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 |  I blog therefore I (r)am(ble). |
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Poems, Prose, and Promises. My name is
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Given to me by susanL  --- Created by kelly1202I write songs
I write poetry
I write short stories
I'm in love with susanL
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
Apparently it is. The local newspaper here in Rochester, Minnesota published a story about NaNoWriMo and since this will be my fifth year participating, fourth as a Municipal Liaison, they featured yours truly.  http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=31&a=365... |
| What If? Obama/Biden vs McCain/Palin, what if things were switched around?.....think about it. Would the country's collective point of view be different? Ponder the following  What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter? What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review? What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class? What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee? What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe disfiguring car accident, when she no longer measured up to his standards? What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married? What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization? What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard? What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five? (The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.) What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker? What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter? What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes? What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem? What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution? What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are? This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference. Don't believe it's happening? Check out the educational background of all four candidates. Educational Background Barack Obama: Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations. Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude Joseph Biden: University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science. Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.) vs. John McCain: United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899 Sarah Palin: Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism Highest Offices Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the world. You make the call. Note: I did not assemble this information myself. I received it as an email with the author/editor unlisted. The formatting is mine. |
| “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” - Martin Luther King Jr. The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible. - Arthur C. Clarke Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. - Albert Einstein “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” - Martin Luther King Jr. |
| I've never fallen from a cliff only to stave off a deadly crash by grabbing precariously at shallow-rooted weeds and poorly-seated rocks. I can imagine what it would be like though, from watching John McCain and Sarah Palin's disgraceful final month of campaigning. Their hateful and hurtful tactics belie a team that is not only frightened like a free-falling rock climber, but morally bankrupt as well. Their latest round of attacks on Barack Obama border on the ludicrous and reek of desperation. Instead of focusing on the economy, Afghanistan, or any of the myriad of issues that voters are concerned with, John McCain and Sarah Palin have dedicated the final weeks of their campaign to mudslinging, misrepresentation of the facts, and downright lying. Not only are they trying to connect Barack Obama to incidents that occurred while he was eight years old, they are trying to connect him ideologically to someone who was just a political acquaintance, William Ayers. Their first meeting was at Ayers' house sometime in 1995. Then State Senator Alice Palmer introduced Barack Obama as her choice for the 1996 Democratic Primary. The two of them served on the board of directors for Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC), an education-related nonprofit organization that disbursed funds to schools. They both served on the board of directors from '95 to '01. They also served on the board of Woods Fund of Chicago (WFoC), an anti-poverty foundation established in 1941, from '99 until '02. There is virtually no record of contact between the two since '02. The last time Obama remembers seeing Ayers was when he was bicycling in the neighborhood. OK. Let's analyze these connections. Neither the CAC or the WFoC were radical, violent, anti-American, or terroristic in any sense of the words. The CAC attempted to help schools improve achievement, classroom behavior, student self-efficacy, and social competence. While a 2003 report determined that the CAC schools showed no noticeable improvement over non-CAC schools there is also no evidence of any deeper connection between Barack Obama and William Ayers. The WFoC is a philanthropic organization devoted to poverty relief and