As I think about wanting no more bad news today, I am reminded of Barbara Woodhouse, a dog trainer who used to be on television quite often when I was growing up. She wrote a book called, No Bad Dogs:
Barbara Woodhouse, "the lady with the dogs," is already familiar to millions of Americans through the publication of her best-selling book, No Bad Dogs, her frequent appearances on such national television shows as "60 Minutes," "The Tonight show," "Donahue," "Merv Griffin," "Good Morning America," and the syndication of her enormously popular television series, "Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way."
In this irresistible book, Barbara Woodhouse passes on to the reader the simple, effective techniques as well as the infectious, positive attitude...
I feel this way about bad news: No Bad News! I am so tired of bad news all day that I'll have none of it today.
I have good news today. Good news, good news, good news, good news, good news!
It makes me think of an old spiritual - Ain't That Good News?
I got a robe in that kingdom - ain't that good news?
I got a robe in that kingdom - ain't that good news?
I'm gonna lay down this world
I'm gonna shoulder up my cross
I'm gonna carry it home to my Jesus -
ain't that good news, my Lord, ain't that good news?
I got shoes in that kingdom - ain't that good news?
I got shoes in that kingdom - ain't that good news?
I'm gonna lay down this world
I'm gonna shoulder up my cross
I'm gonna carry it home to my Jesus -
ain't that good news, my Lord, ain't that good news?
I got a crown in that kingdom - ain't that good news?
I got a crown in that kingdom - ain't that good news?
I'm gonna lay down this world
I'm gonna shoulder up my cross
I'm gonna carry it home to my Jesus -
ain't that good news, my Lord, ain't that good news?
player
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Pickles and Johnsons
We watched a PBS documentary last night on LBJ which was, of course, fascinating. Making Lyndon interesting is about as easy as falling off a log. Jake Pickle was one of the sources and it was fun to see him given that I knew him through his grandson Bennett.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Genghis Khan Halloween Costume
Emery has wanted to be Genghis Khan for Halloween for the past 2 or 3 years and I just can't ever get it together. Some of his costumes:
Poseidon
St. Francis of Assisi
Captain Hook
The Cat in the Hat
A Cowboy
Today I enlisted D to help, as I think he has more design talent than I do (although the Poseidon costume I did for Emery was pretty amazing)... We have to decide historically if we are going for a young Genghis or an older, statesman Genghis.
Wilbur is Darth Vader and I just bought that costume no problem. he looks so cute in it too - he's all blond and blue-eyed and gorgeous in that jet black costume.
Poseidon
St. Francis of Assisi
Captain Hook
The Cat in the Hat
A Cowboy
Today I enlisted D to help, as I think he has more design talent than I do (although the Poseidon costume I did for Emery was pretty amazing)... We have to decide historically if we are going for a young Genghis or an older, statesman Genghis.
Wilbur is Darth Vader and I just bought that costume no problem. he looks so cute in it too - he's all blond and blue-eyed and gorgeous in that jet black costume.
Render unto Caesar...
So the lectionary on Sunday was this story from Matthew, where Jesus answers the religious leaders by looking at a coin and saying, "give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."
It's curious to me that so many Christians on the far right are so concerned with money in a way that seems unlike Jesus even a little bit. John McCain has rallied his troops with phrases like 'spreading the wealth around' as if any clear-eyed, right-thinking person would find that concept anathema.
But, isn't that what's fair? Isn't that what Jesus would do? And if we belong to God, if God wants us to give HIM what is HIS, isn't that our minds, souls and hearts?
I don't get to choose that my tax money, from this pacifist who doesn't believe in war, I don't get to choose where it goes. And I am patriotic enough to accept that I live in this country, this community; not everyone thinks as I do - not everyone is a pacifist... And so, we pay our tax and some of that money (a great deal of it) supports ideologies and actions that I find reprehensible. But I am an American. I am part of that community. And I pay into the greater. The thing that is great about America is that we all support the whole and the whole is utterly diverse - in culture, opinion, priority - and that diversity is our strength.
So, pay attention, all you closed-minded, right-sided fundamentalist Sadducees: Give it up! Pay to the government that which is the Government's. Be about the business of belonging to God, if that's your thing. Pay what you owe and participate in this community of divergent ideas. Don't worry about that money - if it's due then pay it. Get busy with more important matters, like loving God with all your heart, mind and soul and then love your neighbor as yourself.
It's curious to me that so many Christians on the far right are so concerned with money in a way that seems unlike Jesus even a little bit. John McCain has rallied his troops with phrases like 'spreading the wealth around' as if any clear-eyed, right-thinking person would find that concept anathema.
But, isn't that what's fair? Isn't that what Jesus would do? And if we belong to God, if God wants us to give HIM what is HIS, isn't that our minds, souls and hearts?
I don't get to choose that my tax money, from this pacifist who doesn't believe in war, I don't get to choose where it goes. And I am patriotic enough to accept that I live in this country, this community; not everyone thinks as I do - not everyone is a pacifist... And so, we pay our tax and some of that money (a great deal of it) supports ideologies and actions that I find reprehensible. But I am an American. I am part of that community. And I pay into the greater. The thing that is great about America is that we all support the whole and the whole is utterly diverse - in culture, opinion, priority - and that diversity is our strength.
So, pay attention, all you closed-minded, right-sided fundamentalist Sadducees: Give it up! Pay to the government that which is the Government's. Be about the business of belonging to God, if that's your thing. Pay what you owe and participate in this community of divergent ideas. Don't worry about that money - if it's due then pay it. Get busy with more important matters, like loving God with all your heart, mind and soul and then love your neighbor as yourself.
Friday, October 17, 2008
When I hear Plumber I think of Nixon. I think, CREEP
Remember The Plumbers? Nixon's Plumbers? Am I the only one who called up this reference and thought, "hmmm... when I hear Plumber I think Break-in." I think G. Gordon Liddy and E. Howard Hunt. I am not that old, but I've seen All The President's Men. I've read John Dean's book, Blind Ambition. Don't we all remember those guys?
From wikipedia:
The White House Plumbers or simply the Plumbers is the popular name given to the covert White House Special Investigations Unit established July 24, 1971 during the presidency of Richard Nixon. Its job was to stop the leaking (hence "plumbers") of classified information to the news media during the Nixon administration. Its members branched into more nefarious projects working for the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP, or CREEP), including the Watergate break-ins and the ensuing Watergate scandal.
This poor guy Joe. He just wanted to ask a question. Now the media is combing through his statements and vetting him as if he were the McCain running mate. The guy hasn't always paid all of his taxes, isn't actually a licensed plumber and doesn't make any where near 250K. Tax analysts are even claiming that the guy would get a tax break under the Obama plan when and if he buys the business and is licensed and plumbing.
This guy probably wished John McCain had never brought up his name. Now he's in the NY Times (http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/joe-in-the-spotlight/?hp) and he sort of looks like a liar. Now the IRS is going to come after him for the back taxes he owes and people are making money off him selling t-shirts and coffee mugs.
Just remember: Plumbers Bad.
From wikipedia:
The White House Plumbers or simply the Plumbers is the popular name given to the covert White House Special Investigations Unit established July 24, 1971 during the presidency of Richard Nixon. Its job was to stop the leaking (hence "plumbers") of classified information to the news media during the Nixon administration. Its members branched into more nefarious projects working for the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP, or CREEP), including the Watergate break-ins and the ensuing Watergate scandal.
This poor guy Joe. He just wanted to ask a question. Now the media is combing through his statements and vetting him as if he were the McCain running mate. The guy hasn't always paid all of his taxes, isn't actually a licensed plumber and doesn't make any where near 250K. Tax analysts are even claiming that the guy would get a tax break under the Obama plan when and if he buys the business and is licensed and plumbing.
This guy probably wished John McCain had never brought up his name. Now he's in the NY Times (http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/joe-in-the-spotlight/?hp) and he sort of looks like a liar. Now the IRS is going to come after him for the back taxes he owes and people are making money off him selling t-shirts and coffee mugs.
Just remember: Plumbers Bad.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Living the Questions
I started a progressive Christian group study last night, the curriculum of which is called "Living the Questions." It's discussion and a DVD presentation. Some of the church leaders in the DVD are people I have admired for some time and others are new to me. Yvette Flunder, John Shelby Spong, Mel White and many others.
I love Spong - and I loved what he said in the piece we saw last night. He said that the times in the church's history when we were most certain were the times when we were acting most heinously - burning people at the stake, starting holy wars.
There is a discomfort with being in the mystery and living with uncertainty. Not knowing for certain what happens when we die is frightening. Not knowing if you are right is disconcerting. But I find if I am willing to challenge boldly-held notions, I come back to my core beliefs with conviction and clarity.
I kept thinking last night about the pastor in A Prayer for Owen Meany who is so full of doubt...
I love Spong - and I loved what he said in the piece we saw last night. He said that the times in the church's history when we were most certain were the times when we were acting most heinously - burning people at the stake, starting holy wars.
There is a discomfort with being in the mystery and living with uncertainty. Not knowing for certain what happens when we die is frightening. Not knowing if you are right is disconcerting. But I find if I am willing to challenge boldly-held notions, I come back to my core beliefs with conviction and clarity.
I kept thinking last night about the pastor in A Prayer for Owen Meany who is so full of doubt...
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Friend of Bill
This is an interesting article about Bill Ayers in The Wallstreet Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122402888900234543.html
"Waving the bloody shirt" was the phrase once used to describe the standard demagogic tactic of the late 19th century, when memories of the Civil War were still vivid and loyalists of both parties could be moved to "vote as they shot." As the years passed and the memories faded, the shirt got gorier, the waving more frantic.
In 1896 the Democrats chose William Jennings Bryan as their leader, a man who was born in 1860 and had thus missed the Civil War, but who seemed to threaten the consensus politics of the time. In response, Republican campaign masterminds organized a speaking tour of the Midwest by a handful of surviving Union generals. The veterans advanced through the battleground states in a special train adorned with patriotic bunting, pictures of their candidate, William McKinley, and a sign declaring, "We are Opposed to Anarchy and Repudiation."
The culture wars are the familiar demagogic tactic of our own time, building monstrous offenses out of the tiniest slights. The fading rancor that each grievance is meant to revive, of course, dates to the 1960s and the antiwar protests, urban riots and annoying youth culture that originally triggered our great turn to the right.
This year the Democrats chose Barack Obama as their leader, a man who was born in 1961 and who largely missed our cultural civil war. In response, Republican campaign masterminds have sought to plunge him back into it in the most desperate and grotesque manner yet.
