FUCK!!!

DAMN. DAMN. SON OF A FUCKING BITCH. FUCK! GOD BLESS AMERICA. FUCK!! FUCK!!!

More to come later…. FUCK.

It’s a Go!!!

I received an unusually high number of comments regarding Dorky Tuesday (see post below). It looks like enthusiasm is high, so we will definitely plan on it for Tuesday, Sept. 6th!

Yes, it could be slightly damaging to some of your self-images. But I’m not asking you to post anything that I’m not willing to post myself! It seems that there are some of you who feel more comfortable showing your half-nekkid self than your dorky side! For those of you who claim not to have a scanner–I can guarantee that you know someone who does! That’s why you’ve been given a week’s notice!

If this is the success that I anticipate that it will be, I might plan on trying different themes once or twice a year.

Now go grab a camera and take care of your HNT pic for tomorrow!

Dork Alert!!

I ran across some old pictures the other day. It just reinforced my previous opinion of my own youth. I was a geek. A dork. A nerd. But then again, weren’t we ALL during those awkward junior high days?? It got me to thinking. We need to see more examples of this phenomenon!

SO…let us have a Dorky Tuesday (for lack of a better term). On Tuesday, Sept. 6th, we will celebrate this dorkiness by posting the most hideously embarrassingly geeky photo you’ve got to expose to the world. A little story to go along with it would also be appropriate. You can even post more than one, if you were an uber-dork! We’ve all got them, tucked away somewhere. We can run it like HNT–comment on my DT post so that others can find you!

Go find them, scan them, and post them. This gives you a week to do that. Tuesday, Sept. 6th. There will be reminders!

(No, this does not replace HNT for the week, regardless of how geeky your HNT might be!)

Tagged Again!

This time I was tagged by Britni and Keebler with the same one, so here we go—

10 Years Ago:

I was 38 years old. I was enjoying the fruits of unemployment insurance. I had been the executive director of the Symphony here, and the incompetent yahoos that sat on the board of directors decided to “change the role” of the position. I was not officially informed about it until the end of the fiscal year in June (though I pretty much knew what was happening). The new board president (a wrinkly prune of a woman) had the balls to call me on the 3rd of July, asking if I would be willing to stick around for awhile until they replaced me. Needless to say, I politely declined. The next 7 years were pure hell for the organization. The non-profit world is SO difficult….

5 Years Ago:

I was managing an independent music store (CDs & cassettes). My CD collection grew quite a bit during this time. Also, 5 years to the day, I was in Bozeman, MT to see Bela Fleck & the Flecktones in concert! Also very concerned with the welfare of a young female employee whose drug-dealer boyfriend was murdered in January, 2000. She wasn’t very productive after that point, and her depression also affected me. To the point that my friends were a little concerned about me. We finally had to let her go. I just happened to see her a couple of days ago for the first time in about a year. She’s doing much better these days (so am I!)

1 Year Ago:

The first weekend of Carroll College’s school year. I had to have a pep band ready in less than one rehearsal to play at the football game. I did, of course. We had a streaker during the game who got trapped, with no place to run away to. That was fun. In Cahoots played a gig at the brew pub across from campus to welcome students back. I had a friendship with someone that would go horribly bad later that fall. It’s non-existent at this point, never to revive. That’s sad.

Yesterday:

I accomplished nothing. I blogged. I napped. I helped some people unload a U-Haul. I talked to Moose and Rachel. Incredibly dull day (except the Moose & Rachel part)!

5 Snacks I Enjoy:

There’s not a snack that I don’t enjoy! The top five: potato chips w/dill pickle dip (only one brand I’ve ever found), chocolate chip cookies, watermelon chunks, grapes, cashews.

5 Songs I Know All The Words To:

Funny, I don’t really do lyrics. When I hear a song, I generally hear the music–the rhythm, the harmonic structure, the “sound”. So my list is short to begin with: “Why Don’t We Get Drunk And Screw”/Jimmy Buffett; “The Rodeo Song”/Gary Lee and Showdown; “The Star Spangled Banner”/Francis Scott Key; “Love Shack”/B-52’s; “Sweet Home Alabama”/Lynyrd Skynyrd.

