Clare T. Rampling

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Sarah Palin -- "Naughty Librarian" on Craig Ferguson's Show!
Funny thing, both my sister

not_for_orphans and I independently rememberd Sarah Palin from an appearance on Craig Ferguson's Late Late Show (yes, we're major Craig fans!) from mid-2007. I looked it up and found the clip on YouTube, where Craig describes Sarah Palin (Governor of Alaska) as having a "Naughty Librarian Vibe"! ;)

So, now she's McCain's veep nominee. Wheeeee!

Oh well, still not gonna vote for them. ;P

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "Craig's Application For Honorary Citizenship Update" -- Theme

=^..^=
Advantages cats have:

Purring (what a [practically] magical sound!)
Retractible sharp claws (great for climbing and hunting, but retracted to not dull them when not needed)
Stunning flexibility
Astonishing balance and grace, including that legendary ability to right themselves midair and land on their feet
Ability to leap several times their size
Eyes that can see in extremely low light
Sofffffft and beautiful fur, with lovely colorings
Self-cleaning habits with a raspy comb tongue for grooming
Generally excellent litter habits
Sensitive hearing (including extremely high frequencies) with individually swivelable ears (up to 180°)
Sensitive sense of smell
Extra Jacobson's Organ causing them to do that cute flehmen reaction which allows them to experience scent in ways we can't really properly imagine
Whiskers to add further to their excellent low light & spatial senses (including somewhat enigmatic wrist whiskers -- those fascinate me!)
Clever hunting skills
Ability to get along with humans
ADORABLE good looks! [*]
edit: It's neoteny that contributes to their spectacular cuteness!
my mira_kitty even has thumbs (she's polydactyl) -- see icon

I think cats may actually be the peak of evolution[**]!!

[*] Drat, I always forget that special word for when animals have that 'cute' factor that makes them look extra young, like big eyes and ears and heads and small faces. Domestic cats have that in spades. Edit: the word is neoteny (thanks,

hitchhiker, I knew you'd remember that one!)

[**] Disclaimer: no, I don't actually believe in a peak of evolution (lest I go against the stuff I learned from Dawkins' books), it just feels that way when I think about kitties!

Current Mood: thankful
Current Music: Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring

Happy Mira's Birthday (observed)!!

When I adopted Mira, her vet estimated that she was ~7 months old. So I counted back and assigned her a birthday: 8/18/2000. So she's 8 today (observed)! Today is the special day I've chosen to celebrate. Though, really, every day is Mira Day!! =^..^=

Most people who know me at least a little know I'm a Cat Person. For most of my life I didn't have a cat, citing my bachelor lifestyle and not feeling 'ready'. Back in 2001, I met the most adorable kitten with polydactyl 'hands', and, luckily, felt that I was finally ready. I feared (a little) that perhaps I had idealized cats a bit much, and maybe her daily care would turn into a chore. BUT NO!!! I am ecstatic that Mira is here with me, and find the chores not that much because she is my special kitty. I'm still giddy with happiness to have her here with me.

( Two Recent Mira Pix! )

Current Mood: thankful

Details of Songbooks For Sale
Details for My Songbook Sale are below. I'll add more songs when I get the chance, or by specific request.

EIGHT BIG COMPILATION BOOKS (Lotsa 80s):
* The Greatest Rock & Roll Music Of All Time: 101 Songs ( songs )
* 125 All-Time Great Rock Songs ( songs )
* Super Rocker Special (55 songs) ( songs )
* The Top 100 Rock Songs from Columbia Pictures Publications ( songs )
* Platinum '80: Songbook of the Superstars (80 Songs)( songs )
* Big 82 Songbook (82 Songs) ( songs )
* Platinum '83: Songbook of the Superstars (64 Songs) ( songs )
* The New 1983 200 All Gold Blockbusters ( songs )
* Platinum '86: Songbook of the Superstars (55 Songs) ( songs )
* The Biggest Hits of 1986-87 (47 Songs) ( songs )
ONE MISC. SHEET MUSIC BOOK:
* Eagles Complete (62 songs) ( songs )
ONE ACTUAL REGULAR BOOK:
* THE BEACH BOYS by David Leaf ( no songs! )

Current Mood: hopeful

Songbook Sale! Selling SEVERAL Sheet Music Compilaton (etc.) Books
This is a pre-eBay simplified sale. I'm looking to sell quite a few books of Voice/Piano/Guitar (mostly), and am not looking forward to listing each book separately on eBay. So I'm listing 'em here, for what I consider to be a good price, hoping to simplify the selling, and maybe get a few bux sooner too. Books are in used "acceptable" condition.

