kybearfuzz: (Bag Hag)
After I spent a good chunk of last night moving the living room furniture into my dining room, I woke up a tad sore. I spent a couple of hours this morning moving a few more things. By the time lunch rolled around, the room was ready for the painters to show up.

The painters arrived around 1:30 PM and got started, seemingly happy that I managed to clear the room to give them the space to get straight to it. I really want this done quickly, but correctly, so anything I could do to get things moving, I was planning to do.

After they put the primer coat on the walls, painter Pat asked me to take a look. He told me that the wallpaper glue had stained the drywall and was visible through the primer. I could see it. It looks like water had drizzled down the wall in places. So, Pat asked if I wanted them to skim coat the walls, which applying a small layer of drywall paste on the walls and smoothing it out so it will be uniform again. Not wanting the walls to look bad, I said yes. It will cost a bit more money, but the part that bugged me is that it will add a couple of days to the fixing of the room.

My house is a disaster right now -- the living room is bare, the dining room packed, the kitchen has multiple chairs in it, the downstairs family room has lamps and boxes everywhere, the spare bedroom has my big screen TV and curtains, etc. Only the bathroom and laundry room are untouched. The cats are feeling the stress of an upside down house and I'm feeling it too. So much chaos and now I'll have to live with it for three more days at least. I'm not loving it.

After the painters left for the day and I freed the cats from their confinement, I drove to Bob Evans for dinner. I wanted comfort food, stress eating... biscuits and gravy. It was the closest.

They were packed, but I parked myself at the front counter. A lady took my order, but then informed me that there was a 22 minute wait for the biscuits. She told me that she was only the messenger, afraid that I would be upset. Seeing how I had nothing going on tonight, I told her I was okay to wait and she seemed surprised and relieved.

So 20 minutes or so later, they finally showed up. And I enjoyed them. The server came up to me and told me that the manager had waived the cost of my dinner, rewarding me for my patience I guess. It actually brightened my day and my mood.

Now I'm back home, in my office. The cats are hovering because they want to be close by and can't lounge on my couch with me.
kybearfuzz: (Opus Flying)
Since this summer, there have been several missing gay men in the Toronto area. With several Canadian friends online, I've been following the story closely without even trying, reading posts and requests to share information to get the word out.

One of them is a fellow called Andrew Kinsman, a very handsome bear who worked with the HIV/AIDS network in Toronto. I didn't know him, but he seems like the kind of guy I'd enjoy knowing, based on his fun posts on his Facebook page.

When he first vanished, I kept up with the story closely, hoping that he would be found. My mind ran though various scenarios, some good like an impromptu trip somewhere and some less than good, but with good resolution, like he had gotten hurt and was in a hospital. As the days stretched into weeks and then months, the hopes of finding him alive grew exponentially slimmer.

Today, I saw a news report that someone had been arrested for his and another man's murder.

Reality is hard. I'm not sure what evidence they have on the suspect, but they have noted that the bodies have yet to be found.

I looked at Andrew Kinsman's Facebook page again tonight. It's been turned into a memorial page. He seemed like a good soul. Looking though his goofy photos, some of which were there right before he vanished, made me sad because he was it appeared that he was clearly enjoying his life.
kybearfuzz: (Lion Paw Ouch)
When I bought my house back in 2001, the previous owner was big on wallpaper. She had wallpapered the living room, hallway, bathroom, and at least one wall in every bedroom, one with a border. Before I'd moved into the house, I removed all the wallpaper in the house, except the living room and hallway. The wallpaper in the room wasn't floral or ugly, but was textured and had a non-descriptive pattern to it. I dreaded taking it down and the uniformity was not unappealing, so I kept it.

Move forward to now and Boo the Devil Cat has been enjoying actively scratching up the wallpaper. While I found it to be okay, it offends her decorative sensibilities. The good news is that the wallpaper seems to be easy to remove. So last night, I decided to test it out by removing a panel above the closet in the living room.

