Let's Be Careful Out There Tonight

Chug-a-lug, chug-a-lug
Make you wanna holler hi-dee-ho!
Burns your tummy, don'tcha know
Chug-a-lug, chug-a-lug

Grape wine in a mason jar
Homemade and brought to school
By a friend of mine after class
Me and him and this other fool
Decide that we'll drink up what's left
Chug-a-lug, so we helped ourself
First time for everything
Mmmm, my ears still ring

Chug-a-lug, chug-a-lug
Make you wanna holler hi-dee-ho!
Burns your tummy, don'tcha know
Chug-a-lug, chug-a-lug

4-H and FFA
On a field trip to the farm
Me 'n a friend sneak off behind
This big 'ol barn
Where we uncovered a covered up moonshine still
An' we thought we'd drink our fill
And I swallered it with a smile
Brrrrrrr....I run ten miles

Chug-a-lug, chug-a-lug
Make you wanna holler hi-de-ho!
Burns your tummy, don'tcha know
Chug-a-lug, chug-a-lug

Jukebox and sawdust floor
Summ'n like I ain't never seen
Heck, I'm just goin' on fifteen
But with the help of my finaglin' uncle
I get snuck in
For my first taste a sin
I said, let me have a big ol' sip...
Brrrrr....I done a double back flip

Chug-a-lug, chug-a-lug
Make you wanna holler hi-dee-ho!
Burns your tummy, don't ya know
Chug-a-lug, chug-a-lug
-Roger Miller

Life Is Pain...

Get Used To It.
-Geena Davis as Samantha Caine in The Long Kiss Goodnight.

Some days I think, "She sure has got that right."

This has been one hectic week and I can not believe we've only made it to Tuesday.

Last Saturday I learned that a local woman had been killed in a car crash the day before. She was on her way home when she went through a stop sign where two highways cross and hit a truck or was hit by a truck carrying three oil company workers killing one of them.

Yesterday I worked alone in the library, which was the first time it had been open since 1:00 PM Christmas Eve, and spent a very busy day checking books in and out.

Last night Kate kept getting up and down and either pacing around the house or wanting to be be let outside. I was worried that this behavior was caused by her having a problem peeing or wanting to throw-up so three times during the night I followed her outside. All she did was wander around the yard and then scratch at the front door wanting to be let inside again.

This morning Kate seemed to be in pain and was running a fever so I took her to the vet in the afternoon. I was sure she had another urinary infection so I took a urine sample with me. The sample contained cancer cells. We have been told that without treatment Kate could live another four to six months although I am not that optimistic since she also has kidney problems and is showing signs of doggie dementia.

We are reacting better than I expected to this news and have decide to do what we can to make her remaining days, weeks, and maybe months, as stress and pain free as possible. We have decide that once her kidneys stop functioning or she gets to the point where she has no idea where she is or who we are, we will put her to sleep. Right now the dementia is more frightening than any of her other health problems.

Think Of All The Fun We'll Miss

Eartha Kitt always knew when to make an exit. The sultry singer of that great contemporary Christmas classic, Santa Baby, died yesterday at age eighty-one. I actually read the news of her death while listening to her singing Santa Baby on one of my Christmas CD's. Ms Kitt was know as a "sex kitten" throughout her career and in one bit of inspired casting played Catwoman on the campy Batman television series in the mid sixties. Ms Kitt was always an outspoken woman. To the detriment of her career she voiced her opinion that that the Vietnam War was a mistake, long before the majority of people thought the same thing. Later in life she was a spokesperson for UNICEF and advocate for homeless children. A classy lady. She will be missed.

Her New York Times obituary is here.

Three of her greatest songs below, click on the big button to listen to them.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

The Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

After a very busy day of light house cleaning, last minute shopping, tree building (we have a fake one), tree lighting, and tree decorating, I am ready to take a long winter's nap of my own. When I finish this post I am going upstairs to enjoy a cup of eggnog with my husband as we sit on the couch listening to Christmas songs and admiring the Christmas tree lights. So, as Santa already said, a "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Tiny Tots...Will Find It Hard To Sleep Tonight

They Know That Santa's On His Way

And they're scared out of their wits. From the looks of this Santa they have a right to be.

From the Scared of Santa photo collection.

Happy Hanukkah

Artwork by Deborah Kotovsky

Put on your yarmulke, here comes Hanukkah
It's so much fun-ukkah to celebrate Hanukkah,

Hanukkah is the festival of lights,
Instead of one day of presents, we have eight crazy nights.

When you feel like the only kid in town without a Christmas tree,
Here's a list of people who are Jewish, just like you and me:

David Lee Roth lights the menorah,
So do Kirk Douglas, James Caan, and the late Dinah Shore-ah.

Guess who eats together at the Carnegie Deli,
Bowzer from Sha-Na-Na, and Arthur Fonzerrelli.

Paul Newman's half Jewish; Goldie Hawn's half too,
Put them together--what a fine looking Jew!

You don't need deck the halls or jingle bell rock
Cause you can spin a dreidel with Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock--both Jewish!

Put on your yarmulke, here comes Hanukkah,
The owner of the Seattle Super Sonic-ukkah celebrates Hanukkah.

O.j. Simpson-- not a Jew!
But guess who is...Hall Of Famer Rod Carew--(he converted!).

We got Ann Landers and her sister Dear Abby,
Harrison Ford's a quarter Jewish--not too shabby!

Some people think that Ebeneezer Scrooge is,
Well, he's not, but guess who is--all three Stooges.

