pritygurl69’s Neighborhood

Where is everyone?  Why aren't you on here speculating on the upcoming (unknown) happenings slated for our beloved webboard? 

This past Wednesday, My husband Scott, my children, Katy and Daniel and myself visited the Market. It had rained earlier but was now cleared up.

Katy even agreed to let me get some photos of her shopping around, which normally she would vehemently bow out from.

Also Daniel was excited about seeing Dr. Timothy Abel, from the Jefferson County Historical Society portraying one of the Riflemen (RRR) of the 1812 War. He was very interested in the weapon of that era and the ammunition as well.
 
http://www.fortatkinsononline.org/1stRifles.htm
http://www.1812usriflemen.org/

The month of June at the Market will be dedicated to all  in the Military Service. There will be discounts to be had for them for appreciation of what they do for our country.

One more thing that is different this year, is the ability to use your debit/credit and food stamp card.

Just visit  the Chamber of Commerce booth, they will take your card and complete the transaction of whatever you would like to spend. It doesn't cost you anything to do so...no extra fees. You will be given tokens to spend at the vendors of your choice. They will be reimbursed by the COC.
 
So please enjoy the photos!
http://s231.photobucket.com/albums/ee187/chattykathy1960/South%20Massey%20St%20cemetery/farmers%20market%20week%202/?action=view&current=5f5ea037.pbw

Well, I am finally making it over to the 'other' side. I am up at 12:25 AM, couldn't sleep. My son Daniel, his friend Anthony and my grandson Zay are all to bed now.  My husband Scott got home earlier from work, but ran to the store to buy some milk.

He has been working on a Science project with our son, in regards to sucking HHO out of water and then having it run through a tube to the air compressor....they have had many trial and errors. Supposively, this will some how increase gas mileage.

Scott and one of his co-workers John Kubis, the weatherman in the evening, have been comparing notes. One trip to the Metal Man, to pick up some parts, and  he found he apparently isn't the only one that had this thought.

I prefer to actually be a little more aggressive than even this.....I will buy a horse and carriage, it will become the new thing to go to the Mall. I will then use the manure in the garden.

What was once old is new again. The Amish had it right all along. I may not get there fast, but I won't go broke doing it.

Well, hubbyhas returned with 1% milk, and of course my favoe beverage of all time......Diet Coke....

Good night folks....More later, Kathy 

The two disorders that most fascinate me are NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) and BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder).  NPD has a bleak prognosis due to the very limited capability of the sufferer to aquire insight.  The defenses of this disorder makes it extremely difficult to ever aquire true insight, or perhaps true desire to be anything different. BPD can have a more optimistic prognosis, depending on the level of insight that the disordered personality is capable of aquiring. (I'll blog more on BPD in the future, as I have had some amazing and very positive experiences with people with BPD who have taught me more about the disorder than any book I've ever read).    

Personality disorders are not "per se" mental ilnesses.  All of us have traits that make up our personalities. But when one or several maladaptive patterns of relating or inflexible behaviors dominate our core personality to the point of making us unable to function in a socially acceptable form, or even to obtain a normal degree of happiness, they may be the basis of a disordered personality. 

I blog in several different locations otside of VOX.  I blog mostly about NPD.  I have been amazed by the number of NPD victims that have communicated with me.  I'm not even sure how they found my blogs, as many writers have been from countries all over the world.

I'm beginning to suspect that the disorder may be a tad more common than clinical studies have estimated.  Why?  Probably because most "N's" are extremely intelligent and present a somewhat "normal" facade to the general public.  They are even able to repress traits that might identify them during therapy. And most of the victims are ashamed to find themselves in this situation and tend to hide the truth from others...even therapists.

Many that communicated with me have heartbreaking stories of pain and suffering. They are not only romantic relationships but sadly; children, siblings, friends, and co-workers of those with this devastating personality disorder.

All of you have given me so much...without even realizing it.  I have discovered that I'm not alone in my quest for information.  So little is know about the disorder and truth be told, I've found that victims of NPD often have a better understanding of the disorder than those profesionals who study it from textbooks.  Each of you are in various stages: from active relationships to full recovery.  From each of you I glean invaluable information, and (as a close friend reminded me), knowledge is power.

To all of you actively involved in a personal relationship with an "N," I can only say that there IS an end to the guilt and pain, if you WANT there to be an end. And you in turn, become a better person.  The "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow is that victims return to normal life and healthy relationships. They learn to appreciate the good in others (the thing once taken for granted).  They learn to move on and forgive..not only their transgressors, but themselves as well. 

