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The Boring Basics |
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| Name : |
Carla Moore Nobody seems to be able to agree on the meaning of my name: We won't worry about "Moore" - I got that in the divorce. It's all I got, bless his generous heart, but it *is* better than my maiden name. According to (the now-defunct) Carla's Shrine, the Japanese equivalent of Carla is "Okara," which means "Honorable Crow." Hmmm. According to one website, it means "Free Woman." I wish it meant "Free from Debt Woman." Another website claimed that it is the feminine form of "Carl" which is a contraction of "Charles" which means "Manly, Full Grown." Uh... would that mean "Carla" is "Old Broad?" Okay, I think this one is my favorite. We have basically the same definition as above, with a tad more detail: "CARLA is a feminine form of CARL, a variant form of CHARLES, from a Germanic word meaning FREE MAN similar to the Old English ceorl meaning MAN. The implication is FULL GROWN or STRONG." What's neat about this one is that it is accompanied by an exquisite picture that depicts the name transliterated phonetically into Hebrew letters. |
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Also included is the Kabbalistic explanation of the meanings of the letters used to spell the name. For more information on this aspect of Jewish mysticism, you might want to start with this FAQ (I have no idea of the accuracy of this information. I know very little about Kabbalah.) When all is said and done, the Babywatch site won for its "Huh?" factor. (Sadly,the URL is no longer active, but it was so bad, I've left this little review of it here.) They were hawking something at this site, but I didn't have the desire to wade through it. I don't know what their native language was (I hope it wasn't English), but *some* of the information was comprehensible. For Carla, we were told that it "is a female name, not derived from any other name, so genuine female." Then, "This means man, free man." And, the astrological charts said that the characteristics of someone named Carla are as follows: "Energetic, wise, unemotional. Somewhat mauky though attractive in her hearing [sic]. Usually prefers a single life". Wow, what a relief to know that despite all my shortcomings, I've got attractive hearing. |
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| Birthdate : |
18 September, 1960 I used to read my horoscope every day, but I'm a Virgo and Virgos don't believe in that kind of stuff. |
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| Photos: | A visitor to my site informed that she was unable to find a picture of me. I don't want to disappoint my fans, so you can see some pictures of me on my Old Me Page. And the "OLD" describes the page! Actually, I like these pictures because they make me look so young. | ||
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Birthplace : Raised in : |
Ft. Worth, Texas Houston, Texas |
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| Formerly residing in : |
Belleville, Illinois Just across the river (THE river) from St. Louis, Mo., Belleville is close enough to the urban delights of a big city and still small enough to be a pleasant, quiet place to live. Claims to fame: Scott Air Force Base and Our Lady of the Snows Shrine. *yawn* It's a good thing St. Louis ain't too far away. |
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| Currently residing in : |
Houston, Texas I grew up in Houston and moved back at the end of the summer in 2001. I didn't really want to come back here, but it was the right decision to make. I really miss Illinois, and because I moved and changed schools, I had to add another year on to the time it took to get my degree and it also meant changing the second major (French) to a minor, instead. But, good things have come of it all and I know things will only get better. One good thing: I actually like the people I work with now. That's probably the best thing about leaving Illinois - the people I used to work with were nasty, rude, unfriendly, and would stab you in the back while smiling to your face. I found it an odd juxtaposition to the otherwise wonderfully pleasant midwestern hospitality I found everywhere else. Oh well, good riddance! |
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| Schools : |
Beth Yeshurun Day School John J. Pershing Jr. High Bellaire High Dallas County Community College Belleville Area College (now known as Southwestern Illinois College) North Harris College Southern Illinois University Edwardsville University of Houston |
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| Degrees : |
One of these days... UPDATE: I did it! I finally graduated from college. It only took 24 years, but I did it!!!! Except that I'm hardly done... now I get to start on two Master's degrees (History and Public History), a "Certificate" in Women's Studies (no, I am NOT a feminist - just taking advantage of an opportunity to add a credential), and eventually, a Ph.D. Well, they say you should never stop learning.... |
