FOR THIS, WE ARE TRULY THANKFUL

Or at least, we were last night.

(Thanks to Punky B. for the assistance)

Comments

[MeL]

Dad just subjected me to having to watch this movie called like "Mosquito" or something I think it was on Sci-fi. Like these huge skeeters come to take over the world. It was weird...and had a LOT of bad acting.

[neophyte]

*brews some fresh coffee for those taking the night shift here at the MOAT*

Goodnight!

[Kafaleni]

I guess I missed Hitchcock Day. Vertigo is probably my favourite Hitchcock movie. The first time I saw it was by accident. I hit record and left the video running while I went to bed. When I woke up, it had recorded all of my movie and almost all of Vertigo. Right at the end when James Stewart and Kim Novak are running up the steps in the belltower... they get to the top.. he leans out.. everything starts spinning... and my video ran out of tape. I just about had a heart attack when it clicked off. Turned out later when I tracked it down and watched the whole thing that I'd missed less than two minutes plus the end credit.

Picture of Eleanor

Zippy is from a 70's kids' show called Rainbow, which came from England. I remember a little about it.. bits and pieces. The theme song went like this..

Up above the streets & houses
Rainbows climbing high
Everyone can see them climbing
Over the sky
Paint the whole world with a rainbow!!

But every time I start humming this, I hear the schoolyard version...

Up above the streets & houses
Rainbows climbing high
Jeffrey sticks his a**e out the window
And s#!&s in Bungo's eye..

I can't do a quadratic equation, but I remember that.. also the dirty version of the Beverly Hillbillies theme

[kibby F5™]

COOFFEE!

[kibby F5™]

*stumbles on*

COFFEE! YES!

*quick flash to the shadows*

*flash off*

[Jeff Meyerson]

sly, it's confusing but from your description it sounds like you've made the right choice. I'm sure Eleanor cringed when she read about leaks.

Incidentally, I was again told "you are not allowed to post comments" this morning on the main blog, so had to go offline and come back.

We seem to be in a better, quieter weather period, though we're still colder than we should be and there is a possible nor-easter lurking towards the end of the week. Yesterday was sunny and nice so we went to three libraries and I picked up about 10 books. Now to read them. I did read the first short story in a book by the late George V. Higgins. His only story collection was published in England only, but this has several uncollected & unpublished items, plus three from the British collection.

I also got mysteries by Tom Corcoran (a Rita recommendation - set in Key West), Jill McGown (very good British police procedural series), Henning Mankell (I keep hearing how good he is and want to try one), Earl Emerson (Seattle firefighter I keep meaning to try), Jim Fusilli, Claire Matturro (Rita, you might want to look for this - first by another Florida author), and Karin Slaughter.

[Alex D.]

Good morning, everyone!

Good news -- I can actually read now. Anyway, I'm declaring this Alfred Hitchcock Weekend so I can do my Psycho parody, which is in the works as we speak.

[neophyte]

I am old. I realized how old I really am when my kids dressed for church today in what they consider the height of fashion and I looked at them and said, "You are NOT going out looking like THAT!" *sigh* It has happened: I've turned into my mother.

[Eleanor]

*zips in*

Good morning everyone from su.so.ca - warm weather today - in the 70's - driveway is still partially wet as is street in front of house - people slow down to look - but water is not flowing anymore!

Kaf - thanks for posting a picture of me - maybe wysiwyg will get off my case now - do you think we should put it in the Y folder?

While I was in exile i had to find something to do, so I - gasp - read books!

I was looking through my book shelves and I found Dave Barry Slept Here, written in 1989 and read that - I think for the 2nd time -

I read Night Fall, by Nelson de Mille, which someone here on the Moat had recommended - very tightly written and good -

I also read a book by Bejamin Cheever, John's son and Susan's brother - excellent and different, which was nice - The Good Nanny and I am now starting America - the Book - by Jon Stewart

Personal note: I had always been an avid reader until I went to Law School and you do so much reading for 3 1/2 years that it's the last thing you want to do when you finish - this happens to almost everyone and it takes years to develop motivtion to read for pleasure again!

It's so nice to be able to click on all the links Moaties post now that I have high speed, and the computer guy says when I get my new computer that he's going to build for me (with Pentium IV and other stuff) that my computer will even be faster -

I remember when I first started talking about getting high speed, a very smart Moatie told me that even with high speed, an old computer is still an old computer, and I understand that now!

