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 |  Here's to bloggin' around the block--one word at a time. |
| Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again? ~Winnie the Pooh I need to make a blog entry even though I have no idea what I’m going to say. I need to make a blog entry just to show myself I remember how to write – a little. I think I’ve been avoiding it because I still read the news enough to feel negative about the state of things. It’s hard for me to know what to say without bringing that up. Too many years of being a government watchdog (watching and barking at them). But I’m officially retired from all that right now and supposed to be taking the year off – the year that is passing at breakneck speed by the way. Old habits die hard, though, while positive new habits wither on the vine. Notice I said positive new habits, not just new habits. Some not-so-great new habits seem to take deep root and flourish right away. So, what do I say today without barking (or talking about virtual farming)? Okay, one bark. Maybe all government officials should have to pass an IQ test, a psych test and a citizenship test, the same one that naturalized citizens have to take. That way some of them could be weeded out before they get in office. I don’t want to mention any names but one might have the initials Michele Bachmann. That woman reminds me of someone I know in real life. She’s also very attractive but as soon as she opens her mouth it’s pretty obvious that nobody’s home. MB is spouting all this hullabaloo about the census, how she’s not going to fill hers out, nobody else should, it’s going to lead to internment camps… She has nothing to say about the Kentucky census worker who was murdered with FEDS scrawled across his chest, though. Of course even assuming a person passes all those tests, there’s still the problem of ethics. And with our system of legalized bribery ethics just don’t apply. Oh, well. Never mind. This is why I’m trying to avoid talking about this stuff right now. It gets me going in circular thinking and gives me a headache. So, tomorrow I really, really want to write on a different topic… No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking. ~Voltaire |
| I'm not sure blogs are necessarily the best place to get a pulse on anything. People want to blog for a variety of reasons, and that may or may not be representative. Steve Ballmer I’m glad I didn’t bother to watch the Emmys the other night because I would have been bored. Jon Stewart won for best writer. That’s good! (Even though we don’t have cable I sometimes catch the Daily Show on YouTube) The rest of the winners I don’t watch and most of them I’ve never even heard of. In other words none of my few favorites won anything. Oh well. I’m not big on awards shows anyway. Speaking of TV, I tried to watch the movie Dream Girls on network television last week. After one hour and five thousand commercials I gave up. I can see why Jennifer Hudson won an award. I though Eddie Murphy was pretty good, too. Of course the comedy part of his character was his usual, but he did well in a small dramatic scene I watched, just by the look on his face. I’m ready for autumn but it’s kind of hot and gloomy here today. I think it’s supposed to be nicer for the weekend. I always loved this time of year. In fact this is about the time of year Jack and I met fifteen years ago. Here’s a funny video on the public option: Something terrible is happening! Will anyone stand up for the "real" health care victims: the super-rich health insurance executives!?! Thankfully, Will Ferrell and friends are - check it out: http://www.moveon.org/ By going to the movies, and because of other things, too, going to college, making a wide variety of friends, moving around traveling, I became a lot more open-minded than the heritage I was born into might have suggested. Roger Ebert |
| Things do not pass for what they are, but for what they seem. Most things are judged by their jackets. ~Baltasar Gracian We don’t have cable or any movie channels and it’s been a long time since we’ve been to the movie theatre. I used to love to go but it seems so expensive. And although they’ve made improvements in the seating, the furniture is still more comfortable at home (and I can wear my pajamas.) As much as I love movies I rarely know what the new releases are and either Jack’s son loans us his DVDs or try one by reading the cover. We’ve run into a few duds that way, but most of the time we’ve had pretty good luck. (Especially me – Jack’s picked out more duds.) He thinks he won’t like some of the movies I pick but most of the time he does. Although once in a while I pick up one I plan to watch by myself, and he does the same. The other night we watched the movie The Jacket. It’s a psychological thriller starring Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley. At first it looked like it was going to be too painful to watch the story of a tragic figure who was surely wondering why he’d been born. I’m glad we stuck with it, though, because it turned out to be pretty good. It even included an element of time travel, my favorite. I just finished reading Alice Hoffman’s novel The Probable Future. She nearly always has a bit of magic or the paranormal in her stories. This one is about the Sparrow women who each woke the morning of their thirteenth birthday with some form of superpower, like the ability to spot a lie in anyone or seeing how someone would die. I just realized this entry wasn’t as spontaneous as I intended with my plans for stream of consciousness. I began doing a little fretting over wording and punctuation – no split infinitives for pity sake – and slowed myself down. My inner critic needs a little more stifling. I’ll work on it. You know what they say, “it’s progress, not perfection.” (Points if you tell me what movie or character that’s from). My choices in films are spontaneous. Nicole Kidman (not a hint) |
