Bevlinga's blog: "things i don't remember"

Thanks for the good times, and all the laughs. I'm going to miss you. I'm so glad that you were a part of my life. I don't have any memories of you that don't make me want to smile. Love you :] VENETA - Former teachers and classmates said Tuesday that they remember Joe Kenny as a fun-loving student who enjoyed pulling stunts and was voted "class clown" in his senior year at Elmira High School. Kenny, 20, died Saturday in Mosul, Iraq, in an undisclosed noncombat incident that remains under investigation, according to military officials at Fort Bliss, Texas. The Army specialist worked as an electronics devices repairman with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. ................ Teacher Shannon Hart had Kenny in at least two of his English classes at Elmira High. "Joe easily stands out in my mind - he was a kid I really liked," Hart said. "He was a goofball, a jokester, but in a good way. He had sort of a daredevil personality." Hart said one of the funniest incidents of his career occurred when Kenny brought a plastic toy sword to class and asked if he could give a demonstration. When Hart relented at the end of class, Kenny proceeded to try to swallow the sword. "He got it part of the way down," Hart said. "I heard later that he went to the hospital to get it checked out because he felt he may have done some damage to his throat." Cindy Parker, a since-retired math teacher at Elmira High, said she remembers that Kenny was good at math, and good at drawing out smiles from others. "He would joke around and make me laugh, but he always knew where the line was," she said. "He could defuse a situation." Mike Wallace, a close friend and former neighbor, said he believes that Kenny may have been inspired to follow in the footsteps of his older sister, Jennifer, who also enlisted. Wallace said he believes Kenny was considering a military career. In high school, Kenny wasn't afraid to do things his own way and not follow the crowd, Wallace said. "He was just hilarious, and he was smart," Wallace said. Matt O'Neil, another high school classmate, said Kenny was "one of those guys who would push themselves harder than anyone else. He was a real confident guy, real happy. Ever since I've known him, he made everyone else around him happy." Kenny was born Dec. 26, 1986, in Eugene. He was the third of three siblings who attended Veneta schools, following in the footsteps of brother Michael Kenny, now of Eugene, and sister Jennifer Graves, now of Issaquah, Wash. ........... Joe Kenny - his full name was Joseph Paul Kenny - previously worked for a private company as a computer specialist. He enlisted in May 2005, while still in high school, and was deployed to Iraq last fall. ............ Kenny was the 17th member of the 4th Brigade to have died in the current campaign. He is the 91st soldier with Oregon ties to have died in Operation Enduring Freedom or the war in Iraq, and the third from Lane County.

I am so freaking excited, who wants to go with me?! from breaking news The Spice Girls announced their reunion today and insisted they’re really, really not in it for the money. Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Mel C and Mel B – aka Posh, Ginger, Baby, Sporty and Scary – ended months of speculation by unveiling details of a world tour for which they are reportedly pocketing £10m each. They will play 11 concerts on six continents, kicking off in Los Angeles on December 7. Today was the first time the five had appeared in public together since Halliwell walked out on the band in dramatic fashion nine years ago. “Imagine you got divorced and you’ve got back together with your ex-husband,” was Halliwell’s description of being reunited with her band mates. But Beckham could not resist a dig, quipping: “She just appreciates the fact we’ve let her back in.” All claimed they are now the best of friends. “We’ve forgiven her,” Beckham, 33, said of Halliwell. “I love all the girls. Yes, we argue, but we’re like sisters.” ............ “For us, it’s about celebrating the past, and it’s about our fans. It’s really, really the right time. It was now or never.” ............. The band are billing this as a “farewell tour” and thank you to fans, with Halliwell declaring: “This is going to be a one-night stand.” But industry insiders predict they will record an album of new material if their comeback provokes enough interest from fans. (omg!) The Spice Girls sold 55 million albums and had nine UK number one singles in their heyday. It is more than a decade since Girl Power stormed the charts and six years since the band split. They now have six children between them and a seventh on the way – Bunton is due to give birth within the next few weeks. Mel B, 32, brought baby daughter Angel Iris along to today’s launch. Beckham said the girls would have a creche on tour. She will also be bringing along footballer husband David, as the tour coincides with a break in the US soccer season. “He’s going to be on tour with the kids and all of our families. He’s so excited about us getting back together,” she said. “My main reason for doing this is for my kids – so they can see what mummy used to do. I’m going to be the cool one in the family for once!” ........... Mel B proved she is still the shoutiest Spice, at one point diving into the audience and attempting to forcibly undress a male journalist who suggested the band may be too unfit to recreate their original dance routines. The Spice Girls have been described as poor role models because they have six children but only one husband between them. (honestly, who cares? they have the $scrilla) Halliwell angrily rebuffed the criticism. “The fact of the matter is we are real people. There are millions of women out there who are single mothers. We are examples of our time. We’re not perfect and we never claimed to be,” she said. ........... The band famously praised Margaret Thatcher in a 1990s interview, calling her “the first Spice Girl”. Today they demonstrated their knowledge of the current political landscape. Asked about Gordon Brown, Mel B replied: “Who is he?” Halliwell gave her verdict: “I actually met him the other day. He seems a nice enough fellow.” Ticket details are available from thespicegirls.com The tour dates are as follows: 2007 December 7 – Los Angeles December 8 – Las Vegas December 11 – New York City December 15 – London December 20 – Cologne December 23 – Madrid 2008 January 10 – Beijing January 12 – Hong Kong January 17 – Sydney January 20 – Cape Town January 24 – Buenos Aires Let's all save cash and go to the one in LA :)

