Goddess of the Skull

I got a thing for skulls. I like them. I really, really, like them. I like to wear them. They complete me. If I were a corporation, the skull would be my own corporate logo. You'd see the skull and think of me. Now before you go thinking that I'm all crazy, let me explain.

I've always liked the skull, even as a kid and especially at Halloween, but my true desire to be synonymous with the skull didn't come about until 3 years ago. That was just after the big "break-up" but before the big "D". I went to Amsterdam that summer with my best friend on my first trip to Europe and purchased this:

Thus began the dawn of the "Goddess of the Skull, Keeper of the Edge". Because Europe has always been a year ahead of us when it comes to trends in fashion, this was long before the influx of the crappy, cheap, commercialized skull paraphernalia flooding the market in the United States today. (I consider myself a skull purist and expert on all accessories of the skull) The funny thing about the belt was, it spoke to my edgy side. It was almost like a silent protest, or a reversed scarlet letter. I could almost feel it's power. It wasn't like I went all goth or anything, because the belt said all I needed to say silently, yet effectively. I wore that belt a lot and continue to do so regularly.

In the last decade, French designer Christian Audigier has built a fashion empire by marketing the designs of an LA tattoo artist named Ed Hardy. Unless you live under a rock, you've seen his brilliant, bright colored, tattoo art on every thing from t-shirts to luggage. Ed Hardy's specialty is my good friend, the skull. DonEdHardy.com is my mother ship and my expensive"skull habit" and I have found a home.

I am always ever so grateful when I receive a gift from someone who gets the fact that I love the skull and I have received so may great "skull" gifts in the past few years. The problem is that there is so much cheesey skull crap out there, that I have had to become somewhat of a skull snob. It has to speak to me, and when it does, there's no stopping me. I gotta have it.

These are just a few of my favorite skull things from my own"pirate booty":

This is a fabulous candle that my mom gave to me last Christmas. You can't see it but there is a tiny wick on the top of his head. I would NEVER burn it. I love it far too much! It is proudly displayed in my bathroom amongst the other black bathroom accessories. (creepy, I know!)

This is my favorite purse. It is a Thomas Wylde and the chain is the shoulder strap! Although you can't see it very well, my favorite part of this bag is hanging on the ends of the zipper enclosure strings; six anatomically correct lead skull heads. They are so tiny and cute! The bag also is lined in skull fabric and has a huge skull head laid out in metal grommets to display on the other side.

But my most treasured skull posession and personal possesion of all was a gift from My Guy. It was the first gift he ever gave to me, the first Christmas we shared together.

This wonderful Roberto Coin diamond encrusted skull and crossbones. I NEVER take it off. It is very special to me because somehow My Guy knew that skulls and diamonds were this girl's best friends.

Sweet Success in a Swinging Bucket.

*Viewer discretion is advised. The following contains themes that are SPORTS psychology related. Any inconvenience or upset stomach you may experience due to the regionality of today's content are purely coincidental and absolutely the intention of the author of this site.

I once heard a guy described as so lucky, he could "sh*t in a swinging bucket". I'd have to say that not only was he lucky, he had some good aim too; considering the bucket's swinging. Sometimes I think that's what it's been like being a sports fan from New England since the start of the new Millennium. I came to this conclusion after Thursday night's Pats/Jets prime time showdown at Gillette Stadium. The "Tommy-less" Pats pulled out a surprising performance and the interesting thing is, we didn't win. We didn't even take over first place in the AFC. We took the loss, the 6-4 record and second place to the New York Jets. But, as luck would have it, we really won. We won because the actual game itself proved it's weight in gold for the psyche of the team and it's fans. The Patriots, with Cassel at the helm, showed that all important testicular fortitude needed to win big games. The Pats just may possess the nads to keep us in the game, sprinkled with a little dash of magic in the team's old top hat. It's that special quality that keeps us hungry for more and that teams from New England have been blessed with in recent years.