IMG_6543

It took maybe 20 minutes to remove the panel. I still need to remove the glue residue. However, I found out something specific. One, the people who put the wallpaper up did it right. No super glue, or stupid stuff. It came down relatively clean and intact. Two, the original owner to the house, not the previous owner, must have put this stuff up. The wall beneath does not appear to have ever been painted. This wallpaper is almost 40 years old.

The latter bit surprised me a bit. The original owner was a single man and I'm betting it was put up by the builders, and the previous owner was a woman and she apparently didn't want to change it. I thought it was strange as her other wallpaper tastes were far different than this pattern.

The problem I'm feeling now is apprehension. With the panel gone, I'm feeling this urge to keep going and get it all down. I'm impatient and a bizarre sense of OCD is making this missing panel grate my nerves. I'm holding off because I need to have time to move the furniture, take down curtains, and remove electrical outlet plates to do it properly. And then comes the fun of picking colors to paint it. I'm not a wallpaper person. I swore I'd never put that $#!+ up after having so much trouble getting it down.

I'm seriously contemplating hiring a professional painter to do this. I have the name of a guy who apparently does good work. I just need to determine what would be a good week to do this as my travel schedule for work is starting to heat up.

Sigh...
kybearfuzz: (Bill the Cat)
It's been a fairly active weekend, so here's a summary of everything that went on:

  • Friday I called the cable company and set up a repair visit. They could have done it over the weekend, but I have to take Wednesday off, so I scheduled it for then. And the repair will be free believe it or not. I still plan on giving the installer company a good chewing out. While it isn't costing me anything, the annoyance of being without cable in my bedroom for nearly two weeks has sucked


  • Saturday was a Cincinnati MovieBears outing to see "IT." It was a beautiful night and it was good see the guys. Everyone seemed to enjoy the movie, which I've now seen twice. I imagine that clowns will be a popular this Halloween.


  • Brian ([profile] cincycub) brought me a wonderful gift. While he was at Market Days this year, he bought me three issues of "How to Kill A Superhero," by Pablo Greene, autographed to me. According to the author's website, www.howtokillasuperhero.net, the novels tell the story of Roland, a young man who is changed forever by an occult book that grants its reader dangerous but seductive superpowers. It involves some superheroic bondage, which is very enticing. I was so thrilled with them, I hugged Brian twice. I look forward to reading them. The author is very much into superheroes, spandex, and singlets. I can relate :)


  • Sunday was mostly home stuff. I mowed the yard (by removing the boot and wearing the ankle guard), did laundry, and finished a retirement cartoon for a co-worker. It did wear me out a bit.


  • Tonight is the series finale of "The Strain." I'm curious to see how our heroes defeat the Strigoi (the vampires). It's been a very interesting show, with some cute leads. After the last season where Zach set off a nuke and gave the vampires reign over the world, I'm kind hoping he gets offed. I'll have to wait until tomorrow to watch it.


  • My next doctor's appointment is Wednesday. I sincerely hope I'm done with the boot. I need to get back into working out, as my lower body and mid-section are seriously out of shape.
kybearfuzz: (Grrrrrrr!!!!)
So it has been a week since the patio door was installed, a week since the installer cut through the TV cable to my bedroom, and a week since the installer's supervisor told me he would contact the installer to fix this issue ASAP. It's also been a week since I've heard from the installers. Seriously, not an email or a phone call to apologize or make arrangements to fix this.

I figure a week is enough time, so I pulled up my Home Depot email asking for feedback on the job and noticed that it expires today. Being the suspicious person I am, I wondered if the installation company was waiting to for the feedback survey to expire so instead of getting a negative rating, they got no feedback, which is probably infinitely better.

On the Home Depot survey, I left a lengthy comment about how the installer cut the cable during the install of the door and then stuck the pieces back up on the top of the exterior door frame so I wouldn't see it. I also commented how I had contacted the contracted installation company and was promised corrections ASAP, and then went a week with no follow-up.

In the end, I have no idea what effect this will have on the situation, but I'm going to call my cable company about coming out to fix it. If any party involved contacts me now, I'm just going to tell them to reimburse me the cost of the repair.
kybearfuzz: (Lion Paw Ouch)
So yesterday, I was in the middle of my chest and back workout. I had started a load of laundry, which is in the washroom next to my family room where the workouts occur. Between reps, I stepped in there to check on the load and heard the sound of trickling water.

