The Office Is A Free On Demand Show That I Never Miss

Thanks for the article from Laura Ryan.

I often select the television show The Office when I am searching for something to watch from Free On Demand. This is a great show and it reminds of the days when I worked in a similar setting. I had a much better boss, although, not as much fun.

Steve Carell is Michael Scott manager of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, PA. He is great at this role and I heard he was leaving after this year, which is a shame. This season he and Holly rekindled their romance and on the last episode they made the other workers uncomfortable with their displays of public affection for one another.

Actor John Krasinski is character Jim Halpert and he spends a lot of time and effort to annoy Dwight. I'll never forget in one of the first episodes of the show Jim put all of Dwight's office supplies in Jell-O. I can't imagine the time it would take to do that, but it was hilarious. In another episode Jim convinced the vending machine worker to put all of Dwight's office supplies in the machine. Then Pam purchased something and wouldn't give it to Dwight, because she bought it. Dwight then started hurrying to buy back all of his stuff.

I watch this show on my Direct.TV and have enjoyed the Free On Demand option enormously.

ROTTEN LITTLE ANIMALS takes Germany by Storm!

ROTTEN LITTLE ANIMALS by Kevin Shamel was published in Germany by Voodoo Press about a month ago. Since then, it's become a big hit in Europe!!! European audiences want more bizarro. YAY. If you'd like to check out the story that Europeans are lovin', click here.

ROTTEN LITTLE ANIMALS Rules! :)

Long For Curb Appeal Of My Own

Guest written by our friend Jan Chandler

The television show on satellite TV's HGTV channel Curb Appeal is one of my favorite of all those real estate shows that are featured. I'm a hands-on type of person and I love getting new and better ideas on how to make my home and front yard look better. I love the entire premise of the show from sending the family away to their exciting and triumphant return home to see their glorious new home, completely re-done. It's amazing the transformations that they make to an ordinary home and yard. They have the equipment needed to rip out that shrubbery an put in just the right plants needed to emphasize the house.

I also love the changes they make to the house to give it the title claim of Curb Appeal. They can easily switch out the color, pressure wash the bricks or add a retaining wall all in a short 30 minute span. The best part of the show is the end when they reveal the complete look and then show you how much better it looks compared to the old front yard. I would love to have their crew come and do a number on my yard one day so that I too could have that wonderful curb appeal that all their homes do. I love satellite tv from TVByDirect.com

ROTTEN LITTLE ANIMALS by Kevin Shamel is now available at Amazon.com!

From Kevin Shamel's website (click pic to buy the book NOW!):



Animals are people too! And that is messed up. So they have independent cinema. See what happens when an animal film crew kidnap a human boy and make a movie of the abduction. Read things about Nature that just aren't natural. Fear your pets from this day forward. With zombie-cat attacks, gun-blasting massacres, drugged-out puppet shows, exploding car chases, camera-chickens, bat acrobats, wild sex, martini parties and torture-ROTTEN LITTLE ANIMALS is a crazy ride through the underground animal film scene and on to the Big Time.

Here’s what some world famous writers have said about it:

“Like a bionic Ralph Bakshi reborn from snorting Orwell’s ashes, Kevin Shamel drags cherished childhood fantasies into the gutter of adulthood, and makes you pay dearly to swallow them all over again. Intelligence is a universal disease, but never fear. Rotten Little Animals just may be the cure we’ve been praying for.”
–Cody Goodfellow, author of Radiant Dawn and Silent Weapons For Quiet Wars.

“Looney Tunes amped up on cocaine, sex and soft, silky fur and feathers. Shamel’s debut is wildly entertaining and destined to become an instant bizarro classic.” –Gina Ranalli, author of Mother Puncher, Sky Tongues, Swarm of Flying Eyeballs, and many other wonderful bizarro books.

“It begins as a zombie film, transforms into a deranged puppet show, and ends with a car chase. If you ever wondered what a Pixar exploitation film would be like, you need Rotten Little Animals.” –Cameron Pierce, author of Shark Hunting in Paradise Garden, and The Ass Goblins of Auschwitz.

“This book has three of my favorites things: Kittens, Zombies, and Snuff Films.” –Jeff Burk, editor of The Magazine of Bizarro Fiction and author of Shatnerquake.

“Written with the humor of Adult Swim, but with enough psychological profundity to matter. Shamel is a bright motherfucker!” –Forrest Armstrong, beatmaster extraordinaire and author of Asphalt Flowerhead.

World famous Withersin Magazine has this to say:

“Funny, disturbing, and lots of poop… While tickling our funny bone, Shamel also brings up a horrifying thought: if animals could think and function together, they probably would be plotting to over throw us.”

What will YOU say about ROTTEN LITTLE ANIMALS?

ROTTEN LITTLE ANIMALS to be released in October. Call dibs on your copy today!

Kevin Shamel's fabulous new book, ROTTEN LITTLE ANIMALS, is coming out in the end of October.

Click here to learn more about it and call dibs on your signed copy today!