the promotion of social mobility. It was started in 1941 by Frank Woods and his wife Nelle Cochrane Woods. Its mission statement proclaims it's a grant-making foundation whose goal is to increase opportunities for less advantaged people. Besides the fact there is absolutely no proof they have ever gotten together to discuss anything anti-american or terroristic, even when they did serve on the boards of the CAC and WFoC boards together they served with other people. It wasn't the two of them meeting together alone. They were meeting with five other people, in the case of the WFoC and six other people in the case of the CAC. Fellow member of the WFoC board, R. Eden Martin, described the two as being conscientious when examining proposals, but could remember nothing remarkable about their interactions with each other. Describing the group, he said, "You had people who were liberal and some who were pretty conservative, but we usually reached a consensus." So the boards of directors were a mix of liberals and conservatives who were able to work together in a bi-partisan manner for the greater good. Bradford A. Berenson, one of Barack's fellows on The Harvard Law Review and a supporter of John McCain had this to say about Senator Obama, "I saw no evidence of a radical streak, either overt or covert, when we were together at Harvard Law School." He refers to Barack as a, "pragmatic liberal." So even McCain's supporters recognize the lunacy of suggesting that Senator Obama is a terrorist. Unfortunately, Senator McCain and Governor Palin are not interested in the facts. They simply want to win at any cost. Even if that means stirring up an unearned frenzy against a dedicated and honorable American Patriot like Barack Obama. The election is less than four weeks away. I urge all who are interested in the truth behind Barack Obama's ties to William Ayers, study the information that is readily available on the Internet and the mainstream media. I'm glad I did. Because now I'm more confident then ever that John McCain and Sarah Palin's attacks are simply proof they are hanging in desperation from a precarious cliff, about to fall to their Presidential Campaign's death. |
| Not everything we've heard in the debates thus far is truth. Both sides have been less than honest in certain instances. CNN has a feature called Fact Check where they give the details behind various claims made by the candidates. I thought it would be interesting to see this information color coded. True statements will be blue. Out and out lies will be red, and statements that are misleading as presented will be green. McCain: "As recently as September of last year, he said that subprime loans had been — quote — 'a good idea,' " - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/08/fact-check-did-obama-say-subprim... Palin: "I know that the other ticket opposed this surge — in fact, even opposed funding our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Barack Obama voted against funding troops after promising that he would not do so" - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/02/fact-check-did-obama-vote-to-cut... Obama: (referring to McCain's health-care program) "In fact, just today, business organizations like the United States Chamber of Commerce, which generally are pretty supportive of Republicans, said that this would lead to the unraveling of the employer-based health care system." - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/08/fact-check-are-business-groups-c... Obama: "[John McCain] was cheerleading the president to go into Iraq, he suggested it was going to be quick and easy, we'd be greeted as liberators." - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/08/fact-check-did-mccain-say-the-ir... McCain: "In Lebanon, I stood up to President Reagan, my hero, and said, if we send Marines in there, how can we possibly beneficially affect this situation? And said we shouldn't. Unfortunately, almost 300 brave young Marines were killed." - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/07/fact-check-did-mccain-oppose-sen... Obama: "My opponent supports tax havens that let companies avoid paying taxes here in America — tax havens that cost $100 billion every year. (W)hat will work is shutting down those tax havens and closing corporate loopholes." - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/04/fact-check-does-mccain-support-t... McCain: "[Barack Obama] has voted 94 times to either increase your taxes or against tax cuts. That's his record." - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/07/fact-check-did-obama-vote-94-tim... McCain: "[Barack Obama has] never taken on his leaders of his party on a single issue." - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/07/fact-check-has-obama-never-taken... Obama: "With respect to Fannie Mae, what Sen. McCain didn't mention is the fact that this bill that he talked about wasn't his own bill. He jumped on it a year after it had been introduced and it never got passed." - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/07/fact-check-did-mccain-join-or-le... McCain: "Meanwhile, they were getting all kinds of money in campaign contributions. Sen. Obama was the second-highest recipient of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac money in history — in history." - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/07/fact-check-did-obama-get-second-... Obama: (from his website) "McCain intervened on behalf of Charles Keating with federal regulators tasked with preventing banking fraud, and championed legislation to delay regulation of the savings and loan industry — actions that allowed Keating to continue his fraud at an incredible cost to taxpayers." - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/06/fact-check-did-mccain-intervene-... McCain: "Barack Obama says our troops in Afghanistan are 'just air-raiding villages and killing civilians.'" - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/06/fact-check-what-did-obama-say-ab... Obama: "What Senator McCain doesn't tell you is that the average cost of a family health care plan these days is more than twice that much — $12,680. So where would that leave you? Broke." - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/05/fact-check-mccains-proposed-heal... Palin: "Barack Obama is "someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country." - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/05/fact-check-is-obama-palling-arou... Palin: "Barack Obama proposes to mandate health care coverage and have (a) universal, government-run program." - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/04/fact-check-does-obama-back-a-uni... Biden: "[The United States spends] more money in three weeks on combat in Iraq than we spent on the entirety of the last seven years that we have been in Afghanistan building that country … or six-and-a-half years in Afghanistan." - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/03/fact-check-cost-of-iraq-combat-v... Obama: "John McCain, is out of touch. How else could he come up with an economic plan that leaves out more than 100 million middle-class taxpayers from any relief whatsoever?" http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/03/fact-check-mccains-plan-gives-10... Palin: "Barack Obama would be willing to meet [with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] without preconditions being met first." - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/03/fact-check-is-obama-willing-to-m... Biden: "Our commanding general in Afghanistan said the surge principle in Iraq will not work in Afghanistan." - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/03/fact-check-did-afghan-general-sa... Palin: "Barack Obama still can't admit the surge works." - http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/02/fact-check-is-it-true-obama-stil... |
| ...John McCain feels such a need to attack his opponent's patriotism? What's behind his latest smoke and mirror show? Instead of discussing the largest economic crisis to hit our country in eighty years or how he will work to bring our economy around he is focusing his energy on hurtful and hateful character attacks. So the question is, why can't John McCain address the issues facing America? Why can't he offer up his plan to fix what's broken? Is it because his plan is the same one that got us into this mess in the first place? Is it because his plan differs so little from the current president's plan that he needs to try and direct the nation's attention from it? Come on John. What's up? Why can't you talk about the issues? Perhaps, Senator McCain, you're feeling grouchy because after you swore that you would veto the first bill to come across your presidential desk that contained even the slightest bit of pork, you just voted for the porkiest bill in congressional history. Perhaps you're worried that we'll connect the dots and realize that your promises are little more than fluff. Perhaps you're worried that all your talk on the importance of deregulating the stock market will enter the fore. Perhaps you're worried that we'll notice that you turned full circle on the importance of stock market deregulation in one week. Perhaps you're worried we'll ask the logical question: were you wrong when you preached deregulation or are you wrong now that you're preaching regulation? Perhaps you're just worried that your own duplicity is showing through. So what's your plan? More tax cuts for Corporate America? More tax cuts for the wealthy? Are you attacking Barack Obama's character because you can't look the American people in the eye and tell them that you want to give their money to those who already have the lion's share of it? Are you attacking Barack Obama's character because you've looked in your own mirror and come away with a horrible taste in your mouth? Senator McCain, we the American people want to know what you will do to improve our situation. We want to know what you will do to help us through this economic crisis. We want to know what you are going to do to restore our country's credibility on the world scene. If your answer to these questions is that you will make dirty and hurtful attacks against your opponents than we the American people will give you our answer on November 4th. |
| Sage means "wise" unless immediately followed by Rosenfels. If that doesn't make sense, ask a Houston Texans' fan. They'll explain it to you. |
