TBI follies and other drivel

10-3-15 - It always amazes me when people start talking about the actions of people with brain injuries.  Like, they think they can somehow understand the loss of control, the loneliness, the isolation, the anger, the frustration….amazing, really.  

They think they understand the motivations and actions of someone who was one person one day and the next, woke up with a fucked up brain that differed greatly from the one they grew up with.  Literally, you wake up one day and suddenly you process everything differently.  Language, sound, texture, light, noise, speech, thought, color, pattern, function….all of it - ALL of it - is suddenly completely foreign.  And the normies sit there like they have a clue.  Like they have any idea what it's like.  And they judge you.  They think they understand who you ARE, when the reality is, they (and you!) only understand who you WERE, and they use those outmoded constructs to try to interpret who and what you are post-injury. It's unreal.  You wake up in a new body, a new mind and you're expected to continue to follow the plot, stay in the lines. 

No one can fathom that today you woke up and you no longer understand your own neurology.  Your speech, your thoughts, your actions, your emotions are no longer your own - they are new and foreign and that is sad.  The isolation is, at times, so isolating as to feel like being physically locked in a box.  Remember that movie from the 1970s, the one with John Travolta - Bubble Boy?  He was immunodeficient or something (long before anyone knew WTF AIDS was, or was going to become) and had to live in a plastic bubble.  So, boo hoo wah, he couldn't touch anyone, hug anyone, etc.  (Yeah, the "boo hoo wah" shit is just me doing my usual shitty job of deflecting, as the shrinks call it. Shut up, and put your feelings in a box like I have done with mine.  Feelings are icky and gross and bitch, if I let MINE out, you will see some major Pandora's Box shit happen up in here.  And they will attack and you don't want that (cue that song from the late 80s or early 90s "I've got the Power" - I totally forget the title and the artist, but I'm confident that iTunes can hook a lady up with some info.  I'll get back to you on that).

Peace out, home slices.

I'm Back, Bitches!

10-1-2015 - HA HA!!! Today I received my IBM Model M PS/2 keyboard in all its Buckling Spring glory!!!!! OMG, I haven't felt the tactile sense of typing on one of these keyboards for EVERRRRR, but I love every crazy, palpable, loud-assed, 10 lbs. of plastic and joy, second of all this!!!!

Matt Doherty, the paralegal extraordinare* was the guy who MOST DEFINITELY knew how to play the game, do his job and ROCK IT, was mad about these keyboards. I'm pretty sure I have some oddly conglomerative* memory of him pretty much clutching his keyboard and saying something along the lines of, "yeah, you can pry this bitch out of my cold, dead hands, mofo.". I think we were having layoffs or something at one point, at the firm I worked at with Matty, and he had a thing about him along the lines of, "I don't give a shit what happens, this motherfucking keyboard comes with me!!!!!". I never forgot that, which is odd, because I forget everything. Except the brain injury, ha ha ha!!!.

Yeah there pretty much is nothing like the feeling or sound of one of these freaking BEHEMOTH keyboards. They are heavy as shit and the heft is evocative of an era gone by; an era of thick steel tanks, Murica, WWII etc. This plastic will certainly outlive even the cockroaches, which everyone seems so incredibly sure will outlive everything and end up the overlords of some futuristic dystopia.

On the subject of dystopia, which of course we all feel certain we're living in right now, fuck…already forgot. It was something good, I swear. Maybe I'll come back to it. If I'm quiet and stealthy, once in a while I am able to sneak up on my fast-forgotten thoughts like some kind of wacky TBI ninja. Really? Am I supposed to write a fucking book about TBI? For what purpose? The minute you post anything on the internet, a hoard of raging mental patients descends upon you like a stupid, misguided swarm of whatever the fuck "Africanized Beez" ended up being, since, you know, if you mention anything Africa, you're a dirty piece of shit racist. Anyway, back to the measure at hand. I guess TBI is probably the thing I'm most organically familiar with, unless we're talking about neurology / neuroscience, etc.  Becuase I have an extensive background in neurology, DUH!

*Sometimes I create new words that the english language might be missing. Or maybe I spell them however the fcuk I want. You don't know.

I'm back!

Hello Lovlies!

I seem to have fallen off the radar there for a bit, but I'm back to tell you about some recent favorites!

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette
I received the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette recently, and it is quite an impressive item!  It's a big, hefty palette shaped like a segmented chocolate bar.  When you open it up, the first thing you'll notice is the tantalizing scent of chocolate.  TF uses cocoa powder in their formulation -- sounds really odd at first, but if you think about cocoa powder (the unsweetened kind), you'll note that it has an incredibly smooth, finely-milled and very silky texture.  Turns out, cocoa powder is loaded with antioxidants, and like I said, the texture of cocoa powder is divine, especially in this application.  The palette has an assortment of 16 shimmers and mattes, in shades of "natural browns, delicate pinks and luscious plums", according to Too Faced's own description.  The shadows are buttery smooth, and the colors are gorgeous and well-pigmented.  The ratio of shimmer to matte is about 4:1, and the shimmer is a true shimmer, not a big, chunky glitter.  One of the best things about this palette, and something I think I'm starting to see more often, is the inclusion of larger pans of highlight and lid shades.  This makes sense, if you consider how much of each shade you might use, and for what you'll use them for.  If you, like me, apply an all-over neutral shade first when applying shadow, then you proceed with the crease, "V" and highlight shades.  Given this routine, in any given palette, I will end up hitting pan on the neutral all-over shade far in advance of hitting pan on anything else in the palette.  Not with this one!  Kudos to Too Faced (and others who are doing this) for such forward thinking :)  It would have been nice for this to come with a brush (like the Urban Decay Naked palettes do), but in reality, this is quite a hefty palette, and I doubt you'd be toting it around with you - which means you'd probably be doing your makeup at home, with your myriad of brushes.  At least I HOPE you have a myriad of brushes!  ;)  I ended up trading away this palette, but only because I'm finding I do much better with matte shades, for the most part.


More later...

I dun a bad, bad thang....

Ho boy.  Today was a BANNER day - went on a BENDER!!  Stay tuned, all 2 of you, for my upcoming reviews on the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette, Lime Crime's velvetines AND the alleged dupes by MUA!!  I'll also be telling you about Sephora's universal lip liner, Too Faced Chocolate Soleil, and whatever else happens to strike my fancy.

Frankly, I have so much shit coming and going from my collection that every day is like Christmas!  Which I guess makes it more like Hanukkah (you know, 8 days and nights, etc.).  My mailman probably thinks I'm dealing crack from home - albeit, HIGH END crack!  ;)

well, that's all for the moment -- I've missed you all (all 2 of you, ha ha) so much!  Between raking the yard, folding the laundry, playing with makeup, preparing shipments, ordering more inventory, perusing sales and discounts and threads and whatnot, I've been quite the busy makeup addict!!

