Family dialog:
Mid Sis to Dad: "You're just a big fat exception"
Dad: "hey, I take offense at that!"
Mid Sis to Dad: "you are just another mammal"
Eliza: "Wait, technically if mammals are defined as being able to bear live young, technically speaking, men aren't mammals"
20071122
20071121
Reprinting John Sugg's column this week from Creative Loafing. Here's hoping I don't get sued for copyright infringement...but I'm giving proper props - Atlanta's Creative Loafing, John Sugg, published 11.21.07. Not everyone agrees with Sugg's politics, but the end message here is what is important.
Here goes:
"Transcript of "Larry King Live" segment, Nov. 13:
LARRY KING: We have a very special guest this evening. I've been trying to get him on the show for a long time, but he has a very hectic schedule. Events in the backwater state of Georgia have prompted our guest to insist on coming on tonight's show. We're also joined by presidential adviser Lou Cypher in Washington, D.C. Lou, you there?
LOU CYPHER: Yes, Larry. Thank you. I'd like the viewers to know that I'm a man of wealth and taste. And, that my ... um ... advice has laid many a soul to waste. Pleased to meet you.
KING: What is your role in the Bush White House?
CYPHER: Well, Dick Cheney is one of my ... uh, I guess you'd say "disciples."
KING: That's impressive. Do you know what his plans are after the next election?
CYPHER: Oh, I'll try to work him into the Ninth Circle.
KING: Ninth Circle?
CYPHER: It's a little club I run.
KING: Now for our very special guest. Here he is, someone who needs little introduction, God. God, or do I call you Lord? Jehovah? Big Guy?
GOD: Al is fine.
KING: Al?
GOD: Short for Almighty.
KING: Uh-huh. And if you look at that monitor over there, you can see our other guest, Lou Cypher.
GOD: We've met before, many ages ago. Hi, Lou. Shrewd work you're doing, casting confusion about global warming.
CYPHER: Hi, Al. Devilishly high praise, considering the source. But I'm even prouder of Iraq. Can't wait for Iran.
KING: Well, let's talk about Georgia, a state ...
CYPHER: I went down to Georgia once.
GOD: Do I have to listen to this story again? He was in some silly fiddlin' contest. Big deal. He didn't even win.
KING: Fellows, fellows. Al, I understand the governor there – I can't recall his name. Buddy? Bubba? Roy Bob?
GOD: Sonny.
KING: You know him, then?
GOD: Yes, I have a mild affliction called omniscience.
KING: OK, this Sonny, then, I hear he's offered you a job.
GOD: That's what the news reports say. He announced it to a crowd at the state Capitol today. I'm a little annoyed that he didn't ask me first. I've pushed the "smite" button on people for doing less.
KING: What is it he wants you to do for Georgia?
GOD: I guess you could call the job "State Supreme Water Czar." I have been in the plumbing business before, way back on the second day of Creation. Or was it the first?
KING: So what does this Sonny person want you to do as water czar?
GOD: I think he wants me to make it rain.
KING: Could you do that?
GOD: Boy, could I. Way back when, I made it rain for 40 days and 40 nights. Kinda got carried away. But you've asked the wrong question. It's not so much could I make it but would I make it rain?
KING: OK, would you?
GOD: Yes and no.
KING: Yes and no?
GOD: Yes, yes and no. I'd better explain. You see, Larry, everything happens because I will it. I am the totality of all that was and is and will be, world without end, yadda yadda, amen.
CYPHER: And they say I have a big ego.
KING: So would you make it rain because Sonny asks?
GOD: I might. But, then, I might make it not rain because Sonny asks. That's how I work. You see, I've been sending signs to Georgia for years. Those people there claim they read my book, and it says pretty plainly toward the end, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees." So, what do they do? They try to cut down every tree they see. They've darn near ruined the land. And I didn't put a lot of water in that area. They know that. Chicago got a lot of water, but I gave them lousy winters. Georgia got a nice climate, but I sort of ran out of water in the north part. Do you think that Sonny character pays attention? Hell ...
CYPHER: Excuse me?
GOD: ... no. Let's keep growing, he says. He's turning paradise into hell.
CYPHER: Music to my ears.
KING: Is there anything Sonny could do to make it rain?
GOD: It's not politically correct to do human sacrifice any longer. If it were, I'd tell Sonny to line up the developers and sharpen the knives. Otherwise, he should quit all of this pious acting. If he shred his well-tailored suits, put ashes on his head, and if he and that band of cutthroats they call the Legislature spent, oh, about 20 years flagellating themselves, I might be impressed. Anything less, forget it. And another thing I noticed: Sonny was propped up at his little show by an outfit called the Christian Coalition. This is a good time to announce that my kid is filing a federal lawsuit against the group for trademark infringement. Christian? Hah. All they talk about is homosexuals. They're obsessed. You know what my son said about gays? Nada, zilch. Why don't people pay attention?
CYPHER: I'm very of fond of them.
KING: Al, your name is being invoked in Georgia in an investigation of two people who claim they work for you, Eddie Long and Creflo Dollar.
CYPHER: My main men.
GOD: Read what my boy said 2,000 years ago. If all you care about is getting rich, you're not moving into my neighborhood. Lou's place has plenty of room, but the air conditioning is always on the fritz. I just read a poll that said 12 percent of Americans went hungry in 2006. And I gave that nation so much! My son said to take care of the poor, the children, the outcasts. You think they're doing that in Georgia? You think Sonny and Eddie and Creflo give a hoot for the poor children, the hungry families? I feel like whipping up some plagues and sending them.
KING: You heard it here first, folks. Georgia better repent – or bad things are going to happen.
CYPHER: I'm so excited."
Here goes:
"Transcript of "Larry King Live" segment, Nov. 13:
LARRY KING: We have a very special guest this evening. I've been trying to get him on the show for a long time, but he has a very hectic schedule. Events in the backwater state of Georgia have prompted our guest to insist on coming on tonight's show. We're also joined by presidential adviser Lou Cypher in Washington, D.C. Lou, you there?
LOU CYPHER: Yes, Larry. Thank you. I'd like the viewers to know that I'm a man of wealth and taste. And, that my ... um ... advice has laid many a soul to waste. Pleased to meet you.
KING: What is your role in the Bush White House?
CYPHER: Well, Dick Cheney is one of my ... uh, I guess you'd say "disciples."
KING: That's impressive. Do you know what his plans are after the next election?
CYPHER: Oh, I'll try to work him into the Ninth Circle.
KING: Ninth Circle?
CYPHER: It's a little club I run.
KING: Now for our very special guest. Here he is, someone who needs little introduction, God. God, or do I call you Lord? Jehovah? Big Guy?
GOD: Al is fine.
KING: Al?
GOD: Short for Almighty.
KING: Uh-huh. And if you look at that monitor over there, you can see our other guest, Lou Cypher.
GOD: We've met before, many ages ago. Hi, Lou. Shrewd work you're doing, casting confusion about global warming.
CYPHER: Hi, Al. Devilishly high praise, considering the source. But I'm even prouder of Iraq. Can't wait for Iran.
KING: Well, let's talk about Georgia, a state ...
CYPHER: I went down to Georgia once.
GOD: Do I have to listen to this story again? He was in some silly fiddlin' contest. Big deal. He didn't even win.
KING: Fellows, fellows. Al, I understand the governor there – I can't recall his name. Buddy? Bubba? Roy Bob?
GOD: Sonny.
KING: You know him, then?
GOD: Yes, I have a mild affliction called omniscience.
KING: OK, this Sonny, then, I hear he's offered you a job.
GOD: That's what the news reports say. He announced it to a crowd at the state Capitol today. I'm a little annoyed that he didn't ask me first. I've pushed the "smite" button on people for doing less.
KING: What is it he wants you to do for Georgia?
GOD: I guess you could call the job "State Supreme Water Czar." I have been in the plumbing business before, way back on the second day of Creation. Or was it the first?
KING: So what does this Sonny person want you to do as water czar?
GOD: I think he wants me to make it rain.
KING: Could you do that?
GOD: Boy, could I. Way back when, I made it rain for 40 days and 40 nights. Kinda got carried away. But you've asked the wrong question. It's not so much could I make it but would I make it rain?
KING: OK, would you?
GOD: Yes and no.
KING: Yes and no?
GOD: Yes, yes and no. I'd better explain. You see, Larry, everything happens because I will it. I am the totality of all that was and is and will be, world without end, yadda yadda, amen.
CYPHER: And they say I have a big ego.
KING: So would you make it rain because Sonny asks?
GOD: I might. But, then, I might make it not rain because Sonny asks. That's how I work. You see, I've been sending signs to Georgia for years. Those people there claim they read my book, and it says pretty plainly toward the end, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees." So, what do they do? They try to cut down every tree they see. They've darn near ruined the land. And I didn't put a lot of water in that area. They know that. Chicago got a lot of water, but I gave them lousy winters. Georgia got a nice climate, but I sort of ran out of water in the north part. Do you think that Sonny character pays attention? Hell ...
CYPHER: Excuse me?
GOD: ... no. Let's keep growing, he says. He's turning paradise into hell.
CYPHER: Music to my ears.
KING: Is there anything Sonny could do to make it rain?
GOD: It's not politically correct to do human sacrifice any longer. If it were, I'd tell Sonny to line up the developers and sharpen the knives. Otherwise, he should quit all of this pious acting. If he shred his well-tailored suits, put ashes on his head, and if he and that band of cutthroats they call the Legislature spent, oh, about 20 years flagellating themselves, I might be impressed. Anything less, forget it. And another thing I noticed: Sonny was propped up at his little show by an outfit called the Christian Coalition. This is a good time to announce that my kid is filing a federal lawsuit against the group for trademark infringement. Christian? Hah. All they talk about is homosexuals. They're obsessed. You know what my son said about gays? Nada, zilch. Why don't people pay attention?
CYPHER: I'm very of fond of them.
KING: Al, your name is being invoked in Georgia in an investigation of two people who claim they work for you, Eddie Long and Creflo Dollar.
CYPHER: My main men.
GOD: Read what my boy said 2,000 years ago. If all you care about is getting rich, you're not moving into my neighborhood. Lou's place has plenty of room, but the air conditioning is always on the fritz. I just read a poll that said 12 percent of Americans went hungry in 2006. And I gave that nation so much! My son said to take care of the poor, the children, the outcasts. You think they're doing that in Georgia? You think Sonny and Eddie and Creflo give a hoot for the poor children, the hungry families? I feel like whipping up some plagues and sending them.
KING: You heard it here first, folks. Georgia better repent – or bad things are going to happen.
CYPHER: I'm so excited."
Driving up here yesterday, I spent a good deal of time sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on I85 and wondering what was going on. Dad and I spent some time on the phone looking for alternate routes, etc, to no avail. Between Toccoa and the boder, things were a mess. I wasn't impatient, or angry, or doing boneheaded traffic maneuvers (you people that drive up the emergency lane, I know who you are!!!), just merely resigned to another trip all cocked up due to traffic.
You know the bridge "into" South Carolina, or departing from, depending on your point of view? As you cross Lake Hartwell (which looks bad, to be honest, but it's been lower) going southbound, there is one last bridge, and on the other side is a big sign with a peach that says some kind of "Welcome to the Pray for Rain State".
Seriously, it says "Welcome to Georgia".
Well, that particular bridge has always scared me. It's narrow. It's a freaking bridge, and there is no wiggle room. I've driven over it (or ridden) and always been struck by a fear that THIS bridge would suddenly buckle and I would plunge to my death.
Anyhow...seven car pileup involving two tractor trailers. As I drove by (traffic was stopped by SLED in all directions), I noticed what looked to be a shiny new Volvo missing it's roof. I had the windows down, and as I was driving by what I'm euphemistically calling the "cleaning crew" happened to hear me say, quite loudly "holy shit!" How could anyone have survived that wreck?
And then I started to cry.
The remainder of the drive I was consumed with the thoughts of the people who were in that car. Was it a family, with two small children in the backseat on their way to Grandma's? Two friends on their way home for a weekend of free food? Mom and Dad driving to visit their daughter in college? I had decided that it was a family, with two small children, and that the parents were dead (you could excuse the flight of fancy if you'd seen the car), and how that would color their entire lives. And I asked for whomever listens to such requests to bless them.
I got here, logged on to the UNSECURE (dad, c'mon) wireless network, and immediately started Googling a Toccoa paper, an Anderson paper, the AJC...anything.
Would you believe they lived? "Stable but serious condition"
So there, people...when you complain about a traffic backup, or think about how much you hate your in laws, or get caught up in family squabbles, think about those two people. Your life doesn't suck that much.
You know the bridge "into" South Carolina, or departing from, depending on your point of view? As you cross Lake Hartwell (which looks bad, to be honest, but it's been lower) going southbound, there is one last bridge, and on the other side is a big sign with a peach that says some kind of "Welcome to the Pray for Rain State".
Seriously, it says "Welcome to Georgia".
Well, that particular bridge has always scared me. It's narrow. It's a freaking bridge, and there is no wiggle room. I've driven over it (or ridden) and always been struck by a fear that THIS bridge would suddenly buckle and I would plunge to my death.
Anyhow...seven car pileup involving two tractor trailers. As I drove by (traffic was stopped by SLED in all directions), I noticed what looked to be a shiny new Volvo missing it's roof. I had the windows down, and as I was driving by what I'm euphemistically calling the "cleaning crew" happened to hear me say, quite loudly "holy shit!" How could anyone have survived that wreck?
And then I started to cry.
The remainder of the drive I was consumed with the thoughts of the people who were in that car. Was it a family, with two small children in the backseat on their way to Grandma's? Two friends on their way home for a weekend of free food? Mom and Dad driving to visit their daughter in college? I had decided that it was a family, with two small children, and that the parents were dead (you could excuse the flight of fancy if you'd seen the car), and how that would color their entire lives. And I asked for whomever listens to such requests to bless them.
I got here, logged on to the UNSECURE (dad, c'mon) wireless network, and immediately started Googling a Toccoa paper, an Anderson paper, the AJC...anything.
Would you believe they lived? "Stable but serious condition"
So there, people...when you complain about a traffic backup, or think about how much you hate your in laws, or get caught up in family squabbles, think about those two people. Your life doesn't suck that much.
Today's Headline:
Prostate Cancer harder to Spot in Obese Men
Pardon me, but...no shit sherlock.
If you can't even SEE your genitals, how the hell are you supposed to know that something is wrong?
Do you put your finger up your own ass and cough?
Mom points out that this is up there with the "I didn't know I was pregnant, I just thought I had a stomachache!"
Remember that bad advice from the seventies for women's empowerment and sex?
"Take your mirror and examine your vulva"!!!
Prostate Cancer harder to Spot in Obese Men
Pardon me, but...no shit sherlock.
