valentina

A nice photo of Bob Schneider, whose CD I listened to as I was driving around town in the rain today. Queensryche can remain novel only so long, you know. Look at the great joke icon that minilux made for me: And if Beth ever makes an actual scent with that name, I will to her even more than before. Does anyone remember the Alan Cumming fragrance commercial from last summer? Someone linked to it on the forum, and I feel compelled to link to it again here in my blog. It's great, and I believe Alan is a naughty little Scotsman himself: http://www.cummingthefragrance.com/html/commercial.html In the state where I live, there's a Cumming County. I have a friend who moved here several years ago, and when he was driving down the road and saw a sign that said: "Entering Cumming County," he just about wrecked his car. He pulled over, laughed, and called a friend in his home state to say: "There's a Cumming County in this state!!!" There also used to be convenience store/gas stations called "Cum and Go" in this town. Another friend used to live around the corner from one. When the chain (all 3 or 4 of them) was purchased and turned into Quik Shops, my friend and her boyfriend had their photos taken in front of the old Cum and Go, because it had been such a source of amusement for so long. From Bob Schneider to underkilts to Alan Cumming to Cum and Go. What else is left to say?

First of all, this is a thread title that got my attention. As in, right away. Heh. Pervert that I am. Second, Kuniochi, is that you in your avatar? If so, wow, if I could do that to a bustier! So you want a smell to go along with the way you look, right? (I am not hitting on you, I'm just saying they boys must follow you around like lovesick dogs.) I think if something smells good on you, the boys are going think it smells like sex. I tried O for the first time and thought it smelled like body odor on me. But everyone else thinks it smells great. I mix it with some single-note patchouli for a rather devastating effect. O is a great mixer... I've mixed it with Kali and Blood Lotus and it mellows out and sexes up those scents. I find Khajurajo pretty sexy, it was a Lupercalia LE, and it was inspired by kama sutra. Anything that has the sandalwood and sweetness is for me, sex on a stick. I associate it with kama sutra and being covered in a bucket of honey with incense burning. It's a much more complex scent than O. I just went and sniffed my bottle of Khajurajo and got a rush. I also find Urd incredibly sexy for the same reason -- it's patchouli, muscadine and nag champa. It is sex after drinking a lot of wine with incense burning, sans the honey. But those are my mental assoications and what works on my body chem. You might just think it smells like head shops. But damn, this was fun to talk about! Whee. Good luck finding a signature sex scent. (The proverbial s.s.s.!) If you ever want to sample Khajurajo, PM me.

I must echo darkity's sentiments about your braininess and your determination and your will to learn. In my college years, my best friends were a chem e/premed major, a microbiology/premed major and an actuarial science major. Why they all put up with a whacky liberal arts chick like me, I don't know, but I'm glad they did. We had lots of fun, and the greatest discussions on the planet. Do you ever find it easier to study and memorize after you've danced? I'm just curious. Sometimes I find that if I do something that's taking my brain in an entirely different direction, it somehow opens up a little space, and what I've struggled with previously just falls into place. But that's my crazy whackjob brain, so I'd be curious to hear of your experiences. But certainly doing something that's pleasurable and exotic while wearing a gorgeous outfit is always good for you... so have fun! (And in keeping with my lingerie fixation, you know it doesn't always have to be a bellydancing performance... ) Edited because the liberal arts chick is too ditzy to use spell check and then notices her spelling boo-boos.

Girlfriend, you have eyes in your head and they are there to look at Bob. Here's a link to his MySpace page that has music and a video and his tour schedule. If he comes anywhere in your neighborhood, go see him. He's lots of fun and he looks just fine in person: http://www.myspace.com/bobschneider

Now that things are entirely quiet at my job, way too quiet as far as I'm concerned, I tend to tune in satellite radio on the internet, put on the headphones and send the nosy or bored coworkers the message that I'm not tremendously interested in their blather. I head a song this morning that I really enjoyed called "Beautiful Wreck" by a guy named Shawn Mullins. He's a new one to me, but hell, I enjoyed that song. I feel like a beautiful wreck a great deal of the time, although I hide my "wreckedness" behind a veneer of extreme cool competence. A few years ago I decided my cool, competent side was just fine for a professional exterior, but my beautiful wreck is really a component of my nicer side. I don't know if many of you have read or thought much about your "shadow side" (very Jungian), but once I gave it some thought, I decided that I didn't always need to be the ultra-competent wonder diva that I normally try to be when I'm professionally "on." Fucking hell, I lightened up on myself. We're all so complicated and utterly together and beautifully messed up, and I really adore it when someone else lets me see more than one facet of their person. That sort of honesty can scare a lot of people, but I think it's what it's all about. I have a lot of issues with people who get scared by honesty; it would seem that falsity is much, much scarier. But I guess it's not if you pretend that the illusions are reality. While I know that we're all living in our own little dream worlds to some extent, I really wonder how many people live deep in the fantasy with occasional, and unwelcome, flashes of reality. And from what I've seen, reality can be far, far more amazing than the fantasies.