See you soon, lovlies!

The Gentle Contours.

Oh, ladies and germs, I have found an utterly fantastic contouring product!!!!

Rather than ramble on endlessly about the product, I'm simply going to paste in the note I sent to the seller, Kristy Cutsforth of the Etsy shop Pumpkin & Poppy.

Subject: Fair Warning....;)

I'm about to post a MAJORLY GLOWING review of your Michelle Cream Face Contour.  I don't know what kind of magical, alchemic WIZARDRY you have done with this product, but It. Is. Awesome.

I LOVE it sooooo much!!  I just received it yesterday, and I'm absolutely thrilled with it!!  At first, I thought it could perhaps use just a bit more pigment.  But after working with it a bit, I realized that the level of pigment you've used lends itself beautifully to building and blending.

Seriously, it's contouring PERFECTION.  LOVE IT!!!!!

the creepy "fair warning" thing - I'm telling everyone I know about this stuff, so I hope you have it well stocked / on hand!! :)

I'm gushing about a contouring product.  Yes, I am!!

 
Here's what it looks like:

There you have it, lovelies!  This contour cream is THE SHIT.  Don't get me wrong, I still adore my NYX Taupe (pressed powder blush), which is a very popular blush shade used for contouring.  But for contour product in a cream format?  Oh lord, THIS is the one.

The Michelle is much cooler than the already-coolish NYX Taupe.  Given that Michelle is a cream, not a powder, it of course applies and performs differently.  I find that there are times where powder contouring makes more sense for me, and other times, I like the versatility and flexibility of a cream format.


There are a number of very intriguing products in the P&P shop - and her products are vegan, 100% cruelty free and formulated for both sensitive and acne-prone skin, as well as for the skin of us who are ...ahem...of a certain age.  Ha!  My next conquest from P&P might have to be her Oil Absorbing Mineral Veil, though I'm not sure I can cheat on my HG finishing powder, namely Shiro Cosmetics' Fatality Finishing Powder (which is a friggin' miracle in a jar, truth be told). 

Oh, Michelle Cream Face Contour, you *are* my Holy Grail cream contour product!!! 

Note: OMG, I just noticed that Michelle doesn't seem to be available at the moment via the Pumpkin & Poppy store.  I'm fairly certain this is because as soon as she stocks it, it sells out.  At least I hope that's the case.  because if it's not, I will crawl into a contour-less hole and sob uncontrollably!!!

Peace out, y'all.

Pretty. Awesome. Things!

Hello, Lovlies! I'm back!  I'm sure this comes as no surprise, but I've been on a buy / sell / swap bender the last few weeks, and I have some new acquisitions to rave about!!

Tarte - Be MatteNificent Palette
I ordered one of these for a gal in the UK, as she wasn't able to get it over there.  I didn't open hers, but for whatever reason (probably that I read it was limited edition, and something primal took over), it stuck with me, and I decided to buy it for myself.  I ordered directly from Tarte Cosmetics, and received it in what seemed like an instant!!  I'm pretty sure I audibly gasped when I opened up the box, as the cover is GORGEOUS!!

My crap photography equipment can't capture the radiant beauty of this palette, unfortunately.  I was even more excited when I opened, and subsequently started using the gorgeous palette of matte, subtle neutrals.  They are super creamy (they are powders, not creams, but are so finely milled as to feel creamy!), they are really, really well pigmented!  The shadows go on like a dream, and blend effortlessly.  

I had been finding it difficult to replicate some of the looks I come across in my travels, particularly, the light eyelid, darker-yet-still-subtle crease color and had not quite mastered keeping the outer "V" color from turning everything into a muddy shit-show.  Not any more!!!  This palette allows me to accomplish the look I just described.  Sure, I could probably have done it with something else, but this gorgeous, buttery palette made things so much easier!  And sooooo pretty! 

Again, I don't have the technology to really capture the beauty of the colors here, but you get the idea.  Do a Google Image Search - you'll see what I'm talking about.

As if all of that weren't enough, it has a fantastic mirror in it!  It's the size of the palette itself, not one of these hinky, tiny things you have to squish your face into for it to be usable!  It also comes with a functional brush, a double-ended dealie - neither end is that cursed sponge-applicator shit, either!!  

This beautiful thing was $36 and worth every single cent!!  I will be loving this palette long time!

theBalm - Mary-LouManizer

I picked this up in a swap (I think), on a whim.  theBalm seems to be a very popular brand, and I'm fairly certain I hadn't yet tried anything from them yet.  In pictures on the web, the Mary-LouManizer didn't look like much.  Frankly, it looked like a bronzer, which I'm not a fan of, personally.  Who knows why I grabbed this one, but I am always on the hunt for highlighters that show up, don't shower me with glitter, aren't chalky, and are in powder form, so I figured I'd give it a shot, ahving previously tried liquid / cream highlighters, with a very "meh" result.  It became apparent that I needed the control you get with a powder and brush, versus trying to pat the liquid on, then racing to try to blend it out before it set (and left me with blobs of patchy highlighter).  

This stuff is AMAZEBALLS!  It is divine!  Perfectly hued, perfectly balanced shimmer in a very silky pressed powder format.  It looks absolutely stunning on, and gives that "I'm on a romantic date, bathed in candlelight, and I'm going to get lucky later!" glow.  It's glimmery!  No chunky glitter, no harsh pigmentation - just a lovely, subtle, ever-so-slightly gold shimmer.

Here's what it looks like when you swipe your finger across it.  Now, imagine the subtle sweep of shimmer you'd get by applying it with a big, fluffy brush.  It's really, really, VERY lovely!  I'm fairly frothing over it.  Might be my "hnnnng, HG, go-to" highlighter!  And of course, now I simply have to try out at least one of the others, Betty-LouManizer or Cindy-LouManizer.  Leaning towards the Betty-Lou, as I just looked at swatches of it, and for summer, it would be divine!!

The -LouManizers are $24 on theBalm Cosmetics' website, and very much worth it!  Treat yourself to one of the girls today!


 MAC Pro Lip Palette in 6 Select Plums
Now, I know this blog is supposed to focus on drugstore cosmetics, but I seem to be swinging like a pendulum between DS and mid to high-end stuff these days.  A lady likes to have nice (read: too expensive!) things, right?

One of the banes of my existence is mixing spirits and online shopping.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a damn 12-step program for this "affinity" pretty soon.  One vodka-infused evening, I decided it was time to grab some MAC products, since the last time I bought anything MAC was about ....too long ago!  Let me share an important tip with you, while I'm on the subject -- if you aren't totally sure what your foundation shade is, I don't recommend winging it.  I ordered a Studio Fix powder along with the lip palette (and whatever the hell else I impulse-purchased that night) and it was just horribly wrong for me, and I seriously don't know WTF I was thinking.  I also realized I didn't have a clue how the MAC foundation naming conventions worked, and ended up with a pressed powder that was way too dark and so very wrong for me.  Sad panda is sad.