mood indigo wrote a frank blog entry about sexual positions named "surfaces"  . I guess I'm kind of boring. I think Susan is satisfied with our sex life -- I know I am -- but we haven't been big on finding new and interesting places to fool around. We are both conscious of making sure the other enjoys the experience and that is amazing. I've never had that before. I'm not sure if it's because we're older now, and less self-conscious or if it's once again related to how well we match up. At any rate, what we lack in originality of location, we definitely make up for in passion. |
| Well, it's done. The 700 billion dollar (now weighing in at a stunning 810 billion) bailout was signed into law. I've made no secret of my distaste for this bill, but at the same time, I admit and have admitted that I truly don't know what's going to happen. Hopefully I was wrong and this will prove to be a boon for our economy. So where are we? According to the experts, the flow of money, the liquidity of the market has dried up. We've all been witnesses to the carnage. Our country is hemorrhaging jobs faster than Pee Wee Herman escaping a Hell's Angels' convention and even the experts who clamored for this bill don't see an end in sight. These are harrowing times. On one hand, I'm excited to live through such an historic epoch of the United States but on the other, I'd kind of rather be a financial nobody during a period of stability. The time for complaining is over. This bill will eventually prove to be a blessing or a curse. History will remember the names of the heroes or vilify the wretches who brought about whatever great abyss awaits. Or perhaps, more reasonably, our destinies lie somewhere between these two extremes. Whatever the case, I'm proud I stood up for what I believe in. I offer a kudos to all those who stood up as well, regardless of what side of this issue you found yourself on. Hopefully, once the paper dust settles, we will still find ourselves living in the greatest nation on the planet, able to freely voice our pleasure and displeasure with the day's policies, fearless to make our sure-to-be-disagreed-with points known. |
| Is Sarah Palin ready for the presidency? Some would view this question as unfair, sexist, or hitting below the belt, so to speak. But is it? John McCain is 72 years old. He had surgery to remove the most serious form of skin cancer, melanoma, eight years ago. His family has a history of heart disease with his father dying of it two years younger than John McCain is now. With the increased health risks, there is also an increased chance that John McCain's running mate may become President without an individual election. By choosing Palin as his running mate, did he show he respects the seriousness of the situation as well as the office? With every interview Sarah Palin gives, America is given a deeper and deeper view into a mind that does not think on an international scale. It's not just an unfamiliarity with terms, she has simply not thought about things like The Middle East, Russia's increased aggression, Pakistan duplicity, China's human rights violations, and a host of other issues. When brought up, these and other topics are brand new to her. Kudos to her for being a fast learner, but is the Vice Presidency the right office to hold while cutting her teeth on foreign affairs? And it isn't just foreign affairs. What about our economy? Her responses to questions regarding the bailout, Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, and unemployment leave people wondering just how outwardly aware she is. I don't know who on John McCain's staff made the strategic decision to go with Sarah Palin, but it appears that either they didn't spend enough time investigating her credentials or they didn't select her based on them. Or perhaps both. But what does this say about the man who could be the leader of our nation during these trial-some times? Haven't we had enough leadership by someone who shoots from the hip without seriously considering the consequences? With all that's going on in the world, is choosing another Urban Cowboy for president truly in our best interest? Sarah Palin is not ready for the presidency of the United States. John McCain's choosing of her shows a disturbing disregard for our safety and security during what may be the most perilous times in our nation's history. |
| objurgate's blog, "Invalid Entry" , resonated with me. In it, she speaks of re-learning an important lesson. I'll let you read her words yourself. You won't be disappointed. I'm also being reintroduced to an old lesson. When I first started writing seriously, around five years ago now, I inhaled every writing book I could find. I found that most of these books had two pieces of advice in common. Keep a writing journal and submit your writing for publication. Keeping a writing journal makes perfect sense. Even if you don't leave behind golden nuggets of publishable brilliance on the pages of your journal, you're still improving your writing ability every time you make an entry. After all, the two best ways to improve your writing skills are writing and reading. But what about the other common piece of advice? What about submitting writing for publication? While there's no guarantee that an editor will accept your work, if you never send it in, you can be 100% certain that they won't. It does take a bit of