Toxicgrin profile picture

Toxicgrin

Drinking in the Sweetest Decline

About Me


I edited my profile with Thomas Myspace Editor V3.6 !
I'm a typical Aries, headstrong and independent, a bit bossy, prone to sticking my foot in my mouth and nasty head injuries. The red hair comes with the territory. So does the Irish temper.
I'm always up for adventure (or dreaming about them anyway!), road trips, hikes, photo safaris (old cemeteries and googie road signage are my favorites), and pounding pavement for a good cause. I love the desert, hot rocks, hot showers, anything with "fire" colors, full moons and sunsets in Maui, midnight in New Orleans. Dark chocolate is in there somewhere too.
I'm a bit of an idealist, which means I learn the hard way and have to get my heart and dreams slammed a few times before I let go or give up. A short spell of cynicism, then I'm back to carrying the standard out to battle again. Screaming banshees? I can relate.My furry friends, Scooter, Phoebe , and Skrappi keep me entertained and my life in perspective.
I've finally joined the modern age and have decided to convert my old vinyl into practical playing media. So here's a small taste of my favorites. Pull up a chair, make some tea and enjoy. If your feeling nostalgic, leave a comment or two. Cheers, Friend!
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My Interests


Some pictures taken with one of my three Holgas on several adventures....
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Photography: Black and White photos (old and new), antique and toy Holga cameras, infrared, Leicas, Mann Ray, Simon Marsden, John Santerineros, Eugene Atget, Lewis Carrol, Sally Mann, Philippe Halsmann.
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Special Places: the Garden District and Oak Alley in New Orleans; the West Coast, the Long Hall at Trinity College and Brigit's sacred wells in Ireland; the Liberty Bar (the word's best pecan pie!) and the Rose Window at Mission San Jose in San Antonio; Texas Hill country and vineyards; the various nooks and crannies and restaraunts in San Francisco (especially the End-up!).

Fun Stuff: historical cemeteries and old buildings (the Fox Theater Fullerton - but not its management); Victorian and Craftsman homes; dark wood and dark chocolate; tawny ports and Absinthe rituals, musty old books and warm rocks; vintage clothes, 1930's erotica and ruby-lipped burlesque dolls.

I'd like to meet:


Anais Nin; Montreal, Canada; Joseph Campbell; the Orient Express; the Dali Lama; Romania; my biological father; people who live passionately; Theda Bara; Nobody....
.. ..Honorable mentions: Christiane Cegavske, George Melies, Ladislaw Starewicz: .. ..

Music:


Beth Orton, Lucinda Williams, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, The Baby's, Nina Simone, Marilyn Manson, STP, Squeeze, Cocteau Twins, Angels of Venice, Flesh for Lulu, Bauhaus, The Three O'Clock, ABC, Temple of the Dog, This Mortal Coil, Yaz, Joy Division, Specimen, NIN, Joy Division, Wings, 10,000 Maniacs, Jane's Addiction, Roxy Music, Smashing Pumpkins, Portishead, Neverland, General Public, Dream Academy, Soft Cell, The Church, Delirium, Sheila Chandra, Echo & the Bunnymen, Kate Bush, Jerry Cantrell, Psych Furs, downbeats, electronica, anything that feeds the soul.

Books:

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Books read in 2007:
1. The Burning Time by Robin Morgan
2. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
3. The Boleyn Inheretance by Philippa Gregory
4. Thunderstruck by Erik Larson
5. Weird California by Bishop, Oesterle and Marinacci
6. Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund
7. We Band of Angels by Elizabeth M. Norman
8. This Spectred Isle: A Journey Through Haunted England by photographer Simon Marsden
9. The Freedom Writers Diary with Erin Gruwell
10. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
11. The New Revelatons: A Conversation with God by Neale Donald Walsch
12. Katherine by Anya Seton (in progress)
13. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Managing Your Time by Jeff Davidson
14. The Way of the Wolf by E.E. Knight
15. Marley and Me by John Grogan
16. How to Handle the Paper Load by the National Council of Teachers of English
17. Bag of Bones by Stephen King
18. Papers, Papers, Papers: An English Teacher’s Survival Guide by Carol Jago
19. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
20. The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer
21. The Untouchables by Eliot Ness with Oscar Fraley
22. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
23. Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know About by Kevin Trudeau
24. Alternatives to Grading Student Writing edited by Stephen Tchudi
25. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
26. The Nazi Officer’s Wife by Edith Hahn Beer
27. A Literate Passion: Letters of Anais Nin & Henry Miller edited by Gunther Stuhlmann
28. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
29. In Search of the Pleasure Palace: Disreputable Travels by Marc Almond
30. The Bat-Poet by Randall Jarrell, pictures by Maurice Sendak
31. The Quilter’s Legacy by Jennifer Chiaverini
32. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
33. Wicked: The Life and Ties of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