Anyway...As if in some sort of "balancing of the universe"thing, the lip palette I purchased was a fantastic acquisition!!  Sure, I didn't neeeeed six more plum-like shades, but "need" is such a subjective word, and it was so pretty and I wanted it!!  Additionally, there were a couple of shades (Cyber, Twig and Hang Up) that I wanted to try, and this seemed like a far more fiscally responsible option, versus purchasing three (or more, who am I kidding) full-sized lipsticks at $20-something bucks a pop.

I'm pretty much thrilled with this, and it was worth the $40, for sure.  I have been able to try out, and mix and match not just the three colors I was interested in, but was also able to try out three more that I didn't know I needed, ha ha.  If you're familiar with MAC at all, you already know their lipsticks are pretty awesome.  They're gloriously pigmented, smooth to apply, I find that they aren't particularly prone to bleeding, and they wear very well - and I'm someone who is either chewing on my lips, talking, drinking something, puffing on something, etc.  These even work well without lipliner, which is a huge plus, in my opinion.  Surprisingly, because each pan is relatively firm, I'm finding that these apply best with the tip of my ring finger, versus a brush.  The heat from my finger melts them just the tiniest bit, and alleviates me having to mash a lip brush around in there.  I didn't want to much up the palette by having to dig into the pans, because I'm odd like that.  So, as serendipity would have it, they do better via the fingertip application.  I just swipe the very tip of fingertip gently over whatever color I want to use, then dot it on within the lines of my lips.  If I'm feeling really fancy, I can pair it with lip liner and/or blend with a lip brush.

I also love the fact that these don't have a scent.  I recently received a Kat von D "Foiled Love" lipstick, which I'll review later, and remembered that "lipstick" smell everything used to have in the 80s or whatever.  You know the one - that kind of plastic-y, nondescript smell-taste?  Not my bag.  Getting back to the palette, the colors are, from top left to right, top row: Twig, Captive; middle row: Verve, Amorous; bottom row: Hang Up, Cyber.  Hang Up and Cyber are probably my favorites - rich, vibrant plums in different hues, and they look fabulous paired together!  Cyber is a very deep aubergine with a satin finish.  Hang Up is a more violet-tinged burgundy and has a bit more shine to the finish.  The other three colors are lighter, more in the "lady in springtime" pink family, versus the "terrible frosty pink we all wore in junior high school" end of the spectrum.  Thankfully, none of the colors are shimmery or frosty.  I think that would ruin the effect and the look of these particular shades.

Huge thumbs up to the three new lovelies I've reviewed above.  These will definitely be staying in my arsenal!!

Ciao for now!

Hnnnnng!! HOLY GRAIL ITEMS ALERT!!

HG Item 1:
I have an inordinate love of deluxe samples of cosmetics.  I received a DS of Shiseido's Lacquer Gloss in RS306 (Plum Wine) the other day, along with my stuff from Sephora.  It looked like a nice color and whatever, figured I'd try it out later.  I had colored my hair and wanted to do up ma face accordingly, so, when it came time for lips, I figured, "eh, what the heck" and busted out the gloss.

Pretty sure I let out an audible SQUEEEEEEE the moment I put this heavenly, light, sheer (yet gorgeously tinted!!!) amazing gloss on my lips.  The color is TO DIE FOR!  It looks utterly amazing on me, I'm not going to lie.

Here's a stock photo of it, in the shade RS306-Plum Wine, and a color sample from one of Shiseido's websites.
                               

This color and formulation, for me, are unintelligible-babble worthy.  I don't know how else to describe it.


 HG Item 2: 
Next up is the most incredible mascara I've ever used, I kid you not.  I took one look at that space-age looking brush and had to have this mascara - and I'm SO glad I did!!!!  I figured the brush shape and composition would naturally lend itself well to a crisp, precise application of product, but I could not have imagined how just utterly, truly KILLER this stuff is!!! 


                                                     

I applied to both eyes, and, as expected, the ability to really define my lashes with this super-slim applicator was off the charts.  I was blown away by the results, and gasped as I looked in the mirror.  I instantly looked like I had applied false eyelashes (in the very best way!).  My lashes appeared to be about 18" long, no clumps, no flakes, no caking.  OH GOD THIS STUFF IS SO UNREAL!!!!!  Buy it.

You MUST have this mascara!!!!

ooooh, Julep!!

Let me preface this by saying I historically haven't been one of those ladies who always has to have her nails looking fabulous. Truth be told, I worked in an office setting for about the last hundred years of my life, and, in the case of red or darker polishes, they tend to leave swipe marks on just about everything. No bueno for legal documents and such. As well, I'm really quite hard on my hands - always doing dishes, washing something, scrubbing something, digging up something, planting something, etc., so manicures were really just a big waste of money.

I frequent many of the beauty-related subreddits and blogs on the internet and have seen people rave about Julep, have viewed tons of ads for Julep, and was totally taken in by the adorable and unique bottles they use. So, the other night I decided to see what all the hullabaloo was about and visited the Julep website. I didn't want to commit to a monthly box, thinking, "wtf would I even do with all that polish?" I decided to try out a bunch of colors that were on sale, so I ordered a handful of them.

I received my box yesterday and couldn't wait to play with the pretty colors. First, I used the lime-green color, Korin (far right) from the Boho Glam line. It went on nicely, wasn't clumpy, dried very fast, but not too fast - I had time to work with it where needed. I threw on a second coat and while the color was funky and cool, I hadn't yet completely scratched the Julep itch and wanted to play with another color. Rather than taking off the green, I thought I'd put the iridescent, shimmery pink / gold color, Ellie (third from right) from the American Beauty line over it instead. Well, it looks great!!!

Most importantly though, I can't believe how well this stuff lasts!!! Seriously, I'm shocked! I've tried all kinds of polishes in all kinds of price ranges, including Opi, Zoya, etc., and have found that they chip off under the best of circumstances. God forbid you wash your hands, or a dish, or move wet laundry or anything at all.  You'll look like a grubby street urchin almost immediately.

Since last night, when I put the Juleps on, I have washed things, used my hands for things, snow-blowed and shoveled, cleaned off the vehicles and there isn't even a chip! Not a single one! I'm seriously, completely shocked and very, very pleased!!!  Heck, I might have to sign up for the monthly box, if this is the kind of performance I can expect from Julep!

If you like nail polish, you will LOVE Julep. LOVE. I can't wait to try the other colors I bought, and their color selection is UNREAL. Run, don't walk, to Julep and buy your little heart out!!! Details on their monthly Maven box here!

The Waiting is the Hardest Part.

