2-day business trip this week was a little hectic. i had so much to catch up on right before. i was back by midday friday, though, and everything went well on the business front. another big project sold which will make the enterprise happy and will probably get me some kind of medal. middle america as a place freaks me out and once again i was thinking i could never live in those states. culture = corn fields. i think of that old stephen king film and shudder, lolz. plane travel was less than ideal with the leg still achy but i survived and was excited to get going on things. i very much enjoy my free time but wow, how i *hate* sitting around at home for weeks on end. it's so not me.

i'm slowly going over a personal folder of stuff i meant to post eventually. i will often write about something that comes to mind away from lj or save memes to finish later so all of this gets stuffed in a folder and then sits and never gets posted. this ancient book meme is one. forgot who originally posted but it may have been kiwifire?

Hardback or paperback?
both. i appreciate hardcovers but not all reading is for keeps

Amazon or bookshop?
definitely both. i like amazon for their giant selection and algorithms/matchmaking qualities that have led me to interesting new books. but bookstores and libraries are my first love. as usual, i would prefer individual stores to big chain corporate but you hardly find that here. chains rule america - blah

Bookmark or dog-ear?
i've been guilty of dog ears in cheap/used books. otherwise i use bookmarks

Keep, throw away or sell?
keep or sell. i could never throw away a book. at the very least i'd give them to charity [have before]. i've also used bookcrossing and sold non-fiction on amazon. i need to go over mine again. it's getting crazy despite recently having bought 3 new bookshelves

Keep bookjacket or throw it away?
keep! what would possess you to throw them away?

Read with bookjacket or without?
read with jacket

Short story or novel?
novel. i'm not much into short stories. i'm in it for the long haul, like character development too much

stolen from someone on my list but who was it?

200. My middle name is: non-existant
199: I was born on: october 29, 1978. i'm a sunday child
196. My eye color is: blue
195. My shoe size is: a little complicated these days as it depends on what i wear in terms of prosthetics. original size was 40 european, now varies between 2 or 3 sizes over here in the states
194. My ring size is: i keep forgetting so just try them on
192. My height is: also complicated, hah but with spare parts im back to 1.72/1.74m
191. I am allergic to: some fabrics, most raw tomatoes, some citrus fruit
190. I live in: manhattan beach, california, usa, north america, planet earth, tiny part of the universe
189. The last book i read was: see recent post. i've been reading like mad since im home recovering from surgery
188. My bed is: black, platform, very comfortable
187. Something I Know for sure about the other sex: they're afraid that women will rule the world because we're really the stronger ones and we're multitaskers. that is why women have been surpressed all these centuries. ;]
186. I am glad of my sex because: see 187
179. My favorite Holiday is: in america it's halloween, in europe it's christmas and easter
178. The perfect kiss is: passionate, hard, followed by wild sex
177. Your favorite cd: hmm. could never pick just one. see my lastfm, link on the left
176. Last song that made me cry was: man in the mirror due to current events - mj
172. My most treasured possession(s): family jewels and heirlooms
170. What did you do last night: watched am anthony bourdin/no reservations dvd with isa
169. What is the best thing about him: he's passionate in love, work and life
168. What are you looking for in a relationship: 1000 things
167. My skin's reaction to the sun is (tan/burn): often burn, then tan

I do/do not believe in....
 

cats. if anything on earth is close to alien presence, they would be it. the moment they start their howling for sexual foreplay and the sex itself it's like they're possessed by something from outer space. it's so funny. they woke me up just past 4:30 by making their crazy sounds right under my bedroom window. at first you think it's a child or some crazy person doing strange things out there late in the night. then you realize it's the cats. i really, really love them. they're just the coolest creatures. like most men, ryan/felipe prefers dogs...

it's the 4th of july which means 3 things:

barbeque & adult beverages
fireworks
and finally the old 'born on the 4th of july' to wind down.

tom cruise is just nuts these days but i still like his performance in this movie. it's one of my favorites. he chose better roles at that time. 1989. it was before superheros and other silliness... i guess he hadn't quite descended into madness and scientological ridiculousness yet...