For sure, it's never boring around here if you're a sports fan, and I'll admit we have been spoiled ROTTEN for the last eight years. Our fair city has been graced with SIX world championships in that time and our children have been raised as sports royalty. We have fought through injury,(Tommy, The Bloody Sock) scandal, weather, history, records, and curses and still came out smelling like a rose.

We have experienced some of the most sensational come from behind baseball victories in our beloved Fenway Park. We witnessed the biggest "choke" in ALL sports history and a historic end to an 84 year old curse in 2004 and ended up with not one but two MLB World Championships. And let's not forget Game five of this year's ALCS. We live for games like that. We even brought a 17th championship banner back to the gaaahden to hang along side Celtic greats like Cousy, Russell, Havlicek and Bird. And if that's not enough, today the Bruins sit atop their northeast conference, a site we haven't seen since the glory days of Neely and Bourque. (They absolutely dominated the Habs last Thursday night-6-1)

Still, there are those that would argue that it's not just about luck. Money plays a key role in winning and there has been a bit of that sprinkled around here too, in Championship City. Bob Kraft was the laughing stock of the NFL when he bought the team in 1994 with nothing but his dreams and his big, fat $172 million dollar check book. He was told that the team would never be a viable commodity in the NFL. They lacked the winning record and the facility to attract the ad revenues needed to play with the big boys. He stuck it to them good with his $325 million dollar privately financed, state of the art facility, which we christened on opening night in 2002 with our first championship banner and saw the rise of the Brady era. (some credit Mo Lewis of the NY Jets for that, but that's another post for another day)

Then there's John Henry and the deadly tag team of Tom Werner and Larry Luchinno. Their money purchased them team, hired our golden boy Theo Epstein, the true architect of our two World Championships and saved our historic ball park by turning it into a money maker.

Money also came to the rescue of our boys in green. In 2003, a group of Fat Cats from Boston Basketball Partners LLC, headed by business man Wyc Grousbeck, purchased the team and hired Danny Ainge to the front office. With the EGO of Pitino gone and Doc Rivers hired as coach, Ainge made a steal of a deal and acquired both Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to aid our own Paul Pierce out front. You know the rest and the Big Three need no introduction.

As for Jeremy Jacobs, owner of the Bruins. F-Jeremy Jacobs! That's all I want to say about that.

Luck is defined as a force that brings good fortune or diversity; a favoring chance, success. This is what I have been talking about. Money, luck, talent, luck, money. I'm not going to ask any questions. For now, I'm going to walk outside my house and take a deep, deep breath and breathe in that sweet smell of success in a swinging bucket.

This just in.....

Just saw the movie Role Models starring Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd. This hilarious, heart warming, grossly inappropriate, funny, laugh out loud film, written by Paul Rudd (and a couple of others) was a great way to carelessly spend two hours. Scott and Rudd are at their best. Paul Rudd rejoins with his 40 Year Old Virgin co-stars, Jane Lynch and Elizabeth Banks (Jane Lynch ALMOST steals the show) to create a true comic gem. Yes, it's stupid and at times silly, but none the less a fun ride and a leave-your-cares-at-the-door type film.
The kids in this film, Bobb'e J Thompson and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, both deliver break out performances in completely different ways. I haven't had this much fun at the movies since The 40 Year Old Virgin.
If you're looking for a great laugh and a little tug at your heart, this is the film for you.

My Guy and I give it a Daily Dandy two thumbs up!

Once, Twice, Three Times a Lady....

How many times a week is considered normal? Average? Above average? Just plain pathetic? Down right nasty.? Let's just put it out there to focus group. In order to really answer this age old question, one needs to consider the circumstances. Categorically speaking, lets break it down to two:

There's the coupled group: marrieds, cohabitants, seriously committed's, together forever's and exclusives.

Then there's the singles category: singles, friends with benefits', the promiscuous...'s, serial daters, the sexual adventurers and, of course, sluts and ho's. (both male and female)

Both important and viable categories, but their answers will differ greatly. And may surprise you.