So, due to some unforeseen circumstances there has been a significant decrease in the amount of time I'm able to spend with all of my pretties, concoctions, etc. But please, fear not, I will be back and better than ever. In the meantime, I will shamelessly plug a few of my faves for you to check out. I wholeheartedly recommend these folks and have done multiple transactions with them, tested / worn their products and ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM!! Squeeeee!

SHIRO COSMETICS: 
My absolute fave indie. The shadows, OMFG, the shadows. The colors, the textures, the shifts, the depth, breadth, complexity. UNGHHHH they are AMAZEBALLS, which is my highest rating. Truly. I don't know what kind of insane alchemy the owner, Caitlin, is capable of, but when I tell you I absolutely LOVE every single shadow (and lippie and OMG, the finishing powder, "Fatality", HOLY CRAP, that stuff instantly turns you into Sophia Loren. It's RE DICK!!), I'm not kidding.

I'm relatively artsy, I like blending stuff, I like off-beat stuff, but the colors and finishes and UNPH everything that Shiro comes up with is just craaaaazy!! Her creations are so multifaceted; a shadow might look like a nice, tame brown in the wee jar or sample baggie, but then you dip your brush in it and you swatch it and the universe simultaneously explodes and folds in on itself, and the many layers of color, tone, hue, shimmer and shift are revealed. The variation, the sheer number of looks you can create with even a handful of Shiro's creations are just off the charts. OFF. THE. CHARTS.

If you even remotely like makeup, eyeshadow, etc., you (like me) will be a convert after your first purchase.  The sample bags are quite generous - two of them (I always buy in twos) will last you quite a long time - definitely long enough to test drive them under just about every set of conditions you can imagine. Important note: with loose shadows, you will need a primer of some sort. Glitter Glue, Pixie Epoxy, Lorac Eye Primer, NYX shadow base - doesn't matter. To get the maximum (and inherent) WOW from loose shadows, you need to give them a good base to sit on. And Shiro's deserve nothing less, honestly.

Oh, and can I also just say, CUSTOM LIP GLOSSES, uber geeky cool names, themes, etc.??

Next Up: TKB Trading, THE source for all the shit you need to make your own cosmetics. Yep, you read that right, make your own!!! I've made a number of lippies so far and plan on branching out to glosses too! Woot!

Supplize!

Received my latest package from TKB Trading yesterday, which included Versagel, a big, honkin' syringe thingy for filling tubes, a bag of lip gloss tubes, etc. Praise be to Koren of Enkore Makeup Online, for his awesome post on how to properly use Versagel. Just wanted to throw a shout out out there. :)

As an aside, if you have ever wanted to make your own cosmetics (which is actually a lot easier than you'd think), you should definitely check out TKB's website. They offer a whole host of different kits which come with everything you need  to make your own lippies, shadows, nail polishes, mineral makeup and more.


They also offer tons of individual items (e.g., palettes, pans, tools, lippies, ingredients, even recipes!!). Their shipping is fast, their products are excellent quality, and they have soooo much information on their site.  Yeah, I pretty much LOVE TKB!!!!

I'll let you know how it pans out once I've created my first gloss. And of course, I'll post swatches and, if you're really good, I'll offer them up for sale! Shameless, I know.

Ta for now!

Maybelline Color Tatoo

I recently acquired four Maybelline Color Tatoos, which have been the topic of much discussion on the makeup boards. I wondered what all the hullabaloo was about, so I gave them a shot.

They're purported to be a "24 hour shadow", and they do seem to have quite a bit of staying power, and a seemingly magical shift from a creamy texture to that of a dense powder. They're shimmery and beautiful, creamy on application, and are really quite malleable in terms of how you apply them. They certainly do stay put, that's for sure! Based on my experience last night, the similarity to a powder shadow ends at the blending. 

My first utilization of these was as an eyeshadow base, and they performed fabulously. Without a single touch-up over the course of approximately 6 hours, there was no creasing, no fading, no flaking and no eye irritation. I personally don't have allergies, per se, but my eyes tend to be pissy drama queens at the slightest perturbation of their saline sanctuary.

Swatches, left to right:

(25) Bad to the Bronze
(70) Barely Branded
(55) Inked in Pink
(30) Pomegranate Punk



I used Pomegranate Pink as a shadow base and put a Laura Mercier shadow on top. I also utilized a bit of the Bad to the Bronze in the crease, and didn't pat shadow over it (it was a bit of an afterthought, to add just a bit more definition to the eyes). I was quite surprised that these, despite being a powdery-cream, with a dense texture, did not crease. Creasing sucks and frankly, I've had mid and high-end stuff get all creasey on me, with and without primer. Ok, I lied - there IS no "without" primer. At least, there shouldn't be! I'm not sure how I ever wore eye makeup sans primer. It's just so wrong.

You can purchase these almost anywhere, including your local drugstore, behemoth big-box store, (Walmart, Walgreens, Rite Aid, etc.). They range from $6-8 bucks, and the amount of product you get when viewed in terms of how much product you'd use in an application seems to be quite good! Rumor has it these may dry out if not stored properly. Don't leave the cap off, don't store near heat, etc., and I think some folks store them upside down in order to prevent drying.

Overall Impression: definitely recommended! Whether you use them alone, or you use as a shadow base, these are pretty excellent, especially for the price!! Mama likey.

Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in: Forbidden Love

Let me preface this with, I'm not quite at the point where I have my shit together to the degree that would facilitate me sitting down, putting on makeup, taking pictures and posting them. I will get there eventually, I promise!

That being said, I bring to you today two products that I hate to love. But love them I certainly do.

Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara:

I don't want to love you. I really don't. You are expensive, and you're one of those well-known brands and I was convinced I was firmly entrenched in the indie / drugstore camp. How foolish of me. My overarching resolve to find beautiful replacements / dupes of the Hot du Jour has not wavered. But honestly, we're talking mascara here. You put it on your eyes!!! It's one of those cosmetic products that you can't sanitize, shouldn't share and could, at any moment, go horribly wrong. But not the Lancome. Oh, no.

I had heard good things about the Lancome Hypnose Star mascara and was determined to try it, but had already segued out of "hey, let's blow lots of money on expensive products" and into "I'm a makeup junkie, but oh shit, I need to rein this in, or disaster will strike!!" So, I listed this mascara on my wish list in the MakeupExchange subreddit and fortunately for me (my wallet), I obtained a deluxe sample of this mascara.

It went on beautifully. It is very light (in terms of not being intrusive, as some mascaras can be). It's deliciously black (awww yiss!).  I've had it on for a few hours, and it hasn't flaked or faded.

I really dig this mascara. And I might have to purchase it...

Incidentally, I am also enamoured with Hypnose Star's cousin, or maybe sister, Lancome Cils Booster XL Super-Enhancing Mascara Base. Sweet jesus, that's a long damned name!!! But it's a pretty sweet product.  It goes on white, and then dries to clear / invisible. The Cils Booster does an excellent job on your lashes for those times you don't want to wear mascara (I know, that sounds ridiculous to me, too!!).