EIGHT BIG COMPILATION BOOKS (Lotsa 80s):
* The Greatest Rock & Roll Music Of All Time: 101 Songs
* 125 All-Time Great Rock Songs
* Super Rocker Special
* The Top 100 Rock Songs from Columbia Pictures Publications
* Platinum '80: Songbook of the Superstars
* Big 82 Songbook
* Platinum '83: Songbook of the Superstars
* The New 1983 200 All Gold Blockbusters
* Platinum '86: Songbook of the Superstars
* The Biggest Hits of 1986-87
ONE MISC. SHEET MUSIC BOOK:
* Eagles Complete (62 songs)
ONE ACTUAL REGULAR BOOK:
* THE BEACH BOYS by David Leaf

See this post for a partial listing of songs for the books.

SOLD BOOKS:
* SOLD The Beatles Guitar "Play It Like It Is" (incl. tab)
* SOLD THE CHIEFTAINS: The Long Black Veil

I'm selling 'em for $5 per book, or $45 for the (remaining) lot (ten books).

( Click for Book Details, with weights )

Total unsold books weight = 25lb 11oz, which would be <$11.33 for USPS Media Mail for All The Books (Ten). For smaller orders, add up the weights and use this calculator to figure the Media Mail rate (or whaterver service you'd like); my zip is near 91101. I'll absorb whatever extra shipping the box and packaging costs. Pay using PayPal.

I have added a post with the names of some of the songs in these books. Feel free to ask for any further details you want. And feel free to share this post with friends. Need Money!

P.S. If you wanna buy my Hilarious DVD about scamming Nigerian spammers, you could combine postage with a book purchase of any size. :)

Current Mood: hopeful

Selling Awesomely Funny DVD about Scamming a Nigerian Spammer

I put together a nice ad that I listed on eBay, trying to sell a hilarious DVD of a lecture/performance at Caltech about a lovely turnabout on scamming Nigerian spammers.

Unfortunately I explicitly mentioned in the ad that the DVD I was selling was the kind with an R on the end, since the Skeptics Society who produces these DVDs (and owns the rights to them) makes them themselves. Turns out eBay won't allow anyone other than the actual rights holder or "authorized seller" to sell discs of this type ("any recordable media"), so they pulled my listing!! :(

( ACTUAL OVERKILL EBAY RULES QUOTED HERE )

So I thought I'd try to see if any of my friends (or friends of friends) would like to buy it. I accidentally purchased two of these great DVDs, so I could Really Use The Money rather than have the duplicate.

I can't recommend this DVD highly enough -- I srsly LOL'd over and over, and I even have a little personal appearance in the end of the DVD where they take questions from the audience and I ask a question (I don't think you can see me, but you can hear me ask my question about whether Dean actually has any cats). This story is derived from ACTUAL EMAIL EXCHANGES THAT DEAN CAMERON HAD WITH A NIGERIAN SPAMMER!!! I loved his characterization of a nutty wealthy eccentric obsessed with his cats. =^..^=

The Skeptic Society sells these for $23.95 + $4.50 shipping. I'll sell it for $20 total, including Media Mail shipping, paid using PayPal. If you want it faster, or wanna pick it up locally, we can work that out.

( Here's the text of my original ad )

Comment here or email me at rampling@livejournal.com (SUBJECT: Cameron DVD) if you wanna buy it! Feel free to spread the word about this very funny DVD if you'd like to help me out. Need Money!!

Current Mood: hopeful

The state of my memory, and an earworm
I went to a webpage that had the challenge: Can you name all 50 states in 10 minutes?

I did it in 3. Actually 2:59. I still remember a little ditty from grade school Beginning Chorus where we learned a song that had the names of all the states in alphabetical order. Crap like that haunts me. I can still rattle off (while singing the tune in my head) every single state in order. Apparently in under 3 minutes. Whee!