They re-learn trust, because to do otherwise would be perpetuating victimhood.

They learn to accept their own imperfections and like themselves despite those imperfections.

And best of all, they learn how wonderful life is...that even in the face of adversity, they find the strength to be good, caring, empathetic people. 

Ironically this is something "N's" will probably never find. 

I continue to be fascinated by the personality disorders, especially NPD..which I have encountered from time to time.  Based on questions presented to me at work and by friends, I've recently researched NPD and sexuality. The results were quite interesting.  

Do narcissists hate women?

Answer:

Narcissists abhor and dread getting emotionally intimate. The cerebral ones regard sex as a maintenance chore, something they have to do in order to keep their Source of Secondary Supply. (There are 2 types of narcissism: Intellectual and Somatic and most who suffer NPD have components of both types, with one predominating). The somatic narcissist treats women as objects and sex as a means to obtaining Narcissistic Supply.

Many narcissists tend to engage in FRUSTRATING behaviours towards women. They refrain from having sex with them, tease them and then leave them, resist flirtatious and seductive behaviours and so on. Often, they invoke the existence of a girlfriend/fiancée/spouse or problems in a past relationship, as the "reason" why they cannot have sex/develop a relationship. But this is not out of loyalty and fidelity in the empathic and loving sense. This is because they wish (and often succeed) to sadistically frustrate the interested party.

This pertains ONLY to cerebral narcissists, but NOT to somatic narcissists and HPDs (Histrionic Personality Disorder) who use their BODY, sex and seduction/flirtation to extract Narcissistic Supply from others. He is incapable of loving – foremost, of loving himself. He is also hard pressed to maintain both continuity and availability. He promptly develops acutely felt saturation points (both sexual and emotional). These points destabilise him to the extent that he is never there for his significant other. Moreover, he tends to have "object-ive" sexual preferences and behaviours. Some narcissists prefer masturbation (objectifying the body and reducing it to a penis), group sex, or paraphilias. If less perverse, the narcissist treats his mate as a sex object, or a sex slave. He tends to import behaviours from other realms of his life – to the arena of sex. If a verbal abuser, he tends to humiliate his partner physically and sexually as well, for instance.

Narcissists are misogynists. They team up with women as mere Sources of SNS (Secondary Narcissistic Supply). The woman's chores are to accumulate past NS and release it in an orderly manner, so as to regulate the fluctuating flow of primary supply. Otherwise, cerebral narcissists are not interested in women Most of them are asexual (engage in sexual acts very rarely, if at all). They hold women in contempt and abhor the thought of being really intimate with them. Usually, they choose submissive women, well below their level. This leads to a vicious cycle of neediness, self-contempt ("How come I am dependent on this inferior woman") and disdain directed at the woman. Hence the abuse. When Primary NS is available – the woman is hardly tolerated, as one would reluctantly pay the premium of an insurance policy.

The narcissist's attitude to women is, naturally, complex and multi-layered but it can be summarised using four axes:

The Holy Whore, The Hunter Parasite , The Frustrating Object of Desire , and Uniqueness Roles.  

The narcissist divides all women to saints and whores. He finds it difficult to have sex ("dirty", "forbidden", "punishable", "degrading") with feminine significant others (spouse, intimate girlfriend). To him, sex and intimacy are mutually exclusive rather than mutually expressive propositions. Sex is reserved to "whores" (all other women in the world). This division resolves the narcissist's constant cognitive dissonance ("I want her but…", "I don't need anyone but…"). It also legitimises his sadistic urges (abstaining from sex is a major and recurrent narcissistic "penalty" inflicted on female "transgressors"). It also tallies well with the frequent idealisation-devaluation cycles the narcissist goes through. The idealised females are sexless, the devalued ones – "deserving" of their degradation (sex) and the contempt that, inevitably, follows thereafter.

Heterosexual narcissists desire women as any other red-blooded male does or even more so due to the special symbolic nature of the woman in the narcissist's life. Humbling a woman in acts of sado-masochistic sex is a way of getting back at them. But he is frustrated by his inability to meaningfully interact with them. Their incessant demands for intimacy are perceived by him as a threat. He recoils instead of getting closer. The cerebral narcissist also despises and derides sex, as we said before. Thus, caught in a seemingly intractable repetition complex, in approach-avoidance cycles, the narcissist becomes furious at the source of his frustration. Some narcissists set out to do some frustrating of their own. They tease (passively or actively), or they pretend to be a sexual and, in any case, they turn down, rather cruelly, any attempt by a woman to court them and to get closer.

