Hoorah!

Way to Go WFMB!

Congrats to everyone who worked so hard to make this year's radio-thon such a huge success!

Final Total Raised for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: $143,665.15

The Desperate Plea

Vagina Warrior

It's not a porn name...let me explain. Eve Ensler is a feminist and an activist for females all over the world, especially those who have experienced violence in their lives. In 1998, Eve debuted a play entitled, "The Vagina Monologues." She had interviewed women all over the world about their experiences and opinions on sexuality and turned their stories into a series of monologues. As women who were seeing the play began to tell their own horror stories of being raped, mutilated, and molested, Eve decided that the play must serve a greater purpose. Out of this came V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day invites college groups, volunteers, professional actors, local theater companies, etc. to perform "The Vagina Monologues." It's amazing to think that the same play is being performed all over the world on the same day. All proceeds of each performance are split among local organizations committed to eliminatinating violence against women in their community. In the past 7 years, V-Day has been performed in 76 countries and has raised over $25 million.

Now about the "Vagina Warrior" thing...Last year, "The Vagina Monologues" was performed on V-Day in 1,100 communities. At each performance, communities honored their own "Vagina Warriors", those people who have witnessed or experienced violence and then have done work to make sure that no one else in the community has to go through it. These people included counselors, doctors, police officers, volunteers, and many, many more. This year, at each performance, 3 "Vagina Warriors" from the community will be honored and recognized for the work they do to eliminate violence against females.

Which brings me to the exciting part...This year, yours truly has been named a "Vagina Warrior" and will be honored at the University of Illinois at Springfield's performance of the "The Vagina Monologues" for all the work I have done with victims of domestic violence. It's such an honor that I can't even express into words what it means to me. The most fulfilling part of my job is knowing that I'm making a difference. There isn't anyone to thank for this honor except the "Vagina Warriors", those noticed and those unsung, who have led the way. They've acknowledged a problem, faced challenges, sometimes have experienced pain, but have not given up on their goals. Of course, I wouldn't be who I am without my mother, who is constantly inspiring me to continue "fighting the good fight", no matter how hard it gets or how tired I become.

Please, please, please call up those females who are important in your lives, your grandmothers, aunts, cousins, mothers, friends, and take them to see "The Vagina Monolgues" in your area on March 5, a.k.a. "V-Day 2005." I challenge you to let yourselves be moved, to be shocked, to laugh, to cry, to be transformed, never to look at the women around you (or your vagina for that matter...) in the same way again.

For a listing of performances in your area, look here...

p.s. Congrats to Mary and the other anonymous "Vagina Warrior"...see ya next Saturday!

Barenaked Tuesday !!

Video code provided by MusicVideoCodes.com

The Big Sleazy

Happy Mardi Gras!

It seems as if today everyone is going to partake in their worst habits and give in to their ultimate addictions...food, alcohol, sex...the list goes on. An addiction is something that guides your life, the way you act and think. I thought, that since I'm going to be stuck in snowy Springfield rather than The Big Easy, I would share a few of my current addictions. They certainly wouldn't get me in trouble in New Orleans (Bacardi excluded), but give me a break...I still know how to Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!

Keep in mind that I won't be giving any of these things up for Lent...

(1) Reese's Peanut Butter anything! I've been able to limit myself to one of those great peanut butter filled chocolate hearts to one per week. Those hearts are the only good thing about Valentine's Day...but I'll save my anti-Vday lecture for another day. It's not like peanut butter and chocolate is even a new fare so I'm not sure what the addiction is all about...hmmmm....I'll just have to eat some more and see if it comes to me.

(2) "The Futurist" I know that I've mentioned Robert Downey Jr.'s CD at least once on my site, but I just want to plug it again. It's really, really amazing and I can't get enough of it. I actually own 3 copies so that I have one to listen to in the house, one for the car, and one for my office. Take a chance, you might like it.

(3) Smirnoff Twist These are my worst enemies yet my new best friends...how can that be? I'm not a drinker, but these drinks are about to put me under. Like it's not bad enough that they taste like Kool-Aid, there is a new Twist flavor everytime I visit the Stadium. I can't take it...but yet I can't give it up...makes it sound like I'm addicted to heroin, doesn't it?

(4) Plato's Closet This is not really an addiction, but more of a guilty pleasure. Since my massive weight loss over the past year, it seems that I've had to buy a new wardrobe every two weeks. I had always avoided this place because the commercials are filled with annoying teens who are excited because they carry Abercrombie clothing. I'm a thrift store junkie and Plato's is a consignment shop so I decided to stop in. I've been there weekly and have since stocked and re-stocked my closet with treasures.

(5) Walgreen's Since we're on the topic of shopping, can we talk about this wonderland? It all started when I had a prescription filled once and I browsed...that's when I fell in love. I enjoy variety and you can get anything at Walgreen's. You can get a 99 cent movie, an air freshener for your car, a pint of ice cream, a new pot of Carmex, a birthday card for your grandma, a roll of film developed, the latest product you've seen on an infomercial, cigars, and the new shade of Wet and Wild hot pink nailpolish all in one stop! I can't get out of Walgreen's without spending at least $30. They're also the only place in town that carry this, which is another current addiction of mine.

(6) "Candy Apple Red" I've mentioned local band, The Oohs, here before, but I don't think I've mentioned this song. I went to see The Oohs last weekend...and drank a couple of Smirnoff Twists actually... It wasn't until this past performance that I realized how incredible they really are. I knew that they were amazing, but they played a couple of new tunes...so versatile, those guys. "Candy Apple Red" is a song from their CD, "Saturday Morning Dreams." On the way to work yesterday, I actually just listened to this song over and over again until I arrived. Partly because I just LOVE this song so much and partly to try to interpret the chorus. Thanks to Brian Curtis, vocalist and keyboard player for the band, I now have those lyrics. "You have lips that are candy apple red and an angel halo overhead, tripping up my heartbeat. You have eyes that echo on through my mind. I can't stop thinking of you all the time. Have I said? Have I said? Have I said your lips are candy apple red?"

