tonkalfe's Xanga

Thursday, August 02, 2007

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 03:19:11 GMT

Best purchase I made all year, courtesy of http://shirt.woot.com/

I can't wait for it to come in.

***edit***

You Knuckleheads. Haha

From www.dictionary.com

rebus
noun
a puzzle where you decode a message consisting of pictures representing syllables and words

re·bus [ree-buhs] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun, plural -bus·es.

1.	a representation of a word or phrase by pictures, symbols, etc., that suggest that word or phrase or its syllables: Two gates and a head is a rebus for Gateshead.

2.	a piece of writing containing many such representations.

[Origin: 1595–1605; < L rébus by things (abl. pl. of rés), in phrase nōn verbīs sed rébus not by words but by things]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source

re·bus (rē'bəs) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. re·bus·es
A representation of words in the form of pictures or symbols, often presented as a puzzle.

[From Latin rēbus, ablative pl. of rēs, thing; see rē- in Indo-European

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 22:16:17 GMT

Joel's post -Nautica Triathalon victory picture from about 2 weekends ago. Part of the event required him to swim about a mile in the Hudson River. For those of you that are unfamiliar with this particular body of water and it's "pristine" history, then yes...I'm a jerk. For those of you who are who ARE familiar with the Hudson River, then you can understand my reaction. I told him he might end up growing another big toe. On his forehead. Now that's one lil' piggy you don't want comin' home.

I am completely incapable of taking a normal picture.

All kidding aside, good job Joel!

Best line of the year?

"Remember...anything more than two shakes is considered playing with yourself".

D'oh!

Great Balls of Fire

Fri, 25 May 2007 15:31:22 GMT

The air conditioning has been on the fritz in my office this whole week. Today, the forcast calls for 92 degrees, which translates to about 110 degrees in the office when you take into account the stuffiness.

The back of my knees are sweaty.

As are my gonads.

I am a model of unproductiveness today.

And I am gripped with a strong desire to walk over to my coworker/boss's cube and giving him a big sweaty man hug.

But that would be wrong. That Stan. He's the bestest boss ever.

I only included that statement above because he just found out I have this blog and he requested the link. I hope he reads this..and welcomes my Sweaty Man hugs.

Good weekend to you all.

Who doesn't like bubbles?

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 00:21:24 GMT

I feel like going to see something light, fun and frivolous. Anybody want to go with me?

http://www.gazillionbubbleshow.com/

So much for my vow of staying away from off Broadway for a little while. I was sort of disappointed when I went to watch Be by Mayumana a few weeks ago. Can't say I would be able to recommend it to people. Now Slava's Snowshow I raved about. I miss Slava's Snowshow. I look forward to seeing it come back to New York.

For those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about:

http://www.beoffbroadway.com/

http://www.snowshowusa.com/main.html

Or you could just interpret my words as the ramblings of an addled mind.

A bit late...

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 03:59:39 GMT

Wishing you and yours a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Or as the Klingons would say...

Bliain úr faoi shéan is faoi mise duit !!!

Not a yuletide rant

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 04:16:18 GMT

I'll continue my holiday tirade at a later time. For now...

The bags we're holding contain t-shirts with a picture of Captain Kirk on the front. Underneath it says "Intergalactic Stud". Jaws, Dover and I got one each. I can't wait to wear it out in public.

Live long and prosper. One and all.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Sat, 09 Dec 2006 00:33:15 GMT

So this past Sunday, the Ha family climbed into the good old Ha-mobile and had ourselves a bit of a family outing (Essentially dim sum and then a spur of the moment shopping jag. I got a distressed hooded pullover that to the untrained eye might be classified as being “orange” but is, in my opinion Dark pumpkin with shades of tangerine. But I digress). Afterwards we drove around the neighborhood a bit, in that leisurely, infuriatingly roundabout way that my dad has of driving (Infuriating for me since I’m as impatient as a gerbil on espresso and Goobers). We passed by several homes decorated for the holidays and my parents marveled at the creativity and festiveness of some of these bedecked domiciles while at the same time, mildly disgusted by the gaudiness of these displays and more than a bit puzzled as to why anyone would waste so much time, energy and money to make their homes resemble the starship Enterprise (That is if my parents watched Start Trek…which they don’t. And if Klingon, Vulcans, Orions, Andorians and Tellerites looked like Reindeer, Elves, Baby Jesus and Fat Jolly old men dressed in red and white…which they don’t. At least not in the episodes of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise and The Original Series that I watch. Oops, sorry, my geek is showing. Stupid Button fly jeans).

