Even though my birthday isn't until the weekend, I have already started to receive presents. Yesterday, I was given the COOLEST present by my friend.

My very talented friend made (by hand) a beautiful pair of wings. The colours and fabrics are so rich and they are even hand-sequined. They are quite small and fairy-like and have a delicate feeling. I plan to wear them on my birthday!

I know, there are those of you out there who are shaking your head and thinking, "hey! aren't you a little old to be so excited about wings (and are you really going to wear them)?" well, my answer is no! Age should not be something that stops you from enjoying yourself.

Case and point... a very young 50ish woman (who has just become a grandmother for the third time) in my office was saying today that she thinks that the image of grandmothers in books and on telly is very misleading nowadays. They all have gray hair and sit in chairs a lot. Nowadays, grandmothers run marathons and more active than when we were all children. Perhaps we need a more accurate reflection of grandparents in children's books and in the media. After all, Tina Turner is a grandmother and I don't see her shrivelling away in a rocking chair with an old quilt and her knitting!

This is why I don't get depressed about being almost 40! I am still young and even though I am still single, am not really worried about it.

And I am going to go out and wear my wings with pride on Saturday night! (Wish me luck!)

I know a lot of women who wished that they had one of these! Personally, I can do without chocolate but there are some out there that will rejoice.

Now repeat after me... "Size really does matter!"

Well, as I had always known. I am a paradox.

I just took a Brain Profiling test and this is what it said about me. Funny, I thought I was much more right-brain than the results determined. I also skipped one of the questions because the choices did not fit what I would have answered.

Your Brain Usage Profile

Auditory : 62%
Visual : 37%
Left : 38%
Right : 61%

You show a slight right-hemisphere dominance with a moderate preference for auditory processing, an unusual and somewhat paradoxical combination of characteristics.

You are drawn to a random and sometimes nonchalant synthesis of material. You learn as it seems important to a specific situation, and might even develop a resentment of others who attempt to direct your learning down a specific channel.

Your right-hemispheric dominance provides a structure that is only loosely organized and one which processes entire swatches of reality, overlooking details. You are emotional in your reactions and perceptual more than logical in your approach, although you can impose structure and a language base when necessary.

Your auditory preference, on the other hand, implies that you process information sequentially and unidimensionally. This combination of right-brain and auditory modes creates conflict, as you want to process data more rapidly than your natural processes allow.

Your tendency to be creative and free-flowing is accompanied by sufficient ability to organize and be logical, allowing you a reasonable degree of success in a number of different endeavors. You take in information methodically and systematically which can then be synthesized rapidly. In this manner, you manage to function consistently well, although certainly less efficiently than you desire.

You prefer the abstract and are a theoretician at heart while retaining the ability to be practical. You find the symbolism in a great deal of what you encounter and are something of a "mystic."

With regards to your lifestyle, you have the mentality which would be good as a philosopher, writer, journalist, or instructor, or possibly as a systems designer or social worker. Perhaps most important is your ability to "listen to your inner voice" as a mode of skipping over unnecessary steps to achieve your goals.

Tell me... do you know the difference between a transvestite and a drag queen? If you don't, perhaps you can ask Eddie Izzard.

I don't know about you, but I really love Eddie. I was watching a DVD of his Dress 2 Kill live show and was rolling around on the floor with laughter. He is really funny and has an amazing sense of style.

A friend forwarded this to me about what Eddie is up to next! I will definitely have to check it out...

Laura where is your blog update it we need it we crave it, please give us our fix we need to know what is going on. PLEASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSE.
Love ???? ps forgive me ive had a drink

I opened my email this afternoon and discovered this message from which I have excluded the name of the sender to protect their identity. (I will leave it to the author to decide whether they want acknowledgement for it...) Well, I am sorry... It appears that I have been neglecting you all.

It hasn't been intentional really. Work has been really, really busy. Besides that, I have been busy at the gym and going cycling in an attempt to get in shape by my birthday in just over a week. It's been a struggle and I will have to continue well past the birthday. I just hope I can stick to it!

I promise to get back to blogging soon. I have been a little down on the whole thing lately because another birthday is coming up and I have naught to show for it. I haven't even planned a party...

What was up with this pig? Weren't they feeding it?

