Cat Fancy

This picture is worth a thousand words, or a thousand blackmail dollars.

You decide...

P.S. Jonathan is absolutely not a cat person.

Love is...

My Boys

It may be the fact I spend way too much time with Jonathan and Bruce, but Bruce is really beginning to remind me a lot of Jonathan.

Popped Collars 101

Who needs cable television when I have the women's bathroom? During my daily visits, I experience the soap opera drama of 20-something heartbreaks, and learn about nuggets of pop culture information, such as pop collars.

Wait a second, you don't know what popped collars are?! Zut alors!

Since most of you don't have my exclusive access to the women's bathroom, let me feel you in on what this rising phenom is all about...

Step 1, you must have a collar.

Step 2, you must intentionally lift the collar up to surround your neck.

Step 3, you must wear your lifted collar around me so I can snicker and point at you.

If you're still not clear on popped collars, please visit Flickr's Popped Collar group.

I'd love to write more, but I have to go to the bathroom for another dose of information.

I heart cell phones

Nothing beats trying to use the bathroom while your bathroom mates are on their cell phones. To my left is lady who is fighting with her boyfriend. She is so desperate to divulge the play by play of their latest spat to her very best girlfriend. To my right is woman who is bored and just got out of class. "Whatcha doing? Uh huh. Yeah, I'm just in the bathroom..."

Concentrate...must...block...out...the voices...

When did reality become so sexy?

"Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life," said the great Oscar Wilde.

And yet, we as a public shudder in shock when the curtain reveals that in fact, the life we thought was authentic is infact a fraud.

Everytime you close your eyes (Lies, lies!)

"A Million Little Lies: Exposing James Frey's Fiction Addiction" is the latest among The Smoking Gun's exposes. James Frey, a former crack addict, wrote a book and checked the box next to "non-fiction". Frey soon found himself in Oprah's bed and then soon in the hands of her adoring fans.

Then in a blink of an eye, Frey's accounts of vomiting into his lap, beating up cops, and playing a role in the death of a twelve year girl were exposed as lies. Suddenly, our nation's poster boy was actually just like every other drug addict - an insecure, pathetic, and unexciting unless high mess with a need to vindicate themselves through extraordinary tall tales.

So now I have to ask, when did reality become so damn sexy?

I cannot recall a time when television was so cluttered with reality shows and the biopic or "based on a actual events..." films. Yet, as we suspend our belief that Jessica Simpson doesn't know tuna from chicken, filling our minds that reality is far more orchestrated than a Steven Speilberg film. Is the promise of "reality" some kind of justification for our love of drama? Are we no longer allowed to root for Luke and Laura because they didn't meet on the Bachelor?

Stephen Crane's novel, "The Red Badge of Courage" was hailed as one of the greatest war novels of his time, yet Crane never fired a shot in defense of a cause. Does this make Crane a fraud, or just someone who understood the human condition? Is Frey that different from Crane in that he nailed the fraility of the human spirit and the perils of an addiction?

Yes, Frey's a liar, no argument here. His book was clearly not an autobiography, yet I question the accuracy of anything that claims to be. I then further question the audience who needs life to be this unbiased, unattainable reality.

72 Year Old Woman

Somewhere between college and adopting a cat, I've become a 72 year old woman. I'm not sure what wrinkle in time I've stumbled into, but will someone please grab me an iron?!?!

Here my friends is an example of a gift I have recently received:

Believe it or not, this illustration is actually much more stylish than the terry cloth seafoam (think 70's bathroom tile) number I unwrapped. Please note the easy to use snap buttons and flared skirt...it's almost an empire waist...

I'm not knocking this style for someone who's pushed watermelon sized items out of their non-watermelon sized items, but jeez, I'm saving this little diddy for at least 80.

Yes, I realize the model is not 80, but she is getting paid. Pay me a few thousand dollars and I'll wear one in yellow denim.


Here is an example of a new theme called, "Jinny owns a cat, therefore she LOVES cat stuff"

One more of an item of this type will send me over the edge.

THE EDGE PEOPLE!!!!

To sum up, I like clothing with non-snap buttons and a waistline and I abhor cat stuff. Dog stuff isn't any better.

I also don't like logos, prints, popular music, the color yellow, carnations, Carnie Wilson, clowns, movies with Gwyneth Paltrow, Doom, olives, and egg slicers.

Thank you, and please don't hate me.

Happy Kwanzahannukahmas!

Happy Holidays from the Potters.

