Smile, Though Your Heart Is Breaking...
At least I don't have any kids I have to explain this to.

Off to work. I guess my house downpayment savings will become my emergency heathcare savings.

Chinquapin

5 Min. in CA, 2 Hrs. in Swing State
My mom waited 2 hours to vote today. If you're in a cold & drizzly state, drop off an umbrella or rain poncho at your local polling place.

Catch yall later.

Chinquapin

Tuesday Night- Champagne & Quaaludes Party
I heard people have been planning these parties for about a month. Of course The Nut House doesn't participate in the buying or selling of prescription drugs, but what goes on the The Back Room, stays in The Back Room.

Now it may take a few days beyond Nov. 2 to figure out who'll be needing the "Tranqs", so I'll have plenty of Imported Champagne for the Dems, and a lovely Domestic Sparkling for the Repubs. Greens, Libers, and others are welcome to start with whichever libation they wish.

Maybe with an extra hour of sleep this weekend, I'll be energized for Halloween. I think I'll wear a Trick-Or-Treat shirt to the polls this year.

Good-night from the Big Blue state.

Chinquapin
(the password[with accent] is... Spooky-scary)

Congratulations Bean-towners!!!
10 years ago, there was NO World Series(strike).

4 years ago, NYC was split between the Yankees & the Mets.

Here's hoping that this clear, quick victory is a sign of things to come.

Chinquapin

RedSox Sweep During Lunar Eclipse-1st sign of the Apocalypse?
Mood:  don't ask
Is this what GWB is hearing in his left ear from God?

Catch y'all'll after the game.

Chinquapin

It's raining like a Raymond Chandler novel
I rented The Big Sleep on DVD over the weekend- my 1st full weekend in a few weeks. About 15 minutes in, I heard rain outside my window. Rain is a very unexpected sound in mid-October in southern California.

I love The Big Sleep, I've seen it many times and I wanted to see the "original" cut. I had a bad disc, and the 1945/46 comparison section had been marred on both sides of the disc(PISS!). Anyway, I always thought it was strange that it rained, and rained hard early in the story. I'd never been west of the Mississippi until '78, and never in SoCal except to drive through Needles, CA. Who knew about El Ninos if you didn't live out here?

I think I'll read some Chandler(love those Devil Winds)this month. I've read the Hammett novels a few times, they're great, but not LA based. I wish somebody would shoot a faithful version of Red Harvest.

And so, the following is dedicated to MtAnnie, while we wait to hear from the Bravo network.

A "statement" from Raymond Chandler...
On attending the Academy Awards for the first (and last) time, c. 1941: "If you can get past those awful idiot faces on the bleachers outside the theater without a sense of the collapse of human intelligence; and if you can go out into the night and see half the police force of Los Angeles gathered to protect the golden ones from the mob in the free seats, but not from the awful moaning sound they give out, like destiny whistling through a hollow shell; if you can do these things and still feel the next morning that the picture business is worth the attention of one single, intelligent, artistic mind, then in the picture business you certainly belong because this sort of vulgarity, the very vulgarity from which the Oscars are made, is the inevitable price that Hollywood exacts from each of its serfs."

Ouch.

Tonight's specials(check out The Big Sleep):
Brandy... in a glass
Rye... in a paper cup
Bourbon... water back(watched Out Of Sight too.)

Chinquapin
(tonight's password is... trenchcoat)

***********************************************************
I'm thinking about painting this Chandler jem along the hallway to the patio/pier.

"I'm an occational drinker, the kind of guy who goes out for a beer and wakes up in Singapore with a full beard." --"The King in Yellow"

Wonder where I can get ahold of the Powers Boothe "Philip Marlowe" series? What a great voice over voice. Come-on HBO, or ITC, or who ever.

Chinquapin

Now I'm embarrassed
The Nut House is like that old high school friend you keep meaning to call, but the longer you put it off, the harder it is to pick up the phone.

This is the first weekend in about a month that I've had a full day to relax. Nice and rainy last night, it's so strange to have to get used to the sound of rain every autumn. At least I got to sleep in this morning.

I'm going to check out/catch up on my blog-munity, then I'll check back here.

Chinquapin

Happy Birthday to Me
Mood:  not sure
I'm such a bad hostess. I'm going out with some girl-friends to celebrate another year of life(for me and one of the other girls). I'll try & get inspired by the swanky(I hope it's still swanky)"bar", and liven things up at The Nut House this week.

Mr.Man is going OOT again, this time for a 3 week job(yea-money comin' in). As long as the computer doesn't crash(again), I should be a much better hostess.

As for the birthday, no big deal. Right now I feel like the Tennessee Ernie Ford song "...another day older & deeper in debt.", so another year older ain't no thing. This is the 2nd year without a grandparent phone call, although I did get 3 singing & one(dad)loud well wishing calls. Queenie, you've got YEARS of calls to go if my life is any indication. You'll miss those goofy calls once they stop.

Oh well, got to get ready. I go out so infrequently that it's hard not to make too much of a big deal out of getting a little dressed up. Now if I could find some cute, cheap, comfy flats, this would be a day to remember.

Viva la Libra.

Chinquapin
(the password is... Balance)

Happy Equinox!
Ok, 2nd attempt at this.

I am Beat. Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things this weekend. Did anyone make it to the Yucatan , or balance an egg today? How about a lego Stonehenge?

Chinquapin
(the password is... Do Over)

Ants, Computers and Red Carpets
Mood:  don't ask
Where shall I start?

The ant invasion continues. Every 2-3 days we have to move the cats' food because those boogers(what do you call basically sexless animals that don't have sex?) are coming through every outside wall.

Next, I finished my script and decided to print it up the next day... WRONG. The computer crashed while being turned on, and even though I'd saved the script on every drive & a floppy, Mr.Man couldn't find the softwear to load onto the "edit" computer. After 3 hellish hours(and a unnecessary new power supply), he did manage to put the hard drive into the "edit" computer and I got the script printed & my other submission elements out just before THAT computer died. It was comforting to see someone else at the post office with their envelope at 4:55pm Saturday afternoon(It had to have yesterday's postmark).

What's next... The Emmy's. The arrivals have begun, but because of the time delay for the west coast, I'll know who won what before the show starts out here. So of course, that puts the focus on who's wearing what. Mt.Annie & I will be paying special attention as we may be attending the 2006 Emmy's after one of us wins the Bravo contest(got to think positive).

So, that's what's going on, aside from my car getting a new transmission(OUCH)and prepping for Sunday Afternoon Tea. What cocktails should be on special tonight? What would be appropriate for the Emmy's?

Cosmos- in honor of the last of Sex And The City.
Irish Coffee- in honor of the last Friends.
A really fine Brandy- in honor of the last Frasier.

Let me know if any of you have an "Emmy" drink, and we'll make it a permanent part of the menu(if it's any good).

Chinquapin
(the password is...Manolos)