http://ladyfish.multiply.com/ Welcome to the land of Palmer, Penrose, and Pike. Pour yourself a glass of wine and come take a multiply mini-vacation! For a wider selection of chez Havens photos and updates, be sure to also check out claydough.multiply.com. Tue, 5 Aug 2008 15:59:28 -0000 Fri, 1 Aug 2008 15:41:00 -0000 http://images.ladyfish.multiply.com/logo http://ladyfish.multiply.com 100 100 <p>A local mom has entered a contest to try to make the world more fun, by providing Birthday Party packs to local children coming through the Marion House&nbsp;soup kitchen, which is a block from our office in Colorado Springs. These are kids whose birthdays often go largely uncelebrated due to family financial circumstances, over which they have no control.</p> <p>Her idea has made the top 10.... And has gone out for a vote.&nbsp; The idea form these top 10&nbsp;that gets the&nbsp;most votes will win the supplies and cash to put their idea in motion.&nbsp; The person who enters the idea will also win cash, and this lady has said she will also donate her winnings to the soup kitchen (where her husband is the director).</p> <p>It's a great idea, and the soup kitchen involved is an incredible organization, and well worth your vote. So please click and vote:</p> <p><a href="http://story.maketheworldmorefun.com/blog/storyfinalist-8">http://story.maketheworldmorefun.com/blog/storyfinalist-8</a></p> http://ladyfish.multiply.com/journal/item/66/Every_Child_Deserves_a_Birthday_Party Fri, 1 Aug 2008 15:41:00 -0000 I was worried. The critcs all hate it. Even David Edelstein gave a scathing review on CBS Sunday Morning, and he usually sees the fun in a move like this. But I went anyway... And thank goodness I did! I think Mom put it best... after listening to yet another critic complain about the giggling girl-trios overdoing the insane laughter and bonding, she said "these guys have obviously never lived in a girls' dorm." First, let's get the questions out of the way....Can Pierce Brosnan sing? Not on a bet. (one star off) Is it all over-the-top and goofy? Yes, of course. It's agiant Abba technicolor musical. But that's not a bad thing. Is it totally a chick flick? you betcha. It's also a super-cheese-fest, and totally hilarious. What about the move from stage to screen, which has dulled many a brilliant stage show? This actually came of very well for Mamma Mia. The move to the screen adds two wonderful things that couldn't be done in the theatrical venues -- the incredibly f... http://ladyfish.multiply.com/reviews/item/41 Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:01:25 -0000 60 years ago today, Gayle King came screaming into this world, and for better or worse, it just hasn't been the same place since. So, this is what 60 years looks like... Happy Birthday, http://ladyfish.multiply.com/video/item/3/60_Years_of_Gayle..._Happy_Birthday_Dad Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:42:20 -0000 You've seen Clayton's and Mom's photos... and my new camera is nice, but not as nice as theirs... But it was a great chance to try it out, anyway. :) The structure at the top of the mountain is the old snack bar and gift shop, built I belive in the days of the WPA, along with the road. (It was once the highest snack bar in the country). It burned down in the 70s (the parts that weren't stone, anwyway) , and the forest service decided to just turn it into a viewing platform rather than reconstruct it. Not only is the stone structure left behind beautiful, there are interesting bits of evidence of the interior structures that burned away... You'll also see the gardens we stopped at partway up, views, a few animals we spotted along the way, and maybe even a glimpse of my parents climbing the last stretch towards the peak. My gimpy ankle (I had a fight with a stubborn weed last week. the weeds won) and I stayed at parking lot level to take the http://ladyfish.multiply.com/photos/album/26/Road_to_the_Top_of_the_World_Mt_Evans_Colorado Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:26:15 -0000 Food, Friends, fun, and fireworks. Young Parker was fascinated by the http://ladyfish.multiply.com/photos/album/22/4th_of_July_at_the_Murdocks Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:48:20 -0000 I got a new camera for my birthday, so I had to http://ladyfish.multiply.com/photos/album/21/Around_the_House Tue, 15 Jul 2008 01:33:30 -0000 The heart of the story itself is beyond words (maybe because the first 30-40 minutes of the film use maybe a dozen words in all). But here are some of the thoughts buzzing in my head... 1. Cross Charlie Chaplin, 2001 A Space Odyssey, and the all around magic of your favorite Pixar film. Then start multiplying. That's just a taste. 