay, let's see, my favorite book? I have three. The Song of Songs
from the Bible, The Yellow Pages, and Kama Sutra. My favorite movie?
There are three as well. A Nun's Story, Top Gun and Grosse Pointe
Blank. My favorite music or musical group? I have three as well. The
Vienna Boys Choir, Enigma, and Janis Joplin. My favorite food? Wine
and cheese, Shrimps and Pizza. Oh and chocolate chip cookies! Okay
enough of this interrogation.

I want to say a few lovely words about the first time I developed an
awareness of God and what God means to me. I was in second grade and
our teacher asked us to draw a picture of God. There was nothing
special or particular about what I had drawn. As a matter of fact I
later learned that I fell into the same category as 98% of my
classmates, who had all drawn God as Santa Claus. The other 2 percent,
which happened to be two of my closest friends, had drawn God as
something else. One had drawn God as a woman in high heels, and the
other had drawn God as a cloud. My teacher praised us all for our
artistic attempt to capture what God meant to us but it was the first
time that I began developing a sense of awareness that there was more
to God than the old man in white hair and white beard. For this I am
eternally thankful to my teacher who instilled this awareness quite
early on. Do you have a story like this, too? If so, I'd love to hear
about it.

Oh no, more interrogatory questions. Did I live in a convent? What if
my answer is yes, no, maybe? Why did I leave the convent? I left it
because I fell in love with a man who's face reminded me of Jesus.
Well no, actually not true. His face reminded me of...well, actually of
no one. I'll just call him "Citizen of the World". My favorite subjects in
school? I liked religion (I attended Catholic school), art and
history. Did I have any other jobs besides the one as a nun? Yes. I
used to weigh tealeaves at a pharmacy.

Do I want to say anything about my teen years? Sure. In general I
would say I had a natural curiosity about the world around me. As a
teen I attended bible study once a week. It was a way for me to
connect with others and to make friends. I loved bible study. We would
first congregate together in one large group and sing songs and share
what was affecting us in our daily lives. And then we would pray
together to ask for guidance or strength or to simply give thanks.
Later we would meet in smaller groups and have one adult be our
designated teacher and read to us a story or passage from the bible.
We also read Christian literature, which I was particularly fond of.
These early years are what shaped my way of thinking and fed my
never-ending quest for knowledge. They were the foundation to my
spirituality today.

Anything else? Well I leave it up to you. I'd love to read what you
have to share on the topics I have outlined today.

Later,
J.

Administrative Notes:

RDD: Thank you for dedicating yourself to watering the wonderful
virtual flowers here that Rance once planted. Keep up the good work!

F: You should just get a DVP for each and every lovely comment you
make on this blog. May I give you a kisshug sometime?

C: Thanks for liking my hot poems. Can you write one for us, too?

VW: I'm not sure of anything. Are you?

J: You sure know your Song of Songs! Thanks for comparing my poems to
Sufi. That is really swell.

L: Are you sure you wouldn't know what kind of poems a nun or ex-nun
would write?

Lab & Lanie: You both deserve 20 DVP's each for reading and commenting
to the Nun poems. It seems that it was really brave of you
to do so.

R: Did you enjoy my poems? I haven't seen a response from you and I
was told that my poems were sought out partially for your benefit and
enjoyment.