For days on end, the Republican presidential campaign has put nearly all of its remaining political capital on emphasizing Mr. Obama's time on various foundation boards with Bill Ayers, a former member of the Weathermen, which planted bombs and issued preposterous statements in the Vietnam era. Some on the right seem to believe Mr. Ayers is Mr. Obama's puppet-master, while others are content merely to insist that the association proves Mr. Obama to be soft on terrorism. Maybe he's soft on anarchy and repudiation, too.
I can personally attest to the idiocy of it all because I am a friend of Mr. Ayers. In fact, I met him in the same way Mr. Obama says he did: 10 years ago, Mr. Ayers was a guy in my neighborhood in Chicago who knew something about fundraising. I knew nothing about it, I needed to learn, and a friend referred me to Bill.
Bill's got lots of friends, and that's because he is today a dedicated servant of those less fortunate than himself; because he is unfailingly generous to people who ask for his help; and because he is kind and affable and even humble. Moral qualities which, by the way, were celebrated boisterously on day one of the GOP convention in September.
Mr. Ayers is a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where his work is esteemed by colleagues of different political viewpoints. Herbert Walberg, an advocate of school vouchers who is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, told me he remembers Mr. Ayers as "a responsible colleague, in the professional sense of the word." Bill Schubert, who served as the chairman of UIC's Department of Curriculum and Instruction for many years, thinks so highly of Mr. Ayers that, in response to the current allegations, he compiled a lengthy résumé of the man's books, journal articles, guest lectures and keynote speeches. Mr. Ayers has been involved with countless foundation efforts and has received various awards. He volunteers for everything. He may once have been wanted by the FBI, but in the intervening years the man has become such a good citizen he ought to be an honorary Eagle Scout.
I do not defend the things Mr. Ayers did in his Weatherman days. Nor will I quibble with those who find Mr. Ayers wanting in contrition. His 2001 memoir is shot through with regret, but it lacks the abject style our culture prefers.
Instead I want to note that, in its haste to convict a man merely for associating with Mr. Ayers, the GOP is effectively proposing to make the upcoming election into the largest mass trial in history, with all those professors and all those do-gooders on the hook for someone else's deeds four decades ago. Also in the dock: the demonic city (Chicago) that once named Mr. Ayers its "Citizen of the Year." Fire up Hurricane Katrina and point it toward Lake Michigan!
The McCain campaign has made much of its leader's honor and bravery, but now it has chosen to mount its greatest attack against a man who poses no conceivable threat to the country, who has nothing to do with this year's issues, and who cannot or will not defend himself. Apparently this makes him an irresistible target.
There are a lot of things to call this tactic, but "country first" isn't one of them. The nation wants its hope and confidence restored, and Republican leaders have chosen instead to wave the bloody shirt. This is their vilest hour.
Write to thomas@wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122402888900234543.html
"Waving the bloody shirt" was the phrase once used to describe the standard demagogic tactic of the late 19th century, when memories of the Civil War were still vivid and loyalists of both parties could be moved to "vote as they shot." As the years passed and the memories faded, the shirt got gorier, the waving more frantic.
In 1896 the Democrats chose William Jennings Bryan as their leader, a man who was born in 1860 and had thus missed the Civil War, but who seemed to threaten the consensus politics of the time. In response, Republican campaign masterminds organized a speaking tour of the Midwest by a handful of surviving Union generals. The veterans advanced through the battleground states in a special train adorned with patriotic bunting, pictures of their candidate, William McKinley, and a sign declaring, "We are Opposed to Anarchy and Repudiation."
The culture wars are the familiar demagogic tactic of our own time, building monstrous offenses out of the tiniest slights. The fading rancor that each grievance is meant to revive, of course, dates to the 1960s and the antiwar protests, urban riots and annoying youth culture that originally triggered our great turn to the right.
This year the Democrats chose Barack Obama as their leader, a man who was born in 1961 and who largely missed our cultural civil war. In response, Republican campaign masterminds have sought to plunge him back into it in the most desperate and grotesque manner yet.
For days on end, the Republican presidential campaign has put nearly all of its remaining political capital on emphasizing Mr. Obama's time on various foundation boards with Bill Ayers, a former member of the Weathermen, which planted bombs and issued preposterous statements in the Vietnam era. Some on the right seem to believe Mr. Ayers is Mr. Obama's puppet-master, while others are content merely to insist that the association proves Mr. Obama to be soft on terrorism. Maybe he's soft on anarchy and repudiation, too.
I can personally attest to the idiocy of it all because I am a friend of Mr. Ayers. In fact, I met him in the same way Mr. Obama says he did: 10 years ago, Mr. Ayers was a guy in my neighborhood in Chicago who knew something about fundraising. I knew nothing about it, I needed to learn, and a friend referred me to Bill.
Bill's got lots of friends, and that's because he is today a dedicated servant of those less fortunate than himself; because he is unfailingly generous to people who ask for his help; and because he is kind and affable and even humble. Moral qualities which, by the way, were celebrated boisterously on day one of the GOP convention in September.
Mr. Ayers is a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where his work is esteemed by colleagues of different political viewpoints. Herbert Walberg, an advocate of school vouchers who is a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, told me he remembers Mr. Ayers as "a responsible colleague, in the professional sense of the word." Bill Schubert, who served as the chairman of UIC's Department of Curriculum and Instruction for many years, thinks so highly of Mr. Ayers that, in response to the current allegations, he compiled a lengthy résumé of the man's books, journal articles, guest lectures and keynote speeches. Mr. Ayers has been involved with countless foundation efforts and has received various awards. He volunteers for everything. He may once have been wanted by the FBI, but in the intervening years the man has become such a good citizen he ought to be an honorary Eagle Scout.
I do not defend the things Mr. Ayers did in his Weatherman days. Nor will I quibble with those who find Mr. Ayers wanting in contrition. His 2001 memoir is shot through with regret, but it lacks the abject style our culture prefers.
Instead I want to note that, in its haste to convict a man merely for associating with Mr. Ayers, the GOP is effectively proposing to make the upcoming election into the largest mass trial in history, with all those professors and all those do-gooders on the hook for someone else's deeds four decades ago. Also in the dock: the demonic city (Chicago) that once named Mr. Ayers its "Citizen of the Year." Fire up Hurricane Katrina and point it toward Lake Michigan!
The McCain campaign has made much of its leader's honor and bravery, but now it has chosen to mount its greatest attack against a man who poses no conceivable threat to the country, who has nothing to do with this year's issues, and who cannot or will not defend himself. Apparently this makes him an irresistible target.
There are a lot of things to call this tactic, but "country first" isn't one of them. The nation wants its hope and confidence restored, and Republican leaders have chosen instead to wave the bloody shirt. This is their vilest hour.
Write to thomas@wsj.com
Monday, October 13, 2008
They are open weekdays, closed on weekends...
Roger & Me is one of my favorite documentaries of all time - that and Gates of Heaven...
I love the guy in Roger & Me who is describing to Michael Moore how often the plasma donation center is open:
"They're only open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Saturday and Sunday, they're closed. "
Gates of Heaven is a documentary about a pet cemetery. One of my favorite parts is this woman talking and she just meanders through - you couldn't write this... it's brilliant...
"I'm raised on a farm, we had chickens and pigs and cows and sheep and everything. But down here I've been lost. Now they've taken them all away from here up to that - What's the name of that place? Up above here a little ways? That town? Commences with a 'B.' Blue. It's - Blue Hill Cemetery, I think the name of it is. Not too far, I guess, about maybe twenty miles from here. A little town there, a little place. You know where it's at. But I was really surprised when I heard they were getting rid of the cemetery over here. Gonna put in buildings or something over there. Ah well, I know people been very good to me, you know. Well, they see my condition, I guess, must of felt sorry for me. But it's real, my condition is. It's not put on. That's for sure! Boy, if I could only walk. If I could only get out. Drive my car. I'd get another car. Ya... and my son, if he was only better to me. After I bought him that car. He's got a nice car. I bought it myself just a short time ago. I don't know. These kids - the more you do for them... He' s my grandson, but I raised him from two years old... I don't see him very often. And he just got the car. I didn't pay for all of it. I gave him four hundred dollars. Pretty good! His boss knows it. Well, he's not working for that outfit now. He's changed. He's gone back on his old job - hauling sand. No, not hauling sand; he's working in the office. That's right. He took over the office job. His boss told me that on the phone. But, you know, he should help me more. He's all I got. He's the one who brought me up here. And then put me here by myself among strangers. It's terrible, you stop and think of it. I've been without so much, when I first come up here. Ya. It's what half of my trouble is from - him not being home with me. Didn't cost him nothing to stay here. Every time he need money, he'd always come, 'Mom, can I have this? Can I have that?' But he never pays back. Too good, too easy - that's what everybody tells me. I quit now. I quit. Now he's got the office job, I'm going after him. I'm going after him good, too - if I have to go in... in a different way. He's going to pay that money. He's got the office job now. And he makes good money anyway. And he has no kids. He has not married. Never get married, he says. He was married once - they're divorced. Well, she tried to take him for the kid, but she didn't. They went to court. It was somebody else's kid. She was nothing but a tramp in the first place. I told him that. He wouldn't listen to me. I says, 'I know what she is.' I said, 'Richard, please, listen to me.' He wouldn't listen. He knew all, he knew everything. Big shot! But he soon found out. Now that's all over with. I've been through so much I don't know how I'm staying alive. Really, for my age... if you're young, it's different. But I've always said I'm never going to grow old. I've always had that, and the people that I tell how old I am, they don't believe me, because people my age as a rule don't get around like I do."
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gates_of_Heaven
For some reason, the hours of this store, Caramel, that Ken blogged about reminded me of the Roger & Me quote (which led me to the Gates of Heaven memory - the two have nothing to do with one another):
store hours
Monday 4-8 PM
Thursday 12-9 PM
Friday 12-9 PM
Saturday 11 AM -7 PM
Sunday 12-6 PM
Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment.
Does it really have to be that complicated? I think if I owned the store I wouldn't be able to remember what time to show up and open the doors each day.
I love the guy in Roger & Me who is describing to Michael Moore how often the plasma donation center is open:
"They're only open on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Saturday and Sunday, they're closed. "
Gates of Heaven is a documentary about a pet cemetery. One of my favorite parts is this woman talking and she just meanders through - you couldn't write this... it's brilliant...