2. Best Love Story.... Ever. 3. Wave at Wall*E! 4. Pixar's latest entry shows why, in the world of movies, (not just animated movies... *all* movies), the best of the rest of the movie houses are still just the rest. 5. Cockroaches can be CUTE? Cockroaches CAN be cute. 6. And the Oscar for Best Picture goes to.... So just go see it, already. Take your sweetheart, if you've got one, and keep your hand nearest her free. You just might find yourself wanting to reach over and hold her hand. http://ladyfish.multiply.com/reviews/item/40 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 03:15:14 -0000 I'm playing this on PS2, but It's avaialble for pretty much every modern game system out there. The franchise continures to be a hit! The Indy installment is as good as the Star Wars LEGO games that came before it, with continued improvements to the details. (The new mailing "bonuses" you find is a nice touch, and there are some entertaining ties back to the Star Wars versions.) I've been spending way more time on the game than I should be since we picked it up a couple of weeks ago. I've finished all the main levels and one of the bonus ones in story play, and also almost of all of them in Free play... I am not much for big video games like this -- I usually stick with the short mind games like Tetris, Minesweeper, and solitaire... I don't like violence in games, and I get easily frustrated. But the LEGOs series have been tough enough without being too tough, and mitigate the shotting with the hilarity of everything being in LEGOs (even those of us who never played m... http://ladyfish.multiply.com/reviews/item/39 Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:10:06 -0000 Plot summary from IMDB: "Thirty years old and single, Beatrix Potter (Renee Zellweger) lives in London with her social-climbing parents, who are exasperated that she has turned down any number of eligible young men. Her only real friends are the animals which since childhood she has lovingly drawn and made up stories about. She finally succeeds in selling a book of the stories, and it becomes Norman Warne's (Ewan McGregor)first project. He quickly falls in love with both the book and Beatrix and together they carefully arrange publication. This proves the first of many successes, offering her the possibility of escaping from both her parents' way of life and London." This was a fun movie, showing an "old maid" asserting her independence and opinions, and eventually finding a life of her own, in a time and place where such things just weren't done. Especially if your social-climbing nouveau riche mother had social aspirations that would be improved by a good match. Some para... http://ladyfish.multiply.com/reviews/item/38 Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:56:34 -0000 If you haven't heard of this book, you've probably have heard of it's sequel, "Divine Secrets of the Yia-Yia Sisterhood". Altars was Well's first novel, covering the years of Sidda's childhood in the Walker house, then another period in her adulthood, with different chapters covering the same events from the different points of view (and personal priorities) of all the family members. While I take one star off because Altars is not quite as much a gem as Yia-Yia, it's still a wonderfully entertaining story, with more insight into Life with Vivi. http://ladyfish.multiply.com/reviews/item/37 Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:04:27 -0000 These cookies have very rich darker chocolate flavors, a brownielike texture, and are not overly sweet. I took these when we went to Ohio for grandpa's funeral, and they went fast. You can also add 1 cup of dried cherries, halved, with the chocolate chunks if you'd like a flavor more like a black forest cake. Notes: You can do 2 pans at once -position racks 1/3 from bottom and top, and rotate top to bottom (or vice versa) halfway through cooking time. When fixed "normally" they are the consistency of a gooey prownie... But To help them survive the plane trip to Ohio, I added about 1/4 cup flour and 1/8 cup cocoa to the recipe below, and cooked them a minute or two longer. The result was a more solid/less gooey texture, and a slightly deeper chocolate/less sweet