If you can't even SEE your genitals, how the hell are you supposed to know that something is wrong?
Do you put your finger up your own ass and cough?
Mom points out that this is up there with the "I didn't know I was pregnant, I just thought I had a stomachache!"
Remember that bad advice from the seventies for women's empowerment and sex?
"Take your mirror and examine your vulva"!!!
20071120
20071119
Y'all are too cute! Thanks muchly for the birthday wishes.
Have done feck all this weekend. Cleaned out. Changed sheets. Changed sheets again. Got electric blanket from grandmom. Ran around, didn't do anything I meant to do this weekend. Getting ready to head up to NC tomorrow morning, have cleaned off the dog blanket and gotten the car ready to be loaded. I keep telling Maddy and Zoe that they are going to their "cousins". I'm not sure they understand, but they seem mighty excited. Argued with Charter over equipment I returned via UPS two weeks ago, but that they are still trying to bill me for.
I'm taking the camera...so this time I'll actually take pictures. I think I'm going to go to Kings Mountain and the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens while I'm up there, and possibly stop in Asheville on the way home for some photos - I have GOT to get some shots of the Biltmore.
Anyway, that's about it.
Have done feck all this weekend. Cleaned out. Changed sheets. Changed sheets again. Got electric blanket from grandmom. Ran around, didn't do anything I meant to do this weekend. Getting ready to head up to NC tomorrow morning, have cleaned off the dog blanket and gotten the car ready to be loaded. I keep telling Maddy and Zoe that they are going to their "cousins". I'm not sure they understand, but they seem mighty excited. Argued with Charter over equipment I returned via UPS two weeks ago, but that they are still trying to bill me for.
I'm taking the camera...so this time I'll actually take pictures. I think I'm going to go to Kings Mountain and the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens while I'm up there, and possibly stop in Asheville on the way home for some photos - I have GOT to get some shots of the Biltmore.
Anyway, that's about it.
20071117
Hey, stop it!
Not talking to you guys, Maddy has an obssession with the laptop. She ate Mr. Manners HalfLife 2 discs at some point during last night, and a coat hanger and a box of Kleenex today.
Just dropping in to say hello.
Tonight is a Johnny Cash "Live at Folsom Prison" night...musically speaking, of course.
Not talking to you guys, Maddy has an obssession with the laptop. She ate Mr. Manners HalfLife 2 discs at some point during last night, and a coat hanger and a box of Kleenex today.
Just dropping in to say hello.
Tonight is a Johnny Cash "Live at Folsom Prison" night...musically speaking, of course.
20071116
You know, vomit is an interesting thing. In a purely analytical way, it's rather interesting to see what your body digests and how, and how long things can sit in your stomach without being digested when your stomach is unhappy. At about midnight last night, I threw up yesterday's lunch (baked potato with cheese and bacon) and some saltines I'd eaten when I got home (perfect for nausea, you know). Rather nasty to see chunks of bacon, coke, and peices of saltine in one's puke. Then every time I'd burp, it would be liquid. Nasty!!
At least I have an early warning system. I'm very rarely surprised by a sudden need to puke. Ten minutes, last night...I was asleep on the couch, and woke up just to vomit.
Sorry, was just distracted by the ad for "Enchanted Evening"...I confess, it looks...almost amusing.
Monday is my birthday. I expect most everyone will forget, as is usually the case. I get screwed by being so close to Thanksgiving - whatever plans are occuring for Thanksgiving always overshadow my birthday. So I've learned not to expect much. It becomes just another day right around one's twenty first birthday.
At least I have an early warning system. I'm very rarely surprised by a sudden need to puke. Ten minutes, last night...I was asleep on the couch, and woke up just to vomit.
Sorry, was just distracted by the ad for "Enchanted Evening"...I confess, it looks...almost amusing.
Monday is my birthday. I expect most everyone will forget, as is usually the case. I get screwed by being so close to Thanksgiving - whatever plans are occuring for Thanksgiving always overshadow my birthday. So I've learned not to expect much. It becomes just another day right around one's twenty first birthday.
20071115
This really upset me when I first heard about it, and it upsets me now.
Georgia doesn't have great Safe Haven laws, but we do have some laws. A parent wishing to relinquish their newborn can give the child up within a week of birth to a hospital or a health department without being charged. California has the best Safe Haven laws - in fact, there's a woman there who runs a program called Garden of Angels. Don't go Googling that unless you REALLY want to cry. This lady started the program after seeing a news story about a newborn who died after being flung out onto the highway - the parents were never identified, and so she contacted local authorities and arranged for the child's burial. Today, she has a foundation that does this, and that works with hospitals, churchs, fire and police deparments to coordinate safe haven programs for newborns. And she still runs the burial program - they name the infants, bury them, and give them markers.
Instead, some poor soul wiped their baby down...their baby who still had the umbilical cord attached, placed it in a bag, and placed it on the side of the road...hoping that someone would hear, maybe, or see the bag, and find the child...and now the child is dead, and buried in an unmarked pauper's grave. Someone who didn't know any better, who didn't have access to a doctor, or to a hospital, or who was afraid and did the only thing she could think of. What does this woman...or girl...or child, even feel like now? She has to know that her son is dead, and what does she feel? She wanted someone to find him, she wanted someone to take care of him (unwanted children end up in dumpsters, in trash cans, not carefully placed on the sidewalk). How much fear did she live in that this was her only option?
I can't say enough about educating everyone, of any class, of any racial group, of any immigrant status, about their rights in this country. I can't believe this small child had to die, I just can't.
Georgia doesn't have great Safe Haven laws, but we do have some laws. A parent wishing to relinquish their newborn can give the child up within a week of birth to a hospital or a health department without being charged. California has the best Safe Haven laws - in fact, there's a woman there who runs a program called Garden of Angels. Don't go Googling that unless you REALLY want to cry. This lady started the program after seeing a news story about a newborn who died after being flung out onto the highway - the parents were never identified, and so she contacted local authorities and arranged for the child's burial. Today, she has a foundation that does this, and that works with hospitals, churchs, fire and police deparments to coordinate safe haven programs for newborns. And she still runs the burial program - they name the infants, bury them, and give them markers.
Instead, some poor soul wiped their baby down...their baby who still had the umbilical cord attached, placed it in a bag, and placed it on the side of the road...hoping that someone would hear, maybe, or see the bag, and find the child...and now the child is dead, and buried in an unmarked pauper's grave. Someone who didn't know any better, who didn't have access to a doctor, or to a hospital, or who was afraid and did the only thing she could think of. What does this woman...or girl...or child, even feel like now? She has to know that her son is dead, and what does she feel? She wanted someone to find him, she wanted someone to take care of him (unwanted children end up in dumpsters, in trash cans, not carefully placed on the sidewalk). How much fear did she live in that this was her only option?
I can't say enough about educating everyone, of any class, of any racial group, of any immigrant status, about their rights in this country. I can't believe this small child had to die, I just can't.
Work: our holiday party, due to the layoffs, is postponed until the beginning of the year. The new party theme is "Employee Appreciation". What the fuck?
Weather: still no rain, but at least it's cooler.
House: Maddy ate the strap off my new shoe last night. Just the strap. Damn dog.
Traffic: If you have on your blinker, and there is a right hand turn lane, and you are turning right, kindly get out of my way. The mood I'm in this week, my little Jeep will happily perform a PIT manuever and shove your tiddling little import ass out of the way. Also, Alpharetta PD, I have a complaint!! The ramp at the end of Mansell is flooded daily during rush hour with soul less idiots who go to the end of the ramp in the left hand turn lanes, only to turn right (bypassing the thirty cars in line). Why is there NEVER a cop there? Yesterday, a Cadillac (I think) SUV did it, and a Mercedes did it RIGHT in front of me. I wanted to put my car in park and go ask them if they had any sense of courtesy or respect...although that might get me punched, so I thought the better of it. Seriously though...Alpharetta, you wanna make some money, get busy.
Local: lastly, my favorite soundbite out of the news today....Consumers Using Less Water will Still Have Higher Costs as Utilities Look to Offset Losses by Raising Rates. Greedy Bastards!
Weather: still no rain, but at least it's cooler.
House: Maddy ate the strap off my new shoe last night. Just the strap. Damn dog.
Traffic: If you have on your blinker, and there is a right hand turn lane, and you are turning right, kindly get out of my way. The mood I'm in this week, my little Jeep will happily perform a PIT manuever and shove your tiddling little import ass out of the way. Also, Alpharetta PD, I have a complaint!! The ramp at the end of Mansell is flooded daily during rush hour with soul less idiots who go to the end of the ramp in the left hand turn lanes, only to turn right (bypassing the thirty cars in line). Why is there NEVER a cop there? Yesterday, a Cadillac (I think) SUV did it, and a Mercedes did it RIGHT in front of me. I wanted to put my car in park and go ask them if they had any sense of courtesy or respect...although that might get me punched, so I thought the better of it. Seriously though...Alpharetta, you wanna make some money, get busy.
Local: lastly, my favorite soundbite out of the news today....Consumers Using Less Water will Still Have Higher Costs as Utilities Look to Offset Losses by Raising Rates. Greedy Bastards!
20071114
Resonance
"Somehow my soul seems suddenly free" Sydney Lanier
"Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish" Sylvia Plath
"At evening when the lamp is lit,
around the fire my parents sit;
They sit at home and talk and sing,
And do not play at anything.
Now, with my little gun, I crawl
All in the dark along the wall,
And follow round the forest track
Away behind the sofa back.
There, in the night, where none can spy,
All in my hunter's camp I lie,
And play at books that I have read.
These are the hills, these are the woods,
These are my starry solitudes;
And there the river by whose brink
The roaring lions come to drink.
I see the others far away
As if in firelit camp they lay,
And I, like to an Indian scout,
Around their party prowled about.
So when my nurse came in for me,
Home I return across the sea,
And go to bed with backward looks
At my dear land of story-books." Robert Louis Stevenson
I won't bore you with eternal quotes of T.S. Eliot, whom I adore. Really, in the room where women come and go....
"Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish" Sylvia Plath
"At evening when the lamp is lit,
around the fire my parents sit;
They sit at home and talk and sing,
And do not play at anything.
Now, with my little gun, I crawl
All in the dark along the wall,
And follow round the forest track
Away behind the sofa back.
There, in the night, where none can spy,
All in my hunter's camp I lie,
And play at books that I have read.
These are the hills, these are the woods,
These are my starry solitudes;
And there the river by whose brink
The roaring lions come to drink.
I see the others far away
As if in firelit camp they lay,
And I, like to an Indian scout,
Around their party prowled about.
So when my nurse came in for me,
Home I return across the sea,
And go to bed with backward looks
At my dear land of story-books." Robert Louis Stevenson
I won't bore you with eternal quotes of T.S. Eliot, whom I adore. Really, in the room where women come and go....
It's Not Nice Weather for Ducks
LG reminded me of something I wanted to blog about….
Praying for rain? Ok, I give you some credit. Yesterday we had clouds, but no rain. I’m sure it rained SOMEWHERE…maybe you could be a wee bit more specific in your prayerful requests? It certainly was a slow news day yesterday if the coverage of our esteemed Governor on his knees beseeching God for a little for a little two parts hydrogen one part oxygen cumulus action. Well, ok, a lot of cumulus action…I’m thinking like the rain we had when Hurricane Opal blew through in…93? 94?
Let me paint a picture for you non believers about the real damage the lack of water (lack of proper civic planning) is going to do to our fine metropolitan area.
If the Army Corp of Engineers continues to release water at their present rate from Lake Lanier, it is predicted we will be out of water within a 30 – 45 days. This doesn’t mean that the lake will be bone dry – this means that water will be in the lake, in the deepest pockets, that cannot be pumped out of said deep pockets and gotten to Buford Dam. This water cannot be pumped anywhere without great expense, and that tiny little bit of water will be all that remains to support the ecosystem that has grown up around the lake.
By the way, the lake was named for famed Georgia Poet Sydney Lanier (most famous, arguably, for “The Marshes of Glynn”). For a nice little bit of history, go here: http://lanier.sam.usace.army.mil/history.htm. I really want to speculate and say that a very early Stuart Woods book was also “fictionally written” about Lanier – “Under the Lake”…that when I first read scared the poop out of me.
Ironically, Lanier and the Corp (which manages the lake) have won three awards for the “Best Managed Lake” (90, 97, ’02).
Anyway, point being: if the Corp continues to release the water at it’s regular rate, not only will us regular folk be out of water, but the mussels the Corp is working so valiantly to protect will also be out of water as well. People can always, at great expense, truck water in, but mussels cannot. Ergo, the mussels are going to die eventually anyway. Evolve, bitches!
So what happens to we humans?
The options aren’t pretty. We can truck water in (expensive), build a desalinization plant and a few hundred miles of pipe and plants (really expensive, and time consuming). We can do what other, smaller towns have done and go on rationing – water is only turned on in your neighborhood between six and ten each night, and then turned off. Or you can pray for rain. In fact, I’d be willing to sacrifice a chicken to get some rain. Remember when November was the rainy month?
Here’s a list of who can still water, and who shouldn’t be able to: golf courses (stupid sport), landscaping companies, people on well water (why? This still depletes the aquifer), car washes, complexes of any kind with “public areas” like apartment complexes, businesses (this depends on what part of town you live in), state parks, federal parks, and any municipal building/park/land.
The State has talked to this issue for years – talked to, and done nothing. Sat on their fat asses down in the Capital building and debated stupid shit like…hm…whether or not to rename a highway after another one of their big butted, moneyed cronies. Or what the airport should be called. Seriously? We pay you guys to talk about naming the frigging airport?
The real problem is going to be the economic impact. Not to our wallets as individuals, but to the State itself. Who wants to build a plant, open a business, relocate an office to a state that is on water restriction? Sounds like poor house management to me, and if I were a major firm (BMW, Kia, etc) I certainly wouldn’t open a plant in a state with such issues. If they can’t manage a natural resource, how on earth can they be expected to manage anything else? And for the businesses that are here, how will they absorb the cost of the modifications they will have to make to accommodate a water ration? Who is going to pay for those new low flow toilets in the ladies room on the second floor of the BOA Tower? BOA will pay, certainly, but you will in the end too. I’m sure that companies will find a way to offset that cost in physical infrastructure by reducing their workforce. Then you have higher unemployment, and people who can’t shower or flush their toilets until six pm.
Again, rampant growth, blatant disregard for the folks downstream, lax enforcement of laws and watering bans,
We don’t have a lot of rain. We only have man made lakes. We only have a few rivers that we share with our neighbors. We’re screwed! Thanks, Mr. Perdue, Mr. Barnes, Mr. Miller and Mr. Harris for your gracious and wise stewardship of our state!
