lightning crashes

I'm sure that you may have heard of the song "Lightning Crashes". It is by the band Live, and it was released in 1994. I have always loved this song, but never took the time to try and find out why the band wrote this song, or what it meant. So, to wikipedia! I looked it up and it gave me the song's meaning. But before I tell you that, here is the songs' lyrics:

lightning crashes, a new mother cries
her placenta falls to the floor
the angel opens her eyes
the confusion sets in
before the doctor can even close the door

lightning crashes, an old mother dies
her intentions fall to the floor
the angel closes her eyes
the confusion that was hers
belongs now, to the baby down the hall

oh now feel it comin' back again
like a rollin' thunder chasing the wind
forces pullin' from the center of the earth again
I can feel it.

lightning crashes, a new mother cries
this moment she's been waiting for
the angel opens her eyes
pale blue colored iris,
presents the circle
and puts the glory out to hide, hide

Here is the meaning of the song: The band dedicated the song to Barbara Lewis, a friend of the band who had been killed by a drunk driver who was fleeing from the police after a robbery. Barbara had many of her organs donated, and the song lyrics reflect how her death enabled others to continue living. After the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, Ed Kowalczyk would frequently dedicate the song to the victims at live shows.

Each song has a meaning. I challenge you to look up the meaning of your favorite song today.

how many DVDs do you own?

I work at a video store part-time, so this is a question I got to thinking about. How many DVDs do I own, exactly? So, I counted them up. Including my seven seasons of Seinfeld that I own, the totality of my DVD collection comes to 175.

If you figure that on average, I've spent about $15.00 per DVD, the total amount of money I have invested in my DVD collection comes to $2,625.

Wow. I didn't realize it was THAT much! So my question that I pose to you is, how many DVDs do you own? Post the amount you own in the comments link at the end of this thread. Then multiply the amount by 15. You'll be surprised.

I sure was.

rabbit, rabbit.

Happy first of the month.

Remember to say "rabbit, rabbit" to someone and you'll have good luck all month. Bonus luck if it's your birth month (and yes, it is my birth month as a matter of fact. So I'm going to have good luck. Yay!)

idioms "get my goat".

Apparently there is more than 12,000 idioms in the English language. From http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com:

The idiom dictionary is compiled from the Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms and the Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms.

The Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms explains over 7,000 idioms current in British, American and Australian English, helping learners to understand them and use them with confidence. The Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms, based on the 200 million words of American English text in the Cambridge International Corpus, unlocks the meaning of more than 5,000 idiomatic phrases used in contemporary American English. Full-sentence examples show how idioms are really used.

*****

A professor of mine once mentioned that it was hard for ESL learners to get our American idioms, and I don't blame them. How does "get your goat" translate to being annoyed? How does "getting up on the wrong side of the bed" translate to being cranky?

An idiom that always annoyed me was "add insult to injury." The idiom dictionary defined it as follows:

to make a bad situation even worse for someone by doing something else to upset them.

I wondered if John Mayer had anything to say about idioms in his blog and he did...particularly about the one I just mentioned (I had to dig back to 2006, but it was there):

Here's the only way you should be allowed to incorporate the phrase "to add insult to injury" into a conversation:

"Gary socked me in the nuts with a glove full of coins. And then, to add insult to injury, he called me an asshole."

Yes, there are other ways to incorporate this. But this one actually made sense. (It also made me laugh.)

Apparently there is an album out also titled "Add Insult to Injury". See here.

The things you can find out....

Hellraiser and nailbiting

I've been biting my nails since I was six. Mind, I don't do it to where they're down to the quick, but they are short. I was doing it again today, and I got to thinking where it all stemmed from.

Let's go back to 1988...my mom and dad had rented Hellraiser. I was told I could not watch it and was sent to bed. Well, I was six. And I was curious. So, I snuck down the steps and watched it...right during the scene when Frank was pulled apart with the chains. I freaked out, and was thus discovered.

That was when I started biting my nails.

And Pinhead still scares the crap out of me!

Even if the movie doesn't anymore.

where do all the deleted files go?

Sometimes questions just pop up in my head, and they just keep nagging me until I type the question into Google, look it up, and then I'm satisfied...that is, until the next question comes along. This is something I have always wondered:

Where do deleted files go once you delete them?

So, I looked it up. Here's what I got:

A common misconception is that the data is actually removed from the hard drive (erased) when you delete a file. Any time that a file is deleted on a hard drive, it is not erased. Instead, the tiny bit of information that points to the location of the file on the hard drive is erased. This pointer, along with other pointers for every folder and file on the hard drive, is saved in a section near the beginning of the hard drive and is used by the operating system to compile the directory tree structure. By erasing the pointer file, the actual file becomes invisible to the operating system. Eventually, the hard drive will write new data over the area where the old file is located. (from http://computer.howstuffworks.com/question578.htm)

*****

So really, all those deleted files are just hiding on our computer somewhere . Interesting. A congregation of rejected files that refuse to die!

The Fajita Staple Idea

Besides me, John Mayer is the most random person that I know (well, I don't know him...I know of him. But if we did know each other, we'd have a big conversation full of randomness...such as what kind of cheese we like). So I am going to make it a point that every time he makes a post in his blog, I am going to reply in response. This will be the regularity on my blog..."Notes to John".

****

From John Mayer's blog (http://www.johnmayer.com/blog)

Design and manufacture a staple to help keep fajitas securely wrapped. Call it "The Fajita Staple". Make it strong, perhaps hewn from solid steel. Tangs must be very sharp so as to pierce steak or chicken, or in some cases fish. Can we get it into Rite-Aid by Christmas? (Ask Gary Thaint's people.)

****

Here's what I think of when I think of staples (see picture). I say to John: unless you want to rip out peoples' innards, ix-nay the idea. Just deal with having to hold the fajita.

revering celebrities.

What is the big deal about celebrities?

I mean, come on. I happen to lead a very exciting life, albeit I don't have the kind of dough that they have. and yet, even if they walk down the street or eat a hamburger, they end up on the cover of US Weekly or OK! Magazine.

Granted, some use their publicity for good causes. for example, the Live Earth concert to raise money for the fight against global warming. I happen to like planet Earth and I'd prefer not to have to build entire towns on stilts because we pollute our earth to the point of no return.

it's not a lie if you believe it.

The truth about lying:

1. "If you tell the truth, you won't get into trouble." (yeah, right. you tell the truth, you get in trouble. you lie, you get into trouble.)

2. "Always tell the truth." (well, if you always told the truth, then there'd be a lot of hurt feelings.)

3. "Liar, liar, pants on fire." (always have a fire extinguisher handy.)

4. "You sit on a throne of LIES!" (yes. yes I do.)

5. "It's not a lie if YOU believe it." (sound advice from the best liar of them all, George Costanza).