I looked behind the machine to find water pooling. I lifted the lid to the washer and heard the sound of a stream on metal. Honestly, it sounded like my washing machine was taking a whiz. I let the machine finish the rinse cycle then turned off the water to the washing machine.

Back in 1996, I bought the Hotpoint washer and dryer from Best Buy. That was over 20 years ago and this is literally the first problem I've had with either one. While I'm elated at the longevity I've had with these units, I'm irritated that I have a new problem to deal with, especially with having just dealt with the flooding issue in the lower level. I checked on some Kenmore units at Kroger after dinner last night just in case and then posted on FB about my quandry, which pulled mixed responses from the peanut gallery.

Some encouraged me to get the unit fixed because they feel that new washing machines are not as reliable or work as well, while others commented that newer models are more efficient, saving electricity and water, and remarked that 20 years is an impressive amount of work to get out of my machines.

After much consideration, I decided to have it repaired if possible. I hate buying new things in desperation mode, so this will buy me some time. And a trip or two to a coin laundry won't kill me if I can't.
kybearfuzz: (Lion Paw Ouch)
The carpet drying process is taking FOREVER! I think I'm going to run out and get new padding, as I cannot get this stuff to dry out.

I took today off because the Roto-Rooter guy is supposed to come this morning to clear out that drain to prevent this from happening again. I have no idea what he'll do, but I'm sure it'll be an expensive visit from what I've seen online. I hope he's cute at least.

So once he's done, I'll head out to find carpet padding then get to work on putting the family room back together.

Monday do suck indeed.
kybearfuzz: (Default)
My driveway slopes toward my house. At the bottom of the slope is a large drain to keep the rain from coming into the house. In the last 16 years of living here, it's clogged only a handful of times, letting the rain come into the garage, but never into the house. I've always been able to clear the drain before anything awful happened.

Today, I couldn't get it to happen and the rain actually came into the downstairs room. Ugh!

With a five-gallon bucket, I managed to scoop an untold number of buckets of water to out of the garage. My back will not be happy with me tomorrow morning, if the way it feels right now is any indication.

After the water level was down, I started dealing with the downstairs, moving a bookcase, a TV and stand, and a full video-rack out of the way so I could pull up the carpet. I pulled at least 25 gallons of water out of the carpet and padding with my shampooer. Now I'm just waiting for the padding to dry before I can put the carpet back down.

I've called Roto-Rooter to come and check the drain for clearing. It's something I should have done a long time ago. I dread to see the cost, but this sort of headache I can do without.
kybearfuzz: (Default)
I meant to post this earlier this week when I heard of the news, but things got away from me. I read online that Canadian ginger daddy-bear actor Chris Wiggins had passed away at age 87.

F-13 Chris Wiggins
John D. LeMay, Chris Wiggins, and Robey
from "Friday the 13th: The Series"


He's probably best known by most of us as Jack Marshak, the occult expert on "Friday the 13th: The Series" that aired back in the late 1980's. There was one episode where Wiggins was shirtless and the fur was plentiful. He was in his late-50's at the time, but still in great bearish shape.

I also saw him in the 1969 "The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar", which won him the Best Actor Canadian Film Award (the Canadian equivalent of an Oscar, now called a Genie award). The movie is pretty good, and also stars a young Margot Kidder in her first feature role. You can watch the full movie online on YouTube and on the National Film Board of Canada website:

http://www.nfb.ca/film/best_damn_fiddler_from_calabogie_to_kaladar/

I'd recently bought a book about Friday the 13th: The Series, which included behind-the-scenes commentary from the actors, but noticed that Wiggins was not included in the interviews. I guessed that his advanced age might have been the reason and I was right. Wiggins passed away on February 19, 2017, from complications from Alzheimer's disease.
kybearfuzz: (Default)
I've been in Seattle for the past week for a work meeting. There wasn't any time for sightseeing or meeting local friends, as we worked long days. When Friday rolled around, I was looking forward to getting home, but not the long trip as had my first flight at noon and with a layover and connection, I wasn't slated to get home until 11 PM.