UPDATE: OMG, I just found a YouTube vid of the song I learned in grade school! Scary!!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Meanwhile "My house is full of sevens...."!!! This is the TMBG song "Seven" from Their latest kids' album Here come the 123s -- though the video I linked to is a very low quality video of an excellent live rendition of the song They did on Conan's show on 4/10/2008 (I have it saved on my TiVo). You can also download an MP3 of "Seven" Live on Conan from this page (link right beneath the missing video). This song (this live version) has become a major earworm for me!!! For over a week!!! I've played it for two people now, and one resisted but the other caught the earworm too. Can you resist it??? ;)

Current Mood: amused
Current Music: "Seven" by They Might Be Giants

IMPEACH BUSH!!!

I just heard that Congressman Dennis Kucinich is taking signatures on a petition that he is going to submit tomorrow:

Go TODAY, NOW to http://kucinich.us to sign
Dennis Kucinich's
Official Petition for Impeachment

When you sign it you can leave an optional comment. I wrote:

THIS IS VERY VERY V-E-R-Y IMPORTANT! Please, please have the integrity to follow through on the impeachment of George W. Bush, and also act on the impeachment of Dick Cheney. How can I as a citizen of these great United States have confidence and pride in my government if these EGREGIOUS HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS are allowed to stand with impunity? OUR COUNTRY NEEDS THIS!!! We MUST HAVE HEARINGS! I am driven to tears sometimes when I think of their crimes.

And a huge thank you to Congressman Dennis Kucinich for having the integrity and courage to spearhead this essential process. We NEED this accountability!!

Please spread the word if you're so inclined. Somehow I take their crimes very personally, and even if their terms are nearly over they need to be held accountable. Kucinich's petition could have a positive impact if we support him in large numbers.

Even if you don't believe this will happen (but you wish it would), please take a few seconds to show them that it does matter to you. With enough support maybe even the "mainstream" media will take this seriously.

Current Mood: quixotic

Earthquaaaaaaaaake!!!
Felt it. 11:42am. Big! Not so sharp here but lotsa swaying, maybe in the vicinity of 30 seconds, lasted a fair bit. Felt like it took a long time to end, diminishing slowly.

Walked around my apt, and found that it knocked a few lightweight things over or off a shelf here and there, but I had nothing at all significant happen. :D Hanging kitchen tools were still swinging when I looked in the kitchen!

I kinda twistedly enjoy earthquakes, when nothing nasty happens. :)

Current Richter estimate is 5.8 or 5.9, from what I've heard so far.

Felt one puny aftershock, kinda rolly & short.

Went to find

mira_kitty, but I think she hid. Gonna go now to look more.

UPDATE 12:06pm: FOUND HER!!! :D :D :D :D :D

I wasn't much scared by the quake, but not being able to find Mira terrified me. I walked around my apt, shaking kitty food, and finally I saw her. I'm not really sure where she hid (somewhere in my living room, perhaps in the interior space of the coffee table), but SHE'S BACK, and I'm happy!!!

Now I can work on calming back down. *quiver* *deep-breath*

=^..^=

UPDATE 12:16pm: Discovered the phone on my living room coffee table fell to the floor. Luckily noticed it while I was searching for Mira, and put it back on the hook on the table. I rarely use that phone, so it could've been off for a long time! Phew! I think maybe it was Mira's fault it got knocked off, 'cause it wasn't really in a place to make that leap. Maybe she made a fast mad dash for under the coffee table and snagged the cord as she did it. Odd.

UPDATE 12:29pm: Heard the quake magnitude was just downgraded to 5.4 -- quake map.

People in LA & environs who felt it might wanna comment here on LJ in the los_angeles community. ;)

UPDATE 12:42: Dr. Kate Hutton just said there's always a 5% chance that ANY earthquake is a foreshock, and that that chance diminishes to 1% after 24 hours. Dr. Hutton's so cool -- I got to meet her once at a lunch. :)

You can report your own reactions to the USGS here

Current Mood: relieved

CHANGE I can believe in!!
Today was all about money scramble. Toward that end I remembered my pile of stupid coins that I've been meaning to turn into paper money. I called my bank and they said I could bring in the pile, they'd give me coin rollers, and I could sit down there and roll 'em up and turn 'em in. For full value, unlike those nasty coin counters in supermarkets. Today's haul:

$10    = 1 @ $10 = 1 Roll  of 40 Quarters
$25    = 5 @  $5 = 5 Rolls of 50 Dimes
 $4    = 2 @  $2 = 2 Rolls of 40 Nickels
 $3.50 = 7 @ 50¢ = 7 Rolls of 50 Pennies
 $1.50 = 3 @ 50¢ = 3 Half Dollars
 $3    = 3 @  $1 = 3 Susan B. Anthony Dollars
-------------------------------------------
$47.00

Took me about an hour at the bank (including waiting twice through the Friday Afternoon Line). I was kinda hoping for $25-30, so the result was rather worth it! $47 deposited. :)

Plus I brought a 5€ note, and four 1 Ringgit notes from Malaysia. Got an extra $8.43 for that. Nice.

