The Lush Life

The Musings of a Woman Behind Bars.....

I have no idea what I'm doing half the time. Just want to be clear on that. But there are a few indisputable things I've learned that I'd like to share.

The power of toast is greatly underrated.
Your bed is the most accurate psychologist you'll ever have.
And finally... well let's leave that for another time.

I've actually spent way too much time developing an entire "theory of life" around those, one that explains everything except how one fabric softener sheet can sashay around inside the dryer and get every little inch of laundry soft. Just one. WTF? But those deep thoughts are explained elsewhere on the web in random musings I scatter about on other blogs like a cheap, shameless cyber-lawn sprinkler.

"Impossible," you say. "Those indisputable things explain nothing."

Whatever. I bet you're the person who likes to party with the fifth dentist who was overthinking the whole Trident recommendation. So let me assure you, the mysterious third Great Thought explains a lot. Really pulls the whole thing together.

For now, here are some links and 'net finds that I hope will entertain you as they have me. The purpose of this particular blog of mine is simply to serve as an online trough for links people are always asking me to give them. Again. And "once more, please. "

So here you go people. I hope you are able to waste as much time with these as I have.

Chicago Thaws into Spring

Chicago Thaws into Spring, originally uploaded by Stuck in Customs.

by Trey Ratcliff { http://www.stuckincustoms.com }

Thank you again to our two amazing pilots, Jeff and Bill, for one of the best helicopter flights I've ever been on. A magical experience.

The Haunting Textures of the Hotel Sax

The Haunting Textures of the Hotel Sax, originally uploaded by Stuck in Customs.

One of Trey Ratcliff's stunning HDR captures from a hotel lounge we ducked into in Chicago.....

Be sure to check out his entire travel/photo blog at http://www.stuckincustoms.com for inspiration and, if your interest in HDR is piqued, a great tutorial via the links he has posted on the right side of his blog.

A Pantheon of Media Gods

Jessie Rauch, graphic design | A Pantheon of Media Gods: "This series transforms media celebrities into Greek Gods as metaphorical commentary on the power that individual pundits and journalists have in controlling access to information and in the shaping of public opinion."

The World is Your Oyster

How To Raise A Globe-Trotter - Forbes.com

Love on the Front Line

JUST MARRY HIM? | More Intelligent Life: "The Sex and the City movie was not the only big event in the public conversation about women and marriage this spring. For the thinking woman, the vapid romance flick likely took a backseat to the real head scratcher: Lori Gottlieb's controversial essay, 'Marry Him! The case for settling for Mr. Good Enough', published in the Atlantic in March."

Graph Jam Charts

Download the software and make some yourself (it's free) or just laugh at what other people post. GraphJam

Oh. My. God. I LOVE THIS!

This is just about the coolest damn thing I've seen in awhile. Basically, it's a flickr photo search via tags. You start out by entering your first key word. "Ireland" for example. Then more sub-choices pop up. Keep clicking on your sub-tags until you've narrowed your choice to what you are looking for. Then click the globe in the center and the app gathers the applicable photos from flickr and plants them on the spinning globe. LOVE THIS! Warning: ADDICTIVE!

Click Tag Galaxy to access the site.

Happily Ever After in Therapy...

8 Fairy Tales And Their Not-So-Happy Endings on Mental Floss Blogs

The original endings to many historical fairy tales are quite a bit less sanitized than their Disney versions....

For example: "Sleeping Beauty"

In the original version of the tale, it’s not the kiss of a handsome prince that wakes Sleeping Beauty, but the nudging of her newborn twins. That’s right. While unconscious, the princess is impregnated by a monarch and wakes up to find out she’s a mom twice over. Then, in true Ricki Lake form, Sleeping Beauty’s “baby’s daddy” triumphantly returns and promises to send for her and the kids later, conveniently forgetting to mention that he’s married. When the trio is eventually brought to the palace, his wife tries to kill them all, but is thwarted by the king. In the end, Sleeping Beauty gets to marry the guy who violated her, and they all live happily ever after."

For more: Mental Floss Blogs

Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.
Not all who wander are lost.
Save The Whales. Collect The Whole Set!
Talk only if you can improve on the silence.
Women fly when men aren’t watching.
Little piece of advice. Your honker's cute in person. Peephole? Not your friend.
I'm sorry, did I interupt you eating your baby?
I'm allergic to felt.
While you're at it, why don't you become a superhero? Captain Neck Fat.
Take a SWAG at it- Scientific Wild-Ass Guess.....
I didn't see anything but the Tweetie Bird on his ass.....
Oh my God. It's finally happened. The Botox has seeped into your brain.
Follow the bread crumbs, Gretel.
First I was victimized by a grizzly. And now you.
This is even more disturbing than your bag full of Mommy.
Always be sure they have their meds before you do anything else.
It takes a dark night to bring out the stars.
"If you press me to say why I loved him, I can say no more than it was because he was he and I was I." Michel Montaigne
I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way-- things I had no words for". -Georgia O'Keeffe
The mind is like a parachute -it works best when it is open.
"None. None more black...."
If we only used things for their intended purpose, we would not be where we are today.
I knew it was too bad to be true....
"--Love doesn't end because we no longer see each other. People go on all their lives loving God, don't they, without ever seeing Him.
--That's not my kind of love.
--Maybe there's no other kind."
--I'm jealous of everything that moves. I'm jealous of the rain. "The End of the Affair"
A hero ain't nothing but a sandwich.

Where are they from? God only knows. Randomly overheard, uttered by clever (and often inebriated) friends, my own lacking-7 second-delay mouth, Scrubs, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Monty Python.... pretty much a hodgepodge.