Heroes:


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Books: "The White Hotel" by Thomas Pynchon; "The Fan-Maker's Inquisition" by Rikki Ducornet; "The Hours" by Michael Cunningham
Authors: D.H. Laurence, Henry Miller, Anais Nin.
Poets: William Carlos Williams, e.e. cummings, Pablo Neruda, Oscar Wilde.
Playwrights: Eugene O'Neil, Sam Shepard, Howard Barker, Mark Ravenhill.
Illustrations/Paintings/Artwork: Yoshitaka Amano, William Bourgeuereau, the amazing Erte, Alphonse Mucha, Aubrey Beardsly...
Giving: Visit my favorite charity's website. They have a unique philosophy with transparent financials and personalized giving - you can choose the very person you want to help. It's a great way to make a difference and enjoy a tax break. Check out their site.
Volunteering:
Fullerton Theatre League
Special Interests
Thought of the Day:
If you too are feeling Punchie...

My Blog

June Gloom

In the midst of wedding plans and cramming for teaching two summer courses, June has not been kind. It's been a very trying month.On June first, my dad had a stroke. He had to be air lifted to the hos...
Posted by Toxicgrin on Sat, 21 Jun 2008 04:01:00 PST

Happy Birthday Scooter!

I know it's been a long while since my last blog. Teaching 5 classes has proven too difficult and this will be last semester doing so. One more week and I hope to gain a life back again. If I ever ma...
Posted by Toxicgrin on Sat, 17 May 2008 03:46:00 PST

Okay, this is scary - Im engaged!

I'm so far behind in my blogs. I haven't written about our adventures at the official "Center of the World", Felicity, CA (or shown the pictures). I haven't written about my current nostalgia for the ...
Posted by Toxicgrin on Sun, 28 Oct 2007 06:50:00 PST

Inspiration, Epiphany, Ecstasy

Until now, I can't say I've been much of fan of modern abstract art, although I do love bold colors and forms, so I suppose I have a predilection to this type of art. However, until tonight, I've neve...
Posted by Toxicgrin on Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:28:00 PST

A Day in the Life....

What a great Sunday. Any Sunday is pretty great when I'm not grading papers actually.Woke up late, checked emails (okay, I worked on lesson plans for awhile, but NO grading!), and then Michael took me...
Posted by Toxicgrin on Mon, 30 Jul 2007 10:21:00 PST

A Darned Good Read...

"A father and his son walk alone through a burned America.Nothing moves in the ravished landscape save the ashes on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. Th...
Posted by Toxicgrin on Wed, 25 Jul 2007 11:03:00 PST

If they can save Felix, we can save the Fox!!

Catapulted to new heightsThe Felix Chevrolet dealership's neon cat sign in Los Angeles gets a historic-cultural monument designation.By Bob Pool, Times Staff W...
Posted by Toxicgrin on Mon, 16 Jul 2007 11:16:00 PST

That damned Theater!

As much as I love the Fox Theater in Fullerton, sometimes I have to admit that it might be cursed. Every since it was built, it's seemed to haven fallen on hard times.After the most recent rescue, it ...
Posted by Toxicgrin on Fri, 06 Jul 2007 03:04:00 PST

70's Requests?

Being on the never ending task of uploading music to my ipod, I've noticed my '70's collection is lacking. There were a lot of one-hit-wonders I liked and I have few albums to show for it.So help me o...
Posted by Toxicgrin on Fri, 06 Jul 2007 02:40:00 PST

Love - 80's Style

Since I've been converting vinyl to cd and cds to mp3s, I've been listening to a lot of music that I've neglected for awhile. I was even inspired to go on a search for a rare(?) video that I coveted f...
Posted by Toxicgrin on Wed, 04 Jul 2007 02:22:00 PST