It's getting worse. I went to see Cirque du Soleil in Alegria this afternoon (and, as ever, it was awesome!) and with my current I want to escape reality mood, I am ready to run away and join the circus.

Having to be an adult really sucks sometimes...

I finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last night after ten p.m. and I suppose I can have my life back now. I read it over two or three days breaking just to work or sleep (and maybe eat). Boy, the things one has to do in life certainly gets in the way of things that are really enjoyable. I suppose you know that I really liked it.

The trouble is that I really don't have any interest in returning to the real world for the time being. Even this blog is beginning to bore me and, thus, I haven't made much time for it. I don't know whether to apologize or to just ignore it. So, bear with my sporadic entries for now until I can figure out what to do.

Anyone got any ideas of what an incessant dreamer with an extremely creative bent can do in life to make it more interesting? If you do, pass it on. I'd appreciate it. If Hogwart's has any vacancies, I'd definitely be forwarding my CV...

It appears that there is some sort of conspiracy against Canada again. After all of the panic about SARS and mad cow disease, now, Fodor's publications is showing that Prince Edward Island has disappeared off the map.

I won't be buying Fodor's travel books any more, that's for sure!

This show is what straight girls everywhere have be waiting for! Why didn't someone think of it before?

You take one straight man, and a bunch of gay guys educate and make him over! Do you think any of it would get through to the one being made over? I don't have high hopes for that but it should make for really entertaining telly.

What do you think?

What Magical Girl Are You?

This really fits in well with me right now. I'm so caught up in reading the new Harry Potter book that work is interrupting. I can't put it down and am ready to sign up for Hogwart's classes myself. I really do enjoy a bit of escapism now and then... oh, go on, admit it... I love it all of the time!!! Cheers!

I love rowing but I don't think I would go this far.

You'd think if one had a liver ailment, they might want to take medicine for it. I wonder if he had a bender the night before and in a drunken stupor got into a boat and started rowing.

I suppose he won't get compensated from the US military either. I suppose they've been spending too much money of their war on terrorism. The sound like pirates, don't they?

Maybe they should take some lessons from Johnny Depp...

Speaking of pirates and Johnny Depp, I checked out the Pirates of the Caribbean on the weekend. Boy, am I glad that I did. It's been a really long time since I saw a good swashbuckling pirate movie! Johnny Depp was amazing and Orlando Bloom...well, what can I say?...he was great as well. Even if the film had been disappointing, the two of them together would have made any hetero woman drool! Geoffrey Rush was, as usual, an absolute pro! I can't say enough good things about it.

Life really should be a swashbuckling adventure, don't you think? If I get a boat, would any of you care to join me? You'll have to dig up your own pirate gear though...

Here's a follow-up to the story of the American's who were allegedly attacked in Squamish. Apparently, (and does this surprise anyone?) they weren't the helpless victims that they made themselves out to be. What I find most interesting is the part about bringing a gun back with them. This just fuels the stereotype of Americans being gun-toting louts...

This weekend, I happened to be half-watching television and I happened upon some PBS program that was talking about the high-polluting SUVs and why, even though they are lousy in the gas mileage department, people just still gotta have them. I dropped my beadwork to see this psychologist, (who no longer practices opting instead to work with big corporations to assist them in brainwashing people into buying things) explain that SUVs appeal to the reptillian needs of survival. He went on to say that even though people have all sorts of rationales to buying these hyper-polluters but really they don't know that it is the survival of the fittest. Bigger means stronger and stronger means survival.

I stared in disbelief! Survival? Is he joking? Ask any animal. Would they go out and purposely do something that degradates the ecosystem that they work in? Nature has a precarious balance and animals know that. Humans are idiots to believe they are anything more than a part of this ecosystem we call earth. Some will say that we have the ability to reason? My thought on that are that maybe reasoning is not a sign of superiority. Perhaps we are the weakest link for having that reasoning skill!

After about ten minutes of this crap, I turned it off. I must say that it wasn't all bunk... I was impressed with a satirical advertisement that showed all those fuel-consuming people as terrorist sympathizers... After all, many of the companies that process and sell oil are dealing with some of these so-called terrorists in the Middle East. Mr. Bush, does that mean we are going to hunt down these companies as well?

One other thing... I didn't catch the whole story but it appears that the CIA wasn't telling the entire truth about the weapons in Iraq. Mr. Bush should be checking all of the information before embarking on the war. The sad thing about this though is that many of us knew we weren't getting the whole story. (Late addition to this post... Here is an article posted on a friend's site about the lies...) Can I say, I told you so?

