...find those chocolate bunnies, hiding everywhere!

happy easter, joyous passover, glorious spring, bunny hopping!

55Friday Flash Fiction

They had both gone to Waller Street Elementary for 5 years, but Jeff had never offered her a ride home before. She said ok because her books were heavy.

Jeff rode faster, aiming toward a bump in the sidewalk.

He sped away, that icky feeling that began when she got on his bike, now gone.


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If you like, please leave me a flash fiction story too, or post it on your blog! Happy Flash Friday every one!

Happy Anniversary HNT




I chose this weeks pictures for HNT because all three have my wedding rings in them. (Oh yeah, and I look sexy in them too!) Last Sunday Mr Ratburn and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. May I please have 18 more?

Happy Anniversary, Husband!

I find sometimes it's easy to be myself,

sometimes i find it's better to be somebody else.

~Dave Matthews

The Idiot and Barefoots Official Weekly Tropical Top Five #2

Welcome to week two of our game!
This weeks Official Weekly Tropical Top Five category is:

TOP 5 RIDING SONGS

ah what is riding? we'll leave that up to you to define...seems we've got bikes, cowgirls, horses, cats and drugs (er, rabbits)...

Bicycle Race by Queen
Mustang Sally by Wilson Pickett
Horses by Tori Amos
Tommy the Cat by Primus
White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane


Now leave us your list in comments, or you can play at your blog too, if you want.

I Never Was The Fantasy Of What you Want, Wanted Me To Be....

Playboy Mommy by Tori Amos



in my platforms
i hit the floor
fell face down
didn't help my brain out
then the baby came
before i found
the magic how
to keep her happy
i never was the fantasy
of what you want
wanted me to be
don't judge me so harsh little girl
so you got a playboy mommy
but when you tell them my name
from here to birmingham
i got a few friends
i never was there was there when it counts
i get my way
you're so like me
you seemed ashamed
ashamed that i was
a good friend of american soldiers
i'll say it loud here by your grave
those angels can'tever take my place
somewhere where the the orchids grow
i can't find those church bells
that played when you died
played gloria
talkin bout hosanah, yes
don't judge me so harsh little girl
you got a playboy mommy, come home
so when you tell them soldiers my name
you'll cross that bridge all on your own
little girl, they'll do you no harm
'cause they know your playboy mommy
i'll be home
i'll be home
to take you in my arms




Remember the Tori Amos Corset that I featured last Fall that was auctioned off to benefit the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance? (Yes, of course you do!) Well, Did you know there was also a Tori shoe? Yes there is, and it is fantastic! The Tori Amos shoe was designed to benefit RAINN, and is now a rare find indeed. If anyone has a pair in a size 7 that they would like to be rid of, I will gladly take them off your hands.

In 1999, Designer Steve Madden created a shoe called the "Tori Amos". 100% of the proceeds for this shoe went to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network).



Woo hoo! What a sexy shoe!



That's for sure, Tori loves her shoes! Happy Tori Tuesday everyone!

Susiji Makes Samosas

Today on susiestheboss, we have more delicious Indian food to make if you dare! And I've also got a shout out today for Logo over at It Really Is A Dog's Life, because she doesn't know what a samosa is. Idiot, please, take that girl out to lunch. Teach her the way!

ALOO MATTAR SAMOSA

1 pound potatoes
3/4 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 t. salt
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. chili powder
1 t. panch phora*
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 recipe of pastry dough**

Prepare pastry and set aside while making the filling. Boil the potatoes, peel and dice. If using fresh peas, cook them until tender. Combine potatoes and peas with the salt, cumin, chili powder, panch phora and lemon juice. Roll out balls of pastry dough and place a tablespoonful of potato mixture onto the dough (or however much looks right to you.) Fold up dough making a triangle shape. Using a small bowl of water, wet fingers and seal the edges of the dough with fingers.
Deep fry in hot oil. Drain on absorbent paper towels and serve with Tamarind, Mint, Mango or other chutneys which can be made or store bought.

*PANCH PHORA
"Panch" means five in Hindi and Panch phora is a combination of five different aromatic seeds. These are used whole.

2 Tablespoons black mustard seed
2 T cumin seed
2 T black cumin seed
1 T fenugreek seed
1 T fennel seed

Put into a glass jar with a tight fitting lid, shake before use.

**Pastry

1 1/2 cups plain flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon ghee or oil
1/2 cup warm water

Sift flour and salt into a bowl, lightly rub in ghee or oil, add warm water and mix until ingredients are combined and the dough comes away from the side of the bowl. Add a little more water if necessary. Knead firmly for 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside while preparing filling for at least 30 minutes.