So many Jews are in show biz--
Tom Cruise isn't, but I think his agent is.

Tell your friend Veronica, it's time to celebrate Hanukkah.
I hope I get a harmonica, on this lovely, lovely Hanukkah.

So drink your gin-and-tonic-ukkah, but don't smoke marijuan-ukkah
If you really, really wan-nukkah, have a happy, happy, happy, happy
Hanukkah.

Happy Hanukkah!

A video of Adam Sandler singing his song on Saturday Night Live here.

Winter Solstice

Christmas, Christmas Time Is Here

I can understand people simply fleeing the mountainous effort Christmas has become... but there are always a few saving graces and finally they make up for all the bother and distress.
-May Sarton

This year the children at a local preschool were asked what they wanted for Christmas along with the following two questions, "What is a cranberry?" and "Where does Santa take a vacation?" Their answers were in the local paper. Some of those answers are below.

Jacye said a cranberry was something to eat and Santa takes his vacation up in the clouds. For Christmas he would like Bob the Builder, a Christmas book and a Jack In The Box.

Molly said a cranberry was like a blueberry and that Santa takes his vacation in the North Pole. She wants ponies and Barbies for Christmas.

Jesslyn said a cranberry is something to eat and Santa takes his vacation at her house. She would like a Barbie computer for Christmas.

Sidney said a cranberry is pink and Santa takes his vacation at the North Pole. For Christmas she would like a real baby.

Jordan said cranberries come from a garden and Santa takes his vacation at the North Pole. For Christmas he would like a motorcycle, a gator and "my own Play Dough."

Gracie said a cranberry is like a blueberry and Santa takes his vacation at Walmart. She wishes for her mom and dad to have a happy Christmas.

Hadleigh said a cranberry is like a grape and Santa vacations at her Grandma's house. She wishes for a bunch of snow at Christmas.

Eli said a cranberry is a fruit and it is sour. Santa takes his vacation at his house. For Christmas he wishes for a Rockstar Guitar and aqua dots.

Amanda said a cranberry is a berry and Santa takes his vacation at Disney World. For Christmas she would like a make-up table, "Yep, definitely a make-up table- did you get that?- A make-up table."

Kaden said a cranberry is candy and Santa surely vacations at the beach. For Christmas Kaden also wishes to be vacationing at the beach.

Jordyn said a cranberry is a type of berry. She said Santa vacations in tree mountains and she wishes for Mommy to be happy.

Shannon said a cranberry is an apple and Santa vacations when it is winter time. Shannon wishes for good food.

Caleb said a cranberry is an apple and Santa vacations at home. He wishes everyone a Merry Christmas.

Bailey said a cranberry is not something she has ever seen! She thinks that Santa vacations at a pond and wishes for kisses from Buck, her horse.

Cutter said a cranberry is like a cheesy cracker. On his vacation Santa, he thinks, goes to Disneyland. For Christmas he wants race tracks and monster trucks.

Ellee said a cranberry is pink and orange and that Santa takes his vacation in his shop. For Christmas she wants dollies.

And finally,

Brayden said. "I'll bet a cranberry is like a strawberry." He thinks Santa takes his vacations at houses. He wants a gumball machine, piano, drums and a guitar for Christmas.


Wouldn't it be nice if they all got what they wished for this year?

Empire On The Platte

From The Morning News:

"Photographer Matthew Porter goes big on concept, but fine on details. His pictures are arresting for their feelings of stillness—at a car chase’s peak moment, or while the Hindenburg floats over the American West—as well as the crisp colors and punctilious construction. It’s a studied spontaneity, a way to make portraits of frozen energy, of time put on pause."

Go here to see more of his work and to read an interview with him about it.

Porter's own website is here.

Working Dog

Duke after a hard afternoon of hunting. His front feet are covered in vet wrap and then duct tape. This is done to protect them from corn stubble. For some reason only his front paws get scraped up by corn stubble and not his back ones.

Don't Look Back

Something may be gaining on you.
- Satchel Paige (1906-1982)

On day about two weeks ago when my husband came home from hunting he told me that he thought Duke had been hit with a belt before we got him. He and Duke had been hunting a large field which turned out to have at least nine pheasants in it. Duke had run around in a frenzy because he could not decide which scent to follow and so he ended up trying to follow them all. Duke was so crazed he would not come when my husband called him and my husband finally had to grab hold of his collar as he ran by. Once he was caught Duke still did not want to quit hunting so my husband took his belt off to use as a leash. When Duke saw the belt he became even more frantic in his struggle to get away. My husband had to spend a few minutes calming him down before Duke would allow him to lead him back to the truck.

After my husband told me this I remembered I had the same experience when we were in Pagosa. I had to use my belt as a leash to keep Duke away from an animal carcass that we had found while out walking. Duke had struggled as I looped the belt through his collar and then had reacted like a fish on the line when I tried to lead him away. At the time I just thought I had spooked him when I accidentally dropped the end of the belt too close to his head. Now I realized it was because he thought I was going to hit him.

Someone had hit Duke with a belt and the thought of that made me furious and at the same time sick. What kind of a bastard would hit a defenseless dog with a belt? I called Duke to me. When he came I crouched down and put my arms around him. I felt like crying and I laid the side of my head on his shoulder. At first I thought I was trying to comfort Duke but then I realized I was actually using him like a child would a teddy bear to comfort myself. Then another question popped into my head, what kind of a bastard would hit a defenseless child with a belt? Well, my father for one.

