Swiped from .

Your Years at Hogwarts by nevermindless
Name:
The Sorting Hat places you in:	Slytherin (Green and Silver)
Subject you are naturally best at:	All of them.
Your favorite book:	Important Modern Magical Discoveries
Pet you bring to school:	A salamander. He lives in your house’s fireplace.
You are most known for:	Getting atleast one howler a month.
Created with quill18's MemeGen!

Anita~ You are Anita Blake! The entire series
revolves around your complicating life. You
currently have two boyfriends, Micah and Jean
Claude. You are Bolverk for the local werewolf
pack (which means you punish the naughty ones)
and are Nimira of a pard of wereleopards. For a
living you are an animator (which means you
raise corpses for a living) and are a licenced
vampire executioner. You have led a life full
of adventure and danger and truthfully you
would have it no other way.

Which Anita Blake Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

And then again, I don't wish, because I really wouldn't want her life for longer than a day or so.

I'm having that feeling of “I don't feel sick, but I really am not in the mood to be at work today, because if I was curled up at home, I could write or listen to moody music, or, or, or…”

It's the grown up version of post-holiday senioritis, I think.

Playing hooky is NOT just for kids.

I originally saw this mentioned in 's journal, but it didn't register. It registered when I saw it in 's journal.

wants YOU. Check it out.

Your Patronus is the Snake! The snake is a symbol
of healing, hunting and fertility. He is also
the mascot of Slytherin House.

That your Patronus is a snake says that you are a
cunning person. You also tend to have a healing
influence on others…and you're a bit of a
horny little git, aren't you? ;) Keep your
focus on the more permanent things of life and
you will be a fantastic witch or wizard!

What is Your Patronus? Version 1
brought to you by Quizilla

Instructions to the Audience, from “The Frogs”
(by Stephen Sondheim)

Please don't cough.
It tends to throw the actors off.
Have some respect for Aristophanes
And please
Don't cough.

Please don't squeak.
We haven't oiled the seats all week.
You wouldn't want to miss a single word of Greek,
It's hard enough for us to hear each other speak
So please,
Don't squeak.

If you see flaws, please,
No loud guffaws, please,
Only because, please,
There are politer ways.

As for applause, please,
When there's a pause, please,
Although we welcome praise,
The echo sometimes lasts for days…

(Days…days…days…days…)

But first

(Days…days…days…days…)

Don't take notes
To show us you know all the famous quotes.
And when you disapprove, don't clear your throats
Or throw your crumpled programs, coins and coats
Or tell your neighbor scintillating anecdotes.
And please, refrain
From candy wrapped in cellophane.

If we should get rhetorical,
Please don't curse.
Wait til it's allegorical,
And in verse!
If we should get satirical,
Don't take it wrong.
And if, by a sudden miracle
A tune should appear that's lyrical,
Don't hum along.

When we are waxing humorous,
Please don't wane.
The jokes are obscure but numerous…
We'll explain.

When we are waxing serious,
Don't squirm or laugh.
It starts when we act mysterious.
And if you're in doubt, don't query us.
I'll signal you when we're serious.
(It's in the second half.)

(Half…half…half…half…)

But first…
Please, don't swim.
The theater is a temple, not a gym.
We may be in the middle of a sacred hymn,
So please,
Don't swim.

Don't say, “What?”
To every line you think you haven't got.
And if you're in a snit because you've missed the plot
(Of which, I admit, there's not an awful lot),
Still don't
Say, “What?”

Do not intrude, please,
When someone's nude, please.
She's there for mood, please,
And mustn't be embraced.
If we are crude, please,
Don't sit and brood, please.
Let's not be too strait-laced –
The author's reputation isn't based
On taste.

So please, don't fart –
There's very little air and this is art.
And should we get offensive, don't lose heart.
Pretend it's just the playwright being smart.
Eventually we'll get to the catharsis, then depart.

But first
We start!

(Italics represent spoken lines. The repeated words in parentheses are chorus lines.)

Nabbed from and .

Green – 10
Greens are some of the most powerful and intelligent people in the aura spectrum. Greens are extremely bright. They process information and ideas quickly; jumping from steps one to ten. They do not like dealing with all the steps and details in between.

A project that is too detailed is tedious and boring for Greens . They prefer to develop an idea, organize a plan, and then delegate someone else to take care of the details.

Greens are very drawn to money, power, and business. These quick-thinkers are very organized and efficient. They write lists and efficiently check off the items on the list as they are completed. Greens recognize patterns and discover solutions very quickly.