5 Things I’d Do With $100 Million:

Secure financial security for my parents and sisters; shower my friends with extravagant gifts; travel; buy a shitload of lottery tickets; buy a bitchin’ stereo system for my apartment.

5 Places I’d Run Away To:

Someplace in the British Isles–probably Ireland; Prague; someplace in New Zealand; some tropical beach on a secluded, but not isolated, island–preferably in the Pacific, I think; Coeur d’Alene, ID, or within a 50 mile circle of there.

5 Things I’d Never Wear:

Spandex; Speedo; $3000 suit; one of those elastic “awareness” wrist bands; toupee.

5 Favorite TV Shows:

I don’t watch much network TV anymore, but: Law & Order (SVU is the best); coverage of the Master’s Invitational (golf); Super Bowl; uncut/unedited Looney Tunes; original Star Trek reruns.

5 Biggest Joys:

My Dad surviving 2 heart attacks within 6 weeks of each other; paying off my student loans (admittedly far less than anyone has THESE days!); winning a golf tournament with my Dad as my partner; my first teaching job; my first time conducting an orchestra for “The Nutcracker”.

5 Favorite Toys:

Well, most of the ladies who answer this one come up with all those “unmentionable” things. Not me: King 7B Bass Trombone; 17″ PowerBook; 12″ iBook; Gibson SB450 Bass Guitar; Fender Rhodes Suitcase Piano (88-key).

5 Bloggerfriends I’m Supposed To Tag With This:

This is tough. Who hasn’t been tagged with it yet?? Let’s try Yoj, the Funky Bee, Mel Mega, Juliepatchouli, and Jaded Maniac. Have fun girls!

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iTunes: Boogie Back To Texas Asleep At The Wheel

Slow Sunday

Not much going on today. So do you think I’m going to be domestic and clean the place, do laundry, etc.? Hell, no! Am I going to go outside and enjoy the absolutely gorgeous day we’ve got? Of course not! Actually, after I finish this, I’ll probably shut down the computer, jump in the car, and drive around for a bit. Gas is still under $2.50 here, so I’m going to enjoy it while I can!!
No real subject for this post. I’ve got alot of short things to write about:

• Observations/questions answered from HNT–An amazing number of people fascinated by the word “glorping”, and apparently they all know what that means! Or at least have an image of it…
  –Thanks to happykap for the name of the chips I was referring to–Tater Skins. She even remembers the song!
  –I apparently made one person’s butt pucker, but that happens to her alot.
  –We lost a couple of people without any warning. Anyone know what happened to Skinny Dip??? There was someone else, too, but I can’t remember who it was….
  –I like every week how the virgins want us to “be gentle!” What are they expecting???
  –I posted my HNT, left for 5 minutes to check on 2 other blogs, and came back to see that 12 people posted to tell me they were up! I guess I’ll go with the flow here–to maximize your exposure on HNT, you can post Wed. night, but let’s try to wait until 10:00 PM local time. Yes, that means west coasters might see stuff at 7:00 PM. I won’t post until 10:00 PM MDT, so comments can’t be left before then.
  –Someone asked about getting the “finger” and updated tag on the Nekkid roll. I don’t have control over that, per se. It’s a Haloscan thing you can add. It’s inconsistent, at best. I may drop it soon.
  –Yes, you can call me “Os”.
  –If you know of someone who’s joined HNT, but their name’s not listed, let me know! The Nekkid roll is up to 140 now, due to some new people who didn’t let me know they were out there!