So after taking a gander at all the pretty lights and decorations, I was, to say the least, inspired. So I told my parents that I would like to decorate our front yard for Christmas as well. I felt that after a few years of living in Pseudo-burbia (Or as I call it “Pseuburbia” Pronounced "Soo-Bir-bee-ya”. My friends don’t seem to think that Fresh Meadows, Queens can actually be referred to as “suburban”. Semantics. I think they should live in the ghettos for 26 years and then come back here. I’m sure they’d hum a different tune. Probably one with a Reggae-ton beat while bottle feeding their crack baby from a forty ounce bottle of St. Ides malt liquor. A dirty Bottle of St. Ides liquor. But I digress), it would be nice to actually decorate and try and get into the holiday spirit. My parents, on the other hand, were quite adamant about my not putting out “Stupid light and stupid Fat man doll to put on front yard and make house target for stealing people and dog and squirrel to pee on. Waste of money”.

So ever the dutiful son. I obeyed their wishes. I didn’t spend a lot of money. Instead, I stopped by the 99 cent store and bought a cheap plastic decoration for our front door. Total cost including taxes? $1.19.

So after I hung the thing onto my door, I took a step back to proudly gawk at my handiwork.

Ok. It looked pretty pathetic.

But screw it; Christmas has finally come to Casa Del Ha! As sad and pathetic as it looked I was still pretty darn proud of myself. I felt we were finally a part of the neighborhood and that we had finally left the ghetto behind. In fact, I was so proud of myself that I dragged my mom out of the kitchen and had her take a look at my offering to the yuletide powers-that-be.

Me: Look Mama!(Beaming like a kid on...well Christmas) I know you didn’t want me to spend a lot of money and mess up the front yard by decorating it with a lot of stuff, so I just bought this door thingy. Don’t you think it looks nice?

Ma: (After scrutinizing the decoration with a rather Grinch-like squint). Hmm, what is that?

Me: Uhm...it’s like, yknow…a Christmas decoration. Like the other people in the neighborhood have.

Ma; No I mean what it supposed to be?

Me: Uhm, well it’s like some bells and some fake holly and some ribbons and…uhm…some green leaves.

Ma: Hmmm.

Me: C’mon mom. Don’t be like that. It’s nice. I mean the house down the street has a frickin life sized SNOW GLOBE on their front yard. It even has lights and a blower inside to move the fake snow around in it! Let me at least have this!

Ma: How much you pay to buy?

Me: Only $1.19!

Ma: (After a slight pause) You pay too much. You should return.

Me: (Sputtering) What the...? Ma! It was only a dollar and nineteen cents!!! It’s a Christmas decoration!

Ma: For a dollar you could buy two Chinese news papers. Sing Tao. This waste of money. At least with newspaper Daddy can read while he on bathroom. Which remind me. Go buy paper. I forget buy today when I went to market.

Me: Ma…just once, couldn’t you embrace the Christmas spirit? Just a little tiny bit?

Ma: Christmas stupid. You know we don’t celebrate. We Chinese. People in China don’t celebrate Christmas. We don’t wait for fat man to bring us socks and tree. We buy our own sock. We celebrate Chinese New year. That make sense. Fat man bring presents make no sense.

Me: *sigh* C’mon Ma. What about the funny cartoons you like to watch when Christmas comes around?

Ma: Don’t know what you talking about

Me: Frosty the Snow man!