Sometimes Satchel Paige's advice to not look back just doesn't work for me and what is back there catches up to me when I least expect it. This time the thought of someone beating Duke brought up the anger and fear I felt whenever my father beat me or my siblings. Thirteen or fourteen years ago my reaction to this long ago trauma was even more visceral.

It was summertime and I was at my sister's apartment. I was sitting on the couch talking to her when her then husband, who was a police officer, came home from work. He went into the bedroom to change his clothes and, since it was a very warm day, he left the bedroom door open. I had my back to the bedroom door when the whooshing, slap, slap, sound of a belt being quickly pulled though belt loops shattered my sense of well being.

I was so tuned to that sound as a child, my ears seemed to magnify it that day. SLAP-SLAP-SLAP-SLAP-SLAP. An adrenaline rush of fear shot though my body causing it to jerk and my heart to race. I could not believe it, a sound I had not heard or thought about in over thirty years made my body react the same way it did when I was a child. If that wasn't a Post Traumatic Stress symptom, well, then fish can breath air.

I know my reaction to Duke being beaten is also a PTS symptom and I can only do what I did that day at my sister's house; acknowledge it, let it go, and be prepared for it to happen again.

Lost In Translation

"This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog. This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."
-Muntazer al-Zaidi, Iraqi reporter, while hurling his shoes at President Bush.






Bush on the shoe thrower, "I don't know what his beef is, but whatever it is, I'm sure someone will hear it."

What we have done to Iraq will haunt us for a long time.

"Photograph Of Jesus" by Laurie Hill

In association with the Getty Images Short & Sweet Film Challenge.


(via Sharp Sand)

FULL MOON

One night as Dick lay fast asleep,
Into his drowsy eyes
A great still light began to creep
From out the silent skies.
It was the lovely moon's, for when
He raised his dreamy head,
Her surge of silver filled the pane
And streamed across his bed.
So, for a while, each gazed at each--
Dick and the solemn moon--
Till, climbing slowly on her way,
She vanished, and was gone.
by Walter de la Mare

Garfield? Garfield, Who?

I have never been a fan of the comic strip Garfield but I am a fan of this strip. The genius of some people astounds me.

You can also find an article about the creator of Garfield Without Garfield and info about the strip here.

Cue The Music From "The Birds"

There were at least 200 Starlings in my yard about 17 minutes ago. They were on the ground picking at the dirt, sitting on the fence, in my ornamental pear trees, at the bird feeder, and in the birdbath. By the time I got my camera they had spooked and flown up into the larger trees growing in my neighbors yards. I managed to take this photo of about 50 of them in one of the trees before they all flew off.



I've never see anything like it before.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Nine songs for your listening pleasure. Heard about this site over at Texas Trifles and decided to give it a try.

If You're Happy And You Know It Pass It On

Happiness is contagious.

The Weather Outside Is Kind Of Frightful

But the fire is so delightful. I don't really have a fireplace but I do have a copy of Radiant Fireplace in my DVD player. (Note: the quality of the DVD is much better than that on the website.) Not as good as a real fire but almost with the sound of crackling wood and the glow and flicker of flames. Besides, when it is snowing outside how can I not have a fire on the TV to help get me into a "Christmas is coming" mood?

This is going to be a short post since I am still fighting that virus I caught while in Denver last week. Yesterday I thought I was doing better, which I was, but that turned out to be the calm before the storm. Yesterday afternoon it came roaring back and put me down for the rest of the day. This morning I woke up with my head and ears stuffed with cotton and I feel woozy when I walk around.

Oh, and did I mention it is snowing? I'm going hunker down on the couch in front of the fire and enjoy it.

Beware Of The Man Of One Book.

-Anonymous

I came home with a virus that I picked up from my niece while I was in Denver last week and spent all day Sunday reading. I had started The Secret Of The Hardy Boys before I left and found it slow going. When the Northwest Kansas Library System van came last week I picked up a few more books including Forever Young: My Friendship With John F. Kennedy Jr. and But Darling, I'm Your Auntie Mame!.

On Sunday I took all three books with me down to the basement and lay down on the futon and started reading. I began with the Hardy Boys book but just could not get into it. It is about the life of the man who ghostwrote the first Hardy Boys books and was at times very dry. Leslie McFarlane's life was not that interesting to me. I put it down and picked up the Kennedy book. The Kennedy book was an easy read even though I did not believe everything the author wrote. It is a "and then we did this" kind of book and has had no real insight into the kind of man Kennedy had been. I finished it in a couple of hours.

Then I started the Auntie Mame book and quickly became very disappointed by it. It is supposedly a history of the play, musical and the two movies made from Patrick Dennis' novel but only provides basic information about the various productions. It is more of an overview than an in depth report on each project. It is also repetitive with the same bits of information repeated many times. It is as if the author had written each chapter without reading the chapters before it first. It got so bad I started skipping pages.

Now I only had the Hardy Boys book left. I picked it up and started reading again. It was almost torture. Then I realized I could read this book the same way I had the Auntie Mame book. The parts of the book I found interesting were the sections about the Stratemeyer Syndicate (creators of the Hardy Boys series along with Tom Swift, Bobbsey Twins, and the Nancy Drew series) and the writing of the books so I skipped over anything about McFarlane's life and concentrated on the passages about the syndicate and the books. Sped up my reading immensely and proved an enjoyable read.