*loves zipping into 21st century*

[slyeyes]

El, I had recommended Nightfall. I do love DeMille. And I love the John Corey character. I've always said I'd like to meet a guy like him. My luck, he's a work of fiction.

Did you catch the bit where Corey was checking the list of books people had read in the resort's library? He mentions one of DeMille's earlier novel.

Have you read Up Country, also by DeMille. It has the same central character as The General's Daughter.

[Eleanor]

sly - I remember our conversation now - the only other DeMille book I've read is Plum Island, which I thought was terrific - was that a John Corey book too? Anyway, I loved the interjected humor in Night Fall as well as Corey himself!

Moral of the story: all the good men are either fiction or gay! Moat men excepted, of course!

My son told me that Mayday, which DeMille wrote with another man was a great book - he and I usually agree on "good reads", but he told me it had zombies in it! I never read or watch "scary" things, and when I reminded my son of that, he said, "Mom, they're NOT flesh-eating zombies, they're just aggresive zombies" ba-da-boom!

[slyeyes]

Plum Island is also John Corey; as it Lion's Game. It was the book where Corey met his wife.

Mayday was good. I woudn't say they were zombies so much. An airliner was hit by a drone missile and most of the passengers were killed from oxygen deprivation. I think only two survived intact, and several were severely brain-damaged. I read that book at the same time that Payne Stewart died. Remember how everyone on his plane died, yet it was on auto pilot and kept flying? Navy pilots tracked it the whole way. It was similar with MayDay, and very strange to be reading a book similar to something taking place in real life.

[Bangi]

MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUAH!!!
*smooches the moaties*
alfred week?
CHING CHING CHING
( music of Norman Bates Shower scene)

[Bangi]

whr's my post?

can we move? plz plz plz? it takes a long time to load..and msgs keep disappearing...

[slyeyes]

Several years ago, I was in DC. When I left, I took a cab from my hotel on K Street, turned onto 14th, then went east on Constitution; past the Washington Monument, past the Lincoln Memorial, past the Vietnam Wall, across the Potomac and to Reagan National Airport.

I bought at book in the gift shop, Spencerville, by DeMille. Got on the plane and started reading the book. On the first page, the main character had retired from his govt job, drove down K Street, to 14th, down Constitution, past the Washington Memorial, The Lincoln Monument, The Vietnam Wall, across the Potomac and home to Ohio.

It was very surreal.

[Tamara]

Good afternoon, MOATies! Had a most excellent first night of living without the husband! Woohoo!

Only, now I gotta clean out the fridge and take out the trash myself! Ugh! *reconsiders whole situation*

[slyeyes]

Tamara, congrats.

Something I realized I should have kept were tools. For years, I was using high heels for hammers and butter knives for screwdrivers.

A few years back, the parents of a friend of mine split up. Several of us helped her mom move out. Her dad brought out a box of tools and told a couple of the guys that he went through his toolbox and divied them up. They all stood there and nodded their heads in guy like fashion, "that's good."

When we got to the condo, we opened the toolbox to get out a screwdriver and found the saddest set of rusty tools you've ever seen in your life.

[slyeyes]

Bangi! How are ya darlin? How's your Mum?

[Peri]

Are you here? Can anyone see me? AAARGH! I've just had the most dreadful 24 hours with my computer. Despite Josh's help in downloading a new video driver, things just weren't working right - my comp wouldn't talk to my printer, I had no volume and no volume controls - all kinds of things. I finally found the cd that came with the comp so I thought to myself "I can do this all on my own - I'm a smart woman!" and proceeded to click on all kinds of buttons and the next thing I knew I had wiped out my c drive! I let the cd do it's thing and said yes to every question it asked and got a c drive back but I had no internet connection. I have cable internet so the connection wizard keep saying it couldn't get a dial tone and wouldn't do anything. Then I looked in the box the cable company left and found an internet installation cd. Yay! Except, it keep saying it needed a net card or something, which I know is INSIDE my tower, which is screwed shut. Anyway, I finally made it work and now have to go back and find everything I lost. Eleanor, were your comp problems contagious? Oh, and could someone please send me an email, because that wasn't before either. Thanks!

[Peri]

Hi, Bangi! I see you are as cute, naughty and bouncy as usual!

[Alex D.]

Whoa. I usually make jokes about doing something that might wipe out the entire computer. Maybe it's more possible than I thought.

Guess I'm lucky that the worst thing I've ever had to do is reinstall Windows and get the software back.