"I'm raised on a farm, we had chickens and pigs and cows and sheep and everything. But down here I've been lost. Now they've taken them all away from here up to that - What's the name of that place? Up above here a little ways? That town? Commences with a 'B.' Blue. It's - Blue Hill Cemetery, I think the name of it is. Not too far, I guess, about maybe twenty miles from here. A little town there, a little place. You know where it's at. But I was really surprised when I heard they were getting rid of the cemetery over here. Gonna put in buildings or something over there. Ah well, I know people been very good to me, you know. Well, they see my condition, I guess, must of felt sorry for me. But it's real, my condition is. It's not put on. That's for sure! Boy, if I could only walk. If I could only get out. Drive my car. I'd get another car. Ya... and my son, if he was only better to me. After I bought him that car. He's got a nice car. I bought it myself just a short time ago. I don't know. These kids - the more you do for them... He' s my grandson, but I raised him from two years old... I don't see him very often. And he just got the car. I didn't pay for all of it. I gave him four hundred dollars. Pretty good! His boss knows it. Well, he's not working for that outfit now. He's changed. He's gone back on his old job - hauling sand. No, not hauling sand; he's working in the office. That's right. He took over the office job. His boss told me that on the phone. But, you know, he should help me more. He's all I got. He's the one who brought me up here. And then put me here by myself among strangers. It's terrible, you stop and think of it. I've been without so much, when I first come up here. Ya. It's what half of my trouble is from - him not being home with me. Didn't cost him nothing to stay here. Every time he need money, he'd always come, 'Mom, can I have this? Can I have that?' But he never pays back. Too good, too easy - that's what everybody tells me. I quit now. I quit. Now he's got the office job, I'm going after him. I'm going after him good, too - if I have to go in... in a different way. He's going to pay that money. He's got the office job now. And he makes good money anyway. And he has no kids. He has not married. Never get married, he says. He was married once - they're divorced. Well, she tried to take him for the kid, but she didn't. They went to court. It was somebody else's kid. She was nothing but a tramp in the first place. I told him that. He wouldn't listen to me. I says, 'I know what she is.' I said, 'Richard, please, listen to me.' He wouldn't listen. He knew all, he knew everything. Big shot! But he soon found out. Now that's all over with. I've been through so much I don't know how I'm staying alive. Really, for my age... if you're young, it's different. But I've always said I'm never going to grow old. I've always had that, and the people that I tell how old I am, they don't believe me, because people my age as a rule don't get around like I do."
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gates_of_Heaven
For some reason, the hours of this store, Caramel, that Ken blogged about reminded me of the Roger & Me quote (which led me to the Gates of Heaven memory - the two have nothing to do with one another):
store hours
Monday 4-8 PM
Thursday 12-9 PM
Friday 12-9 PM
Saturday 11 AM -7 PM
Sunday 12-6 PM
Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment.
Does it really have to be that complicated? I think if I owned the store I wouldn't be able to remember what time to show up and open the doors each day.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Got a Cat and Skinned Her: Janie & Lisa
Mike and I used to change the lyrics to Earth, Wind & Fire's song September and the phrases we used most were:
Got a cat and skinned her
My best friend's Lucinda-er
Had a Waring Blender
Friends Lisa and Janie gave us a Waring Blender for a wedding present at the kitchen shower they hosted for us in NYC. And I often think of sending them thank you notes randomly, because I use the blender every day. I use it every day and I think of them each and every time I use it. For one thing, it is SUCH a good blender - it crushes ice for margaritas or smoothies - it can handle any job. It was such a nice gift - and I remember thinking at the time that I couldn't believe they would spend so much money! I was so grateful. And it's as sleek and fashionable today as it was in 1997 (those girls have good taste). The shower and party (Doug and I were both there) were so elegant - up to that time, I don't think anyone had ever done anything like that for me. At a time when we really didn't have much, Lisa and Janie did a lot for us.
Lisa went on to host a baby shower for us. Both of these girls were not just at my wedding but in it. Janie's husband David chose and read a beautiful poem (that I have hanging on a wall above my desk)... They have done a lot for me. Much too much.
People would say, that's what friends do. But I don't know if I would - I mean I try to be as good a friend as my friends are to me, but I don't think I ever really make it. I am always astonished and overwhelmed by how dear my friends are - how good they are to me. I don't deserve it.
Commercial Paper and Credit Default Swaps
This American Life (http://www.thislife.org/) has done it again with show 365: Another Frightening Show About the Economy
Alex Blumberg and NPR's Adam Davidson—the two guys who reported our Giant Pool of Money episode—are back, in collaboration with the Planet Money podcast. They'll explain what happened this week, including what regulators could've done to prevent this financial crisis from happening in the first place. You can learn more about the daily ins and outs and join the discussion on the Planet Money blog.
Prologue.
Host Ira Glass goes to Union Square, a 15-minute subway ride from Wall Street, where it doesn't look like we're on the edge of an economic abyss. (3 minutes)
Act One. The Day the Market Died.
Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson recount the 36-hour period, two weeks ago, when the credit markets froze. Plus, what it’s like now for businesses to get short-term loans, and how the hardship is spreading to every sector of the economy. (16 minutes)
Act Two. Out of the Hedges and Into the Woods.
One more confusing financial product that’s bringing down the global economy. And one of way to think about this product is this: If bad mortgages got the financial system sick, this next thing you’re about to hear about, helped spread the sickness into an epidemic. These are "credit default swaps." Alex explains. (19 minutes)
Act Three. Swap Cops.
Ira talks with Michael Greenberger, a former commodities regulator, who tells the story of when it was decided not to regulate credit default swaps. And how that decision was emblematic of the way we didn’t regulate a lot of the toxic financial products we’re hearing about now. (8 minutes)Song: "Bankrupt on Selling," Modest Mouse
Act Four. What's Next?
Ira and Adam answer the question: Was the $700 billion bailout bill signed into law today a good idea or a bad one? (10 minutes)
Alex Blumberg and NPR's Adam Davidson—the two guys who reported our Giant Pool of Money episode—are back, in collaboration with the Planet Money podcast. They'll explain what happened this week, including what regulators could've done to prevent this financial crisis from happening in the first place. You can learn more about the daily ins and outs and join the discussion on the Planet Money blog.
Prologue.
Host Ira Glass goes to Union Square, a 15-minute subway ride from Wall Street, where it doesn't look like we're on the edge of an economic abyss. (3 minutes)
Act One. The Day the Market Died.
Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson recount the 36-hour period, two weeks ago, when the credit markets froze. Plus, what it’s like now for businesses to get short-term loans, and how the hardship is spreading to every sector of the economy. (16 minutes)
Act Two. Out of the Hedges and Into the Woods.
One more confusing financial product that’s bringing down the global economy. And one of way to think about this product is this: If bad mortgages got the financial system sick, this next thing you’re about to hear about, helped spread the sickness into an epidemic. These are "credit default swaps." Alex explains. (19 minutes)
Act Three. Swap Cops.
Ira talks with Michael Greenberger, a former commodities regulator, who tells the story of when it was decided not to regulate credit default swaps. And how that decision was emblematic of the way we didn’t regulate a lot of the toxic financial products we’re hearing about now. (8 minutes)Song: "Bankrupt on Selling," Modest Mouse
Act Four. What's Next?
Ira and Adam answer the question: Was the $700 billion bailout bill signed into law today a good idea or a bad one? (10 minutes)
Monday, October 06, 2008
Flys With Honey
What's interesting about this Keating-5 document to me is not McCain's involvement in the scandal, but the misspellings and typos. Check out:
...it flys in the face of...
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Fool?
I am.
Sarah Palin has taken her heels off, apparently, to insinuate a relationship between Barack Obama and a man who was once a leader in the Weather Underground movement. She calls this man, William Ayers a terrorist, but the facts don't hold up.
From CNN:
In the 1960s, Ayers was a founding member of the radical Weather Underground group. Federal charges against them were dropped due to FBI misconduct in gathering evidence. Ayers, 63, is now an education professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt told CNN that after meeting Obama through the Annenberg project, Ayers hosted a campaign event for him that same year. LaBolt also said the two have not spoken by phone or exchanged e-mail messages since Obama came to the U.S. Senate in 2005.
There is no indication that Ayers and Obama are now "palling around," or that they have had an ongoing relationship in the past three years. Also, there is nothing to suggest that Ayers is now involved in terrorist activity or that other Obama associates are.
It's laughable to believe that the University of Illinois has a terrorist holding a tenured teaching position. And it's despicable, the lengths to which the McCain campaign will go; when, without much dredging or insinuating anyone could easily make the argument that as a member of the Keating 5, John McCain is the last person we'd want in the White House, given our current economic crisis.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Facebook Confusion: Friend vs. Acquaintance
Here's what's happening to me on facebook. Lovely people who I recognize but will never see again and never really had any relationship with other than attending the same high school, add me as a friend on facebook. It's a quandary. I am very particular with words - and some of these people were never my friends and they certainly aren't my friends now. They meet the classic definition of acquaintances.
ac·quaint·ance
–noun 1. a person known to one, but usually not a close friend.
2. the state of being acquainted.
3. personal knowledge as a result of study, experience, etc.: a good acquaintance with French wines.
4. (used with a plural verb) the persons with whom one is acquainted.
I wish I had the option to add these people as acquaintances instead of ignoring them or saying, in a sort of forced way, "hi friend!!" It's awkward. I don't add people as friends if we weren't ever really friends.
I have come to a decision though that I am going to have to hit 'ignore'. It's the only option. It feels like some sort of Seinfeld episode like when Jerry put his foot down about kissing virtual strangers - kissing hello, kissing goodbye. That's me. I'm just not comfortable. I can't do it I tell ya.
ac·quaint·ance
–noun 1. a person known to one, but usually not a close friend.
2. the state of being acquainted.
3. personal knowledge as a result of study, experience, etc.: a good acquaintance with French wines.
4. (used with a plural verb) the persons with whom one is acquainted.
I wish I had the option to add these people as acquaintances instead of ignoring them or saying, in a sort of forced way, "hi friend!!" It's awkward. I don't add people as friends if we weren't ever really friends.
I have come to a decision though that I am going to have to hit 'ignore'. It's the only option. It feels like some sort of Seinfeld episode like when Jerry put his foot down about kissing virtual strangers - kissing hello, kissing goodbye. That's me. I'm just not comfortable. I can't do it I tell ya.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
I'm reminded of Hopkins today.
One of my favorite poems, and one of the few I've committed to memory:
Spring and Fall
to a young child
Margaret, are you grieving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leaves, like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! as the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By & by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
And yet you wíll weep & know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sorrow's springs are the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What héart héard of, ghóst guéssed:
It is the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leaves, like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! as the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By & by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
And yet you wíll weep & know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sorrow's springs are the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What héart héard of, ghóst guéssed:
It is the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Helene's Spleen: Sarah "six-pack" Palin - just a regular gal for 'mongst the hoity-toity Washington elite
Helene's Spleen: Sarah "six-pack" Palin - just a regular gal for 'mongst the hoity-toity Washington elite
This is very funny. How did we get from John Doe (so respectable) to Joe Six-Pack?