Now i'll bet you all want me to tell you how to make chutneys for spooning onto your samosas, right? Well, I usually buy mine in the Indian food store, but you can make yours if you want to!
Remember betas, hot oil is dangerous, and, you don't want to end up with a giant scar on your arm like Susiji!



Hampi, Karnataka

55Fridays Flash Fiction

OK people its Friday, let's see what you've got! In 55 words, write a story with a decipherable plot and at least one main character.......


River of Tears by Karen Godfrey


Most of the time she wore a smile bright enough to light up a village. Today was not the same. Sadness overflowed from heart to mind until she was forced to get the raft from her hall closet and blow it up, so she could keep from drowning in her tears. A table floated by.


Let's have it, loves! 55 words!

Fairy Tale HNT





...alas, Snow White did she fall on a bed of sodden ground that moment when poison meets apple meets lips....

When will the lips of Snow White's heroic prince charming wake her from enchanted slumber?

What other fractured fairy tales hath HNT wrought over at Hijacked?

The Idiot and Barefoots Official Weekly Tropical Top Five

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"Rob, top five musical crimes perpetuated by Stevie Wonder in the '80s and '90s. Go. Sub-question: is it in fact unfair to criticize a formerly great artist for his latter day sins, is it better to burn out or fade away?"



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As some of you might know, a few of us bloggers, namely the Hijackers, met in Yahoo's Trivia Madness! I have known The Village Idiot about the longest, I think.....more than 4 years. One of the silly things we used to do in PM box while waiting for Trivia Madness to pick up was to play that Five Desert Island songs game....you know the one, you pick 5 songs that you MUST have with you if stranded on a deserted island...with your IPOD or CD Player with a lifetime supply of batteries....
So this week The Idiot and I would like to introduce to you The Idiot and Barefoots Official Weekly Tropical Top Five Game.
Do you think we are going to make this easy on you? That's right, we are not! What we will have are different categories......and then you will list, either on your blog, or in comments, your top five songs that fit that category, and let us know if you played.
This weeks category, which is one of my favorites from the long list that we've compiled over the years, is called:

"Top 5 Songs to Have on your Ipod While Cruising Hot Babes in the Freezer Section of the Grocery Store"


Icicle by Tori Amos
Cold Ethel by Alice Cooper
Popsicle Toes by Michael Franks
Sex and Candy by Marcy Playground
Ice Cream Love by Kwame Mark & the Kushite Raiders
( I did not make this song up, and you can't either!)

So now let's have your list!

When We Make Our Passion Pictures......

"Hey! What's going on here?"









"Hi Tori, it's me, Dave!"





So this week I decided that I would talk about some other music besides that of Tori Amos. Are you shocked? Well, it's because I have been listening to this CD 3 or 4 times a day for the past month, and it's so good, I just have to share it with you. I sure hope Tori doesn't mind!

Crash by The Dave Matthews Band has really gotten my attention.
Ok, I know it came out in 1995 0r 1996, but it's still fresh, tasty, (yes, I dare say tasty) and incredibly sexy, I might add. Certain songs just make me wanna ...no wait, I can't say that.....um, make me just...oh forget it, go listen to Two Step and Say Goodbye and tell me you don't wanna take Dave Matthews into some dark room somewhere and forget about everything else for awhile.



TWO STEP
By Dave Matthews

Say, my love, I came to you with best intentions
You laid down and gave to me just what I'm seeking
Love, you drive me to distraction
Hey my love do you believe that we might last a thousand years
or more if not for this,our flesh and blood
It ties you and me right up
Tie me down

Celebrate we will
Because life is short but sweet for certain
We're climbing two by two
To be sure these days continue
These things we cannot change
change...oh, I want to change it
Hey, my love, you came to me like wine
comes to this mouth
Grown tired of water all the time
You quench my heart and you quench my mind
Celebrate we will
Because life is short but sweet for certain
We're climbing two by two
To be sure these days continue
The things we cannot
Celebrate, you and me, climbing two by two, to be sure
these days continue, things we cannot change
Oh, my love I came to you
with best intentions
You laid down and gave to me
just what I'm seeking
Celebrate we will
Because life is shortbut sweet for certain
We're climbing two by two
To be sure these days continue
Things we cannot change...Things we cannot change