These books show that I was not thinking about P. J. O'Rouke's quote about reading when I picked them. He once said, "Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."

Of course if you do this you will miss out on all the good bad books out there. You know, the fun stuff.

Giving Thanks on Thanksgiving

In past years giving thanks at Thanksgiving time has never been that heartfelt for me . I could always think of things to be thankful for but at the same time I felt the holiday was kind of superficial as were my expression of thanks.

This year was different. On the Saturday before Thanksgiving the news reported this story about a farm in Colorado opening their fields to anyone who wanted to pick the potatoes, leeks and carrots left over from this year's harvest. The owners expected no more the 5,00 people but over 40,000 showed up.

The day before Thanksgiving news that a terrorist attack in India had killed and wounded many. By the time this incident ended on Friday up to 150 people were dead in the city of Mumbai and over twice that number injured.

On Thanksgiving day a family of seven were killed when the driver of the SUV they were traveling in lost control, careened off an overpass on Interstate 25, slammed into a concrete embankment, and exploded into flames.

Then, the day after Thanksgiving, news that a Wal-Mart employee at a Long Island Wal-Mart store was trampled to dead by a mob of shoppers.

Two of these events opened my eyes to a couple of things that I have taken for granted in the past; my family's safety and the fact that that we all have enough food to eat. This year I am deeply grateful for both.

Now, It may not seem so but I usually think about a post for awhile before I blog it. This morning as I mulled over what I was going to write I read the comics in the Denver Post. One of the strips I read is Sally Forth and in today's episode Sally and her husband are in their car with their GPS unit stuck in "Existential Mode." The GPS is saying the following:

"You are lost, you have rejected any and all philosophies and faiths and so are adrift and alienated in a world you alone define but cannot comprehend."

Reading that made me thankful that I was not one of the people in that Wal-Mart crowd nor so spiritually bankrupt that I would gladly die in order to kill defenseless people. My soul is neither so empty that I think material things can fill the void nor so full of hatred that the only way I can express myself is by killing. For this I am also grateful.

Right now the words to Marvin Gaye's song What's Going On? are playing in my head:

Mother, mother
There's too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There's far too many of you dying
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today...
Oh, what's going on?
What's going on?

What is going on people? In the world, in our society, in our heads, in our hearts, and in our souls. Somebody please tell me, what's going on?

I've Got Good News, Bad News, Good News

First, the good news- women (like me) who suffer from migraines are at a lower risk of getting breast cancer than women who do not suffer from these excruciating headaches.

Now the bad news- women who suffer from migraines with auras (like me) are at a greater risk of having a stroke, well sort of.

Now the good news-women who exercise (like me) lower their chances of having a stoke in the first place.

What does all this mean? That I should stop reading these reports and just get on with my life.

And in other news, I want to let you know I will be taking a Thanksgiving blog break until Monday. So, until then, wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Blue On Blue

I think that cars today are almost the exact equivalent of the great Gothic cathedrals: I mean the supreme creation of an era, conceived with passion by unknown artists, and consumed in image if not in usage by a whole population which appropriates them as a purely magical object.
-Roland Barthes in The New Citroën (1957).

The Aptly Named ZERO'S

Front




Back

What Part Of The Word Arrogant Do You Guys Not Understand?

(Gary Markstein, The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)


1. Story here.

2. Outcome here.

Down At The COOP

The Wire That Fenced Kansas

(Coils of it sitting behind the COOP.)

A little history here.

I'm A Day Late But Not A Dollar Short

Kate's problem turned out to be a urinary infection and took a bit longer that expected to resolve itself. She was pretty miserable all weekend which means so was I. At one point I actually thought it might be better for us all if she died. I quickly realized that this thought came from stress and lack of sleep.

Today she felt well enough to walk to the post office with me. On the way home we had just started across the street at the intersection just to the south of our house when I heard the sound of a truck traveling fast. About a half-a-block away and to my right I saw a large pick-up moving in my direction. This didn't worry me since I was half-way across the street and knew he would stop when he got to the intersection.

Wrong.

When he got there he kept coming and then swerved to the opposite side of the street passing behind me. When I realized just what he was doing my heart clutched. I had Kate on a leash but she was walking behind me. When I looked back I saw the truck pass about a dog's body length away from Kate's tail. The driver did not even look at me as he went by.

The sad thing is this is not that unusual. I've had butt heads in trucks and cars take my right-of-way many times before when I'm walking or riding my bike around town. These drivers act as if the only reason I am in the street is to get in their way. They don't seem to understand that I have as much right to be in the street as they do. I tell you, I'm ready to start filling my pockets with rocks to use as ammunition the next time, and I know there will be many next times, this happens.

TGIF

I was up and down all night with my older dog Kate. She wanted in and out and at around 12:30 PM threw-up. I got her outside in time and then spent the next 20 minutes slowing walking her around the house. At about 3:45 AM the sound of her pacing woke me up again and I took her back outside. We spent another 20 minutes walking around the house. At 6:00 AM she woke me up one more time and we did another 20 minute walk around. At this point I was just waiting for the vet clinic to open so I could take her in. I got there at 7:49 AM and the did an exam and some blood work. She was running a temperature and seemed to be dehydrated so the vet gave her antibiotics and an under the skin saline drip.

Both my husband and I were worried that her kidneys were shutting down so we drove her to the vet together; just in case we might not be bringing her home. When we got there my husband carried her into vet office since she could not stand on her own. When we left she walked out on her own four feet. On the drive home my husband said, "It is almost like Kate has nine lives."