RT Blog

I haven't posted in a while, but I thought I'd shout out about a new blog, RT Blog. It's pretty specialized, focusing on thoughts of a new Respiratory Therapist. But we all like to breathe, right? Well, that was a little tongue-in-cheek, but it is true that breath is something I work on with myself and my clients. Too often, we take it for granted.

Also, what strikes me about the individual that writes RT Blog is his dedication and passion for what he does. It's refreshing to hear from someone who loves their job. So, if you have an interest in things medical or even a medical career, check it out.

Mr. Obama's Pre-Inauguration Weekly Address

I loved this video. In it, Mr. Obama talks about the history of inauguration and how we can reaffirm our love for our country.

Happy Winter Solstice! 12 days of Christmas

Happy Winter Solstice!

It's the shortest day.
Today, we celebrate the return of the light.
Welcome, Light!!!

Every year, we say we don't want to celebrate the holiday season the same old way.
Then every year, we mostly do.
Most years we say something about wanting to celebrate the Winter Solstice.
Then most years, we don't.

This year, we really decided to change it.

We decided we would celebrate the 12 days of Christmas. We would not start Christmas the day after Thanksgiving (really never did that). We would not start Christmas December 1st. We would not start Christmas until it was really close. 12 days out. That was our plan. It fell on a Sunday. Perfect. December 14. After Kevin's birthday. (Since his birthday/Christmas proximity has generally been a bone of contention for him.) Perfect. December 14th. Perfect.

Well, we'll get back to that date. It was to be a joyous day, starting with a family ritual and culminating with putting the tree up, drinking egg nog, eating gingerbread. Ahhhh...how I envisioned it. The perfect little nuclear family gathering we've never had.

And then we got sick. Pretty much all of us. But mostly me and Kevin. At the same time. That is rare, and those of you out there who are married with children understand how difficult it is. It's bad enough when you take turns being sick with your spouse, so the well one can take care of the sick one and Everything. Else. But, when you both get sick at the same time, no one gets taken care of and nothing gets done. And certainly not Christmas in a house where the spouses don't really love it.

So, no Christmas has been done. And it's now the Winter Solstice. Not to mention that we have been blizzarded here in the Pacific Northwest, which normally does not get blizzarded. And I have to think, in a way, "How perfect." I did the math last night, and if we decide to start the 12 days of Christmas today, with the Winter Solstice, they will last right to the New Year. I somewhat like that.

But, let's backtrack. What did we decided to DO for the 12 days of Christmas (that hasn't gotten done yet?)

Well, the idea was to make it somewhat simple. And make it about love and kindness and time together. Not about stuff.

I had been guided to a couple of different websites shortly before we made this decision. Here is the first:

The Story of Stuff

It's all about the nightmare that is our constant overconsumption of stuff. It wreaks terrible havoc on our planet. It wreaks terrible havoc on our lives. Christmas, as it has been celebrated by us in the past, has been pretty much the pinnacle of destruction. I even called Caspian's first Christmas with me the "Christmas of Carnage". He was 2 or 3. Probably 3. He was technically the first grandchild. He arrived at age 2, but that didn't matter to my parents. It didn't matter to Kevin's guilt about his semi-recent divorce. All these things were showered down with a rain of presents that we had to keep begging him to open, because got tired of it and had to keep moving. The poor lad would want to just play with something and we would say, "No, you have to keep opening." It really sounds like some sort of satire now, 7 years later, but it is true. Then, Kevin had to go to work (restaurant), and I spent SEVEN HOURS (I shit you not) cleaning up paper and plastic and organizing stuff. Christmas of Carnage.

It has gotten gradually better each year as we make a commitment to scale back and then don't totally. But it has gotten better. The problem is, we're parents. In the United States. As parents, we just want to give our children everything. We want to give them the dream. That's also the United States thing. But the issue is that we have been sold a bill of goods. Overconsumption. It's not even fun. And it's wrecking everything. And we know it. We, in general, and we, specifically my husband and I. But some part of us felt somewhat powerless to stop it. The part of us that felt like we still wanted to give our kids everything. Well, the story of stuff arrived at just the right moment to catalyze us.

Then, my dear friend had also set up a website for her daughter to raise funds for the needy in lieu of getting a bunch of stuff. I loved that idea, so we decided to incorporate it into our plan. (Which I will get to, eventually.) You see, the thing is, we buy our kids all the stuff they need. And we try to do it in a way that makes sense, in small increments throughout the year. They don't need an avalanche of crap at one time. It's too much. They can't even appreciate it. I remember seeing another friend of mine and a family member finding little things for the kids in their lives all year and squirreling them away. Silly, little things. And "saving them" for Christmas. It seemed so absurd to me. Just give that little thing to the kid when you find it. But here we come to one of the other ridiculousnesses of Christmas: It's a HUGE financial burden on most families. They might not describe it that way, but it is. And it's just not necessary.

And, it also sets up our economy in a very weird way. We save up save up save up for 10 months and then spend it all in 2 months. It makes no sense.