Man! I wonder if the guy who bought these tools violated the warranty? What do you think?

I've got a whole lot of stuff to go on and on about but don't have a lot of time. However, I want to share some of these stories with you for the time being...

When I was a youngster, I once managed to start up my dad's pickup truck, stand on the seat so that I could see over the steering wheel and drive it through my gran's garage (actually, it was just under a veranda) and then stop it just before the vehicle rolled through the neighbour's fence. It was a miracle that I managed not to run over my cousins and looking back, I don't really remember it. Just the stories... So, I had to laugh when I read this story.

And for you cat people out there, I wanted to share the story of the heroic police cat that died in the line of duty. What I want to know is what kind of training a cat needs for this type of job? Doesn't every cat hang around when you open a can of tuna?

I am afraid that you will have to wait until later for the rest...

I hope that you had a nice weekend!

Wow! I just got googled in a language that I cannot read! Anyone know which one?

Does anyone want a new penpal? If so, perhaps you could write to this woman. And if you don't know what she did, you can read about it here. I don't know about you, but I would find it hard to write anything remotely positive to this woman...

I know that you may have seen this before but if you would like to start your day off with a cute little ditty about condiments, check this out. It's even subtitled! (Thanks to Shu for passing it on)

Now, for any of you out there who believe that Canadians are not patriotic, here is a story for you. Three American campers were attacked by teenagers while camping near Squamish, BC on Canada Day. It appears that the campers were approached by a group of teenagers and wished a happy Canada Day to which they replied "Happy Fourth of July". Then all hell broke loose. The teenagers started yelling things like "Yankee Go Home" and a physical confrontation happened.

Now, while I don't condone violence, you have to wonder what these visitors were thinking when they decided to diminish the patriotic feelings of Canadians by bringing their whole American holiday into the conversation. I mean, here it was, the birthday of Canada in a small town of grassroots people and these silly people decide to ignore the feelings of their hosts. Or perhaps they just weren't thinking... But, can you imagine Canadians going to the US on Independence Day (4th of July) and start saying happy Canada Day? They would be lynched, for sure!

Anyway, that is enough ranting for now. Have a great weekend.

Do you feel too busy? This story says that most people in the UK take less and less time for themselves. It is the same here as well. Why are we letting others dictate our lives? Why are we allowing jobs to control our free time?

If all of us banded together and decided we weren't going to take it anymore, we would suceed in getting our lives back. Surely, they couldn't terminate all of us!

What do you say? Anyone care to jump into this?

Thanks to Olivia at Yummy Wakame for having these on her site!

Here is something originally found by Al. It's really cool!

And, finally! A photo of the beached blob!

It's official! Adrianne is America's next top model! Congratulations, girl, you deserve it

Wow! The Stonehenge mystery has been cracked... by Canadians no less! Leave it to those crazy Canucks to come up with something like this...

Just received my online copy of the David Suzuki Foundation newsletter and thought I would share it with you. This edition is about transportation. I hope that you find it as informative as I do.

Speaking of transportation, I met an interesting homeless guy yesterday who finds (or is given) old bicycles and rebuilds them to sell to people. He said it's better than collecting welfare. He was riding around on one of them last night towing a trailer that he had built himself to carry his repair items around.

Because he doesn't have a home or telephone, he was unable to give me any contact information but if you are looking for a refurbished bicycle, and you happen to be out by the Superstore at Canwest Mall, you can look for him riding around the parking lot there. You'll know him as he is the only guy to be towing a homemade bike trailer...

He seemed like a nice enough fellow but I cannot be certain that his found bikes were really found or whether they were the product of a five finger discount. You get what you pay for, I suppose...

It's a new day and I really don't have much to say.

As a follow-up to yesterday, the Iranian conjoined twins did not survive their surgery. I awoke to the news this morning and wasn't really sure that I had heard it correctly as I wasn't quite awake at the time. It was confirmed when I checked the internet today. I was hopeful that they would survive but I suppose that it was fated that they not be separate.

In other news, I received an email newsletter from the HaidaBucks people saying that the news that they had settled the lawsuit with Starbucks was premature. Read about it here! I know I write about this a lot but I love those David and Goliath type stories! I like to see the underdog win!!! So, I watch with interest and amusement. I hope that you aren't too bored with the whole thing!

