Stop SOPA and PIPA!

No Wiki, no Craigslist, no Reddit, no WordPress and more. It's blackout day, dahling. 

Many websites are offline today because the U.S. Senate is considering legislation that would certainly kill the internet as we know it. The legislation is called the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), and would put sites (including Absolutely Fabulisa) in legal jeopardy if we linked to a site anywhere online that had any links to copyright infringement.

This would unmake the Web, just as proposed in the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). We don't want that world. If you don't want it either, visit AmericanCensorship.org for instructions on contacting your Senator. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has more information on this and other issues central to your freedom online.

You can help by educating yourself, signing this petition and contacting your local representative. We can't let this happen. Censorship is wrong. Please, don't just sit there and do nothing---take action now. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcKyg6akCzQ

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Lisa Brown and filed under Announcements.

Happy Yawnday

Yesterday, we hit the birthday jackpot. Today: dry as a bone. 

There are no notable birthdays today to speak of, dahling.

Welcome to Yawnsville. Enjoy your day. 

Perhaps the information gods will smile on us by dropping a good scandal or something. We can only hope. Fingers crossed! 

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Lisa Brown and filed under Birthdays.

Favorite Moment of the Day

It's very early, but I think it's safe to say that I just experienced my favorite moment of the day. Click here to see the source of my joy. 

"This is the LAST time i will say it! You dont even know wat my dreams are!! Juge yourself, not me. that is wat god can do." 

"Even if u think it IS bad! you dont even no my tru potential. U PROBLY CANT EVEN DRAW!"

SynysterInk, I'll admit it: I did juge you. And I deem you fabulous. Keep on tattin', sir. Practice makes perfect. Follow those dreams, watever they are. In time, u can probly be the best darn tatter the world has evah seen. Keep the faith, dahling! 

*UPDATE*: My sister is highly upset that I used those misspelled words. She called from Indiana and reamed me out. "But you don't misspell," she quipped. "I don't like it at all." I offered my defense: "It's comic relief," I said. "I'm just going along with the tattoo guy's lingo. When in Rome." Pregnant pause. "I hate it," she finally hissed. Sorry, Sister. The deliberate errors stay. I am, of course, well aware that she'll somehow make me pay for this. All I can do is wait. 

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Lisa Brown and filed under WTF?!?.

Happy Earthakittday

Wow---there are a plethora of birthdays today, dahling. 

Kid Rock: 41

Michelle Obama: 48

Jim Carrey: 50

Muhammad Ali: 70

James Earl Jones: 81

Vidal Sassoon: 84

Betty White: 90 (yay!)

Al Capone: 113

Benjamin Franklin: 306

Look at that list. They're all fabulous, unquestionably. There's also no question about who should receive today's spotlight: Ms. Eartha Kitt. She is the most fabulous of them all! Yes, even more fabulous than our first lady. Yes, even more fabulous than The Greatest (no offense, Mr. Ali, we're incredibly fond of you, too).It's EARTHA KITT, for crying out loud. There is no argument here. Eartha wins, hands down. 

Happy 85th birthday, Eartha. You are perpetually in the spotlight of our hearts. We love you so. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ5VaBgXzuM

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Lisa Brown and filed under Birthdays.

WTF is Up with All the Birds?

Yesterday was hawk day. Today: crows. The pines are filled with 'em. One slammed into the window and scared the living daylights outta me. Another was hopping all over the rooftop with what looked like---but certainly wasn't---a large hunk of cuttlebone. 

This is getting freaky. Waaaay too Hitchcockian. 

I hereby demand that all birds cease the escalated activity in my formerly-serene pine grove. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw0FP9putKM&feature=related

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Lisa Brown and filed under WTF?!?.

Remember, Celebrate, Act!

We must work unceasingly to uplift this nation that we love to a higher destiny, to a higher plateau of compassion, to a more noble expression of humanness.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=130J-FdZDtY

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Lisa Brown and filed under Holidays.

Happy Ethelmermandday

It's Ethel Merman's 104th birthday. You are eternally fabulous, Ethel. You are also my favorite songstress to imitate. If you're ever feeling down, I highly recommend belting out a song---any song, really---in your best Merman voice. You'll feel so much better, promise. We love you, Ethel! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icr71H1nb3Q

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Lisa Brown and filed under Birthdays.

Poor Mary

Mary Poppins is being forced to stay inside the treehouse and use Wee-Wee Pads today, as a damn hawk has made itself nice and cozy in our little urban pine forest.

At 9 pounds, Mary might be too large for the hawk to swoop down and grab, but I'm not taking any chances. 

I can tell it's really affecting her. Look at how troubled she is. 

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Lisa Brown and filed under WTF?!?.

