:: basic essentials of my life ::

(pic via here)

Misc. Headlines

Artist Jack Daw's Golden Penny is Found

"Two years ago, Seattle artist Jack Daws made a penny using about a hundred dollars' worth of gold. It was a counterfeit. A good one, barely noticeable unless the patina wore down and the gold showed through, or unless somebody put it on a scale. (This is not a crime.) He put it into circulation at LAX while buying a Hustler. Essentially, he gave away a hundred dollars in gold. It was entirely possible that nobody would ever discover the sculpture in their chunk of change. But somebody did—...."

NC school officials nix cash-for-grades fundraiser

The school was offering 20 test points to students in exchange for a $20 donation. Rosewood principal Susie Shepherd had said that she approved the idea after a parent advisory council presented it as a way to raise money. Shepherd rejected the suggestion that extra points on two tests could make a difference in a final grade.

Wedding ring found amid 10 tons of trash

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Sanitation workers sorted through 10 tons of trash to recover a wedding ring accidentally thrown away by a New Jersey couple. Bridget Pericolo had placed the ring in a cup that her husband, Angelo, threw out with the garbage before leaving for work Monday morning. When he realized the mistake, he contacted the town's sanitation supervisor, who suggested coming by the Parsippany dump.

Mystery of Argleton, the 'Google' town that only exists online

The town appears on Google Maps in the middle of fields close to the M58 motorway, just south of Ormskirk. Its 'presence' means that online businesses that use data from the software have detected it and automatically treated it as a real town in the L39 postcode area. An internet search for the town now brings up a series of home, job and dating listings for people and places "in Argleton", as well as websites which help people find its nearest chiropractor and even plan jogging or hiking routes through it. The businesses, people and services listed are real, but are actually based elsewhere in the same postcode area.

Google Earth alphabet and numbers

(via here)

Cooling Cucumber Mask

Found this cucumber mask in the October issue of Everyday with Rachel Ray. Easy enough and a perfect pick me up after all the Halloween festivities.

1 tbsp witch hazel
1/2 cucucumber, chopped
1/4 cup aloe vera gel
1 tbsp cornstarch

Using a blender or food processor, mix the witch hazel, cucumber and aloe vera gel. Mix in cornstarch to thicken. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Smooth over face and neck and place 2 cucumber slices of the eyes. Leave on for 10-15 minutes. Rinse, pat dry and follow up with moisturizer.

Fall

themarthablog

DIY Reed Diffuser

Homemade Reed Diffusers
Instead of candles or chemical based air fresheners, try making this reed diffuser using simple oils and and a few items. glass bottle with narrow neck + reed disffusers/bamboo skewers + your favorite combination of simple oils... (via Tipnut )

• Mineral Oil, Sweet Almond Oil or Safflower Oil: Select a combination of your favorite essential oils and add as many drops to the carrier oil (Mineral Oil, Sweet Almond Oil or Safflower Oil) as you need to achieve the fragrance you’re after (a good amount to start with is about 12 drops of EO per 1/4 cup of oil). Next add a splash of vodka to help the oil travel up the reeds better. You could also mix the carrier oil with your favorite perfume instead of essential oils (no addition of vodka will be necessary if using perfume).
• Vodka, Essential Oils & Water: Mix approximately 12 drops of essential oils with 1/4 cup of water then add a splash of vodka. The alcohol helps the essential oils bind with the water. This method will evaporate faster than using oils, but still works.
• Liquid Potpourri: Liquid potpourri can be used in place of reed diffuser oil, you should be able to find this in the candle or crafts section of a department store (like Walmart).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM!

CHEERS!
XO. M

7 Secrets Only 2 People Know

1. The formula for Coca-Cola:

• Only two Coke executives know it. Urban legend says they each only know half, but that's false--that part was invented for an old ad campaign. The original copy of the formula is kept in an undisclosed SunTrust Bank in Atlanta. To keep SunTrust on the side, Coke gave them some 48.3 million shares of stock as well as having executives from each company sit on the other's board of directors. Coca-Cola still derives some of its flavor from the coca plant; the same place that cocaine comes from. Due to the obvious drug related issues that would arise from importing lots of coca plant into America legally, only one company has government permission to do it. That company is Coca-Cola. So even if someone broke into the bank and managed to take the formula, they would never be able to produce an exact Coke rip-off.

2. KFC's 11 herbs and spices
3. The location of Oliver Cromwell's head
4. The Location of Lena Blackburne's Baseball Rubbing Mud
5. The Farmer's Almanac Weather Formula
6. The Subject of "You're So Vain"
7. How Do Sea Monkeys Work?

Read about all of the secrets here.

Skateboard Tetris

Insane...

I'm loving....

this "Where the Wild Things Are" inspired pillow from Urban Outfitters

this chair

this mini steamer

this hanging planter

RIP Patrick Swayze

You danced your away into all of our hearts.
You will be truly missed.

Mammoth Opening

NOVEMBER 12, 2009

MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN
OPENING DAY!

Free Rice

This website was widely circulated awhile back but I came across it again the other day and made it a goal to return to it once a day. I don't know if I just didn't realize it before or it's a new feature but you can change the subject matter of the questions. Instead of vocab, you can quiz yourself on Spanish vocab, chemistry symbols, English grammar, geography, famous paintings, French vocab and even multiplication and algebra. What a great way to learn AND give back. For each right answer the project donates 10 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program to help end hunger.

www.freerice.com

First Human X Ray 1896

Interesting tidbit for the day...