I'm still left with $10.76CAD in coins -- my bank won't take foreign *coins*, not even Canadian. They suggested a "Foreign Exchange". Maybe there's one in my fabulous Chinese neighborhood. Gotta check that. Better to have dollars I can use than coins on a shelf collecting dust. Time for my pretty Loonies and Twonies (LOVE those names!) to go back to play with their friends.

Google informs me that "10.76 Canadian dollars = 10.5801358 U.S. dollars".

Current Mood: stressed

Big Job Fair today
Heading off to a Big Job Fair this morning (Saturday). It's a big thing being held at the USC Galen Center (their big basketball arena, or so Google informs me). Hoping for a fine efficient time-to-job-prospects ratio, leading to ultimate success.

BTW, I'm behind on emailing; jobhunt & money stress; please forgive.

Current Mood: determined

Feeding kitties and dogs for free
I saw a link from

klwalton and wanted to spread the word.

Click on either or both of the links below, answer a trivia question, and send free kibble to needy kitties and dogs:

FOR CATS: http://www.freekibblekat.com
FOR DOGS: http://www.freekibble.com
UPDATE: While you're at it, click on www.theanimalrescuesite.com too!

See MSNBC video for more very cool info, bout a li'l girl who made this happen!

Current Mood: hopeful

GIP -- Democats for OBAMA!
Some while back I ran into some adorable pins being sold on Etsy.com for $1 each, and I bought two -- "Cats for Obama" and "Democats for Obama". They were sold by thedogcoatlady.

I just finally realized that I needed an Obama icon, and also that I finally knew what would be perfect for me. So, I just wrote to thedogcoatlady and she wrote right back giving me permission to make and use a "Democats for Obama" icon! So, here it is. Somehow it just makes me smile so much every time I see it!! Hence this Gratuitous Icon Post just to brag and show it off.

=^..^=

Current Mood: hopeful

Palak Paneer recipe link
I love, love, love Palak Paneer. And have even had it as made by

hitchhiker (at my special request). SO YUMMY!!! It's one of the best things one can do with paneer, IMO.

So,

cjsmith posted a recipe for Palak Paneer that she got from

hitchhiker, and I need to link to it here. Partly so that at some point when I get that infrequent urge to cook real food I'll have his recipe handy. And partly for his lovely directions, particularly the first step, which srsly made me LOL!!

I'm no cook, but occasionally I listen to Melinda Lee on KNX1070, mostly because I have my clock radio set to a (nearly) all-news station, and weekend mornings it's "Food News with Melinda Lee". Some while back I discovered that her explanations were both cookerly and sciency, and even though I have a spectacular lack of cooking skills, I usually found her explanations interesting and (very) occasionally useful. Only because of her show, had I heard the term mise en place, which was a good thing, otherwise I'd have missed the LOL I got reading

hitchhiker's directions.

I'm gonna paste the recipe here behind a cut, just for my own self-contained record-keeping.
( recipe here )

UPDATE:

hitchhiker also posted it too, with a step 3b.

Have You Seen a Cat Do This? Cat Face-Washing Question
Most kitties when they wash behind their ears do:

Lick paw wrist
Lick paw wrist
Rub paw behind ear (tongue motionless in mouth)

Many years ago, I spent lots of time with my pseudo-step-kitty who I had noticed had a particular funny and adorable habit. For step three above, he'd keep licking (the air) while he was rubbing the just-licked paw behind his ear! It's like his behind-the-ear washing algorithm had no "off signal" for his tongue!

So, my question is: Has anyone else seen a cat who kept his tongue in action while he rubbed his just-licked paw behind his ear?

My current kitty doesn't do that. I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed that, and if so, whether it's common.