| You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you. ~Ray Bradbury I wonder if I changed the name of my blog to stream of consciousness it would be easier to write. Besides being basically lazy, I think I’ve been censoring myself again. Why, I don’t know. It’s not like this is some block buster blog that pays the bills. My account expires again the end of October, and if I’m going to be on a writing site then I guess I should be writing. I’d like to do NaNoMo this year, but to do that I have to buckle down, open up my self-censored brain, and let some thoughts and ideas flow. So I think the rest of this month should be a test to see if I’m really going to do it or not. And where better to do my stream of consciousness writing than right here. It should be easy to find inspiration here among all you wonderful writers. In fact it is easy. Nada  wrote a very touching entry about scattering the ashes of her much loved husband Lance. I’m sure many of you have already read it, but if not, you should. My mother said for years that she wanted to be cremated, but while she was in hospice my sister talked her out of it. Cremation is what Jack and I both want. I don’t believe in an after life in the traditional sense, but there really is life after as we return to the Earth and take our place in other forms. And of course we live on in our loved ones’ hearts. Speaking of life, NOVAcatmando  is celebrating her second year of being cancer free! If you read my previous entry you’ll understand I’m especially happy to celebrate this milestone with her. Stop in and congratulate her.The other day Z.˚rz asked his readers to say what they liked about the U.S. Not the usual “freedom and democracy” answer, but something else. It took me a minute because my focus for too long has been what upsets me about the country. And I realized I don’t think enough about what I like. But my short answer was I love our movies, authors and food. I like the Blues, Motown and Bruce Springsteen. I like the shape of the country on the map. There’s more, but this was a good exercise and a good reminder to make a gratitude list every day. Now what will I write tomorrow? I’ll think about that then. |
| “By the time we are women, fear is as familiar to us as air. It is our element. We live in it, we inhale it, we exhale it, and most of the time we do not even notice it…” Andrea Dworkin My daughter called me the other night because she was scared. It’s just past five years since she finished her final breast cancer treatments. She found a new lump on the other side, different than before. Besides having had the disease, she also works as a mammo tech and knows more than she really wants to know about it. She had been trying to tell herself there was nothing to worry about although her symptoms were not unlike those of an aggressive type which is rarely talked about. I was glad she called me even though I didn’t sleep very well that night. One good thing about where she works, she was able to see a doctor the next day. Her mammo was negative but her ultrasound showed some kind of cyst. She told me her heart lurched when she saw the irregular mass though she thought (hoped) it was a cyst. The doctor said he believed she would be fine but wanted her to see a surgeon. It’s a little different type of cyst and with her history they would likely biopsy it. She called today after she saw the surgeon. He gave her three choices: remove it, biopsy it or wait three months and see what happens. She chose that last option and feels fine with it. He said even if it turned out to be something else, waiting three months wouldn’t hurt anything. It could possibly go away on its own or they could use one of the other choices then. Needless to say we’re both very relieved! |
| This whole world is out there just trying to score I've seen enough I don't want to see any more, Cover me, ... I just read an article about Bruce Springsteen in AARP magazine. Yessir, the Boss turns 60 this month. “Red, White and Bruce” calls Springsteen our blue-collar conscience, our rock ‘n’ roll sage and says we need him now more than ever. It included a section called “Glory Days” where Bruce’s friends share their experiences and insights about him. One is Ron Kovic, a Vietnam vet who wrote the book Born on the Fourth of July and who inspired Bruce to write his song “Born in the U.S.A.” The two men met in the late 70s at a Hollywood hotel where Kovic was living at the time. Springsteen had just read the book and said he “couldn’t put it down.” Later he left an album and tapes at Ron’s hotel door with a note “If my music can touch you and move you as much as your book moved me, that will mean a lot to me.” At a San Francisco concert, Bruce told the audience about how much Born on the Fourth of July meant to him and dedicated