Also, about this time, I read of the poor Wal-Mart worker who was trampled to death by shoppers on Black Friday. I have never participated in Black Friday. I do not understand it. I thought it was somewhat sick before. Honestly. Now it really turns my stomach. One of the comments in the news article about this guy's untimely holiday death (or very timely) referenced the following website:

Advent Conspiracy

Now, here's the funny part. We're not even Christians. But, as Americans, we get caught up in the Christmas trap. So, that website is a bit Christian for me, but I love the ideas. I think it is brilliant. It makes so much sense. I was inspired. I shared it with my family. We decided to do something different.

And then, of course, December 14th happened: illness descended.

At any rate, here is our outline.

We agreed to scale back on presents. The kids would each get something to play with, something to wear, and something to read. This seems to be a whole movement. I have heard a lot of people doing something like this. I like it. It simplified everything and is a good amount of gifts. The kids still get gifts. They just don't get completely obliterated by so much stuff they can't even enjoy it. It also helped me focus more on what was really important to get them.

We would give more to others. I actually had a decent Christmas budget that we now intended to not totally use. We would choose charities and give.

For gifts from others, we would recommend that they also give to our charities.

Zane decided he still wanted gifts instead of giving to charity. That's ok. He's 3.

We agreed that we would spend more time together, doing fun things.

We agreed that we would really work to keep kindness in our hearts and treat each other as such and everyone.

Caspian chose the Spotlight Foundation as his charity. They help horses and trouble kids. They're local. If you'd like to join us in giving, here's Caspian's page.

Kevin and I chose Save Our Wild Salmon. They are also focusing on local environmental issues, specifically with the salmon in the Snake River. If you'd like to give to help this ecosystem, here's Kevin and my page.

So, this year, we really are going to celebrate the Winter Solstice. We are going to have a ritual and put up our tree and play in the snow. We really are changing Christmas in our house. It feels good.

As they say at Advent Conspiracy

Worship Fully
Spend Less
Give More
Love All

Thanks for reading this far. And Happy Solstice! Welcome Light!!!

It's a New Day. My Obamamania Continues

Yes, my Obamamania is continuing. Well, Obama and Will.i.am. It's just so exciting. Love it. Hope. Progress. Unity. Peace. It's a new day. I can't help it. Obama's Aquarian ascendant is about 2 degrees from my Aquarian sun. I don't know what the rest of the world's excuse is, but for me that means his personality projects the core of who I am. Wow. The Aquarian age, peeps. We've been waiting and here it is.

Oh, and I LOVE THIS VIDEO! Lovin' the Will.i.am.



I'm so into politics and following world events now. I really didn't before. I thought I didn't care. But I guess I just had no hope. Now I see that the world really is going in a good direction. I guess I knew the world was going in a good direction, but to have leadership in the United States going in the direction of peace, intelligence, unity, innovation, and progress is so exciting. What a relief!

~t

Zane and Vegetables

So, Zane has been on a vegetable boycott for a long time now. Whenever we put any on his plate, he says, "But I don't like vegetables."

Any that happen into his mouth, he will take out and say, "There was a vegetable in that."

Sometimes he asks me what I want him to eat. I'll say something like "broccoli" and he says, "but I don't like vegetables".

You get the idea.

But then he's oddly adventurous in wanting to try everything. So the other night at dinner he decided to try some broccoli. He didn't really like it. Some of it he ate. Mostly, he didn't. He said it was ok.

Just now I was eating some carrots. He said, "Mom, since I tried a vegetable last night, I think I should try another vegetable."

I said, "Ok. What do you want to try."

"I'll try a carrot."

"Ok, great."

So I get him the carrot and tell him to chew a lot because it's crunchy. He chews it. I ask, "What do you think?"

"Good."

Pause.

"But not that good."

Chew chew chew.

Then he gets a plate out of the cabinet and spits it on the plate!

Good, but not that good.

Maybe I should have taken a picture of that?

Finally proud of America again!

I think this says most of it. More eloquently than I would.



Well, I'll say a few things. Here is how I feel. Simultaneously like I can finally relax and that I'm ready to help. Like if President Obama called and said, "Terri, I need you to do x, y, & z." I'd be like "I'll get right on that!" Other people are feeling that way, too. It's exciting.

How exciting is it that he won on a platform of positivity? How exciting that we are all included?

Yes, WE can!
We are one.

Oh my goodness, the Aquarian age just arrived.
2012, bring it on.
To quote Michael Stipe, "It's the end of the world as we know it.


And I feel FINE!"


Ok, I thought I was done, but although that was a strong finish, I have more to say.

I was quite moved by how calm Obama was at his acceptance speech. I am quite moved by his manner, which seems to say. "Ok, good. That part is done. Now let's get to work." I find it brilliant that he is already not only tying in to the most inspirational storytellers of our time (MLK), but also sharing the message that it's not going to happen overnight and it's up to all of us.

It's up to all of us.
It's a new day.