Elmo Goes Nuts

A funny article I found on Digg today:

Sure, it seemed like after the years of hard drinking, petty crime, and
run-ins with the law, Elmo had
cleaned up his act -- but a shocking report out of Tampa Bay, Florida, says
otherwise. A two-year-old's life has been turned upside down by vicious talk
coming from his favorite toy, Elmo Knows Your Name. It seems that after a recent
battery change, the PC-interfacing doll began spouting death threats of "kill
James" at the toddler, with seemingly no explanation as to how the new phrase
entered his vocabulary. The situation came to a head when the boy's mother heard
her son repeating the twisted suggestion. Of course, what she didn't hear was
Elmo's other threat: that he would "cut anyone who crossed [him] end-to-end with
a Bowie knife," and, "dine on their internal organs." Fisher Price says it has a
team of experts working on the case, and enough tranquilizer darts to put Elmo
down, "For good."

Happy Valentines Day!

Best wishes to you on this February 14th!

May the day be filled with joy, love, and clarity. :~)

Memphis Wine Blog . com

After a recent discussion with a friend, I've decided to try something new. I've launched a blog to post information about wine events in Memphis. The featured events will range from wine tastings to wine courses to wine dinners to wine parties.

As you can imagine, the blog brings together my love of wine, food, and social events in Memphis.

Check it out at www.MemphisWineBlog.com and let me know if you have an event that I should add!

Cheers!
Angie

Facebook: Age Versus Membership

It's been a nice long weekend. This morning, I'm reflecting back on the weekend and on a topic I think of often.

When making weekend plans, I either talk to the person in person, call their home / work / cell phone, send an email, send an instant message, or send a text message.

What determines the method that I choose? Mostly it's determined by age. With a fair amount of accuracy, I've been able to segment my friends in my mind by age. Working simply by this one factor gets me the most positive results when I'm scheduling plans.

Along the same lines, I've noticed that certain age groups of my friends use online social networking sites, such as Myspace.com and Facebook.com. Within the users, their activity can even be broken down. Older users may not even place a photo on their profile. The youngest users will put many photos, including photos where they're questionably dressed or intoxicated. They will also post their e-mail address, phone number, work information, etc.

The reason that I think about this topic so much is that I'm smack in the middle of these two extremes. Folks just a few years younger than me are going wild on the Internet, and those just a few years older are barely interested to stick in a toe.

To test out my theory, I plotted out the number of Facebook users registered from my high school in Moore, Oklahoma-- by graduation year. At the low, I found only seven members from the class of 1990. At the high, I found 196 members from the class of 2006.

Check it out:

New Ivies - RPI Honored

Recently, RPI was named to the "New Ivies" list. I was going to keep the news to myself, and have been successful until now. But, since I was just there a few days ago for hockey and I ran across the article tonight, I thought I'd share.

To read the entire article, click here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/39401/page/1

Explanation for the New Ivies list:
You could call it a classic case of supply meeting demand. A generation ago, elite schools were a clearly defined group: the eight schools in the Ivy League, along with such academic powerhouses as Stanford, the University of Chicago, MIT and Caltech. Smaller liberal-arts colleges—like Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Swarthmore and Wesleyan—were the destinations of choice for top students who preferred a more intimate campus. But in the past few decades, the number of college-bound students has skyrocketed, and so has the number of world-class schools. The demand for an excellent education has created an ever-expanding supply of big and small campuses that provide great academics and first-rate faculties. The bottom line: that one "perfect" school need not break a student's heart. The colleges on the following list—the "New Ivies"—are beneficiaries of the boom in top students. We selected them based on admissions statistics as well as interviews with administrators, faculty, students and alumni. In some cases, admissions directors have also provided examples of "overlap" schools—rivals for applicants to the colleges on our list.

Here's the description of RPI:
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y. Applications to RPI were up 23 percent in 2005—a reflection of the school's reputation as an educator of scientists and engineers. The class of 2010 is 29 percent female. Students like the school's state-of-the-art facilities, including the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies. RPI also operates a co-op program that lets students work at companies like IBM. Hockey is big on campus; RPI has a Division I team that's won two national championships. Skiing is also popular; the campus is just 45 minutes from the Adirondacks and the Catskills.

Vote for Memphis - StartUpWeekend.com!

There's a cool new entrepreneurial program that has gained national attention: Startup Weekend!

Startup Weekend chooses cities to visit for a weekend, to bring minds and ideas together to create a new business! This all happens over a 52 hour period and has had success in other cities.