Next up, Peter Thomas Roth!

Peter Thomas Roth FIRMx(tm) Peeling Gel. Oh ma lawd. I'm not sure if this is some gimmick whereby you slather it on and it is chemically engineered to ball up and appear as if it is sweeping away those dull, dry, dead skin cells on your face, or if it is some magical wizard potion sent by some magical skincare deity.  Whatever it is, I love it! You smooth it on, and massage gently with your fingertips. Wee balls of...something appear under your fingertips, and voila! Your face feels like a baby's arse. I will let you know how this works out, after I've used my deluxe sample for a few days. 

PTR, I don't want to love you!! You're soooo expensive and honestly, I'm trying to fly the straight and narrow, where purchasing is concerned. But you...you are very, very tempting and I fear that I might succumb to your charms one day. I'd better get cracking on inventing that thing, that I patent, and then license for a handsome sum. Ha ha ha. Stop being so damn sexy PTR!!!

CLINIQUE All About Shadow Nudes Palette - Review

I realize this isn't a drugstore product, but I recently received the CLINIQUE All About Shadow Nudes palette and It. Is. Awesome.

The palette was $36 (Sephora), and frankly, worth every penny. From the gorgeous, silvery packaging (which, unfortunately, is prone to fingerprints, scratches, etc.) to the beautifully silky texture of the shadows, I don't regret buying this baby for one second.

The shadows, as you would expect in a palette at this price point, are well pigmented, super finely milled, incredibly silky and utterly blendable. The range and selection of colors and hues allows quite a bit of versatility in terms of whatever look you might desire to achieve. If you want subtle, "no-makeup" makeup, you can achieve it with this palette. If you want to do a bolder smoky eye, there are deeper shades well-suited for this purpose. The lighter shades are lovely for highlighting, and the deeper shades show up quite nicely, without getting all muddy or chalky or generally looking like ass when blended. You can actually differentiate the shades (assuming you've been practicing your blending!).

If I may be so bold, I have to say that after doing a full eye with this palette, I was extraordinarily psyched at the result. I may have achieved one of my best eyes ever - and this is not hyperbole. The colors pop, they blend where they should and they stand out where you want them to. Oooooh, and little to no fallout!!!  Fallout sucks, hard, and causes the makeup gods great ire. It also totally screws up your painstakingly perfect foundation and concealer job and, why!! Just, WHY!??

I give major props to CLINIQUE for the brush they've included with the palette. I have a strange natural aversion to hideous, foam-tipped applicators and I loathe, with the fury of a thousand suns, tiny little shit brushes that typically come with shadows. This is a nice, long, dual-ended usable tool. You can actually utilize this brush in the same manner you would one of your staple brushes. I think that's pretty frickin' sweet, personally. Note to cosmetics companies: STOP PUTTING SHIT BRUSHES IN YOUR PALETTES!!!!!

I realize I'm probably going off the rails here a bit, but the importance of your tools, where makeup is concerned, can NOT be overstated. I am not insinuating that you have to go out and drop hundreds of dollars on some fancy shmancy honkin' brush set, but you do need the proper tools if you're going to create a look as fabulous as you are. I'll discuss brush types, brands, their uses and care in another post.  o get back to the subject at hand, I'm very pleased with the tool that CLINIQUE has seen fit to include with this palette.

In summary, this is a hands-down winner. Whether you are a makeup maven with a penchant for hoarding makeup or you're someone who wears makeup infrequently (why!!?? it's soooo fun!!!), this lovely and versatile palette is for you. After pondering whether this palette would be better suited to particular eye colors, it's my opinion that it would likely look smashing on just about anyone. For the brown eyed ladies, the coppery tones really compliment the deep brown of the iris. Similarly, the muted shades with their understated shimmer and range of hues would really accentuate blue eyes. Heck, this is going to look great on just about anyone!!

tl;dr - I adore makeup of all kinds, colors, textures, etc. This palette really wowed me though - I was all googly eyed and there were cartoon hearts and angels floating above my head. There may have been an audible SQUEEEEEEEE as well.

Until next time ;)

Brazen Cosmetics - Review

I recently signed up for Brazen Cosmetics' monthly "Friends With Benefits" subscription service and received my first bag a few days ago.

Let me preface my review with a tl;dr: This is a pretty sweet monthly. I recommend it if you're into indie stuff and, in my humble opinion, you should be! In my marvelous makeup journey, I have run the gamut from mid-high end to drugstore to indie, and I have to tell you, there's nothing quite like supporting a start-up that puts out a quality product that you love, versus supporting a nameless, faceless conglomerate that manufactures its products god knows where (hint: places with incredibly lax or completely absent quality standards...Looking at you, China.). I've laid out the cash for $50+ palettes, goops, creams, potions, etc., thinking that a higher price guaranteed quality, when in fact, it doesn't. Drugstore and Indie brands have really been stepping up their games as of late. There are higher end products I've purchased after falling for the hype, only to find they just weren't all they were cracked up to be (looking at you, OCC Lip Tars - I know, you're all kind of beautiful to look at, but when the rubber meets the road you lag way behind products from brands a fraction of the price of yours).


Brazen has three subscription options, outlined below, and you may rightly assume here that I was quite pleased with what I received, or I probably wouldn't waste your time babbling on about them:



THE PACKAGES:

Silver:  For $15 you receive three (3) 3g pots of Brazen's UltraLuxe™ eye shadows. On their website, they note that these shadows are "unreleased, shades you'll get your eyes on before anyone else". Certainly can't poo poo that, right? For those of you unfamiliar with or new to this magical world of indie makeup, a 3g pot will actually yield quite a few uses, so you'll really have a chance to test-drive the shadows!

You also receive a mini of UltraGlaze™ Lipgloss or Ultraplush™ Lipstick, also exclusive and unreleased.  That's $25 or more (retail value) of makeup! Not too shabby! As if that weren't enough, you also get a 10% discount on orders from their e-store and Beauty Lounge AND free shipping within the US. They will ship to Canada and other international locations for only $5.00 extra which, as anyone who has had to ship stuff internationally from the US knows, that's a screaming deal!! 

Gold: The Gold package, $20 before shipping, in addition to the goodies you get with the Silver package, gets you a full sized exclusive shade of UltraGlaze™ Lipgloss (unreleased, woot!), AND a 15% discount in the e-store and Beauty Lounge, and free shipping in the US. That ends up being a $40+ value for $20 bucks. Can't argue with that!

