Christmas is Coming

And you can't run and hide. Even before Thanksgiving there were carols on the radio, JCPenny Ads and wreaths at the grocery store. What gives?

Did anyone have Turducken for Thanksgiving? Other than Tony C, of course, who tells me he wrapped his turducken in ham and cheese, then deep fried it - yum, yum. I know he's kidding 'cuz if he isn't I am going to have to alter all of my Wedding photos to remove him from the party - and I really have much better things to do these days.

Traffic. Hate it.

I swear that drivers take Gran Turismo 4 and Grand Theft Auto (video games, for those of you not of the Gamer generation) to the streets. Sort of like how the NASCAR drivers practice their skills with the EA Sports NASCAR video game during their off time.

I mean, here I am driving along, la, la,la...singing along with Lite 106fm, who went to an all-Christmas-all-the-time radio format on Thanksgiving day (I guess their programmers and DJs get an entire month off for the holidays) minding my own business when WHAM! all of a sudden a car appears in my rearview going about a zillion miles an hour. I watch my mirror and hold my breath as he comes up on my tail (oh, sounds a little fresh...) and cuts it hard to the left just a fraction of a second before slamming into my rearend (he, he, he - you can tell driving terminology was created by men), veering his car into the left lane narrowly missing my left fender and giving me a heart attack. Then I watch the guy do the same thing to three other cars before he is quickly out of sight.

I don't get this style of driving. There is no point behind it other than to scare the shit out of other drivers and to see just how close you can get to another car before swerving. It is like every other driver is an involuntary participant in an ongoing game of 75 mile per hour chicken. But then how come I get pulled over for speeding?

Oh my GOD, I just found what could become my new addiction. Maybe someone will get this for me for Christmas? Steph, you need to get it to prepare for Daytona!

I also spotted a few accidents on the way back from the farm on Sunday. One was a little Scion or something equally boxy and ugly, that had somehow gotten itself turned around facing into oncoming traffic while the passenger side was jammed up against the Jersey barrier. I saw two kids inside. The other car involved was a Lexus or Infiniti SUV sitting up ahead a ways as if nothing had happened, and I swear I saw a woman with blonde hair and perfect makeup in the driver's seat. I had to think this was a game of highway chicken gone terribly wrong. And guess who was the aficiando?

Stereotyping? Sure, maybe, but I am now beginning to understand the appeal of the SUV. And all the while muttering to myself - "where do these kids learn to drive these days?"

Happy Thanksgiving...

...All you Turkeys!

And I'd better not hear of one single person having Turducken this Thanksgiving. It is the most vile concept I have ever heard of. Demonstrates the vulgar over-indulgence and complete disregard for the natural world that is so prevalent in this country. Gross.

If you have no idea what Turducken is, I applaud you. But here is a link. Let me know if you find it equally repugnant. Supposedly it is a Cajun delicacy so it is all over the news in homage to New Orleans. It was the most searched term on AOL this week (good thing nobody is searching for useless things like Tom DeLay...or Troops in Iraq...).

BTW - all three animals have no bones, explain that one to me. This is what the people with the upsidedown Christmas trees are serving for Thanksgiving this year - I betcha.

It's just wrong!

Gobble, gobble

Emmy Awards

We have had the good fortune to find out that Adzentoivich Music (specifically, Ernie) has been nominated for an Emmy Award nomination!

Yes, that is right. Nominated for a nomination.

What that means is that Starting Over has been submitted to the pool of possible Emmy nominees in the category of Music Composition. This means that Ernie, along with the other composers, are in the running for a nomination.

So if you happen to be in the Academy and are allowed to vote for who gets nominated, then please vote for Starting Over (who, by the way has already won a few Emmy's for past seasons).

The nominees will be announced in February, so stay tuned....

NASCAR

The 2005 NASCAR season has ended and Tony Stewart is the new Champion.

YAY Tony! I think Grandpa would have been pleased.

Here's looking forward to the Daytona 500 in February (hey dad, how about that family six-pack of tickets??? hint, hint...)

Mrs. Jinx is the Scariest Cat Not on TV

This weekend I spent the night at our new house in CT - the one we don't live in yet - with my cats. Ernie is in Los Angeles on business for a few days.

So me, Mrs, Jinx and Godzilla got in the car and dropped daddy off at Laguardia Saturday morning. The ride to Stamford was quite uneventful as I find it usually is as long as Mrs. Jinx approves of what is on the radio. Usually she prefers anything top 40, not hip hop, rap or KROC type stuff. More like Kelly Clarkson and Rob Thomas. And usually she likes it when I sing along (but sometimes not).