Praying for rain? Ok, I give you some credit. Yesterday we had clouds, but no rain. I’m sure it rained SOMEWHERE…maybe you could be a wee bit more specific in your prayerful requests? It certainly was a slow news day yesterday if the coverage of our esteemed Governor on his knees beseeching God for a little for a little two parts hydrogen one part oxygen cumulus action. Well, ok, a lot of cumulus action…I’m thinking like the rain we had when Hurricane Opal blew through in…93? 94?
Let me paint a picture for you non believers about the real damage the lack of water (lack of proper civic planning) is going to do to our fine metropolitan area.
If the Army Corp of Engineers continues to release water at their present rate from Lake Lanier, it is predicted we will be out of water within a 30 – 45 days. This doesn’t mean that the lake will be bone dry – this means that water will be in the lake, in the deepest pockets, that cannot be pumped out of said deep pockets and gotten to Buford Dam. This water cannot be pumped anywhere without great expense, and that tiny little bit of water will be all that remains to support the ecosystem that has grown up around the lake.
By the way, the lake was named for famed Georgia Poet Sydney Lanier (most famous, arguably, for “The Marshes of Glynn”). For a nice little bit of history, go here: http://lanier.sam.usace.army.mil/history.htm. I really want to speculate and say that a very early Stuart Woods book was also “fictionally written” about Lanier – “Under the Lake”…that when I first read scared the poop out of me.
Ironically, Lanier and the Corp (which manages the lake) have won three awards for the “Best Managed Lake” (90, 97, ’02).
Anyway, point being: if the Corp continues to release the water at it’s regular rate, not only will us regular folk be out of water, but the mussels the Corp is working so valiantly to protect will also be out of water as well. People can always, at great expense, truck water in, but mussels cannot. Ergo, the mussels are going to die eventually anyway. Evolve, bitches!
So what happens to we humans?
The options aren’t pretty. We can truck water in (expensive), build a desalinization plant and a few hundred miles of pipe and plants (really expensive, and time consuming). We can do what other, smaller towns have done and go on rationing – water is only turned on in your neighborhood between six and ten each night, and then turned off. Or you can pray for rain. In fact, I’d be willing to sacrifice a chicken to get some rain. Remember when November was the rainy month?
Here’s a list of who can still water, and who shouldn’t be able to: golf courses (stupid sport), landscaping companies, people on well water (why? This still depletes the aquifer), car washes, complexes of any kind with “public areas” like apartment complexes, businesses (this depends on what part of town you live in), state parks, federal parks, and any municipal building/park/land.
The State has talked to this issue for years – talked to, and done nothing. Sat on their fat asses down in the Capital building and debated stupid shit like…hm…whether or not to rename a highway after another one of their big butted, moneyed cronies. Or what the airport should be called. Seriously? We pay you guys to talk about naming the frigging airport?
The real problem is going to be the economic impact. Not to our wallets as individuals, but to the State itself. Who wants to build a plant, open a business, relocate an office to a state that is on water restriction? Sounds like poor house management to me, and if I were a major firm (BMW, Kia, etc) I certainly wouldn’t open a plant in a state with such issues. If they can’t manage a natural resource, how on earth can they be expected to manage anything else? And for the businesses that are here, how will they absorb the cost of the modifications they will have to make to accommodate a water ration? Who is going to pay for those new low flow toilets in the ladies room on the second floor of the BOA Tower? BOA will pay, certainly, but you will in the end too. I’m sure that companies will find a way to offset that cost in physical infrastructure by reducing their workforce. Then you have higher unemployment, and people who can’t shower or flush their toilets until six pm.
Again, rampant growth, blatant disregard for the folks downstream, lax enforcement of laws and watering bans,
We don’t have a lot of rain. We only have man made lakes. We only have a few rivers that we share with our neighbors. We’re screwed! Thanks, Mr. Perdue, Mr. Barnes, Mr. Miller and Mr. Harris for your gracious and wise stewardship of our state!
20071113
Remember being so excited about something…say, a birthday, or a trip to the beach, or the lake, or summer vacation, or Christmas, that you’d count the days down on the calendar?
Padding down the forbidden hallway at the forbidden hour of six am on a Saturday to watch your favorite cartoon? And then watching television when the parents weren't paying attention all day on Saturday (Kung Fu Theater!).
Sliding down said hallway in your footie pajamas after you’d heard your parents go to bed to see if Santa had come yet?
What about thinking to yourself that you wanted it to snow, but if you prayed for snow, you wouldn’t get it, so you would pray that it wouldn’t snow, in the secret hopes that it would actually snow?
Do you still make wishes on stars, on the candles on your birthday cake, on an eyelash when it falls from your lashes?
Do you get excited when you go to the mailbox and actually have real mail, not a bill or a catalog or some other solicitation, that’s really addressed, in a real person’s handwriting, to you?
Trying to catch a snowflake on your tongue?
What about having an actual record player, and playing the crap out of one particular song as loud as your stereo (headphones) would allow? I was partial to the Reader's Digest Sets - I think I had Greatest Hits of the Century...and would listen to "The Charleston" repeatedly and dream of being a glamorous flapper and having Gatsby fall in love with me.
Getting all dressed up, loaded in the car with your sisters and your books and your tape player, to go to Grandmother’s for Thanksgiving? And finally getting to sit at the adult table, and realizing that the kid table or the card table in the sunroom was MUCH more fun than the grown up table.
I wanted to be an adult my entire childhood. I was the serious child, the neighborhood babysitter, the one who looked after everyone else. As I grew older, my teenage friends all made fun of me and said I was like a thirty three year old in a fifteen year old’s body. Now that I’m getting ready to leave thirty three, I wish I could go back and tell my younger self to be in less of a hurry about everything. I wish I had known to savor the small moments (first rays of a winter sunset, Venus rising over the incoming tide, sailing through an untouched marsh, having a glass of wine and watching the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree, quiet moments at the grave of Grandmother Carol), and to take my time making decisions (I suffer from the Ragan disease of “must do it now-it-iveness”).
The small moments are what add up to make your life rich. The bigger things that seem so important, or so catastrophic, mean nothing in the face of a thousand happy memories...something I need to learn to live by.
As my middle sister said once in childhood (and is now a part of family lore)
"Don't worry, it will winse out"
It all does eventually.
Padding down the forbidden hallway at the forbidden hour of six am on a Saturday to watch your favorite cartoon? And then watching television when the parents weren't paying attention all day on Saturday (Kung Fu Theater!).
Sliding down said hallway in your footie pajamas after you’d heard your parents go to bed to see if Santa had come yet?
What about thinking to yourself that you wanted it to snow, but if you prayed for snow, you wouldn’t get it, so you would pray that it wouldn’t snow, in the secret hopes that it would actually snow?
Do you still make wishes on stars, on the candles on your birthday cake, on an eyelash when it falls from your lashes?
Do you get excited when you go to the mailbox and actually have real mail, not a bill or a catalog or some other solicitation, that’s really addressed, in a real person’s handwriting, to you?
Trying to catch a snowflake on your tongue?
What about having an actual record player, and playing the crap out of one particular song as loud as your stereo (headphones) would allow? I was partial to the Reader's Digest Sets - I think I had Greatest Hits of the Century...and would listen to "The Charleston" repeatedly and dream of being a glamorous flapper and having Gatsby fall in love with me.
Getting all dressed up, loaded in the car with your sisters and your books and your tape player, to go to Grandmother’s for Thanksgiving? And finally getting to sit at the adult table, and realizing that the kid table or the card table in the sunroom was MUCH more fun than the grown up table.
I wanted to be an adult my entire childhood. I was the serious child, the neighborhood babysitter, the one who looked after everyone else. As I grew older, my teenage friends all made fun of me and said I was like a thirty three year old in a fifteen year old’s body. Now that I’m getting ready to leave thirty three, I wish I could go back and tell my younger self to be in less of a hurry about everything. I wish I had known to savor the small moments (first rays of a winter sunset, Venus rising over the incoming tide, sailing through an untouched marsh, having a glass of wine and watching the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree, quiet moments at the grave of Grandmother Carol), and to take my time making decisions (I suffer from the Ragan disease of “must do it now-it-iveness”).
The small moments are what add up to make your life rich. The bigger things that seem so important, or so catastrophic, mean nothing in the face of a thousand happy memories...something I need to learn to live by.
As my middle sister said once in childhood (and is now a part of family lore)
"Don't worry, it will winse out"
It all does eventually.
Things
I did buy "Other People's Love Letters" and that is a wonderful little read. The letters range from really cute to really sad (the letter from the soldier to his wife giving birth to their son). Definite coffee table material.
Damn. I'm going to be driven out of my own bedroom by rancid dog farts.
Also following Bock's recommendation (well, and the New Yorker), I picked up the Krauss/Plant cd - and that is really fantastic. Also picked up Amy Whino..wait, Winehouse...I haven't popped that in yet, but I'll let you know the verdict once I do.
My sushi place is trying to kill me. The tuna rolls get hotter and hotter every week. I ate over an hour ago and my mouth is STILL on fire. I might have to take up drinking so I can eat my dinner.
This layoff today has really thrown me for a loop. I got myself all worked up with the Worst Case Scenario, and then had such an energy crash when I got home that it put me in a bad mood. A Thumb Sucking Bad Mood...if that makes sense.
Damn. I'm going to be driven out of my own bedroom by rancid dog farts.
Also following Bock's recommendation (well, and the New Yorker), I picked up the Krauss/Plant cd - and that is really fantastic. Also picked up Amy Whino..wait, Winehouse...I haven't popped that in yet, but I'll let you know the verdict once I do.
My sushi place is trying to kill me. The tuna rolls get hotter and hotter every week. I ate over an hour ago and my mouth is STILL on fire. I might have to take up drinking so I can eat my dinner.
This layoff today has really thrown me for a loop. I got myself all worked up with the Worst Case Scenario, and then had such an energy crash when I got home that it put me in a bad mood. A Thumb Sucking Bad Mood...if that makes sense.
Well, had a bit of a fright today.
Surprise announcement, totally kept under wraps...we did layoffs at work.
I hate layoffs before Christmas. I was laid off once two weeks before Christmas, and it was completely miserable...until I realized that although I'd only been with the company three months I was getting three months of severance. No wonder the company went bankrupt! Ironically, it was the old BellSouth Internet contract that a former friend works on now for Accenture.
Not knowing if I fell in the impacted group, and seeing that the impacts fell at all levels and performance levels in the organizations (learned later in the day)...I had a mini freak out session this morning. What if I did get laid off? It's happened to me twice before, but the luxury of being both young and, well, poor, is that it matters less to lose a job. You have less of a nut to worry about finding...you only need to find that one small acorn to get you through the winter. The older you are, and the more shit you acquire, the worse it is!
So in the way of all true scorpio women, I am sitting at work this morning immediately examining the Worst Case Scenario and wondering where I'd get the cash to file bankruptcy!
So:
I will bust ass and finish school next year.
I will work harder at actual work.
I will finish all my house projects and get out of that house. Or rent it out. Or burn it down. Or SOMETHING! I tried to rent out a room - you should have SEEN what responded to my ad. Conversely, I can stay in it, save my cash, and continue to fix things piecemeal as I've been doing. Siding, siding, siding.
Do I look like a roof monkey to you?
Moderate freak out session. Must be approaching birthday blues.
Surprise announcement, totally kept under wraps...we did layoffs at work.
I hate layoffs before Christmas. I was laid off once two weeks before Christmas, and it was completely miserable...until I realized that although I'd only been with the company three months I was getting three months of severance. No wonder the company went bankrupt! Ironically, it was the old BellSouth Internet contract that a former friend works on now for Accenture.
Not knowing if I fell in the impacted group, and seeing that the impacts fell at all levels and performance levels in the organizations (learned later in the day)...I had a mini freak out session this morning. What if I did get laid off? It's happened to me twice before, but the luxury of being both young and, well, poor, is that it matters less to lose a job. You have less of a nut to worry about finding...you only need to find that one small acorn to get you through the winter. The older you are, and the more shit you acquire, the worse it is!
So in the way of all true scorpio women, I am sitting at work this morning immediately examining the Worst Case Scenario and wondering where I'd get the cash to file bankruptcy!
So:
I will bust ass and finish school next year.
I will work harder at actual work.
I will finish all my house projects and get out of that house. Or rent it out. Or burn it down. Or SOMETHING! I tried to rent out a room - you should have SEEN what responded to my ad. Conversely, I can stay in it, save my cash, and continue to fix things piecemeal as I've been doing. Siding, siding, siding.
Do I look like a roof monkey to you?
Moderate freak out session. Must be approaching birthday blues.
20071108
Spam, Spam, Spam
Echoes of Monty Python in my head! Aaaaaarrrrgggghhhh
Just like everyone else in the internet world, I get a lot a great deal of Spam. Enormous amounts, in fact, although it's safe to say that my daily amount of Spam hasn't yet caught up to the amount of catalogs I recieve between...oh, October and December? Imagine! Catalogs for things you didn't even know existed! Or that you wanted! Whatever will you do? (straight into the recyling bin, if you please, Mr. Mailman!)
No, we inhabitants of the little ole world known as the world wide web innundated with Spam. In terms of...parts per million...my neighborhood's occupants are probably receiving as much Spam now as....the number of mosquitos you find in my front yard in July. Come on, you've been in my yard, you know you need a beekeeper suit to get from your car to my front door!
Some Spam can be informative:
Boston Proper: Sexy Winter Sweaters on Sale!!
Bloomingdale's: Welcome to our 25% off and more long Weekend Sale
Public Radio Market: Great New Books for Music Lovers
Some Spam is just, well, Spam:
Joe's Warehouse: Doony and Booke Bags in half off!!!
P*n&S: All HERBAL Viiiiiaagggraaaa!
And some Spam, well, you wonder how you got it:
"Eliza!!! Keisha05 at BlackPlanet has viewed your page and has left you comment!"
WTF?
Now I looked at this email, and it really is to me...to my actually, correctly spelled, legitimate email address. I've never heard of that site, been to that site, and can't think of anyone who (seriously) would sell my demographic information to a marketer who could be that, well, stupid!
I think there is an internet Imp out there who has it in for me. Last year it was the continual porn emails. Now I've moved on to porn from friend sites! Help!!!
Just like everyone else in the internet world, I get a lot a great deal of Spam. Enormous amounts, in fact, although it's safe to say that my daily amount of Spam hasn't yet caught up to the amount of catalogs I recieve between...oh, October and December? Imagine! Catalogs for things you didn't even know existed! Or that you wanted! Whatever will you do? (straight into the recyling bin, if you please, Mr. Mailman!)
No, we inhabitants of the little ole world known as the world wide web innundated with Spam. In terms of...parts per million...my neighborhood's occupants are probably receiving as much Spam now as....the number of mosquitos you find in my front yard in July. Come on, you've been in my yard, you know you need a beekeeper suit to get from your car to my front door!