[Eleanor]

First of all, important even though I now have high speed and could care less about moving to a new Moat, I feel I must support Bangi in her request to move - the tapping-fingers while waiting memory is still very fresh!

Peri - your problems sound much worse than mine - but I'm too afraid of my computer to try to do anything myself!

Peri - check your e-mail!

[Kafaleni]

Hi & bye everyone... I overslept... now I have 14 mins till I have to leave for work... *zips off*

[Bangi]

i should sleep...but i cant...
Mum's ok Sly. she's at my eldest sis's house enjoying bein a grandma/babysitter.

[Eleanor]

Way too close, Alex D. - you should go back at least a month - and somewhere without a picture!

I am in a state of heightened anxiety - trying to remember who needs to know my new e-mail addy (The State Bar, for one!) and wondering if this guy will really be able to transfer all my stuff to the new computer! What about all the stuff I've bookmarked - does anyone know??

Anyone, anyone, Bueller?

I just deleted 684 messages in my "deleted" e-mail folder, but first I scanned them which reminded me of people to notify - not always an easy chore! A lot of places I just had to re-register!

/rant

[Eleanor]

Alex - this Moat is from 11/24/04 -

[Eleanor]

Alex - this Moat is from 11/24/04 -

[Bangi]

Hi Peri... u need to go to connection wizard and type in some numbers ..called um proxy address and port number thingie...and
oh i cant remember. u need to call customer service and whine pitifully.

hi Alex!
geez..i had so much to say to so many ppl. i cant remember

[Eleanor]

How about this one - only 11 posts and one short spam?

go here

[neophyte]

This thread seems to be at 2,673 posts... and anything over 2,000 starts to get cumbersome for those on dial-up. I hate to move, but I agree that we should consider it, for our dial-up Moatmates.

[Peri]

I seem to running just fine again. In fact, I got rid of some old stuff that I couldn't remove before. So, no real harm done and I may have even learned some stuff. I've lost all my IM contacts, though. Thank-you Eleanor for testing my email. Now, anyone who cares to can test my IM and, just incidentally, add themselves to my contact list.

Joshkr and wysiwyg survived the purge. How come them and no one else?

[Eleanor]

*zips in*

*because she can*

*zips out*

[Jeff Meyerson]

Hi guya. I got fooled by the last couple of days and the sun and dressed slightly lighter than the last couple of days when we went out and was, of course, cold. It seems the wind was up today.

Anyway, it was nice and we went for a good walk to our favorite Italian restaurant. Of course, we had to forego the bread and pasta, but you have to do what you have to do.

We just found out that Jimmy Buffett is doing two concerts at the ballpark in Philly at the end of August but the tickets went on sale last weekend when we were away and are long sold out. Bummer.

Channeling Eleanor:
"I'm Private Schwartz from Rockaway
and I guess you heard reports,
that the Kaiser runs a block away
when they tell him here comes Schwartz".

The original Broadway cast CD of Funny Girl has lots of wonderful stuff they cut out of the movie. I'm glad I got it.

Still haven't read a Nelson DeMille. Some day.

Note to Rita: there is a new James W. Hall book out but most of it is set in North Carolina rather than Florida. It's called Forests of the Night.

For mystery fans, you might want to check out www.blackravenpress.com. It's the site of the newspaper/magazine called Mystery News, which comes out bimonthly and has reviews of new books as well as interviews and articles and lists of forthcoming books.

[Peri]

For years now, I have been trying to create a perfect chili. I have used all the recipes I could find and changed and adapted them. I checked out some chili contests. I've made good chili but I never got it right. Yesterday, I made a perfect chili. I didn't write down anything I did. I had had a couple of beers while I made it, so I just KNOW I did something I can't remember. I'm very frustrated about this.

[kibby F5™]

*decides to add beer to the chili recipie per peri's recommendation*

[Alex D.]

I guess the idea of having something remain spam-free is too much for this blog. Hope I didn't screw it up with that last post.

Or am I just the only one bored right now?

[Alex D.]

Oh, there. Every time I post about breaking the blog, someone shows up.

Hi, kibby!

[neophyte]

Ask me what I just did! Go on, ask me!

I just watched a sheep give birth. Oh, it was very cool. While I'm certainly no city girl, I've not been exposed to farms much either. Other than my own babies, this was the only birth I've ever seen. (Movies don't count.) It was amazing.

My children were absolutely and completely freaked out. Which is, of course, my job as a mother.

[kibby F5™]

Alex's findings:

Squirrel Bands
1/25
23 comments
ZERO SPAM!

