I'm IT.

This post is in response to Krippy’s Tagging over on her blog. I don’t think this is exactly what she had in mind, however.

The rules?

1.Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

My response

This all seems very familiar. Is it "deja vu all over again?" OH! I know what this is. It’s the blogosphere’s version of a chain letter, which I manage to successfully avoid when they come through the snail mail or my e-mail in-box. (I promptly chuck them in the trash or hit DELETE.) Sadly, it’s harder to ignore being “tagged” on the blogosphere, since it’s easier to see who tagged you AND they can check back to see if you have tagged someone else. What’s worse, you have a couple of dilemmas.

A) How to respond, since in effect you already have posted ten random facts about yourself earlier on the blog?

B) Do you have to come up with seven more facts? Oh, here’s one: I’m not that interesting!

C) Here’s another – I don’t know that many people who would participate. The seven who might “play” are related to me and started this whole tagging mess OR are the some of same seven people already tagged. Is this a Boolean paradox?

D) How to respond and not annoy the person who tagged you?

E) What are the consequences for not following the rules? Will the Great and Omnipotent Tagger put you in “time out?”

F) Are there enough readers of this blog who will care if you don’t list more strange things about yourself? (*ahem, shameless request for comments, ahem*)

G) What will you talk about if they DO care?

So here’s who I’m tagging:

Grumpy
Bashful
Happy
Dopey
Sleepy
Sneezy
Doc

I’m sure they’ll have fun things to say.

Revenge will be mine!

MU HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

(If you don't know what this is about -- don't ask! It's safer that way.)

Random Overheard Comments of the Day

Scene: On board a Metro-North train, just having picked up a load of rush hour commuters

Characters: Two conductors, amusing themselves whilst communicating over the intercoms

Conductor 1: You’re a good man, Charlie Brown.

Conductor 2: I’d rather be Elvis. “Thank you, Thank you very much.”

Conductor 1: I guess I did walk into that one.

Result? General amusement of passengers.

New Poll - Fake Name Nominations

Thanks to all those whose snarky and helpful suggestions have created a list of possible fake names for Auntie Nettie to use outside the blogosphere and/or when she's finally finished that m.s. and needs a publisher.

We're going to take about a month to poll and then finalize the results of the fake name nominations process.* In honor of March Madness, this will be a tiered process; 3 weeks of narrowing down the 15 nominations that I have deemed usable, and 1 week of a "name-off."

This week's names are up on the poll and have been randomly selected by a poor office mate who has no idea why I had her pulling names out of a hat.

GO AND VOTE!



(*Why do I need a fake name again? See the links above, and here.)

Where should the Shushing Librarian Visit next?

The OVERWHELMING response to this poll (results below), with 60 percent of the votes, has the Shushing Librarian on an economy class trip to the Testmonkey's Lair. Conveniently, it is located in the general vicinity of Amber's Abode, so she can visit there too. The SL may even get to meet my newest niece before I do (bummer for me, good for her).

Auntie Nettie feels that she must set some guidelines down for testmonkey and his gang of flying monkey IT boys:

DO NOT abuse the SL or put her in compromising positions.

DO NOT break the SL.

DO NOT lose the SL.

DO create interesting adventures for her -- like a trip to the farm perhaps.

DO have her interact in the lair with its inhabitants.

DO post pictures.

DO return her in 2-3 weeks.

Follow these rules -- and don't make Auntie Nettie angry. (Prior threats as posted on other sites still apply.)

POLL RESULTS

Thanks to the person(s) who voted 5 times.

Library 0 (0%)
Testmonkey's Lair 3 (60%)
Amber's Abode 2 (40%)
Flax Hill Gardener's Plot 0 (0%)
Krippy's Maine 1 (20%)

Name Nominations Please

As a reminder, I'm taking nominations for a new fake name (see here).

We need more suggestions please.

Five names will be selected for next week's poll.

You have until Noonish Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday, March 26 to weigh in.

What the Peeps did on Easter

On Easter Morning, the Peeps got up early to look for the arrival of the Easter Bunny.Then they got dressed in their finery to join the Easter Parade.

Here they are are on their Easter Bonnet./span>Then, it being Easter, they went to church.After services, they went home to watch the documentary about Peeps on CBS' Sunday Morning.

Good morning Mr. Osgood.

Did you know that many people use Peeps to make art work?
Did you know that some companies have Peep mini-diorama contests?

Here are some of the installations.