Just a note that this photo was taken in a room full of barking dogs. Bruce Lee is the bravest cat you will ever meet. If you haven't met him yet, dance card spaces are still available.

My husband, the musician

I remember the summer of 95 when I would have wanted to begin every sentence with the phrase, "my boyfriend's in a band" or any phrase encompassing the words "boyfriend" or "band". Those were also the days when I was starstruck, and contemplated life as a groupie as my fall back career.

Four years later, jaded and de-glittered, I left the Athens music scene with no forwarding address. Now the phrase, "my boy/girlfriend's in a band" made me inwardly cringe. IQ points suddenly began to plummet whenever a new acquaintance allowed the phrase to pass between their lips. I rode my pretensious pony, complete with a neon banner that flashed, "I hate musicians!" Giddy-up!

Jonathan met me around the height of my disdain for all disciples of the Athens music scene. It's amazing we ever made it past our first conversation. I surprised myself when I offered him my email address for his band's mailing list. I was even more amazed when I didn't immediately receive an email from Jonathan about his band's upcoming performance. The awe was totally sealed when Soundtrack Mind belted out a cover of Tori's "Cornflake Girl."

And why was it sealed, you ask?

That I had stumbled upon a rarity - a true musician. Jonathan loved(s) music. Screw the scene, the politics, the pretensions...Jonathan was about the music. He seemed to be untouched by the Flagpole-pretension of the music scene. Fame would be nice to unplug from his 8-5, but other than that, he didn't have time for the b.s. of panels and popularity contests.

Fast forward several years...

Much to Athens loss, Jonathan's no longer playing as much as use to...but to my selfish gain, my rock star's at home with me. I don't miss the loneliness I felt when I saw Jonathan twice a week during his juggle of a daytime job and band practices and performances. With that said, I can't repress my excitement as I notice him picking up his guitar more and more everyday. My face hurts from my smile as he sings song after song almost every evening. I'm proud to share that my husband's band will be performing next weekend. If you are among the privleged few invited, you can also be graced with a performance this Saturday. Wow, I didn't even cringe.

The boyfriend's left the building...

Overbooked October

I seem to remember October 2004 being insane -- mortgage, moving, and a Halloween party in DC.

This time it's wedding, wedding, and more wedding (although through the grace of karma, we have somehow graciously rsvped our way out of wedding #3 due to fatigue and lack of funds, and wedding #4 is overlapping with wedding #2).

In between weddings galore, we are attempting to squeeze in some home improvement. The mission - paint our living room/dining room. I think I saw doubt flash across Jonathan's face when I proposed that we should have the painting done by end of November.

For two introverts, our calendars are jam packed.

Oh, and for sanity's sake, we're camping at the end of the month.

Serenity (not the movie) now...

Rock, paper, scissors

I'm not sure if I subconsciously posted my engagement photo on Sept 27th because I knew that was the day before Jonathan proposed to me, or if it's one of those whacky coincidences. Probably a product of whack.

Here's a photo of me hours before Jonathan popped the question. Do I look like I suspect? He looks a bit suspicious.



I doubt I'll ever commit Sept 28th, 2002 to memory, but Sept 29th is forever etched into my memory. Sept 29th, 2002, my friend Greg Whitlock lost his battle with liver cancer. Greg had cancer, and I had a not yet diagnosed form of liver disease. He referred me to doctors, emphathized with my frustrations, and motivated me before each of my biopsies. Greg was my rock.

I remember returning to Athens in the evening, from a relaxing and life-changing time in Beaufort, SC. Before I left town, Greg was doing well. He had left the hospital, and things were looking up. According to an email from his best friend Glenn, Greg was at home, not doing well. I then made the decision I've always regretted - I decided to visit Greg early in the morning the next day. He passed away hours after I made that decision. I was devestated.

If the heaven that Hollywood portrays really does exists, Greg has its residents signing up for Ultimate Frisbee, Softball, and LINUX hacking, cheering on each party.

Thanks to Sherry Neal for the inspiration. If you haven't visited her blog, at least read this beautiful piece: www.sherryneal.com/weblog/archives/000142.php

Goodbye Jeeves

I have to admit I haven't used Ask Jeeves in SEVERAL years, but it's still sad to see him go. I wonder if they'll mark the occasion with Jeeves and a suitcase image.

Ask Jeeves to drop butler mascot

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- The genteel butler that has been Ask Jeeves Inc.'s face for nearly a decade is getting ousted in a corporate takeover.