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Stuff about The Dave Matthews Band~The Dave Matthews Band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, in early 1991, when vocalist/guitarist Dave Matthews decided to put some songs he had written on tape. Instead of simply recording himself with a guitar, he opted to bring in some instrumental help to give his musical ideas more depth. Dave found assistance in drummer Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who were both accomplished jazz musicians in the local Charlottesville music scene. Based on the recommendation of distinguished local jazz guru John D’earth, 16-year-old musical prodigy Stefan Lessard came on board to play bass. Completing the band was keyboard player Peter Griesar, who left the band after a couple of years, as well as the talented and classically trained violinist, Boyd Tinsley.The first official gig for the newly conceived Dave Matthews Band was May 11, 1991, at a private rooftop party in Charlottesville. Its first public show was at the city’s 1991 Earth Day Festival. Local weekly gigs soon followed, and within a little time, word of the band’s contagious new sound spread like wildfire throughout the region. Clubs started to fill up, tours began to cover more territory, and the fan base grew at an incredible rate..........


Hello?? Excuuuse me??
Uh huh, yeah, and now he has lots of releases, that are all just so fantastic. Yeah yeah, sure, we love Dave, now move over! This is MY day! It's Tori Tuesday, remember? I have some news too, so move over, Dave!

I just wanna say that Susie has just bought a new fresh stack of empty cds and will be making some Tori for all of you soon. Please send mailing addresses. Happy Tori Tuesday everyone!

Wake up and Cook!

Since it's Monday I decided that you're all gonna need some sort of kick in the pants, so I am posting two Indian recipes which are guaranteed to wake you up! I made them both last night for dinner, and they are our favorite recipes from this cook book I wanna also tell you about......



Chicken and Tomato Balti

4 Tbsp corn oil
6 curry leaves or 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 tsp mixed onion and mustard seeds (black mustards seeds taste delicious!)
8 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic pulp
1.5-2 pounds of chicken boneless, cubed
2/3 cup of water
1 tsp fresh sesame seeds, roasted
1 tsp fresh coriander (cilantro)
(*I also like to add some tiny slices of fresh ginger and one sliced up green chili, two if you dare!)

Heat the oil in a deep round bottom frying pan or wok. Add the curry, mixed onion and mustard seeds and stir well. Lower the heat slightly and add the tomatoes. While the tomatoes are gently cooking, mix together the ground coriander, chili powder, salt, ground cumin, and garlic in a bowl. Tip the spices onto the tomatoes.
Add the chicken pieces and stir together well. Stir fry for about 5 minutes. Pour on the water and continue cooking, stirring occaisionally, until the sauce thickens and the chicken is cooked through.
Sprinkle the sesame seeds and fresh coriander over the chicken.

(For some reason blogger typed that recipe up there single spaced but this recipe is double spaced. I don't know why...deal with it ok? : p)

Buttery Pullao Rice

2 1/3 cups basmati rice

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

4 cloves

4 green cardamom pods

1 bay leaf

1 tsp salt

4 cups water

Wash the rice twice, drain and set aside. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, and throw in the cloves, bay leaf, cardamom and salt. Lower the heat and add the rice. Fry for about one minute, stirring constantly.

Add the water and bring to a boil. As soon as it has boiled, lower the heat and cover the pan, cook for 15-20 minutes.

OK, now the book is called The Complete Book of Indian Cooking by Shehzad Husain & Rafi Fernandez, (Hermes House, Anness Publishing Ltd 2001,2005) , and I promise you, this is one excellent Indian cookbook! I love all the recipes iIve made from this book better than any other Indian food I've ever had in my life, and I'm not some beginnner at Indian food, ya know!

55 Fridays Flash Fiction

She walked down the noisy corridor toward the cafeteria, clutching tightly the neon green handle of her new lunch bag, orange with black leopard print flannel. She thought about the red shiny apple in her bag, and how she would trade it today with Lacey for two of those yummy cookies her mom always made.


Seems like a bit of April Foolery has struck our friends over at Sepia Mutiny! Well, I sure hope it's a joke!

American Gothic HNT



(We don't get half nekkid in public, it's just not proper!....)

Sheesh, I feel like such a dork.......wanna see more at Mr Ratburns blog?

This week, the thespians take a respite from acting over at Hijacked.

Ohhhhhhhhh!!!!

You could almost drown my waterfall......

Today for Tori Tuesday , I chose this lovely song called Ruby, Through the Looking Glass, which is on her 2004 release, Scarlet's Hidden Treasures C/D included in the Welcome To Sunny Florida DVD/CD set. Tori calls it her "pregnancy song".
As some of you may or may not know, Tori had lost three pregnancies before her little girl was born. This song was written while she was pregnant with Tash. Happily, her daughter was born healthy and is now a lovely 6 year old.
I chose this song today, not because I can relate to her difficult pregnancy thing, although, mine did have it's problems, not because it's one of QL's favorite Tori Tunes, but because I have it stuck in my head and I can't get it out! Damn you, Tori!
Have a lovely Tori Tuesday everyone!