The Pink Room

Andy Warhol's lost PeepArt more PeepArt

The winner -- The Lost Tomb of thePharaoh Peep The program always ends with a sun-burst.

Here's one sunny side up -- with a holy Peep.

After the fascinating program, the Peeps decided to hang out, get some sun, and listen to some tunes.

They also planned a trip for later this summer.

(caramoor.org)Then they boarded a train, where they had to deal with lovebirds in front of them making annoying PDAs.At the zoo, they saw very familiar creatures.

Finally, after an exhausting holiday, many of the Peeps went to sleep, and dreamed of lovely beaches in Greece.But some Peeps had horrid nightmares ....

The End.

Teaching Item of the Week

The next in our almost weekly learning series, brought to you courtesy of The New York Public Library Desk Reference, Fourth Edition.

Can you guess our “theme” today?

Page 343:

In the 10th century, the Grand Vizier of Persia took his entire library with him wherever he went. The 117,000-volume library was carried by camels trained to walk in alphabetical order.

Page 300-301:
Peter Celestine is the patron saint of bookbinders, while St. Jerome is the patron saint of librarians.

Page 357:
Libraries in the U.S. issue more cards than VISA, have more children enrolled in summer programs than Little League, and have more visitors each week than all museums and zoos combined.

If you don't already have a library card (or two or three), GO GET ONE!
Get your children their cards. GO to the library -- use the resources, check out books, check out CDs and DVDs, GO TO STORYTIME, and for heaven's sake, ask the librarians for help! THAT IS WHY THEY ARE THERE!

Props to the Peeps

Photo of the Day -- Just for Dad

A whole new interpretation of

"Go West, Young Man"

attributed to Horace Greeley,

written by John Soule

Next Week's Poll -- Name Nominations Please

In light of this post, I need to get another fake name. Auntie Nettie is good for the blogosphere, but for those times when I need to make fake reservations and/or get published, I'll need something new.

Therefore, I'm open to suggestions. Comments are welcomed. Names will be "googled" and checked on wikis for availability, lest we have another incident where Wanda or her sisters might come after us.

Five names will be selected for next week's poll.

You have until Noonish Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday, March 26 to weigh in.

Ready?

Set?


POST!

Poll Results -- What project should Auntie Nettie finish next?

I have to admit that this poll was rigged from the outset. I KNOW I have to finish the commissioned afghan first, but it didn't hurt to ask the Blogosphere. It's like the Magic 8 ball. You have to ask, knowing that the answer is something that you'll already know or will make no real sense.

Thanks to the person(s) who voted the 10 times.

What project should Auntie Nettie finish next?

Results:

Commissioned Afghan 7 (70%)

Nephew's Afghan 1 (10%)

More Scarves 1 (10%)

Crazy Critters 1 (10%)

RIP Arthur C. Clarke/Star Sightings

At the risk of sounding too geeky (or more geeky as the case may be), I am saddened to note the passing of another great sci-fi/fantasy writer.

According the AP reports, Arthur C. Clarke passed away today in his adopted home of Sri Lanka. The guy was more than a sci-fi giant. "He was credited with the concept of communications satellites in 1945, decades before they became a reality. Geosynchronous orbits, which keep satellites in a fixed position relative to the ground, are called Clarke orbits."

2001: the Space Odyssey .



*Sigh* This totally bums me out. My sci-fi/fantasy favorite writers are getting older, passing the torch to their sons or other authors, and/or dying off too quickly. The day that Anne McCaffrey "goes between" I'm seriously going to have to take a few personal days to reread all of the Pern Books. It was bad enough when Robinton "died," and he was just a character in her books.

*******

In semi-related news, I had another star sighting today. Rushing out of the subway, up Broadway, past the Barnes and Noble, was the star of stage and screen, best known for appearances on Mad about You, Spin City, and numerous guest spots on Scrubs, etc ....

RICHARD KIND

(just for you Jenn ... just for you)

Lá Fhéile Pádraig (Happy St. Paddy's Day!)

In honor o' it in a way of bein' St. Paddy's Day, I would like to celebrate those laddies who are to be wearin' their kilts.

With the gusty wind we be havin', you are to be makin' me day.

Ta!

(Best read with an Irish accent. Read it there that way laddies! It's to be makin' more sen'.)

What’s in a fake name?

The Blogosphere is great for learning all kinds of weird stuff. If you’ve known me for years or read the earlier blog entries, you might know of my alternate personality/pseudonym Juanita Maxwell. Well, turns out Auntie Nettie has to retire the claim on that name, since apparently some other poor woman with alternate personalities already IS Juanita Maxwell. I kid you not. She’s real and she has my fake name.