Sadistically, they tremendously enjoy their ability to frustrate the desires, passions and sexual wishes of women. It makes them feel omnipotent and malevolent. Narcissists regularly frustrate all women sexually – and significant women in their lives both sexually and emotionally. Somatic narcissists simply use women as objects and then discard them. They masturbate with women as an auxiliary. The emotional background is identical. While the cerebral narcissist punishes through abstention – the somatic narcissist penalises through excess.

To live with a narcissist is an arduous and eroding task. Narcissists are irritable, infinitely pessimistic, bad-tempered, paranoid and sadistic in an absent-minded and indifferent manner. Their daily routine is a rigmarole of threats, complaints, hurts, eruptions, moodiness and rage. The narcissist rails against slights true and imagined. He alienates people. He humiliates them because this is his only weapon against the humiliation of their indifference. Gradually, as he ages, the narcissist's social circle dwindles and then vanishes.  He regards social interactions as a nuisance to be minimised.

The narcissist is torn between his need to obtain Narcissistic Supply (from human beings) – and his fervent wish to be left alone.

The narcissist is a lonely wolf. He is a shaky platform, indeed, on which to base a family, or future plans.

***My information is taken from Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.  Sam is a true authority on the disorder and himself suffers from NPD.  His research is well worth reading.

I had the pleasure of attending the opening night's performance of The Scarlet Pimpernel, presented by Watertown Lyric Theatre, Inc.  Musical theater fan, or not, viewers will delight in this musical masterpiece.  The story is dramatic, engaging and surprisingly hilariously written.  From the opening scene to the very end, the audience is totally connected with the show, and immersed in the French Revolution.

Phillip Dyke, who is so incredibly believable, is smashing as Percy/The Scarlet Pimpernel. This complex, yet extremely witty character had the audience nearly rolling in the aisle with laughter.  Phil Dyke is absolutely spot-on with both his acting and singing abilities.  His convincing accents, appropriately hyperbolic mannerisms and fine-tuned voice left his audience clamoring for more.

Erin Hansen as Marguerite, is very convincing in her role.  She has such a lovely stage presence.  It makes one wish that her character were a bit more developed, in order to allow her audience to enjoy more of her performing.  Erin's sweet voice and wonderful acting ability cause her character to shine.

Mick Mantle plays a deliciously devilish Chauvelin.  His velvety, resonant voice makes him the villain you love to hate. 

The Bounders, who are in cahoots with The Scarlet Pimpernel, are absolutely hysterical.  These six gentlemen are very entertaining.  The rest of the cast, production team and ensemble weaves their talents to provide a fantastic, well rounded and very cohesive story.  It's a truly amazing performance, especially for a community theater event. Viewers will not be left disappointed.

Performances are also scheduled for this Friday and Saturday, April 25 & 26 at 7:00pm at the Dulles State Office Building. Doors open at 6:30 and tickets are $10 for general admission, $7.50 for students and seniors. 

Rare license plate sells for $675,000

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080218/NEWS01/80218015

 Cheers and applause filled the packed Rehobeth Beach, Del., convention center as Tim Ayers of Seaford bid $625,000 for the coveted No. 6 black-and-white Delaware license plate.

As anticipation, then bidding grew more spirited, so did the noise.

Auctioneer Butch Emmert, realizing he had two bids for the same amount, returned to Vassallo to ask if he was in for $650,000.

Vassallo's hand trembled slightly on his cell phone as he repeated the question and then nodded to Emmert, then hollered to his grandfather.

"We're at $650,000 and we're the high bid."

Then Emmert worked on Ayers, who owns the Sussex Guide, likening the plate to the Mona Lisa, saying, "Anything worth $650,000 is worth $700,000."

Amid the ruckus, Sheri Klemkowski of Rehoboth Beach smiled serenely like a model, showing off the plate, in a Delaware-style "Deal or No Deal."

Cheers and shouts of "Go for it!" grew.

Then Emmert, after more banter, said a "third and final call" at $650,000 - and Ayers raised by $10,000.

"Six-sixty!"

"Six-seventy-five?" he asked Vassallo, sparking more roar, then all eyes were on the young man with the cell phone.

"Six-seventy-five," he told Emmert calmly. "

"It's a world record!" Emmert proclaimed. "Six-seventy five!"

Then Emmert again courted Ayers, sharing a report of a license plate with the No. 1 from Abu Dhabi that sold over the weekend for $14 million in the United Arab Emirates.

"Come on, Tim!" someone yelled.