If this is true then Kate has used up at least two of them at this point. Right now she is sleeping and hopefully she will feel well enough to eat when she wakes.

I Love Mike Luckovich Of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

(via Shameless Agitator)

Another Luckovich cartoon printed soon after Jesse Jackson was overheard saying he wanted to cut off a couple of Barack Obama's body parts.

And an interview with Mike Luckovich from Nov. 2001 here.

One More Thing About Sarah Palin

She may have been a bad choice for vice-president but the Republican Party's behavior now is even more shameful.


(Campbell Brown of CNN.)

1. Some of the allegations here.

2. Africa one here.

I Almost Forgot

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
-John Fitzgerald Kennedy




(Poster via the United States Department of Veterans Affairs)

Blog Maintenance Note

I added a Now Reading list which shows the last ten books I have or am reading. The one I am currently reading will be at the top of the list. When I start a new book I will add it to the list and at the same time remove the book in the tenth position. Each title is linked to a website that will give you more information about the book listed.

Don't You Hate It When The Seasons Overlap?

Me neither.

For All You Kitty Lovers Out There

Let's Get Ready To Rumble!

Technology Vs. Sylvester "Boom Boom" Cat


Judge's scores:

1. Judge "Printer" Toner
Technology- 32
Sylvester Cat- 18

2. Judge Top Cat
Sylvester Cat- 32
Technology- 18

Outcome of bout, a tie.



Correction- The information about the Kansas election results in my November 6th post was wrong. Instead of:

State of Kansas- Obama 57% McCain 41%

It should be:

State of Kansas- Obama 41% McCain 57%

I accidently flipped the numbers but corrected this error yesterday.

Yes, I'm Prejudice...

I started out election evening watching Saved (Side note- Susan Sarandon's daughter, Eva Amurri, definitely has her mother's charisma.) since I did not want to participate in television's over the top news frenzy known as Election Night!

At around 8:00 PM my brother called and urgently asked me if I was watching television. I ask why in reply and he said one word, "Obama."

My heart clutched as I asked, "What about Obama?"

"He just won Ohio."

I had been dropping in to watch the election results at MSNBC off and on up to that point so I knew this, along with the outcome in Pennsylvania, meant Barack Obama was going to become the next president of the United States. My brother and I then talked about how our mother would have been delighted by this news.

After that phone call I kept the television tuned to the news and later, when it was announced that Obama now had enough electoral votes to win the election, I started silently crying. Names and images that had been on television during my childhood flashed across my brain: Megar Evans body laying in his driveway ; Bull Connor turning fire hoses and police dogs on children; the march to Selma; Dr. King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial; James E. Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner's bodies discovered in the dirt of Mississippi; Greyhound buses full of Freedom Riders; George Wallace standing in a doorway at the University of Alabama trying to keep two black students from enrolling in the school;

"Segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!"

and two mules pulling a wooden cart carrying the body of Martin Luther King through the streets of Atlanta.

This election was history in the making. Forty-five years ago the thought of a black man being president of the United States for most Americans was as improbable as the thought of a man walking on the moon. Five years later man did walk on the moon- unbelievable can be done in less time that impossible, I guess.

All though the night I thought of my mother. And of all the images playing across my mind one stood out. Some man asking my mother, in a tone of voice that said he would not believe her if she said no, if she was prejudice. My mother stared at him for a moment before replying.

"Yes, I'm prejudice, but not here," she answered, pointing to the skin on the back of her hand. "Here," pointing to her head. "I hate ignorant people."

On Tuesday a large majority of the American people demonstrated that they too thought the same way.

Mom, I wish you had been here to see it.

The Morning After The Morning After

As you can tell from the two post below I was missing in action for most of the day blog wise. That is because yesterday was emotionally strange for me. I started out feeling giddy and then spent the rest of the day feeling as if I had drunk 20 cups of coffee every hour on the hour. The energy storm sitting over this country was heady.

Interesting election percentages:

Country- Obama 53% McCain 46%

State of Kansas- Obama 41% McCain 57% (Note: I had these numbers flipped and corrected them on Sunday Nov. 9th.)

My county- Obama 25% McCain 73%

I am proud to say that I was one of the 25% who voted for Obama.

The reason why Obama did so badly here in my little part of the world? The majority of the population believes with all their heart that Barack Obama is a Muslim and that as a Muslim his swore duty is to kill all non-Muslims. I don't know what the Koran teaches since I have never read it but the bible tells its followers the same thing:

Whoever sacrifices to any god, except the Lord alone, shall be doomed. (Exodus 22:19)

If your own full brother, or your son or daughter, or your beloved wife, or you intimate friend, entices you secretly to serve other gods, whom you and your fathers have not known, gods of any other nations, near at hand or far away, from one end of the earth to the other: do not yield to him or listen to him, nor look with pity upon him, to spare or shield him, but kill him. Your hand shall be the first raised to slay him; the rest of the people shall join in with you. You shall stone him to death, because he sought to lead you astray from the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. And all Israel, hearing of this, shall fear and never do such evil as this in your midst. (Deuteronomy 13:7-12)

Cursed be he who does the Lords work remissly, cursed he who holds back his sword from blood. (Jeremiah 48:10)

Anyway, it really doesn't matter what the Koran says since Obama is not a Muslim but, hey, since when did the truth get in the way of anyone's religious bigotry?

