
...and say 'That chick in the yellow corset crowdsurfing looks kind of hot. I wonder if she's dating anyone?' And then they get something for free."
Hi Neil,
I am a long-time fan, and have even met you backstage at a Tori show (though that was many years ago!). I am writing to ask a bit of a favor.
About 10 years ago, I appeared on 20/20 with Tori, speaking about sexual violence. Since then, I've stayed close with Tori whose been a mentor of the best kind. I also started a nonprofit, Pandora's Project, that provides support, information, and resources to rape and sexual abuse survivors and their supporters. We operate Pandora's Aquarium, an online support group with more than 20,000 registered members.
Recently, I was named a 2009 L'Oreal Woman of Worth for my volunteer work with Pandora's. I was chosen for this honor from more than 2,500 applicants.
Now, one of the ten 2009 Honorees will be selected as the national honoree through a public online vote. Her cause will get an additional $25,000, and a lot of media exposure. This is the first time L'Oreal has recognized a sexual violence organization, and becoming the national honoree would allow me to shine a spotlight on this issue that affects so many women and women.
Voting is easy - people just need to go to the url below, enter their email address in the box on the right, and click the "submit vote" button. Each email address is allowed one vote, and voting ends November 24.
http://www.womenofworth.com/Honorees/Hon
I am wondering if you might be willing to send people to this voting link via your (infinitely popular) twitter or blog. I understand if it's not something you can do, but my experience running a small-budget nonprofit tells me it's always wise to ask!
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Shannon Lambert
I'll plug it happily.
Your correspondent asks "Will you be reading the original version where the wolf actually is killed, and not the 'oh my goodness our kids can't hear about death' version in which they bring him to the zoo?"
I fear she's in error; in the original version, written by Prokofiev, Peter snares the wolf, then convinces the hunters NOT to kill it, but to take it to the zoo.
I've been researching, and that's what I found out too. Wikipedia has a list of changes made in various versions of the story (Disney, for example, had the wolf not eat the duck). But the wolf was always taken to the zoo...
You get a nice look, guy? You get a big ol’ eyeful? You trying to get her name? Well, her name is Mine, understand? Why don’t you just step off before I peck your face in, a’ight?

Penguins wearing wife beaters and black chains are always trouble, Sarah W.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Interspecies Snorgling
It's Cake Rex![announcer voice] But wait, there's mooore!
We also had the lovely Erin and Sharon of Cakes By Erin provide several delicious sheet cakes, PLUS this:

And here are all of our lovely bakers!
Ready to see our "winners"?
Here are a few more crowd pleasers:
And lastly, I have to share what artists Kelli N. & Travis D. made for me, because it made me very, very happy:
Isn't it awesome?!? Mere words cannot describe how much I love this plaque. So thanks again, Kelli & Travis; this is going to look great on my "Wrecky World Domination" wall. ;)
They also confirmed that the NA Wii release of the title will be December 8, with the PS2 & PSP versions following. ( source )
Lastly, some new images have been added, including some gorgeous painted pieces. However they do contain new characters, so if you're trying to stay absolutely spoiler free, I'd avoid these.
We learned about the paint bucket tool, the paintbrush, the eraser, how to copy stuff, and even layers!
I had to help pick colors but they turned out great

