Yas, dis iz path

Multiverses!

NPR Sci Fri brought this:

http://hw.libsyn.com/p/8/f/a/8fab16c6d6eb895c/scifri20110304-hr1.mp3?sid=2ae3eb746d64a969a9916ef00945bbfb&l_sid=18801&l_eid&l_mid=2473204

The existence of multiple universes. I've always believed this (albeit abstractly and philosophically), and it turns out that some physicists do, too. Brian Greene, professor of Mathematics and Physics at Columbia University, claims to prove it mathematically. The link is for the podcast (31:18 - 43:15); open your mind first, though... string theory and black holes ain't exactly easy stuff...

Incidentally, it's from my absolute favorite publishing house - Knopf!

Thanks, but no thanks

I had planned on posting this the night it happened (the Friday before Valentine’s Day), or on Valentine’s Day itself, but never got around to it. But it’s been bothering me, so here goes.

Remember those guys who kept emailing from two different dating sites and four different meetup groups? The twins? Well, one of them wrote me again. What is WITH them? It’s not like I had changed my picture from meetup to meetup. Or my name, duh. I complained to my mom and she said again, that I fit a profile and “can I really blame them? They see a beautiful woman and want to get to know her.”

Ok. I can’t blame them for wanting to get to know someone attractive. *smile* But, yeah, I can blame them for not paying attention to the people they email. If they are emailing so many women that they don’t even remember faces, that grosses me out. I can also blame them for not being alert enough to even write a two-line “hi there” email without a number of grammatical and spelling mistakes. And uncomfortable enough as it was for me to return email the first time with a “no thank you”, it was even worse to do it a second time. (I didn’t want to, but my mom said it would be bad form to not acknowledge his writing me.)

It’s not that I’m fundamentally opposed to twins in general, or the idea of two people born from the same person at approximately the same time, or even the idea of dating ONE of a set of twins. I actually think twins are fascinating and even kind of cool. But icky, careless, argumentative twins? *shudder* That gives me the willies.

Ok. Done. Thanks for listening!

Do plants scream?

I can't get the sound of cracking bones out of my head. Crack! Crick!! Crii-ickity crackle!!! CRAAACK!!!!

No, that’s not it. It’s almost like a bunch of small zippers of different lengths being opened all at once. Zip. Zipziipziiip!! Zipitzipitzipit!!!

Hmm. Still not exactly accurate. It's actually more of a ripping sound, like fabric being shredded by hand. Rip! Riiip!! Ripripriprip!!! RIIIIP!!!!

Gosh. Close, but not entirely right. Has anyone else heard the roots of a root-bound plant being deliberately torn during transplant to a bigger pot to allow it to grow larger, live better, and be free? Because it’s awful, and it’s haunting me, and I won’t be able to leave it alone until it’s described properly.

And all anxiety this because of two of the plants I received from a thoughtful five-plant sympathy basket from my office from when my Grampa died. I kept it, because the plants were so beautiful. (Not very Jewish of me, but it was my decision, after all.) My brown thumb managed to kill the other three, but the peace lily and a lovely type of delicate, smooth, frond-y fern had been coming along fairly nicely.

Anyway, they both became root-bound and needed to be repotted. I employed the help of Vitamin N and we had a planting party. I used pretty green ceramic pots I bought at Ace and brought them back into the office. Within a week, the fern was entirely happy, but the peace lily was half happy and half sad… the stems bright and perky through half the leaf, and the end half of the leaf droopy, looking weak and arthritic. It made me sad too.

So when our landscape architect colleague stopped by, I questioned him. Why so droopy and limp? I watered it plenty. Well, it turns out I had overwatered it. And placed it far too low within the pot. He showed me how to “free” the plant by disentangling its roots. Then this kind and gentle man proceeded to smilingly riiiiiiiiiip the pale and stringy root ball until it resembled a shallow, upside-down bowl. And he really had to work at it, they were so tightly intertwingled.

I gasped. And shuddered. All I could think of was chicken bones being rolled over by an office chair. Or potato chips crushed by a rolling pin. Maybe eggshells screeching? This was Monday, and I’m still thinking about it. I told him about it and he said, "But now it's free!" I believe him, but it's like the sound is just stuck in my ears. Yuck!

So, if anyone can think of a way to describe this sound so I can put it to bed, please comment. I’ll be forever grateful…

ipadio: Shockers vs. Warheads

Fall beauty

Has anyone else been struck by the vibrancy and vividness of leaves this fall? The color changes have been breathtaking. The oranges and deep purplish reds are my favorites, followed closely by bright reds and yellows and then yellowish-greens. Even the sheer number of browns has grabbed my attention.