I was over on Talus Slope of the Mind the other day, when a regular commentator “I heart Cherry Coke Zero” alluded to me (aka “J. Maxwell”) … as “a shy, soft-spoken mother of three -- not at all the kind of woman you'd expect to become a violent desperado."

Color me confused. Me? I'm no one's mommy, thank you very much. Violent Desperado? Yes at times. Killer? No – Not so much.
What was “I heart” talking about? Click here for information the whole tragic story.

Juanita and gals,
My deepest, most sincere and abject apologies for even considering borrowing your name(s).
Please don’t hurt me.
Very respectfully yours,
Auntie Nettie

More Peep Adventures

Once upon a time, there was a lonely, lonely Peepbunny,

who went searching for love.

When he found her, it was love at first sight.

Soon they attached at the hip.

Eventually, they paired up permanently, and decided to start looking for houses.

Nothing quite seemed right.

One development was too narrow for their tastes.

Others didn't provide enough privacy, but the price was right.

They signed the contracts and moved in.

The lack of privacy didn't stop their family from expanding.

Soon their small house was bursting at the seams. Sadly, there were casualties ...

(RIP, Jr.) So the family decided to start pooling their resources to look for a bigger hutch. Unfortunately, the real estate market is very tough and their search continues ....

Stay tuned for more installments ...

Grammar Oddity of the Week

The next in our weekly series, brought to you courtesy of The New York Public Library Desk Reference, Fourth Edition.

Page 418:
No other words in the English language rhyme with the words month, orange, silver, or purple.

Page 427:
The Hawaiian alphabet has only 12 letters: the five vowels and the consonants H, K, L, M, N, P, and W.

ALOHA!

What I wouldn't give for a tropical view right about now.

3/5/08 Mystery Item of the Week -- Results

Many thanks to all of those who tried to identify the Mystery Item of the Week. We had a variety of guesses from our usual commentators, lurkers, and some anonymous guests. The answers ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous, but there were some correct guesses. Bonus points were awarded for those who figured out what triggered the blog post.

To recap, the guesses were:

~A knit bra;
~A scrunchy;
~Steering wheel cover;
~A reference to the fertilization process;
~Ruffled leg warmers;
~A facecloth;
~Napkin;
~A long sock;
~The sand dunes at the beginning of Disney's Aladdin;
~A coral reef;
~The wig for when you try out for that Wendy's commercial. Or for when you play Pippi Longstocking on Broadway; or
~A small scale (and blurry) model of the Grand Canyon.

FUN guesses all … But oh, so WRONG (and in testmonkey’s case, icky!)

There were actually three correct guesses that it was …. THIS!

One very funky, ruffle, spiral scarf.

The First correct guess was from a lurker who replied to me off-line – Congratulations K***!
The Second correct guess was from Anonymous!*
The Third correct guess was from Jane and her Mom, who were awarded the bonus points for knowing what triggered the post, aka this New York Times article and really bad photographic technique.

To the “winners;” How I’m supposed to split two (cuz, there's another version, just more open-weaved) scarves three or four ways, I haven’t figured out yet, but I’ll let you know off-line.

Thanks for playing and
Stay tuned for the next installment of Mystery Item of the Week.


* Now, according to the caveat that I had to post, if I don't know who you are, you can't win prizes.

How can I send them to you if you're Anonymous to me?

Just saying.

The Amazing Adventures of ... the Peeps?

If my bro can be sent off on a tangent, so can I. I blame him. This entry is all his fault. This is what started it. This is how he borrowed it. And, this, my friends, is the result of too much time in the library, a camera, and too much sugar (um, the form of Peeps, sorry!).

Stay tuned for more entries.

What happened when the Peeps visited the Library

Chapter One.

They looked stuff up on the computer.Then they get scolded for looking up inappropriate materials.So, they decided to look up things in the dictionary and got yelled at for that too.

They they decided to learn how to sing.When they were yelled at for chirping too loudly, they decided to read for a bit.

Finally, the Librarian had had enough. Looking for any excuse to kick the Peeps out of her library, she used the excuse that they weren't really patrons, they were food.

Here's the rule that got the Peeps expelled from the Library for the day.

So sad. Mean Librarian.

Stay tuned for more installments of

The Amazing Adventures of ... the Peeps!