Elvis water
12/29
11 comments
1 spam

Bowl games
12/29
10 comments
1 spam

Christmas presents
12/03
15 comments
1 spam

[kibby F5™]

hey alex!

neo, your job is done. they can now be sent out to the world!

[Alex D.]

*boggles over the point of adding beer to chili*

Um, wouldn't cooking it evaporate the alcohol? Better add the beer *after* heating.

[kibby F5™]

I think peri's idea of adding beer DURING the cooking improves the outcome. Especially if it's directly applied.

[insomniac]

I think the idea is to boil off the alcohol, whilst leaving the beer taste.
Any geezers remember a chain called Lum's? Its big draw was 'hot dogs steamed in beer'. But they went out of business shortly after I turned 18 in 1975.(yes, boys and girls that was the legal drinking age).

[Joshkr]

Alex...Yep, just sent the link to Dave. *patiently awaiting Psycho parody*

Peri...Ouch, hon, sorry the drive got wiped :( *sending an email stating that Wys and I remained because we're just too cool to purge* Hmm...that looks wrong...

Neo...Congrats! *hands Neo a cigar*

I vote for the Elvis water post. Can anyone say MOAThouse Rock?

[Eleanor]

MOAThouse Rock gets my vote too - of course, I'd follow Joshkr anywhere he''s been so helpful in this time of stress and transition for me - but it doesn't have many posts, and we could ask judi to delete the spam - I've asked her that before!

[Balanchine]

Insom, loved Lum's as a child here in Miami Beach. Owned by the father of neighborhood kid I knew. We were always impressed by his ability to get free fries whenever he wanted them. If you were ever or are a miami guy you surely remember when they got the franchise for the Ollieburgerm this would have been in the mid 70s if memory serves. The original OB and its owner were a favorite haunt of our family's and near my alma mater, MB high. I'll never forget those 8 years.

Nelson DeMille is a darn good plotter with great imagination. Quite a bit better than James D. Hall imho.

Oh....Oh! Forgive me manners, Tamara! I e'en forgot me ahctual voice fur a wee minute thar. Whatsoever was I thinkin' Och!

[Jeff Meyerson]

Balanchine: I've read James W. Hall and always find him really depressing, but Rita likes him.

NEWS FLASH:

We just made our reservations for this year's Bouchercon mystery convention in Chicago September 1-4. A good friend was putting it on but died suddenly and his wife is co-chair and another good friend is Fan Guest of Honor. Bill Pronzini & Marcia Muller are being honored for contributions to the field (I've sold Bill books for many years); Dennis Lehane is American Guest of Honor and Jonathan Gash (Lovejoy series) is International Guest of Honor, in case anyone is interested.

Anyway, if anyone is up for a MOAT meeting keep those dates in mind.

I'm in on MOAThouse Rock.

[Eleanor]

Joshkr, Do The Honors!!!!!!!

[slyeyes]

I loved Lum's fried mushrooms!

Remember awhile back Dave posted a story about some goofy looking frog in England who was the mascot for some goofy ringtones? The frog wore goggles and had two mismatched eyes, and something hanging down from his middle, either a belly button or penis. omedy Central just ran that commercial but had a little black box over whatever thingie was hanging between his legs.

Still can't remember his name.

[Eleanor]

*whine, whine, whine*

I don't have any milk so I can't have cereal, and I don't have any bread so I can't have a PBJ sandwich and the sun didn't come out all day -

*end of whine*

[slyeyes]

I loved Lum's fried mushrooms!

Remember awhile back Dave posted a story about some Crazy Frog the goofy looking frog in England who was the mascot for some ringtones? The frog wore goggles and had two mismatched eyes, and something hanging down from his middle, either a belly button or penis. Comedy Central just ran that commercial but had a little black box over whatever thingie is hanging between his legs.

Since it was on Comedy Central, I didn't know if it was a commercial, or a spoof.

[slyeyes]

Hmm, interesting.

[Joshkr]

LOL okey...*scattering breadcrumbs*

Let’s rock, everybody, let’s rock.
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin’ to the MOAThouse rock.

[RumorMill]

Joshkr broke outta the cell block and danced in the moat. Pass it on.

*Hugs moat*

*Flips off light*

Bbye moat-incarnation-a zillion

[Kafaleni]

*flashes blurkers*

*waves buh-bye!!*

[«LabSpecimen»]

Oh look! Bread crumbs!

[julietine]

Did the moat move and nobody told me?\

**snif,snif**