Ruby, Through The Looking Glass


feel a little hand turning inside me
don't you think she feels us fighting
strike me at the root
i won't let you
put her through
what you put me through
when i said --- i wanted it all,
doesn't every woman want it all...
running through the house screaming
girl unstrung you could always play that one
baptized of fire and every beat in the bar
hymns for her
feel her kick me from the inside
when i said ---- i wanted it all,
doesn't every woman want it all...
as a man ---- do you find,
doesn't every boy smoke to cry...
you could almost drown her waterfall
you could almost drown my waterfall
through the Looking-Glass, Ruby sees
things in you
things in me
she won't wanna be
just a little light turning the key
at the root, what i missed...
she will carry
when i said --- i wanted it all,
doesn't every woman want it all...
as a man --- do you find,
doesn't every boy smoke to cry...
feel a little hand
turning
turning
Ruby

1000 More Words

55 Friday

By the way, HNT is below this post, and yes, I'm still waiting for all 200 of you to get over here and tell me how awesome my HNT is....that's right, you know I went to nearly ALL of the blogs to see what would happen...so do it! It's down there........

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Some of the bloggers over at Sepia Mutiny play this writing game on Fridays, called 55Fiction Fridays, or 55 Fridays. The idea is to write a complete story in 55 words. I've copied some information below regarding nanofiction as it is also called. I'm going to start 55Fridays today on my blog!
Mind you, I am NOT a writer, I will not even pretend to be one, but, I hope you will all join in, either writing a 55 word story on your own blog, or you can post it in my comments. Have fun!

(By the way, Sepia Mutiny is one terrific blog, you have to check it out. The blog consists of a handful of extremely talented writers that all have their own blogs, but contribute to this one on a daily basis......all the writers are Indian, I do believe, and their topics center around Indian subjects as well as politics, literature and pop culture, all with an Indian twist. Ok, just cuz you aren't a freak about India doesn't mean you can't find this blog absolutely amazing....I'm telling you, these guys are such good writers that sometimes I do not even understand what they are talking about. Whoosh, right over my head!)
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If you dare, write short-shorts (shamelessly stolen from Sepia Mutiny)

Today is Friday and that means that at some point in the next 21 hours, I’m going to write 55 words which contain an entire story. I’m not that big on memes but this one (“55 Fiction Fridays”) is precious to me, because it reminds me of writing exercises and workshops and english minor-y goodness. Por ejemplo:

She nervously adjusted her sari, hoping no one noticed. So far, the night had gone flawlessly; she had made a good impression on everyone, she could just tell.

The older woman at the table noted how silk was tugged upwards. Taking a delicate sip of tea, she thought, “She’s not good enough for our family.”

Flash fiction, also called sudden fiction, micro fiction, postcard fiction or short-short fiction, is a class of short story of limited word length. Definitions differ but is generally accepted that flash fiction stories are at most 200 to 1000 words in length. Ernest Hemingway wrote a six-word flash: “For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.” Traditional short stories are 2,000 to 10,000 words in length.[wiki]
That Hemingway example is ridiculously inspiring. One day I want to write a short that short. I don’t even know if there is a name for a short so short. There is, however, a name for the type of writing this meme encourages:
One type of flash fiction is the short story with an exact word count. An example is 55 Fiction or Nanofiction. These are complete stories, with at least one character and a discernible plot, exactly 55 words long.[wiki]



A Hari Krishna temple in Mangalore

Ok, here comes my nanofiction:

Nearly dusk, Mangalore station. Squeezing from the bus, backpack stubbornly wedging between each row of seats, curious eyes search, and find her soul.
Stepping off into a wall of steam, adjusting her pack, her shirt already soaked with sweat. Fear, confusion. Finding a phone, she inserts 5 rupees as drops of sweat roll off her nose.




Rural Karnataka

Forsooth, t'is HNT!