This is very funny. How did we get from John Doe (so respectable) to Joe Six-Pack?
I stand by all the misstatements that I've made
On the eve of the Vice Presidential debate, I am fondly reminded of that other bumbling fool in-over-his-head VP, Dan Quayle. Here are some of my personal favorites:
"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is." Source: (USA Today 5/10/89)
"There were no Palestinians riding on planes on September 9th."
Source Time Magazine (Quayle was referencing the 9/11 attacks)
"The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I mean in this century's history. But we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century."
Senator Dan Quayle, 9/15/88 (reported in Esquire, 8/92, The New Yorker, 10/10/88, p.102)
"Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things."
Senator Dan Quayle, 10/30/88 (reported in Esquire, 8/92 and the LA Times, 10/30/88)
"Hawaii has always been a very pivotal role in the Pacific. It is in the Pacific. It is a part of the United States that is an island that is right here."
Vice President Dan Quayle, Hawaii, 4/25/89 (reported in Esquire, 8/92)
The other day [the President] said, I know you've had some rough times, and I want to do something that will show the nation what faith that I have in you, in your maturity and sense of responsibility. (He paused, then said) Would you like a puppy?
Source: LA Times 5/21/89
"We are on an irreversible trend towards more freedom and democracy - but that could change."
Vice President Dan Quayle, Hawaii, 5/22/89 (reported in Esquire, 8/92)
"Mars is essentially in the same orbit...Mars is somewhat the same distance from the Sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe."
Vice President Dan Quayle, Hawaii, 8/11/89 (interview broadcast on CNN, referenced in 9/1/89 Washington Post article: "A Quayle Vision of Mars")
"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'."
December 6, 1993
"For NASA, space is still a high priority."
Vice President Dan Quayle, talking to NASA employees, 9/5/90 (reported in Esquire, 8/92)
"I have been asked who caused the riots and the killing in LA, my answer has been direct & simple: Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame."
Vice President Dan Quayle (during the Commonwealth Club speech 5/19/92)
"Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it."
Vice President Dan Quayle, 5/20/92 (reported in Esquire, 8/92)
Attributed:
"I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix."
"Potato. P-O-T-A-T-O-E."
"My friends, no matter how rough the road may be, we can and we will never surrender to what is right."
In a speech to the Christian Coalition
"You all look like happy campers to me. Happy campers you are, happy campers you have been, and, as far as I am concerned, happy campers you will always be."
In a speech to American Samoans
"I stand by all my misstatements."
"The future will be better tomorrow."
"A word of advice: 'get a job.'"
"We're going to have the best educated American people in the world."
"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is." Source: (USA Today 5/10/89)
"There were no Palestinians riding on planes on September 9th."
Source Time Magazine (Quayle was referencing the 9/11 attacks)
"The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I mean in this century's history. But we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century."
Senator Dan Quayle, 9/15/88 (reported in Esquire, 8/92, The New Yorker, 10/10/88, p.102)
"Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things."
Senator Dan Quayle, 10/30/88 (reported in Esquire, 8/92 and the LA Times, 10/30/88)
"Hawaii has always been a very pivotal role in the Pacific. It is in the Pacific. It is a part of the United States that is an island that is right here."
Vice President Dan Quayle, Hawaii, 4/25/89 (reported in Esquire, 8/92)
The other day [the President] said, I know you've had some rough times, and I want to do something that will show the nation what faith that I have in you, in your maturity and sense of responsibility. (He paused, then said) Would you like a puppy?
Source: LA Times 5/21/89
"We are on an irreversible trend towards more freedom and democracy - but that could change."
Vice President Dan Quayle, Hawaii, 5/22/89 (reported in Esquire, 8/92)
"Mars is essentially in the same orbit...Mars is somewhat the same distance from the Sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe."
Vice President Dan Quayle, Hawaii, 8/11/89 (interview broadcast on CNN, referenced in 9/1/89 Washington Post article: "A Quayle Vision of Mars")
"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'."
December 6, 1993
"For NASA, space is still a high priority."
Vice President Dan Quayle, talking to NASA employees, 9/5/90 (reported in Esquire, 8/92)
"I have been asked who caused the riots and the killing in LA, my answer has been direct & simple: Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame."
Vice President Dan Quayle (during the Commonwealth Club speech 5/19/92)
"Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it."
Vice President Dan Quayle, 5/20/92 (reported in Esquire, 8/92)
Attributed:
"I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix."
"Potato. P-O-T-A-T-O-E."
"My friends, no matter how rough the road may be, we can and we will never surrender to what is right."
In a speech to the Christian Coalition
"You all look like happy campers to me. Happy campers you are, happy campers you have been, and, as far as I am concerned, happy campers you will always be."
In a speech to American Samoans
"I stand by all my misstatements."
"The future will be better tomorrow."
"A word of advice: 'get a job.'"
"We're going to have the best educated American people in the world."
Baby U
I heard a fascinating story yesterday on This American Life (podcast) about Geoffrey Canada, the founder of The Harlem Children's Zone. Canada started to Think Big, which is what the edition of TAL was all about. He wanted to solve big problems in a big way - getting kids out of poverty, keeping black boys from fast-tracking into the prison system and getting Harlem kids prepared for adulthood. It's truly extraordinary what Canada realized and how easy it could be to make a significant change. According to him, the most important difference between poor parents and well-to-do parents was the sheer number of words an affluent child hears. The amount of language and the quality of that language (encouraging and positive) is a deciding factor.
So, he began programs that are succeeding and showing amazing results teaching parents in Harlem things that suburban parents just know: namely that coporal punishment doesn't work, reading to your children is very important, building them up is crucial. It's interesting that in wealthy neighborhoods there is a strong sort of peer pressure to be a good parent. And there are very strong taboos about doing certain things that these poor parents were still free to do - 'popping' their kids, insulting them and running them down, yelling all the time, not going to pre-school - things that in my neighborhood we feel an intense pressure from our community to avoid. There would be a lot of gossip about me and kids wouldn't come for play dates if I were the kind of parent I heard about in this episode of This American Life. Very interesting.
www.thislife.org
So, he began programs that are succeeding and showing amazing results teaching parents in Harlem things that suburban parents just know: namely that coporal punishment doesn't work, reading to your children is very important, building them up is crucial. It's interesting that in wealthy neighborhoods there is a strong sort of peer pressure to be a good parent. And there are very strong taboos about doing certain things that these poor parents were still free to do - 'popping' their kids, insulting them and running them down, yelling all the time, not going to pre-school - things that in my neighborhood we feel an intense pressure from our community to avoid. There would be a lot of gossip about me and kids wouldn't come for play dates if I were the kind of parent I heard about in this episode of This American Life. Very interesting.
www.thislife.org
The Better to See You With
"A wolf is at the door" - George Bush
The Wildlife Action Fund is running an anti-Palin ad. A news article states:
"Last year, Palin's office announced the state would offer cash to kill wolves. Incentives included offering volunteer pilots and aerial gunner teams $150 for turning in the forelegs of freshly killed wolves."
This made me think of the movie Never Cry Wolf - an excellent film with Charles Martin Smith about Alasakan wolves. We used to love this film when I was in college. I remember watching it with Mike and Bennett. It sort of makes me sick that people were offered money to kill and dismember wolves. That movie made me love those animals.
The Wildlife Action Fund is running an anti-Palin ad. A news article states:
"Last year, Palin's office announced the state would offer cash to kill wolves. Incentives included offering volunteer pilots and aerial gunner teams $150 for turning in the forelegs of freshly killed wolves."
This made me think of the movie Never Cry Wolf - an excellent film with Charles Martin Smith about Alasakan wolves. We used to love this film when I was in college. I remember watching it with Mike and Bennett. It sort of makes me sick that people were offered money to kill and dismember wolves. That movie made me love those animals.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Owl Babies
I love Bird Note on NPR and I always hear it just after I drop off the boys at school. Today was about the great horned owl - a couple and their babies.
transcript:
Compared to many birds, Great Horned Owls remain with their parents a long time. Robins, for example, are fending for themselves only six weeks after they hatch. The two owlets are now almost seven months old. They were born in early March, from eggs laid in late January. The mother incubated the eggs for a month, never leaving the nest. During that month, the male Great Horned Owl was the sole provider.
By April, both parents were hunting through the night. They airlifted in meal after meal to the rapidly growing young, everything from delectable ducks to smelly skunks. But for the last two weeks, the adults have not fed the young. The owlets have learned the skills they need to hunt on their own.
Today could be the final day the family group roosts together. For any night now, the young owls will strike out on their own.
We’d like to know what you think of BirdNote. Please send your comments to info@BirdNote.org.
We had a book for Emery and then Wilbur called OWL BABIES about just this. And both boys loved that book and would have me read it 4 or 5 times each night. The story goes that the babies wake up and their mommy is not there. They think a lot and just when they are about to panic, she swoops into the nest and they flap and they dance and are overjoyed to see her. She asks what's all the fuss? You knew I'd come back!
Bird Note today reminded me of my little owlets and their favorite owlet book.
transcript:
Compared to many birds, Great Horned Owls remain with their parents a long time. Robins, for example, are fending for themselves only six weeks after they hatch. The two owlets are now almost seven months old. They were born in early March, from eggs laid in late January. The mother incubated the eggs for a month, never leaving the nest. During that month, the male Great Horned Owl was the sole provider.
By April, both parents were hunting through the night. They airlifted in meal after meal to the rapidly growing young, everything from delectable ducks to smelly skunks. But for the last two weeks, the adults have not fed the young. The owlets have learned the skills they need to hunt on their own.
Today could be the final day the family group roosts together. For any night now, the young owls will strike out on their own.
We’d like to know what you think of BirdNote. Please send your comments to info@BirdNote.org.
We had a book for Emery and then Wilbur called OWL BABIES about just this. And both boys loved that book and would have me read it 4 or 5 times each night. The story goes that the babies wake up and their mommy is not there. They think a lot and just when they are about to panic, she swoops into the nest and they flap and they dance and are overjoyed to see her. She asks what's all the fuss? You knew I'd come back!
Bird Note today reminded me of my little owlets and their favorite owlet book.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Newman
Doug's favorite movie is The Verdict - I mean his favorite movie not just favorite Newman film. Paul Newman is Doug's favorite actor and The Verdict is his favorite film. I bet we've seen it together 100 times and he has probably seen it 50 more on his own.