a song to Ron, who sat in the audience in his wheelchair “with tears in his eyes.” The hit song “Born in the U.S.A” was an angry commentary on the treatment of returning vets. But many listeners – including Ronald Reagan – mistook it for an upbeat slogan. Not so upbeat when you look at the lyrics. Born down in a dead man's town The first kick I took was when I hit the ground You end up like a dog that's been beat too much Till you spend half your life just covering up Born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A. I was born in the U.S.A. Born in the U.S.A. Come back home to the refinery Hiring man says "Son if it was up to me" Went down to see my V.A. man He said "Son, don't you understand" Another person who shared about Bruce was the mother of 23-year old Amadou Diallo, a Guinean immigrant shot and killed by four New York City plainclothes cops who mistook him for a rape suspect. The cops fired 41 rounds into the innocent young man inspiring Springsteen to write the song “American Skin” 41 shots... and we'll take that ride 'Cross this bloody river To the other side 41 shots... got my boots caked in this mud We're baptized in these waters and in each other's blood Is it a gun, is it a knife Is it a wallet, this is your life It ain't no secret It ain't no secret No secret my friend You can get killed just for living In your American skin The mother was so moved by Bruce’s kindness when he invited her to meet him backstage after a concert. There he introduced his wife and members of his band. Later he sent her the pictures they had taken then and donated money for scholarships to four NYC colleges in her son’s honor. These are only two of the many people touched by this Rock ‘N’ Roll star whose performance roles range from hero to leader to preacher to rebel. And who has stayed true to his roots, his country and his fans. Happy Birthday to The Boss (September 23) AARPMagazine.org/BruceSpringsteen |
| “Excuse me, everybody, I have to go to the bathroom. I really have to telephone, but I'm too embarrassed to say so.” Dorothy Parker I’m not a good role player. It makes me very uncomfortable. I don’t know if I’m too shy, too honest or too dull, but I’ve never gotten into it. Oh, I can be Paige Turner, of course, but she’s still me. My avatar in Farm Town, Folly Farmer, looks kind of like me – gray hair, green eyes (close as I could get to hazel). She’s thinner, but hey, she’s doing all the heavy lifting on the farm. Folly gets out around Farm Town, goes to the market, works with her neighbors, buddies and even strangers and she’s fine with that. Enjoys it a lot even. Jack has a farm because I needed enough neighbors to hire people to plow for me. That means I have to work his farm, too. At first I used a guy avatar named Jack, but when a woman kept talking to him it made me squirm. Now Folly works that farm using the name Jack’s wife. Much better. And while the avatar on Farmville looks nothing like me, it’s no problem. She never runs into other farmers. She just does her work, talks to the animals and leaves. Some Facebook farmer friends sent me gifts from Yoville, so I finally decided to check it out. (See, I’m not alone in this fake world stuff.) I’ve only been in Yoville a couple days, but right away I liked decorating and furnishing my apartment. Of course that costs Yoville money so I had to go to work in the factory. (Obviously virtual work is a lot more fun for me than real work.) You can only work in the factory once a day so I needed to figure our how to make some more coins. I couldn’t just hang out with my friends, I had to get out in the town and meet other people. And that’s where the problems began. I threw caution to the wind creating my Yoville avatar. She had a big bow in her hair and green lipstick. The lipstick turned out to be a good ice breaker and I began talking with a girl named yy. One way to make coins is by playing tic tac toe or rock paper scissors games. (I know, it sounds ridiculous). Anyway, another person challenged me to a game. At the same time, yy asked me a question I couldn’t read because the game board was in the way. By the time I figured out how to answer her she’d decided I’d snubbed her and walked away. I tried to find her, saw her once, she ran from me, and I never saw her again. The heck with that! I went to the casino and lost the rest of my money in the slot machine. But I went back the next night. I toned down my avatar as much as I could and went about my business. You have to buy energy so I went to the coffee shop. There was only one guy in there and he wanted to chat. “Sit over here,” he said. “Where you from?” “Indiana.” “That’s a long way from here. The Philippines.” “Wow! That is a long way.” (sparkling conversationalist, my avatar) “How old are you?” he asked. Meanwhile he’s sent me a buddy request. Uh, “You first.” “Twenty five.” *Laugh* “I’m old enough to be your mom.” “Really?” I can tell he’s regretting the buddy thing. “Hard to tell from here, isn’t it?” I said. “I see what you mean.” *forced laugh* He jumped up and ran out the door. At least I know one thing. I could never be an internet predator. “Acting is a nice childish profession - pretending you're someone else and, at the same time, selling yourself.” Katharine Hepburn |