I wish I had gotten home so easily.

Just after I had boarded my flight to Houston, United Airlines canceled my connection from there to Cincinnati due to weather, notifying me by email. I literally got the email as I was shutting down my phone as they were closing the plane door. So, I was stuck. If I had gotten it 20 minutes earlier, I could have switched the flights.

Four hours later, the flight landed in Houston, and I trudged my way to the United information desk for help, which they weren't. There were no other flights to get me home, supposedly even on other airlines, so I was stuck there for the night. I was on standby for a 10 AM flight, guaranteed to a flight at 7 PM. Really, that was the "best" they could do, which sucked. United gave me a number for a discounted hotel rate, but made no offer to pay for it. She told me that my bags were on the baggage claim carousel, so I could pick them up at least.

I walked over to the baggage claim only to find that I would have to wait 2-4 hours for them to get my bag, as the bags from the flight were warehoused. F**k! So I got a bag of cheap toiletries from the baggage claim lady, spoke with a lady with a horribly thick accent on the phone to get a hotel, then waited for the hotel shuttle.

First thing I did at the hotel was wash my shirt, socks, and underwear at the hotel. I just can't handle doing without clean clothes. I called my sister to complain, got my clean clothes from the dryer, showered, and went to bed.

The next morning, I went to the airport and to the gate for my standby flight. The flight was oversold. Seriously, they put me on STANDBY for an OVERBOOKED flight. I was so frustrated and angry, I was shaking. I went to the information desk, my voice quivering as I was nearly exploding. The agent was pushing me through Chicago to Cincinnati. She played the same game as the agent from the night before, put me on standby for one flight, but guaranteed me for another.

I ran like a madman through the airport, running from Terminal B to C, to try to catch this flight. In my sweaty clothes with no deodorant, I puffed my way to the gate to find they had booked me STANDBY on another OVERSOLD flight. It was like a cruel game, to get my hopes up on something that was near impossible.

I made the next flight to Chicago, sitting next to a "sleeping" older man who farted four times during the two hour ride, and made the flight home to Cincinnati. After landing, I got to baggage claim, realizing my bags were there way ahead of me. To put the cherry on top of this very bitter cake, I had to deal with this lazy queen at United's baggage service. When I told him that I was looking for my bag, he pointed me over to the baggage carousel. I told him that my bag had been sent ahead because of a canceled flight, described the bag, and offered my baggage claim ticket. The guy didn't even look at it, put the orange he'd been eating down, and reluctantly went to the next room to get my bag. Bitch...

It took 32.5 hours to get home. The time above includes:

- Four airports in four states
- Three time zones
- Two connections
- One canceled flight
- Two stand-by tickets that failed
- One fruitless long-distance run through the Houston airport
- Six mocha frappacinos
- One pair of underwear
- No deodorant

In almost 23 years of air travel, both domestic and international, I have never experienced anything close to this. I pray I never do again.
kybearfuzz: (Grrrrrrr!!!!)
This afternoon, I drove two of my co-workers to lunch. While we were in the parking lot, a black Toyota Tacoma was in front of us and pulled into a parking space. I was going to pass him and park into an empty spot beyond him. Just as I approached the truck, he started backing up. I threw my car into reverse in hopes of getting out of his way, honking my horn a bit too late. The truck dragged his bumper across the front of my car.

So, after having my car for six months, I now have the first damage done, by some dude who was backing his truck up to "straighten it up" in the space without looking in his rear view mirror. FML!

I called the police. I sent my co-workers on to eat while the truck's driver and I waited for the officer to show. No report was filed because it occurred on private property. The damage is cosmetic. We exchanged info with the officer and I called my insurance company when I got back to the office.

My concentration was shot, so I left work early. I grabbed lunch on the way home, watched TV when I got there, then went for a run. After the initial shock and my adrenaline rush wore off, I felt myself crashing tonight.