courage to send out your writing and risk rejection, but it's an amazing feeling to see your work in print. Well, a few days ago, I had an email conversation with my friend Robert Waltz  , here at WDC. During the conversation, even though he is one of the funniest writers I know, I learned that he'd never sent anything in to be published. I encouraged him to do so and he responded with some pretty lame excuses. (no offense) That's when it hit me. While I was actively encouraging him to submit his work, I had all but stopped submitting mine. Egad, the hypocrisy!!! There was only thing to do. I set down a challenge. He, Susan, and myself all had to submit at least one thing for publication every month. On the final day of this, the first month of the challenge, all three of us succeeded. WOOHOO!!! |
| Enough votes against the bailout have been collected to defeat it but voting has been suspended while those in favor try to get those who voted against to change their mind. We have an opportunity to let our officials know we don't want to carry the burden for corrupt businesses. There are other options available to us then siding with the one that President Bush wants. We don't have to be bullied into this just because he's telling us we "must act now." Must act now? Have we heard that before from him? Should we be surprised that those appointed by him are parroting his viewpoint? This bailout does not help those who are about to lose their homes. This bailout helps out financial institutions who are failing based on their own poor business practices. We have a better chance of seeing another depression like situation if we prop up poorly run businesses than if we let them fail like in EVERY OTHER SECTOR of our economy. Basically, what's happening right now is that some banking systems are saying they are going to take their ball and go home if we don't give them 700 Billion dollars to cover their mistakes. Call your congressmen. Call your representative. Let them know that we want to take care of our financial system but not by rewarding those who got us into this mess in the first place. |
| I'm not sure where emylitha is going with "Invalid Entry" but it's my guess she's working on the screenplay of a cross between Friends and Big Bang Theory. I could see it now... FADE IN INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY ROGER and MAD EVIL GENIUS sit side by side on a worn couch. BETTY stands disinterested on the other side of the room. ROGER I lost another one. MAD EVIL GENIUS (waving hand in front of nose) Another what -- can of deodorant? Roger shakes his fist at Mad Evil Genius who cowers to the other side of the sofa. ROGER Ha ha ha! Very funny. Instead of taking over the world maybe you can put it to sleep telling jokes. MAD EVIL GENIUS It's a great plan. When are you going to write them for me? Betty glances at Roger. BETTY (with a strong, nasally, brooklyn accent) Sooooo. What'd ya lose? ROGER Was I talking to you? BETTY Oh, I'm sooooo soooory. I asked BOBO-Cop a question without permission. Are you going to lock me up? ROGER I would but I'm against cruel and unusual punishment. MAD EVIL GENIUS Locking her up wouldn't be cruel -- or unusual. Betty gives Mad Evil Genius a mean look. ROGER I'm not talking about her. I'm talking about the poor innocent criminals I'd have to lock her up with. . . . |
| If you haven't read flex's blog, "Invalid Entry" yet, you're doing yourself a disservice. It's very touching about his wiser-than-her-years daughter. It's so special and touching that I'm not sure how to follow it. I guess one thing that surprises me right now is how many people, including John McCain and Barack Obama, are on board with the Wall Street bailout. It's an interesting situation. Traditionally, Republicans are against government manipulation of the economy, preferring to let the free market system take care of itself. Democrats, traditionally, are opposed to programs that favor the upper class over the middle class. Are the Republicans saying we need more regulation? Are the Democrats now supporting a mutated version of Reagan's trickle down theory? I realize I'm in the minority of those claiming that the bailout is a mistake. I don't mind that at all, but I don't know if I've explained my reasoning well enough. Our markets are based primarily on performance. This was brought to the fore in dramatic fashion during the dot com bust of 2000. Anyone remember those days? Believing that anything connected to the Internet was lucrative, investors poured money into poor business idea after poor business idea. Record IPOs (initial public offerings) were a common occurrence and people were excited about how easy it was to make money on wall street. Then the bubble burst. The NASDAQ index went from over 5000 to around 1600 about a year. Billions of dollars ceased to exist. Many wealthy people stood to lose their fortunes. Then came the housing boom. Similar in many ways to the dot com boom. People were making money hand over fist based on unrealistic valuations in the housing market. It soon became apparent that current levels were unsustainable. Eventually, like the dot com bust, reality poked its head in the door. Once again many wealthy people stood to lose their fortunes. It's too bad. But just