While Wilhelm Konrad Roentgen working on a series of experiments with a Crookes tube, he noticed that a bit of barium platinocyanide emitted a fluorescent glow. He then laid a photographic plate behind his wife’s hand (note the wedding rings), and made the first X-ray photo. Before that, physicians were unable to look inside a person’s body without making an incision. Roentgen was the recipient of the first Nobel Prize for Physics in 1901.

(via digitaljournalist.org)

i'm boy crazy

a very very funny blog about dating and this gal's life with boys.
she offers advice and funny videos and tells all, holding nothing back but names.
it's funny and charming, a bit strange and quirky, but totally amusing.
especially for those of you at work with nothing to do.

imboycrazy.com

excerpt :)

1. tweezers, your face, and time to kill- don’t mix. they CAN mix. but they SHOULDN’T mix.

2. if you don’t tell him that you had a sex dream about him, you’ll never know if he had a sex dream about you!

3. if YOU say ‘I hate gyms’ to a guy you meet at the gym and HE says ‘how can you hate gyms, you’re here aren’t you?’ Just say ‘I hate condoms too, but just like they HAVE to be worn, I HAVE to go to the gym. It just sux! That’s all.’

4. don’t touch newspapers. they make your fingertips super yuck and WAY dirty. have someone read the news to you (maybe the same person who buys you your toilet paper), or look over their shoulder.

5. it’s not cool to be a scumbag.

6. the word is ‘unkempt’, not unkept. the other day someone corrected me when I used the word unkempt- referring to messy hair. that’s when I knew, the state of the world is fucked- just a little bit.

7. it’s espresso, not ex-presso!

8. it’s called ‘portion control’. look into it fat head!

9. NEVER do something you don’t want to do. If you get asked to do some kind of lame favor/job/task/project to help someone out and you make the mistake of saying yes- it would be better to cancel at the last minute, than go through with it at all.

10. if you hang your foot over the edge of your bed while you’re sleeping, a monster that lives under your bed will TOTALLY grab your foot and rip it off. Be careful!

Happy 09/09/09

The last set of repeating single digit dates we'll see for almost a century....
09/09/09

Lost Summer

Check out my good friend Mike's take on the end of the decade...

This Is Not Your Voice

"So what the hell happened?

September 2008:

- Summer: hot

- Cubs: rolling

- Obama: balling.

- Michael Jackson: living

September 2009:

- Summer: (not applicable)

- Cubs: boring.

- Obama: unpopular.

- Michael Jackson: at the top of the charts…and dead.

There’s really no question that this is the strangest summer in recent memory. I mean, Kings of Leon headlined Lollapalooza? Where am I? In the words of Mikey T, “Kings of Leon are supposed to be the band onstage at 2pm asking, ‘So is everybody excited for Pearl Jam tonight?’”.....................con't.

Mason Jar Lanterns - DIY

Cute end of summer project....using just a mason jar, bailing wire, sand and a votive.

See the full tutorial here

(via Chezbeeperbebe)

Knife and Fork Lift

Featured in the LA Times and the Today Show, these 1.5 lbs dumbbell utensils encourage users to eat more slowly and use restraint when selecting meal options. Read more about the "Knife and Fork Lift" here

Paid to live on an island

How did I miss out on this contest? PAID to live on an island and blog... weekly!

From ABCNews.com...

The Best Job in the World
One Man Is Being Paid $110,000 to Live on an Australian Island Resort and Blog About It, Weekly
By NICK WATT
May 6, 2009—

"It's probably the best job in the world, now that the Australian tourism bureau has finally selected somebody to live on an island and write about life as a beach bum.

The new hire will get to live in a fantastic house on a paradise island in Australia's Great Barrier Reef for six months and get paid $110,000 to do it. The only requirement: write a weekly blog. That's right, weekly, not even daily.

Within the first 48 hours of the contest, the tourism group received more than 7,500 online applications. In the end, 34,000 people applied. Each made a 60-second video resume. They were told to be creative and they were.

Sixteen finalists flew to Australia for the final, "grueling" selection. Let's just say, it involved massages.

The job requirements are quite simple: The ability to speak English and swim.

The contest is part of a publicity stunt to drum up tourism in the area.

Tourism Queensland CEO Anthony Hayes said the idea has helped inject millions of dollars into the industry during a tough period.

"We think we've just ticked over $110 million in international publicity and probably another, hopefully, $20 or $30 million coming this week," Hayes said.

The tourism bureau announced the winner this morning : Ben Southall, a 34-year-old Brit who claims he once kissed a giraffe.

"Well, it's going to be tough; yes, it's going to be horrible learning how to sail, how to dive, to go bush walking," Southall said.

As caretaker, Southall will live at Blue Pearl, "a beautiful three-bedroom home on Hamilton Island featuring stunning views of the Whitsunday Islands, modern facilities and exquisite furnishings."

"I hope I can sell the reef as much as everybody is expecting," Southall told Reuters after he was crowned the winner at a ceremony on Hamilton Island. "My swimming, hopefully, is up to standard."

Southall once worked as a tour guide in Africa, but most recently has worked as a charity fundraiser. In his application video, he expressed a love for adventure, and featured photographs of himself riding an ostrich, running a marathon, scuba diving and kissing a giraffe."

Read the rest of the ABCNews story here....