smonster, thanks for the gloss recommendation. I'll check out Black Honey this afternoon.

I don't have your email yet...I'll check to make sure I changed my profile addy when I dropped verizon...but it should still be the good onebox account.

Right out of the box, I'm going to say that Ginger is lovely and would be easier in terms of training, but if the shelter has the breed mix right (which is not always the case, for sure) I'd vote for Francis over her. The Chow/Lab mix might be a "my person and no one else" kind of girl, which is nice in some ways, but not good for socialization. I'm reading between the lines of the 'likes to chase cats' as a life of stress for your kitties. Not fun for them and probably frustrating for Ginger.

More later!

thanks for the birthday wishes

yay of you , Shir

Happy Birthday, beth!

Congrats, Shir!

Uggh. Didn't get to sleep until four and woke up to a text from my sister that one of her childhood frenemies has died, apparently of melanoma. At 28. So it's sad but...

Talking about the dog thing again, sis suggested I look into fostering Frankie. Yes, I immediately nicknamed him Frankie. Something to consider.

Is this your project on media reporting of conflict (hope I've remembered that correctly)?

Kind of. It's about what constructed as truth in photography of "victory", "defeat", "pain", "other lofty made up human concepts", etc.. In an era of Photoshop and cell phone camera, and on which we know that most of the famous pictures were manipulated (and yet that doesn't make them any less strong nor meaningful), what is a good picture to be considered as proof to the reported events? What's the process that's happening for this meaning to be given to a picture? And that's without even saying a thing about taking a picture from a very specific angle, by gifted photographers - what makes them so gifted in capturing reality? And last, most importantly, I'm following the footsteps of the great John Tagg, by asking on which circumstances will a picture of the Loch Ness monster be considered as evidence to its existence?

I'd really like it to be specifically on war and peace photography, but I'll have to let the field to dictate me on this.

Sorry about your sister's friend, smonster.

Wow, Shir, that sounds like a challenging project. It's great that you have gotten further with it than you expected.

Thank you, Shir. They hadn't been friends in a long time, and when they were A. was very cruel to my sister. So it's more just feeling sad for her family and that she died so young.

Birthday Felicitations, Beth! I wish you a year ahead of good food, good friends, and good music!

smonster, I'm no expert, but a lifetime of pet-owning and observance suggests that bonny's probably right. Ginger looks like a love, but the chow in the mix would worry me around your cats. Frankie might be the better option.

Bonny, I would kill maimuse harsh language for your bone structure. You clearly don't need makeup to look fabulous. I do understand the wish for a little color and polish. I'll second Scrappy's suggestion for tinted moisturizer and powder, with a quarter turn. I use regular moisturizer and mineral powder foundation. It does even out my skin tones, and doesn't melt into lines the way even good liquid foundation can do. It has better staying power on a warm day, as well. I use an eyebrow pencil to fill in where mine are sparse, pencil eyeliner, with dark powder shadow smudged over the line to both soften and "set" the pencil line. The same pencil in the crease, smudged with a fingertip to give me the fabulous definition you have naturally. And powder blush stroked on the apple of the cheek toward the hairline, and on the upper lid under the arch of the brow.

I second the notion of colored gloss. Or a lipstick you like slicked with clear gloss. You'll be gorgeous-er than you already are.

My condolences to your sister, smonster. Losing even a frenemy at so young an age is difficult.

Happy birthday, Beth!

Shir, that's fantastic! Your project sounds fascinating and challenging. Will we ever get to see the results of it?