So Saturday morning I tried something different and tuned into Public Radio. They were playing old-timey stuff like Sinatra and the like. Mrs. Jinx was quiet as a mouse (Godzilla ia always an angel, it is the primadonna we always need to worry about) until some female crooner came on. She did not approve - not one bit. This woman apprently has just released a compilation of Irving Berlin tunes. Well, Mrs. Jinx did not give her a favorable review. I was forced to switch over to WPLJ - greatest hits of the 80's, 90's and today! She calmed down almost immediately. Crisis (and headache) averted.

That evening as I slept on the foam mattress in what will someday be my master bedroom, I was awoken by a strange feeling at the top of my head. I open my eyes a crack and in the dark of night I can just barely make out the silouette of Mrs. Jinx peering down at me from the pillow above my head.

She was sitting on the pillow pawing at my scalp! It seems she was trying to pry loose strands of my hair from between my head and the pillow. She was going at it with such intensity. It was almost like she was trying to tease my hair into some odd up-do. The thing is, as soon as she got a small clump free SHE STARTED TO CHEW ON IT! I immediately became 100% awake and brushed her off the pillow screaming "What is wrong with you! Are you insane?" and went back to sleep.

Later - I have no idea how much later because it was all like one long nightmare - I was re-awoken to Mrs. Jinx noshing on my hair again! I twisted my neck to see her and she was staring into my face with this look of utter concentration. I swear she wanted to eat through to my brain. This time I pushed her off the foam bed completely and pleaded to Godzilla to protect me from her. I threatened to lock her out of the bedroom. Since I was on the foam mattress I was basically on the floor at prime cat access level...I was completely exposed!

It happened again. I am not kidding. It was right out of some teen horror flick. I am sure she was intent on eating my head, had I let her. Straight through the hair to the scalp, to the brain. Like she isn't smart enough? Now she wants my brain too?

This time I think I scared her because she didn't come back for fourths (at least not that I am aware of).

Later on that morning, when I woke up at a more normal hour, there was a clanging in the basement. I hadn't gotten out of bed (off the floor) yet but assumed it was the furnace turning on. Well, it must have disturbed Mrs. Jinx (who was sleeping now that it was daylight). The next thing I know I see the bedroom door slowly swinging shut. As it shuts I see Mrs. Jinx is behind it, on two legs, pushing it with her front feet until it closed. She was sort of walking along behind it until it shut all the way. Once shut she sat there and looked at her reflection in the mirror that hangs on the back of it.

Is this normal behavior for a cat? I mean really?! I am afraid of her.

Have I ever bothered to mention that Mrs. Jinx weighs a whopping 7 pounds?

The Horror!

Shooting Star - Or Fireworks?

This weekend marked the year anniversay of my Uncle Bernard's death. He was struck by a car and killed while crossing the street near his house on a rainy Friday evening.

We had a family dinner at my parent's house on Saturday to commemorate him. As I was driving home down East Avenue in Norwalk I saw a huge shooting star/meteorite/firework blaze acros the sky. It was so bright and fast that I gasped and said "Oh My God" out loud to no one. It was huge and for a minute I thought it was a missle or something that was going to land right in front of my car. It was frightening. So I quickly made a wish - just in case it was a shooting star. So far I don't know if my wish has come true so I can't tell you if it was a star or not.

I kept looking in the sky to see if maybe it was a firework there would be more. I didn't see any more.

So thanks Uncle Bernard. We were thinking of you too.

Upsidedown Christmas Tree Update

This is a site debating whether or not this is a hoax. It is really funny.

I tried clicking through my Target link in the original post but Target no longer has the upsidedown trees on their web site!

Anyone know what this is all about?

It just gets more and more strange...

Adzentoivich Music in LA

Ernie will be travelling to Los Angeles today for the Hollywood Reporter/Billboard Film and TV Music Conference. Adzentoivich Music will be meeting with some of the top film and TV music composers.

Stay posted for updates.

What the?

Upside down Christmas Trees?

Now I am convinced it is the end of the world. Or at least the end of intelligence on this planet - or at least in this country.

What the fuck?And it's $499!

This is no joke. I wish it were. There was actually a story about it in Yahoo! News this morning.

The argument for this innovative new product goes something like this:

this unique 7' pre-lit fir is inverted to ensure a smaller footprint for less-spacious areas, and allowing more room for the accumulation of presents underneath

Oh goodie. More room for larger and a greater number of presents. Maybe this idea was brought to us by our friends at Wal-Mart: Wouldn't want to stifle consumerism this holiday season by limiting the number of large gifts that can fit under anyone's tree. Right?