According to Yvonne K. Fulbright, author, sex educator, relationship expert, columnist and founder of Sexuality Source Inc, "90 percent of American men and 94 percent of women are having sex up to five times per week." NO WAY, really???? Does this mean that if you are not a part of this statistic and you are hovering in that lonely 6-10 percent, that you are somehow ABNORMAL?

Dr. Fulbright noted: "(Note: it’s the "up to" part of that survey that makes for the high percentages. Plus, sexually active people may be likelier to participate in this kind of survey)". Makes perfect sense. If your extremely active, then you have no problem shouting it out from the roof tops.

But here is where my "categories" theory takes a hit. It may not be as simple as breaking it down into groups. I found that there are many determining factors that may affect your frequency per week numbers. One of the most common determining factors for measuring the "normality of frequency" found in my research was AGE. Young hormonal boys, newly marrieds or couples that have just gotten together tend to have a much more active sex life than a couple that has been together for a while and people over forty. On the flip side of that, people in their forties are having less sex than people in their twenties, but more sex than people older than them.

We also must take into account the stage of life you are in. Research would suggest that young people, free of major responsibilities; IE; kids, mortgage, career, simply have more time for sex and possibly more opportunity. Whereas just marrieds, starting a family and beginning their careers, and over forties most certainly have the opportunity, but may be too tired to perform all the time. Older, and more established couple's whose kids are grown also have ample opportunity but less desire.

Safe to say there is no"normal" other than what is normal for you and your partner. But, if you want to look at the averages scientifically collected that are out there, the average of frequency that I saw consistently is between 1-3 times per week. According to the Kinsey Institute, the largest group of couples having sex is 69 times per year which averages out to 1.3 times a week.

So really, no need to worry about keeping up with the Joneses.

I'd like to leave you with this cute little tidbit I found on Yahoo answers.com :

Resolved Question:
How many times a week is it normal to have sex?
I have been with my girlfriend for around 6 months, we have sex around 3 or 4 times a week. How many times is normal?

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
Depends on the age group:

15 - 20 year old = Tri daily (three times a day)

20 - 30 year old = Tri weekly (three times a week)

30 - 40 years old = Tri monthly (three times a month)

40 - 65 year old = "Try oysters"

65 - 80 year old = "Try to Remember"

Blogger Profiling

In the process of reading multiple blogs daily, I have come across more that a few posts/comments containing this reoccurring theme of bloggers dreaming about each other. While I can't say that I have yet to share in this common phenomenon, I believe the reason behind this fact is that you are all very much alive in my every day conscious. Strange, to say the least, but true. Lately, I have been seeing things in my daily life that will remind me or lead me to think of certain bloggers. I guess you could say that I have been, " blogger profiling".

Like the other night, I see this commercial for the wireless phone network, Verizon. Have you seen this one?

This guy walks into his office holding a mug of his morning coffee. He is talking with his assistant, going over his daily schedule. She says to him, (this is NOT verbatim; I couldn't find it on youtube) "From 9 to 10 you send text messages to your wife. From 12 to 12:15 you send funny picks to your son Jimmy on the playground. From 1 to 2, you're texting with your friends...and at 4pm you have a budget meeting. The guy then looks at his assistant with a hesitant chagrin on his face and after a dramatic pause she says, "I can move the budget meeting to another day." To which the guy responds, "Yeah, good idea."

I immediately think to myself, "THAT is Zibbs."

Then I get this post card in the mail advertising Lancome's new battery powered mascara (no kidding really- it's a Saks Fifth Avenue exclusive) and I think, "I can't wait to tell Lids about this one."

Or lately(after his myheritage.com post), every time I see Seth Rogen on TV or the movies or read his name somewhere I immediately think of Poobomber. Isn't it ironic that as I read The Other Side of Normal daily, Seth Rogen's voice narrates the Poobomber's words in my head? Weird.