Some Spam can be informative:
Boston Proper: Sexy Winter Sweaters on Sale!!
Bloomingdale's: Welcome to our 25% off and more long Weekend Sale
Public Radio Market: Great New Books for Music Lovers
Some Spam is just, well, Spam:
Joe's Warehouse: Doony and Booke Bags in half off!!!
P*n&S: All HERBAL Viiiiiaagggraaaa!
And some Spam, well, you wonder how you got it:
"Eliza!!! Keisha05 at BlackPlanet has viewed your page and has left you comment!"
WTF?
Now I looked at this email, and it really is to me...to my actually, correctly spelled, legitimate email address. I've never heard of that site, been to that site, and can't think of anyone who (seriously) would sell my demographic information to a marketer who could be that, well, stupid!
I think there is an internet Imp out there who has it in for me. Last year it was the continual porn emails. Now I've moved on to porn from friend sites! Help!!!
this is now my favorite news story of the day. It beats Tuesday's "cow falling on car" story.
Man tasers would be car jacker only to be shot five times at a range of two feet and lives.
How shitty is that?
The dude he tasered got away.
So residents of College Park: if you find a man with two little round burn marks in his skin, turn his ass in! Robbery and attempted murder are good starting charges!
Man tasers would be car jacker only to be shot five times at a range of two feet and lives.
How shitty is that?
The dude he tasered got away.
So residents of College Park: if you find a man with two little round burn marks in his skin, turn his ass in! Robbery and attempted murder are good starting charges!
20071107
Finland
I don't understand what could be so wrong in someone's life that they could pick up a gun, walk into a school, and start shooting.
I think the person in question must have a hole where their heart should be.
I think the person in question must have a hole where their heart should be.
20071106
Presto!
Wouldn't David Copperfield like to make himself disappear?
How much of a loser do you have to be to write a script for your employees to use to "pre seduce" women you pull out of your audience?
Hi, My Name Is David Copperfield. I'm a hairpiece wearing magician. I own an island in the Bahamas. Wanna screw?
Time to do one of those magic tricks and vanish!
Wouldn't David Copperfield like to make himself disappear?
How much of a loser do you have to be to write a script for your employees to use to "pre seduce" women you pull out of your audience?
Hi, My Name Is David Copperfield. I'm a hairpiece wearing magician. I own an island in the Bahamas. Wanna screw?
Time to do one of those magic tricks and vanish!
Letter my father has submitted to Newsweek...read on:
" I am sickened over this country’s use of waterboarding as an interrogation technique, and I am thoroughly disgusted over the Administration’s assertions that it is not torture. A person is tied to a board, blindfolded, and has a gag shoved deep into the mouth. Water is then poured onto the victim’s face, resulting in a feeling of drowning and dying. To say the least, this would cause feelings of severe mental distress. Persons subjected to waterboarding also experience lasting mental effects, real, extreme pain, lung and brain damage, broken bones, and even death. Face the facts, waterboarding IS torture. It has been used as a method of torture since the Spanish Inquisition. Its adherents include Japan and Germany during World War II, the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in the ‘60’s, and now, America.
I grew up during the Cold War when we faced the very real threat of total annihilation. The America I grew up in was not so afraid of its enemies that it had to torture them for information. Now, we are so ruled by fear and hatred that we allow and sanction our government to willingly violate international and United States laws, including the Constitution, in the name of safety. Now, we are so terrorized by our leaders and the press that we permit and even espouse the use of torture to obtain information that is dubious at best. Mr. Bush leers and asserts that America does not torture. But we do. And it is a crime against humanity for which America will answer one day. "
" I am sickened over this country’s use of waterboarding as an interrogation technique, and I am thoroughly disgusted over the Administration’s assertions that it is not torture. A person is tied to a board, blindfolded, and has a gag shoved deep into the mouth. Water is then poured onto the victim’s face, resulting in a feeling of drowning and dying. To say the least, this would cause feelings of severe mental distress. Persons subjected to waterboarding also experience lasting mental effects, real, extreme pain, lung and brain damage, broken bones, and even death. Face the facts, waterboarding IS torture. It has been used as a method of torture since the Spanish Inquisition. Its adherents include Japan and Germany during World War II, the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in the ‘60’s, and now, America.
I grew up during the Cold War when we faced the very real threat of total annihilation. The America I grew up in was not so afraid of its enemies that it had to torture them for information. Now, we are so ruled by fear and hatred that we allow and sanction our government to willingly violate international and United States laws, including the Constitution, in the name of safety. Now, we are so terrorized by our leaders and the press that we permit and even espouse the use of torture to obtain information that is dubious at best. Mr. Bush leers and asserts that America does not torture. But we do. And it is a crime against humanity for which America will answer one day. "
20071105
Alternate Reality
I have this idea that if there are parallel universes, somewhere, there is a me that is in everyway the complete polar opposite of who I am now.
So let’s see.
If I were in an alternate reality, I think my name would be Jackie, and I’d be missing some front teeth. I’d be living down in the holler in a double wide I inherited from my uncle Hank after he died from liver failure with my high school sweetheart turned husband named Jesse. I’d have boobs, and am enormously fat, and would have no job, and big 80’s style hair. I’d spend my days figuring out how to make different lookin’ meals out of the same old shitty cuts of meat Jesse brought home from the meat processing plant, and struggling to help my sons finish their homework. I’d be pregnant with my third child, and would have given birth to the first two at home, on a mattress we’d have just burned last year on account of being too dirty. I would have never crossed the state line, never seen the ocean, never seen a lake bigger than….Fort Mountain. I’d be smoking Eve Light Menthols, and buying black Miss Clairol to color my hair at home. And smoking while I color my hair. My sons would be fat, having spent any money they could get their hands on buying shit I couldn’t give them, like ding dongs and moon pies. A gourmet meal would be a piece of fish that wasn’t fried, but neither my kids nor my husband would eat it. If this really were a total opposite reality, I’d have a still somewhere on the property, with a couple of coon dogs, and I’d be testing my own wares that I would sell to supplement Jesse’s shitty paycheck. I’d wear overalls, and know how to drive a tractor!
OMG, I think I’m about to have a stroke.
Next!
So let’s see.
If I were in an alternate reality, I think my name would be Jackie, and I’d be missing some front teeth. I’d be living down in the holler in a double wide I inherited from my uncle Hank after he died from liver failure with my high school sweetheart turned husband named Jesse. I’d have boobs, and am enormously fat, and would have no job, and big 80’s style hair. I’d spend my days figuring out how to make different lookin’ meals out of the same old shitty cuts of meat Jesse brought home from the meat processing plant, and struggling to help my sons finish their homework. I’d be pregnant with my third child, and would have given birth to the first two at home, on a mattress we’d have just burned last year on account of being too dirty. I would have never crossed the state line, never seen the ocean, never seen a lake bigger than….Fort Mountain. I’d be smoking Eve Light Menthols, and buying black Miss Clairol to color my hair at home. And smoking while I color my hair. My sons would be fat, having spent any money they could get their hands on buying shit I couldn’t give them, like ding dongs and moon pies. A gourmet meal would be a piece of fish that wasn’t fried, but neither my kids nor my husband would eat it. If this really were a total opposite reality, I’d have a still somewhere on the property, with a couple of coon dogs, and I’d be testing my own wares that I would sell to supplement Jesse’s shitty paycheck. I’d wear overalls, and know how to drive a tractor!
OMG, I think I’m about to have a stroke.
Next!
Restrain me, please.
I am itching, absolutely itching to break out my Christmas decorations. Full court press – nativity, outdoor garlands, twinkling lights…I think I might go for an inflatable Santa this year.
Just kidding.
I’ve been listening to Christmas music on the sly for weeks, merrily singing O Little Town of Bethlehem and It Came Upon a Midnight Clear whilst doing dishes or folding ye olde never ending laundry. I’ve half my Christmas presents purchased, although am holding onto fond hopes that retailers will adjust their sales strategy to compensate for miserable third quarter numbers and have DEEP DEEP DISCOUNTS!!!!! during the last few weeks of December to offset all that prior fiscal badness. Hoping, I said, but not counting on it.
The parental units have purchased LilSis’s plane tickets for the festivities; I’ll be delighted to have everyone at my house, and to have a Eliza Family Christmas, rather than the normal circus pony show we’ve enjoyed for the past, oh, 34 years. Sometimes you just want things to be simple; as much as I love to entertain, this is the year I look forward to not cooking for twenty people.
Break in chain of thought.
Isn’t it amazing how one tiny thought can take over your mind, suddenly dominate your thoughts, and take what was going to be an average day and abruptly make your mood very bad?
I am itching, absolutely itching to break out my Christmas decorations. Full court press – nativity, outdoor garlands, twinkling lights…I think I might go for an inflatable Santa this year.
Just kidding.
I’ve been listening to Christmas music on the sly for weeks, merrily singing O Little Town of Bethlehem and It Came Upon a Midnight Clear whilst doing dishes or folding ye olde never ending laundry. I’ve half my Christmas presents purchased, although am holding onto fond hopes that retailers will adjust their sales strategy to compensate for miserable third quarter numbers and have DEEP DEEP DISCOUNTS!!!!! during the last few weeks of December to offset all that prior fiscal badness. Hoping, I said, but not counting on it.
The parental units have purchased LilSis’s plane tickets for the festivities; I’ll be delighted to have everyone at my house, and to have a Eliza Family Christmas, rather than the normal circus pony show we’ve enjoyed for the past, oh, 34 years. Sometimes you just want things to be simple; as much as I love to entertain, this is the year I look forward to not cooking for twenty people.
Break in chain of thought.
Isn’t it amazing how one tiny thought can take over your mind, suddenly dominate your thoughts, and take what was going to be an average day and abruptly make your mood very bad?
20071103
You people are killing me...honestly! LG??? Double wedding??? LOL
I repeat: there are no weddings planned.
Actually, repeat after me: there are no weddings planned!
We've done nothing today. Rather splendid actually. Mr. Manners has been playing with his birthday presents and evidently enjoying them mightly. We did make a trip to a local sporting goods store to swap out a pair of pants (my bad) and headed over to Dreamland for some of Roswell's best bbq (shameless plug). We did pop into Barf, Brats and Beyond - would you believe I don't own one single blanket for my bed? - and it was full of rude people, screaming kids, and long lines. We abandoned our purchases at the front and just left. I am my father's daughter (order's at McDonald's drive thru, gets pissed off at delay, drives off) after all! It was worse than Harry's at nine a.m. on a Saturday!
And after that, haven't done shhhhheeeeeeiiiiiittttt. I'm secretly hoping we'll be eating pizza for dinner. I could seriously massacre a pepperoni pizza. Hmmmm. Salt, fat and cholesterol. Back to organizing my small shared closet in the hopes of eeking out a bit more room for clothing!
Just chilling on a Saturday night!
I repeat: there are no weddings planned.
Actually, repeat after me: there are no weddings planned!
We've done nothing today. Rather splendid actually. Mr. Manners has been playing with his birthday presents and evidently enjoying them mightly. We did make a trip to a local sporting goods store to swap out a pair of pants (my bad) and headed over to Dreamland for some of Roswell's best bbq (shameless plug). We did pop into Barf, Brats and Beyond - would you believe I don't own one single blanket for my bed? - and it was full of rude people, screaming kids, and long lines. We abandoned our purchases at the front and just left. I am my father's daughter (order's at McDonald's drive thru, gets pissed off at delay, drives off) after all! It was worse than Harry's at nine a.m. on a Saturday!
And after that, haven't done shhhhheeeeeeiiiiiittttt. I'm secretly hoping we'll be eating pizza for dinner. I could seriously massacre a pepperoni pizza. Hmmmm. Salt, fat and cholesterol. Back to organizing my small shared closet in the hopes of eeking out a bit more room for clothing!
Just chilling on a Saturday night!
20071102
People Say the Darndest Things
A dear family member called me today to expressly tell me that she felt it would be a wonderful Christmas present to her if Mr. Manners and I got married at Christmas.
No pressure there!
No pressure there!
Well, in the continued categories of stupid abuses of power....
A local area cop has tasered a fourteen year old girl whom he attempted to chastise for swearing while she was trick or treating. When he asked her to stop (reminding her that there were other, younger children nearby), she swore at him more (as one does when young and stupid). He touched her in an effort to get her to stop, and she tried to punch him. A fourteen year old girl trying to punch a grown man! Not only does the kid end up in handcuffs, but she ends up being tasered!!!
Tasered!!!
WTF?
A grown man has to taser a child? Was this child 200 lbs? Were this child's friends helping gang up on this poor off duty cop?
You know, it's rude to swear in front of other people's children but not, to my knowledge, illegal (although it might violate some old obscenity clause). So...had the cop minded his own business and left the girl alone.
Poor judgement all around!
A local area cop has tasered a fourteen year old girl whom he attempted to chastise for swearing while she was trick or treating. When he asked her to stop (reminding her that there were other, younger children nearby), she swore at him more (as one does when young and stupid). He touched her in an effort to get her to stop, and she tried to punch him. A fourteen year old girl trying to punch a grown man! Not only does the kid end up in handcuffs, but she ends up being tasered!!!
Tasered!!!
WTF?
A grown man has to taser a child? Was this child 200 lbs? Were this child's friends helping gang up on this poor off duty cop?
You know, it's rude to swear in front of other people's children but not, to my knowledge, illegal (although it might violate some old obscenity clause). So...had the cop minded his own business and left the girl alone.
Poor judgement all around!
20071101
If Wishes Were Horses
When you blow out the candles on a cake,
Star Light Star Bright, First Star I see tonight,
Or just lay in your bed dreaming.....
What do you wish for?
Star Light Star Bright, First Star I see tonight,
Or just lay in your bed dreaming.....
What do you wish for?
Happy All Saint's Day
Hope everyone enjoyed all their trick and treating beasties last night. Had about fifteen kids...not much by the normal standards of my neighborhood, but cul de sac living is an odd thing. Most of the parents were dressed up as well, which was cool. My favorites were the accessorized princesses...accessorized with striped turtlenecks and tights with stars or stripes (to keep warm). So precious!
Still very tired, and have a chill.
And otherwisely, nothing else to say.
Still very tired, and have a chill.
And otherwisely, nothing else to say.
20071031
I just have a few random thoughts this morning:
1. I'm so tired. Why?
2. It's really sad to look through the paper or craigslist and see "Wedding Dress for Sale. Never Worn" or worse "Engagement Ring for Sale, Never Used". My mind runs amok wondering what kind of squished dreams and trodden hopes are attached to those items. Such bad karma! (P.S. if anyone fishes a white gold celtic band out of the Chattahoochee, throw it back!)