This week over at Hijacked, we are each acting out a Shakespearean character. I chose Juliet. Now, as you know, Juliet takes the sleeping poison, Romeo finds her, kills himself. Juliet wakes up, sees her beloved lying there dead, then stabs herself with O happy dagger.
Imagine for a minute, shall we, that Romeo gets his fair Juliet. They are together in life, both of their dreams fullfilled. Little Romeos and little Juliets play in the courtyard. Life is good!
But waitaminit! It's been 20 years, and Juliet is getting a little tired of cleaning, cooking, and picking Romeo's dirty codpieces up off the bedroom floor and having to wash them. Besides, she's been messing around with Benvolio on the side, and needs to be rid of ol Romeo. Let's sneak a peek, fair readers, and watch Juliet attempt to rid herself of, shall we say, excess baggage?


"No, Juliet, I am your beloved! Please! Don't make me drink the poison!"



"Hah! At last he is dead! Now, I will seal the deal with this happy dagger, just in case I've given Romeo that "die for a day then wake up" stuff instead of the real thing! At last, I am free! Benvolio! I'm coming! We shall be together at last!"

Fair Gentle Folk, I bid thee a most favorable day of Half-Naked debauchery!

Kick in the Pants!

Today I thought I'd just talk about a bunch of my blogging pals....and link to their sites so you can check em out! Most of them are like me, would be lucky to have 5 or 6 daily readers......and so, I'm not saying that their blogs are fabulous, although you might think so....what I am saying is, that with a little encouragement, and traffic, these blogs could develop into something more....well they could get addicted to blogging like the rest of us, and we could get more out of them! (And, I'm also not saying that my blog is fantastic, cuz it's not, its just well, average!)


Firstly, I'd like to introduce you to my pal, Ian, who's blog is called Escape From Fortress Guinness. When he's not out chasing the ladies, he can be found at the local library in Liverpool, where he works. He's also a fine bass player, although at this time, his axe is probably covered with a thick layer of dust! Ian is such a blog slacker, but he writes good stuff, that I thought you could go over there and give him a good kick in the kecks, and perhaps that'll inspire him to post more often!



Secondly, we have Steve. Now, some of you may remember Steve, from my blog, wayyyy back, when I told the story of our very first date, in high school. That's right, Steve, over at Sideways Again, was my very first boyfriend! He likes to write film and music reviews, and he could also use a few visitors over at his blog....that might get him inspired! (and yeah, this will date us, but I've known him for 28 years!)



Most of you have already met Mr Ratburn, over at My Own Personal Torture. What some of you might not know is, that Mr Ratburn is a real live high school teacher, and Mr Ratburn from the Arthur the Aardvark stories, is his hero. Mr Ratburn only posts HNT's, but they are all funny, and if you are into man nipple, this is the place to go! (the nipples are mine, though, cuz oh, I almost forgot to tell you, Mr Ratburn is my husband!)


Moving on, we have a really special gal with a blog called Shoot Boy. The first time I ever read a comment from this blog, with it's grotesque photo of a bloody faced man, I was completely disgusted. Then I realized, hey, this is my very own little niece, Aubrey! She has since lost the bloody faced man pic! Aubrey doesn't post much, in fact it's been awhile, but, I really want to encourage her to blog more....be polite, she's just 19.......she's super cool, an artist, and wants to study psychology. Go over there and pester her to blog more!

Ok that's all for now...I'll do more next week! Now go out there and check these people out! They are all cool!

my heart is Like the ocean

Originally released in 1992, todays lyrics are from Take To The Sky, a bit of a mysterious song that Tori will only say helped pull her out of a rut after her disastrous first release called Y Kant Tori Read. Alas, since you cannot hear it, you will have to take my word for it, this is one mighty cool song. It has a great beat and is easy to dance to! :P
Where to hear it? Only on the bee side of the Winter single, or in my case, something I um erm stumbled upon online. Have a great Tuesday everyone!




Take to The Sky

this House is like Russia
with eyes cold and grey
you got me moving in a circle
i dyed my hair red today
i just want a little passion
to hold me in the dark
i know i've got some magic
buried deep in my heart yeah
but my priest says
you ain't savin no souls
my father says
you ain't makin any money
my doctor says
you just took it to the limit
and here I stand
with this sword in my hand
you can say it one more time
what you don't like
let me hear it one more time
then have a seat while I
take to the sky

my heart is Like the ocean
it gets in the way
so close to touching freedom
then I hear the guards call my name

if you don't like me just a little
why do you hang around
there she goes again
wearing those purple panties
there she goes again
wearing her heart
there she goes again
why do you
take it, take it, take it ...




BTW, the part about the purple panties, sometimes she sings it, more often, not. Not sure why though. Hey, ya know this is the second color of panties that Tori has sung about. Well, actually, first, since this song is older.....so, yeah, purple, then orange knickers, woo hoo! Ok, kid, that's enough....:P