Memphis has such a great entrepreneurial spirit that this program would be perfect here! In order for Startup Weekend to visit Memphis however, we've got to win the vote!

Help Memphis out! Click the following link and vote for Memphis: http://startupweekend.com/cityvote/

Thanks!

I'm Okay, Safe, and Sound.

Hi everyone,

Thank you for the many phone calls, text messages, and emails last night and today. As you may know, I was in Denver yesterday on buiness and flew back in last night.

Not long after flying in, the temperature in Memphis dropped from 75 to 45 degrees. That drop created a dangerous weather situation that generated at least 3 tornados in Memphis. One was right near my work and one came reasonbly close to where I live.

When I flew in last night, I was aware of the weather situation and drove home to work from here before the winds got up to a predicted 80 miles an hour. Horseback riding was of course canceled too.

Everything is perfectly fine. I wasn't even out in the rain, and my car was safe from the hail in my garage.

Thanks again for thinking of me. I'm safe and happy here in Memphis.

Angie

It's a Small World After All - RPI Big Red Freakout Trip

I just got back into Memphis about an hour ago. I left yesterday (Saturday) morning and flew to Upstate New York to see the RPI Big Red Freakout hockey game. The Big Red Freakout is the annual alumni hockey game that my college puts on. It's been a few years since I've been, so I decided to go.

The other RPI-Memphian and I flew up together. While waiting in the airport, we were discussing how Memphis is such a small town and how easy it is to run into people. And, sure enough I did. The pilot of our plane was none other than my Oklahoma-Memphis friend. She moved here from Oklahoma around 6 months ago to fly for Northwest. It was great to see her!

At RPI, I ran into a few people who I knew-- the other RPI-Oklahoman, my friend Tom, and the ballroom dancing friend. I also saw quite a few other familiar faces, including an Alpha Phi, and the guy who used to work at the bank in the Union.

Anyway...

Unfortunately, the hockey game was less than memorable. RPI lost to Princeton, 4-0. It's the first time in the past 19 years that they've lost the Big Red Freakout game. Normally, RPI is known for a great hockey team, but this year, I'm just not sure...

In Troy, we managed to visit all of the bars that I never actually saw while I attended RPI. We made it to the Troy Pub (now renamed), the Ruck, Positively Fourth Street, and the RPI Pub (in the Union). I also stopped by Ben & Jerry's and I Love New York (pizza). Actually, at I Love, these high school kids were filming a drunk man. It was a little crazy; if I find it on YouTube, I'll be sure to share.

Last, we took a tour of the campus. Things are mostly the same, but there are a few new buildings. Oh yeah, and a LOT of added security. My two cents is that the security is totally unnecessary (at that level) and just takes away from the college experience. We were unable to even get into the campus library. So crazy. One building we were able to sneak into however was the 24 hour computer lab, the VCC. The VCC is built in the shape of a cross. It was once a church and still has the stained glass windows overlooking the students as they check their e-mail 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The EMAC (electronic media arts and communications) building was the most odd. It's completely futuristic and doesn't fit in with the rest of the campus.

Okay, well that's all that I have for now. I'm TIRED!

Here are a few photos from the weekend.

Valentine's Day Gift Boutique

Valentine's Day is almost here. Since it's one of my favorite holidays, I most definitely have a site dedicated to it!

If you're looking for that perfect Valentine's Day gift for your friend or loved one, look no further: ValentineGiftBoutique.com. You'll find flowers, jewlrey, chocolate, wine, and more!

This was one of the first sites that I put up, so please disregard the error message that's at the top of the page. I need to get in there and update that part.

Happy Valentine's Day shopping!

Walkin in Memphis - Activities and Events

I've been having a quiet week the past few days. It's most definitely the calm before the storm. Fortunately, the storm is all good things coming up soon.

This week, I spent a lot of time with friends. Our outings have included the Flying Saucer, the Westin Lobby Bar & The Daily Grille, and Blue Fin. Tonight, I'll either be attending a concert Downtown, or beating someone in darts. The schedule has yet to be determined.

Today, I have the good fortune of working from home. The weather was entirely too crazy today, and I'm often times more productive in my own office anyway. So far, it's been nice. I wouldn't want to do this every day (it's just too quiet!), but once in a while is great.