R.I.P.

David Odom, one of my husband's very best friends, died yesterday in Portland, Oregon. He was a great friend to people and trees. So long, Dave... see you on the other side.

DJB: Hang in there, my strong husband. You are such a good man. Fynn, Mary Poppins, the Brownies and I love and miss you.  

(Thanks to Friends of Trees for the wonderful photos) 

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Lisa Brown and filed under R-I-P-.

Happy María del Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Gutiérrez de los Perales Santa Ana Romanguera y de la Hinojosa Rasten Day

In other words, Happy Charoday. 

Happy birthday, Charo. We love you, but we also love a good scandal, so we must address the age thing. 

Here's Wikipedia's take on the mystery of Charo's age. 

Official documents in Murcia, Spain (where she was born) and the United States indicate she was born in 1941, but Charo has insisted she was born in 1951 and persuaded a United States court to uphold the 1951 birth year as official.

The performer has said in past interviews that her parents allowed her to falsify her age to appear to be older after marrying 66-year-old band leader Xavier Cugat when she was 15.[2] Further complicating the question is the fact that contemporary press reports gave her age at marriage as 21,[3][4] an April 1966 column on the wedding plans stated she was 20 and Cugat was 60,[5] and columns less than two years before the marriage refer to her as Cugat's "18-year-old protegée" — which, if she was falsifying her age, would have made her actually 13 at the time.[6] In October 1977[7] — the same year in which Charo filed for divorce from Cugat and became an American citizen — a United States court upheld the 1951 birth year as official, with the performer providing a sworn statement from her parents in support of her claim.[8] Commenting on the disputes over her age, she has said that the public's disbelief could prove advantageous: "But if people really believe I'm older, that's fine. Don't be surprised if I come out with my own cosmetics, a new energy bar and maybe some vitamins."

What do you think, dahling? Is she 61 or 71? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_elGT8qYfE

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Lisa Brown and filed under Birthdays.

Happy Davegrohlday

Happy 43rd birthday, Dave Grohl. You might be the coolest guy ever.

If I was permitted to pick one rock star to simply have a beer and a chat with, I'd choose you. You're my fave down-to-earth rocker, sir. I also dig your gum-chewing affinity. Dave Grohl looooves him some gum. 

With all that being said, I'd like to nominate Dave Grohl for president. It just makes sense. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhdCslFcKFU

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Lisa Brown and filed under Birthdays.

Friday Fabü

I’ve gotta admit, when I received an offer for an Evox treatment from Janice Bequette, owner of Albuquerque Massage ~ Mind, Body, Soul, Bliss (1111 Carlisle SE, 505.306.6952, AlbuquerqueMassage.org), I was skeptical.

“Evox is a combination light and sound therapy that seeks to reset neural pathways in the brain to increase relaxation, release anxieties and worries, eliminate destructive behavioral patterns, and lead to new insights and a healthier mental paradigm,” Bequette explained in an email.

Um… OK… sure. I continued reading.

“The treatment works by recording short voiceprints, analyzing the sound patterns, and converting the patterns into frequencies that are then played back to the client in order to reset negative neural pathways.”

I decided to stop trying to understand it and simply accept the offer. Why not? Bring on the new. I showed up with an open mind and sassy new ‘do. Let’s do this.

First off, Bequette was surprisingly non-freaky-deaky. She’s cool. We could be friends. She invited me into her cozy treatment room and we began our work.

I reclined on a comfy table and donned funky glasses with an attached headphone/microphone combo. My inner drag queen wanted to leap off the table and burst into my best Fergie impression, because the space-age headgear made me appear a bit Black Eyed Pea-ish, yet I refrained. My gear was hooked up to a nearby laptop, and I doubt Bequette would have appreciated any cord yanking.

Next, I babbled a few words about my stressors and life concerns into the microphone. A few seconds later, Bequette instructed me to close my eyes. The headphones played soothing music combined with dolphin-like sounds (my voice pattern frequencies), all paired with light patterning in the glasses. This continued for a few minutes, and then we repeated the pattern several times. This, my friends, is Evox (50 min, $55). 

Click here to read the rest of the column. 

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Lisa Brown and filed under Fabü.

Happy Saintriptaylorday!!!!

Hallelujah! Cue singing angels! Fire the confetti cannons!

Rejoice, for this is the day that Saint Rip Taylor was borrrrrn! 

Oh, Saint Rip! Thank you for all things fabulous. Forgive us for any non-fabulousness. Shower us with your grace and confetti whenever possible. Amen. 

Happy 78th birthday, Saint Rip. All the love to you, sir. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQN3Augv2PA

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Lisa Brown and filed under Birthdays.