The reason Doug loves this film is the Sisyphean nature of Frank Galvan's struggle with the system, his past and himself. It's an Everyman kind of struggle, having really bad luck and then becoming your own stumbling block and your own worst enemy; raging against a machine that has money and power on its side. Yet Newman's character is victorious and he manages it with a little imagination and most importantly, he just wants it badly enough. He pleads with the universe that there is no losing here. And the universe responds.
This appeals to Doug and it's easy to see why. I always liked this film before I knew Doug, but I had missed the deeper meanings and the nuances. And there is something particular to manliness about needing to get back on top and to win.
So, thank you Mr. Paul Newman, for all the work you did and all the movies we love. But particularly, thank you for The Verdict.
The reason Doug loves this film is the Sisyphean nature of Frank Galvan's struggle with the system, his past and himself. It's an Everyman kind of struggle, having really bad luck and then becoming your own stumbling block and your own worst enemy; raging against a machine that has money and power on its side. Yet Newman's character is victorious and he manages it with a little imagination and most importantly, he just wants it badly enough. He pleads with the universe that there is no losing here. And the universe responds.
This appeals to Doug and it's easy to see why. I always liked this film before I knew Doug, but I had missed the deeper meanings and the nuances. And there is something particular to manliness about needing to get back on top and to win.
So, thank you Mr. Paul Newman, for all the work you did and all the movies we love. But particularly, thank you for The Verdict.
Friday, September 26, 2008
I'm not the only one who thinks it...
Palin should step down, conservative commentator says
Posted: 03:27 PM ET
From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Prominent conservative columnist Kathleen Parker, an early supporter of Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin, said Friday recent interviews have shown the Alaska governor is "out of her league" and should leave the GOP presidential ticket for the good of the party.
The criticism in Parker's Friday column is the latest in a recent string of negative assessments toward the McCain-Palin candidacy from prominent conservatives.
It was fun while it lasted," Parker writes. "Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who is clearly out of her league."
“If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself," Parker also writes. "If Palin were a man, we’d all be guffawing, just as we do every time Joe Biden tickles the back of his throat with his toes. But because she’s a woman — and the first ever on a Republican presidential ticket — we are reluctant to say what is painfully true."
Posted: 03:27 PM ET
From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney
Prominent conservative columnist Kathleen Parker, an early supporter of Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin, said Friday recent interviews have shown the Alaska governor is "out of her league" and should leave the GOP presidential ticket for the good of the party.
The criticism in Parker's Friday column is the latest in a recent string of negative assessments toward the McCain-Palin candidacy from prominent conservatives.
It was fun while it lasted," Parker writes. "Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who is clearly out of her league."
“If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself," Parker also writes. "If Palin were a man, we’d all be guffawing, just as we do every time Joe Biden tickles the back of his throat with his toes. But because she’s a woman — and the first ever on a Republican presidential ticket — we are reluctant to say what is painfully true."
A murder of crows
What if we did nothing? What if we let the free market economists have their day of reckoning? It's a lot of cacophonic shouting and pleading right now, but things haven't exactly turned out the way the hollerers predicted. Barclays steps in and buys Lehman's. Warren Buffet invests 5 billion bargain dollars in Goldman Sachs. JPMorgan Chase now owns WaMu. Isn't this what is supposed to happen? There are losers and those losers get snapped up by those who can afford to play...
I don't know if we should do nothing. I am not an economist. But I do know that it's easy to spout off your principles and core beliefs when everything is telling you you're right or to promulgate those beliefs in the realm of the hypothetical. It's certainly harder to live them out when it's not monopoly money and red plastic houses. And if capitalism is one of our core beliefs, now is the time to live it.
I don't know if we should do nothing. I am not an economist. But I do know that it's easy to spout off your principles and core beliefs when everything is telling you you're right or to promulgate those beliefs in the realm of the hypothetical. It's certainly harder to live them out when it's not monopoly money and red plastic houses. And if capitalism is one of our core beliefs, now is the time to live it.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Witchcraft Big Problem
Witchraft, once a small but growing problem in American life, is becoming a widespread epidemic in rural America. Leaders from the Republican party say protection from Witchcraft is an imperative for GOP candidates now, as Witches perniciously seek to control public servants' minds and hearts. No longer a fear for the crackpot few, "Witchcraft must take center stage as one of the most dire threats to GOP candidates!", said a leader in the Republican Party.
"What we are seeing is stunning. Brooms, pointed hats, women with moles on their faces - someone in Wasilla recently saw a witch walking her cat! This is a big deal and the rest of the country better wake up and get prayed for!" Bob Denster, an Alaska native, said that Witchcraft has been a growing problem in the state with the long, dark winters where Wicca thrive. "They need darkness, lots a darkness, so naturally they like it here in the Winter."
The Republican party is warning that this Halloween could be a bigger crisis than the current financial debacle, given that Sarah Palin is the only candidate who has been specifically prayed over and protected from Witchcraft. A leading Republican strategist claimed, "We could see all the other candidates spelled. Who knows what could happen."
"What we are seeing is stunning. Brooms, pointed hats, women with moles on their faces - someone in Wasilla recently saw a witch walking her cat! This is a big deal and the rest of the country better wake up and get prayed for!" Bob Denster, an Alaska native, said that Witchcraft has been a growing problem in the state with the long, dark winters where Wicca thrive. "They need darkness, lots a darkness, so naturally they like it here in the Winter."
The Republican party is warning that this Halloween could be a bigger crisis than the current financial debacle, given that Sarah Palin is the only candidate who has been specifically prayed over and protected from Witchcraft. A leading Republican strategist claimed, "We could see all the other candidates spelled. Who knows what could happen."
Snap! I can't debate on Friday!
I would advise John McCain to keep his Blackberry handy so he can be in constant communication via... SNAP! He does have to go back to Washington!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
The Anne Frank Doctrine
My father and I once had an argument about his political conservatism and my political liberalism that engendered this contrast between us: he said that people, left to their own devices with their money will make better decisions than the government would; I said the opposite. It boiled down to the essence which was that my father adhered to the Anne Frank Doctrine saying People Are Basically Good and I did not. I believe that people are basically petty.
If I had been Anne Frank I would never have written her gracious words. I think people, left to their own devices with money or anything else - with no one watching, exhibit greed, stupidity, pettiness and xenophobia. And as much as I love my daddy, I think history and the current financial crisis show I am right.
It's an odd position that we came to in that argument but I see where my father was coming from. He felt that problems should be addressed at the local level without interference from the Federal Government. He believed that people would do the right things to address issues in their community. And he felt they should have more of their own money (pay less tax, so they could give more to charity and church if they chose) and should be free to make money in a free market.
I couldn't disagree more. I think people will keep all their money and give little away if they have no incentive to do so (like a tax break). I think if they can find a way to make money on the back of someone else, they will. I think if they can convince themselves that a profitable loophole is only unethical and not illegal, or illegal but they are sure not to get caught, they'll do it.
It doesn't make me pleased to find people are not good at heart. But they keep proving me again and again.
If I had been Anne Frank I would never have written her gracious words. I think people, left to their own devices with money or anything else - with no one watching, exhibit greed, stupidity, pettiness and xenophobia. And as much as I love my daddy, I think history and the current financial crisis show I am right.
It's an odd position that we came to in that argument but I see where my father was coming from. He felt that problems should be addressed at the local level without interference from the Federal Government. He believed that people would do the right things to address issues in their community. And he felt they should have more of their own money (pay less tax, so they could give more to charity and church if they chose) and should be free to make money in a free market.
I couldn't disagree more. I think people will keep all their money and give little away if they have no incentive to do so (like a tax break). I think if they can find a way to make money on the back of someone else, they will. I think if they can convince themselves that a profitable loophole is only unethical and not illegal, or illegal but they are sure not to get caught, they'll do it.
It doesn't make me pleased to find people are not good at heart. But they keep proving me again and again.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Dear Daddy,
It's impossible to describe how I feel each year on this day. A friend of mine, Jon, once described grieving his mother and said that he hated how the passage of time made things easier - that made it harder. He didn't want to start missing her less. That was a new kind of pain. I know exactly what he meant. Time has dulled the pain down to a dull edge and that makes me so sad.
Daddy, we think of you so often. We were just in Palm Springs and thought how much fun we would all have there. How many times do we do something or go somewhere that we say, "Wayne would love this" or "Daddy would have made that so much fun"? Doug loves you so much and always wanted to spend more time with you. When the boys say something that we know you would find particularly funny we catch the melancholy and laugh but feel like crying. I miss how you feel and how you smell. I miss hugging you. I miss your arm on my shoulder. I miss your pride in me. I miss commenting on how alike we are. I miss hearing you sing and quote poetry. I miss the stories you told. I miss your humor and your nicknames for everyone you loved: The Captain, the Molitor, Agent Orange, the Silver Fox, Simmar Lamon (the funny story of Lamar Simmons at the Laredo golf tournament), Midget, Squirrel... I miss having you in the world. You are hard to describe to people who didn't know you and that frustrates me. I see them smiling fondly as I try to describe you, but you are so much more vivid. You were so much more interesting in person. A renaissance man, a man of faith, a man who knew sonnets and poems, who loved opera, a man who was funny and Texan and small-town and big city, a man knew how to eat well and drink well, who was always ready to celebrate, a man who always went first class.
The world doesn't seem right without you.
I talk to you often and I wonder what the divine is like. You will make a place for us someday and I will see you then. Until that time, I will miss you more and less every day.
Love,
Paige
Daddy, we think of you so often. We were just in Palm Springs and thought how much fun we would all have there. How many times do we do something or go somewhere that we say, "Wayne would love this" or "Daddy would have made that so much fun"? Doug loves you so much and always wanted to spend more time with you. When the boys say something that we know you would find particularly funny we catch the melancholy and laugh but feel like crying. I miss how you feel and how you smell. I miss hugging you. I miss your arm on my shoulder. I miss your pride in me. I miss commenting on how alike we are. I miss hearing you sing and quote poetry. I miss the stories you told. I miss your humor and your nicknames for everyone you loved: The Captain, the Molitor, Agent Orange, the Silver Fox, Simmar Lamon (the funny story of Lamar Simmons at the Laredo golf tournament), Midget, Squirrel... I miss having you in the world. You are hard to describe to people who didn't know you and that frustrates me. I see them smiling fondly as I try to describe you, but you are so much more vivid. You were so much more interesting in person. A renaissance man, a man of faith, a man who knew sonnets and poems, who loved opera, a man who was funny and Texan and small-town and big city, a man knew how to eat well and drink well, who was always ready to celebrate, a man who always went first class.
The world doesn't seem right without you.
I talk to you often and I wonder what the divine is like. You will make a place for us someday and I will see you then. Until that time, I will miss you more and less every day.