Please, put all comments here (in

cat_lovers) on my original post there.

Current Mood: curious

A li'l vignette from back in my Gradual Student days
Here's a li'l story from back when I was a tenured (10-yeared) grad student, illustrating the importance of a particular Good Student Survival Skill. [Excerpted from a comment I made else-LJ]

Many years ago, in grad school, I took a grad-level math class for my minor -- the first grad-level math class I'd ever taken. It was "Applied Algebra"[*], and I was worried about it. I'd hoped the 'applied' in the title would save me, since I was no theoretical mathematician. Once class started, that worry became terror -- I was way out of my depth, and I knew it. There was all sorts of theoretical gibberish I could make neither head nor tail of, and no textbook. I suspect the professor was a lousy teacher, but I was so lost I couldn't even properly judge that! I frantically scribbled it all down, and was terrified. There was to be an ORAL FINAL, which was to be most of our grade. Aieeeeeee! I'm bad at oral exams anyway, and this was on stuff I was completely lost in.

During my frantic notetaking, I remember one day this crazy prof got particularly excited about some of the gibberish, making a big fat hairy deal about it, so I applied a Good Student Survival Skill and circled it in my notes, and put a Big Star on the page of notes. So in preparing for the exam I saw that star, and made sure one of things I could do for the exam was regurgitate the gibberish on that page, even if I understood none of it.

The day of the exam, apparently my time slot was one of the later ones (prolly chosen by me, 'cause I'm SO not a Morning Person). I went in, terrified. The prof asked me, effectively, "What was that gibberish I was so excited about?" I jotted a few bits from that page of notes. He then got very excited, and stopped me from writing further. "Wow, you're the first person today to get that!", he said. He then proceeded to expound on that gibberish, going on and on about it while I nodded politely, for the rest of my exam time. I got an A in the class. I still wonder to this day what it was about (both the allegedly exciting gibberish and the entire class), and am still offended that the 'applied' part of the class was never addressed in the slightest.

The shocking bit to me, though, was that in a class full of Graduate Students (OK, there were only about 10 or 12), I was the only person to take note of this prof's excitement and attachment of importance to that particular gibberish. How did these other grad students get to that late point in their studental lives without learning that Good Student Survival Skill?!!

-------------------
[*] Actually the title of the course may have been "Applied Abstract Algebra". I remember so little from that course.... *sigh*

UPDATE: Whoa, the title of the course just popped into my head: "Applied Algebraic Structures". Still don't know what it was about! ;)

Current Mood: hot

Free Obama Bumper Sticker
Here's an OBAMA bumper sticker that I can afford: FREE!

https://pol.moveon.org/obamastickers/?rc=fb.youth.boss

It's from moveon.org (as the URL shows).

Current Mood: hopeful

Losing George Carlin
Ohhhhh, losing George Carlin. Wow, this hurts.

At least I did actually get to see him once; it was fantastic, of course!

A fab quote spotted else-LJ:

"The whole problem with this idea of obscenity and indecency, and all of these things — bad language and whatever — it's all caused by one basic thing, and that is: religious superstition," Carlin told the AP in a 2004 interview. "There's an idea that the human body is somehow evil and bad and there are parts of it that are especially evil and bad, and we should be ashamed. Fear, guilt and shame are built into the attitude toward sex and the body. ... It's reflected in these prohibitions and these taboos that we have."

He sure got some stuff spot on. I'm thankful he was around to give us his humor and insights.

I still have a recent(ish) book by him in my to-be-read book queue: When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? -- maybe that's an appropriate book for me to pick up now....

Current Mood: thankful
Current Music: silence

Free JIB Tacos Thursday!

FREE PAIR OF TACOS DAY!
at Jack in the Box
Thursday, June 26, 2008
With a valid gas receipt

More Info

OK, I'm mostly posting this to remind myself. ;)

UPDATE: Had two FREE tacos for lunch, and two FREE tacos for late dinner. Yaaaaay! :)

Current Mood: hot

More Mira Pix!
Aaaaaak! Mira's cute, and my camera is right next to me, with charged batteries and all! And I'm in an inexplicable posting frenzy. Had to snap more pix of her and share!

First, she captivated me with this pose,
reclining on the body pillow,
so I had to shoot!

( More Adorable Pix, REALLY! )

OK, sleepytime....

Current Mood: awake