I'm not mad at the truck's driver. He actually turned out to be a decent guy. I'm upset at all the coming activities as a result of the accident. I now have to get estimates for repairs, be without my car for several days while they fix it, pay for a rental car for it, arrange to pick up my car, and deal with the ambulance-chasing attorneys who will inevitably be calling to see if I want to sue.

It's just one more thing to wreck anything else I'd planned to do.

... sigh...
kybearfuzz: (Opus Flying)
I was skimming through Facebook this weekend and came across an entry made by one of my online friends about a handsome bear who had apparently passed away.

Randall McCormick I never met Randall in person. I think he was on LJ years ago, but I don't recall his handle on here. We would chat on Bear411 on occasion, but I get the impression that he wasn't interested in chatting with me. We had a lot of friends in common, so I would see his photo pop up on my LJ and FB feeds every so often.

I remember seeing him on other sites too. He was always happy and smiling, usually surrounded by friends. He was a young guy, so I am not sure what happened. I'm not even sure why that is important, but there is always some innate curiosity when someone dies so young. I saw several comments from friends of his on this post talking about his "internal struggle" and the words "prevention" and "awareness" were used, which paints a particular picture in my mind.

When I was drawing the first issue of my comic, I was looking for various bears to put in for background characters. I used Randall as one of them. Being a friend of Miguel's in real life, I thought they would find it funny.

GBP Panel with Randall


I have no idea if he ever saw it. He never commented on it, and neither did Miguel.

I don't know how to close this entry other than to say I feel for his friends and family.
kybearfuzz: (iPod People)
This week has been a busy one and an irritating one, the latter part due mainly to my own actions.

Tuesday night, I finally took the plunge and updated my iPhone operating software to the latest version. I often hold off doing the updates because they sometimes have issues and I'd rather wait and let others try it first. So after finally caving in to the update, I found that my iPhone no longer would be recognized by iTunes on my desktop.

Checking the software status on iTunes, I found it was the most recent version. According to a web search, I needed to update my Mac mini's operating software. So I downloaded the updated overnight, as it took over three hours. The next morning, I did the install of the OS X "El Capitan" system. It warned me that Photoshop and Microsoft Office wouldn't work, but I had hit go already. Insert "D'OH!"

The install was taking a while, so I went to work and dreaded what I'd encounter on my arrival home in the afternoon. And my fears were correct. While my iPhone will now sync to the updated iTunes, my Photoshop CS will no longer work, the system stating that the new operating system will not run Power PC programs. I tried to updated a few utilities to see if it would work, but no dice. I thought about buying a new version of Photoshop CS, but the last version on CD was CS6 and it costs $1200. Newer versions are now by online subscription, at a minimum of $9.99/month.

I debated on what to do next. I have relied on Photoshop to color my comic and other cartoons, but I'm not sure a subscription is worth the price, considering the limited reasons I use it. One option was to downgrade the operating software back to an earlier version to continue using my old Photoshop, but it would only be a stop-gap measure as I'll have to replace them both at some point once the software was no longer supported on any platform.

I've purchased Manga Studios 5 from Amazon and it should arrive tomorrow. From what I've seen, it seems to be able to do whatever I need, including reading old PSD files and creating new ones if necessary, as well as permitting a few new tricks. I'm hopeful. [livejournal.com profile] aceofspace and other friends have suggested alternate programs that might help, so I'll be looking into those in case the Manga software isn't going to work for me.

All of this because of my iPhone. Well, that's not necessarily fair. It was bound to happen eventually, I guess.
kybearfuzz: (Grizzly 3)
Just a few odds and ends from the weekend and this morning:

  • I saw “It Follows” on Friday night. The movie tells the story of a young woman who finds herself stalked by an unknown entity after having sex with the entity’s previous stalkee. The entity follows the person at a walking pace and changes its appearance each time. The movie is original and the low-budget feel definitely gives it a creepy edge. I enjoyed the movie and the theater was packed the night I went, so word of mouth is selling it.