flavor. http://ladyfish.multiply.com/recipes/item/4/Super_Chocoholic_Cookies. Sat, 31 May 2008 23:42:37 -0000 Crepes n Crepes is, big surprise, a Creperie. It's located In writer's square, of the walking mall downtown, with plenty of indoor tables and an outdoor seating area perfect for people watching. The food, ambiance, and wine list are very reminiscent of what you find in a Creperies in France... reasonably simple and rustic, but incredibly tasty and hearty food. Your crepes filled with anything from steak to ham & cheese, to fruit and Nutella. I spent part of my tween years in France, and Creperies were always my first choice for eating out. I've been in crepe withdrawal for the last 20 years, hunting for a decent crepe in the US... So when we came accross this place while wandering around downtown before a show at the DCPA, we had to give it a try. It doesn't disappoint! The selection and quality of ingredients, combined with friendly un-snooty service, some extra very Frenach goodies like Orangina soda, and a nice list of French wines, ensure we will return. If you want ... http://ladyfish.multiply.com/reviews/item/36 Thu, 15 May 2008 20:00:40 -0000 <FONT size=2> <P><STRONG>A newborn's conversation with God:</STRONG></P> <P>A baby asked God, 'They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?' God said, 'Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.'</P> <P>The child further inquired, 'But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy.' God said, 'Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy.'</P> <P>Again the child asked, 'And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?' God said, 'Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.''And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?' God said, 'Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.'</P> <P>'Who will protect me?' God said, 'Your angel will defend you even if it means risking ... http://ladyfish.multiply.com/journal/item/62/For_all_the_Moms_out_there_on_Mothers_Day Mon, 12 May 2008 16:12:00 -0000 A new character, and a small preview of what's to come when "Heroes" returns in September. I can't http://ladyfish.multiply.com/links/item/12/Next_season_on_Heroes... Fri, 9 May 2008 18:40:46 -0000 Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet are both trying to get over Mr Wrong. So they meet through a vacation house-swap website, and swap houses (outside London and LA) just to get away from men for Christmas. While swapped, they have adventures, meet some new people... and the general bent of the plot from there towards Jack Black and Jude Law is not particulary surprising. But the journey to get there is delightful, sweet, and funny. The film has a great cast, good writing, a few bends in the road, and the small British village and big flashy LA suburbs become supporting characters in themselves. Now on DVD, and well worth renting (or a Netflix slot) if you like romantic http://ladyfish.multiply.com/reviews/item/34 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:34:01 -0000 platecolorado.com This place opened several months ago. It's on the Northside of Briargate Blvd, just a little bit East of the Promenade Shoppes. It's had good reviews, and I've been wanting to try it, but it's on the upscale side... Then I hear that they you can go to the bar, and they have a special bar menu that's very reasonable. So a girlfriend and I went out last night to check out the bar at Plate.. First, since it is a bar, the drinks: they have a small list of specialty cocktails, mostly martinis, that sounded yummy, an extensive wine list, with a smallish but well thought out variety available by the glass, typically priced (not cheap, but not outrageous). House wines are moastly Penfolds brands, which are always good. We peeked at their full dinner menu, and the selections looked delicious, With a variety of appetizers, salads, and entrees, arranged by type/geography (French, Asian, Spanish, or Steakhouse). Less expensive than I expected, but still on the up... http://ladyfish.multiply.com/reviews/item/33 Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:35:52 -0000 Jet Li and Jackie Chan finally together in one movie! This is the movie you get when you cross Neverending Story, The Karate Kid, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The premise --a chinatown pawn shop, standard schoolyard bullies, mysterious travel to another world, a special fighting staff, a drunken scholar, an inscrutable monk, an