I'm here, msbelle! And I will follow up on your email--things have been ultra crazy these past few days, but are finally looking up.

But, I'm sorry to hear about your job! That so sucks, especially because you're super-cool and totally employable. Don't let the mind-worms that eat away at your confidence get to you.

And all of yesterday's talk of Victorian clothes made me think of the scene in Louisa May Alcott's Eight Cousins, when Rose is dressed up by her fashionable aunt. Alcott goes into excruciating detail on all the horrendousness that is her "trendy" outfit, from the mismatched patterns of the fabric to the heels and tight skirt that combine to make her totter and the veil that makes her see spots. It's very hilarious to read.

Teppy, my father had similar concerns, but it appears that the critter in question is killed by saline and/or by water being something like 150 degrees. So, if they're right about the method of infection, it means that the people in question were using tepid, unsalinated tap water, which, IME, is wicked uncomfortable.

~ma for Nilly and family

I don't have an aerator, but i have got to use the term "Jezebelian fruit" at some point. I can't imagine what it means, but it's great. Consuela, you should do a taste test with cheap wines see if you get the same results

Wine aerators make wine taste worse:

Why do I want to get into an argument on the Hairpin about that article SO BAD??

I just need one more meeting this week to get cancelled (which is likely), and I am free! Aside from my weekly with my boss.

Did you guys know that the CDC has Zombie Task Force t-shirts and not tell me?

[link]

Yes. Sorry.

OMG, I don't want to do any work! And the two things left on my main to-do list are waiting on other people. Maybe I will put on music and file some emails?

Did you guys know that the CDC has Zombie Task Force t-shirts and not tell me?

Dammit! I'd totally have bought that for the b-i-l, but I already got him a thinkgeek shirt.

OMG, I don't want to do any work! And the two things left on my main to-do list are waiting on other people. Maybe I will put on music and file some emails?

I don't want to do work either! And yet I'm working all this week, and have a lot of the "stuff I don't like to do and always put off" (filing, writing up reports of my emails and telephone contacts, etc) to do this week. Sigh. I was really hoping I would have accepted a new job and just be all "La la let me get this done and never do it again"...

I buy landscape paintings at yard sales and Goodwill. And then paint monsters into them.

Thank you so much for sharing this. It made my day.

I'm serious, this is the kind of shit the internet is for. I love mashup shit like that. Just love it. I think it is absolutely one of my favorite things.

Have you all seen the DJ Kim Jong-Il images?

[link]

Peace and comfort to you and your husband and his family, Nilly. And strength and all possible good wishes to your dad.

msbelle, I'm so sorry. I'm crossing everything I've got that if not the perfect job, then a pretty darn good one, comes up for you.