First and foremost, a cute picture. Kimya Dawson's cute little boy Panda is 11months old now :) (Kimya Dawson is an amazing, hilarious, wonderful anti-folk singer that you should probably check out someday). I don't usually think babies are cute, at all! But look at this face: SO ADORABLE! Kimya Dawson :) clicky click Second, I decided today that I am going to start following the presidential candidates closely from now on. It seems like everyone is getting an early start, and I definatly want to be informed. John Edwards is looking pretty good right now. I've also heard good things about Ron Paul- BUT he is part of the Republican party. From what I know, he leans closer to Libertarian (I am really starting to like them), and he opposed the war. Uhm. Yeah. Heres a link to his page (it's a direct link to the section about War & Foreign Policy- but you can obviously look elsewhere) if you are interested in learning more about him. Blah blah blah. I'm keeping this brief. Ron Paul MORE ON POLITICS LATER, I'M SURE Okay the third thing I have to write about at the moment is... myself. A few friends have been driving me insane the past few days. All I have to say is this: if me being straight-forward about how I feel makes me a bitch, so be it. Everyone else can live their fake, "I'm nice to EVERYONE all the time" lives if they want to. I'm going to be open about how I feel. What is so wrong with that? :/

Joe Kenny, I will never forget you. I'm really confused right now, and I'm not really sure how to feel. The fact that you are gone is starting to sink in (although, it still seems very unreal and it will probably be a while before I... I don't know). I'm really confused, I don't understand, and I'm kind of angry at you. I NEVER expected something like this to happen. Thank you for being a part of my life, even though it's been a while. Thank you for all the times you made me laugh and smile. You were amazing, you ARE amazing. I love you, and I will miss you so much.

So, I just finished reading this AMAZING book (I read a lot, so when I call a book amazing, it usually is). As the subject of my blog implies, it is called Middlesex and is by Jeffrey Eugenides. I don't usually post blogs to tell people about a good book, but, as this website has no book section for our profiles, I thought I might write a little about it. The book is about Calliope, a girl who is born "intersexed" because of a strange recessant gene in her family. Somehow, the doctor doesn't realize that she was born this way. She is raised as a girl and doesn't find out until she is fourteen, and going through puberty, that she is actually more male than female. There is a lot more to the story, and it tells the tale of three differant generations, rather than just the main charactors. It follows her grandparents (who are brother and sister) as they immigrate from Greece to the US, continues to the story of her parents (who are second cousins), and then finally tells Calliope's own story. This might not sound interesting to you, but you should SERIOUSLY read this book! I haven't read such a great book in a long time. You might not think that the story sounds interesting, but it really is. It is a book I won't forget anytime soon.