Jeeves, the slightly chubby and balding English butler, isn't the kind of image that e-commerce conglomerate InterActiveCorp wants representing the Ask Jeeves search engine, according to IAC Chairman Barry Diller. His New York-based company bought Ask Jeeves for $2.3 billion in July.

Speaking at a Goldman Sachs investor conference last week, Diller announced that his company intends to drop Jeeves as a mascot and shorten the search site's name to Ask or Ask.com.

"Not that I don't like that fat butler," Diller said, according to a transcript provided by Thomson Financial.

After Diller's speech, Oakland, California-based Ask Jeeves issued a statement that said that no decision has been reached on what the company's new name will be or when the change will occur.

Ask Jeeves spent more than $100 million building its brand around the cartoon butler during the dot-com boom. The marketing blitz paid for a 70-foot Jeeves balloon that floated over Macy's Thanksgiving Day and 15 million labels of the grinning mascot that were affixed to apples sold in 8,000 supermarkets.

But the butler (modeled after a character in P.G. Wodehouse novels) started to become a liability after Ask Jeeves upgraded its search technology to become more competitive with industry leaders Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.

Company research indicated that consumers still associated the butler with the early versions of the Ask Jeeves search engine, which was designed to field inquiries in the form of direct questions -- a technology that delivered inconsistent results.

"This research shows use of the character as the prominent symbol of the brand may inhibit people from recognizing that our search engine has changed," the company said in a statement.

Last year, Ask Jeeves tried to spruce up the butler, introducing a trimmer and more sophisticated-looking Jeeves.

Diller hopes to turn the search engine into the mortar binding together a disparate collection of Web sites owned by IAC and Expedia Inc., which recently spun off into a separate company.

Taken from: www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/09/27/ask.jeeves.ap/

Wowsers

Here is one of our engagement photos taken in Sept 2003. I vividly remember Jonathan purchasing that very shirt. I still consider it one of his "new shirts." Time flies when you're having fun.

P.S. I miss my long hair.

$10.30 vs $5.12

A quick peek into today's inner conflict:

Economically-Spoiled American Jinny vs Sustainable Growth-Support Local Business Jinny

Store: Daily Grocery Store Co-op
8 Organic Bananas: $1.94
2 Locally-grown Organic Broccoli Crowns: $2.40
1 2 quart container Organic Orange Juice: $5.29
Sales Tax: $.67
Total: $10.30

Store: Wal-Mart
8 Bananas: $.80
2 Broccoli Crowns: $1.00
1 2 quart container Orange Juice: $2.99
Sales Tax: $.33
Total: $5.12

Today, Sustainable Growth-Support Local Business Jinny won while Economically-Spoiled American Jinny berated her for spending 50% more on three grocery items.

I guess I could always move to San Francisco where even non-organic food is overpriced at the numerous non-corporate owned grocery stores.

Granted, I'd be living in a box, but at least I wouldn't be obsessing over paying 50% more on choosing to buy organic.

:-)

In no particular order

• Today I paid over $22 for a half a tank of gas. No, I don't drive a SUV. Yes, I am stunned. No, I'm not thrilled. Yes, I will be riding my bike more. No, I don't want to be reminded of how much more expensive gas is in Europe, but thank you anyway.


• Speaking of motor vehicles, I give Athens a big thumbs down as for being bike-friendly. I've ridden my bike to work and Dr. appointments a few times, and each time I've had someone almost hit my air-latent body by their metal-latent !@*%*^!$ (rear-ends). Then to add to my outrage, my friend Emily was actually hit by a car the other day, and knocked off her bike! She's bruised, but alive. If I knew who it was, I'd beat the bloody hell out of their car with my bike. It would be so worth it too. Do you think I would be able to eBay my bike for 10 million dollars as well? Yes, bike road rage does exist. Be VERY afraid.


• I have only one bottle of wine left from my December visit to Europe. I think it's time to go back...


• Although I have several (too embarrassed to admit the actual amount of wine I actually bought) bottles of wine from Napa Valley when Jonathan and I finally made it to San Fran.


• San Fran was grand. I will blog about that eventually, especially about the rabbit. Oh, and I thought Seattle had a huge Asian population...San Francisco was quick to correct me on that. It was definitely a Bugs Bunny dug too far moment whenever I bothered opening my eyes.