Hooray on the Chez Snark! I'm boiling pasta right now and can't write much else, but I wanted to woot with ya ASAP!!!! More later...

I received Bess courtesy of the Lab, as a frimp with my order. (thank you!) In the imp, it smelled very fresh, natural and bracing. I got a fairly strong hit of rosemary and citrus, mainly orange blossom. On my skin, I was a bit surprised -- I'd anticipated that the rosemary and rose elements would amp, and they didn't. What blossomed was a sweet citrus, very much orange blossom, backed up with a kick sweet grape. Those elements simply dominated the entire time I wore Bess, and it tended to fade rather rapidly on my skin. I think I would need to wear a substantial amount of it to have any lasting power, and it's not really a scent that I hanker for, although it's extremely pleasant.

Tee hee about giving someone a punch. I hope the group wasn't a touchy-feely thing; I know there are personality types that really need that huggy stuff, but I'm not one of them. I do not especially enjoy being hugged by virtual strangers. You must be the same way. My feeling about grief or being a basket case is that it's just fine to sit with your grief. It comes in waves, and I've started associate the grief process with surfing. That's my coping mechanism. I remember a year or so after my grandmother died (and I was closer to her than with my mother), I had a dream about her home. I woke up crying because it took a dream for me to remember everything about her and her home; in my waking life, I was starting to forget. The thing is, in my dream, I went around and looked at everything very closely, trying to commit it to memory. While I was upset when I woke up, I've never forgotten that dream or what her home looked like and felt like to me. Sometimes our minds have ways of doing things for us that we can't consciously logic out; I guess that was one of them. Your will probably come alone in their time. Aw hell, I hope this wasn't too much like a hug! If so, send me a

An '80's and '90's flashback all in one song: Tori Amos doing a cover of "Father Figure." Do you remember the video for that song? The gorgeous, Bettie Page-like S & M model/"love interest" for George Michael? It was kind of hot. When Tori sings it, the "to be warm and naked, by your side" lyric takes on a little more heat. George kind of hissed his way through that song, where Tori almost whispers her way through it. There's a Lyle Lovett song that has a line in it that goes: "She wasn't good, but she had good intentions." Maybe you have to hear him singing it, but it always makes me laugh. Sometimes I wonder if it amuses me because that's a very succinct description of me. "Succinct" is a good word to say out loud, repeatedly. Just try it. I'm listening to satellite radio, and now Chris Issacs is singing that "I Don't Want To Fall In Love" song, and do you remember the video for that one? Christ. Helena Christenson, the model, rolling around mainly naked on a beach with black sand? Chris got to nuzzle her neck as she looked so not into him. And what a messed-up, wildly codependent, semi-whiny and totally white-hot song that one is! Woo. Just before that, they played one of my favorite Ani DiFranco songs with the lyric: "before you end up parked and sobbing, forehead on the steering wheel." Hmmm... wonder why I like that moody little lyric? I'm not sure I've ever really done that, but I've certainly felt like it. Who hasn't? Well, I don't know if this entry was good, but it had good intentions...

In the imp, the first whiff of Aeval is all about sage, then a light, white sort of musk, then a hint of sweetness. It's very herbal and clean-smelling. On my body, it smells almost identical to the vintage cologne called "4711." (It's a German scent, it's been around forever.) It's always been a great unisex scent to me, it's clean, not too masculine, not too feminine. Aeval is so similar on me, I can't believe it. It stays very much that way, no morphing going on... overall, it's a clean, herbal smell with slight, and rather pleasant, powdery undertones. It reminds me of someone who's just stepped out shower and smells incredibly clean and fresh. It's not a big sex-on-a-stick smell, but it's something that would be nice to use when I want to smell nice, but not distinctively "scented," which isn't very often (I'm a Leo, I like to roar), but the imp will be nice to have on hand. (And thank you to the Lab for frimping it with my last order!)

Not typically a fan of aquatic scents, I tried R'lyeh because it was a frimp from the Lab (thank you!) and I wanted to pass it along to a friend who's an aquatic scent addict. This is, truly, a deep, dark, mysterious, lost-at-the-bottom-of-the-ocean scent. While it starts out very clean and aquatic in the imp and upon initial application, it does darken into a sea water-and-incense smell. If the temples of the submerged city could waft up their dark, incensy offerings through the ocean, it would smell like this. Plus, I get a little musk or something dark and masculine going on in the background. To me, this is a dark and brooding scent. I find it rather masculine and sexy as hell. I don't know if I'm giving it to my friend, because it kind of trips my trigger.