When Greens are in their power, they can accomplish anything. They love to set goals and are determined to achieve them. Greens are “movers and shakers” when it comes to taking action. They are also typically the workaholics on the planet.

Greens are highly competitive and enjoy challenges. They thrive on taking risks. Gambling is common for Greens , especially if there is a potential for large winnings.

Being strong-willed, these powerful personalities are determined to have their own way, which they usually feel is the right way. A person is rarely able to win an argument with Greens .

Which means, I'm really stubborn and a control freak. Well, an exaggeration, perhaps.

But then,

Violet – 9
Violets are the inspirational visionaries, leaders and teachers who are here to help save the planet. Most Violets feel drawn to educate the masses, to inspire higher ideals, to improve the quality of life on the planet, or to help save people, animals and the environment.

All Violets have an inner sense that they are here to do something important, that their destiny is greater than that of the average person. Most Violets have felt this way since childhood. As children, many Violets imagined becoming famous, or traveling the planet, possibly joining humanitarian causes such the Peace Corp. Many of these charismatic personalities take on roles as leaders and teachers, while other Violets prefer to reach people through music, film or other art form.

Because this era is currently the “Violet Age,” any Violets who are not accomplishing what they came here to do are experiencing an inner “push” — even an inner “earthquake.” Inner forces seem to be shaking them up and pushing them to move into action, to fulfill their life purpose. Violets know they are here to do something significant. However, they aren't always sure what that something is or how to accomplish it.

Many Violets were taught as children that their dreams and aspirations were unrealistic, so they have lost touch with their original visions. It's important for Violets to reconnect with their life purpose and vision, and to take action. Otherwise they will always feel unfulfilled. They will always sense something is missing from their lives. Violets need to learn to slow down long enough to listen to their inner voice and to connect with their higher vision.

And sometimes, I

Red Overlay – 3
People are not born with a Red Overlay. A Red Overlay is usually added to the outer bands of the aura early on in life because the person felt a need for protection. While a Red Overlay can offer protection, it also can become a terrible burden to bear.

The two most common indications that a person is carrying a Red Overlay are either feelings of intense anger and rage, or continuous struggle and self-sabotage. If these people don’t eventually remove the Red Overlay from their aura, their protective shield will eventually become their prison.

People usually add a Red Overlay to their aura for one or more of the following reasons:

They have had a life-threatening situation at birth or at a young age, which caused them to perceive that they may die, or that the world was not a safe place. Examples of life-threatening situations can include birth complications, severe illness, choking, drowning or suffocating. Many people do not remember these incidents, and so the source of their anger or struggle remains a mystery to them. They frequently have feelings of dread or of impending disaster for reasons unknown to them.

People may also add a Red Overlay if they have been physically, emotionally or mentally abandoned or rejected. Red Overlays frequently appear in people who were unwanted children, adopted or separated from a parent at a young age. This can also apply to children who felt emotionally abandoned by a parent, even when the parent appeared to be physically present in the home.
The most obvious and traceable causes for Red in the aura are those cases in which people have been physically, emotionally or mentally abused. Children who have been sexually abused, physically beaten, or raised by alcoholic or verbally abusive parents usually feel that the world is an unsafe and undependable place and that protection is necessary for survival.

Red Overlays can even appear around children who felt emotionally or physically smothered or suppressed. They feel betrayed by the adults, who were supposed to love, nurture and protect them as children. Not everyone who felt abandoned by a parent has a Red Overlay, however. The experience had to be intense enough or serious enough to have threatened the emotional or physical survival instincts of the child.

It is important for people to remove their Red Overlay. However, most people will not release the Red Overlay as long as they continue to believe that life is not safe.

Do your own colors here.

Another net link from John, can be found here.

Even on my T1 it's not the fastest load in the world.

You've been warned.

Hey !
This is for you.

* * *

So yesterday in the city, we were talking about how our husbands had no appreciation of ballet in general, and The Nutcracker specifically, and I mentioned that there's an hilarious send up of The Nutcracker called The Hard Nut (actually I think I called it the cracked nut, but whatever).

It's a Mark Morris ballet, and there's a review of it at CultureVulture that really says more than I ever could.

Two main points:
It's both a parody and an homage of the classic ballet.
There are men in tutus, who dance on pointe.

Enjoy!

So, apparently, when you haven't posted to a blog in a while, and there's an RSS feed from it, into LJ, and then you post again, it goes back and grabs the weekly archives for the last month or so.

Sorry about the spam.
Not intentional.
Or controllable.