Hope Floats

I've always thought of myself as an American with all the promise that America holds but suddenly last night I felt like I can put my suitcase down, finally...This is the moment when you realize you have become the fabric of America.
-Whoopi Goldberg on The View this morning

America Has Spoken

Wild In The Streets (1968)


There's a new sun
Risin' up angry in the sky
And there's a new voice
Cryin', "We're not afraid to die"
Let the old world make believe they're blind and deaf and dumb
But nothing can change the shape of things to come

There are changes
Lyin' ahead in every road
And there are new thoughts
Ready and waiting to explode
When tomorrow is today, the bells may toll for some
But nothing can change the shape of things to come

The future's comin' in now, sweet and strong
Ain't no one gonna hold it back for long

There are new dreams
Crowdin' out old realities
There's revolution
Sweepin' in like a fresh new breeze
Let the old world make believe they're blind and deaf and dumb
But nothing can change the shape of things
Nothing can change the shape of things
Nothing can change the shape of things
Nothing can change the shape of things to come

A Voter's Lament

I thought once all the hype and hoopla was over and today finally here that I would feel a sense of relief but, no, that hasn't happened.

I've been watching CNN as they report on voting all over the country and instead of relief I feel uneasiness. I'm thinking about the intense attention the candidates gave us voters during the last 12 months and, as I watch images of the candidates casting their own votes, a question pops up in my thoughts, "But...



Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

This Is It

Please let me know
If this ain't love you'd better let me know
If this is it
I want to know
If this ain't love baby, just say so
-If This Is It by Huey Lewis And The News

Tick, Tick, Tick

Only one more day to go, thank God.

REMEMBER TO VOTE!

"Lower voter participation is a silent threat to our democracy...It under-represents young people, the poor, the disabled, those with little education, minorities and you and me."
-Nancy Neuman

Don't throw away your hard earned right to do so.

1. Why Women Should Vote.

2. American Women Suffrage.

3. Selma to Montgomery (click on "gallery" for photos).

4. Take Stock (click on "Voting Rights more information" for a description of the photos).

Riddle Me This

What is blue and smells like red paint?
(Answer in comments.)

Ce-le-bra-tion!

Celebrate good times, come on!
-Celebration by Kool and the Gang

Seven years ago today I was on a train racing though the Spanish countryside after completing my walk across Spain. Life moves fast.

What I've Learned

Everything is political- life, death, sex, gender, age, race, land, work, food, water, health care, education, religion,..???

Who Are The People In Your Neighborhood?

Steven Colbert of The Colbert Report ( Both t's in the program title are silent) on the October 22, 2008 show.

They're Heeeere!

"When fascism comes to America, it'll be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross."
-Sinclair Lewis (American Author)

Palin Rally In Henderson, NV 10/25/08


A good article addressing this problem here.

TGIF

Sonny and Cher (1960's)


And the beat goes on:
1. Palin denies accepting $150K in designer clothes.

2.Media Probe 'Mutilation' of McCain Worker in Pittsburgh -- Doubts Raised .

3. Obama or McCain: Who Has Made The Biggest Flip-Flops During the Campaign?.

4.Opie Cunningham Backs Obama.

Not A Cough In A Carload

I found this wonderful website put up by the Standford School of Medicine containing hundreds of images of tobacco ads. Check it out.

Happiness is...The Taste Of Kent (1966)


After that go here for a "comprehensive collection of cigarette commercials and other types of tobacco videos." I distinctly remember this Kent ad since the lyrics were rewritten and became a hit for The Ray Conniff Singers around the same time.

Life: What I've Learned

Power does corrupt people:

1. Miss Teen Louisiana arrested

2. Sen. Ted Stevens' corruption trial goes to jury

3. S African court clears way for appeal in Zuma graft case

4. Ex-Chicago Cop Charged With Lying About Torture

5. Alaska funded Palin kids' travel

Look, I Bleed

Do you bleed?
-Katharine Ross as Joanna Eberhart in The Stepford Wives.

Trailer for The Stepford Wives (1975)


Turner Classic Movies showed the original version of The Stepford Wives last week and I just got around to watching it yesterday. It's a little slow but still a very creepy movie. Some of the chilling scenes include ( You may want to stop here if you have not seen the movie yet. Although I found it more nerve racking to watch because I already knew the plot.):

-Joanna's husband taking the family dog for a walk and "accidentally" running into his neighbor and then saying to him (about the neighbor's wife), "She cooks as good as she looks, Ted."

Then they both exchange knowing smiles, which doesn't make sense at the time since Joanna and he have only been in town a few hours at this point.

-The next day Joanna's two girls get onto a school bus filled with perfectly dressed children; boys in jackets and ties, girls in almost party dresses. That is a bit odd but the creepy thing is, all are sitting quietly in their seats with blank looks on their faces.

-Joanna's husband crying and telling Joanna that he does love her even though he knows he is going to have her killed and then replaced with a robot.

-Dale Coba (Great name. I have Paula Abdul's song Cold Hearted playing in my head right now. He's a cold-hearted snake, Look into his eyes, Oh ohhh, He's been tellin' lies), the man who has planned all this and is building the robots, saying to Joanna as she making coffee, " I like to watch women doing little domestic chores."

I bet you do, you sexist s.o.b.

-Joanna's robot double coming to kill her.

But the scene that sent an electrical shock through me was when Joanna, after realizing her best friend Bobbie is now a robot, stabs her to prove it. What is amazing about this scene is that right before Joanna stabs Bobbie she cuts her own finger and, while showing Bobbie the blood, says, "Look, I bleed. Do you bleed?"