• I’ve finally installed Tiger! (Mac OS 10.4 for you non-Mac heathens) Haven’t really had much of a chance to explore things, but it holds promise!
• Helped some people unload a U-Haul last night. A couple who has been “separated” for the past few months. The husband has moved back to town. The wife was already moved into a house, which was already severely crammed with her stuff. Now they’ve doubled it. I smell a garage sale on the horizon. Maybe not. The trailer was poorly packed with half-filled cardboard boxes. None of them taped shut, so they were flimsy and didn’t stack well. And they were very dusty/dirty. And old. There were boxes with remnants of scotch tape on them with addressess from over 20 years ago! You know full well that those boxes hadn’t been opened in at least 15 years! How hard is it to go to the grocery store and score some new boxes???

That’s it for now. Time to drive!

Long-ass days, thanks, faves & new HNT treats!

HNT is really getting out of control–AND I LIKE IT!!! I was up until 3:00 AM on Wed. and Thurs. nights just trying to keep up with the comments! Fortunately, the bosses were away on Thursday, so I was able to maintain a presence most of the afternoon. The final count for the week–137 half-nekkid freaks out there! Actually, 138 (I never include myself in that number!). I got a great comment from sdk just a few minutes ago. She left a comment on all of the HNT entries. Not sure if she just went off of my comments or off the Nekkid roll (longer list), but she said she started at 10:00 PM, and ended at 1:39 AM. That’s 3 hours and 39 minutes of life she’ll never get back! That’s why I had to start limiting my comments on blogs. Plus I need the time to make sure that anyone in the bottom list who posted a HNT got moved to the top. And greet the newbies. It just doesn’t end!

Here’s a graph of my visits over the past month. I did this once before, but when I had a measly 100 hits for the day. This is up-to-the-minute results:
I like the regularity of the peaks! And the fact that they are continually going UP!! HNT is only as good as those who are joining in, so my personal thanks to all of you who have made it what it’s become!

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Someone asked me again which HNT blog I liked the best. I hate that question, because I always leave someone out, but I’ll answer it this time. They might not be the “most” half-nekkid, but they have all caught my fancy! These are the ones I’ll check on first (but not in any particular order), whether they’ve left me a comment or not:

• Ago-go–I love ya dear! One of the truly amazing necks in HNT! Work on those mpegs!

• HeatherS–this girl could kick my ass if I ran into her in an alley or a bar. Blond, athletic, and not afraid of showing off her body. This week’s picture skyrocketed to my all-time favorite!
• Binsk–incredible camera angles! Very artistic!
• Yoj–she often accompanies some very nice HNT with her poetry. Very sensual. And she knows it!
• Andi–my blogfriend from TX. The one I “forced” into buying a camera! Great bits and pieces!
• Rachel–my friend IRL from Helena. The one who has opened up more of herself than any of us ever expected!
• Aughra–she’s a bit more shy than she lets on. But not afraid to show what she wants!
• Moose–sure, she’s my best friend IRL, but I’m getting to see things that I never got to see in the past 8 years!!
• Tish–she’s new, but she’s quickly ascended the ranks! Very gung-ho about HNT!
• Addict–not quite sure why, but she fascinates me!

There you have it. For now. Please remember–I love ALL of the HNT people! This is not the same list of my favorite bloggers, though there is some crossover. If you disagree with any of my choices (like I would really care… ), let me know. If you think you should be one of my favorites, let me know. I can be bought!

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A particular blogger asked, “Where do you see HNT headed? Are there plans for improvement?” I’ll skip the first question. And, technically, the second question. Let’s just say there are some things that will be appearing on the virtual horizon. I have crack research/development teams working independently on one project, and I’ve got another project spinning in my head (thanks, Cece!). I hope to spring both of these ideas on the unsuspecting public in the near future! Just a little more fun for HNT!

It’s late–I’m going to bed. I’ve got some other things to post about. A couple of rants. Not sure if I’ll get posts up on all of them or not. Also got tagged by both Keebler and Britni with the same thing, so I’ll get to that this weekend. Hope you all enjoy it as it winds down!