I've noticed that people around town are starting to get excited. I guess that the novelty of the holidays have just about worn off, but in the past few days, I've received more event invitations than I've seen in a while. Here are of a few of the events that I can share and you might want to check out:

• MacBeth - MacBeth is playing this weekend at the Hattiloo Theatre. For more information, click here.
• Down Home with the Neelys premiring on the Food Network on Saturday. Unfortunately, I'll miss it, but you should check it out. The Neely family owns Neelys Barbecue in Memphis and Nashville. This will be a reality show featuring the Neelys and their love of cooking. Congrats to the Neelys!
• Superbowl - Of course, there are tons of parties all over for Superbowl this weekend.
• Ballet Memphis - Ballet Memphis is performing at the Orpheum Theatre in Friday, February 8th. If you're a Bravo Memphis member, I believe there's a group meeting up to attend together.
• Rodeo - Although I doubt this is of interest to most, there's a bull riding event at the FedEx Forum on February 16th.
• Second City - The traveling comedy troupe, Second City, will be performing at the Germantown Performing Arts Center. I'm putting together a group to go, so send me an email if you'd like to join in.

A Funny Thing on the Way to Dessert

I had a great dinner at Blue Fin in Downtown Memphis last night. During dinner, a straight laced looking man sitting next to us was talking at a very high volume. He was so loud and so very expressive, he could have been sitting at our table.

At one point, he said something that had me almost rolling in the floor laughing:

There was a point in my life when I was a real derelict! I mean, I was
really a derelict for a while; for a few years!

derelict
adjective
1. worn and broken down by hard use; "a creaky shack"; "a decrepit bus...its seats held together with friction tape"; "a flea-bitten sofa"; "a run-down neighborhood"; "a woebegone old shack" [syn: creaky]
2. forsaken by owner or inhabitants ; "weed-grown yard of an abandoned farmhouse" [syn: abandoned]
3. failing in what duty requires; "derelict (or delinquent) in his duty"; "neglectful of his duties"; "remiss of you not to pay your bills"
4. in deplorable condition; "a street of bedraggled tenements"; "a broken-down fence"; "a ramshackle old pier"; "a tumble-down shack" [syn: bedraggled]

noun
1. a person without a home, job, or property
2. a ship abandoned on the high seas [syn: abandoned ship]

You've Got to Check This Out - Kidney Donation

I caught up with a friend today who I haven't spoken to in quite a while. He was around 6 years ahead of me at RPI, and has been a good friend for years.

He has decided to donate a kidney and I want to introduce you to his blog where he's recording the process. On his blog, he describes himself this way:

My name is Anthony DeGiulio. I'm 35 and live in upstate New York with my wife,
Amy, and two weimaraners, Frankie and Sammy. One of my dreams is to save
someone's life. Since I don't think I will ever pull anyone from a burning
building or perform CPR on a stranger, I figured donating a kidney might be the
closest I would come. This is the story of my experience.

Pretty cool, huh?

He's all set to give away the kidney, other than the doctors are waiting to find a few additional patients. They allow folks in need to find others to donate even if they aren't a match. Then, there's a bit of a round robin approach. You can trade your donor in for another that matches you.

So anyway, check out his blog and read about his lifesaving adventure: http://giveakidney.blogspot.com.

Congrats Anthony on taking on this endeavor!

Testing Time

Testing to see that Blogger knows I'm in the Central Time Zone, rather than Pacific... at 9:35 AM CST.

Tuesday Recap

Alright, it was a long day. It's 11:00 PM and I'm just now getting home.

First was work. It was a power suit sort of day. I participated in two presentations; they were fun.

After work, I went horseback riding. I was able to make it over in time to ride for a full hour today, which was lovely. I practiced cantering and jumping, and I could definitely see improvement in my riding since I started up again. I'm feeling much more comfortable, and am beginning to really have fun.

Afterward, I stopped by Jillian's in Downtown Memphis and watched Lindy and Freddie play around 3 games of bowling. I would have played, but I was tired from riding. Yesterday I lifted weights too, so both my arms and my legs were tired...

We went to the Flying Saucer after Jillian's, where I officially played my 3rd game of darts ever. I played against Lindy and Freddie, and proved once again that I really do need to devote a little time to darts. Near the end, I'd like to think I gave Freddie a run for his money. In the end, he easily beat us both, but I felt happy that I kept up. He even seemed in disbelief that I haven't played much much more. That seems good, right? :~) I'm hoping I can find someone in Memphis who's interested to play once in a while.

Alright, that's it. I'm off to bed. Gotta get up early to lift again in the morning.

G'nite.

Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Weekend Recap: Felicia Suzanne's, EP's, Mollie's, and more...

Well, it was another successful weekend in the Bluff City! As I do dishes and wash clothes today, I'm reflecting back on fun, friends, and good food.