• Asia - is anyone as concerned about the bird flu as me? It is rapidly making its way around Asia. Asia is a HUGE chunk of land. I cannot imagine how quickly the virus would travel over North America. Just In case you were depending on the United States government for vaccination, think again. Tamiflu, the only known medication to battle the Avian Flu, is in much demand, and we don't have enough doses for even a quarter of our population.


• October is the month for weddings. Jonathan and I are attending several. We're actually going to miss one due to a conflict with another. Weddings are an odd thing. I find them to be the ultimate psychological study...venue, music, flowers, dress, suits, readings...who needs Myers-Briggs when you can sum of two people in about two hours, food and drinks included. I would be interested in seeing the guy at his wedding. I took this photo at Golden Gate Park.

Canada Welcomes You

Over a year ago, a quirky Canadian tourism website created a funny webpage that gained my attention long enough for me to copy and paste its url and email several of my friends. It actually had a bulleted list of the reasons why Americans should move to Canada, listing legal gay marriage and higher alcoholic content in beer to name a few. Merriment aside, I am tempted to suggest they list "George W. Bush is NOT President" as a pro. I have an actual mental list of reasons (I'm up to 38) why I think Bush is a miserable failure. I've attempted to populate this list with legitimate reasons, instead of hopping onto the stoner bandwagon of, "Bush sucks man!" I would of course share this list with you, but under the guise of the Patriot Act, I may be arrested, feathered, and licked by several feral cats if this list ever left my mind.

I digress...

One day I woke up and realized I was almost thirty. For those of you who are thirty, I see that finger you're pointing at me, and in some odd way, this isn't an insult, so please call back you minion of flying monkeys.

When I was in elementary school, volunteering my mom for cupcake duty, I remember her being thirtysomething, and all of my friend's moms were thirtysomething. Even my teachers were thirtysomething. My bus driver, the florist, the gas station attendant I fondly remember as "Chicken Man," and my many pseudo country "Aunts" and "Uncles" -- all of them were as thirtysomething as that 90's tv drama. Other than sharing similar ages and accents, all of these humans had one thing in common - they ALL had children, therefore, they ALL were ADULTS. In my simplistic attempt at algebra, thirtysomething*stationwagon(children)=adult (For those of you not familiar with a stationwagon, they were the equivalent to what soccer moms across the nation refer to as S-U-V) Despite the mortgage and ability to vote, drink, and rent a car without crying foul, some part of me subscribes to that original equation that adults have children, and thirtysomethings without kids are not adults.

Eek, did I really type that? And how does this apply to Bush being a total failure?

What I'm trying to say in the most verbose and insignificant way possible is that despite my 38 reasons for disliking Bush, I cannot begin to comprehend the multiplier I would have to apply if I were a parent. For the friends of mine who woke up almost thirtysomething and have had children, or are about to have children, I applaud you for being braver than me. I applaud the courage it takes to raise a child among a country that forsakes the beautiful priviledge of voting, and makes the uneducated decision to not vote. Ah, bet you thought I was about to slam those who voted for Bush. Nah, I'm willing to take a leap of faith that those who sport the "W" on their SUV took at least five minutes to learn Bush's stance (ban gay marriage via the Constitution!) before they cast their vote. I'm just disappointed in those who chose not to vote, for it's the only rational reason I could come up with on why we have such a Barney Rubble(Trouble) in the Oval Office.

If I were to wake up tomorrow and the stick was positive, I would faint from fright. Today, my political activism is contained within my John Hancock, inked onto petitions, overheard in an occasional coffee house conversation. I'm not that mother camped outside an infamous ranch in Texas, whose courage is fueled by a motivation I cannot understand. Instead, I am safe in my non-adulthood with my husband and my cat.

Comments Anyone?

I've turned on the option to allow anyone to comment to my blog. Let's see how long this lasts, and how quickly I fall prey to comment spam.

Here are my random comments on the world today:

• Is it possible that global warming has anything to do with the growing number of hurricanes? My friends in the radio world think the panic over global warming is crap. I haven't seen a polar icecap so I can't come up with an intelligent dissent. All I know is that the world is much more complex than little ole me, and even with 15 doctorates, I doubt I could explain why hurricanes have become nature's new black.


• Middle School - Last week on NPR, "experts" discussed the ramifications of sending children to middle school as opposed to an elementary school that included grades 6-7. Some experts proposed the in-between years of identity-searching caused psychological hardships that were amplified by advancing youngsters into a new school. Yes, middle school is a psychological nightmare - no doctorate needed for that observation. But to smash even more grades together in the same school as a means to protect children from psychological damage...you've gotta be kidding me! Sheltering kids isn't the answer. Actually, the upcoming generation's lack of work ethic accompanied with their personalized cell phones, scare me.