Not temping enough yet? Oh wait, there's more:

Platinum: Their highest tier, the Platinum features everything in the Silver and Gold packages, and also includes a full-sized (5g) Ultraluxe™ eyeshadow in addition to the full sized lipgloss, 3x 3g eyeshadows and a mini exclusive shade of their lipgloss or lipstick.  For $25, you end up with $60+ retail value of product.  Shweet! But wait, there's even more! You receive a 20% discount in the aforementioned e-store and Beauty Lounge and free shipping on orders (US).  Niiiiiice!



"Get to the Taking Care of Business Part!!"

 THE REVIEWS:

Overall Impression:
I was thrilled with the contents, the packaging and the products, especially for the price. The packaging was super cute; someone obviously put some time and thought into it, and that's one of the sweet touches that come along with Indie products. When was the last time that multi-national conglomerate of cosmetics sent you a mash note with your order? Truth be told, I was pretty stoked about the return on my $15 investment.

The Samples:
If you prefer samples in pots, this is the monthly for you, as the "samples", which are quite generous, come in wee jars with screw tops, versus wee baggies. Personally, I am a fan of both options for packaging, but I know not everyone is. I end up transferring my baggie samples into wee containers anyway, with awesome labels denoting super powers, so as to be able to ogle them, lovingly, through their clear acrylic exoskeletons.

The Goods:

The first product I tried, the UltraGlaze Long-Wearing Color-Rich Lip Gloss™ in "Under the Covers", kind of blew my mind. It is, at first glance (or maybe second - I get the order mixed up), "hmm, another bubblegum pink frost", cue high school flashbacks. Let me (re)iterate, I am so not a pink / pink shimmery / pink frosty kind of girl. If I'm wearing a frost on my lips at all, it's a muted, deep plum with a slight gunmetal shift. Why? Because it's both reminiscent of a time and place in my life; a time when I was edgy and hip and cool, and frankly it just fucking looks good. 'Twas a time when I could fit into that teeny black cocktail dress, pair it with a feather boa and sassy strappy heels and be all, "aw yissss, so fierce!" Flash forward to now, and well, let's just go with "frosts aren't for everyone" and leave it at that. 

UTC is a frosty, shimmery pink lip gloss. Not particularly glossy in the traditional sense, it is very well pigmented and upon closer inspection, a very rich, multifaceted color. It's got a lot going on underneath its pretty exterior, and quite personifies the "don't judge a book by its cover" memetic.  

Boring Backstory: I grew up in a time where bubblegum pink, super frosty lipstick was all the rage. As every generation does, we look back on our "blunderyears" and think "what the fuck were we thinking???" Frosty can be a dicey thing - not everyone looks good in them, but this...this gorgeous, beautifully pigmented, silky textured, gold-laden loveliness was heavenly!! It looked AMAZING. It was so pretty and reflective. I don't know what kind of crazy alchemy they used for this, but they managed to strike a perfect balance between "perfect shimmer / frost" and "oh god, why!!" It was really pretty and quite striking. UTC definitely makes an entrance!

tl;dr  - I was really quite taken with this gloss. Sure, it could have been the lovely afternoon sun streaming in the window or the tasty beverage I was enjoying, but OH WOW, that lipgloss. Holy. Crap!

On to the eyeshadows: Brazen's UltraLuxe™ eyeshadows in Snow Day, Blizzard and Frostbite. They are very generous samples!! You will get *many* uses out of these. They seem to be quite well pigmented and they are definitely very well...sparkled? Shimmered? They are true to their names and quite striking. See my swatches here. Frostbite in particular is just gorgeous, in terms of shimmer and of how well the color really exemplifies the name, know what I mean? Snow Day swipes on with a beautiful finish, is SO sparkly-pretty, and is also very true to its name.

My schedule has not yet allowed me to actually test drive the shadows (I know, that sounds ridiculous), but they are quite lovely and as long as you use an eyeshadow primer (which you always should, unless you're some kind of crazy person), they will show up beautifully!

BRAZEN COSMETICS hails from Ferndale, MI. And I don't know specifically why, but I have such a thing for the upper midwest: WI / MI / MN / IL.  Pretty much, if you border one of the Great Lakes, I love you and I really don't know why. 

monday monday

jobs i'd rather be doing:
litter picker (w/obligatory orange vest)
laundromat attendant
animal husbandry
corn shucker
"security" guard (read: watch tv & sleep)
plant sitter
absolutely anything that doesn't involve this gotdamned commute.

seriously.

it's 8am on a shiatty, cold, rainy Monday. We were delayed by a mile-long freight train, and now we're crawling. And i haven't even gotten to the city i work in, let alone gotten TO work.

Wahmbulance, plz.

k thx bye

dayum

It was a very good day.

Hot damn. I can barely quantify the sick WIN of today.
Nat woke me up at like o'dark hundred last night -so I figgered I'd be a raging arsehole today. however, i got over it all quite quickly and i took off running. me and The B (mah BFF) did the whole 4 kid thing today - I don't even know where to start. Leaf pile. Rolling down the hill. INSANE chicken broth - twice simmered! Made Xmas ornaments (that the kiddies are going to paint tomorrow!). Homemade pasta. Homemade bolognese. A slight mishap with a preheating oven and a plastic cutting board. Whatever, ALL GOOD. Helping children take one more tiny step towards not being a completely shitty adult. (baby steps, bitches). Good food, good music, happiness abounding. Jesus even visited! (i know!!!!).

so yeah - thank you - whoever created all this shiat. whomever conceptualized this insane / terrible / beautiful / fucked up / painful / orgasmic world -- you're a sick sumbiatch!!!

/dear lord little baby jesus, aside from the obvious, i also thank you for Donny Hathaway. A LAWT.

Cool Crap on the IntarWebz

Ah, memories....

hee hee, just click it!

I likey!!!!

OMG, SRSLY - that's horrible!

I can haz Engrish?

Wow... Just...wow.

This is (allegedly) the suicide note left by the guy who flew the plane into the building in Austin, TX today..... What a sad, sorry effin world we've managed to screw up. (sigh)


