Yet another Survey

Yet another survey from Amanita. I haven't had anything worthwhile to post lately. It's kind of long.

Grub-ology

What is your salad dressing of choice? French

What is your favorite fast food restaurant? Subway

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? Texas Roadhouse

On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant? usually around $5; depends on the service.

What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? oatmeal

Name three foods you detest above all others. liver/organ meats; nuts (except peanuts, almonds, & cashews); ham and bean soup

What is your favorite dish to order in a Chinese restaurant? sweet & sour chicken or pork

What are your pizza toppings of choice? It’s all good.

What do you like to put on your toast? butter or cream cheese, sometimes jelly

What is your favorite type of gum? Juicy Fruit

Tech-ology

Number of contacts in your mobile phone? um, maybe 8 people?

Number of contacts in your e-mail address book? 10 people

What is your wallpaper on your computer? at home, it’s a pic of DD; at work, Stonehenge

What is your screensaver on your computer? don’t use a screensaver

Are there naked pictures saved on your computer? No

How many landline phones do you have in your house? 1

How many televisions are in your house? 2—living room and bedroom (but the bedroom one is non-functioning)

What kitchen appliance do you use the least? bread machine

What is the format of the radio station you listen to the most? top 40 rock

Bi-ology

What do you consider to be your best physical attribute? eyes

Are you right-handed or left-handed? Right-handed

Do you like your smile? usually

Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Does a baby count?

Would you like to? No. No on any kind of elective surgery.

Do you prefer to read when you go to the bathroom? not really

Which of your five sense do you think is keenest? All of my senses are equally poor.

When was the last time you had a cavity? jr. high

What is the heaviest item you lift regularly? groceries

Have you ever been knocked unconscious? No

Misc-ology

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? No. I’d worry too much.

If you could change your first name, what would you change it to? Cass, of course!

How do you express your artistic side? writing, doodling, collaging

What color do you think you look best in? green, since it’s my favorite color

How long do you think you could last in a medium security prison? ‘til I got out

Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake? No

If we weren’t bound by society’s conventions, do you have a relative you would make a pass at? Ewww. No.

How often do you go to church? For weddings and funerals—so basically, never.

Have you ever saved someone’s life? No

Has someone ever saved yours? No, afaik.

Dare-ology (For this last section, if you would do it for less or more money, indicate how much.)

Would you walk naked for half a mile down a public street for $100,000? Yes

Would you kiss a member of the same/opposite sex for $100? Yes to both

Would you have sex with a member of the same/opposite sex for $10,000? Probably

Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000? No. I need all my limbs.

Would you never blog again for $50,000? Ouch. That is a hard question. Possibly, but probably not.

Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000? No

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000? No

Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000? No

Would you shave your head and get your entire body waxed for $5,000? Possibly for $50,000 I would. $5,000 doesn’t go very far these days.

Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000? Yes, as long as someone fills me in on what happens on “Battlestar Galactica.”

A forgotten holocaust

Perhaps you remember this mention I made of Iris Chang's death. Well, I finally got around to reading her book, "The Rape of Nanking."

You must must must read it! She tells the story from three perspectives: the Japanese, the Chinese, and the few foreigners who were still in the city at the time of the invasion (1937). She used diaries, interviews with survivors/soldiers, and records of the era to tell what happened.

And you don't want to even imagine what happened. There is a section of photos included in the book, so be aware of that if you decide to read the book and are the least bit squeamish.

In some of the wikipedia articles, Chang's book is said to be controversial with some inaccuracies. Whatever the case may be, the pictures don't lie. The diaries and papers she used in her research are (I believe for the most part) available in various university archives.

The book is very readable, and I felt she was as objective as possible, describing how the Japanese army could have committed such atrocities, as well as discussing how the Chinese army abandoned the city (in order to fight another day, apparently). However, I am no scholar on this holocaust, nor have I read much else on the subject. But the book is worth reading.

Unlike the Jewish Holocaust victims, there are few who are willing to speak up for these Nanking victims. Iris Chang was brave to do so.

I dare you

to read this story without crying. (link found via)

(**okay, so you didn't dare to read. It's about a pet shelter's worker's daily work.)

Local Attraction

A few weeks ago, we went to Rockome Gardens. It's under new management this year, after having been on the market last year, then sold.

This is me, in the giant rocking chair.



This is me, in the gazebo.




The face in the wall:

The Moving Wall

... visited our town over the weekend. Check out the site for more information.

Here's a couple of photos:






Just as moving as the real Wall, only smaller.

Wikipedia has everything

... even an article on a local university.

Blogathon's back

Blogathon 2006

From the site:

On July 29, hundreds of bloggers from around the world will put their endurance to the test for charity, blogging every 30 minutes for 24 hours straight. This is the Sixth Annual International Blogathon, an event that creates a worldwide community for a day, serves up fascinating content, and most importantly, raises tens of thousands of dollars for dozens of charities. Bloggers choose the charity and collect sponsorships. At the end of the event, those sponsors fulfill their pledges directly with the charity. It's not too late to sign up if you'd like to blog! You can also help by sponsoring a blogger, just check out the List of Bloggers at the site. Stay up late, make a difference.