That's all for now.

Oops, I dropped my baton

I'm sure Sherry could care less now that I have finally published this, but a promise is a promise, and a quick sorry that I suck at this rapid response thing:

--
From: Sherry
Date: July 06, 2005
Subject: The Musical Baton: Redux

So here's The Musical Baton: Redux. Please leave a comment with your answer and twirl that baton over to five more peeps! (Or if you have a blog, post it there and leave the URL in the comments section. And if I didn't pass the baton over to you, leave your response anyhoo.
--

Five is a tiny number, and I'm sad to see some of my other favorite bands not make it in this list like Stereolab, Morphine, Johnny Cash, and Billie Holiday, but I'm sure we're limiting this to 5 so no one falls asleep at the computer.

Total Volume: 50 MB on my home computer that I asked Jonathan to make for me. I am a mp3 virgin *gasp*

Last CD Bought: The Arcade Fire's debut album Funeral (go buy this album NOW, it's amazing!)

Song Playing Right Now: Sleater-Kinney's "Burn Don't Freeze"

Five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me:

1. "Me In Honey" R.E.M.


2. "Liquid Diamonds" Tori Amos


3. "Fade Into You" Mazzy Starr


4. "Motor Away" Guided By Voices


5. "Summertime" Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald

Currently in Heavy Rotation:

1. "Dry the Rain" Beta Band


2. "Teenage FBI" Guided By Voices


3. "Take to the Sky" Tori Amos


4. "Open the Door" Magnapop


5. "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)" The Arcade Fire


6. "Know Your Chicken" Cibo Matto

Top 5 Songs of the 80's:

1. "Every Breath You Take" Police


2. "The Greatest Love" Whitney Housten


3. "Amarillo By Morning" George Strait


4. "The One I Love" R.E.M.


5. "Love Song" The Cure

Top 5 Albums of All Time:

1. "What's Going On" Marvin Gaye


2. "The Velvet Underground and Nico" Velvet Underground


3. "Licensed to Ill" Beastie Boys


4. "Little Earthquakes" Tori Amos


5. "Life's Rich Pagent" R.E.M.

Music videos that you thought kicked ass at the time, but now they embarrass you:

1. "Rush, Rush" Paula Abdul (featuring Keanu Reeves)


2. "There's No Way" Alabama


3. "Unskinny Bop" Poison

5 People I'm Twirling the Baton to:

1. Martha, since she's my Elvis Costello buddy.


2. Zinnia, because she has even more of an eclectic music collection than me.


3. Andy, since I have no idea what kind of music he likes.


4. Meghan, because I'm interested to see how pregnancy affects her answers :-)


5. Patrick, because I'm still trying to figure out his music appreciation formula.

Blogging for the masses

You are not alone.

No, I'm not referring to aliens. I'm referring to the little known fact that you are one of many others who read my blog.

Surprised? I am. I knew at least three people read it regularly, and five on occasion, but in the past week, I've had eight people bring it up in conversation or email. That brings my total audience up to 16, which I would have never of guessed. I'm four people away from having my own t-shirt and coffee mug :-)

I thought this was a funny email exchange I had with a new friend I met at OSCON:

From: Russell
To: Jinny
Date: Aug 12, 2005

Don't worry about it. I took a different approach with my article. So,
I don't need it after all. Thanks anyway. I did use two of your
photographs for the article. Thanks for that. I appreciate it. By the
way, your maiden name is Po, right?

--

From: Jinny
To: Russell
Date: Aug 12, 2005

Po? That's hilarious. No, actually my maiden name is Dietrich...it's
a nice strong German last name. Po is a play on Potter, and an even
bigger play on Jennifer Lopez's J.Lo I find pop culture insane, so
it's my sarcastic tribute.

--

From: Russell
To: Jinny
Date: Aug 12, 2005

Uh, oh. Well, your name may appear as Jinny Po Potter in Linux Journal
soon. The editor should give me a chance to do one last edit before she
publishes it, though. If she does, I'll fix it.

--
To read Russell's article, visit Linux Journal: www.linuxjournal.com/article/8503

Thieves

Dear Sub-Human(s) Who Stole My Husband's Car Stereo System,

You suck.

Karma exists.

Sincerely,

Me