we're setting records...thanks a lot al.

The Oklahoma City area received about an inch of rain in 24 hours, bringing the city's annual total to 28.03 inches — about 10 inches above normal. Rain fell in Oklahoma City Wednesday for the 15th consecutive day, breaking a 70-year-old record.

two thoughts for tuesday...

1. another amazing thing that i need to have in my life. take this all you bad veins and phlebotomists in the world.

Drawing blood is painful enough. But it’s made more so when phlebotomists can’t nail down a vein. Thanks to the VeinViewer Imaging System, multiple pricks are becoming a thing of the past.

Developed by Luminetx, the device sees what human eyes can’t by casting green near-infrared light on skin (STLToday.com 6.14.07). The light beams itself about a third of an inch into the skin. Tissues surrounding the veins reflect light back while the blood absorbs the light, making the veins appear as recognizable black lines.

VeinViewer is comforting news for dehydrated patients, wee ones, old folks and others whose veins are difficult to find, or that easily collapse. And it saves money since less time is spent hunting and poking.


2. i'm fascinated by the recent kelly clarkson label/new cd drama - mostly because i'm convinced that the music industry is out to screw all artists and she's taking a stand. they want to remove all creativity and just make radio hits - yes, i realize this is how the business works but that doesn't make it right. anyway, i'm encouraging everyone to buy her new album today because of the principle of the matter.

kelly, you might not have five #1 singles and be a size 4 but i think you're awesome anyway.

george says hi...

so me and four guys from a little band in okc headed to washington, dc last week...and i have to say it was a fabulously great experience. i was a little apprehensive for a couple of reasons.

one, traveling with them is often very annoying. two, e was in charge of setting this outing up so i didn't know what to expect about anything. and well i'm a planner so i was a little stressed not knowing all the details.

keep in mind all i know is that there is a huge internet radio/royalty something going on and the band is coming to participate in a meeting or panel or demonstration...i have no idea. i know that we are going to dc and there will be meeting with our state senators. so we get there and quickly find out that e is participating in a senate staff briefing in about an hour. basically he was on a panel discussion with other musicians (one being the bass player for the decemberists...pretty cool) to discuss the importance of internet radio to them. senate staffers will be there to listen and ask questions - and the hope is that they will report back to their bosses the importance of the topic - in this case it is co-sponsoring a bill that will change the status of the internet radio royalty issue.

so he speaks, the guys play an outdoor concert with the capitol building in the background...good times.

tuesday we find out we will meeting with staffers from various senators and congressmen offices about the topic. joining us in our meetings is a lobbyist. fascinating. fascinating is the only way i can describe the experience. seeing how the lobbyist works, asking questions about the process, finding out what staffers know and educating them about the topic and learning that maybe if we scream loud enough we could change the direction of things.

it may sound cheesy but i think i have a little bit more faith in our system. i have better understanding of the conflicts that lawmakers must face. i feel compelled to play a bigger role in things. and maybe encourage you to do the same. so on that note...

CALL YOUR SENATORS AND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE NOW TO ASK THEM TO CO-SPONSOR THE INTERNET RADIO EQUALITY ACT, S. 1353 IN THE SENATE AND H.R. 2060 IN THE HOUSE,The future of Internet radio is in immediate danger. Royalty rates for webcasters have been drastically increased by a recent ruling and are due to go into effect on July 15 (retroactive to Jan 1, 2006!). If the increased rates remain unchanged, the majority of webcasters will go bankrupt and silent on this date. Internet radio needs your help! The Internet Radio Equality Act has recently been introduced in both the House and Senate to save the Internet radio industry. Please call your senators and your representative to ask them to co-sponsor the Internet Radio Equality Act.

i don't understand all the ins and outs of this ruling but i do know that it will be detrimental to independent artists (especially those that don't fit the mainstream, commercial radio mold) and how they are able to distribute their music. and i believe this is just a way for the big labels and mega radio conglomerates to keep control of their industry.

anyway, you can learn more about the ruling and how it will affect Internet radio stations, independent artists and the music industry at http://www.savenetradio.org/ or better yet you can find contact information for your lawmakers and give them a call.

i'll post some pictures of our trip soon...until then go call mary fallin and tell her you support faith, family, freedom and independent musicians.

i'm so...

glad i went to dc.

happy to rest a bit.

overjoyed that tomorrow is friday.

impressed with the folks at www.savenetradio.org.

tired - i will have to blog about my trip later.

i'm off to see george...

the bags are packed, the picketing sign is made and i've got a game plan.

see you in a few days...i'll leave you with this.

if one more thing needs to be fixed i swear...

i'm going to cry...or curse...or eat another cookie.

ok, it's not as bad as it sounds but i'm so, so very tired of things breaking, or leaking, or vomiting, or pulling a muscle. i'm just tired. tired of bloodletting, tired of headaches, tired of allergies, tired of me.

sigh.

it's friday. i have a five day weekend of me. in two days i am going to our nation's great capitol. ol, right? i know the trick for principle and principal. or dessert and desert. is there a trick for capital and capitol? anyway, i digress. i'm sort of in a funk.

e has hurt his back and has a two day trip to iowa and then a three day trip to dc. and i'm not sure when he will have time to rest up and heal. errr..i want to tell him to stay home sick from the band but we all know that will never happen. i worry. i worry too much.

and then i'm stressed about this trip. when did i become such a ridiculous worrier? i've always worried but worrying about a trip - a mostly free, super cool trip. that's just stupid.

and then there's the dog. the metro. will our flights arrive on time? will the band make it home on time? will this be the trip that the non-accident luck runs out? will i figure out this stupid mac? why is my head hurting again?

"Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear." - Corrie Ten Boom

and then i wonder. what is it that i fear?

i'm going to try and sleep away my inefficient thoughts now...

$50k worth of happiness...

i as watching oprah last night and she mentioned the following...

...report that sex "enters so strongly (and) positively in happiness equations" that they estimate increasing intercourse from once a month to once a week is equivalent to the amount of happiness generated by getting an additional $50,000 in income for the average American. more

fascinating.

not again...

my a/c is broken. but it's ok. i'm not going to freak out. (note: i already freaked a bit and bought a $5 pizza but i only at 3 pieces. and i didn't get ice cream too...which i really wanted).

but seriously, i'm not going to get all in a tizzy about money and the heat and my lack of overwhelming financial security. i'm just going to go with the flow. life is good. i have an a/c to break.

sigh.

have you heard? i'm going to washington, dc on monday. and i'm excited.

but it did involve a place ticket...shut up worry wart mind...don't start freaking now. all will be ok.

sigh again.

a chocolate chip cookie would be really good right now...

i need a holiday...

today i watched the documentary 49 up...a very interesting series of films that have followed the lives of some british children since 1963..if you're into that sort of thing. but really watching a bunch brits made me realize that i need a holiday in spain, or scotland or someplace european.

this weekend has been ok. i've watched a few movies. friday i watched half nelson. i'm not sure what i thought of it. saturday i went to the matinée and saw the waitress. i enjoyed it. and last night i went downtown and watched the new flaming lips dvd - it was a lot of fun. it just reminded what a super fun concert that was. i wish okc did a lot more of stuff like that. it was so nice to be outside, watching a movie with a couple of hundred people, with the cityscape behind you and the train buzzing by. maybe it was just different...but it had a lovely community feel to it.

today i've been in sort of a funk...i miss e. and i don't like having this much downtime on the weekend...it's no good.

have i mentioned that i love eggplant. a restaurant in my office building has a lovely panini called the veginini with eggplant...well i've been trying to make my own version. so last week i bought my first eggplant and i'm really digging it. and they are huge...i can eat them for days.
yeah...i'm not sure why i shared that...oh because i'm a nerd.

and the highlight of my weekend. i found an old friend from high school on myspace this weekend. his name is jeff and we had a class at rose state together and one time while studying college algebra he called me a "jesus freak." which is funny because i was a good baptist girl but i wasn't the evangelical, "your going to hell type" - i was the one who always felt guilty because i wasn't "saving" people. anyway, we were decent friends and i was so offended by this - note my re-hashing 12 years later. but back to my main point - i found him and his wife on myspace and they are all super religious now. and i'm not. we've traded places. life is weird and myspace makes it all the weirder.

can you tell i'm lonely and bored? i'm just rambling on and on.

but seriously have a good week and try some eggplant. it's tasty and good for you.

shut up about paris already...

i'm so tired of paris hilton and i would stab her if i could.

maybe not stab but i might punch.

i'm wore out today. the wind is blowing crazy this week and there is tons of that white stuff floating in the air (cottonwood tree, maybe?) so my allergies are all in a tizzy. plus, i gave blood today. and for the first time in a long time...it was easy. the vein was hit and blood was drawn. that simple. if only i knew (and they knew) what makes the good blood magic happen.

i haven't talked food/weight/exercise in a while...but i'm trying again. i've decided to not count points because it's not working for me now. i realized that whenever i start to count points, i automatically go into "what else can i eat" fret mode about food. kind of like when i think e is going to eat all my popcorn at the movies...i get very protective. sort of like i will never ever get to eat again if i don't eat those cookies or popcorn or ice cream. anyway, thanks to amy and her logic i've decided to just try and eat moderately and not stress out about it. that stress causes me to do stupid things.

so our new family member is slowly settling in or rather we are getting used to it. we've had a few minor bumps and continue to use the help search but all is well. except for one thing...i think there is something in the keyboard because first my B wouldnt' work and then I shook it and the space bar was funky. shook again and the R stopped working. right now everything is in order but i'm just waiting...maybe canned air will do the trick.

e is gone for the weekend. i'm hoping to see a few movies and the deadcenter film festival. if anyone is interesting in a friday night...let me know. saturday night they are showing the new flaming lips concert dvd outside downtown...i'm excited.

and lastly, for the weirdest news of the week...eddie is testifying before congress in a few weeks. yes, congress...i know...it's weird and pretty cool. something about internet music.

i'm really debating forking over the money for me to go. if only all these odd experiences he has counted for tangible work experience.

happy friday.

just another wednesday...

bono is guest editor of the july issue of vanity fair. there are 20 different covers - all have photos of celebrities who are helping africa. interesting photos with some interesting quotes.

"This is an emergency—normal rules don't apply. There are no easy good or bad guys," he says. "Do you think an African mother cares if the drugs keeping her child alive are thanks to an iPod or a church plate? Or a Democrat or a Republican? I don't think that mother gives a damn about where that 20-cent pill comes from, so why should we. It can lead to some uncomfortable bedfellows, but sometimes less sleep means you are more awake." - bono

anyway, just thought i would pass it along.

and if you are looking for a time waster. here's one.

it's back and i'm so happy...

if you haven't seen hell's kitchen, you have to watch it. he's so mean that it's funny.