(7) The new C2 commercial It's not that the commercial is that great, but that Queen song and the images together make this one of the more amusing ads that I've seen in a while. I especially love the guy who breakdances in the lobby of his office building and the guy riding on the metro who breaks it down in the opposite car. Love it! The only time that I've seen this commercial is right before movie previews at the theater. I used to have to be at the theater super early to assure that I didn't miss the Fandango commercials, but now I have to be in time to "Break Free."

(8) 15 Megs of Fame This is my new favorite site. It features music by independent musicians in a number of different categories and you can vote for their music. Some of the stuff is really great! I've found a few new favorites whose tunes I've downloaded. Check out Rude Yak and Illustrate with Marco (they happen to be the featured artists on the site for today). Fun!

(9) Netflix I've resisted long enough. I have to plug Netflix. I LOVE NETFLIX! I don't care how witty the new Blockbuster commercials are...I'm not switching. I first checked into Netflix after I realized that it would be cheaper than renting all the DVDs that I rented monthly and then returned really late. I joined Netflix and then what did they do? Netflix lowered their prices! For less than $20 a month, you have access to over 30,000 titles that you can watch and return whenever you want. I have 450 movies in my current queue alone!

(10) CRACK ...just kidding...I wanted to make the list a nice round number. However, I did find the below product amusing...

Friday Fun

Thanks to Alexis for the following questionnaire. I'm sure that it's a bit different that the one that the potential Michael Jackson jurors had to fill out...

Here we go!

(1) Total amount of music on your computer:

Currently I have about 500 songs on my Musicmatch Jukebox...and the numbers change everyday thanks to 15 Megs of Fame. I'm always finding fun stuff there. Check it out so you can listen to lots of independent music in several different categories and then rate each song. Every week a list of the top 25 songs in each category is released.

I'M ADDICTED TO IT !!

(2) The last CD you bought was:

The last CD that I bought was "The Futurist" by Robert Downey Jr. It's amazing! Not only is he a great actor, but he also is a very talented musician. "The Futurist" is the perfect CD for listening to while you're taking a bubble bath or driving alone in your car on a rainy night. Ahhh...I love it! Let's hope this means a comeback for RDJ.

(3) What is the last song that you listened to before you read this message:

I was visiting Stereogum and discovered that Joe Cocker has a new CD out in which he does several covers. The song that I was listening to as I was reading this message was his cover of "Jealous Guy."

(4) Write down 5 songs that you often listen to or that mean a lot to you:

(Sorry, Alexis, I have to go for 10...)

"Break Your Heart" - Barenaked Ladies

"Let Go" - Frou Frou

"Drop It Like It's Hot" - Snoop Dogg (I've been listening to this song everyday while I get ready for work lately, but it doesn't really mean a lot...)

"Who I Am" - Jessica Andrews

"Fixing Her Hair" - Ani Difranco

"Steal My Kisses" - Ben Harper

"Wonderful Tonight" - Eric Clapton

"Laid" - James

"Sleep While I Drive" - Melissa Etheridge/Jewel

"Everything" - Alanis Morissette

"Breakin' Me" - Johnny Lang

"The Captain" - Kasey Chambers

"Purpose" - Avenue Q Soundtrack

"Something to Talk About" - Bonnie Raitt

"Beast of Burden" - The Rolling Stones

(I couldn't stop...I had to go all the way to 15...I would die without music...)

(5) Who are you going to pass this onto and why?

Andrea @ "Andrea's Photo Blog" - She always has witty commentary...and the best pics...wow!

Jason @ "Daley World News" - This doesn't even fit the format of his site at all, but he's a risk taker. I challenge him to fit it into an upcoming story...

Kim @ "Bacon and Eh's" - I can see her passing this on to many others for their enjoyment.

Do You Have A Secret ??

"Frank Warren's Postcard project taps into the part of each of us that needs to share; to confess. The project balances perfectly on the line between art and psychology." - Anne C. Fisher

I came across Warren's unique project the other day. He's inviting strangers to anonymously send him postcards plastered with their innermost secrets. The project is currently being displayed at Fisher's gallery in Maryland. I'm not sure if the project is entertaining (one postcard states, "In 4th grade my friend made me laugh so hard that I actually pooped my pants") or creepy (another confesses, "I was hospitalized because I thought my dad was the Hillside Strangler") but either way, it's certainly intriguing. It made me think of secrets that I have in my life and things that I would want to confess to a total stranger, several thousand people actually, given the new popularity of the project's site. I couldn't think of one...

One of the highlights of the collection is the below postcard that had been defaced during a recent display. Warren tells us that this card and its graffiti demonstrate two themes that continue to appear throughout the project: "Many of the secrets that we keep are not as strange or shameful as we imagine."

Does sharing a secret this way have a healing effect, a type of indirect therapy? I would suppose that the experience would be similar to that of going to confession. You know that the priest wouldn't be able to reveal anything that you tell him, but I'm sure that you would become unburdened in some way knowing that because you have told at least one person, your issue could no longer be considered a "secret."

Hmmm...maybe I'll send in a postcard of my own someday. If you have a secret you'd like to share, write it on a 4x6 postcard and mail it to:

PostSecret

13345 Copper Ridge Road

Germantown, MD 20874

Warren asks that your contribution be brief, legible, and creative, like the one below which made me chuckle...