1) Go to Wikipedia
2) In the search box, type your birth month and day but not the year.
3) List five events that happened on your birthday
4) List five important birthdays and one death
5) One holiday or observance (if any)

1268 – Conradin, last legitimate male heir of the Hohenstaufen dynasty of Kings of Germany & Holy Roman Emperors, is executed along with his companion Frederick I, Margrave of Baden by Charles I of Sicily, a political rival and ally to the hostile Roman Catholic church.
1390 – First trial for witchcraft in Paris.
1859 – Spain declares war on Morocco.
1863 – 16 countries meeting in Geneva/Switzerland agree to form the International Red Cross. [yay, and i was born there]
1929 – The New York Stock Exchange crashes in what will be called the Crash of '29 or "Black Tuesday", ending the Great Bull Market of the 1920s and beginning the Great Depression.

birthdays
1875 – Marie of Edinburgh, queen of Romania (d. 1938)
1897 – Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Minister of Propaganda (d. 1945) - *shriek!
1907 – Edwige Feuillère, French film actress (d. 1998)
1930 – Niki de Saint Phalle, French sculptor (d. 2002)
1971 – Winona Ryder, American actress

death
1911 – Joseph Pulitzer, Hungarian-born newspaper publisher (b. 1847)

holidays
R.C. Saints – October 29th is the feast day of the following Roman Catholic Saints: Saint Narcissus of Jerusalem, St. Abraham of Rostov, Douai Martyrs, St. Maximillian, St. Gaetano Errico
Turkey – Republic Day (1923)
Cambodia - Coronation Day of Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia

anybody want to play? :]

By Associated Press Writer Lynn Elber – 57 mins ago

LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson was so distraught over persistent insomnia in recent months that he pleaded for a powerful sedative despite warnings it could be harmful, says a nutritionist who was working with the singer as he prepared his comeback bid.

Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse whose specialty includes nutritional counseling, said Tuesday that she repeatedly rejected his demands for the drug, Diprivan, which is given intravenously.

But a frantic phone call she received from Jackson four days before his death made her fear that he somehow obtained Diprivan or another drug to induce sleep, Lee said. While in Florida on June 21, Lee was contacted by a member of Jackson's staff.

"He called and was very frantic and said, `Michael needs to see you right away.' I said, 'What's wrong?' And I could hear Michael in the background ..., 'One side of my body is hot, it's hot, and one side of my body is cold. It's very cold,'" Lee said. "I said, `Tell him he needs to go the hospital. I don't know what's going on, but he needs to go to the hospital ... right away." "At that point, I knew that somebody had given him something that hit the central nervous system," she said, adding, "He was in trouble Sunday and he was crying out."

Jackson did not go to the hospital. He died June 25 after suffering cardiac arrest, his family said. Autopsies have been conducted, but an official cause of death is not expected for several weeks.

"I don't know what happened there. The only thing I can say is he was adamant about this drug," Lee said.

Following Jackson's death, allegations emerged that the 50-year-old King of Pop had been consuming painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants. But Lee said she encountered a man tortured by sleep deprivation and one who expressed opposition to recreational drug use.

"He wasn't looking to get high or feel good and sedated from drugs," she said. "This was a person who was not on drugs. This was a person who was seeking help, desperately, to get some sleep, to get some rest."

Jackson was rehearsing hard for what would have been his big comeback — his "This Is It" tour, a series of performances that would have strained his aging dancer's body. Also, pain had been a part of his life since 1984, when his scalp was severely burned during a Pepsi commercial shoot.

what would you do-uhh-hoo... for a klondike bar!?

it's an american icecream commercial of cult status. anyone who's lived here knows it. you'd have to be buried under a rock to not know it. i have resisted the commercials - until now. after this many years of living in the states, i finally gave in to their magic. i'm not sure what drove me to buy 2 whole 8-packs on klondike bars at my local supermarket today. maybe it was the lack of tasty icecream cone options i had originally set out for. but there they were and i made them mine, yes indeed! :]

klondike with reese's peanut butter cup and klondike with caramel and pretzel bits. tonight was the night.
i bit into the peanut butter one and really liked it. the chocolate shell is the best part. under all the melty chocolate, i taste coconut. caramel-pretzel was pretty good as well but i think i prefer the peanut butter.