Then she plunges the knife into Bobbie abdomen, right where her womb should be, proving that in no way are these robots real women and also showing the reason why all this is happening.

The men are afraid of losing control of their wives but underlying this fear, and taking advantage of it, is Dale Coba's own pathological fear and jealousy of women and their ability to give birth. In Cobra's mind the ability to give birth is the source of women's power. By building his own women he has shown he is just as, or even more powerful, than they are. His answer to Joanna, when she asks why the men are doing this is "Because we can" but what he really means is because "he" can. Once all the women are gone no one will be left to challenge that power.

Little Buddha

Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.

Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little.

Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.

(About the Little Buddha- I got the above photo and this e-mail from my sister: I made a Buddha with powdered sugar on the kitchen counter and then did a light powdered sugar around it. It looks like Buddha in the universe!)

TGIF

Watched both CSI and ER last night.

CSI (Ninth season) seems to be running out of steam. The episodes are not as well written as they used to be; I can pick out the murders the instant they walk into the scene. Last night they even used part of the plot from an old episode of Columbo. How lazy can you get?

ER (Fourteenth season) on the other hand was good. Abby was leaving and that gave her the chance to say anything she wanted without fear of any consequences. I forgot how good Maura Tierney is at delivering a snarky line.

R.I.P.

Edie Adams died at age eighty-one yesterday.

Edie On I Love Lucy


She was an underrated singer, actor, comedian, and early television star. As a child she and her husband Ernie Kovacs had one of my most favorite television shows, The Ernie Kovacs Show, and I grew up watching her Murial Cigars commercials. Sad news.

New York Times obit here.

Human Sacrifices

Driving up to the cemetery the other day my husband and I noticed something up in one of the electricity poles near the road. We stopped to look more closely. It looked like some kind of mammal but since we were not close enough to clearly see just what it was we got out the binoculars. My heart sank as I peered through the lenses and recognized the body of a Red Tail Hawk hanging upside down.

It looked as if the weight of the bird's body was being supported by its left leg. It also looked as if that leg had become trapped between the two wires leading from the insulator cap to the thicker electrical line. We suspected that the bird had somehow become tangled in the line and then electrocuted. Since there was nothing we could do at that point we continued on our way.

Yesterday, driving to the cemetery again, we noticed that the bird was no longer on the pole. It looked like the body was now lying on the ground. We again stopped but this time got out of the truck and climbed through the barbed wire fence to see if this was true. It was. The body lay on its back with the left wing spread over it. I reached down and grasped one of the large feathers and lifted the wing up to uncover the rest of the bird. I almost gasped at the sight of him. He was beautiful and looked asleep.

The body feathers were perfect and a sort of creamy white in color. He had been hanging by the left leg and the foot, below where the feathers and muscle started, was missing. There was a burn mark at the end of what remained of the leg. On the right leg, up where the meat is on a fried chicken leg, there was another large burn mark. The bird had definitely been electrocuted to death. My husband and I discussed burying the body but decided to leave it where it lay for the coyotes.

And speaking of coyotes, my husband does a lot of shopping at Cabela's (World's Foremost Outfitters) and also receives their catalog. Being on Cabela's list has also put him on the list of other outfitters and we receive many catalogs. Yesterday we got a catalog from a company called J. L. Powell (The sporting life). Powell sells high end clothing, hats, boots and other manly accessories. It is a very handsome catalog and I enjoyed flipping through it until I got to page eleven and found this, which is, as they say in the copy, "guaranteed to prompt conversation whenever it appears."

I will never buy a damn thing from these people.

Life: What I've Learned

Any recipe that has been described to you as being "interesting" has a 99.99% chance of tasting terrible when actually prepared.

Once A Lee Man

Always a Lee man.

TGIF

1. I know how this financial mess we are in got started. People treating money like it is just small pieces of paper or plastic. For God's sake, stop it!

2. In anticipation of the release of the Alaska state legislature's official report on Troopergate today, the McCain campaign released they own report clearing Palin of any wrong doing. (Sigh) I don't know which is more frustrating, the McCain campaign believing that Republican voters are idiots or the fact that most Republican voters are idiots.*

3.Colorado ballot issue, Amendment 48, asks the question "Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution defining the term 'person' to include any human being from the moment of fertilization as 'person' is used in those provisions of the Colorado constitution relating to inalienable rights, equality of justice, and due process of law?"

Yep, some people want to have fertilized human eggs declared people under Colorado state law. Sounds like a sneaky way to outlaw abortion to me. This is an example of anti-abortionists going beyond caring about "unborn babies" to trying to control the sexual behavior of other human beings. The fact that most do not approve of any kind of birth control, especially the morning after pill, proves my point. There has always been the stink of sexism to their stance, which boils down to having pregnancy be a punishment for having sex, even it cases of rape or incest.

*UPDATE (10/11/08): Alaska legislature report says Palin abused her power in Troopergate. They don't call her "Sarah Barracuda" for nothing.

Proof That Lenore Skenazy Is Not The Worst Parent In The World

On Tuesday I wrote about the flack Lenore Skenazy got for letting her nine-year-old son ride the New York subway alone. Today I would like to show you a photo of my husband at around five or six months old taken either in Yellowstone National Park here in the States or up in Canada.

BJ and the bear
Positive proof that Lenore Skenazy is not the worst mother in the world.