My adventures on Friday started at Felicia Suzanne's on Main Street with friends. The entire bar was taken up by people who all knew one another. I had the smoked salmon deviled eggs with caviar. Both the food and the company were great! I also had a chance to stop by Hoop's Bar and EP's, where I met up with and ran into friends. I left a little early though... it was cold this weekend, and I was tired.

Saturday night, I visited Mollie Fontaine Lounge in the Victorian Village, and Earnestine & Hazel's, on South Main. Mollie's was packed to the brim with people. Word has definitely gotten out about just how good it is. And, considering how off the beaten path Mollie's is, that says a lot. On my way into E&H, I ran into Robbie, Ester, and Edison, who were clearly having a fabulous night; they were heading to Raiford's. At E&H, I ran into Lindy and her crew, who were also having a great time.

Today, my to-do list is short. I'm essentially getting ready for the week. Since tomorrow is MLK Day, I'm hoping to make it to the Grizzlie basketball game. Thursday, I'll be getting a haircut (whoo hoo!) and after that, it's anybody's guess.

Have a great Sunday!

Cowboy-Baby and the Magical Hat

This evening was interesting, in a good way. It definitely turned out differently than I had anticipated.

My entire to-do list was thrown out the window when my new horseback riding trainer called at lunch to say that I'd be riding this evening. I wasn't planning on it, but luckily I had my boots in my car, so I was able to go. All the way there, I fought through traffic and accidents and even considered canceling. Once I began riding however, everything changed. Riding is really the one hour per week when I don't think about anything else. It's a huge relief and I had a great time.

Afterward, I came home covered in dirt and with pigtails and boots, stopped by to say hello to my neighbors. Before I knew it, I was wearing my cowboy hat and the group had made our way down to E&H for dancing. Despite being dirty, messy, and smelling like a horse, I was most definitely near the center of things. I've just about decided: cowboy hats have magical powers. :~) More on that later...

And, the Weekend Has Arrived With A Bang: Memphis V. LA!

This weekend so far is WOW. :~) Last night was the perfect example of why I make Memphis my home.

I got home a little late from work, and started off chatting up one of my neighbors over popcorn. Then, I went home and was basking in the peace and quiet of the evening when I got a text message from a couple I'm friends with, "We're heading to EP's for a bite. Come have a drink!" So, I headed down to give it a try and the night took it from there.

First, I spent time with the couple at EP's. Then, I headed into Hoop's Bar next door, where I sat at the bar, ate dinner, and caught up with more friends. Everyone's been away for the holidays and it was the first time I'd seen most people in weeks.

After finishing the great egg rolls at Hoop's, a friend and I headed down to Club 152 where I ran into a few other friends and had a dance before we had another "change of venue."

Next on the list was Silky O'Sullivan's. Silky was there to greet us in his typical friendly way. Inside, some crazy, drunk, old man tried to chat me up while my friend stepped away for just a minute. This qualified for another COV.

Next, we headed to Double Duce! My friend was absolutely impressed that such a random place existed on Beale. If you haven't been yet, you should really stop by-- at least for a minute or two. Downstairs, they have live music. Upstairs is a techno club and outside, there's a mechanical bull- ha! It's an experience all of its own and definitely worth the trip. You never know what you'll find there. Yesterday, I found my first shot of Jager. Then, we were on to the next COV...

The next place is a little hole in the wall bar on Beale that I don't know the name of. I've been there a few times, and its always reasonably full of people. It looks a little like a hallway with a bar along one side. This time, we ended up sitting next to two guys who were in town from LA. They almost immediately started to complain about Memphis and how unexciting it is compared to LA. Since I've lived in LA, I could easily argue against this point. I asked just how long they'd been in town for (assuming it was a while if they were in so much pain), and I learned that they had just flown in that same day for a fitness conference. Haha. They must have been so tortured after 4 hours.

They were both so into La-La-Land... It was so interesting to hear them brag about LA, since actually living in LA is so emotionally challenging on just about everyone who does it. Practically everyone there struggles every day, and people constantly wonder if staying is the right idea, or not. One of my LA friends just called me 2 days ago with this exact struggle. She's not sure if she should stick it out longer, or finally give up. I told her she should check out Memphis. :~)

Anyway! Rather than explain why Memphis is so great, my friend and I decided to SHOW them! Our next COV? Raiford's! My friend called up the limo driver who promptly flew around the block to pick us up in the Raiford's limo. The two guys were clearly surprised, but hopped in with us and minutes later we arrived at the door of Raiford's Disco. After ushering us through the door, it was on! Unfortunately, our sad LA friends just couldn't hang. They didn't even make it to the dance floor before they were out the door. I guess it was just too much fun. :~) (Actually, it was probably just too late for them. Everything in LA closes around 1:30 or 2:00 AM.) Despite this setback, my friend and I were off to the races. We danced the night away in the DJ booth and in the back room. We were actually there when Raiford said goodnight and they closed down. Oh my.