there is something to be said about sweet-salty combinations. i always liked them. in france, i'm a big fan of the fleur de sel + caramel combination. on this end, häagen-dazs has caught on to the concept but i tried theirs and it  isn't right... in the same way their new 'italian' hazelnut gianduja isn't quite right. i think it's the difference in milk, cream and sugar between here and there. i do want to try their hawaiian lehua honey & sweet cream and the thai-inspired toasted coconut sesame brittle still. http://www.haagendazs.com/Reserve/

hello, my name is stefanie and i'm an icecream addict.

edit:
ha! no wonder it's good. it's swiss! 'The origins of the Klondike® bar can be traced to Switzerland and the Isaly Family, a family known for fine dairy products. The original Klondike® bar was handmade by dipping square slices of ice cream into pans of rich, delicious Swiss milk chocolate.'

air's music has been a constant favorite for years now. i like the dreamlike quality. it sounds best in the great room on a sunlit day. or after midnight, tipsy. now that i've finished the book i want to see the movie again.

michael jackson has died.

............................

i'm shocked and very sad, though not surprised.

i felt sorry for michael jackson. i think he was very damaged, a very sad person and also very misunderstood. he also was special and an incredible entertainer. i saw him live once. i do not believe he molested anyone. rather that he felt he was still one of the boys. i think he simply never grew up, thus, saw himself as an equal of these teenage boys, of children in general. something went very wrong in his sensitive soul. now i wonder if this may actually have been a suicide. he was 50 years old.

los angeles is a zoo right now with fans and reporters. breaking news on all tv channels, programs interrupted.
ucla medical center where he died and rests now is 20 minutes from here.
it's a very strange feeling to think how close he is. i know the med center well...

rest in peace, michael. you're probably better off there.

and no, he didn't 'want to be white'......!

http://inrepair.net/2007/12/18/vitiligo-more-than-skin-deep/
http://floacist.wordpress.com/2007/06/10/vitiligo-photos-michael-jackson/
http://floacist.wordpress.com/2007/10/11/vitiligo-photos-michael-jackson-andor-lupus-3/

Jon and Kate Gosselin File for Divorce
After 10 Years, the Couple Has Called It Quits

"Kate and I have decided to separate," said Jon Gosselin in Monday's episode.

"Yes, we have decided that we will separate," echoed Kate Gosselin.

Ten minutes before the conclusion of the episode, text ran over the screen stating, "On Monday June 22, 2009, legal proceedings were initiated in Pennsylvania to dissolve the 10-year marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin."
 
What will happen to the couple's 8 children (sixtuplets and twins) if the break-up is indeed final? On the show last night, Jon and Kate said the children will continue living in the house the couple bought last year, but the parents will "flip-flop," as Kate put it, depending on who has visitation rights.
________________

this is making me sad. not that it's a big surprise.

1-Elaborate on your default icon.
i like paris. it equals style, especially the cuisine, fashion & art. an elegant language, exceptionally good food (even bistro food seems high culture after some years in twinkieland, believe me, heheh) and just... good old europeanness. as a bi-national european these things are still sacred to me and while i like living here, i also miss europe a lot.

2-What's your current relationship status?
in a relationship with a hot-blooded spaniard ;]

3-Ever have a near-death experience?
yes - related to an event that changed my life.

4-Name an obvious quality you have.
resilience.

5-What's the name of the song that's stuck in your head right now?
lhasa's de cara a la pared

6-Any celeb you would marry?
i don't think im crazy enough about any of them anymore. does that mean im all grown up now?

7-Who will cut and paste this first?
who knows.

8-Has anyone ever said you look like a celebrity?
hm, i don't think so. this must mean that im uniquely myself which is a pleasant thought. 

9-Do you wear a watch? What kind?
i used to always wear watches. being swiss swatch was the obvious choice throughout my teens and into my 20's. i still like them, i just havent worn watches on a regular basis for quite some time now. i would probably choose something more valuable now.

10-Do you have anything pierced?
just the ears.