orphan with a grudge and a jade hairpin, a Monkey King, an immortal warlord, beautiful landscapes, Kung Fu, CGI effects, and some random white kid from Boston who likes King Fu movies -- sounds really cheesy. But somehow, they made it all work. . I really enjoyed the film - its mix of action, humor, art, and fantasy was just right in my book. Definitely worth the splurge to see on the big http://ladyfish.multiply.com/reviews/item/32 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:31:00 -0000 <P>The first two stories that seeped through my semiconscious this morning as the TV-alarm vainly tried to wake me up, were a couple of city names&nbsp;very familiar to me. The sort of names that you just don't hear out of the mouth of Robin Meade &amp; Co. all that often.</P> <P>--an Earthquake&nbsp;centered near Evansville, IN&nbsp;(just down the road from where I grew up), </P> <P>--a lady here in Colorado Springs has been arrested, apparently under suspicion of making the call (supposedly from a 16 year old girl)&nbsp;that led to the raid of that Texas polygamy ranch.</P> <P>I suspect it's going to be a wierd day.&nbsp;</P> http://ladyfish.multiply.com/journal/item/59/I_need_to_stop_waking_up_to_CNN_Headline_News Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:21:00 -0000 <P _extended="true">According to CNN reports, legendary animator Ollie Johnston has died of natural causes at age 95.&nbsp;&nbsp;He was the last of Walt Disney's&nbsp;"Nine Old Men" - the first generation of Disney's great animators, whose groudbreaking work&nbsp;turned animation into an art form.</P> <P _extended="true">Ollie&nbsp;contributed animation and direction to classics such as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Pinocchio," "Fantasia," "Song of the South," "Cinderella," and "Alice in Wonderland."<FONT size=1> </FONT></P> <P _extended="true">In addition, he was the last remaining&nbsp;half of "Frank and Ollie". The lifelong friendship and working partnership between Ollie and fellow "9 old men" member Frank Thomas was the stuff of legend --&nbsp;best friends and&nbsp;next door neighbors for over 60 years,&nbsp;bringing to life many of childhood's most memorable characters&nbsp;and&nbsp;inspiring multiple documentaries.</P> <P _extended="true">And finally, he was one of my heroes, right&nbsp;below&nbsp;the&nbsp;Disney brothers themselves.</P> <P _extended="true">Ollie's passing truly marks the end of a generati... http://ladyfish.multiply.com/journal/item/58/Goodbye_Ollie Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:49:00 -0000 The cookie itself runs sweeter than most, and comes out crisp on the outside, and chewy-gooey in the middle, and a nice hint of nutty. Yummmm! The recipe comes from "Ultimate Recipe Showdown", which is a series of national recipe contests. on Food Network. This won the chocoolate chip cookie round, and at 99 points overall, was just barely edged out for the all-cookie title. http://ladyfish.multiply.com/recipes/item/3/Radical_Robs_Chocolate_Chip_Cookies_-_Ultimate_Recipe_Showdown Wed, 9 Apr 2008 18:31:23 -0000 <P>Walking around over lunch break today,&nbsp;in the sunniest corners of the otherwise barren landscape beds, we found&nbsp;saw two small clumps of&nbsp;yellow and purple Crocuses (Crocii?) exploding with blooms, and a&nbsp;stand of daffodil&nbsp;buds, preparing&nbsp;to burst into&nbsp;lemon-yellow blooms, likely by the end of the week.&nbsp;</P> <P>It's finally SPRING!</P> http://ladyfish.multiply.com/journal/item/57/Spring_is_springing_in_the_Springs Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:32:00 -0000 <P>From careerbuilder.com:</P> <P _extended="true">"While faking a resignation, gluing office supplies to the desk and covering someones cube in aluminum foil are among the most common office pranks, here are 10 of the most memorable pranks from this year's survey:</P> <P _extended="true">1. Placed a pair of pants and shoes inside the only toilet stall in a men's room to make it appear someone was using the stall. It sat there for hours until someone called security to check if the person had died.</P> <P _extended="true">2. Sent a fake love note to a co-worker from another co-worker.</P> <H4 _extended="true">3. All the women in office individually spoke to the president, confiding that she is pregnant. By noon, he 'knew' that all of his female workers were pregnant and he could not tell anyone because each asked for confidentially.