Wow, what a good night! This is exactly the sort of reason that I moved back to Memphis after living in LA.

A quick recap of last week: After recovering from a NYE debacle, I came down with a cold last Friday. I stayed home Saturday and Sunday, determined to get better and by Thursday, my hard work had paid off. I was feeling better and had a lovely time Thursday night at Molly Fontaine Lounge in the Victorian Village. If you haven't been, you should go. This place is at the very top of my personal favorites. Yesterday was a fulfilling day at work-- one where you leave the week feeling like maybe you actually accomplished what you set out to do. And, that's where last night began.

Tonight, I will be accompanying a friend to an ice hockey game. In case you didn't know, ice hockey is one of my favorite sports. :~) (And speaking of that, the RPI Big Red Freakout game is coming up in just a few weeks. )

Well anyway, have a good weekend. I look forward to catching you up on more fantastic details very soon!

Happy NYE, sort of.

Well, the weekend went pretty well. On Friday night, I attended a black tie gala at The Peabody Hotel in Downtown Memphis. It was a celebration for the Liberty Bowl football game that was played Saturday. The Andy Childs band did a great job with the main entertainment, playing lots of Memphis songs. Then, Taylor Hicks provided the after dinner entertainment. I stayed for a little of his performance, but not all. The dinner was great, and the atmosphere couldn't be beat.

Here's a photo from the event:















Saturday night, I attended a birthday party at Molly's Lounge. Last night, we wandered from restaurant to restaurant searching for dinner. The first place was no longer serving what we wanted to. After we sat down, the second place told us that it would be 30 minutes until the server was going to acknowledge us. The third place was just too crowded. Finally, we ended up at Sauces. I haven't been there in a while and it was pretty good-- especially considering the first 3 places.

That brings us to today: New Years Eve, 2007. Tomorrow will begin 2008 and I suppose new resolutions for most people. Since I made my resolutions at my birthday, I'm not sure that I'm going to want a lot more. But, if I did have to make one, I suppose it might be to weed people out of my life who aren't who they represent themselves to be-- and those with the wrong intentions.

On a lighter note, I'm happy to be off work tomorrow. Today will also probably be an abbreviated work day. I hope to use the two days to get a few things caught up in my life. Finally, my house is cleaned up. Next, I've got a to-do list that's about 2 months behind...

Randomness - Catch Up Post

I haven't written anything in around two weeks now. Every time I start to, there's either too much going on, or too little.

Christmas was good. I went to Oklahoma City and saw lots of friends and family. Every night I was home, I went out with a group of friends from high school. That's the first time I've ever done that when I've been back, and it was great! I definitely want to do it again. Another highlight of the trip was spending a day at my new friend Holly's farm. Holly and I went horseback riding for a few hours which was super fun.

I flew back from Oklahoma to Memphis on Christmas Day. The airport was surprisingly calm, and I was glad to be back. The only annoying part of the trip was the stupid person sitting next to me on the plane. She was one of those people who will hardly give you the courtesy of getting out of her seat to let you into yours. While I was sleeping, she started asking if I was a high school or college student in Memphis. Turns out she was taking a trip with her high school daughter, which put the entire situation in perspective. Rather than get into everything, I just said, "No, I work in Memphis." People should really work on making less assumptions. Ask something more general such as, "What do you do in Memphis?" or "What takes you to Memphis?" Although, I guess it can't be all bad when someone estimates your age to be 10 years or more less than it actually is. :~)

Let's see, since I've been back, I've worked some and rested more. Nobody's at work this week, so it's been quiet. The coolest part has been the goodie baskets that keep arriving. I spent a big part of my day yesterday just sorting through Godiva and Lindt chocolates, truffles, and snacks-- picking out my favorites.

The past few days I've also come home a little early and have taken a nap before spending time with friends. Wednesday night, I went to Spindini for dinner and last night, I went to a friend's place.

Tonight will be the fun one though. I've got a fabulous date lined up to the President's Gala for the Liberty Bowl. It's a black tie event that will be held at the Peabody with Taylor Hicks as the entertainment. Here's a little background. My only real concern is what to wear, and that's such a fun one! I can't wait.

Alright, I've sufficiently caught you up on the randomness in my life. See you again soon!