  • Saturday night, I went to see the “Girl Power” concert of the Cincinnati Mens Chorus. Earlier that day, I got saw an SOS on Facebook from the volunteer coordinator, asking for help manning the sales and ticket tables. I volunteered as I was going to the go there that night anyway. While the show was great and the guys sounded fantastic, I only got to see about half the concert with the volunteer duties, but I enjoyed the experience.


  • Facebook exploded over the weekend with Indiana Governor Mike Pence signing that nasty “religious freedom” discrimination bill late last week. The social and political backlash has been wonderfully quick and devastating to him and his supporters. Pence went on a morning news show to “clarify” the “misconceptions” about the bill, but floundered horribly and predictably when asked repeatedly if the bill could be used to refuse service and goods to GLBT people. A simple yes or no question that he dodged as gracefully as a drunk on a skateboard with three wheels. He is a piece of crap, that one. Indiana folks need to get him out of office to save their state and repeal that piece of trash bill.


  • The season finale of “The Walking Dead” was last night. LOVED it. No spoilers though.


  • I did managed to get a few pages of Issue #17 of “Grizzly and the Bear Patrol” done. I had to insert a new page last night to put a bit more action into the comic. I particular loved how this panel of Polar Bear, the last I drew for the evening, turned out. I’ll hopefully start inking this week.


088 - Polar Bear Power Up
Polar Bear Powering Up


Happy Monday, if that’s possible….
kybearfuzz: (Opus Flying)
I found out this morning that one of the guys on my softball team passed away over the weekend.

Rob was one of the straight guys on my team and we'd played on the team together for years now. Tall, lanky, and blond, he was a lot of fun because he always took the gay jokes among us in stride. When I asked him once if our foolish gay antics ever made him uncomfortable, he told me no. He said he always enjoyed looking some of the hot girls running about, knowing that he was one of the few guys paying them any attention.

He often brought his then-wife and his kids to the games. This past year, he had gotten divorced, but still showed up with his two kids, both of whom are still in the single-digit ages. Often, we watched them in the dugout while he was on the field.

He had told us a few weeks ago that he wasn't going to be able to play with the team this year because he had taken a new work position and his hours conflicted with softball night. Still, I was confident that he might make it to the occasional game.

He was only 34. I'm not sure what happened. The visitation and service is this weekend.

It left me a bit stunned for most of the day. Life is short. ...
kybearfuzz: (Grizzly 3)
More odds and ends of the week.

  • Sadly, Leonard Nimoy passed away. While I know he did way more than just be "Mr. Spock," it was always what he was remembered for. From what I've read of him, he was a very nice man in person and was very appreciative of his fans.


  • Thursday night, I went to see the new scary movie "The Lazarus Effect." It's the story of a group of researchers who determine how to bring back the dead. When their research is stolen, they attempt to perform the experiment again to document their discover only to have to use it on one of their own after she dies in an accident. When she comes back, she comes back different and goes on a killing spree. It's not the most original movie, but the cast is good. The movie moves pretty quick, I'd almost say too quickly. It wasn't a terrible movie, but it could have been better.


  • I've continued my run though old 1970s movie on YouTube. I saw "Dominique" last night, with Jean Simmons, Cliff Robertson, and Jenny Augutter. When a woman hangs herself after seeing so many unusual sights in her mansion, she appears to return and haunt her husband. It's a old fashioned ghost story/mystery, which some pretty cool twists.


  • I've also been doing quite a bit of drawing this week between working on various comic book projects. Here's a couple of the odds and ends.


057 - Weird
Better to Be Weird

058 - Bear Collector
The Villainous Bear Collector


Happy Weekend!
kybearfuzz: (Screaming Bride)
Last night, I got a call from [livejournal.com profile] aceofspace, asking if he could fly into Cincinnati and we drive down to our hometown together. Of course, I said yes. It seems American Airlines canceled his flight to Knoxville, and left him to sit for several hours to the next day, unless he changed his plans. Unfortunately, they sent his bags to Knoxville (we hope), so he was without essentials. So after a quick dinner, we went to the wilds of Wal-Mart late last night.