</H4> <P _extended="true">4. Called the electric company, used a co-worker's name and told them he was moving so the electricity got turned off at the co-worker's house.</P> <P _extended="true">5. Filled the vending soda machine with cans of beer.</P> <P _extended="true">6. Rigged the boss' chair to drop suddenly during a staf... http://ladyfish.multiply.com/journal/item/56/Top_10_April_Fools_office_pranks Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:49:00 -0000 summary from the back cover: "A most untraditional love story, this is the celebrated tale of Henry, a dashing adventuresome librarian who involuntarily travels through time, and Clare, an artist whose life takes a natural sequential course, Henry and Clare's passionate affair endures accross the sea of time and captures thim in an impossibly romantic trap that tests the stregth of fate and basks in the bonds of love." It took me a little bit to get into the time-jumping and follow the format. But once I really got into it, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. A great, well written story, an interesting take on the questions of fate vs. free will that necessarily come with the ideo of time travel, and as an added bonus for me, a backdrop of Chicago and Evanston (my college home) in the 90's. It's always kind of neat to read about your own former favorite haunts (hurrah for Bookman's Alley and the Field museum!) in a good book. http://ladyfish.multiply.com/reviews/item/31 Sat, 15 Mar 2008 21:38:49 -0000 from Amazon: "Stripped of everything after his parents' untimely death, twenty-three-year old Jacob Jankowski hops a train that by chance belongs to The Flying Squadron of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, Jacob hires on to care for the menagerie, his veterinary training giving him an entre into this bizarre world; but as the novel begins, Jacob is an old man, restricted to an assisted living home, his memories sparked by a nearby visiting circus and a creeping helplessness that assaults his ageing body..." This was a fascinating page turner, with a few twists and turns. It starts with a glimpse at the end... but how the story actually gets you there us sometimes surprising, and always entertaining. Gruen did a lot of research on the world of the train circuses in the despression, and it comes through in the book--not so much in facts and figures, but in the way she paints life on the train and under the bigtop as its own character. You really start to feel like... http://ladyfish.multiply.com/reviews/item/30 Sat, 8 Mar 2008 21:41:28 -0000 <P>I love spring.&nbsp; Daffodils are my favorite flower, because they signal the beginnings of&nbsp;a new year of possibilities, and the end of&nbsp;a&nbsp;winter season that always last just a little too long.&nbsp; So Mom e-mailed me the other day, and mentioned how the daffodils are blooming and spring has sprung down in Houston..</P> <P>I look at the calendar. Here in the Springs, we are at least 2 months from Daffodils downtown ,&nbsp;closer to 3 months at our house, and I daren't even think&nbsp;about what to&nbsp;plant in my outdoor flowerpots until at least Mother's Day.</P> <P>Now, the&nbsp;trade-off is that&nbsp;I won't be drowning in my own sweat and&nbsp;dying from mosquito bites&nbsp;from May to October, and I get&nbsp;year round&nbsp;sunshine, much more&nbsp;than nearly every other sizable city in the country... so even the winter here is usually&nbsp;pretty nice.&nbsp;&nbsp;So 95% of the year I know I've got the better deal.</P> <P>But for the next&nbsp;week,&nbsp;as winter here&nbsp;gets old,... http://ladyfish.multiply.com/journal/item/54/Lamenting_spring... Tue, 4 Mar 2008 00:08:00 -0000 so I'm way behind on movies, and I finally got this on Netflix. I know, wierd that a Disney animated movie took me so long to get to. I'd heard it was a pathetic attempt by Disney to do CGI withour Pixar, so I keot pushing it off, And now that I've seen it, I'm sorry I waited. It was a delightful story set in a bit of a sci-fi background, but with all the heart and humor of a true Disney feature.... and all based on a quote from Walt himself. It was not one of the best Disney movies, but I found it very watchable, entertaining, and endearing... a nice movie making good advatage of the CGI animation medium, but always just as a support to the story, never overshadowing it. If Walt were still with us, he would http://ladyfish.multiply.com/reviews/item/29 Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:38:52 -0000