I guess to be fair I should mention that some web sites claim this was the original 12th Century tradition. But, whatever.

Here're my questions

1. Can any Christmas Tree be turned upside down and hung from the ceiling - or do you have to buy an entirely new tree made for this purpose?
2. If you do indeed need to purchase a whole new tree, can old rightside-up trees be traded in towards a new upside down one? Sort of like the Government plans to do with the new digital TVs?
3. Will people now need to install Upside Down Christmas Tree brackets on their walls and/or ceilings?
4. If so, will these brackets become standard features in new McMansions?
5. Is it gauche to hang a silver or white Christmas Tree upside down? Is it only fashionable to have a natural fake upside down tree?

I suppose for those of us living in small urban apartments (recently reduced, by the way...) this will become all the rage, since all of the promotional material touts these upside down trees as being perfect for "...using a minimum of floor space, the unusual tapering shape allows the tree to stand in places that do not accommodate a traditional holiday tree, such as between two armchairs or in a corner." But if I see one in anyone's place this holiday season - and there is drinking involved - I might just have to turn the thing rightside up.

NIN - How Cool Am I?

Yes - last night I took my old, cranky ass to the Nine Inch Nails concert at Madison Square Garden. How cool does that make me? AND I didn't even go with my husband. I ventured out on my own with my friend Randy from Reprise Media. Crazy - huh?

It was such a flash back to 1995 and the scene of my last NIN concert. I saw Trent Reznor and David Bowie at The Meadows outside of Hartford, CT. That same year I also saw Marilyn Manson and The Beastie Boys - those were great times. Driving around CT in my convertible Toyota Celica thinking I was all the shit blasting my CD player with the booster under the seat. Ahhhh...memories.

Flash forward to 2005. Here I am, 30+ something years old. Working my ass off 10 hours a day for the Man. Buying houses, getting in debt, trying to have babies. And I shrug it all off for one night to go see one of the original loves of my life - Trent. I have to say he is looking mighty buff. Gone are the days of the Heroin Chic. His arms were like guns. His thighs looked very thick in his leather jeans. His hair was shot on the sides and floppy on top - but still jet black. He still had the moves though - and is still sexy as hell.

The band was incredible. They were so tight - of course. I explained to Randy the Pro-Suite rig that sat in front of us on the floor. He was a but dissappointed to hear that bands play their tracks, loops and fills a la computer and just sort of sing and play along on stage. For me it was really cool to look at the show from a more technical perspective and try to figure out how they were getting the sounds, etc. No matter how they did it - they sounded excellend and had more energy than I could ever muster.

They played all the favorites; Head Like a Hole, Animal, Hurt, etc., etc. Trent got all political in the middle of the show and brought out the old video projector with images of tanks, bombs and George and Laura dancing in the ballroom. Nice. The crowd went wild.

And speaking of the crowd - they were all old. Well, mostly old. My age. Not so many Goth kids. I mean, I was one of those Goth kids at the show in 1995 - I suppose we all were. Instead I saw guys wearing their suit shirts tied around their waists. Old fat guys behind us got so wasted on the $9 champagne that was being served that one of them was asked to leave - only problem is he couldn't really make it up the stairs. Hilarious and sad at the same time. I hate to think NIN has lost their cache with the younger audience. It's a shame if they have because this was a real live old school kick-ass rock and roll show. Something every kid needs to see at least once in their lives.

The kicker (isn't there always a kicker?) is that Ernie came home from his rehearsal and said "Kevin had backstage passes for that show but he couldn't go because we had rehearsal". WHAT! He could have given them to me had Ernie mentioned anything the day before. So I missed my chance to hang out with Trent and the guys. Maybe next time.

Anniversary #7

Today is our seventh wedding anniversary. Wow, 7 years! Ernie and I were just looking at our wedding photos and I have this to say - boy, were we all young and thin! And I mean all of us; Me, Ernie, Jennifer, Ethan, Bonnie, Tony, Deanne, Bryan, my mom and dad...Josette was pregnant at the time so we can't comment on her...It seems like it was literally yesterday. How does time slip by so quickly?

Thinking back to that day makes me feel especially grateful to all of our friends and family who have been by our side over the past seven years. I love you all and only wish we could all see each other more often. I appreciate everything each of you has done for us and the support you have given, specifically through this past year.

Unfortunately, nobody owned a digital camera way back in 1998, so I have no digital wedding photos to post here. Perhaps I will scan some one of these days.

Thanks Ernie, for being my best friend and going on this crazy adventure with me. I love you.