3. I realized that for the past four days I have been subconciously measuring myself against someone else, and finding myself lacking. How stupid is that? I had a readjustment moment last night...I was way further down a path than I needed to be, and so have pulled myself back into reality.
4. Damn, I'm old. I'll be 34 soon. Shit!
Happy Halloween!
1. I'm so tired. Why?
2. It's really sad to look through the paper or craigslist and see "Wedding Dress for Sale. Never Worn" or worse "Engagement Ring for Sale, Never Used". My mind runs amok wondering what kind of squished dreams and trodden hopes are attached to those items. Such bad karma! (P.S. if anyone fishes a white gold celtic band out of the Chattahoochee, throw it back!)
3. I realized that for the past four days I have been subconciously measuring myself against someone else, and finding myself lacking. How stupid is that? I had a readjustment moment last night...I was way further down a path than I needed to be, and so have pulled myself back into reality.
4. Damn, I'm old. I'll be 34 soon. Shit!
Happy Halloween!
20071030
Weddings
Well, LG won't indulge my wish to live vicariously through someone else by getting married, so I guess I will continue to watch all the silly wedding shows on WE and Lifetime and Style.
When did getting married change from a rite of passage to an industrialized event?
My parents got married in the family church in East Point, having only given the family a few weeks notice. In fact, my mother nearly called off the wedding two times (?). Mom wore a dress from another family member. Bridesmaids were sisters and friends from high school and college. It was a small wedding. No one drove around in a limo. Photos were simple. The reception was at my grandparents house, I believe, and pigs in a blanket were served! No DJ, no band, no dance floor...just a simple family celebration. No one got drunk, no one hooked up with a cute member of the wedding party, and no one had to spend a fortune on hair or shoes or dresses or whatever just to be in the wedding. Very simple.
Consider what it costs to be a member of the wedding party today. Bridesmaid: Dress (all dresses are going to require a new bra and underwear and some sort of stockings or spanx), shoes, hair (up? down? tiara? ugh?), and any other accessories you might be required to wear (jewelry, gloves, a wrap, etc). If you are the bride...bridesmaids gifts, the grooms cake, etc. It all adds up. Flowers for your hair, for the aisles, for the nave, for the tables at the reception hall, for everywhere! Printed seating cards. Wait staff for your sit down dinner. Silver and eight million place settings. A videographer! Champagne for all! Big Honking Diamonds for your Fingers! All you are purchasing is an illusion that dissipates at the end of the day.
Why? Why can't we revert to simpler times, and let a marriage be about joining two people, and two families? One can still have a tasteful and elegant ceremony and reception without breaking the bank...c'mon, do you really need that $2/each slip of translucent paper between your the cover of your invitation and the rsvp card? Would it kill you to hand address the return envelopes?
Don't get me wrong...I look at a St. Pucchi dress with envious eyeballs quite frequently. Well, not all of them. Some of them are quite hideous. Alternately, Priscilla of Boston is quite nice. I like the look of luxury certainly, but I'm unwilling to entertain such luxury at the expense of the loss of the true meaning of the day. And at the end of the day, you and your new spouse ought to walk off hand in hand and be happy, and not be thinking about the money you just spent, or who just threw up in the bushes.
When did getting married change from a rite of passage to an industrialized event?
My parents got married in the family church in East Point, having only given the family a few weeks notice. In fact, my mother nearly called off the wedding two times (?). Mom wore a dress from another family member. Bridesmaids were sisters and friends from high school and college. It was a small wedding. No one drove around in a limo. Photos were simple. The reception was at my grandparents house, I believe, and pigs in a blanket were served! No DJ, no band, no dance floor...just a simple family celebration. No one got drunk, no one hooked up with a cute member of the wedding party, and no one had to spend a fortune on hair or shoes or dresses or whatever just to be in the wedding. Very simple.
Consider what it costs to be a member of the wedding party today. Bridesmaid: Dress (all dresses are going to require a new bra and underwear and some sort of stockings or spanx), shoes, hair (up? down? tiara? ugh?), and any other accessories you might be required to wear (jewelry, gloves, a wrap, etc). If you are the bride...bridesmaids gifts, the grooms cake, etc. It all adds up. Flowers for your hair, for the aisles, for the nave, for the tables at the reception hall, for everywhere! Printed seating cards. Wait staff for your sit down dinner. Silver and eight million place settings. A videographer! Champagne for all! Big Honking Diamonds for your Fingers! All you are purchasing is an illusion that dissipates at the end of the day.
Why? Why can't we revert to simpler times, and let a marriage be about joining two people, and two families? One can still have a tasteful and elegant ceremony and reception without breaking the bank...c'mon, do you really need that $2/each slip of translucent paper between your the cover of your invitation and the rsvp card? Would it kill you to hand address the return envelopes?
Don't get me wrong...I look at a St. Pucchi dress with envious eyeballs quite frequently. Well, not all of them. Some of them are quite hideous. Alternately, Priscilla of Boston is quite nice. I like the look of luxury certainly, but I'm unwilling to entertain such luxury at the expense of the loss of the true meaning of the day. And at the end of the day, you and your new spouse ought to walk off hand in hand and be happy, and not be thinking about the money you just spent, or who just threw up in the bushes.
LOL. No, it didn't relate to my ex husband. Aside from commenting on my eventual idiocy, not a lot was said there.
My mother told me continually as I was growing up that sex was really meant to be shared between two people who loved each other.
Of course, I did not appreciate this advice.
Standing on the other side of teenage rebellion, I can see that she was quite right. Any sex I had that was worth having was always with someone that I had feelings for, of some sort.
The rest of it was as unamusing as...scrubbing the toilet.
My mother told me continually as I was growing up that sex was really meant to be shared between two people who loved each other.
Of course, I did not appreciate this advice.
Standing on the other side of teenage rebellion, I can see that she was quite right. Any sex I had that was worth having was always with someone that I had feelings for, of some sort.
The rest of it was as unamusing as...scrubbing the toilet.
20071029
Warning: Feminist Commentary Ahead
You'd have to be quite dead not to notice that Halloween is rapidly approaching.
It's Wednesday, in fact.
A day when all small children with normal parents dress up and walk around the neighborhood, or mall, or grocery store collecting candy. A day we remember with great fondness - Halloween parties at school, bobbing for apples, having costume parties, trick or treating from classroom to classroom. Going out with your siblings as soon as it got dark in whatever home made costume you could cobble together. One year, we dressed LilSis up as Dorrie the Witch (leg warmers were certainly popular that year). You'd come home and after your parents went through your candy and threw away anything suspicious (or confiscated what they wanted for themselves) the bartering and theft would begin. I hate taffy, and those grody peanut brittle candy things. I would trade like nine of those and all my nougats for a pixie stick, which I would promptly put up my nose (what can I say? I was twelve...I thought it was cool). Then after the sorting and bartering was complete, the hoarding and hiding and theft would begin, to last until Thanksgiving, until you threw away the things that you couldn't be induced to eat no matter how sugar deprived you were.
Simple times, right?
Newsweek was kind enough to provide me with an article, and this lovely photo:
It's Wednesday, in fact.
A day when all small children with normal parents dress up and walk around the neighborhood, or mall, or grocery store collecting candy. A day we remember with great fondness - Halloween parties at school, bobbing for apples, having costume parties, trick or treating from classroom to classroom. Going out with your siblings as soon as it got dark in whatever home made costume you could cobble together. One year, we dressed LilSis up as Dorrie the Witch (leg warmers were certainly popular that year). You'd come home and after your parents went through your candy and threw away anything suspicious (or confiscated what they wanted for themselves) the bartering and theft would begin. I hate taffy, and those grody peanut brittle candy things. I would trade like nine of those and all my nougats for a pixie stick, which I would promptly put up my nose (what can I say? I was twelve...I thought it was cool). Then after the sorting and bartering was complete, the hoarding and hiding and theft would begin, to last until Thanksgiving, until you threw away the things that you couldn't be induced to eat no matter how sugar deprived you were.
Simple times, right?
Newsweek was kind enough to provide me with an article, and this lovely photo:
Now, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be a pirate or even, um, Avril Lavinge. Or a witch. Nothing wrong at all. Good, classical outfits. When did witch and pirate outfits for little girls become sexualized? What parent in their right mind would let their daughter wear a french maid's outfit? Or a prison outfit? Let's look at that photo, shall we?
Belly, leg, leg, bosoms and leg, and the implied "jailbait".
I would honestly have to question the sanity of any parent, especially the sanity of any mother, who would purchase an outfit like this for their daughter, let alone allow their daughter out of the house like this. In fact, if I see a child dressed like this on Wednesday night I might have a stroke. Don't you think purchasing or allowing your daughter to purchase one of these provocative (read: pedophile? please rape me) outfits encourages them to think, in some small part of their immature and still developing brains, that they way to get what they want is by being sexy? Teaches them that the only value they have is obtained by trading on their reproductive organs and their implied promise? That the only way they can get what they want is by sexually appealing to men?
Before you go raising your man hating flag, just think about it.
How would you feel if you were little Daphne's Dad, and you let her wear the pirate outfit, and the fifteen year old boy that lives around the corner suddenly wanted to go trick or treating with your eleven year old daughter? I don't think you'd feel very good about that. What message does that outfit send to a man (I'm not saying men are bad, but just visual, as it was pointed out to me today...and the simple gestures women innocently make can be misinterpreted)? What would you think if your daughter Allison, who had previously been the apple of your eye, started sixth grade and became sullen and withdrawn from you? And her grades plummet, and she breaks curfew, and can't be found....and all she wants to do is spend time with some boy. Why? Why is that?
At some point we have to assume responsibility for what we allow our children to do. It's quite stupid to allow our daugthers to dress like sluts and our sons to act like assholes as children and then expect them to miraculously outgrow it as adults. Be consistent and be firm. Don't buy your children these costumes, these accoutrements of adolesence they crave. Give them an upbringing that will help them succeed, and not give them a sense of entitlement. Teach your children - of either gender - that sex is something to be respected and shared between people who care about each other, and that anything else is tawdry and meaningless. Give children a sense of self respect and self worth that isn't based upon beauty, or the size of their parent's home, or their parent's wallet.
And for god's sake, let your kids walk to the freaking bus stop!
Do you ignore the fickle finger of fate when she pokes you in the eye and tells you quite sternly to knock it off?
Case in point: Let's say you drink, and periodically drive. Maybe you have been followed by the police after leaving the bar for a few miles, only to be abandoned for something that looked like a better opportunity. Maybe you've been so drunk you haven't remembered how you got home. Maybe you get so drunk that you pick fights with people, and honestly don't remember or have a single clue why you walk into a bar or party and people leave the room rather than talk to you.
Don't you think that fate is telling you that your time is up?
Or in areas of romance. How many times do you introduce your special friend to your friends only to have them veto everyone you see before you realize that they don't have your best interests at heart? Or have you wanted to throw a relationship away only to have it come back at you like a boomerang, a clear sign that it was meant to be?
There are larger things to ponder in life than the annoyances of daily life. Cramps, alarm clocks, work, cow workers, etc. Think outside yourself.
Case in point: Let's say you drink, and periodically drive. Maybe you have been followed by the police after leaving the bar for a few miles, only to be abandoned for something that looked like a better opportunity. Maybe you've been so drunk you haven't remembered how you got home. Maybe you get so drunk that you pick fights with people, and honestly don't remember or have a single clue why you walk into a bar or party and people leave the room rather than talk to you.
Don't you think that fate is telling you that your time is up?
Or in areas of romance. How many times do you introduce your special friend to your friends only to have them veto everyone you see before you realize that they don't have your best interests at heart? Or have you wanted to throw a relationship away only to have it come back at you like a boomerang, a clear sign that it was meant to be?
There are larger things to ponder in life than the annoyances of daily life. Cramps, alarm clocks, work, cow workers, etc. Think outside yourself.
The Case of the Missing Snake Boots
Well, it's Monday, and that's all I have to say about that.
The weekend went moderately well. SOMEONE drank too much alcohol on Saturday well before arriving at my house, and managed to make himself look like a teeny tiny bit of a fool. And for some reason I found embarassing, there was a lot of random talk of penises (peni?) and some not so gentle baiting of Mr. Manners which was noted but not really appreciated.
Dinner, however, was fabulous. Grandmom had a good time, and everyone else did as well. The pork loin was lovely. The weather was lovely. Millard's move went well (according to rumor).
Next: Thanksgiving!
The weekend went moderately well. SOMEONE drank too much alcohol on Saturday well before arriving at my house, and managed to make himself look like a teeny tiny bit of a fool. And for some reason I found embarassing, there was a lot of random talk of penises (peni?) and some not so gentle baiting of Mr. Manners which was noted but not really appreciated.
Dinner, however, was fabulous. Grandmom had a good time, and everyone else did as well. The pork loin was lovely. The weather was lovely. Millard's move went well (according to rumor).
Next: Thanksgiving!
20071026
Parental units arrived, with my little step doggies(? dog cousins? whatever they are) in tow, sometime after midnight last night, and brought the tv cabinet for downstairs, which now looks completely lovely. And clean. Did I mention clean? In fact, the whole house is cleaner than it's been in a while, but still not as clean as it should be. In fact, disgusted still at the state of the downstairs bathroom...you know, the one that was remodeled two years ago and now looks as though it needs to be redone again because SOMEONE put screws in the paneling and did all sorts of things that made my tongue and groove paneling come apart in places?
Off to bed we toddle about two am, after fixing mom's laptop so it would get on my network, and much discussions about how to make dad's router at home secure v. the wide arsed open connection he has now.
The right side of my head is so stopped up it is making my eye continously water. And I really want to go to sleep. And I want some new clothes.
Mr. Manners got an early present last night...by the time he got home from class, I was waaaayyyy to tired to move his present to the attic. Too heavy anyway. And what's up with my favorite Japanese place closing an HOUR early? And chinese too? I drove around for thirty minutes last night looking for any thing that was open, only to end up at Publix buying some mediocre steak and rice (I ate Rice Crispies).
Gotta love it.
Happy Friday, peeps!
Off to bed we toddle about two am, after fixing mom's laptop so it would get on my network, and much discussions about how to make dad's router at home secure v. the wide arsed open connection he has now.
The right side of my head is so stopped up it is making my eye continously water. And I really want to go to sleep. And I want some new clothes.
Mr. Manners got an early present last night...by the time he got home from class, I was waaaayyyy to tired to move his present to the attic. Too heavy anyway. And what's up with my favorite Japanese place closing an HOUR early? And chinese too? I drove around for thirty minutes last night looking for any thing that was open, only to end up at Publix buying some mediocre steak and rice (I ate Rice Crispies).
Gotta love it.
Happy Friday, peeps!
20071024
Well, at least we continue to have rain. That's a positive thing. I am very tired, and have a lovely little cold brought about (I suspect) by the rain that has resulted in continual sneezing and blowing of the nose.