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iTunes: Bang A Gong, T. Rex

HNT Scar & Story

That big whitish glob in the middle is my finest scar. It’s on the inner side of my left calf, a few inches above the ankle. As per the guidelines–a scar story. Fairly simple. I was out in the hills taking some pics about 15 years ago on my birthday (which really has nothing to do with the story). I was among a bunch of huge granite boulders. I stepped up on a piece that had broken away from the main rock. Sort of like standing on a knife’s edge. It broke, I fell down, thinking I had only scraped my shin. There was no rip in my jeans, so I didn’t think about it. Until about 15 minutes later, when I looked down and found the lower part of my jeans and my tennis shoe literally oozing in blood. As I lifted the pant leg, I found a 4-inch wide gash, all the way down to the bone. And all the fat tissue sort of glorping out.

Imagine what “glorping out” might look like. Remember the chips from the 80s (don’t know if they still make them) that were twice-baked? The TV commercial showed a baked potato, sliced down the center, and the insides sort of spilled out from something squeezing the sides of the potato, and the bag of chips rises up through the center in all its glory. That’s sort of what the fat tissue looked like glorping out from the wound. I found a remarkable dirty hand towel in the car, and some baling twine alongside the road. I tied the towel down as tight as I could, and drove the 45 minutes back into town, and on a Sunday afternoon, called the doctor to meet me at his office so he could stitch it up. He scraped a bunch of the fat out, and found whatever skin he could, and gave me 20+ stitches. Lots of pills later, I hardly even limped!

There’s my scar story. And my HNT picture. Now it’s your turn! Happy Half-Nekkid Thursday!

Magazine Cover & Blogger’s “Response”

Many thanks to Binsk, who directs us to a site where you can make your own magazine cover! See mine over there on the right. The only downside–you need a flickr.com account. So all you Mac freaks–go make yourself famous!!! (the rest of you can too!)

On a different matter–I got a “response” from Blogger.com. It’s copied below. It’s a only a response in the sense that it acknowledged that I wrote them in the first place. I would assume that any of you who wrote got the same thing. So the next plan might be to do what I read someone else doing…. If you’ve got the time, spend a few minutes playing with the “next blog” button. If it’s relatively normal, leave it alone and go to the next. If it’s a spam site, flag it. While it doesn’t address the abomination that the “flag” represents, it gives us the chance to use it for good, not evil.

Hello,

Thank you for your feedback about the Flag for Review feature. Please see
Blogger Help for information about this button and how it works:
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=1200

Further clarification about Flag for Review and the actions we do and do
not take on flagged blogs can be found in our Blogger Buzz post here:
http://buzz.blogger.com/2005/08/not-automatic-for-people.html

Note that, as this is a new feature, it is not yet appearing on all blogs.
Blogs that have not yet been republished, or that are publishing via FTP,
will not display this button.

Sincerely,
Blogger Support

Uh-huh.

Change of order

All this weekly bouncing around of who’s nekkid and who’s not in the Nekkid roll has totally screwed up my daily reading habit! I spend too much time looking for a link than I do on the link itself! So…I’m going to alphabetize both the rolls over there. To those of you that I had listed at the top of the roll, you’re now going to fall in with the rest of the crew. Sorry ’bout that. I promise I won’t neglect you…. Just thought you’d like to know.

Revolting Development

It appears that not everyone is privileged enough to earn “The Flag”. I’ve seen a couple of sites that don’t have them, and not because their own coding skills got rid of it. An example: here, or here. Coincidentally (?), neither of these sites participate in HNT. Do I have one because of the word “NEKKID”? Or even worse–”NAKED”? “BOOBIES”? It appears that the Blogger people have come up with a script to look for certain keywords, and automatically tag them. This pisses me off the more I think about it!

I’ve been generally pleased with Blogger in my 7 months experience (with the exception of the comments area). But lately, with the proliferation of spam comments, and now “The Flag”, I’m open to the possibility of moving to something else. We’ll just have to wait and see….

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iTunes: You Are, Carolyn Dawn Johnson