I also find myself investigating leaf shapes. I find the spade shapes and the long pointy ones the most interesting. And who would have thought tree trunks and branches would be so lyrical, singing and waving their arms as the wind rustles through?

If I wasn't in love with fall before, I certainly am now...

I love candy

How could something so delicious be evil?

Hmm. I love candy, just as I love makeup and video games. I see nothing wrong with candy, as long as excellent tooth brushing takes place. Readers?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/dining/27candy.html?_r=1&hpw

Berry Chewy Lemonheads and Friends

Mmm... Lemonheads. Remember the original ones? What could be bad? Bright yellow and tangy, crystals of citric acid stinging your tongue, then the nearly flavorless white candy hidden beneath becoming stuck to your teeth? Remember trying five or six at a time, and making your eyes water, then doing it again? What a (sugar) rush.

Lemonheads' friends joined the party after a while, namely Orangeheads, Grapeheads, Appleheads, and Cherryheads. They tasted just ok, but after they turned chewy, they improved immensely.

Later on, they went Tropical, and that was fun. But this flavor exceeded my expectations. These Berry Chewy Lemonheads and Friends are really, really tasty. As a "red" candy lover, I am hooked! (I like them almost as much as I like Starburst GummiBursts.) Kudos, Ferrara Pan!

So hello there. Hello, Cherry Lemonheads, Strawberryheads, Blue Raspberryheads, Red Raspberryheads, and Wild Berryheads! Welcome to my life. I'm CC. Let me introduce you to my mouth...

Fall out

Ever since I got divorced, I always feel a little bummed out in the fall, especially in October, specifically on the 25th.  If we had stayed married, we would have been together for 12 years.  Sheesh.  That's a Bat Mitzvah! 

And as if I don't already know the answer (yes!) part of me always asks myself if I made the right decision. I don't know why I revisit some of my decisions.  There's no reason for me to doubt myself.

But it doesn't help that the first date of my last serious relationship was on October 26th.  Or maybe that's because they were both Tauruses?  Aquarian ladies, don't fall in love with a male Taurus. It's just plain doomed.

Anyway, that's enough gloom for now. Pleasant posts are on their way!

Half-baked Butchie?

So I got a big pointy tetanus shot and two antibiotics for The Butchie Bite. Vitamin N said it still looks swollen but the doctor didn’t, and besides, I have a fairly squishy forehead to begin with. So I will probably be ok. I am to call if there’s swelling or pain up there, duh.

Anyway, I think Butchie’s losing it.

I mean, it’s not like I’d smeared tuna juice and cheddar cheese on my forehead. I was minding my own beeswax. And I can’t have a biter around. What if he bites my family or friends? Niecey or Neph? Me, again? On my freakin’ face? That would be terrible. So I read up on Alzheimer’s in cats, and recent history shows Butchie does have several of these symptoms: acting disoriented, changes in social relationships, changes in sleep habits, inappropriate vocalizing, forgetting commands, breaking housetraining, pacing, wandering, sluggishness, food issues, decreased grooming, and confusion. And I thought some of it was because of his cataract!

Did you know that half of all cats over age 15 show signs of senility? These symptoms are for ooold cats (I consider 12.5 to be “getting older”, not “ooold” just yet), and he’s never had great grooming to begin with… Twinkie had been coming around and washing his face and ears for him since they were babies. And it’s Discovery, which I trust, not some random bullshit “cat fact” website with cutesy-poo pictures and no actual research.

So hopefully it was an isolated incident. But what if I have to put him down? Like I said, I simply can't have a biter around. The thought of it breaks my heart! I’m going to call the vet today and ask if I should be worried. I expect the 400 bucks I spent there a month ago entitles me to ask a follow-up question…

Lunatic pussycat

Last night, I was doing some work with my dad on speakerphone when the Butch and Twinkie started crying. I know they hate the speaker as much as they hate electronic beeps but I can't hold the phone and mouse and type at the same time, and I don't have an earpiece. So here they are, myeching up a storm, when suddenly Butchie ran over, jumped onto my lap and BIT MY FOREHEAD.

Bit my forehead! I threw the cat off me and left my dad there wondering wtf while I washed it and peroxided it. "He what!?"said my startled dad. "Oh my goodness!" And oh my goodness was right. Two small round punctures and a longer bite, too. Good thing he's a housecat.

How bizarre. Not once has he ever bitten my face, although he does give love licks there very occasionally, and love bites on the hand very often. And he had been so affectionate all day, snuggling into my neck and rubbing his face on mine and generally being a sweet kitty.

Anyway, now it itches and Vitamin N says it looks swollen, but thankfully not infected. She said that cat bites on the face can become infected really fast, and counseled me to call the doctor. So I did, and I'm waiting for a call back.

I still can't believe this. I'll keep you posted.