like back in 2000, the main issue here is greed. Greedy individuals and corporations pushed the housing market too far and it burst. I don't remember them requesting government assistance with spending all the money they were making during the boom. So why should they be given assistance when their greed caused the housing bubble to burst? Instead of spending 700 billion dollars propping up greedy corporations, let's use whatever money is necessary to soften the fall of those who were innocently harmed from this mess. Our economy can weather the fall of those businesses who brought us to this point in the first place. We're better off without them anyway. Letting those businesses fail will provide amazing bargains for the businesses that don't. Once the surviving businesses start scooping up those bargains, they are going to have the assets and capitol required to jump start our economy. And, since the garbage businesses were allowed to fall, the ones that remain will be those following solid business practices. |
I just finished reading katwoman45  's blog, "'I Have A Dream' was taken..." . It meanders a bit, but I can understand the uncertainty and general malaise showcased therein. And I agree that we do live in "a tricky chapter of history." We're coming to the end of one man's eight-year-long presidency, a presidency that intentionally or not, has added bipartisanship to the endangered species list. We're trudging through the sludge of a still un-announced recession, and our nation's economy is purportedly threatened by the failure of institutions that some argue deserve their fate because of their illegal and immoral business practices.Let me go on the record and say, I think the bailout is a mistake. Giving money to companies that made bad decisions simply because they have long tentacles besides awarding them for poor judgment adds more weight to an already toppling bridge. When it comes down, it's going to take a lot more with it if we prop it up first. If we need to spend money in a bailout, and we may before this thing works its way through our economy, let that money go to people and businesses who were hurt by the corruption, not those who took part in it. |
| Ok, I admit it. I had to do some research to try and understand the title of Jay's debut novel is out now! 's blog post, "like a piece of fruit in a Caravaggio" . The name Caravaggio struck me as Italian, but I didn't recognize it beyond that. Wikipedia had me up to speed in no time. I learned that Caravaggio is a small town in the Bergamo province of Northern Italy. It's an ancient town with a rich heritage, having been the hometown of Baroque painter, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. OK, I'm getting somewhere. But what does this have to do with a piece of fruit? One of Caravaggio's most famous paintings is called Basket of Fruit. It's an oil on canvas of a wicker basket filled with fruit and sitting upon a ledge. What makes the painting so unusual, though, is that all or most of the pieces of fruit are spoiled. A spotted apple with worm holes, ripe to bursting figs, leaves with lesions, leaves with fungal spots, and over-ripe grapes are just a few examples of the deterioration. Much discussion's been made about the meaning of the fetid fruit. Was Caravaggio making a statement about the certainty of decay? Was it a biblical reference to Amos 8:1-2 where the Lord shows Amos a basket of rotten fruit as a symbol that God's relationship with ancient Israel was coming to an end? Or rather, did he simply paint the only fruit available at the time? I don't think anyone can say for certain what Caravaggio was thinking, but I'm positive that Jay's debut novel is out now! had something specific in mind when she chose it as the title of her blog. In it, she mentions a number of seemingly random thoughts about what's happening in her life: meeting her boyfriend's friends for the first time, finding a shirt from her hometown's glory days, losing weight but starting to taper off, and the excitement/fear of 'I love you' entering into a relationship for the first time.I'm not a mind reader, but from studying her post and the knowledge I gained about Caravaggio's Basket of Fruit at Wikipedia, I think the common tie is decay. The occasion for which she was to meet her boyfriend's friends was the presidential debates. Besides a possible reference to how the debates were in danger of being cancelled due to the decaying financial situation, she could be referring to how the presidential race itself had decayed into a disgraceful slew of mud-slinging and knee-jerk reactionary nonsense. This ties in well with the shirt she found too. It reminded her of when her hometown was booming before being rendered an "industrial dinosaur-husk of the mid 20th century." Definitely a reference to decay. Then there's her weight loss quip. While it contained a sweet show of unselfish love from her sweetheart, she mentioned how it's starting to taper off because of the colder weather. Could her resolve and her results be said to be decaying? But what about the tender ending, about her boyfriend saying "I love you" for the first time? How could that possibly be related to decay? In it, she mentioned that while whe was optimistic about how things were going with her boyfriend, she was cautiously so. She'd been hurt by those three little words before and while this time felt different, the times it wasn't were still in the back of her mind. The fear that this relationship could decay like previous ones sits in the back of her mind. I hope I haven't offended Jay's debut novel is out now! in any way by my evaluation of her post. I owe her a debt of gratitude for directing me toward a painter and painting I'd never heard of before. |