Ma: Fat guy made of frozen water. Wear stupid hat. Smoke pipe. Probably why you smoke so much now. Don’t think I don’t know. Don’t think mommy stupid. You smell like stinky smoke all the time. He melt all the time. Good for him. Probably from too much smoke pipe.

Me: What about Rudolph the Reindeer?

Ma: Stupid dog with coat rack on head. Red nose. Should be good luck but other dogs don’t even play with him

Me: Jack Frost!

Ma: Who he? Another Fat guy made of frozen water?

Me: Oh COME ON MOM! What about that Charlie Brown Christmas special? You always like watching that when it’s on. You said it was cute!

Ma: (Chuckling) Hehe Charlie Brown remind Mommy of you. Big head like you. Mean sister remind me of sister number one. Other kid with blanket stupid. Must get blanket dirty. Make his mother wash all the time. No good son. Only one Black guy on show.

Me: But Ma, there’s no way you can’t like that episode. It’s so touching…so poignant…so…wait a minute. I do NOT look like Charlie Brown!!!

Ma: Stop talking. Cold. I go inside now. Go buy newspaper. Put on jacket first. Cold outside.

Me: *sigh*

And people wonder why I’m so weird. It’s in the Genes man. It’s in the Genes,

I’ve always liked doo wop. Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers rocks. It’s toe tapping goodness.

Also I’ve been meaning to go watch Spamalot again. Probably not going to be the same as when I saw it with the original cast, but I’m sure I’ll still enjoy it. Especially with songs like the one below on the program. Hehe Brave Brave Brave Brave Sir Robin. Anyone want to go catch it with me?

For you fans of Grey’s Anatomy, did you know that Sara Ramirez (Dr. Callie Torres) won a Tony for her portrayal of The Lady of the Lake in Spamalot? I don’t really watch Grey's Anatomy so I didn’t even know she was on it. She’s a Julliard trained singer. Check out this clip of her at the ’05 Tony’s. For those unfamiliar, keep in mind that the show is a comedy and her performance is supposed to be comedic. So she's intentionally spazzing out and over-emoting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yRlnSgu-bY

My Christmas Rant - To be continued

Random

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 01:48:09 GMT

Sometimes, I like to back my cat up into a corner and then proceed to violently flatulate onto her head.

Why do I do it?

It's just the kind of guy I am.

There have been times when I look at her and think "Wonder what she would taste like covered in Sweet and Sour sauce"?

Then I remember the stereotype and soundly beat myself with a wet sausage. Bad Tonka...Bad!

Yours Truly,

Blaster Butt

For Better or for Worse

Tue, 10 Oct 2006 08:40:40 GMT

Ever since I was 5 years old and learned that reading is...indeed fundamental, I've made it a habit of zoning in on the comics section of any newspaper I happen to pick up (It took me a while to warm up to The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, especially considering the stigma surrounding these “grown up" periodicals). I was especially partial to The New York Daily News since it was the only English language newspaper my dad used to purchase on a regular basis. Of late, I've developed a particular fondness for Stephen Pastis's "Pearls Before Swine", As evidenced by a few of my past postings. I mean, how can anyone NOT like a comic strip that comes up with such alliterative characters and dialogue as "Annie May the Anemone who attempts to bribe her nemesis with anime and amenities" and who upon being squished and cut in half by a garage door becomes "Annette O'Meade and Ann, a maid, who, with a nun, had enemas with Eminem, an eminent MTV emissary"? Genius I tell you. Pure genius.

As I was on the bus making my way back home from my daily visit to Gotham, I dutifully cracked open the pages of today's copy of the Daily News and made a straight bee-line for the comics section. After a particularly long hard day, reading the comics section of the Daily news allows to begin the decompression or unwinding process. It also almost always brings me back to a simpler time. Before the worries and trivialities associated with being a "grown up" set in. As I greedily drank in the simple black and white caricatures, I paused for a moment and allowed my eyes to rest upon today's edition of "For Better or for Worse".