Going once, going twice, a third and final call at $675,000. Then Emmert asked Ayers to raise to $685,000, saying, "What is $10,000 on this?"

But Ayers shook his head as Emmert repeated, "Going once at $675,000, going twice."

"Third and final call," he said over cheers. Then finally, "Sold!"

Vassallo beamed, yelling into the phone, "We got it at six-seventy-five."

"Delaware's motor vehicle laws allow registration numbers and tags to be transferred between cars and owners, triggering the uniquely Delaware obsession with low-digit tags: Family members pass the tags along in their wills, and there are Web sites brokering the buying and selling of the tags."

"Put more simply, it's a status symbol, said Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University in New York."

**********************************************************

This is soooo sick.  Many of you will say "it's an investment," and indeed it probably is.  But that means there are actually people in this country (and others) who would spend an outrageous sum for the sole purpose of acquiring a status symbol.

How many kids could go to college...or even EAT for the amount of money spent on something so ridiculous?  This is a sad commentary on the values of some.  It makes me realize why terrorism exsists.  I saw children dying of hunger in Peru.  I'm sad to know that some of my "educated" countrymen are responsible for fueling the fires of our image as collectors of frivolous garbage; superficial members of the human race.

Who says you have to travel for quality entertainment? The North Country’s own Watertown Lyric Theatre, Inc. has been entertaining local audiences since 1962. Twice a year, local participants of various ages, occupations, and experiences collaborate their talents to provide us with magic – Broadway style. This week’s production of The Scarlet Pimpernel, promises to be nothing less than a true class act.

This dramatic, yet often humorous musical was written by composer Frank Wildhorn and lyricist Nan Knighton and based upon the novel written by Baroness Orczy. Set in the l790's during the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, a wealthy Englishman, Sir Percy Blakeney learns that his new wife, French Actress Marguerite St. Just, has betrayed Blakeney’s best friend, the Marquis de St. Cyr, to the French Revolutionary government. The Marquis is executed, and Blakeney assumes the secret identity of Scarlet Pimpernel to avenge his friend’s death, and rescue other innocent French citizens. Murder, blackmail, deception, espionage, love and romance all weave together in this suspenseful drama.

The cast and crew of this engaging tale, directed by Taylor LaVere and Richard Muller, and produced by Erin Brick, includes both new and veteran talents. New to Lyric, is Phillip Dyke of Watertown, who plays the dual role of the Scarlet Pimpernel/Lord Blakeney. Phillip is the Theatre Technical Director for the Indian River Central School District Theatre of the Performing Arts.

Also making her Lyric debut is Erin Hansen, as Marguerite St. Just. Erin lives on Fort Drum.

Lyric veteran, Mick Mantle of Sackets Harbor, will play Citizen Chauvelin, the man who once loved Marguerite and whose life’s goal is to capture the Scarlet Pimpernel.

Erin LaLonde of Clayton plays Marie Grosholtz, Marguerite’s best friend and costumer. Watertown’s Darien Sinclair is Marie’s fiancée, Philippe Toussaud. Will Boulter, also from Watertown, plays Armand St. Just, brother to Marguerite.

Steve Petrillose of Watertown plays the doomed Frenchman St. Cyr, and the Prince of Wales.

Dustin Ferguson and Brian Sweeney of Watertown, Jared York of Harrisville, Todd Thompson of Sackets Harbor, Adam Clyde of Carthage, and Kevin Bachman of Redwood are cast as The Pimpernel’s "Bounders," the men who assist him in rescuing France’s doomed aristocrats from the guillotine.

Those playing various French citizens include Ryan Rusch of Redwood as Mercier and Tom Piroli of Black River as Coupeau.

In the ensemble, those from Watertown include Amanda Gonzalez, Ashley DeMar, Chelsea Allen, Victoria Allen, Elena Winn, Emily Smith, Hallie Brown, Meagan Sloan, Molly Sloan, and Ryan Boyd. Tina and Emily Thompson are from Sackets Harbor. Erin Brick of Clayton, Amber Crone of Deferiet, Megan Kemple of Theresa, Kelcey Rusch of Redwood, and Laurie Solano-Miller of Adams round out the ensemble.

Lyric will be presenting The Scarlet Pimpernel this Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 24, 25 and 26 at 7:00 at the Dulles State Office Building, Washington Street, Watertown. Visit Sherwood Florist for advance tickets, or purchase them at the door beginning at 6:15. The cost of tickets are $10 for General Admission and $7.50 for Seniors and Students. The performance lasts approximately two hours and forty-five minutes, and will be enjoyed by viewers age ten and up.