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| Majors : | History and (formerly *sigh*) French (now a minor) | ||
| Educational plans : | Pursue a doctorate ... hopefully I'll be fast enough to catch it | ||
| Favorite subjects : | French, History, English, Biology, Math, Anthropology, any language... basically anything but Chemistry...*snore* | ||
| Personal goals : |
* To continue to learn for the rest of my life * To find the strength within myself to accept the not-so-great aspects of my life * To take the high road whenever possible * To graduate from college before I hit retirement age |
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| Professional goals : | To teach at the university level | ||
| Greatest Desire: | To own a Velvet Elvis portrait | ||
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The Nitty Gritty |
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| Job : |
Waitress. I hate it. |
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| Quirkiest job on my resumé : |
I wrote sketch comedy in the '80s with my ex for the now-defunct Comedy Workshop in Houston, Texas. Some of the more well-known names to come from the Workshop include Bill Hicks, Sim Kinison, Brett Butler, and Jeanine Garofalo. Those were interesting days, but not the kind of stories you can ever tell to your grandchildren. Stumbled across the website of a guy I used to date while I was looking for links for this section. Hard to believe that I ever actually dated anyone named T-Bone. |
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| Marital status : | Divorced, thank goodness | ||
| Kids : |
Steven William Katz, 27 April, 1980 Shannon Leigh Moore, 25 April, 1991 Jade Alana Moore, 30 January, 1994 Alanis (Aly) Marie Moore, 27 September, 1995 |
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| Pet : |
Cat : Ballou, an absolute treasure adopted from the Collinsville (Illinois) Animal Shelter (Nickname : Louie). How anyone could have abandoned this incredible creature is simply incomprehensible. I'm just damn glad they were stupid enough to do it. |
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| Parents : |
Seymour (Sy) Berger, 1914 - 1964 Dorothy Berger, 1919 - January 7, 2003 |
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| Siblings : |
Marsha Coleman, Austin, Texas Mike Berger, Houston, Texas |
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| Nephews : |
Jacob Coleman, Austin, Texas Vincent Coleman, Japan Aaron Berger, Stationed....somewhere |
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The Fluff |
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| Sexual Orientation : |
Straight  |
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| Brainy Guys I've had crushes on : |
Carl Sagan My high school Chemistry teacher Albert Einstein Stephen Jay Gould Hey, looks aren't everything, folks. If they were, I NEVER would have married Cliff. And YOU never had to see him with his clothes off. Now, that was scary. |
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| Collections : |
Outback Steakhouse Pins Pins from places I visit Eeyore stuff |
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| Authors I avoid at all costs : |
T. S. Eliot L. Ron Hubbard James Joyce Danielle Steele |
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| Authors I can't get enough of : |
George Orwell Honoré de Balzac (even if he did stick the "de" in there to impress people) Joe Queenan David Sedaris Dean Koontz Louisa May Alcott Robert Heinlein Isaac Asimov Sue Grafton James Patterson Larry McMurtry Raymond Carver Caleb Carr John Steinbeck Kurt Vonnegut Primo Levi |
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| Authors I keep meaning to read : |
Thomas Pynchon Salman Rushdie Ayn Rand Vladimir Nabokov Virginia Woolf John O'Hara John Irving D. H. Lawrence J. D. Salinger E. L. Doctorow E. M. Forster (Hey, what's with all the initials, guys???) Toni Morrison Truman Capote Edith Wharton John Updike |
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| Movies I would watch again : |