Love,
Paige
Monday, September 15, 2008
Be the Ball
People who are tired of the mess we are in and who intend to see a better day in this country must stop saying that Barack Obama is going to lose. We must instead practice the audacity of hope that he wrote about and engage ancient wisdom that says if you want something CLAIM it.
Let's just claim it. We are claiming the change. No wavering. No concessions. Not even a hint of doubt. Be the Ball.
Friday, September 12, 2008
She talks like a duck and Emery's first library card
There is another news story this morning online about Sarah Palin's repeated inquiries to a librarian about what the librarian would do if she were asked to remove a book title from the shelves.
The librarian told Mayor Palin that she did not abide censorship and reminded the Mayor of the Constitution's stance on such behavior.
People in the middle or on the right really want to downplay this and think Liberals and Democrats are exploiting some innocent inquiries, trying to turn Palin's conservatism into fascism. But I say, we all know exactly what Sarah Palin was asking that librarian. And we all know why that librarian was fired by Palin and then reinstated.
We have to fear when one group of people wants to control what the rest of us read.
This was all brought to the forefront of my mind as Emery got his first library card this week.
The documents that accompanied the card in the mail stated that the library's mission was to provide free, open and equal access to ideas and information for all members of the community. It gave me a boost of civic pride to read that.
Emery has a constitutional right protecting his access to information and ideas. We have to continue to guard against the kind of hubris and arrogance that whispers in the ears of the Palins that they speak for me and for my children. That is an insidious and pernicious voice that says to a Sarah Palin, 'I know best - I know which ideas are dangerous and I will determine what is fit for public consumption.'
We all know why Palin asked about books being banned. Maybe some people are fooled by this woman and her insouciant hair, but I am not.
The librarian told Mayor Palin that she did not abide censorship and reminded the Mayor of the Constitution's stance on such behavior.
People in the middle or on the right really want to downplay this and think Liberals and Democrats are exploiting some innocent inquiries, trying to turn Palin's conservatism into fascism. But I say, we all know exactly what Sarah Palin was asking that librarian. And we all know why that librarian was fired by Palin and then reinstated.
We have to fear when one group of people wants to control what the rest of us read.
This was all brought to the forefront of my mind as Emery got his first library card this week.
The documents that accompanied the card in the mail stated that the library's mission was to provide free, open and equal access to ideas and information for all members of the community. It gave me a boost of civic pride to read that.
Emery has a constitutional right protecting his access to information and ideas. We have to continue to guard against the kind of hubris and arrogance that whispers in the ears of the Palins that they speak for me and for my children. That is an insidious and pernicious voice that says to a Sarah Palin, 'I know best - I know which ideas are dangerous and I will determine what is fit for public consumption.'
We all know why Palin asked about books being banned. Maybe some people are fooled by this woman and her insouciant hair, but I am not.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Okapi
This word was once the answer to a clue on a NY Times crossword. I was stuck on the clue and Emery said, "give me one and see if I get it." So I read the clue 'Giraffe like African animal' or soemthing like that and Emery goes:
"hmmm...
I'd say Okapi"
San Antonio is #2!
I read an article yesterday that said SA plans to convert human waste to energy, selling methane gas from the San Antonio Water System sewage plant to an energy company in Massachusetts.
Of course the obvious puns leap to mind simply because of how many refried beans are consumed in SA... But I'm proud of my hometown. South Texas is so different than North Texas. More Catholic = more fun. You'll never find a dry county in S. Texas. You won't find that rich people outnumber poor people in S. Texas. You won't find anyone wearing a tight red leather mini-skirted suit and peplum with red leather stilettos on a Sunday morning at au bon pan in S. Texas (that's a true story which can be confirmed by Sad Trashy Jon).
What you'll find is diversity and poverty, good food and big, devoted families that will spend their last hundred bucks on a huge party that the whole neighborhood attends to celebrate a child's first birthday (that's a story too and there were balloons, smurfs, mariachis AND a live band somewhere off Zazamorra Road. I was hired as the smurf).
The Baptists in San Antonio act more like Catholics. The Baptists in N. Texas act more like Church of Christ (not to be confused with our denomination The United Church of Christ) or Assembly of God. I mean Catholic in the sense that they drink, party, forgive, atone, confess, start all over again. They aren't stereotypically sanctimonious like N. Texas, where you have to drive an extra 5 miles because you find yourself in a gas station or grocery store where there is no beer. In South Texas you certainly won't find yourself at a Baptist wedding where no alcohol is served and people keep disappearing out to their cars to imbibe the beverage they had to drive 10 miles out of town to buy (That's a true story about a Wichita Falls wedding and not a drop to drink, can you imagine? How is it acceptable to ask people to attend your daughter's wedding ceremony, which goes on forever and everyone knows will end in divorce - it did- and where all the guests had to go to the tiny Wichita Falls airstrip to watch the happy couple fly away in her daddy's Cessna AND NOT GIVE US A COCKTAIL???!!! It was an outrage).
So, Bottoms Up San Antonio! Good for you! There is some spiritual metaphor in this. Menudo and Margaritas for all!
Sunday, September 07, 2008
She is Trash that Won't Burn
If Sarah Palin were some sort of free love wielding hippie I could forgive the low rent behavior much more easily. But this is a woman and mother who preaches abstinence. And now she's put her daughter in the impossible position of having absolutely no choices. Can't choose an abortion, can't easily choose adoption (most good adoptive parents wouldn't want this much notoriety surrounding their adoption and any adoptive parents who would seek such attention are probably nut cases), she can't decide to remain unmarried and most importantly, she can't opt to quietly make her personal decision without the entire world looking on and sitting in judgement. This is what Billing's mother chose for her (I know her name is Bristol. That's ridiculous too).
So, what bothers me is not that Sarah Palin has a tiny babe who has some special challenges and she's not staying home to care for him. She was already opting for work over home, and I admire her for that because I was a lousy stay-at-home parent. No, it's just the timing and the realm that bother me. Pushing private problems into a public space for our consumption is not a choice that seems to fit with the platform of Family Values. The Republican Platform and the solidity of that platform in the face of turmoil is what I question. I have always believed there is no moral center there and the center-stage appearance by this teenager who got herself knocked up is the proof.
Friday, September 05, 2008
If you don't cut that out I am going to slap you into the middle of next week
I think both Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama are stylish and elegant. I'm more than a little tired of hearing about it and indulging the criticims of their choice of dress, their weight, their stylishness or lack thereof. No one ever talks about McCain's jowls or Obama's crow's feet. Over and over again, women in the public eye (who are not even actresses or performers) are scrutinized and evaluated by a standard that has NOTHING what-so-ever to do with who they are or what they've accomplished. And I'm just tired of it.
Stupid men are so stupid that they don't know that they are doing it. So here is my message to the critics of Hillary's hips, Cindy's work (and cosmetic surgeon) and so on and so on: Stop doing this. Stop it. Leave it. Behave better. Quit being sexist boors.
Stupid men are so stupid that they don't know that they are doing it. So here is my message to the critics of Hillary's hips, Cindy's work (and cosmetic surgeon) and so on and so on: Stop doing this. Stop it. Leave it. Behave better. Quit being sexist boors.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Emery's first Film Festival
If you skip ahead to the segment called, "EGG", you'll hear Emery's voice and see his claymation animation:
http://web.mac.com/luallenbaugh/HOME/_.html
http://web.mac.com/luallenbaugh/HOME/_.html
Friday, August 08, 2008
Bad Mommy
There was a time, when my children were babes, I couldn't imagine having a cross word with them. Those days seem long ago.
This morning, after awaking with an horrific toothache, Em knocked over the TV tray that substitutes as my office desk at the moment, sending my laptop and my coffee to the carpet.
ARGH%*&&###%!!!%%!!! I was so mad. I totally lost my temper - What were you doing?!? Do you know that's going to stain?? WERE YOU TOUCHING MY COMPUTER EVEN THOUGH I'VE TOLD YOU REPEATEDLY NOT TO????!!!
I stormed through the wreck of our house, stomping past all the sweaty men who show up every day to work on our remodel, holding my cheek and trying desperately to find the GODDAMN PAPER TOWELS, and as I cleaned up the coffee I started to cry.
Instant remorse. What an awful mother I am. Why did I get so mad? What is the big deal? Yes, I know that all the dust and mess compounds the spill... Can't I hold it together?
So, I called Leigh and confessed. I just needed to hear from another mother - and one that I think is better at it than I am - that I haven't scarred him for life or turned him into a drug addict - or Charles Whitman.
I asked for Em's forgiveness. Told him I was wrong for losing my temper. He said, "No, it's all my fault. I should have been more careful." I told him that I would appreciate that in the future, but it wasn't his fault that I lost my temper... I should control that. I asked for and received his forgiveness. A blessing.
This morning, after awaking with an horrific toothache, Em knocked over the TV tray that substitutes as my office desk at the moment, sending my laptop and my coffee to the carpet.
ARGH%*&&###%!!!%%!!! I was so mad. I totally lost my temper - What were you doing?!? Do you know that's going to stain?? WERE YOU TOUCHING MY COMPUTER EVEN THOUGH I'VE TOLD YOU REPEATEDLY NOT TO????!!!
I stormed through the wreck of our house, stomping past all the sweaty men who show up every day to work on our remodel, holding my cheek and trying desperately to find the GODDAMN PAPER TOWELS, and as I cleaned up the coffee I started to cry.
Instant remorse. What an awful mother I am. Why did I get so mad? What is the big deal? Yes, I know that all the dust and mess compounds the spill... Can't I hold it together?
So, I called Leigh and confessed. I just needed to hear from another mother - and one that I think is better at it than I am - that I haven't scarred him for life or turned him into a drug addict - or Charles Whitman.
I asked for Em's forgiveness. Told him I was wrong for losing my temper. He said, "No, it's all my fault. I should have been more careful." I told him that I would appreciate that in the future, but it wasn't his fault that I lost my temper... I should control that. I asked for and received his forgiveness. A blessing.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
August 7, 2006
Today is the second anniversary of my brother-in-law, David's, death. We miss him so. David owned a greenhouse in Atlantic, Iowa for more than 20 years and the hostas we have growing in front of the house are plants he raised. I always think of him as I pass them; it may be that so tiny milisecond that registers in a special place in my brain but it flashes in there: David's Hostas.
The Mourner's Kaddish for David.
Glorified and sanctified be God's great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon; and say, Amen.
May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.
Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.
May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us
and for all Israel; and say, Amen.
He who creates peace in His celestial heights, may He create peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.
The Mourner's Kaddish for David.
Glorified and sanctified be God's great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon; and say, Amen.
May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.
Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.
May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us
and for all Israel; and say, Amen.
He who creates peace in His celestial heights, may He create peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.