| earlybird talks about one of his healthy habits in his blog, "Invalid Entry" -- setting regular time to just get away. Be it a bubble bath (Calgon! Take me away!), a trip to a day spa, or a Caribbean cruise, we all need time to ourselves. While I'd definitely enjoy the three ideas above, the perfect getaway for me is a busy, warm coffee shop. The busier and warmer the better. Throw in a Café Mocha (light on the café, heavy on the mocha) or a steaming cup of hot chocolate, a la Ned Flanders in The Simpson's Movie, and I'm set for a perfect afternoon of people-watching and creativity. |
| Powerful! Paige Turner 's blog entry, "Invalid Entry" , is powerful. She opens it up with this quote: Gratitude…turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. Think of the power contained in those words. Turning denial into acceptance, chaos into order, and confusion into clarity is a poetic and beautiful way to describe moving on. It's like the serenity prayer. We all know that one right? The Serenity Prayer God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. The courage to change the things I can. And the wisdom to know the difference. Serenity, courage, and wisdom. Sounds like an Anthony Robbins rendition of The Wizard of Oz. Way too Pollyanna to actually work right? I don't think so. As I get older and look back on the troubled and untroubled portions of my life, the big difference between the two was my attitude. When I was young and had the world at my feet, I was too scared to experience any of it -- so I didn't. When I was in the cult, I constantly worried about whether I was going to do something to make God hate me -- so again, I didn't do any of the things my heart yearned for. Then one day, I took a long, hard look at my life and dreams and realized that it wasn't God, it wasn't this big, scary world, it wasn't anyone but myself holding me back from doing what I want with my life. So just like in the Serenity prayer, when I accept the aspects of life that I can't change and put forth the energy and courage required for those things I can, mountains lower themselves in front of me. And as Paige Turner so aptly put it, denial turns into acceptance, chaos turns into order, and confusion turns into clarity. |
| Walter Wellesley Smith wrote: "There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein." In her blog, "Invalid Entry" , MaryLou attempts to prove him right -- and succeeds. From the title, you probably can tell she makes reference to Children of the Corn, a Stephen King short story that was made into a movie in 1984. She draws a parallel between the parent-less existence of the children in the movie and her own life. Then she opens up about one of her defects. Admitting you suffer from something that other people might laugh at you or look down at you for takes courage and confidence. Having someone who believes in you and stands by you makes it a lot easier. Mary Lou has found such a person in her husband, Jeff. All in all, her blog post is funny, touching, sweet, and enlightening. I highly recommend it. |
| Oooh, I just love blogs like Wendopolis 's "Invalid Entry" . It's how I write my personal journal - one thought after another with any connection between them being tenuous at best. So, for the first time during this contest, here's my S t r e a m o f C o n s c i o u s n e s s What should I write? What does it matter? Am I being judged? Oh, that's right, I am. Ooops. I guess I'd better find something profound to say. I was going to say "deep." I did write "deep" originally. Then I changed it to profound. Pretense? Could be, but I don't think so in this case. I like profound better because it doesn't have the dual meaning that deep does. Nobody worries about falling into a profound hole. Nobody's scared about getting profoundly in debt. In fact, being profoundly in debt would probably be a positive thing. Thinking on such an intense level about your bills and finances, any debt you'd take on would have to have an important purpose and a pretty high chance of giving a good ROI. ROI! Ha! Yeah, that was pretense. But in a comical way. I just love that term though. It makes it sound like you're plugged into the business world. So, how's your ROI? Ours is fabulous. All in all, I really don't see how I could be more pleased with our ROI. Everyone knows what that means right? ROI? Return On Investment. It was really big after the dot com bust. During the dot com boom, you could get rich just thinking of things to sell on the internet. After the bust, though, investors were demanding results. No results, no ROI, no money. Hmmm, investors demanding results before giving money? Looks like we've gone full circle.  |
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I did get up late and need to get going myself.