Oh yeah, and last Saturday I was buying a birthday card for my friend when I see this card with a sweet old lady sitting in a rocking chair on her front porch that says, "You're not the type to sit around getting old, letting the world pass you bye." You open it up and it says, "No, you're the type to shout out rude comments and make obscene gestures." I thought," This is for Gwen and if I knew her better, I would send this to her on her birthday."

Very strange, I know. So how is it that I have these preconcieved notions about who a blogger is when there is a substantial lack of physical evidence or any eyewitness accounts to back up these ideas? The answer lies in your words. The words you share with us everyday. Like the best of psychological profiliers, unconsciously we take what is known about an unknown blogger and mentally develop a profile of who we think that blogger really is. But do we really know for sure?

Was Falwless really a mischevious little girl who smoked cigarettes out in the woods in her back yard while playing pirates with her friends? Does Tova Darling really have an affinity for fashionably dressed mannequins? Is The iNDefatigable mjenks really a chemist with a thing for Curious George? Does McGone spend his mornings sitting at The International House of Pancakes having breakfast with a pig? Does Slyde wear his leather biker jacket and dark shades when he attends PTA meetings at his son's school. Does Earl really have BUG EYES?

The blogger world may never know, but I for one, will continue reading and unconsciously blogger profiling.

Today's Special: Cream Puffs

Here's a Dandy for you......and I'm a little ashamed to admit it.....but.....I've got a ZIT! Yup, over forty and still battling the occasional breakout. Clear skin was supposed to be one of the few perks of reaching that fabulous milestone, so what gives? And it's not like the little bastard is easy to get to. No, this is one of those zits that appears on your face in the form of a small mountain with no visible escape for it's poison. Top that off with it's strategic placement, (on my forehead and just at the hair line) and I am screwed but good. We, in the (beauty business), describe those eruptions (the technical term -no kidding) as the ones that come from the "depths of your soul", so herein lies a major problem. If I can't get to it by picking or popping without making it ten times worse than it already is, how am I going to eradicate it from my face? (one should never pick or pop blemishes-it increases the chance of scarring the skin but go ahead and try using that logic when a big whopper arrives for a visit)

Lucky for me I am a professional who possesses the knowledge and the expertise to utilize the resources available to help combat the tiny intruder and move it forward towards extinction. And like any other unwelcome guest on my face, I must be diligent about it's prevention through a process somewhat like natural selection. With assistance of time and experience, I have amassed a small war chest with all the necessary weapons available in my arsenal to assess my readiness for war.

As for the aforementioned "depths of your soul" zit, the arch nemesis of any individual that follows a daily regimen of facial hygiene, I consider this product the Patriot Missile. (For men, diagnosing this one can get tricky because it feels and looks similar to an ingrown hair as a result daily shaving. For diagnostic purposes, consider the placement of the blemish on the face. If ingrown hairs are you issue, try this fab product.)

Mario Badescu Buffering Lotion :

By far the most superior product to help battle any cystic acne eruption with a simple application a few times daily. Another great thing about this stuff is that it is totally portable. Throw it in your purse, backpack or briefcase and you can apply it easily to fight acne at any time during the day. Just shake and go and it's cheap too! (Also makes a great stocking stuffer for the teens)

For the plain old regular zit, (and excuse me if this is a bit graphic), you know the one that appears with a small white-head at the top, I return to good old Mario for help because he never lets me down.

Mario Badescu Drying Lotion:

This was the #1 selling product in the store where I worked. Great for those eruptions you are dying to squeeze the life out of. The difference with this spot treatment and the one above it are that this product was designed be applied at night, before bed.

It has a pink sediment at the bottom of the bottle and at first glance your natural instinct is to shake the bottle to combine the ingredients. But it doesn't work that way, you don't shake it. Instead you insert a Q-tip into the bottle, touch the pink sediment and remove it, then apply it to the affected area. It leaves an extremely effective pink spot on your face (it even tingles so you know it's working) which resembles the calamine lotion your mom put on your bug bites and chicken pox when you were a kid. (Actually, calamine or camphor is one of it's active ingredients) This stuff is the Holy Grail of acne spot treatments. Cheap and effective, it doesn't get any easier than this. Zits will disappear within days of it's use.