Going up (and up and away)
Emery's doing this cool animation camp this week where he's learning and doing claymation and stop animation. So we were talking about future careers in that and he asked me if when I was doing plays and stuff if I was able to always learn my lines. I answered yes, I was able to learn them. Then he asked, "was there ever a time when you just couldn't learn them?"
In fact there was one time, and I told him about it. Merry Wives of Windsor, the prose play (as I call it) was a show I did with Helene Gresser as Mistress Ford (I was Mistress Page)... And we simply could not learn our lines. I couldn't really explain to Em how the iambic pentameter usually helps immensely in memorization, and that this being a play without meter it was especially difficult; I did tell him of the rehearsal timeline, a shocking 2 weeks, at the end of a summer of 8 plays, this being the 8th... My brain was just done. And I hated the play. I didn't like the director (he was cukoo, like really). And it was a strange 'vehicle' piece for this actor who'd come in town just for this play. I had an instant dislike for him: who would travel anywhere to do Merry Wives. And then he wasn't any good as Falstaff - he was awful.
I am sure all these things are why I don't do that anymore, and don't particularly miss it. It's not just that I have kids or what-have-you... There was always so much not to like about the whole business. And the moments of sheer joy or glory were very few and far between.
In fact there was one time, and I told him about it. Merry Wives of Windsor, the prose play (as I call it) was a show I did with Helene Gresser as Mistress Ford (I was Mistress Page)... And we simply could not learn our lines. I couldn't really explain to Em how the iambic pentameter usually helps immensely in memorization, and that this being a play without meter it was especially difficult; I did tell him of the rehearsal timeline, a shocking 2 weeks, at the end of a summer of 8 plays, this being the 8th... My brain was just done. And I hated the play. I didn't like the director (he was cukoo, like really). And it was a strange 'vehicle' piece for this actor who'd come in town just for this play. I had an instant dislike for him: who would travel anywhere to do Merry Wives. And then he wasn't any good as Falstaff - he was awful.
I am sure all these things are why I don't do that anymore, and don't particularly miss it. It's not just that I have kids or what-have-you... There was always so much not to like about the whole business. And the moments of sheer joy or glory were very few and far between.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Joe Lockhart is a Funny Guy
So, yesterday's This American Life podcast was a marriage of two things I really enjoy - TAL and The Moth. The story featured former White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart talking about his first trip abroad with the President.
I love when two things, that were previously unrelated, come together. It's kind of like finding out that two people you know and like from very different times and places in your life, actually know each other...
I love when two things, that were previously unrelated, come together. It's kind of like finding out that two people you know and like from very different times and places in your life, actually know each other...
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
The Game of Sweet Revenge
We played LIFE on Sunday night and SORRY, the game of sweet revenge, last night. It's so fun to sit down, all four of us, and play games. We took a popsicle break in the middle and I raced the boys to the freezer (the free-standing freezer which is in the middle of a room which could loosely be described as the kitchen, only because there is a free-standing sink in there too).
{The house is really coming along. The 'joint compound guy' - who is a different guy from 'dry wall guy' - has been here all week. The deck is done and they are just finishing the two step downs. The bead board has gone up over the side porch by the dutch door and all the siding and trim outside is almost complete.}
Wilbur was so funny playing Sorry. He kept doing this funny thing when moving his pawn; counting really slowly and laughing a funny laugh.
Emery and I have been playing chess at this weekly appointment we have where they have a chess set in the waiting room, but it's really a joke b/c I am a horrible chess player. I know how the pieces are allowed to move and that's about it. When we play, Emery often looks up at me with this mixture of confusion and care; like he doesn't want to call me out since I am his mom, and he doesn't want to think that I am that stupid because, well, because I am his mom, or, I can see him thinking, "Maybe she's making genius moves that are so far beyond anything I know of chess and it just looks idiotic..."
Games are fun and hard. It's a good way to learn how to have fun winning and how to care not so much about losing - a difficult lesson to learn. Particularly with your family.
{The house is really coming along. The 'joint compound guy' - who is a different guy from 'dry wall guy' - has been here all week. The deck is done and they are just finishing the two step downs. The bead board has gone up over the side porch by the dutch door and all the siding and trim outside is almost complete.}
Wilbur was so funny playing Sorry. He kept doing this funny thing when moving his pawn; counting really slowly and laughing a funny laugh.
Emery and I have been playing chess at this weekly appointment we have where they have a chess set in the waiting room, but it's really a joke b/c I am a horrible chess player. I know how the pieces are allowed to move and that's about it. When we play, Emery often looks up at me with this mixture of confusion and care; like he doesn't want to call me out since I am his mom, and he doesn't want to think that I am that stupid because, well, because I am his mom, or, I can see him thinking, "Maybe she's making genius moves that are so far beyond anything I know of chess and it just looks idiotic..."
Games are fun and hard. It's a good way to learn how to have fun winning and how to care not so much about losing - a difficult lesson to learn. Particularly with your family.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Insight
Sent as email to MH:
I read this fascinating article in this past week's New Yorker that I insist you read, if you haven't already. It's about some research being done into 'Insight' and how it happens; how the brain happens on epiphany and what happens in the brain when we have an insight or an epiphany. It really focuses on the Right brain and the need to wander, get distracted and also come to an impasse in whatever problem we are trying to solve.
I find this absolutely fascinating b/c this is how I think and I have often been discouraged from my natural pattern of non-focus and disorganization (and sometimes I do the same to Emery!).
The impasse is absolutely critical. If the brain doesn't experience that feeling of almost giving up (on coming up with a solution, answer, solving the problem, etc.) it's almost like the insight can't happen. And the wander is essential too - that's when the right brain engages and starts making the strange connections that are "big picture" connections - bringing together seemingly unrelated things to arrive at insight.
I read this fascinating article in this past week's New Yorker that I insist you read, if you haven't already. It's about some research being done into 'Insight' and how it happens; how the brain happens on epiphany and what happens in the brain when we have an insight or an epiphany. It really focuses on the Right brain and the need to wander, get distracted and also come to an impasse in whatever problem we are trying to solve.
I find this absolutely fascinating b/c this is how I think and I have often been discouraged from my natural pattern of non-focus and disorganization (and sometimes I do the same to Emery!).
The impasse is absolutely critical. If the brain doesn't experience that feeling of almost giving up (on coming up with a solution, answer, solving the problem, etc.) it's almost like the insight can't happen. And the wander is essential too - that's when the right brain engages and starts making the strange connections that are "big picture" connections - bringing together seemingly unrelated things to arrive at insight.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Syuusan
I found Susan Babchick! What a doll. She's been living in London for I-don't-know-how-long and is married and looking fabulous. Susan (or Susie now, those Brits absolutely must make an YYY sound at the end of everything: Breaky? Chocky?) is one of the most fun people ever. Loving, positive, silly and sweet. She is the girl who always smiled when she talked and I swear her lips never touched. I am thrilled to find her and to be in touch.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Cutlass Supreme
Emery has a tiny Lego Pirate and the pirate has a sword. But Emery ALWAYS refers to this particular sword as a cutlass. I looked up cutlass and I found: a heavy, slightly curved sword with a single cutting edge formerly used by sailors on warships.
And he's always called it that as far back as I can remember. If I ever say sword, as in, "where is his sword?", Emery will say, "You mean his cutlass?"
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Supine Cycle
Today Doug and I saw a couple on a bike just like this. As we passed them in the car, Doug casually said, "we'd make it about 2 blocks on one of those things." He said, "We'd start to argue or I would be pedaling too fast for you and you'd get frustrated..."
We got hysterical. We said we should, like, make a list of What Not To Do If You Are Paige and Doug. I literally felt my driving was impaired because I was laughing so hard. It's just so much not us to be decked out in spandex on any kind of bicycle, much less recumbent, built for two bicycles.
We got hysterical. We said we should, like, make a list of What Not To Do If You Are Paige and Doug. I literally felt my driving was impaired because I was laughing so hard. It's just so much not us to be decked out in spandex on any kind of bicycle, much less recumbent, built for two bicycles.
Funny Wilbur
So, Wilbur had this staph infection on his thumb and we took him to the doctor and got prescription ointment for it and it's healing, but, the nail is going to come off. So, we've been watching his thumbnail for weeks now and it's lifting and lifting and about to come off.
Early this morning both boys came in our room and I told them to go get back in bed that they would be fine. And Wilbur does what he often does when he is asked to just 'go to sleep' or 'go to bed' - which is not his routine. [I could digress into the routine - pee, brush teeth, clothes off, head on mommy's lap, read book, drink milk, fall asleep.] He cried. So he got in bed with me and Doug went with Emery.
Fast forward to this morning. Wilbur is stroking my hair ever-so-gently, trying to get me to wake up. I say, "Let me see your thumb." I examine the thumb like I always do and talk about how that nail is going to come off... blah blah blah. And there is this long pause and he's grinning at me and then he says, "Now, let's see your fumb"
I just wonder what he thinks about us examining his thumb all the time. This little interchange today made me think he doesn't really see it the way we see it - the looking at the thumb and checking the infection. I got the distinct impression he just thinks we have an inordinate interest in that one digit. So, he would reciprocate and give my thumb a lot of attention too.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Quesadilla? What's Happening?
So, my This American Life podcast were these very interesting stories about obscure myths that we carry into adulthood - things too obscure to ask about or question; things that come up so rarely that we just keep believing the odd construct we came up with to explain them; and then what happens when we finally have the opportunity to say them out loud. For example, the producer of the piece had heard the phrase 'Nielsen Family' or 'Nielsen Rating' when he was 10 or 11 and he made up this logic in his mind that people named Nielsen must be a representative cross-section of average Americans, thus families named Nielsen got to rate television programs. It was only in his 30s that this phrase came up in conversation with another adult and the producer said something to his friend like, "Isn't it odd that they're all named Nielsen?" In each of the stories, this accidental confession is followed by a long awkward pause while the person hearing this crazy logic (which has been living in the speaker's head since childhood) absorbs and deconstructs how in the world the speaker could have arrived at such a conclusion.
One guy had always thought that Quesadilla was Spanish for "What's happening?"
I have one of these and it involves the song Oh Christmas Tree.
The opening of the story contained a phrase that I'll use again and again. Two people traveling in Europe were touristing and commenting on the architecture wherever they were. One of them said that there seemed to be a 'Moorish' influence and then they wandered further and further into Moorish influences and what was Moorish about the structure, etc., and suddenly they realized they had no idea what they were even talking about. One of them said that they sounded like some kind of magazine. A magazine called Modern Jackass.
One guy had always thought that Quesadilla was Spanish for "What's happening?"