| A good book should leave you... slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it. ~William Styron, interview, Writers at Work, 1958 I just added three more books to my “Reading 50 plus novels in 2009” list. (I’m reading number 53 now). The one that made the biggest impression on me is My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki. Author Jane Smiley called the book “a comical-satirical-farcical-epical-tragical-romantical novel…delicious…up to the minute.” A quick summary: Japanese-American documentarian Jane Takagi-Little is assigned to produce My American Wife! sponsored by an American meat-exporting business. The idea is to sell Japanese housewives on cooking with their meat. As Jane travels around the country finding unique families to film, she discovers and confronts some ugly truths. Meanwhile, Japanese housewife Akiko Ueno struggles with her own personal problems and husband, and their lives eventually intersect. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the book, but it is certainly worth the read. I’d say it’s excellent, funny, touching, cross-cultural, highlighting some deep concerns of our time. By the way, all my virtual farms are strictly Organic and my animals receive no hormones! Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures. ~Jessamyn West The blog title – Medicine for the soul ~ Inscription over the door of the Library at Thebes |
| History never looks like history when you are living through it. ~John W. Gardner History is a vast early warning system. ~Norman Cousins History is not the past, but a map of the past drawn from a particular point of view to be useful to the modern traveler. ~Henry Glassie Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunters. ~African Proverb ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| … a progressive discovery of our own ignorance. Will Durant Education is a social process. Education is growth. Education is, not a preparation for life; education is life itself. John Dewey I hate to even dignify more ridiculous rightwing behavior by responding to it, but just how low are we going to go in this country? Now there’s this big flap over Obama addressing school children on the importance of education. A benign “stay in school” speech by the democratically elected President of the United States has caused yet another round of conspiracy theories about brainwashing instigated by the Republican Party. George H W Bush gave a televised speech on education to students in 1991 “I can't understand for the life of me what's so great about being stupid,'' Bush said, according to news reports from the time. He told students to “'block out the kids who think it's not cool to be smart'' and “work harder, learn more.” Apparently then Democratic majority leader Richard Gephardt criticized it calling it political calling it political advertising for the President but Republican Newt Gringrich saw nothing wrong with it. Okay, a little partisan back and forth like that is one thing, although it gets tiring. In fact that seems so benign compared to the level of discourse in the country today. The shrill level of hysteria nowadays is something else. Parents are calling schools insisting they don’t want their children “indoctrinated” with Obama’s “socialist” or “communist” or “fascist” agenda. I saw a comment from one woman saying it reminded her of Hitler Youth. They don’t seem content just to keep their child home or ask that he not be required to listen, either. They seem to want to shut down the speech entirely. By the way, the White House plans to release the speech online Monday so parents can read it in hopes of answering some concerns. As long as there is continued encouragement for all these outlandish accusations of the President we’re going to continue on a downward spiral. How does anyone learn about real issues when this kind of crap constantly dominates the media and the public conversation? I think George W Bush was terrible but I would never have expected to keep him from speaking to students or anyone else. For one thing it’s part of the job. Back then there was also a lot of talk about at least respecting the office of the President. I’m not hearing that at all now. Conservatives might want to take the lead from this man, Jon Henke, with The Next Right and stop letting the extremists dominate the Party. In the 1960's, William F. Buckley denounced the John Birch Society leadership for being “so far removed from common sense” and later said “We cannot allow the emblem of irresponsibility to attach to the conservative banner.” The Birthers are the Birchers of our time, and WorldNetDaily is their pamphlet. The Right has mostly ignored these embarrassing people and organizations, but some people and organizations inexplicably choose to support WND through advertising and email list rental or other collaboration. It’s a beginning. Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one. Malcolm Forbes Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army. Edward Everett http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/sep/02/republican-party-flor... http://thenextright.com/jon-henke/organizing-against-worldnetdaily Note: that was incorrect about Boehner wanting a rebuttal so I deleted it. Some good news I guess. |
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So glad to see your blog again, and I like the idea of a 'new' Clean Slate. I may just do that myself! I look forward to reading more from you! 