It's been a busy month, and a glimpse at the calendar reveals that the rest of the year is going to be just as busy. Mr. Manners and I have ONE free weekend between now and Christmas. One! Christmas is...ten weeks away? I have already completed half my Christmas shopping, and purchased my cards and made my list of card recipients. Haven't I been a busy bee! We've tickets for the Nutcracker, plans to go to Charlotte for the Ren Fest, birthdays, Handel's Messiah, Christmas, etc. And then it will be 2008.
I'm already working on my New Year's Resolutions...and the number one resolution is to toughen up.
As in, stop being so whiny. Get more aggressive about school. Finish the projects I need to finish around the house (and accept the fact that I'm stuck with that particular bad decision for a while). Learn to let go of the past; it's there, it happened, it isn't my whole life. Play more. Love life. Those kind of things.
What are yours?
It's been a busy month, and a glimpse at the calendar reveals that the rest of the year is going to be just as busy. Mr. Manners and I have ONE free weekend between now and Christmas. One! Christmas is...ten weeks away? I have already completed half my Christmas shopping, and purchased my cards and made my list of card recipients. Haven't I been a busy bee! We've tickets for the Nutcracker, plans to go to Charlotte for the Ren Fest, birthdays, Handel's Messiah, Christmas, etc. And then it will be 2008.
I'm already working on my New Year's Resolutions...and the number one resolution is to toughen up.
As in, stop being so whiny. Get more aggressive about school. Finish the projects I need to finish around the house (and accept the fact that I'm stuck with that particular bad decision for a while). Learn to let go of the past; it's there, it happened, it isn't my whole life. Play more. Love life. Those kind of things.
What are yours?
Talking Bout Last Night
You know, Fry's Electronics is a bad place for me to go with any cash in my wallet.
I always hit the DVD aisle. I don't even let myself look at tv's. Frankly, I get pissed that I don't have a few grand to drop on a flat, itty bitty, super high res tv, so I stay out of that aisle.
Instead, I indulge myself with random purchases to add to my dvd library. Last night I was specifically looking for "Labrynth" (just released), and "The Dark Crystal" (ditto) and "The Last Unicorn" (don't laugh, but MidSis and I LOVED this as a kid, and hey...MidSis? Guess what I found....the entire Thundercats on DVD for $50....).
Did I find any of those theatrical greats? Ok, David Bowie in big hair and tights isn't exactly great theater, nor, I suppose, do movies about muppets and cartoon unicorns that turn into beautiful maidens qualify. As you've already suspected, the answer is a resounding no.
Instead, I purchased "Gentleman Prefer Blonds" (We're just two girls from Little Rock), "A Walk in The Clouds" (do NOT NOT NOT laugh...I think it's sweet, even if Keanu Reeves and a mummified squirrel have a lot in common) and "Caberet".
Now, I grew up in a family of Straight People. We All Appreciate A Good Musical. I, being a belty alto, appreciate any musical that has stuff in it that I can sing. "Caberet" qualifies (What good is sitting alone in your room/Commmeeee hear the music play). And it's a pretty good musical, and it deals with a lot of social issues (Nazis, abortion, free love, etc.).
I have never taken such a mocking in my entire life.
Really.
I always hit the DVD aisle. I don't even let myself look at tv's. Frankly, I get pissed that I don't have a few grand to drop on a flat, itty bitty, super high res tv, so I stay out of that aisle.
Instead, I indulge myself with random purchases to add to my dvd library. Last night I was specifically looking for "Labrynth" (just released), and "The Dark Crystal" (ditto) and "The Last Unicorn" (don't laugh, but MidSis and I LOVED this as a kid, and hey...MidSis? Guess what I found....the entire Thundercats on DVD for $50....).
Did I find any of those theatrical greats? Ok, David Bowie in big hair and tights isn't exactly great theater, nor, I suppose, do movies about muppets and cartoon unicorns that turn into beautiful maidens qualify. As you've already suspected, the answer is a resounding no.
Instead, I purchased "Gentleman Prefer Blonds" (We're just two girls from Little Rock), "A Walk in The Clouds" (do NOT NOT NOT laugh...I think it's sweet, even if Keanu Reeves and a mummified squirrel have a lot in common) and "Caberet".
Now, I grew up in a family of Straight People. We All Appreciate A Good Musical. I, being a belty alto, appreciate any musical that has stuff in it that I can sing. "Caberet" qualifies (What good is sitting alone in your room/Commmeeee hear the music play). And it's a pretty good musical, and it deals with a lot of social issues (Nazis, abortion, free love, etc.).
I have never taken such a mocking in my entire life.
Really.
Dear Mother Nature,
Is it too much to ask you what you are doing?
One day, it's a pleasant and rather seasonaly appropriate low of 42. Nice and brisk, with cool air. Just enough to make you wear a jacket. The next day, it is 78, and raining. Now, don't get me wrong, we need the rain. We seem to be...what, 24 inches under for the year? So rain is a good thing, and we'd all appreciate a nice wet winter. But how about a nice cold one as well? I mean, it's almost November, and I got bitten by a mosquito this morning. At seven a.m. when I let the dogs out. Whatever happened to having a frost in Ocotober? Shoot, it's almost my birthday, and I have a closet full of lovely frumpy llbean sweaters to wear, and it hasn't even been CLOSE to being cold enough.
So please, Madam Mother Nature, how about a little rain, a little chill...
And while I'm at it, how's about a white Christmas?
Yours Truly,
Dear Liza
Is it too much to ask you what you are doing?
One day, it's a pleasant and rather seasonaly appropriate low of 42. Nice and brisk, with cool air. Just enough to make you wear a jacket. The next day, it is 78, and raining. Now, don't get me wrong, we need the rain. We seem to be...what, 24 inches under for the year? So rain is a good thing, and we'd all appreciate a nice wet winter. But how about a nice cold one as well? I mean, it's almost November, and I got bitten by a mosquito this morning. At seven a.m. when I let the dogs out. Whatever happened to having a frost in Ocotober? Shoot, it's almost my birthday, and I have a closet full of lovely frumpy llbean sweaters to wear, and it hasn't even been CLOSE to being cold enough.
So please, Madam Mother Nature, how about a little rain, a little chill...
And while I'm at it, how's about a white Christmas?
Yours Truly,
Dear Liza
20071023
I'm adding a new link, folks, please go and check it out: http://www.gstc.blogspot.com/
This is the blog of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center down on Jekyll. They do really good work with rescue, recovery, tagging, and monitoring, and have a lovely state of the art facility.
This is the blog of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center down on Jekyll. They do really good work with rescue, recovery, tagging, and monitoring, and have a lovely state of the art facility.
20071022
20071021
Weekend Update
Well, spent the weekend off in the woods stalking Bambi. Saw a few....but only one was shot, and not by Mr. Manners. Saw a handful of shooting stars and had the loveliest weather I've ever experienced in late October. I have some lovely nature photos to post for you later in the week, when I'm not so tired.
The only bad thing was Friday night, I had about, oh, no sleep....that whole being in an unfamiliar place and all. I was a bit pissy most of Saturday, and tried to nap and couldn't...but now I know what to expect and so next trip will be better prepared with some home comforts. Like a sheet, and an extra pillow, and an ice pack. Maybe some no scent moisturizer? And some no scent conditioner so I can WASH MY DAMN HAIR? And maybe some cammo that fits; Mr. Manners was kind enough to let me wear his stuff but it's a wee bit big for me. Dork Girl!
The October sky at night in the middle of no where is a thing to behold. The Pleides, Orion, Casseopeia (can't spell), the Dippers....the sky was full and lovely and I wished I had my book of constellations, because I saw things I'd never seen before. Saw several meteorites.
We talked about going down in the spring for a longer period of time. I like the utter isolation of the place, to be honest. I even like it with the tv off - the silence and the periodic howl of the coyotes doesn't disturb me in the least (although peeing outside when the coyotes howl is a bit nerve wracking. you pee fast).
LG was kind enough to dogsit for me this weekend, so thank you!!!!! Your god doggies thank you!
Wait, I almost forgot! We stopped at some AwfulWaffle where all the workers must have been on Prozac and Valium, cause they were all some giddy, happy mother fuckers. I've never been in a WH where the employees weren't surly, tooth missing, grumpy old wrinkled crotchedy life- has-pissed-on-me-and-look-what-happened-when-I-pissed-back-people. These people smiled, had good customer service, sang, danced...I swear, I was looking around for a singing saucepan or a frigging french candelabra! And when refueling, the Indian gentleman behind the cash register kept shouting at people at the pump something incomprehensible about their cards, and everyone (now, this is south Geeeorgiya, folks) kept staring at him like he was from Mars.
The only bad thing was Friday night, I had about, oh, no sleep....that whole being in an unfamiliar place and all. I was a bit pissy most of Saturday, and tried to nap and couldn't...but now I know what to expect and so next trip will be better prepared with some home comforts. Like a sheet, and an extra pillow, and an ice pack. Maybe some no scent moisturizer? And some no scent conditioner so I can WASH MY DAMN HAIR? And maybe some cammo that fits; Mr. Manners was kind enough to let me wear his stuff but it's a wee bit big for me. Dork Girl!
The October sky at night in the middle of no where is a thing to behold. The Pleides, Orion, Casseopeia (can't spell), the Dippers....the sky was full and lovely and I wished I had my book of constellations, because I saw things I'd never seen before. Saw several meteorites.
We talked about going down in the spring for a longer period of time. I like the utter isolation of the place, to be honest. I even like it with the tv off - the silence and the periodic howl of the coyotes doesn't disturb me in the least (although peeing outside when the coyotes howl is a bit nerve wracking. you pee fast).
LG was kind enough to dogsit for me this weekend, so thank you!!!!! Your god doggies thank you!
Wait, I almost forgot! We stopped at some AwfulWaffle where all the workers must have been on Prozac and Valium, cause they were all some giddy, happy mother fuckers. I've never been in a WH where the employees weren't surly, tooth missing, grumpy old wrinkled crotchedy life- has-pissed-on-me-and-look-what-happened-when-I-pissed-back-people. These people smiled, had good customer service, sang, danced...I swear, I was looking around for a singing saucepan or a frigging french candelabra! And when refueling, the Indian gentleman behind the cash register kept shouting at people at the pump something incomprehensible about their cards, and everyone (now, this is south Geeeorgiya, folks) kept staring at him like he was from Mars.
20071018
As usual, IE at work isn't working properly, so I'll have to post this entire article from Forbes by Carl Delfeld of Chartwell Advisor, published on 10.17.07. It is the most accurate summation of why Bush's non policy regarding the weakness of our currency is ineffective and poor fiscal management. Read on.
"A Weak Dollar is Bad for America"
Martin Feldstein, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors under President Reagan, wrote an article for the Financial Times this week, which outlines why he believes that a more "competitive" or weaker U.S. dollar is good for America.
Even though I am a rock-ribbed Reagan Republican, I cannot overstate how strongly I believe that this opinion is incorrect. "Strong Dollar, Strong Currency" is more than a mantra for me since economic history indicates that no country has ever achieved greatness nor maintained it by debasing its currency.
Feldstein rolls out a litany of reasons why he believes America benefits from a weaker dollar. In short, increasing exports as well as maintaining growth and employment.
Here is my case for why a weaker dollar hurts America.
First, a weaker dollar translates into a cut in the real spending power of American consumers--in effect, a reduction in real income.
Second, a weaker dollar weakens the role of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency. Why should investors and central banks around the world invest in US assets when their value is steadily declining?
Third, the chances of a weaker dollar leading to a sharp reduction in America's trade deficit is highly unlikely since 40% of the current balance is due to oil imports that are denominated in U.S. dollars. An additional 20% is due to trade with China, which is, of course, controlling the value of its own currency.
Fourth, a weaker dollar is inflationary since it increases the cost of imports.
Fifth, business leaders know that discounting prices may bump near-term revenue and profits but at a real cost to long-term profitability, not to mention inflicting damage to the brand name. This is what we are doing to the brand of America by trying to increase exports by lowering their price in the global marketplace. Better to stand firm on price and sell into global markets on the basis of what is great about American products: superior quality, innovation and service.
Sixth, investors seem to like a weaker dollar since the profits of American multinationals get a boost from foreign earnings being translated into U.S. dollars. Again this is short-term thinking and vastly overstated since most multinationals have sophisticated treasury departments that hedge currency exposures.
What a weaker dollar really does is to encourage American and international investors to invest in non-American markets. The more the dollar drops, the more global equities rise. Many Asian currencies are hitting record highs against the U.S. dollar.
The Australian dollar has climbed to a 25-year highs, while the Singapore dollar has touched 10-year highs. The Brazilian real, which has jumped 18% in value against the U.S. dollar this year, and the Indian rupee's sharp appreciation against the U.S. dollar during the past year, have supercharged U.S. dollar investors' returns in those markets.
According to EPFR Global, investors are pouring money into global funds--with net inflows of $96.94 billion into world equity funds so far in 2007, while taking out $9.6 billion out of U.S. equity funds. Brazil's local stock exchange, the Bovespa, reported that investors have injected $1.2 billion into the market in September alone.
Foreign investors slashed their holdings of U.S. securities by a record amount as the credit squeeze intensified, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. The Treasury said net sales of U.S. market assets--including bonds, notes and equities--were $69.3 billion in August after a revised inflow of $19.5 billion during July. The August outflow exceeded the previous record decline of $21.2 billion in March 1990.
Last and perhaps most importantly, I view a policy of weakening the U.S. dollar to improve America's competitive position as the path of least resistance.
Let's not roll up our sleeves and cut federal spending, greatly simplify our tax code to encourage productivity and achievement or reduce corporate tax rates and excessive regulation. Let's just wink and weaken and let our nation's currency drift lower on automatic pilot.
My view is that the value of a nation's currency reflects the perceived value of country in the global marketplace. Maintaining and strengthening the value of our nation's currency is in the best interest of American consumers, businesses and investors.
"A Weak Dollar is Bad for America"
Martin Feldstein, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors under President Reagan, wrote an article for the Financial Times this week, which outlines why he believes that a more "competitive" or weaker U.S. dollar is good for America.
Even though I am a rock-ribbed Reagan Republican, I cannot overstate how strongly I believe that this opinion is incorrect. "Strong Dollar, Strong Currency" is more than a mantra for me since economic history indicates that no country has ever achieved greatness nor maintained it by debasing its currency.
Feldstein rolls out a litany of reasons why he believes America benefits from a weaker dollar. In short, increasing exports as well as maintaining growth and employment.
Here is my case for why a weaker dollar hurts America.
First, a weaker dollar translates into a cut in the real spending power of American consumers--in effect, a reduction in real income.