I have one of these and it involves the song Oh Christmas Tree.
The opening of the story contained a phrase that I'll use again and again. Two people traveling in Europe were touristing and commenting on the architecture wherever they were. One of them said that there seemed to be a 'Moorish' influence and then they wandered further and further into Moorish influences and what was Moorish about the structure, etc., and suddenly they realized they had no idea what they were even talking about. One of them said that they sounded like some kind of magazine. A magazine called Modern Jackass.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Regret Reverie
I recently saw Janis Ian performing on the very first Saturday Night Live, hosted by George Carlin. Doug and I sat in stunned, awesome silence as we watched this tiny person literally mesmerize us with her song and her depth of feeling. It's lost the element of surprise but each time I watch her I get a lump in my throat.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Peptic and Gastric
So, I have an ulcer. Confirmed by an upper endoscopy. It's funny how I can trace my history of stress to my gut. That's where it settles and pains and wakes me up. This time it's from ingesting too much non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. I know why I ingest too many and I can say it's the fault of the evil insurance industry, which is why we should all vote democrat so we can straighten out this mess once and for all.
I have 2 kinds of headaches: tension and migraine. Sometimes what begins as a tension headache will mutate into a full-blown migraine. But, I only get enough migraine medication (Relpax) for 3 headaches per month. I could purchase more, that wouldn't be covered, but there's no generic and each pill is like 1,000 bucks (not really, but almost). So, when I get a tension headache or eye strain, I often pop excedrin to knock it out so that I can keep from wasting my migraine pills.
And that's how it has happened. I've taken too much over time and now I have an ulcer.
I knew something was wrong so, frankly, I was glad for them to confirm it with something real after the upper endoscopy last week. I don't have h. pylori (the bacteria which often causes ulcers) and the biopsy was normal.
I will have to walk away from the computer and stretch or relax or prostrate myself on the floor of my office to relieve stress and tension and eye strain. Or I'll go for a walk. But I can't put all those drugs in this almost-42-year-old body because she can't take it anymore...
I have 2 kinds of headaches: tension and migraine. Sometimes what begins as a tension headache will mutate into a full-blown migraine. But, I only get enough migraine medication (Relpax) for 3 headaches per month. I could purchase more, that wouldn't be covered, but there's no generic and each pill is like 1,000 bucks (not really, but almost). So, when I get a tension headache or eye strain, I often pop excedrin to knock it out so that I can keep from wasting my migraine pills.
And that's how it has happened. I've taken too much over time and now I have an ulcer.
I knew something was wrong so, frankly, I was glad for them to confirm it with something real after the upper endoscopy last week. I don't have h. pylori (the bacteria which often causes ulcers) and the biopsy was normal.
I will have to walk away from the computer and stretch or relax or prostrate myself on the floor of my office to relieve stress and tension and eye strain. Or I'll go for a walk. But I can't put all those drugs in this almost-42-year-old body because she can't take it anymore...
Monday, July 14, 2008
Amory Oliver
When I was growing up in San Antonio one of the things my mother thought one DID was to go to dancing school in the 6Th grade.
This wasn't ballet or tap (which I did from the age of 5), it was ballroom. And it wasn't merely learning the fox trot and it certainly was NEVER some kind of prep for a competition! No. This could have been called 'social graces' because what we did was learn fox trot, waltz, samba AND we learned the rules of cutting in, escorting a girl back to her chair, what to wear, how to get punch from the punch table, what to eat and what not to eat: a way of being that has clearly disappeared.
And the place everyone went to learn these things was Amory Oliver's in Alamo Heights. Alamo Heights (even way back then we all called it 09 for its zip code, 78209) was where old money resided in San Antonio, and Miss Oliver's studio was there. It was dilapidated in a genteel way. We all got dressed up every week as if we were going to Cotillion or coming out. I think I even wore white gloves.
This was one of the things you did to become a decent and social human being.
I was thinking about this over the weekend. How I'd like to find a place for Emery and Wilbur to take the same kind of lessons. I wonder if it even exists. I thought, it's a faded life that kind of social grace. I won't give up on it though! After all, if I pass it down to my boys then there are two more souls in the world who know how to lightly tap on the shoulder of a boy when he'd like to dance with the girl that young man is waltzing.
And then that boy will punch Emery or Wilbur in the nose.
Well, we'll try anyway...
This wasn't ballet or tap (which I did from the age of 5), it was ballroom. And it wasn't merely learning the fox trot and it certainly was NEVER some kind of prep for a competition! No. This could have been called 'social graces' because what we did was learn fox trot, waltz, samba AND we learned the rules of cutting in, escorting a girl back to her chair, what to wear, how to get punch from the punch table, what to eat and what not to eat: a way of being that has clearly disappeared.
And the place everyone went to learn these things was Amory Oliver's in Alamo Heights. Alamo Heights (even way back then we all called it 09 for its zip code, 78209) was where old money resided in San Antonio, and Miss Oliver's studio was there. It was dilapidated in a genteel way. We all got dressed up every week as if we were going to Cotillion or coming out. I think I even wore white gloves.
This was one of the things you did to become a decent and social human being.
I was thinking about this over the weekend. How I'd like to find a place for Emery and Wilbur to take the same kind of lessons. I wonder if it even exists. I thought, it's a faded life that kind of social grace. I won't give up on it though! After all, if I pass it down to my boys then there are two more souls in the world who know how to lightly tap on the shoulder of a boy when he'd like to dance with the girl that young man is waltzing.
And then that boy will punch Emery or Wilbur in the nose.
Well, we'll try anyway...
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Weekend Breakfasting...
we had so much fun. Got Wilbur all dressed up in his t-ball uniform and took him to get his picture made. Then went to breakfast. Very good morning.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Pliable and Blonde
http://hmsmedia.com/barhart.html
This is so excellent. It's godfather Mike in that yet-another-reality-show gimmick piece called the search for Elle Woods - or some such nonsense. He is fabulous!
This is so excellent. It's godfather Mike in that yet-another-reality-show gimmick piece called the search for Elle Woods - or some such nonsense. He is fabulous!
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Church Bulletins
I got these from the Marianne Williamson website. These are excerpts from church bulletins and they made me cry with laughter...
----------------------------------------------------------
The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
----------------------------------------------------------
The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight:"Searching for Jesus."
----------------------------------------------------------
Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.
----------------------------------------------------------
Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
----------------------------------------------------------
The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say "Hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.
----------------------------------------------------------
Don't let worry kill you off -- let the Church help.
----------------------------------------------------------
Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
----------------------------------------------------------
For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
----------------------------------------------------------
Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
----------------------------------------------------------
The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing:"Break Forth Into Joy."
----------------------------------------------------------
Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
------------------------------------------------ -----------------
At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.
----------------------------------------------------------
Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
----------------------------------------------------------
Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
----------------------------------------------------------
Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.
----------------------------------------------------------
The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.
----------------------------------------------------------
Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
----------------------------------------------------------
The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
----------------------------------------------------------
This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
----------------------------------------------------------
Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. is done.
----------------------------------------------------------
The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
--------------------------------------------- -------------
Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
----------------------------------------------------------
The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
----------------------------------------------------------
Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
----------------------------------------------------------
The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
----------------------------------------------------------
The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight:"Searching for Jesus."
----------------------------------------------------------
Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.
----------------------------------------------------------
Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
----------------------------------------------------------
The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say "Hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.
----------------------------------------------------------
Don't let worry kill you off -- let the Church help.
----------------------------------------------------------
Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
----------------------------------------------------------
For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
----------------------------------------------------------
Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
----------------------------------------------------------
The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing:"Break Forth Into Joy."
----------------------------------------------------------
Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
------------------------------------------------ -----------------
At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.
----------------------------------------------------------
Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
----------------------------------------------------------
Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
----------------------------------------------------------
Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.
----------------------------------------------------------
The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.
----------------------------------------------------------
Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
----------------------------------------------------------
The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
----------------------------------------------------------
This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
----------------------------------------------------------
Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. is done.
----------------------------------------------------------
The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
--------------------------------------------- -------------
Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
----------------------------------------------------------
The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
----------------------------------------------------------
Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
Friday, July 04, 2008
Happy Birthday to Mother
People always think it's funny that I call my mother Mother. It sounds overly formal to them - but it sounds loving to me. They are always Mother and Daddy because that's what my mother called her parents. Today is my mother's 70th birthday. Wow. It's hard to believe.
My mother has always done things the way they were supposed to be done. She followed protocol and stayed within the rules. And as much as that annoyed me as a teenager and even a 20-something person, today I find great comfort in that. Isn't life funny?
My mother always wore the right things, was svelte and petite, always had her hair coiffed, always RSVP'd, never arrived late, always looked effortlessly pretty, never missed her hair appointment, had her clothes made by a seamstress in Ft. Worth during her youth, always worked, was never lazy, wouldn't have us running around town looking like Ragamuffins, always went to church on Sunday, had a bag and shoes that matched - and a sensible bag, had fabulous costume jewelry during my youth, loved to travel, loved her family.
My mother taught school for 38 years, thus when we were growing up, she was off when we were off from school. Every summer she planned all these cultural excursions, a small sampling of them: going to the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, The McNay Art Museum in SA, Visiting various courthouses, the Hertzberg Circus Collection, Hemisphere Plaza (and eating at the restaurant at the top where my brother asked, "What are creeps?" when he saw Crepes on the menu), eating a very fancy lunch at La Louisiane - a fabulous and very expensive french restaurant in San Antonio, and many more.
My mother often says that she isn't sure where I got my passion for voluntarism, but that's silly, I got it from her. It comes from all her teaching about citizenship and her expectation that we would participate in our community as good citizens, however we expressed that. My mother showed us, summer after summer, that we were to go to these public places and we were to be cognizant of what went on in them - courthouse or museum - we were part of the community and we should be engaged and informed. She didn't say that in words, but she did it, by hauling us all over creation when we could have easily gone the country club and sat by the pool.
Being a mother myself now, I understand the passion she had for teaching us because working up that kind of gumption and energy to instruct us after getting a break from teaching and working herself was a feat. I didn't really understand that until I had children of my own and the desire to do nothing - to send them out into the backyard or let them watch a program - is pretty overwhelming. No, my mother was bound and determined to mold us and bring us up as Citizens and I am so grateful to her.
Today is Mother's 70th birthday, as I wrote. And I put together a book of old pictures and memories from her life... Pictures of the house where she grew up and the house in San Antonio where I grew up that I was able to pull of google earth. Technology is cool. I hope she loves it and I want her to know what a rich and fabulous life she made for us and what a great mother she is.
So, a very happy birthday to the woman who is the mother I'd like to be.
xoxo
This is Granny and Poppa, they look so smart, as my grandmother would say.
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