The End Of An Era

Via Nina @ Bon Bon Bar I was directed to Serious Eats and their post on the the bankruptcy of Mother's Cookies.



Nooooooo. Say it isn't true. Please.

Circus Animal cookies are a touchstone of my childhood, and I still buy them on occasion. Grandma and I would make tea and eat frosted animal cookies while chatting, watching the news, or working on our puzzle books. Every time I eat the oddly shaped blobby sugar and transfat bombs I feel loved. I knew for certain that my BIL was a keeper when he expressed his love for the pink and white (non-masculine) frosted animal cookies. I gave him a bag for his birthday one year, and you could immediately tell he was thrilled. He also refused to share. Heh.

I know that there are knock-offs out there, but THEY ARE NOT THE SAME.

Tomorrow I'm going to see if I can find a bag, and stash it away to share with Grandma when we go visit her this winter.

RIP George Carlin

My NY Times and WaPo news alerts have just announced the death of George Carlin.

I remember the first time I saw George Carlin. It would have been an HBO Special when I was in the 4th Grade. Yes, I probably should not have been watching it. However, I loved IT. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Yes, I was an 8 year old that knew that George Carlin was her favorite comedian.

So, here's one of his bits that I've always liked, from MAD TV

Touched By An Atheist

Mr. Carlin, thanks for making us think, offending us, and keeping us entertained.

Sitka - Probably a nice town to be from

and move back to. However, I'm a believer in the "get out and see the world" movement.

Sitka is beautiful, the people are charming, and I am reminded again of why I hate traveling. If I could afford it, I think living here would be neat.

The other side of traveling...

TSA, Security Theatre, and All That Jazz. As we all know, a fucking joke. However, as I'm typing this from the lobby of the Sitka Airport, so I should probably keep my vitriol to a minimum. I'm probably most annoyed because the guy confiscated my favorite lip gloss from my pocket debris. This is the first time I've had only one makeup item with me, and I didn't have a bag. The Fairbanks TSA guys passed it on through. HAH!! What they don't know is that I just remembered - I have a lip stain in my bag. That's right. I'm going to do something scary with my lip stain, like layer it on so many times I look like something out of What ever happened to Baby Jane. Yup, I can't have my lipgloss, but I've got a lighter in my purse. No spreading cheer through soft glossy lips, but I can set shit on fire if I want. Good thing I don't want to do anything other than use my lip gloss.

Wah wah wah. At least it looks like the weather will cooperate and I can get home tonight. Hurrah! Of course, I get into the airport at 1 AM, home by about 1:30 AM, and I need to be at work at 7 AM. Urgh.

And hey, did you know that searching on the phrase "lipstick abuse in the cinema" doesn't help you out very much when you're trying to remember movies with scary lipstick? You didn't? Well, now you do! Always glad to help.

Match It For Pratchett

Terry Pratchett fans have probably heard that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. Earlier this week he donated $1,000,000.00 to aid in research related to Alzheimer's Disease. A movement has started to get his fans to donate what they can so they (we) can collectively match Mr. Pratchett's donation.

Match It For Pratchett has been set up as a clearinghouse for information on the movement.

If you're on Facebook, Match It For Pratchett.

The US and UK* URLs are:

UK: http://www.alzheimers-research.org.uk/

US: http://www.alz.org/index.asp

Terry Pratchett has brought a huge amount of joy to my life, and I can say with pride that the Fairbanks area has at least twenty more Pratchett fans because of my efforts. I've worked in research, I know there are no quick fixes or easy answers. Even small advances are expensive. Skilled researchers are not cheap, nor is good science. If you have a buck or two to spare, please consider donating to the cause. John and I will be.

*What about Canada? I mean, it's a perfectly good country with a fine scientific history and heritage? Shouldn't the Canadians be included? Or could it be that I couldn't resist putting in a footnote on a Pratchett related post?