he's talking about burning, but i'm so cold.

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 21:09:51 GMT

I'm having an overwhelming urge to procreate. What's up, reproductive system? I'm not in the right place to spawn nor do I have a partner with which I'd like to combine bodily fluids for the purpose of contributing to the human race. Be gone, you tick-tocking biological clock hormones, I have no use for you today or in the near future.

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:11:48 GMT

When asked if he'd run for mayor of New Orleans, Brad Pitt said he'd run under the "gay marriage, no religion, legalization and regulation of marijuana ticket." Now that's someone I could get behind. How about you?
Also:

Happy 3rd Birthday to Miss Victoria!!!!

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:54:32 GMT

My niece communes with sea lions. What super power does your niece have?

Additional cuteness:

A long-coated male chihuahua named "Love-kun" with a heart-shaped pattern on his coat sleeps at Pucchin Dog's shop in Odate, northern Japan August 6, 2009. The three-day-old chihuahua was born on August 3, 2009 as a young brother of "Heart-kun" which also has same marks.

Also:

Today is my last day of class (after all that stressing the first week, I think I'm getting an A, so yay!). And fall term doesn't start until September 21. What shall I do with myself? I was thinking of maybe getting a part-time job so I can be useful and such.

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:55:11 GMT

Part of the last statement made by David Castillo before he was executed:

"There is no man that is free from all evil, nor any man that is so evil to be worth nothing."

Is it just me or is this really profound and insightful?

Also, when reading this article (you have to scroll down a bit) about David Castillo and his case, there seem to be some glaring inconsistencies and inequities that make it seem, well, not right. Justice was definitely not fully served here.

So, what do we have here:
1) The victim in this case didn't die from the wounds he received during the robbery and shooting, but from the negligence of the doctors who left a NINE-INCH CLAMP inside his stomach.
2) There was NO direct evidence linking Castillo to the crime.
3) Castillo didn't have an adequate defense.
4) The main witness for the prosecution had been a suspect in the crime and also harbored ill feelings toward Castillo. Red flags, anyone?
5) When the police searched the home Castillo was living in, they found NOTHING. Yet, the next day, a bloody t-shirt and money bags were found. And this was a home shared by Castillo AND Garcia (the once suspect turned main witness for the prosecution). So, who actually left those there is in question. It could have been Castillo OR Garcia.
6) A witness that could have impugned Garcia's credibility was never asked to testify.
7) Castillo never admitted to the crime.
8) During the punishment phase of Castillo's trial, critical character witnesses were not brought to testify. And those that did were not adequately prepared.

I'm not saying that Castillo was innocent. I don't know if he was or not. He may have well deserved to rot in jail. But he definitely shouldn't have received the death penalty. Then again, I don't think ANYONE should receive the death penalty. But especially in this case where there is so much doubt and so many red flags and inconsistencies.

Here's another article that presents a slightly different view.
And now this is where I go, "Hmmm ..."
Castillo had been previously convicted of a robbery performed in a similar fashion. They found a bloody footprint that matched one left at the previous robbery. And the description of the perpetrator in both robberies matched that of Castillo.
But there are still way too many inconsistencies pointed out in the first article for this to have turned out to be case where the death penalty was enacted.

Amnesty International - Abolish the death penalty
(The Death Penalty, Questions and Answers)

Death Penalty Focus - Working for alternatives to the death penalty
(10 Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty)

Campaign to End the Death Penalty
(Five Reasons to Oppose the Death Penalty)

The more you know!

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:43:53 GMT

New word learned today: anti-miscegenation

What it means:
"Anti-miscegenation laws, also known as miscegenation laws, were laws that banned interracial marriage and sometimes interracial sex between whites and members of other races. In the United States, interracial marriage, cohabitation and sex have since 1863 been termed "miscegenation." Contemporary usage of the term "miscegenation" is less frequent. In North America, laws against interracial marriage and interracial sex existed and were enforced in the Thirteen Colonies from the late seventeenth century onwards, and subsequently in several US states and US territories until 1967. Similar laws were also enforced in Nazi Germany, from 1935 until 1945, and in South Africa during the Apartheid era, from 1949 until 1985."

Link for more information.

Sorry. LOLcats + babies always gets me.

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:21:17 GMT

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

and one more ...