http://www.fborfw.com/

For those of you unfamiliar with the strip, "For Better or for Worse" (or FBORFW to die hard fans) is a comic strip by Lynn Johnston that centers on the lives of the Pattersons and their friends. The Pattersons are a Canadian family who reside in the fictitious Toronto-area suburban town of Milborough, Ontario The main characters of the strip are as follows:

John Patterson - The patriarch of the family. A dentist whose hobby is model railroading

Elly Patterson -The matriarch of the family until whom until recently, owned a book store a nd is arguably the "…cornerstone of the Patterson family…"

Michael Patterson - The eldest child and only son who is now married and has a daughter and son of his own

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Patterson - The "middle child" and eldest daughter of the family who is currently a teacher

April Patterson - The youngest of the Patterson clan. Now a teenager in high school.

Deanna Patterson - Michael’s one time child hood nemesis/crush/sweetheart and current wife. A pharmacist

Meredith Patterson - Michael and Deanna’s daughter. Age 4

Robin Patterson - Michael and Deanna. Age 2

Jim Richards aka Grandpa Jim - Elly's father

And a whole cast of supporting characters including friends, family members and pets.

The comic strip is unique by dint of being one of the few strips whose characters age in real time (Of course being a comic strip, the word "real" in this context would be a bit of a misnomer). Over the course of the past few decades, readers have had the opportunity to watch Michael and Lizzie grow up to become mature, responsible adults and April become a compassionate, thoughtful young woman. We've watched John and Elly become inductees into middle age and beyond and eventually…proud and loving grandparents. We watched John and Elly actually develop wrinkles and crows feet and old man/woman gut as the series progressed. Yet we bore witness to these changes with no more consternation or alarm than we would witnessing our own parents age or our own siblings grow older and wiser.

In my younger years. "For Better or for Worse" used to be a favorite comic strip of mine. Not only did I find the gentle humor in the strip amusing and, at times, comforting (Even if I couldn't relate to their particular familial dynamic) but even at a young age, I understood the sense of poignancy and sincerity the series attempted to convey, and it resonated with me on an emotional level.

Back to me on the bus. I actually haven't really read the strip for quite some time now and today's strip wasn't anything very special per se (A continuation of a particular story thread involving an attempted sexual assault on Lizzie by a former coworker/acquaintance. An example of the strip being comic strip/humor serial that still deals with real world issues). However, I had the compelling urge go home and visit the "For Better or for Worse" website for the first time. There, I found an old series of strips that detailed the heroic death of the Patterson's original dog Farley. This particular storyline was one that I first read during its original run back around 1995. I can recall how moved I was by it. It's cheesy and sappy and obviously drawn and written to tweak the readers’ heartstrings, but rereading it now compelled me to write an entry about it. There's such a tenderness to the thread. When I read it, I feel the sadness pangs of loss and the bubbling joy of remembrance and hope. And it made me want to share it with all of you. Not really sure why. Just felt like it I guess.

An excerpt from the "For Better or for Worse" website under the "Remembering Farley" section:

"Outside the Patterson's back fence and across the lane, a ravine leads down to the Sharon River. A few years ago, Farley, the family's old sheepdog saved April (then four) from drowning. The effort cost him his life and he is now buried beneath what the children call "Farley's Tree". It's in this private place that April, Elizabeth and Michael go when they wish to be alone. "Alone" with their thoughts, under Farley's tree, they are sometimes joined by Farley's spirit. It could be imagination that makes the bark twist into a familiar face. It could be imagination that makes Edgar (Farley's son) perk up his ears and look amazed at something he seems to recognize. Farley's tree and the Sharon river will forever be special places and only those who observe from outside the borders of the comic square can see clearly the image of the family pet that was lost and is still so fondly remembered...."

://www.fborfw.com/features/farley/passes.php

Just testing

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 19:45:30 GMT

Just testing out this whole “posting music on my blogs” thing. How do I get the audio to play automatically once anyone opens up my blog? Also seems like I have trouble getting it to play after the first listen. Is that normal? Anyone?

Thanks

Oh and Baggo, I’m not going anywhere, nor do I have diamonds or any other gems (Precious, semiprecious or otherwise) on the soles of my shoes.