Tony wanted me to post this so he could get some feedback!
Heres what he has to say about the picture:
"It's about a man screaming at the sky and the sky is raining rubber chickens, but only at him. And... he's in the city surrounded by his neighbors who are not home. Hope you like it!" -Tony Sergio, age 8
Day 17: I have established base camp at the foot of the treacherous south face, whose sheer, forbidding vertical surface has claimed many an explorer before me. With the monsoon storms just days away, I must make every precious minute count as I inch my way to the fabled Ceiling of Coyolxauhuiehecatl — and history.
I claim this post in the name of Erin C.!
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Kittens
… and so, Mabel settled down in the straw and enjoyed the new scarf her older brother had given her. But still, her brother’s knowing smirk filled Mabel’s mind with troubling questions. For instance, why was she dressed just like a baby? And why was there a baby dressed just like a lamb earlier that week? But these doubts paled next to the most worrisome question of all…
Was this scarf knitted from someone I know?
Spotted at the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Festival in Victoria Australia by kelebek. More here.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Hoofers
Questions like: "Why?" and, "Why?" and, "For the love of pretty pastry platters, WHY?!?"I will answer your question [dramatic pause]...with another question:
Ever contemplate sucking icing off a fabric leaf?
[wiping eyes] Dust free! Heehee! Ah, I crack myself up sometimes.
You know, Amy, Kasey R., & Anony M., I give "deadpan" a good name. I call it "Fuzzywuzzkins."
- Related Wreckage: Wedding Wrecks
I warned you I was allergic to that shampoo, but did you believe me? Oh no, not you, think you know everything, don’t you? Well, now my face is melting, so let’s hear your clever idea for fixing that, Vidal Buffoon!
Your “Gary” has the (echo effect) Jowls of DESSS-tiny, Heather Y.
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged: Disa-POINTED!!!, Pups
This is handy for the golfer on the go. One that doesn't mind a little nudity anyway.
( Read more... )
- Mood:
amused
11.12 Portland, ME
11.13 Northampton, MA
11.14 Brooklyn, NY (SOLD OUT)
11.18 Philadelphia, PA
11.19 Falls Church, VA
11.20 Carrboro, NC
11.22 Knoxville, TN.
Go see her in concert. She's a wonder live. Tell her I said hi.)
Hi Neil,
I just read about your event in January, where in you will be narrating Peter and the Wolf. My husband and I are over joyed by this. We will hopefully be bringing our three girls up to see the performance. We did have one question though. Will you be reading the original version where the wolf actually is killed, and not the "oh my goodness our kids can't hear about death" version in which they bring him to the zoo? We are both, obviously, really hopeful that being you, and not afraid to scare children (thank you for that btw) will be speaking the true to the story version in which Peter shoots the wolf and then his dead body is paraded through the town as a trophy.
Thanks for your time,
~Cecily
PS- Do you know if there will be tickets for the event or the reception afterwards? It will be a long drive, and it would be nice to be prepared for either staking out seats all day or having tickets in hand. (We could not find any reservation information on the website)
I'd forgotten - or never knew - that there was an alternative version. The script I was sent is the Zoo version. I'll investigate...
And no, I do not know about tickets. I will find out.
Dear Neil,
Your Web Goblin offered to post photos of Coraline pumpkins, and when they were told this, my 8 and 11-year old daughters decided to make some. Here they are, along with 2 emoticon pumpkins and a turnip.
http://www.steampunkfamily.com/wp-conten
I used them to illustrate a ghost story: http://www.steampunkfamily.com/2009/10/p
Three of the four of us were Coraline characters for Halloween. (The 11-year old went her own way as Susan Sto-Helit.)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37435081@N0
The Other Mother is the scariest thing I've ever been for Halloween. All the children (even the 4-year olds!) knew who I was, and I elicited much nervous laughter when I offered to sew buttons in their eyes.
Thank you for being VERY SCARY INDEED
I love how many families were Coraline families, this year.
If, like me, anybody else was intrigued by your mention of Kenneth Grahame's other works and wants to read them with a minimum of searching, they'll be happy to know both 'The Golden Age' and 'Dream Days' are available for free on the always invaluable Project Gutenberg:
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/291
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/270
Thanks for mentioning them in the first place; I'm always interested in children's lit of that time that has managed to slip through my net.
- B. Bolander