Second, a weaker dollar weakens the role of the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency. Why should investors and central banks around the world invest in US assets when their value is steadily declining?
Third, the chances of a weaker dollar leading to a sharp reduction in America's trade deficit is highly unlikely since 40% of the current balance is due to oil imports that are denominated in U.S. dollars. An additional 20% is due to trade with China, which is, of course, controlling the value of its own currency.
Fourth, a weaker dollar is inflationary since it increases the cost of imports.
Fifth, business leaders know that discounting prices may bump near-term revenue and profits but at a real cost to long-term profitability, not to mention inflicting damage to the brand name. This is what we are doing to the brand of America by trying to increase exports by lowering their price in the global marketplace. Better to stand firm on price and sell into global markets on the basis of what is great about American products: superior quality, innovation and service.
Sixth, investors seem to like a weaker dollar since the profits of American multinationals get a boost from foreign earnings being translated into U.S. dollars. Again this is short-term thinking and vastly overstated since most multinationals have sophisticated treasury departments that hedge currency exposures.
What a weaker dollar really does is to encourage American and international investors to invest in non-American markets. The more the dollar drops, the more global equities rise. Many Asian currencies are hitting record highs against the U.S. dollar.
The Australian dollar has climbed to a 25-year highs, while the Singapore dollar has touched 10-year highs. The Brazilian real, which has jumped 18% in value against the U.S. dollar this year, and the Indian rupee's sharp appreciation against the U.S. dollar during the past year, have supercharged U.S. dollar investors' returns in those markets.
According to EPFR Global, investors are pouring money into global funds--with net inflows of $96.94 billion into world equity funds so far in 2007, while taking out $9.6 billion out of U.S. equity funds. Brazil's local stock exchange, the Bovespa, reported that investors have injected $1.2 billion into the market in September alone.
Foreign investors slashed their holdings of U.S. securities by a record amount as the credit squeeze intensified, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. The Treasury said net sales of U.S. market assets--including bonds, notes and equities--were $69.3 billion in August after a revised inflow of $19.5 billion during July. The August outflow exceeded the previous record decline of $21.2 billion in March 1990.
Last and perhaps most importantly, I view a policy of weakening the U.S. dollar to improve America's competitive position as the path of least resistance.
Let's not roll up our sleeves and cut federal spending, greatly simplify our tax code to encourage productivity and achievement or reduce corporate tax rates and excessive regulation. Let's just wink and weaken and let our nation's currency drift lower on automatic pilot.
My view is that the value of a nation's currency reflects the perceived value of country in the global marketplace. Maintaining and strengthening the value of our nation's currency is in the best interest of American consumers, businesses and investors.
Realism
The press today is all atwitter about a certain school board's decision to hand out birth control to middle school girls (between 11 - 13, for those of you from abroad).
Of course everyone's knee jerk reaction is "Don't do it, you are encouraging them to have sex!" and "it's a bad idea"
First...in 1985, when I was twelve, I knew TWO pregnant twelve year olds. What makes people think twenty some odd years on things are different? Just a guess, but I'd say there are way more twelve year olds having sex now than there were in 1985.
Second....most kids today, due to lots of factors (hormones in food, obesity, etc) are having periods earlier and earlier. Periods and hormones are not great for early youth. Taking birth control pills to regulate your cycle, or your hormones, in effect to stabilize one tiny part of all the changes a teenage girl goes through is indeed a good idea.
But all we think about is fucking. Typical.
Of course everyone's knee jerk reaction is "Don't do it, you are encouraging them to have sex!" and "it's a bad idea"
First...in 1985, when I was twelve, I knew TWO pregnant twelve year olds. What makes people think twenty some odd years on things are different? Just a guess, but I'd say there are way more twelve year olds having sex now than there were in 1985.
Second....most kids today, due to lots of factors (hormones in food, obesity, etc) are having periods earlier and earlier. Periods and hormones are not great for early youth. Taking birth control pills to regulate your cycle, or your hormones, in effect to stabilize one tiny part of all the changes a teenage girl goes through is indeed a good idea.
But all we think about is fucking. Typical.
20071017
You know what? I'm fucking old. I'm going to be 34 in a month. My whole life plan called for children at thirty. I'm childless. I'm likely to remain childless, I think, because by the time the rest of my life is ready to have kids it's going to be way too late.
My god how incredibly depressing. I think I'll go cry now. boo hoo! :-)
My god how incredibly depressing. I think I'll go cry now. boo hoo! :-)
20071012
Today was the last day of class, and it was interesting.
I realize that I found yesterday boring because we did no creative thinking. We did only listening, and things that applied directly to our jobs. How dull is that?
Today we did exercises like "break into a team and brainstorm zany ways to improve a car (laser guided missle, in car pooper scooper, hemp seats, no carbon footprint)", improve the passenger experience on a flight (kids in a special section, no kids, better snacks, better movies, wireless net access and, ahem, Strippers On A Plane)....those kind of exercises. And then in the second half of the day we broke back into teams and did one of those: you've crashed, your pilot has died, no one knows you are missing (yet)...what do you do with these items? What is your plan? That was fun. It's nice to know I wouldn't die...well, not fast anyway. It was funny to see people's scores. Some people thought it would be a really good idea to have the Celestial Navigation book...in northernmost parts of Canada. Are you walking at night in the lake country? It's only good as toilet paper. What else was funny....yeah...everyone wanted the rum to drink, and not as a disinfectant or accellerant. And no one knew what to do with the tire...although I said it would make an excellent smoke signal (which was one of the right answers)....and no one got that you could cut it up to make a slingshot? WTF?
Anyway, I'm glad it is done. The timing of the class was perfect. I realize I was two seconds away from going postal at work, stress wise.
Happy Weekend!
I realize that I found yesterday boring because we did no creative thinking. We did only listening, and things that applied directly to our jobs. How dull is that?
Today we did exercises like "break into a team and brainstorm zany ways to improve a car (laser guided missle, in car pooper scooper, hemp seats, no carbon footprint)", improve the passenger experience on a flight (kids in a special section, no kids, better snacks, better movies, wireless net access and, ahem, Strippers On A Plane)....those kind of exercises. And then in the second half of the day we broke back into teams and did one of those: you've crashed, your pilot has died, no one knows you are missing (yet)...what do you do with these items? What is your plan? That was fun. It's nice to know I wouldn't die...well, not fast anyway. It was funny to see people's scores. Some people thought it would be a really good idea to have the Celestial Navigation book...in northernmost parts of Canada. Are you walking at night in the lake country? It's only good as toilet paper. What else was funny....yeah...everyone wanted the rum to drink, and not as a disinfectant or accellerant. And no one knew what to do with the tire...although I said it would make an excellent smoke signal (which was one of the right answers)....and no one got that you could cut it up to make a slingshot? WTF?
Anyway, I'm glad it is done. The timing of the class was perfect. I realize I was two seconds away from going postal at work, stress wise.
Happy Weekend!
20071011
Random Wonderings
What, praytell, is so special about "luxury" deoderant that it someone would pay 8 pounds sterling for it? (I'm sure there IS a way to look up pounds sterline in blogger, but I'm far too lazy to do it).
Yes, folks in the U.S....that's...oh, sixteen or seventeen dollars for a tube of anti smelly. And a smaller one than you buy right now at your local superwhatever for three or four dollars.
Does said deoderant magically apply itself once one's armpits are dry post shower?
Does said deoderant magically re-up it's deoderant like qualities of scent masking and possible anti moisture qualities in times of stress or after long periods of time?
Does it fly from your handbag or gym bag or briefcase mid meeting or pre interview or pre date to freshen up said pits?
And while the new "Elizabeth" looks really lovely, I think it's far too...clean to be historically accurate. Where is the squalor, the filth, the dirty people, the gross London air? Why does everyone look so healthy? Why doesn't anyone have the pox? Why is everyone so skinny? I don't think Cate's head is big enough to portray Elizabeth anyway...she seems to have had a phenomenally wide forehead, but that may have been when women plucked their hairline to make heir foreheads appear wider as a beauty measure. Has it struck anyone as ironic that someone from a British penal colony is playing the role of (arguably) England's greatest Queen? Ok, arguably....at least give me one of the most influential, non religious women in history?
Right, that's another topic. That one requires thought.
Yes, folks in the U.S....that's...oh, sixteen or seventeen dollars for a tube of anti smelly. And a smaller one than you buy right now at your local superwhatever for three or four dollars.
Does said deoderant magically apply itself once one's armpits are dry post shower?
Does said deoderant magically re-up it's deoderant like qualities of scent masking and possible anti moisture qualities in times of stress or after long periods of time?
Does it fly from your handbag or gym bag or briefcase mid meeting or pre interview or pre date to freshen up said pits?
And while the new "Elizabeth" looks really lovely, I think it's far too...clean to be historically accurate. Where is the squalor, the filth, the dirty people, the gross London air? Why does everyone look so healthy? Why doesn't anyone have the pox? Why is everyone so skinny? I don't think Cate's head is big enough to portray Elizabeth anyway...she seems to have had a phenomenally wide forehead, but that may have been when women plucked their hairline to make heir foreheads appear wider as a beauty measure. Has it struck anyone as ironic that someone from a British penal colony is playing the role of (arguably) England's greatest Queen? Ok, arguably....at least give me one of the most influential, non religious women in history?
Right, that's another topic. That one requires thought.
20071010
Wednesday
It won't surprise those of you who know me that the results of this work style test that I took for this week's class ranks me as an excessively High Dominant and a Moderate High Compliant. My Influence and Stability are below the fifty percent mark.
What does that mean?
I'm a Bitch who avoids Conflict! LOL
Seriously, it was amazing how dead on the mark some of the assessments were. For instance, people with my configuration burn off stress via exercise or by being alone. We tend to not like idle chit chat. We like our communication conscise. We don't like people touching our stuff. If you don't know the answer to something, don't snow, just say you don't know and that you'll get back to us, and do. Don't patronize, or ask our opinion if you really don't care. We don't say things we don't mean....ya ya ya.
What does that mean?
I'm a Bitch who avoids Conflict! LOL
Seriously, it was amazing how dead on the mark some of the assessments were. For instance, people with my configuration burn off stress via exercise or by being alone. We tend to not like idle chit chat. We like our communication conscise. We don't like people touching our stuff. If you don't know the answer to something, don't snow, just say you don't know and that you'll get back to us, and do. Don't patronize, or ask our opinion if you really don't care. We don't say things we don't mean....ya ya ya.
20071009
20071007
So, let's give a hearty welcome to the newest member of the BBC - Princess Fred!
http://princessfred.blogspot.com/
Be nice! Fred needs love!
Welcome to the BBC, Fred!
http://princessfred.blogspot.com/
Be nice! Fred needs love!
Welcome to the BBC, Fred!
Taking a break
From my Sunday night schoolwork rush to post two quotes from a book I'm reading called "A Woman's Book of Life" by Joan Borysenko, PHD.
"If a young woman's boundaries are healthy she can differ from another person in likes, behaviors and habits without undue conflict. She doesn't need to conform to the other in order to feel safe from rejection and there is no need to force the other to conform to her. The mutual respect of self and other is the cornerstone of intimacy, the prerequisite for mature love" (p. 74).
"A woman who has not yet resolved the developmental dilemma "how can I get my own needs met without being selfish towards others?" may give herself away to a man, honoring his opinions, needs and desires without considering her own. The result is that she loses herself in the relationship rather than growing through it." (97-98).
She also raises an interesting point about anorexia in preteens - potentially a reaction to fear of reaching sexual maturity - because everyone knows that by dropping below a normal threshold of weight and fat delays the onset of puberty. A point I'd not considered, but certainly a valid one.
It's an interesting read, and goes through all the phases of a woman's life, both mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually from birth to death. Not too academic (boring) and easy on the old eyeballs.
"If a young woman's boundaries are healthy she can differ from another person in likes, behaviors and habits without undue conflict. She doesn't need to conform to the other in order to feel safe from rejection and there is no need to force the other to conform to her. The mutual respect of self and other is the cornerstone of intimacy, the prerequisite for mature love" (p. 74).
"A woman who has not yet resolved the developmental dilemma "how can I get my own needs met without being selfish towards others?" may give herself away to a man, honoring his opinions, needs and desires without considering her own. The result is that she loses herself in the relationship rather than growing through it." (97-98).
She also raises an interesting point about anorexia in preteens - potentially a reaction to fear of reaching sexual maturity - because everyone knows that by dropping below a normal threshold of weight and fat delays the onset of puberty. A point I'd not considered, but certainly a valid one.
It's an interesting read, and goes through all the phases of a woman's life, both mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually from birth to death. Not too academic (boring) and easy on the old eyeballs.
20071006
Listening to 90.1's Saturday night show with great Jazz Classics....brings to mind Eliza's idea of a great Saturday night.
Eliza would like to dress up in a long, formal gown, and go to a real ballroom or jazz club (and not a trout farting jazz band playing club, that plays that modern crap, but a classic jazz, dixieland, swing, big band kinda place that plays real music) and spend the night dancing. Not that herky jerky stuff that passes for dance today but real dance...ballroom dancing or the fox trot or the lindy or a tango or something.
Not, mind, that I can do any of these things.
I just think it would be a spectacular way to pass a Saturday evening.
Eliza would like to dress up in a long, formal gown, and go to a real ballroom or jazz club (and not a trout farting jazz band playing club, that plays that modern crap, but a classic jazz, dixieland, swing, big band kinda place that plays real music) and spend the night dancing. Not that herky jerky stuff that passes for dance today but real dance...ballroom dancing or the fox trot or the lindy or a tango or something.
Not, mind, that I can do any of these things.
I just think it would be a spectacular way to pass a Saturday evening.
Women Part Two
In all our silly and serious glory!
Paradise by the Dashboard Light?
My parents - aren't they cute?
Kristi, Ms. Monroe to you, with Colbretto the Opera Cat
Irish Wedding
Miss C, Miss Jen, and myself (the dress is gone - talk about body conscious - I had fat arms and no one told me!!!) LOL
I just love this picture. Isn't she darling?
My sis and a cousin
My baby sis as...well...a baby.
The worst blorette party I've been to (the only, actually). We had a male stripper. He was scary. I hid in the kitchen with another girl, who turned to me and said "if he comes our way, you are my girlfriend". Duh.
Paradise by the Dashboard Light?
My parents - aren't they cute?
Kristi, Ms. Monroe to you, with Colbretto the Opera Cat
Irish Wedding
Miss C, Miss Jen, and myself (the dress is gone - talk about body conscious - I had fat arms and no one told me!!!) LOL
I just love this picture. Isn't she darling?
My sis and a cousin
My baby sis as...well...a baby.