If you’re reading this, you’re no doubt asking yourself, “Why did this have to happen?” The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time. The writing process, started many months ago, was intended to be therapy in the face of the looming realization that there isn’t enough therapy in the world that can fix what is really broken. Needless to say, this rant could fill volumes with example after example if I would let it. I find the process of writing it frustrating, tedious, and probably pointless… especially given my gross inability to gracefully articulate my thoughts in light of the storm raging in my head. Exactly what is therapeutic about that I’m not sure, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
We are all taught as children that without laws there would be no society, only anarchy. Sadly, starting at early ages we in this country have been brainwashed to believe that, in return for our dedication and service, our government stands for justice for all. We are further brainwashed to believe that there is freedom in this place, and that we should be ready to lay our lives down for the noble principals represented by its founding fathers. Remember? One of these was “no taxation without representation”. I have spent the total years of my adulthood unlearning that crap from only a few years of my childhood. These days anyone who really stands up for that principal is promptly labeled a “crackpot”, traitor and worse.
While very few working people would say they haven’t had their fair share of taxes (as can I), in my lifetime I can say with a great degree of certainty that there has never been a politician cast a vote on any matter with the likes of me or my interests in mind. Nor, for that matter, are they the least bit interested in me or anything I have to say.
Why is it that a handful of thugs and plunderers can commit unthinkable atrocities (and in the case of the GM executives, for scores of years) and when it’s time for their gravy train to crash under the weight of their gluttony and overwhelming stupidity, the force of the full federal government has no difficulty coming to their aid within days if not hours? Yet at the same time, the joke we call the American medical system, including the drug and insurance companies, are murdering tens of thousands of people a year and stealing from the corpses and victims they cripple, and this country’s leaders don’t see this as important as bailing out a few of their vile, rich cronies. Yet, the political “representatives” (thieves, liars, and self-serving scumbags is far more accurate) have endless time to sit around for year after year and debate the state of the “terrible health care problem”. It’s clear they see no crisis as long as the dead people don’t get in the way of their corporate profits rolling in.
And justice? You’ve got to be kidding!
How can any rational individual explain that white elephant conundrum in the middle of our tax system and, indeed, our entire legal system? Here we have a system that is, by far, too complicated for the brightest of the master scholars to understand. Yet, it mercilessly “holds accountable” its victims, claiming that they’re responsible for fully complying with laws not even the experts understand. The law “requires” a signature on the bottom of a tax filing; yet no one can say truthfully that they understand what they are signing; if that’s not “duress” than what is. If this is not the measure of a totalitarian regime, nothing is.
How did I get here?
My introduction to the real American nightmare starts back in the early ‘80s. Unfortunately after more than 16 years of school, somewhere along the line I picked up the absurd, pompous notion that I could read and understand plain English. Some friends introduced me to a group of people who were having ‘tax code’ readings and discussions. In particular, zeroed in on a section relating to the wonderful “exemptions” that make institutions like the vulgar, corrupt Catholic Church so incredibly wealthy. We carefully studied the law (with the help of some of the “best”, high-paid, experienced tax lawyers in the business), and then began to do exactly what the “big boys” were doing (except that we weren’t steeling from our congregation or lying to the government about our massive profits in the name of God). We took a great deal of care to make it all visible, following all of the rules, exactly the way the law said it was to be done.
The intent of this exercise and our efforts was to bring about a much-needed re-evaluation of the laws that allow the monsters of organized religion to make such a mockery of people who earn an honest living. However, this is where I learned that there are two “interpretations” for every law; one for the very rich, and one for the rest of us… Oh, and the monsters are the very ones making and enforcing the laws; the inquisition is still alive and well today in this country.
That little lesson in patriotism cost me $40,000+, 10 years of my life, and set my retirement plans back to 0. It made me realize for the first time that I live in a country with an ideology that is based on a total and complete lie. It also made me realize, not only how naive I had been, but also the incredible stupidity of the American public; that they buy, hook, line, and sinker, the crap about their “freedom”… and that they continue to do so with eyes closed in the face of overwhelming evidence and all that keeps happening in front of them.
Before even having to make a shaky recovery from the sting of the first lesson on what justice really means in this country (around 1984 after making my way through engineering school and still another five years of “paying my dues”), I felt I finally had to take a chance of launching my dream of becoming an independent engineer.
On the subjects of engineers and dreams of independence, I should digress somewhat to say that I’m sure that I inherited the fascination for creative problem solving from my father. I realized this at a very young age.
The significance of independence, however, came much later during my early years of college; at the age of 18 or 19 when I was living on my own as student in an apartment in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. My neighbor was an elderly retired woman (80+ seemed ancient to me at that age) who was the widowed wife of a retired steel worker. Her husband had worked all his life in the steel mills of central Pennsylvania with promises from big business and the union that, for his 30 years of service, he would have a pension and medical care to look forward to in his retirement. Instead he was one of the thousands who got nothing because the incompetent mill management and corrupt union (not to mention the government) raided their pension funds and stole their retirement. All she had was social security to live on.
In retrospect, the situation was laughable because here I was living on peanut butter and bread (or Ritz crackers when I could afford to splurge) for months at a time. When I got to know this poor figure and heard her story I felt worse for her plight than for my own (I, after all, I thought I had everything to in front of me). I was genuinely appalled at one point, as we exchanged stories and commiserated with each other over our situations, when she in her grandmotherly fashion tried to convince me that I would be “healthier” eating cat food (like her) rather than trying to get all my substance from peanut butter and bread. I couldn’t quite go there, but the impression was made. I decided that I didn’t trust big business to take care of me, and that I would take responsibility for my own future and myself.
Return to the early ‘80s, and here I was off to a terrifying start as a ‘wet-behind-the-ears’ contract software engineer... and two years later, thanks to the fine backroom, midnight effort by the sleazy executives of Arthur Andersen (the very same folks who later brought us Enron and other such calamities) and an equally sleazy New York Senator (Patrick Moynihan), we saw the passage of 1986 tax reform act with its section 1706.
For you who are unfamiliar, here is the core text of the IRS Section 1706, defining the treatment of workers (such as contract engineers) for tax purposes. Visit this link for a conference committee report (http://www.synergistech.com/1706.shtml#ConferenceCommitteeReport) regarding the intended interpretation of Section 1706 and the relevant parts of Section 530, as amended. For information on how these laws affect technical services workers and their clients, read our discussion here (http://www.synergistech.com/ic-taxlaw.shtml).
SEC. 1706. TREATMENT OF CERTAIN TECHNICAL PERSONNEL.
(a) IN GENERAL - Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:
(d) EXCEPTION. - This section shall not apply in the case of an individual who pursuant to an arrangement between the taxpayer and another person, provides services for such other person as an engineer, designer, drafter, computer programmer, systems analyst, or other similarly skilled worker engaged in a similar line of work.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE. - The amendment made by this section shall apply to remuneration paid and services rendered after December 31, 1986.
Note:
· "another person" is the client in the traditional job-shop relationship.
· "taxpayer" is the recruiter, broker, agency, or job shop.
· "individual", "employee", or "worker" is you.