Second Presidential Candidates Debate

Same old same old. I did not learn anything new last night about either candidate's positions on the issues but I did figure out why I am not going to vote for McCain/Palin.

Throughout the debate he kept using the phrase "my friend" and he used it so many times I got sick of hearing it. It was annoying because it was fake. He knows that the majority of American voters are not on the same social or financial plane as him and never will be so trying to insinuate that we are, well, its insulting. I don't want or need a president who thinks that being my friend is more important than being president any more than a child wants or needs a parent who thinks being their child's friend is more important than being their child's parent.

Which boils down to this- I really don't want another president who is not presidential representing this country. I want person who doesn't glad hand other world leaders and then slap them on the back like some used-car salesman. (I'm talking about you Mr. Bush.) I want someone with dignity.

In last night's debate Obama came across as more presidential to me than McCain. Obama was cool and McCain hot. By the end McCain seemed to be having some trouble keeping his temper under control. He did it but the strain of doing so showed. In these dangerous times I would rather have someone cool than hot guiding the ship of state.

Anxiety Society

We have nothing to fear but fear itself.
-Franklin Roosevelt

I read this article yesterday about a women who let her nine-year-old child ride the New York subway alone. People flipped out calling her, at the least, irresponsible. Seems people are not allowing their child go to the end of the driveway to pick-up the mail, making them phone home after walking a block to their friends house, and seriously considering following their child's school bus during a field trip just to make sure that said child was safe these days.

As Lenore Skenazy, the so-called bad mother, wrote:

For some reason we live in a society that sees little difference between letting a child frolic in the front yard and letting a child frolic in front of a firing squad. It's impossible for people to calculate the difference between real and remote risks.

She blames television and so do I. Just watch the coverage of the financial bailout and the drop in the stock market. Yes, it is serious and, yes, we are heading for a recession but television news shows are now throwing around the word "Depression." Jim Cramer, host of the very popular CNBC show, Mad Money, is seen in a soundbite on CNN telling people who need cash for the next five years to get out of the stock market. A statement that will do nothing but panic people but what CNN doesn't tell you is that Cramer has been saying this for the last two months. Its part of his overall investment strategy not a "dump everything and get out of the market" statement but you would never know this by watching CNN.

The most sensible thing I have read about this financial mess was in the Denver Post this morning. University of Denver, Daniels College of Business, professor Maclyn I. Clouse answered a few questions about the stock market:

1. If you are invested in stocks, what should you do?

“If you’re in stocks right now, you should probably just sit tight. One of the best things to do is don’t look at the stocks everyday. Don’t get upset by the fact they’re going down. They may go down some more.”

2. What types of investors should sell-off their stocks?

“If you’re getting close to retirement, often times they say if you’re within five years. I think within five years we still have a chance for stocks to come back, so I wouldn’t put it at five. But it’s going to take awhile, so if you’re all of a sudden in a position where you’re going to have to use actual dollars out of your 401k in the next year or two, then you might want to think about moving some of those stock dollars into bonds or fixed securities.”

3. What types of investors should stay in the stock markets?

“The young people that still have time on their side. Time is the greatest asset you have in long-term investments because over time the market is going to come back.”

Not too sure about that "sit tight" advise but he is telling people to look at their own situation before panicking. The television news channels just seem to be fear mongering.

VP Debate

While on vacation I did managed to see the presidential debate and then I watched the vice-presidential debate when I got home. I saw the presidential debate at my father-in-law's house, something he was very anxious to see since he is a big McCain fan, and it turned into a bust. About 20 minutes into it my father fell asleep, about 30 minutes into I went to bed to read, and about 35 minutes into it my husband went into the kitchen to wash up the dinner dishes. Talk about boring- neither man had anything new to say. I did watch all of the vice-presidential debate. Why? Because it was more entertaining.

Saturday Night Life spoofed the debate and caught the foibles of both candidates.



You know, it's not Sarah Palin's goofy, folksy, unpolished style that bothers me; it's the things I read about her:

Sarah Palin and the Rape Kits

Poor Sarah

More Proof

The view from a friend's cabin near Walden, Colorado in North Park.

Proof We Had A Relaxing Vacation

At my father-in-law's cabin in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

Laughter Is An Instant Vacation!

-Milton Berle

Two stories about my niece who lives in Denver.

Last week GreenPeace was on her college campus recruiting for their organization. Ok, they were really begging for money. Anyway, part of their pitch was to walk up to a person and make the following statement, "I bet you're for the environment!"

The third time someone walked up to her and said that my niece had come up with her own statement in reply:

GreenPeace-er: "I bet you're for the environment!"

My niece: "I bet I'm not!"

The fourth person she said this to was not deterred and asked, "Do you know what GreenPeace does?"

My niece: "Well, you kill thousands of indigenous people a year by turning their native hunting and agricultural grounds into conservation areas."

GreenPeace-er looked like he just got hit in the face with a snow shovel.

Now, my niece did not know if GreenPeace has really done what she had just said but it seems that this guy did not know either. The next thing he said was, "We save whales but we still let the Inuit hunt them."

How big of them.


This next story has to do with the Democratic Convention. She was on her way to work one day during the Convention when she passed an Anti-Abortion protest. She immediately send the following text messages to her mother (my sister).

Text one: I have just seen enough pictures of fetuses to last me a lifetime.

Text two: I will never eat baby back ribs again.


I love the irreverent sense of humor that most teenagers have, it makes them good bulldooky detectors.

Finally Made It Home

We traveled a little farther than I thought we would.