The worst blorette party I've been to (the only, actually). We had a male stripper. He was scary. I hid in the kitchen with another girl, who turned to me and said "if he comes our way, you are my girlfriend". Duh.20071005
20071004
Women In History
I started thinking about women's obsessions with their bodies, and as I thought it occurred to me that what we desire to be today has never, ever existed throughout all our history. No one had no grey hair, or stray facial hairs, or straight/complete teeth, or painted finger/toe nails, or mommy jobs, or wore jeans with spandex, or Spanx, or possibly eyebrow rings, and certainly not magenta hair, or a body full of tattoos (in the Western world, anyway), or totter around on three inch titanium heels, or whitenened teeth, or lasered hair, or permanent makeup, or anything that we so strive for today ever really even existed.
So...in a tribute to all women everywhere, who are beautiful in all their shapes, I give you women from history, from the lens of art. And if I'm committing some kind of copyright violation, all these artists are well past moldering...so I think you should be happy they continue to get exposure!
Voila!
Velasquez, Woman Making Eggs
Botticelli
Hopper, Chop Suey
Gauguin, Moon and Earth
Vermeer, The Lacemaker
Picasso, Women of Avignon
Sargent, Madame X (this is a favorite, I love her elegance)
Velasquez, Meninas
Klimt, called, I think, The Women
Frida Kahlo, self portrait
Ruebens
O'Keefe, Iris (a small joke here, which I think you'll get if you don't think of flowers)
Straight from the Headlines (this week)
Again, Eliza trolls the internet so you don't have to!
1. There's something really wrong with a young woman that purports to love animals but then beats a litter of seven week old puppies to death. Bitch!
2. Do the allegations of corruption and brutality surrounding Blackwater really surprise anyone?
3. It's a sad world when a judge decides that KFed is the better parent material. It's obvious that neither BritBrit nor KFed comes from the best gene pool. Pity those children!
4. Wouldn't it have been nice for Diana if she had been pregnant and engaged? I'd like to think she'd found some happiness.
5. A 13 year old Florida boy was charged with first degree murder for choking and beating his 8 year old brother to death because the younger child ate a dessert, and the elder child feared he would be blamed for the missing food.
6. A 19 year old day care worker was fired after he was discovered with a nude picture of a three year old child in his wallet.
7. I still can't believe they made "The Kite Runner" into a movie. I couldn't even finish the book (sorry, got revolted at the rape scene and put it down).
8. For about two hours yesterday, some brilliant people at Stone Mountain thought that during the Worst Drought Ever they would turn on the snow making machine. Do they still have jobs?
9. Lastly, Mr. Sugg at CL has a GREAT article on the water crisis in GA:
http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A315295
1. There's something really wrong with a young woman that purports to love animals but then beats a litter of seven week old puppies to death. Bitch!
2. Do the allegations of corruption and brutality surrounding Blackwater really surprise anyone?
3. It's a sad world when a judge decides that KFed is the better parent material. It's obvious that neither BritBrit nor KFed comes from the best gene pool. Pity those children!
4. Wouldn't it have been nice for Diana if she had been pregnant and engaged? I'd like to think she'd found some happiness.
5. A 13 year old Florida boy was charged with first degree murder for choking and beating his 8 year old brother to death because the younger child ate a dessert, and the elder child feared he would be blamed for the missing food.
6. A 19 year old day care worker was fired after he was discovered with a nude picture of a three year old child in his wallet.
7. I still can't believe they made "The Kite Runner" into a movie. I couldn't even finish the book (sorry, got revolted at the rape scene and put it down).
8. For about two hours yesterday, some brilliant people at Stone Mountain thought that during the Worst Drought Ever they would turn on the snow making machine. Do they still have jobs?
9. Lastly, Mr. Sugg at CL has a GREAT article on the water crisis in GA:
http://atlanta.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A315295
20071002
Lies Straight from Your TV
I have news for you folks out there in reader land. Women do not sit around and have the following discussions.
"Suzy? Do you sometimes feel...irregular? You know..." glances at flat stomach encased in trendy jogging wear.
"Oh yes," Suzy chirps, as she unclips her iPod earbuds from her diamond stud encrusted ears, "I used to all the time until I started eating twice daily Bacteria!"
Note: Women under the age of 65 do not sit around and discuss bowel health.
Another favorite:
"Well, look who's here!"
"I KNOW, like this time last month, I SO totally would not have made it, you know? I would have just wanted to stay home and eat Haagen Das, and wear sweat pants, and cry and play with my cats and bleed to death, but now I'm on this new hormone called Spaz, and it gets rid of all my PPMD!!! It's so totally tubular!"
Note: Hot women do not go to parties and discuss outloud hormone problems or birth control.
I won't touch the Cialis or Viagra ones. I think at this point (ha ha) I've flogged that horse to death.
"What's the matter Harry?"
"Aw, Pookie, I'm worried about the kids. I can't sleep" Harry wanders off into the kitchen, belly poking out beneath his tshirt and picks up a magazine. "Huh, life insurance...now there's an idea. Suppose I die early of some kind of catastrophic diaster. Maybe I get impaled by a pine log that flies off the back of a truck on the highway, or crushed by some rebar that got hit by a semi and flipped over the median to land on top of my car, or maybe I get caught in a tornado and a bee gets forced into my eye and into the middle of my brain and I DIE. Would my wife and kids have any money? Maybe I should look into this life insurance thing"
Rule: Is there a rule for this one? Or is this about as silly as bears dancing around looking for toilet paper?
Other fallacies of television:
- buying that perfume will not ensure you wake up snuggling a cute baby and a hot man. Save your $100.
- really and truly, there is no shampoo that makes your hair look like a piece of silk. The cheap shit that smells bad cleans just as well as the expensive shit that smells good.
- high colonics have no medical value. Nor does taking a supplement to increase the size of your poop.
- tv wants you to think that there are people out there who are too ugly or too fat to have sex. Not true. Have you looked outside your front door lately? 'nuff said.
- beautiful people are happy. Yeah, beautiful people might look good, but that doesn't keep you warm when you are 80. Nice people are much better.
- you are not going to make money going to real estate or car auctions and then "flipping" what you buy. You'll end up bankrupt.
- the ablounger does not give you a flat stomach. Proper diet and exercise do that, not doing a million ablounger crunches a day.
- those period commericals where you have the woman going "ow" (for cramps), or moaning (because her pants are too tight), or holding her head (because she has a headache) are nothing like really having PMS or a period. And while we're here? If you have a yeast or bv infection, you don't look like a wannabe chav in a bad grey hoodie. No, baby, you are dancing around and trying to find creative ways NOT to scratch when that is all you want to do.
And last but not least
Products for gas. These, at least, are true.
"I have remained silent but deadly!!!" I laugh everytime this commercial comes on. What can I say? I'm really a twelve year old boy, I STILL think fart jokes are funny.
That's it for today. I have probably blogged myself out for the week.
TTFN!!!
"Suzy? Do you sometimes feel...irregular? You know..." glances at flat stomach encased in trendy jogging wear.
"Oh yes," Suzy chirps, as she unclips her iPod earbuds from her diamond stud encrusted ears, "I used to all the time until I started eating twice daily Bacteria!"
Note: Women under the age of 65 do not sit around and discuss bowel health.
Another favorite:
"Well, look who's here!"
"I KNOW, like this time last month, I SO totally would not have made it, you know? I would have just wanted to stay home and eat Haagen Das, and wear sweat pants, and cry and play with my cats and bleed to death, but now I'm on this new hormone called Spaz, and it gets rid of all my PPMD!!! It's so totally tubular!"
Note: Hot women do not go to parties and discuss outloud hormone problems or birth control.
I won't touch the Cialis or Viagra ones. I think at this point (ha ha) I've flogged that horse to death.
"What's the matter Harry?"
"Aw, Pookie, I'm worried about the kids. I can't sleep" Harry wanders off into the kitchen, belly poking out beneath his tshirt and picks up a magazine. "Huh, life insurance...now there's an idea. Suppose I die early of some kind of catastrophic diaster. Maybe I get impaled by a pine log that flies off the back of a truck on the highway, or crushed by some rebar that got hit by a semi and flipped over the median to land on top of my car, or maybe I get caught in a tornado and a bee gets forced into my eye and into the middle of my brain and I DIE. Would my wife and kids have any money? Maybe I should look into this life insurance thing"
Rule: Is there a rule for this one? Or is this about as silly as bears dancing around looking for toilet paper?
Other fallacies of television:
- buying that perfume will not ensure you wake up snuggling a cute baby and a hot man. Save your $100.
- really and truly, there is no shampoo that makes your hair look like a piece of silk. The cheap shit that smells bad cleans just as well as the expensive shit that smells good.
- high colonics have no medical value. Nor does taking a supplement to increase the size of your poop.
- tv wants you to think that there are people out there who are too ugly or too fat to have sex. Not true. Have you looked outside your front door lately? 'nuff said.
- beautiful people are happy. Yeah, beautiful people might look good, but that doesn't keep you warm when you are 80. Nice people are much better.
- you are not going to make money going to real estate or car auctions and then "flipping" what you buy. You'll end up bankrupt.
- the ablounger does not give you a flat stomach. Proper diet and exercise do that, not doing a million ablounger crunches a day.
- those period commericals where you have the woman going "ow" (for cramps), or moaning (because her pants are too tight), or holding her head (because she has a headache) are nothing like really having PMS or a period. And while we're here? If you have a yeast or bv infection, you don't look like a wannabe chav in a bad grey hoodie. No, baby, you are dancing around and trying to find creative ways NOT to scratch when that is all you want to do.
And last but not least
Products for gas. These, at least, are true.
"I have remained silent but deadly!!!" I laugh everytime this commercial comes on. What can I say? I'm really a twelve year old boy, I STILL think fart jokes are funny.
That's it for today. I have probably blogged myself out for the week.
TTFN!!!
An Atlanta man who, at age 19, was employed as an SS Guard with the Hitler Youth is facing possible deportation. The Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations wants to deport this man, now 85 and a resident of this country since 1955, based upon the fact that he trained war dogs and purportedly worked at a guard at a concentration camp. He is elderly, married, and with a grown daughter.
Shouldn’t the punishment be relative to the nature of the crime?
This man was 19, and living in an authoritarian and conformist culture where any rebellion would have had you killed. We can be moral and upright and disgusted and say “I’d rather be dead than have done that!!!” but the truth is….NO YOU WOULDN’T!! If it meant saving yourself, and your friends and family, the death of strangers is nothing to protect loved ones.
He was a guard. A prison guard. He wasn’t the one known as “Ivan the Terrible”. He wasn’t Mengele. He wasn’t Hitler or Himmler or any one of the anonymous Germans who were responsible for the torture and murder of thousands of Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, and anyone else who didn’t fit in to the ideal of the perfect nation.
Granted, he was a prison guard who trained attack dogs. Who knows if his statement is true (he was told he was training war dogs for the front line) or not? Did the records surviving the collapse of the Reich really detail the training plans for a 19 year old Waffen SS (child, really)?
I’m saying this: the man is 85. I’d say he’s not in the best of health. Now that he’s been “outed”, his life will never be the same. The public will continue to punish him; no word on whether or not he punishes himself. He is nearing the end of his natural life span. What crime would you charge him with? A warcrime? A crime against humanity? Where is your proof? Where are your photos, your statements, your evidence, your confession? You would deport someone based on an association and a presence alone? Where would you deport him to? Israel, who would execute him? Germany, who would be forced to repatriate him? His daughter is a U.S. Citizen – can you imagine how she will feel, knowing that she is also being punished for a sin that is not hers?
How scary is that…so….in twenty more years when we decide that everyone held in Gitmo was held illegally and tortured…would everyone who worked there, every soldier, every medic, every man of religious conviction, be held guilty and charged with a crime by association?
It’s a fine line, I think, to charge a man to say “you have to follow orders, but you must do what is morally right”. What is morally right to you may not be what is morally right to the masses! What is morally right to you may result in the death of everyone you know; and only you can decide how you reconcile your morality with your faith. And as we see all too frequently with the Iraqdebacle, what sits right with you morally might get you in the pokey, or dishonorably discharged.
This man needs to be left alone. His family needs to be left alone. I’ve read the comments of many folks of Jewish descent and survivors of the death camps, and their hatred is astounding. How can you so passionately hate someone whom you’ve never met? How can you hate someone who did nothing to you personally (presumably)? You hate a symbol, you seek an outlet and a focus for your pain, and this I can understand.
Punishing one man doesn’t bring back the millions who died.
Shouldn’t the punishment be relative to the nature of the crime?
This man was 19, and living in an authoritarian and conformist culture where any rebellion would have had you killed. We can be moral and upright and disgusted and say “I’d rather be dead than have done that!!!” but the truth is….NO YOU WOULDN’T!! If it meant saving yourself, and your friends and family, the death of strangers is nothing to protect loved ones.
He was a guard. A prison guard. He wasn’t the one known as “Ivan the Terrible”. He wasn’t Mengele. He wasn’t Hitler or Himmler or any one of the anonymous Germans who were responsible for the torture and murder of thousands of Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, and anyone else who didn’t fit in to the ideal of the perfect nation.
Granted, he was a prison guard who trained attack dogs. Who knows if his statement is true (he was told he was training war dogs for the front line) or not? Did the records surviving the collapse of the Reich really detail the training plans for a 19 year old Waffen SS (child, really)?
I’m saying this: the man is 85. I’d say he’s not in the best of health. Now that he’s been “outed”, his life will never be the same. The public will continue to punish him; no word on whether or not he punishes himself. He is nearing the end of his natural life span. What crime would you charge him with? A warcrime? A crime against humanity? Where is your proof? Where are your photos, your statements, your evidence, your confession? You would deport someone based on an association and a presence alone? Where would you deport him to? Israel, who would execute him? Germany, who would be forced to repatriate him? His daughter is a U.S. Citizen – can you imagine how she will feel, knowing that she is also being punished for a sin that is not hers?
How scary is that…so….in twenty more years when we decide that everyone held in Gitmo was held illegally and tortured…would everyone who worked there, every soldier, every medic, every man of religious conviction, be held guilty and charged with a crime by association?
It’s a fine line, I think, to charge a man to say “you have to follow orders, but you must do what is morally right”. What is morally right to you may not be what is morally right to the masses! What is morally right to you may result in the death of everyone you know; and only you can decide how you reconcile your morality with your faith. And as we see all too frequently with the Iraqdebacle, what sits right with you morally might get you in the pokey, or dishonorably discharged.
This man needs to be left alone. His family needs to be left alone. I’ve read the comments of many folks of Jewish descent and survivors of the death camps, and their hatred is astounding. How can you so passionately hate someone whom you’ve never met? How can you hate someone who did nothing to you personally (presumably)? You hate a symbol, you seek an outlet and a focus for your pain, and this I can understand.
Punishing one man doesn’t bring back the millions who died.
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