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) As Good As It Gets (1997) The Banana Monster (or Schlock) (1973) Being There (1979) Blood Simple (1985) Bob Roberts (1992) Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid (1969) Bye, Bye Birdie (1963) Cat Ballou (1965) Christmas Story, A (1983) Clerks (1994) Dead Again (1991) Diner (1982) Double Indemnity (1944) Dr. Strangelove (1964) Evil Dead 2 (1987) Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A (1966) Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The (1966) Goodbye, Columbus (1969) Grifters, The (1990) Harvey (1950) Heathers (1989) How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967) Jason and the Argonauts (1963) King and I, The (1956) Let's Make Love (1960) Lost in America (1985) Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) Mister Roberts (1955) Monty Python & the Holy Grail (1974) Monty Python's The Life of Brian (1979) Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983) Murder by Death (1976) My Cousin Vinnie (1992) My Fair Lady (1964) Nine 1/2 Weeks (1986) North by Northwest (1959) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) Platoon (1986) Player, The (1992) Princess Bride, The (1987) Producers, The (1968) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Raising Arizona (1987) Rear Window (1954) Resevoir Dogs (1992) Seven Year Itch (1955) Shakespeare In Love (1998) Singin' in the Rain (1952) Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) Time Machine (1960) To Catch a Thief (1955) Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991) "The thinking person's Ghost" Viva Max! (1969) Where's Poppa? (1970) With Six You Get Eggroll (1968) World of Henry Orient (1964) Young Frankenstein (1974) Yours, Mine & Ours (1968) |
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I'd rather eat a live bug than waste time watching : (yes, I'm sad to say that I've actually seen some of them...) |
Barb Wire Bicentennial Man Big Daddy Blair Witch Project Brady Bunch Movie Chucky (any) Fifth Element, The Halloween (any) Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead Dumb and Dumber (the ONLY movie I have ever walked out of) Dune Friday the 13th Godzilla Howard the Duck Ishtar Leonard Part 6 Lobster Man from Mars Lonely Lady, The (even tho it *does* have Pia Zadora in it) Lost in Space Martians Go Home! Meatballs My Favorite Martian Neighbors Nightmare on Elm Street (any) Pecker Police Academy 1 - infinity Porky's Problem Child Ringmaster South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut Species Spice World Sssssss There's Something About Mary Toxic Avenger Tron Truman Show, The Very Bad Things Waterboy, The Waterworld You've Got Mail Zardoz Anything by John Waters |
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| On my list to see : |
American Graffiti (1973) Apartment, The (1960) Birth of a Nation (1915) Clockwork Orange (Saw it, don't remember it.) French Connection, The (1971) Graduate, The (1967) Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Manchurian Candidate (1962) On the Waterfront (1954) Patton (1970) Philadelphia Story, The (1940) Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Sunset Boulevard (1950) Watermelon Man (1960) (Saw it, don't remember it.) Wuthering Heights (1939) |
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| "Great" Movies that didn't do much for me : |
Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (1984) Beetlejuice (1988) Blues Brothers, The (1980) Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) Caddyshack (1980) Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) Dumb and Dumber (1994) Get Shorty (1995) Groundhog Day (1993) Jerk, The (1979) Meatballs (1979) Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) Paper Moon (1973) Repo Man (1984) She's Gotta Have It (1986) Star Wars (any) Taxi Driver (1976) Tootsie (1982) War of the Roses (1989) You've Got Mail (1999) |
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| Movies I'm ashamed to say I liked : |
Ace Ventura, Pet Detective (Don't say anything.) Animal House (I actually went to Toga Parties in the 70s.) Barbarella (For pure kitsch...it's tops.) Beastmaster (c'mon, the guy's HOT) Blazing Saddles (I feel like a lemming.) Eating Raoul (Does it get any better than this?) Ferris Beuller's Day Off (It could happen in real life...) Gremlins (Gimmee a break, k?) High Anxiety (It made me laugh. So what?) Last Action Hero (Poked fun at itself.) Men in Black (It was actually funny!) Pee Wee's Big Adventure (He musta been on some damn good drugs.) Private Parts (Don't knock it 'til ya try it.) Ocean's Eleven (The ORIGINAL! Hey, it's the Rat Pack!) Student Bodies (So bad, it's good.) This is Spinal Tap (Classic) Videodrome (I adore James Woods.) |
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| Mind-numbing activities I shun : |
Watching TV (I have a TV, but it's not plugged in.) Computer Games (Does it really matter in the larger scheme of things whether or not you kill the monster?) Smoking Drinking alcohol (Ever been married to an alcoholic? It ain't pretty.) Not reading (Call me a snob, but I can't respect someone who doesn't read.) Gambling (For entertainment, it's ok...but some people take it way too far.) IRC/Online Chat (It AIN'T real life, folks!!) Soap Opera Digest (Why bother? My real life rivals anything the soap writers could EVER come up with.) 
Looking for some nifty cool posters? Check out The Poster Dept! And be sure to ask David the Webmaster what he does for a living.  
Questions? Comments? Typos? *EEEK!!!* |