In case you are interested, you can read about Barry White's memorial ceremony here. To tell the truth, I wasn't really a big fan but it seems that many morn his passing. It seems that recently, many legends have become either seriously ill or have died. It's the end of an era so to speak...

Anything that you'd like to share? Please do!

Science news is quite fascinating this week. Not only do we have news of the separating of the Iranian conjoined twins, we have this:

When I first read the headline on Reuters, I thought it said Bleached Bob Has Scientists Scratching Heads. I read it because I thought it might say something that would convinced me to stop colouring my hair. Instead, the thing that is stumping scientists is the age old question... "What in the hell is that thing?" Anyone care to take a guess?

I am really intrigued by the conjoined twins story. What do you think their chances of survival are? Do you think that you would have undertaken such a risky operation if you were one of them? Tell us about it...

I apologize. I have been neglecting you and I apologize. I just happen to be keeping myself busier than usual.

First, I would like to mention that I was one of the people that is keeping Claire of Toast and Coffee fame from having to cook over the past few days. She is leaving this city of ours for bigger and better things in Japan. I envy her. I will also miss her a lot. I know that she will be busy but hopefully, she will have time to keep in touch.

I started belly-dancing class on the weekend. It's fun but also a lot more difficult than I thought. I will definitely have to work on my abdominal muscles now...

I also wanted to add that I have always thought that spitting should be illegal. Now, I find out that in some places it is! Read about it here.

That's it for me today. Hope that everyone had a good weekend!

Wow. The day is full of juicy news tidbits. I thought that I would include a couple for your reading pleasure...

First and foremost, if I asked you what David Beckham and Duran Duran had in common, I am sure that you would be scratching your head like I did. However, here is an article which says that the aging popsters are following a David Beckham regime. Here is what the band told Reuters in Tokyo. (I just wanted to add that if John Taylor is reading this, drop me a line... Maybe we could get together for dinner or something...)

Next on the list is an article answering the age-old question. Do all prisoners who complete their sentences and get released into society live a squeaky clean lifestyle never to reoffend again? Apparently not, according to this article. Fifty percent get released and commit another crime within two years. Shouldn't we be looking for a better way to do this?

The big news on the scientific front is that they have discovered another solar system similar to that of ours. I suppose that they will have to research it more as technology doesn't allow us to see the whole picture. Apparently, it will take us another twenty years... (Funny... you'd think a science site would have fewer spelling errors...)

Finally, it appears that the case of mad cow disease we had in Canada may have been imported from the US. Funny. And they won't eat our beef... their loss, I say...

That's really it from me today. I did, however, meet a person named Leif today. Nothing really important about that except that it was the first time ever I have met anyone with that name. I guess there is something new in our lives everyday!

This is a question for those of you who saw Charlie's Angels Full Throttle. Do you think Crispin Glover's character, The Thin Man, will be back if they make another sequel?

Okay. So I have to come clean. I have been watching in the privacy of my basement, the reality show called America's Next Top Model. I just can't help myself.... Last night, they finally booted Robin off. It's about bloody time too! What a bitch!

Canada Day turned out to be one of those days where you plan to do things and don't actually do them. The swearing in ceremony was closed to the public and the Drag Baseball game was moved to the other side of town and so I missed it. Instead, I walked around with my friend J, enjoying the weather and eating lots of stuff that wasn't necessarily good for me.

As well, we went to an open house at a new condo building near Fisherman's wharf called Shoal Point. I couldn't believe how expensive it was but how cheaply constructed it was. I figure that if you pay between $750,000-850,000 Canadian, you should at least get real wood cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom and it should have hardwood floors. Unbelievable what people will pay for poor quality these days.

It made me happy to be middle-class and Canadian on a day the country celebrated it's birthday.

I am not as happy today as Vancouver & Whistler was chosen to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. Now, we will be spending millions, if not billions, on a two-week event that will have no benefit for anyone. It will degrade the environment (as if we need more development in Whistler) and will divert funding from necessities like education. I was really hoping that Pyeongchang would get it so that it might assist in unifying Korea once again. Oh well, looks like we will all be taxed even more to pay for the frigging event.

I suppose the only inevitable things in life are death and taxes...