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:27:35 GMT

So, I'm taking General Sociology: Social Problems this term. I'm one week in. There are seven more to go. And I feel like I'm going to fail it. It's been so long since I've had to read a textbook I think that I've forgotten how. Each chapter is SO long and has SO much information that I feel like I'm not absorbing and retaining the information that I need to. I've tried doing outlines to help with that, but the outlines seem to end up as long as the chapters because I have a hard time leaving out information. I also have a hard time putting it into my own words.
I can't fail this class. I can't. My parents are paying for it and it would disappoint them greatly if I did. And more importantly, if I can't pass this class, how will I ever make it through the rest of college? How will I ever get that degree in social work that I want so badly?
I feel like maybe I'm just stupid and not at least of average intelligence like I once thought. I know reading textbooks isn't supposed to be easy, but is it supposed to be this hard? Or maybe I am retaining information and I just don't know it. I hope so. I should probably just wait it out until our first test, which is next week (ugh!), before I decide if I'm a failure or not.
Tonight's class is about environmental threats. That shouldn't be too hard, right? Air pollution, water pollution, global warming, deforestation, etc.
We'll see.

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:02:35 GMT

My grandpa has bladder cancer. He first went in for a biopsy about a month ago. They removed the tumor and analyzed it. It was cancer.
He went in for a second biopsy this past Wednesday. They went in to the original biopsy site and removed a deeper portion of tissue. This tissue will be analyzed, as well. The results will be in next week.
The doctor is pretty confident that the cancer is superficial and has not invaded his muscle. If it is superficial, as he says, then my grandpa will have to undergo BCG immunotherapy.
This involves injecting BCG, which is tuberculosis mixed with saline solution, directly into his bladder. He has to hold this mixture in his bladder for two hours. This will happen once a week for six weeks.
If the cancer is not superficial and has invaded the muscle, then he'll have to have his bladder removed. This is obviously not the option we're wanting or hoping for.
So, if you're reading this and you pray, please pray for my grandpa. If you're not the praying kind, then send positive thoughts his way. If you're in the donating mood then, by all means, send some money to the American Cancer Society or another similar organization of your choice.

From Post Secret:

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:42:04 GMT

Extravagant Birthday Wishes (a girl can dream!)

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:52:32 GMT

Fujifilm Finepix S8100fd 10MP Digital Camera with 18x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Optical Zoom

Zune 120 GB Video MP3 Player (Black)

Sex and the City - The Complete Series (Collector's Giftset)

Ergonomic Office Chair - High Back Contemporary Executive Swivel Chair - H8021-GG

Portable Laptop Table Laptop Laidback Adjustable Laptop Stand Book Stand Tv Tray A4 Dual Layer with Extra Wide Design up to 19 Inch

Caselogic SNBP-17 17-Inch Canvas Lifestyle Backpack (Dark Gray)

(It's so fun to pretend shop!)

Writer's Block: Top Dog

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:44:41 GMT

What kind of dog (counting mixes and mutts) gets your vote as the champion of dogs?

View 500 Answers

Pekingese, of course!

Writer's Block: Your Favorite Series: One Last Go Round

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:25:05 GMT

If you could pick any TV show that has been off the air to come back for one more season, which show would you pick and why?

Submitted By idle_kid_city

View 502 Answers

My So-Called Life.
And if you're saying Friends, you suck. They had TEN years, man. They had their run. Give it up already. There are much more worthy shows that were canceled before their time, like ... oh, I don't know ... My So-Called Life.
Also, Dead Like Me. And WONDERFALLS!!!

Obama '08

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:39:24 GMT

Hey,

Want a free Obama button? MoveOn's giving them away totally free--no strings attached. I just got mine, and wanted to share the opportunity with you.

Click this link to get a free Obama button:

http://pol.moveon.org/obamabuttons/?id=-10003669-mG1aXNx&rc=ads.adwords.img300x250

Thanks!

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:29:03 GMT

Secret Daughter: A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother who Gave Her Away
by: June Cross

The Times of Harvey Milk

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 06:57:04 GMT

I just watched ...

If you haven't seen it yet, DO IT NOW! Seriously. Amazing movie. Amazing man. Amazing commentary on our society.
Just. Wow.
Harvey was and is a true hero, inspiration, and proof that humanity does, despite all evidence to the contrary, possess some goodness.