Admittedly, you need to read the treatment to understand what it is saying but it’s not very complicated. The bottom line is that they may as well have put my name right in the text of section (d). Moreover, they could only have been more blunt if they would have came out and directly declared me a criminal and non-citizen slave. Twenty years later, I still can’t believe my eyes.
During 1987, I spent close to $5000 of my ‘pocket change’, and at least 1000 hours of my time writing, printing, and mailing to any senator, congressman, governor, or slug that might listen; none did, and they universally treated me as if I was wasting their time. I spent countless hours on the L.A. freeways driving to meetings and any and all of the disorganized professional groups who were attempting to mount a campaign against this atrocity. This, only to discover that our efforts were being easily derailed by a few moles from the brokers who were just beginning to enjoy the windfall from the new declaration of their “freedom”. Oh, and don’t forget, for all of the time I was spending on this, I was loosing income that I couldn’t bill clients.
After months of struggling it had clearly gotten to be a futile exercise. The best we could get for all of our trouble is a pronouncement from an IRS mouthpiece that they weren’t going to enforce that provision (read harass engineers and scientists). This immediately proved to be a lie, and the mere existence of the regulation began to have its impact on my bottom line; this, of course, was the intended effect.
Again, rewind my retirement plans back to 0 and shift them into idle. If I had any sense, I clearly should have left abandoned engineering and never looked back.
Instead I got busy working 100-hour workweeks. Then came the L.A. depression of the early 1990s. Our leaders decided that they didn’t need the all of those extra Air Force bases they had in Southern California, so they were closed; just like that. The result was economic devastation in the region that rivaled the widely publicized Texas S&L fiasco. However, because the government caused it, no one gave a shit about all of the young families who lost their homes or street after street of boarded up houses abandoned to the wealthy loan companies who received government funds to “shore up” their windfall. Again, I lost my retirement.
Years later, after weathering a divorce and the constant struggle trying to build some momentum with my business, I find myself once again beginning to finally pick up some speed. Then came the .COM bust and the 911 nightmare. Our leaders decided that all aircraft were grounded for what seemed like an eternity; and long after that, ‘special’ facilities like San Francisco were on security alert for months. This made access to my customers prohibitively expensive. Ironically, after what they had done the Government came to the aid of the airlines with billions of our tax dollars … as usual they left me to rot and die while they bailed out their rich, incompetent cronies WITH MY MONEY! After these events, there went my business but not quite yet all of my retirement and savings.
By this time, I’m thinking that it might be good for a change. Bye to California, I’ll try Austin for a while. So I moved, only to find out that this is a place with a highly inflated sense of self-importance and where damn little real engineering work is done. I’ve never experienced such a hard time finding work. The rates are 1/3 of what I was earning before the crash, because pay rates here are fixed by the three or four large companies in the area who are in collusion to drive down prices and wages… and this happens because the justice department is all on the take and doesn’t give a fuck about serving anyone or anything but themselves and their rich buddies.
To survive, I was forced to cannibalize my savings and retirement, the last of which was a small IRA. This came in a year with mammoth expenses and not a single dollar of income. I filed no return that year thinking that because I didn’t have any income there was no need. The sleazy government decided that they disagreed. But they didn’t notify me in time for me to launch a legal objection so when I attempted to get a protest filed with the court I was told I was no longer entitled to due process because the time to file ran out. Bend over for another $10,000 helping of justice.
So now we come to the present. After my experience with the CPA world, following the business crash I swore that I’d never enter another accountant’s office again. But here I am with a new marriage and a boatload of undocumented income, not to mention an expensive new business asset, a piano, which I had no idea how to handle. After considerable thought I decided that it would be irresponsible NOT to get professional help; a very big mistake.
When we received the forms back I was very optimistic that they were in order. I had taken all of the years information to Bill Ross, and he came back with results very similar to what I was expecting. Except that he had neglected to include the contents of Sheryl’s unreported income; $12,700 worth of it. To make matters worse, Ross knew all along this was missing and I didn’t have a clue until he pointed it out in the middle of the audit. By that time it had become brutally evident that he was representing himself and not me.
This left me stuck in the middle of this disaster trying to defend transactions that have no relationship to anything tax-related (at least the tax-related transactions were poorly documented). Things I never knew anything about and things my wife had no clue would ever matter to anyone. The end result is… well, just look around.
I remember reading about the stock market crash before the “great” depression and how there were wealthy bankers and businessmen jumping out of windows when they realized they screwed up and lost everything. Isn’t it ironic how far we’ve come in 60 years in this country that they now know how to fix that little economic problem; they just steal from the middle class (who doesn’t have any say in it, elections are a joke) to cover their asses and it’s “business-as-usual”. Now when the wealthy fuck up, the poor get to die for the mistakes… isn’t that a clever, tidy solution.
As government agencies go, the FAA is often justifiably referred to as a tombstone agency, though they are hardly alone. The recent presidential puppet GW Bush and his cronies in their eight years certainly reinforced for all of us that this criticism rings equally true for all of the government. Nothing changes unless there is a body count (unless it is in the interest of the wealthy sows at the government trough). In a government full of hypocrites from top to bottom, life is as cheap as their lies and their self-serving laws.
I know I’m hardly the first one to decide I have had all I can stand. It has always been a myth that people have stopped dying for their freedom in this country, and it isn’t limited to the blacks, and poor immigrants. I know there have been countless before me and there are sure to be as many after. But I also know that by not adding my body to the count, I insure nothing will change. I choose to not keep looking over my shoulder at “big brother” while he strips my carcass, I choose not to ignore what is going on all around me, I choose not to pretend that business as usual won’t continue; I have just had enough.
I can only hope that the numbers quickly get too big to be white washed and ignored that the American zombies wake up and revolt; it will take nothing less. I would only hope that by striking a nerve that stimulates the inevitable double standard, knee-jerk government reaction that results in more stupid draconian restrictions people wake up and begin to see the pompous political thugs and their mindless minions for what they are. Sadly, though I spent my entire life trying to believe it wasn’t so, but violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer. The cruel joke is that the really big chunks of shit at the top have known this all along and have been laughing, at and using this awareness against, fools like me all along.
I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different. I am finally ready to stop this insanity. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let’s try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well.

The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.
The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed.

Joe Stack (1956-2010)
02/18/2010

mmmm, thinkity.

so yeah, I'm watching the "news" (I use that term lightly, because OMFrickinGAWD is televised news TEH BORINGZ!!!Eleventy!) and this dude is busted for a buncha pot plants in Wilton, NH. And I'm pretty much like, "hmmm, in researching my hubs grandfather, I've been doing a lot of Teh Googling on topics like "new-cyuh-luh" tests in the 1950s and crazy top-secret shiat like that.

So now, I'm setting off Carnivore(tm) meters left and right and doing Teh Googz on both nuclear crap, super-shady shadow men of the 1950s-60s (70s, 80s, yup) and WEEEEED. Jeeeeze. Us.

Yeah, so, that's pretty much my post for the evening. The ideas and opinions rendered above in some way might possibly reflect those of the network, but honestly, I have a penchant for psychotic levels of legal research and a raging case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (thank you, Mr. McFencier!).

There's that....

I'll try to write more. I know my SINGULAR fan prolly wonders where I've gone. Here's to you, Mr. Singular Fan of the Bean Blawg! (Sing that last part to that Mr. Awesome Guy Who Invented Stuff-esque beer commercial, you'll dig it.)

So? What's cooking with you? ( i think i've missed this...)