tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79334110305104191832012-01-23T02:07:19.833-05:00Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.comBlogger181100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-75448649928492022392011-10-08T18:04:00.002-04:002011-10-26T16:27:27.404-04:00

We recently lost two well-stocked book stores* in Salem. Personally, I was more likely to go to Reader's Guide in West Salem instead of Borders, but there were times when I preferred a huge bookstore to browse rare subjects and genres or shop after 9pm. I'm guessing many Salemites, like me, will feel the gaping hole Borders has left, feeling even more depressed when they learn that the nearest

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-32633608763740482392011-09-07T16:45:00.000-04:002011-09-07T16:45:39.467-04:00

Bing is trying to get more people to use their search engine by giving out points for doing daily searches. The points can be redeemed for various gift certificates and items. When I accept a challenge like this, my first inclination is to make up a bunch of searches just to get my points. It becomes a "type words you know" situation. So I typed "Search" into the search engine.  No, I did not

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-54502639135368373582011-09-05T17:12:00.001-04:002011-09-05T23:21:46.267-04:00

Its not quite Steampunk, but ever since 1991 when the movie the Rocketeer came out, I've had a facination with the subject.  It seems to be more popular in anime, like the beautifully drawn film Steamboy, but I've recently discovered that Steampunk is an emerging subculture.  I'm pretty sure it was on an episode of Castle where a Steampunk cosplayer was murdered and they found an underground

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-413295721754235762011-08-28T18:08:00.003-04:002011-08-28T18:18:10.522-04:00

My website has finally been updated and brought into social networking, at least facebook.  I'm not sure if I will even do Twitter for this website.  I will probably only use my personal one if needed.  A couple other people in the world have put up web presences using the same name (Obsidian Photography) since I created my website 10 years ago.  And as I have not been on top of things, the name

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-87807365974001478672011-08-25T17:07:00.001-04:002011-08-25T17:07:59.412-04:00

I am not a fan of weather so warm it makes you want to do less...sleep less, eat less, walk less, write less.  That is how the weather is currently in Salem.  And if you are not the owner of an AC unit, then learning to live in the heat is a must.  I never thought I'd be happy to go to work...but work has an abundance of AC.  Yay!  Good news is, new Guild today! And its a crazy one.  I may have

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-26347746758018176172011-08-22T04:43:00.000-04:002011-08-22T04:43:36.025-04:00

A while back Brian and I started making dioramas for decoration in our apartment.  As I've been sick and we've been busy at other times, it has taken us months to complete them.  I finished my last one today...its a little robot city using old electronics as the city back drop.  I think I've got a video card for a building, my old Palm HD as another building, a cell phone motherboard for a

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-52488018683959565172011-08-18T17:15:00.001-04:002011-08-22T05:03:17.163-04:00

I know that where I work is the bottom of the barrel, but a person has to be able to stay sane in any place, good or bad.  That usually means smiling a few times a day and not too many conflicts, as well as a couple of conversations.  We are only human and need to be social. I have a few obstacles in my way of making friends at work. One, I'm shy. I usually need to be approached.  And the

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-44516840647768344522011-08-13T17:35:00.001-04:002011-08-13T17:58:56.804-04:00

A couple years ago I reviewed a band at the, sadly, no-longer-open club The Space for a website that I'm not sure ever got up and running.  At the time I was surprised to hear a decent local band that I hadn't heard of.  They had an interesting instrumentation (I believe their were a few drum sets involved at some point, and bells and a trumpet and a trombone...) and good composition.  At the

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-55192442048156127712011-08-03T04:05:00.000-04:002011-08-03T04:05:00.168-04:00

One of my favorite new bands, Fleet Foxes, has a new album out. I found out about it listening to an NPR podcast the other day while bored and tired out at work, staring at a computer screen full of red and white Medicaid claims. The single I heard was "Helplessness Blues". The lead singer sums up the big dreams of children from my generation and how many of us are just now coming to the

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-39094441673413093172009-08-18T18:40:00.000-04:002009-08-18T21:43:30.347-04:00

At 1pm, Sunday afternoon, I did it. I paid the $7.50 (reduced) admission for the Summer In the City Music and Wine Festival. At 1:01pm I donned my purple wrist band and wine glass and headed toward Cher and the B-sides. I felt a sense of guilt as I sat by myself, with my camera in hand. The tables surrounding the stage were barely occupied, and mostly by friends and family of the band.

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-64180592390079724982009-08-16T12:50:00.004-04:002009-08-16T12:57:59.738-04:00

Let me preface this post by saying, I really had high hopes for Summer in the City, presented by Go Downtown! Salem. In other words, my opinions are biased based on my personal dreams for this event and the success of First Wednesday, also presented by Go Downtown! Salem.My first impressions of this shopping, wine, food, and music festival were not great. I walked downtown from the Marion parking

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-73246144366932182422009-08-15T12:38:00.004-04:002009-08-15T12:57:30.850-04:00

We all had a great night at our house on Wednesday. We had a pretty good spread of food from local Salem restaurants. Some of the writers from the Eat Salem blog came over and we ate good food and also talked about good food.Here are some pics of the spread:

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-5917807876758117232009-07-04T18:37:00.006-04:002009-07-05T00:15:23.807-04:00

When I was a kid I wanted to be a journalist. Of course, at the same time I wanted to be a paleontologist, an actress, and President. In my journalistic fantasies, fused with Nancy Drew-esque mystery, I dreamed of uncovering scandals and catching bad-guys. Occasionally I just wanted to tell a story about life in general. Deep down I knew I'd have to learn and practice hard how to become a

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-65269683738276392682009-04-30T04:13:00.003-04:002009-05-01T17:12:20.506-04:00

Despite my arms hurting from typing too much, I felt inspired to write about the music I've been listening to this year. I have been out of the loop music-wise for a couple of years. The consequence of this shortage is a sudden accumulation of hundreds of new songs in my iTunes. I kinda went new music crazy (thank you Amazon for free indie music).My new repertoire consists of some indie folk,

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-72957605140484585072009-03-05T03:19:00.002-05:002009-03-05T04:05:47.810-05:00

A rhythm was stuck in her head, so there she sat on the back porch with the beige department store acoustic she received as a gift five years back. All was quiet but the ting-twang-tong of the guitar in the natural auditorium. Soft lights shimmered in and out at the edge of the forest as the rhythm stopped and started, changing until it matched the song in her head. Yes, there it is, she

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-90294574667569051582008-06-10T16:08:00.000-04:002008-06-10T16:09:01.662-04:00

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-1511200322798273392008-05-27T19:23:00.004-04:002008-05-27T19:38:58.272-04:00

What is DDTS you say? Well, its some thing a DJ at the rock station DC101 started back in April of last year when he was handed the reins to the afternoon show. Its small, yet obsessive, stupid, yet awesome...here is a little history.The DJ, he shall be named Roche (pronounced like the bug not the pharmaceutical company), decided that at 5:30pm every weekday the public shall witness a song not

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7933411030510419183.post-44584196462628840822008-04-30T19:27:00.004-04:002008-04-30T19:30:49.821-04:00

Karla Miller – Instructional AssistantSumpter Elementary“I would like to recommend Karla Miller at Sumpter Elementary School for the "Going the Distance" award. She is my kindergarten classroom assistant. She helps me with the nuts and bolts of running a busy classroom. The children love her weekly science lessons and story time in the library. She fixes their "boo boos" and

Lisa Annenoreply@blogger.com0