Harvey Bernard Milk

May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:29:12 GMT

RIP, baby panda, RIP

Baby panda adopted and nursed by cat dies
Fri Jul 18, 11:42 AM ET
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands
Amsterdam's Artis zoo says a baby red panda adopted by a zookeeper's cat after being rejected by its mother has died.
The zoo says an autopsy on the tiny panda found its windpipe filled with milk, indicating it choked to death. The zoo had hoped the panda would be able to suckle from the cat for three months before moving onto a diet of bamboo and fruit.
The tabby cat came to the cub's rescue July 1 after it was spurned by its mother. A second cub died shortly after the cubs' birth on June 30.
In a message on its Web site Friday, the zoo says the cub was healthy until its unexpected death Thursday. The rest of its adoptive family — the tabby and her four kittens — are in good condition.

Dutch House Cat Adopts Rejected Red Panda
Room for 1 more: zookeeper's house cat adopts rejected red panda
July 9, 2008
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands
Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday July 9, 2008. The panda's mother, Gladys, rejected her two cubs after they were born on June 30. The zoo-keepers initially put the cubs in an incubator, but one keeper's tabby cat had just given birth to four kittens, and the housecat was willing to nurse the newcomers. One of the panda cubs was too weak and died last Thursday.
A zookeeper's house cat has adopted a baby red panda abandoned by its mother and is nursing the cub along with her own kittens, the Artis zoo said Wednesday.
The panda's mother rejected her two cubs after they were born on June 30.
"She left them there, lying in the cold," said zoo spokesman Bart Kret.
The zoo initially kept the cubs in an incubator. But a keeper's tabby cat had just given birth to four kittens, and let the two panda cubs join the crowd.
One of the cubs was too weak and died Thursday.
The surviving cub is still smaller than the kittens, who were born three days before her. However, if she survives to be an adult, she will be slightly larger than a cat.
Kret said the cub will drink milk for about three months, after which she can start eating bamboo and fruit.
The cub doesn't have a name yet, but the zoo says that, through its adoption program, anyone willing to sponsor her will be allowed to name her.
The red panda is an endangered species that lives in China, Bhutan, Nepal, India, and Burma. It has a striped tail like a raccoon and is only distantly related to the much larger giant panda.

Bad writer is baaad.

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:54:44 GMT

I have developed a habit involving the wonderful online shopping arena know as Amazon, which feeds my reading addiction exponentially. It goes a little something like this:
Type in the title of a book I've read (and loved). Scroll down to the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" section. See a book that looks interesting. Decide to add it to my "Books to Read" list. Scroll down to that book's "Customers Who Have Bought This Item Also Bought" section. See a book that looks interesting. Decide to add it to my ... and so on and so forth until my eyes ache from staring at the computer screen, my index finger gets cramped from clickclickclicking, and drool has drenched the front of my shirt (books ... mmmmmmm ....).
Usually, I'll just accomplish my anticipated goal of finding a million or so books I want to read, but on one of my recent forays into the wild blue yonder of Amazon, I found the following and LOLed, as well as WTFed.

Nicky Testaforte fancies himself a writer. He's written and self-published his own book, Tales of a New York Limo Driver: Sex, Excess and Stupidity on Four Wheels.

The journey from dream to realization has not been an easy one for Nicky. Oh, the troubles he's had. In, Become an Author...The Easy Way (one of his Amazon.com Listmania lists), he regales us with the woes of finding someone to publish his great piece of literature and offers advice to others that may find themselves in a similar predicament:

You've got a great story to tell, or even a finished manuscript that has been rejected more times than the pimply-faced kid at the school dance. You know your story can sell, but the calcified naysayers ensconced in publishing houses won't give you the time of day.
What to do?
My name is Nicky Testaforte, and I'm the author of Tales of a New York Limo Driver: Sex, Excess and Stupidity on Four Wheels. Let me tell you how I became a published author, the easy way.
I've been driving a limo in and around NYC for the past 5 years after enduring over 7 layoffs and reorganizations from Corporate America. Doing this job, you see and hear some really amazing things. I was telling stories on a daily basis and many of my clients said “Hey, why don’t you write a book?” Yeah, why not?
So I started to log story clips in a composition book and eventually transferred them over to the laptop I installed in the car.
Once I had the content laid out in some semblance of order, I looked into the mechanics of submitting my work to agents, editors and publishers. Had I known I was going to waste time and money mailing submission after submission only to get form letter responses (with typos in some cases) like "Thank you for your submission. Your title is not what we're looking for. We are currently in the market for gripping stories of female rhesus monkeys who've worked their way to the top of the corporate ladder, while raising families of developmentally challenged squirrels. It's the hottest genre out there. Thanks and Good Luck!
And that's even if they bother sending you get a rejection. I still can't believe I was turned down by the publisher of not one, but two books about the creative uses of duct tape. Crap floats, but I digress.
So after that, I started looking into options to self publish my story. I'll save you all the agita and pitfalls of some of the operators out there and just cut to the chase. The publisher I decided to go with, Booksurge.com is a division of Amazon.com. That alone is a value add for any author depending on your technical skill and comfort level as they have ala carte packages to suit any budget. A very valuable feature offered at no additional cost is the “Search Inside” feature.
Pay to get published? Yep, but within reason. If you want soup to nuts, and you dump a nasty Word doc in their lap, you're looking at an investment of a couple of thousand dollars to get you to that realization of being a published author.
But if go about it like I did, sub-contracting the cover art and putting the time in to create a tight, press-ready PDF doc, you too could be a published author for only $99 dollars and still make upwards of 30% royalties on every book sold. Sweet huh?
But there are also tradeoffs if you decide to go POD. If you desire to see your book on the shelves of Barnes & Noble, good luck. Even after commitments from B&N store managers to prominently stock and display, B&N corporate twice declined to make it available for those and other stores to order. Also, if you try to get your title in the 50 plus Hudson Booksellers airport locations, they’ll turn you down flat. Don’t be dissuaded by their closed minded thinking, keep plugging away using the wealth of tips in my suggested list of helpful titles.
When you receive you first copy of the fruits of your talents is a great feeling, but after that the real work begins. Just because your book is listed on Amazon, doesn't mean that the orders for your book are going to start pouring in.
If nobody knows about it, how is it supposed to sell?
While you are writing and going about your day, you should be brainstorming ideas of how to get the word out about your book.
While I was driving, I pitched the idea to anyone within speaking distance about my book. Not only the clients I drove, but also cops, parking lot attendants, flight crews, other drivers, you name it. If they had a pulse, they heard my pitch. Poor bastards…Out of that, I got over 500 opt-in e-mail addresses of people interested in buying the book.
Once the book was published, I printed up 4 x 5 cards with the book's cover on one side and a synopsis and url of the site I built to promote it on the other side. $100 dollars for Kinkos to digitally print 500 sheets of the cover, four up on the page, letting me customize the other side by printing the backs on a copier. That content can change as often as I decide. I can even use the blanks as mailers. I recently used some of my royalties to make up color postcards. Check out Vistaprint at http:www.vistaprint.com. They have some great prices and the ability to upload your own layouts.
Those cards go everywhere with me. Not only do I hand them out to interested parties, I also stuff them in library books, magazines/paperbacks on the sales rack, driver-side car windows and every paid bill that leaves my house.
Take advantage of all of Amazon’s services they offer such as their Associates program which provides you with additional revenue if visitors to your book’s site click on links to purchase your book.
Write up as many Listmanias as you can, while trying to incorporate your title into the mix. If your title lends itself to a “So You’d Like To…” like this, work that one up too.
Utilize their Plog feature to inform potential buyers by posting anything you think will convert viewers into buyers.
Ask for reviews. When you get published or if you are already published, e-mail me to see if I am available, as I am willing to write a review for you. In addition if you are interested in reviewing my title, I can supply you with a full version e-book in return for the review.
Besides reading the books listed below on the mechanics of publishing and promotion, you should also research books from a wide range of genres and subjects. These can not only broaden your writing style, but also the layout look and feel of your book.
I’ve used these and many other ideas to develop, publish and continually promote my book.
So if I could do it, you can too!
Good Luck!

You see, Nicky can't get published through traditional means. Through no fault of his own, though! No, of course not! The blame lays entirely on the evil publishing houses! They obviously don't know what they're missing out on here. They've decided to forgo Nicky's work of staggering genius in favor of books about the uses of duct tape and memoirs of "female rhesus monkeys [...] raising developmentally challenged squirrels." How dare they send him a form letter of rejection?!?! He's not just one of the thousands of other self-proclaimed authors sending in their manuscripts! They should be lining up outside his door begging to put his eloquent prose to print. They couldn't possibly be rejecting his work because it's subpar. It must be because the publishing houses are run by duct tape fetishists and rhesus monkey sympathizers!