I'll leave it at that for now, as these are the Navy Seals of acne battle. There are so may more great treatments and if you are interested in more information on those pesky little zits, feel free to ask a question or recommend a great product you know of, in the comment section of this post. If your shy and want to ask in private-shoot me an email and I promise to do my best.

This was great and all but it still doesn't change the fact that I am walking around today with Mt. Rushmore on my forehead.

McGone you be the McGreatest!

AND THE NEWLY CROWNED KING SAID UNTO HIS PEOPLE........IT'S GOOD TO BE THE KING!

Congratulations to McGone!!! (*crowd cheering wildly*) for his big win in The Candy's Daily Dandy Comment Content Comedy Hall of Fame.
It was a great race and a BIG Daily Dandy congrats goes out to the winner and to all who were nominated.

But before all the pomp and circumstance takes place, and HRH McGone gives his acceptance speech and ascends to his Hall of Fame throne, I need to annouce the runners up.

COMMENT CONTENT COMEDY HALL OF FAME RUNNER UPS

1st runner up: Tie

BeckEye

Dr. Zibbs

This is an important role because if the winner, for any reason, can no longer perform his duties, the 1st runner up will take over and be crowned King or Queen. (If ,in fact, this does happen, I'll figure it out later.)
It was a close race, and for a while it looked like any one of these three (BeckEye, Zibbs and McGone) could take the crown.

2nd runner up: Zibbs

Zibsy pulled this one out ALL ALONE. Nice going Zibbs on your second honor in the contest.

3rd runner up: Four way tie.

Mike

Vodka Mom

Poobomber

Falwless, Suze, The Lady Who Dosen't Lunch, Whiskeymarie

There's actually more than four of you here, but what you people decide to do in the privacy of your own home's is really none of my business.

4th Runner up: Three way tie.

Slyde

Pistols at Dawn

BeckEye

Oooh BeckEye, you naughty girl! Behave...

5th Runner up: Tie

Mjenks

Whiskeymarie

Both strong multiple nominees in the competition. (I said multiple nominees, not what you were thinking. Pigs.)

6th Runner up: Tie

Word, Words, Words

Scope/Eric

Great work and congrats to you both on your first honor!

In the category of Honorable Mention the winners are as follows:

HONORABLE MENTION WINNERS

Winner:

Dr. Zibbs (*crowd cheering wildly*)

Yup, that zany guy that is number one in your program and number one in your heart's!!! Zibsy when it comes to honor you reign SUPREME!! Congrats on your third win in this competition.

1st Runner up: Tie

Gwen

Whiskeymarie

Nice work ladies, congrats to you both and to Whiskeymarie on her third honor in the competition.

2nd Runner up: Three way tie

Some Guy

Falwless, Gwen, The Lady who Doesn't Lunch

Kate

Congrats to Some Guy and Kate on thier first victories! Props to Falwless, Gwen and The Lady who Doesn't lunch, all picking up their second nods. And-by the looks of things here, it looks like you could be Some LUCKY Guy. Discuss amongst yourselves.

3rd Runner up: Tie

Anonymous

Big Ben

Both new comers to my blog! Welcome and Congrats to you both on your first nods!

4th Runner up:

The Imaginary Reviewer

And the cheese stands alone. (I mean that in the best possible way-really.) Congrats to you on your first win!

So there you have it- again, Congratulations and a BIG FAT thank you to everyone who participated. I couldn't have done it without you all!

McGone- I just want to say to you-did I not call this?!! Yes I did!! Damn, I am good. Thank Gwen for pulling that gem out of her archives! Oh wait- you already did that on yesterday's post.

Anyway, Well done and I turn the podium over to you-You Be The KING!!!!