What a good idea. Two very beautiful, gently funny books by the author of The Wind in the Willows. I really enjoyed them, but stylistically they are, well, out of fashion, and will not be everybody's cup of Edwardian tea. Here's a passage that describes the illustration I put up yesterday, as small children steal through the house on a midnight expedition to obtain biscuits (ie cookies, if you are American):
The Blue Room had in prehistoric times been added to by taking in a superfluous passage, and so not only had the advantage of two doors, but enabled us to get to the head of the stairs without passing the chamber wherein our dragon-aunt lay couched. It was rarely occupied, except when a casual uncle came down for the night. We entered in noiseless file, the room being plunged in darkness, except for a bright strip of moonlight on the floor, across which we must pass for our exit. On this our leading lady chose to pause, seizing the opportunity to study the hang of her new dressing-gown. Greatly satisfied thereat, she proceeded, after the feminine fashion, to peacock and to pose, pacing a minuet down the moonlit patch with an imaginary partner. This was too much for Edward's histrionic instincts, and after a moment's pause he drew his single-stick, and with flourishes meet for the occasion, strode onto the stage. A struggle ensued on approved lines, at the end of which Selina was stabbed slowly and with unction, and her corpse borne from the chamber by the ruthless cavalier. The rest of us rushed after in a clump, with capers and gesticulations of delight; the special charm of the performance lying in the necessity for its being carried out with the dumbest of dumb shows.
Once out on the dark landing, the noise of the storm without told us that we had exaggerated the necessity for silence; so, grasping the tails of each other's nightgowns even as Alpine climbers rope themselves together in perilous places, we fared stoutly down the staircase-moraine, and across the grim glacier of the hall, to where a faint glimmer from the half-open door of the drawing-room beckoned to us like friendly hostel-lights. Entering, we found that our thriftless seniors had left the sound red heart of a fire, easily coaxed into a cheerful blaze; and biscuits—a plateful—smiled at us in an encouraging sort of way, together with the halves of a lemon, already once squeezed but still suckable. The biscuits were righteously shared, the lemon segments passed from mouth to mouth; and as we squatted round the fire, its genial warmth consoling our unclad limbs, we realised that so many nocturnal perils had not been braved in vain.
"It's a funny thing," said Edward, as we chatted, "how I hate this room in the daytime. It always means having your face washed, and your hair brushed, and talking silly company talk. But to-night it's really quite jolly. Looks different, somehow."
"I never can make out," I said, "what people come here to tea for. They can have their own tea at home if they like,—they're not poor people,—with jam and things, and drink out of their saucer, and suck their fingers and enjoy themselves; but they come here from a long way off, and sit up straight with their feet off the bars of their chairs, and have one cup, and talk the same sort of stuff every time."
Selina sniffed disdainfully. "You don't know anything about it," she said. "In society you have to call on each other. It's the proper thing to do."
"Pooh! YOU'RE not in society," said Edward, politely; "and, what's more, you never will be."
"Yes, I shall, some day," retorted Selina; "but I shan't ask you to come and see me, so there!"
"Wouldn't come if you did," growled Edward.
❷ I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can get to know you better. EXCEPT FIVE ARE TOO MANY
❸ Update your journal with the answers to the questions.
❹ Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions.
QUESTIONS PROVIDED BY
1. What color do you find most appealing?
ORANGE BECAUSE IT'S EXTREME
2. If you could live anywhere, during any time, where/when would you live?
NEW ZEALAND, RIGHT NOW. might or might not be because of fridge's presence. or aussieland since it's close enough and A CAPS IS FINE TOO. ---you said you'll move there right
3. What three people would you pick to aid you during a zombie invasion?
i... am unsure...
was about to say
UHHHHHH
4. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE SEASON
WINTER BECAUSE BY THEN ALL MOSQUITOES ARE DEAD
5. do you have any celebrity crushes
at the moment NO NOT REALLY though i'm pretty partial towards siwon's brows

AW YEA
- Music:G-Dragon - Heartbreaker | Powered by Last.fm

They come with black fur, too! Sauce: http://gothicdorothy.livejournal.com/31
Stranger: "Aww, how cute! Are they triplets?"
Mom: "Yes."
Stranger: "Were they born on the same day?"
My Brain: *breaks*
First we have the Giant Wreck provided by Fancy Cakes by Leslie:
It's like an "I Spy" of plastic flotsam: Wreckalicious! (Not to mention delicious.)
So hats off to Leslie for being such a good sport! You'll see more of her amazing work in this Sunday's Sweets, too.Our three Wreckplica "winners" went all out, too:


See the rest of the entries in the Bethesda FB album here.
Big thank you to Alicia Baker Tulloch at ABT Photography who let us use some of her photos!