"WE DO NOT APPROVE!"

The real reason Nicky can't get published? The real reason that publishing houses would actually prefer to spend money on a memoir about corporate-climbing rhesus monkeys raising disabled squirrels over Nicky's tales if forced to make a choice between the two?
He can't write for shit. His stories are poorly written and are either obviously figments of his sex-deprived imagination (refer to preceding link - "One Client, Four Strippers and Nine Hours in a Chevy Suburban") or the literary equivalent of two Tylenol PMs and a warm glass of milk ("Mommy and the Typhoid Twins", wherein he picks up a mom and her three kids, puts their bags in the trunk, notices the two older kids have colds, drives them to ... ZZzZZZZZZZZz).

Nicky, dear, do you actually expect us to believe that on your very first night on the job, your boss entrusts you with a high-rolling client worth millions? Really? As unbelievable as that is, your claim that you were privy to THE WORLD'S GREATEST PORN SHOW OF ALL TIME for hours on end is a million times more so. You might as well have said that you transformed your Suburban into a spaceship, flew to the moon, and had a tea party for two with E.T.

I call

!!!

Also, I know that you're pushing fifty and you may well have been raised in an environment where racial slurs and ignorance were commonplace, but it's 2008. You really don't realize that "A Latino J-Lo Lookalike from DaHood, NJ" is, first and foremost, an affront to Hispanics, but also to the written word? You really haven't learned by now that Oriental is a descriptor of inanimate objects, not people? You really haven't learned by now that Oriental is a descriptor of inanimate objects, not people?

One of these is NOT Oriental. Can you find it?

In conclusion, Nicky T., here are my parting words to you. Do what every other idiot, under the misguided impression that they can write Shakespeare himself under the table, is doing these days - start a blog. Or, better yet, cease writing altogether. Humanity would be most grateful. Instead of writing, you could make friends with Nicky P. You guys could start your own club! But, please resist ALL urges to co-author a book. I fear, nay, know that putting any such thing into corporeal existence may instantaneously cause the entire universe's demise.

Sidenote: Nicky's idea of book promotion is priceless. His strategy? Find a forum (any forum will do), make a post with the seemingly innocuous topic of "what was the last book you read?" (or something similar), wait a few hours, and then log in under a different username and recommend his own book.
He does this over and over and over and over again. To no avail, though, because people end up actually discussing the books they've recently read (or fail to reply at all) instead of becoming hopelessly devoted fans of Nicky T.'s.
In this forum, he gets caught red-handed. Ooops!

Can't get enough of Nicky T.? Here are a few links for your perusing pleasure:
"Tales of a New York Limo Driver" Official Website
Nicky T.'s MySpace
Nicky T. on YouTube
Nicky T.'s FaceBook

If you're a member of sf_drama, then you've already seen this.

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 04:18:55 GMT

The Sky Isn't Visible from Here: Scenes from a Life
by Felicia C. Sullivan

Have You Found Her?
by Janice Erlbaum

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 10:00:51 GMT

Grief Girl: My True Story
by Erin Vincent

Rockabye: From Wild to Child
by Rebecca Wolf

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:40:03 GMT

The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness
by Elyn R. Saks

Her Last Death
by Susanna Sonnenberg

That Mean Old Yesterday
by Stacey Patton

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:31:31 GMT

Swallow the Ocean
by Laura M. Flynn

Driving with Dead People
by Monica Holloway

Manic
by Terri Cheney

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 08:25:01 GMT

Hope's Boy
by Andrew Bridge

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:26:38 GMT

The Women who Raised Me
by Victoria Rowell

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:23:17 GMT

Choice : True Stories of Birth, Contraception, Infertility, Adoption, Single parenthood, and Abortion
by Nina Gramont

The Girls who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade
by Ann Fessler

Without a Map
by Meredith Hall

Promises I Can Keep: Why Poor Women Put Motherhood Before Marriage
by Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas

ralphieinrigor@yahoo.com — Tue, 27 May 2008 08:23:55 GMT