Oh, dear God, it was a wasteland. In addition to their employees putting new stock out, there were easily two dozen or more carts full of returned goods to be restocked out near the registers. We went to the menswear department, where we found the tee-shirt/socks aisles completely trashed. Literally, more stock on the floor than on the hooks.

Since we were there, I went to the toys department to grab a toy for my nephew. If I thought the menswear areas were bad, I certainly was not prepared for the toy aisles. It was like someone picked up each aisle, shook it up and down several times, then put it back down. I told [livejournal.com profile] aceofspace that it looked like a violent crime scene. Needless to say, we moved quickly out of the area. Gift card for the nephew. Let his dad drag him to the toy aisles instead.

I think I'm going to try to avoid Wal-Mart (more than I usually do) until long after Christmas.
kybearfuzz: (Halo)
I admit that I wondered about her condition for the last few days. At the age of 81, I figured that her health was good, but fragile. Still, I was a bit surprised to hear on the radio on my car drive home that Joan Rivers had passed away. She just seemed like she'd be around forever.

The Life and (Hard) Time of Heidi Abromowitz

I've been a fan of Joan's since I was little and first saw her do a monologue on "The Tonight Show." Her delivery was so rapid, her wit was so sharp, and her humor was biting. I was enthralled. My mom didn't want me watching it and sent me to bed. Instead, I turned on my small TV in my room and covered my mouth to muffle my laughing.

Later, at a "book sale" for some school thing, I found a paperback of her book, "The Life and (Hard) Times of Heidi Abromowitz." It was 50 cents and missing it's cover. It was bawdy, even "dirty," and had these fantastic cartoons drawn by James Sherman, all describing the life of a slut named Heidi. I loved that book and read it many times. At some point, that book vanished. I'm guessing that Mom might have snatched it from my room and disposed of it.

A few years ago, I bought a used hardcopy of the book online. I laughed just as much as I did the first time and I'm happy I still have it.

I've followed Joan's career for decades and enjoyed it. I loved her stand-up specials, the documentaries, and recently her "In Bed with Joan" web series. She recently had drag queen comedian Bianca Del Rio in bed with her and you can tell they were kindred spirits (the language is very NSFW!).



Thanks for the laughs, Joan, you'll be missed ...
kybearfuzz: (Grrrrrrr!!!!)

I had planned on going to bed early last night. As I was looking through my emails, I found a fraud alert for my main credit card. Earlier this week, I’d gotten a voicemail about this activity and handled it through their automated system. When I looked at the email, I realized that I may have told the credit card company that a declined charge was authentic, so I phoned the credit card company at 11 PM last night.

It turns out that someone in Florida had locked into my credit card number. I’m not sure how this happens really as I’ve not been to Florida in years, but there it was, someone trying to buy some female diet crap at $49.95. Luckily, my credit card company flagged it and declined the charge, but it did freak me out.

While I was on hold for the next available customer service rep, I checked my current charges online and saw nothing unusual, so hopefully the thief got tired of my card declining and moved on.

As a security measure, my credit card company axed my current card and is sending out a new one. The rep said it should be here this weekend, and I needed a new one anyway as the magnetic strip on the back was getting worn (yeah, I charge everything to it for the points).

The problem is that I was very keyed up last night afterward, which made it very hard to go to sleep. So the creep who tried to use my card did steal something from me besides my credit card security… a good night’s sleep. @$$hole…

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

kybearfuzz: (Purple Tie 2014)
I'd meant to post about this some time back, but thanks to my office blocking LJ posting, I'd set it aside and had forgotten.

Glasgow School of Art


A fire broke out at the Glasgow School of Art earlier this month. While it's a school, the building itself was very cool in itself as it was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The news article has a few interior photos of the building.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-27541883

When I was in Glasgow, Scotland in December 2012, I was lucky enough to have time to go on a tour of the school. The building has multiple floors and several pieces of work in progress by the student body. Sadly, because of the artwork in progress, no interior photography was allowed, so the picture above is one of the few photos of the school I could take.

I'm glad I had a chance to see the school. I know they are trying to salvage as much of the school as they can, but I'm sure a lot of important Mackintosh pieces were lost.

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