Happy Beltane, everyone! My inner druid has always been a spirited creature, and nothing makes me happier than a pagan holiday. It just makes you feel alive, you know? Here's a link to a site that shows there's still a group of Scots who still like to do it up right: http://www.beltane.org/ I am sure they're sleeping well in Edinburgh today! Or maybe they'll save the sleep for much later tonight... So leave a May Day basket for someone special, or simply smell so good (thanks to your BPAL) that you're like a walking May Day basket to everyone that you encounter. Hmmm... I have on Monster Bait: Underpants today, so would that make me a May Basket with a thong in it? What a great May Basket idea!!! I wish I'd thought of it sooner! Divas, leave your sweetie a new sort of May Basket... a few springs of flowers and blossoms, tied up with a teensy bit of cloth...but oh my... it's your bonny wee knickers!

And to make this all the more amusing, my friend who was so entertained by Cumming County grew up in Cincinnati! No wonder he is so damn fixated!

While I found Chimera to have a nice, robust cinnamon note, to me it wasn't that foody or cinnamon bun-ish. I was actually rather afraid to try this scent at first, because of the honeysuckle note. Sweet florals often bloom and overwhelm my body chemistry. But that's what made it wonderful -- the sweet floral of the honeysuckle warms up the cinnamon and myrrh and gives it a sweet edge that is a little floral in nature. I enjoyed this scent so much that I'll probably have it on the short list to order a bottle with my next order.

I waited until today to write this one... since it's Beltane, 2006! This scent is green, green, green spring! When I first sniffed it, it was very evocative of Night's Pavilion -- a green, cool fragrance. That would lead me to guess that there's a little bit of lily in Beltane, but there's more of a soft, green, gentle floral touch in Beltane 2006. I catch a whiff Lily of the Valley in the mix. It's pretty, it's fresh, it's very much springtime and alive. It's the perfect springtime greenery garden smell and I love it.

I get a kick out of estate sales myself... they are like time capsules. It's fun to just poke around and look at things, and sometimes the people-watching of the other estate-salers is pretty entertaining in itself. The big band recording purchases sound like little gems! That was such a part of that generation, the dance music. So many people in that era didn't hang on to their recordings, so that is a great find! And I will pass on that pimento recipe! Yeeesh!

I love that Alan Cumming commercial because in between all his little jokes about his name, armpit sniffing poses and general naughtiness, there's some rather cool and thoughtful messages. Plus any man who comes home, strips buck naked and plays with their dog is OK with me! (You have to watch the commercial to see what I mean...) There's a little town not too far from where I live called Beaver Crossing. My friend who went nuts when he found out there was a Cumming County is rather sorry that Beaver Crossing isn't located in Cumming County. I am rather sure his life would be complete if that were the case!!!

You are on a roll, my dear! If you ever feel compelled to do icons for O, Urd, Sudha Segara or Blood Lotus, I'd love to put them in my rotation! (Especially Blood Lotus -- I've never found a larger icon for that scent... hint, hint, nudge nudge...)

A frimp from the Lab. Thankyouthankyouthankyou! There's not a lot that I can add about the scent... it truly is lemongrass and vetivert. I actually really like the smell a lot -- it's an intriguing combination. Clarity with groundedness is the emotional "hit" that I get when I put it on, which to me translates to the purpose of the blend -- finding the clarity of purification and the ground of one's own personal power.

Whee! I came home from grocery shopping, something I don't especially enjoy doing, but particularly on a day when the grocery store has decided to do some goofy "Wizard of Oz" promo/extravaganza. Whatever festivities they'd been carrying on had long ended, but the unfortunate staff were still in costume and they were playing songs from the movie. The munchkin music gets wearisome rather rapidly, and I don't know why they just couldn't have played Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon." For those of us who would have understood the subreference, it would have been so damn funny. So I got home feeling a little frazzled, and there was my BPAL order! It was only CnS'd on Thursday... for once, the USPS rocked and rolled and got it here in a hurry. Woot! And my order was Monster Bait: Underpants (two bottles) and a bottle of Beltane. Beltane is nice on me, and it reminds me a lot of grassier-smelling Night's Pavillion. I wonder if there's frankincense in Beltane -- to evoke the fires on the heath. I'm speculating about that because I know it's in Night's Pavilion, and that may be the similarity. But the Panty Monster... OMFG! It started out a bit like Beaver Moon, all vanilla, but then it morphed into a sweet, saffrony, sandalwoody thing. I love Khajurajo, and certain sandalwood blends are simply pure love on me. I associate saffron and sandalwood with India and a Kama Sutra vibe... add to it the western elements of vanilla and rum, and holy crap. It's a winner. I actually think that this scent could be dangerous. (Minor reverie: Like most people, I associate rum with Cuba, and I heard Andy Garcia interviewed on NPR this morning. Mmmmmm... he's awfully, awfully fine.) Thank you Beth, for mixing the panty ofrenda potion in such a marvelous way!!!

I would prefer a dream involving Andy Garcia and NO panties!

Whew. I love this scent, and it's quite a morpher. When I first applied it, I got a sweet, vanilla Beaver Moon-like hit, followed by some boozy spiciness. It was very vanilla and yummy for the first half hour, and then the sandalwood and saffron started to show their muscle. After an hour or so, the sweetness has become the undertone for the exotic warmth of the saffron/sandalwood blend. I can't really pick out which one is prominent, but it's a delicious, almost ineffible sort of scent. And on my body, this Monster Bait has staying power... it's been about 3 hours and it's holding strong. I think this is a gorgeous scent, almost as gorgeous as a pair of saffron-colored panties with a hint of yummy vanilla lace!

Beer cheddar biscuits? Nummy!! I may have to fiddle with the notion tonight, since it's still rainy here and I'm making soup today. Biscuits would be tasty! I too am a fan of bangs and false eyelashes. I have the bangs and I just go crazy with mascara... I am sure if I tried false eyelashes, they'd end up on my bangs!

It's really rainy today, and that's so damn rare for the almost-high-plains where I live. It's supposed to stay this way all weekend, and people will be merging lack-of-sunshine bitches with the farmer-ish platitude "well, we shore dew need the moisture..." darkitysnark was into a Thomas Dolby-style 1980's flashback a few days ago, and today, thanks to the rain, I entered into a power ballad/metal/late'80's, early '90's time warp. Every time it rains a lot, the brainworm power ballad "Another Rainy Night" by Queensryche fires up in my head. Today I was browsing the music store and checked out the used metal section. There it was: "Empire" by Queensryche. For $5.95, I got to play "Jet City Woman," "Another Rainy Night" and "Silent Lucidity" as I drove around town in the rain. (I also took shit from the store manager, who is unaccustomed to seeing me in the metal section. "Get your ass back to jazz" was the directive, I believe.) Queensryche's music, and most metal power ballad music, now seems to me to have a rather earnest quality that I find both a bit cheesy and ingratiating. I used to think "Silent Lucidity" was really deep, and now I think it's a bit silly. It's still kind of a compelling ballad and the lead singer does have a great voice. I know Queenryche still tours, because I saw that they were playing in a casino or somewhere a little pathetic like that, and my, the lead singer looked worn and a bit snacked-out. Queensryche was from where... Seattle? Pre-grunge, as I recall. Nevertheless, it's fun to own that CD again, if only to put in on whenever it rains a lot, and in this part of the country, that really won't happen very often. So when someone starts the inevitable bitching about it "bein' bone dry" around here this summer, I can look at them and say: "Well damn, and I haven't listened to Queensryche in weeks!" It will be good for a confused look.

Because I was writing about Lucinda Williams yesterday, I was reminded of her concert from almost a year ago. A guy there with his girlfriend was an obviously huge Lucinda fan. He was so freaking drunk, and he was a loud, snacked-out fellow. Very, very jovial, except he kept bellowing "MINNEAPOLIS" at the top of his lungs in between songs. It was apparently his favorite Lucinda song, and it was his quaint way of making a request to her. Thing is, that song is one of the most wrist-slashingly depressing songs that she's written in some time. Lucinda ignored his entreaties. But this guy was so damn drunk that he couldn't really enjoy the concert; I think he and his girlfriend left well before it was over because he just couldn't stand up anymore. That was a shame for him, because Lu was in a good mood that night and kept playing and playing and playing. I was happy the guy left, because I didn't have to listen to his screaming and he had somehow decided it was good sport to take an occasional whap at my ass and comment on its firmness. His girlfriend was so toasted that she didn't care. My DH thought it was funny that some tubby drunk guy was alternating yelling "MINNEAPOLIS" at Lucinda and whapping my ass. Towards the end of the show I went down right in front to watch Lucinda and the band up close because everyone down there was very focused on her music. Anyway, you have to wonder about these funny, fat class-clown sort of fellows. I think their dark side is darker than anything most of us could dream up. In a complete non sequitur, there's a new "CSI" (Las Vegas version) on tonight. There's some teaser/buzz going around that Grissom and Sarah are going to get into bed before the season is over. Anyone else heard that? A couple of seasons ago, that would have irritated me, but at this point in the show, I think they should just do the horizontal bop and get it over with. Although I also have a theory that they may both end up in bed, but each with a different person. Why do I get so caught up in that stupid TV show? Oh, I remember why... William Peterson is hot.