Thursday, December 25, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
All I want for Xmas...
...is to get a GOOD haircut and buy some clothes that take me out of frumpy and frazzled housewife mode.
I was thinking of a massage and a manicure/pedicure, but that's not going to last like a good pair of pants or a stylish 'do.
(Dear Supreme Being, do I sound like a fashion magazine?)
**Update** I went and got a stacked bob haircut...first new hairdo I've had in 8 years. I like it. Here is what a stacked bob looks like, but no, this is not me. My hair is very, very dark. Ivy made it stick-straight and I normally have very curly hair.
Now I just need some new clothes...
I was thinking of a massage and a manicure/pedicure, but that's not going to last like a good pair of pants or a stylish 'do.
(Dear Supreme Being, do I sound like a fashion magazine?)
**Update** I went and got a stacked bob haircut...first new hairdo I've had in 8 years. I like it. Here is what a stacked bob looks like, but no, this is not me. My hair is very, very dark. Ivy made it stick-straight and I normally have very curly hair.
Now I just need some new clothes...
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Monday, December 08, 2008
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Night Sky Over Houston
| Sky map by AstroViewer® |
I became interested in astronomy when I was teaching Ava about the Solar System. I was so excited when you could see the moon, Jupiter and Venus at once on December 1st!! You can see them slowly moving away from the Moon and each other in the night sky.
It is automatically updated day and night.
The coolest astonomy download I've ever seen is Celestia. Try it if you like that sort of thing.
Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine
Ah, yes. This makes me so happy.
I feel the need...the need for CHEESE!
Friday, December 05, 2008
Gren from the Urban Dictionary and Google searches
1. Gren
Alcoholic wife beater loser. Lives with mother slapper. No real mates gay.
That's gren lad, have pity.
2. Gren
Meaning "Weed".
i.e short for "Green"
Mostly used in the South East of England (e.g Bournemouth/Southampton)
"Bruv anyone got any gren at the mo?"
"Nah everyone's dry, but there's some block going about I think"
Unbeknownst to me, I am a social outcast, a slang word for an illicit drug, a deceased cartoonist, an association of independent musicians who share common interests in Classical, Russian, Israeli and Klezmer music, a Windows 9x/2000 renaming utility and an automotive parts manufacturer of auto brake rotors, drums, pads, radiators and wiper blades.
Hardeeharhar! Who knew!
I feel so...so SPECIAL!!!
Alcoholic wife beater loser. Lives with mother slapper. No real mates gay.
That's gren lad, have pity.
2. Gren
Meaning "Weed".
i.e short for "Green"
Mostly used in the South East of England (e.g Bournemouth/Southampton)
"Bruv anyone got any gren at the mo?"
"Nah everyone's dry, but there's some block going about I think"
Unbeknownst to me, I am a social outcast, a slang word for an illicit drug, a deceased cartoonist, an association of independent musicians who share common interests in Classical, Russian, Israeli and Klezmer music, a Windows 9x/2000 renaming utility and an automotive parts manufacturer of auto brake rotors, drums, pads, radiators and wiper blades.
Hardeeharhar! Who knew!
I feel so...so SPECIAL!!!
Ad Hoc, Ad Loc and Quid Pro Quo!
Lorem ipsum vim ut utroque mandamus intellegebat, ut eam omittam ancillae sadipscing, per et eius soluta veritus.
Yep.
***This is what is written in the body of the default post when you configure the layout of the blog. Ya know, layout, blog edit...etc. here on Blogger.com. Scroll down below the settings and you'll see it. It's jibberish, but the first 2 words are actual Latin and the rest of it looks enough like Latin to confuse everyone.***
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorem_ipsum
And the title comes from what Jeremy says in Yellow Submarine!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hilary_Boob
Yep.
***This is what is written in the body of the default post when you configure the layout of the blog. Ya know, layout, blog edit...etc. here on Blogger.com. Scroll down below the settings and you'll see it. It's jibberish, but the first 2 words are actual Latin and the rest of it looks enough like Latin to confuse everyone.***
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorem_ipsum
And the title comes from what Jeremy says in Yellow Submarine!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Hilary_Boob
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Zzzzzzzzz
The minutiae of daily life is chronicled in tedious detail on www.dullestblog.com. This site makes me feel like Evel Kneivel!
50 Oh So Very Random and Probably Irrelevant Things About Me, Gren
I doubt anyone will read this...
1. I have an irrational fear of small holes and groups of holes, like honeycombs.
2. I have a hard time standing up for myself and I need to be more assertive. (If it's okay with you...!) hahaha
3. I love learning languages and I am pretty proficient in French. Gren is from grenouille (frog in French)...it's one of my favorite words in French along with fromage (cheese). Don't know why. I like other "ouille" words in French b/c they are fun to pronounce!!!! (For me, because I am language geek).
4. I taught French at a rural high school in Louisiana for 3 years.
5. I tend toward nostalgia and thinking of how things should have or could have been in my life.
6. "The Slithy Toves" comes from a line in Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky.
7. I tend to appreciate absurdity in art, comedy, films...and in real life. I have a very, very dry sense of humor. I like Monty Python and Flight of the Conchords for that reason.
8. I was a loner as a kid/teenager, and stayed in my room most of the time, listening to The Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, etc. and drawing and daydreaming.
9. People have told me to "lighten up" throughout my life.
10. I enjoy learning about other cultures, religions, and social customs.
11. I miss my family in Louisiana so much and I talk to my mom everyday on the phone. I cry almost everytime they leave here from a visit.
12. I worry too much about whether other people like me. And I hate conflict.
13. Sometimes I might come across as aloof because I either don't know what to say or I figure the other people don't like me anyway.
14. I would say I'm a tad complex.
15. But some people say you can read me like a book.
16. My 13th birthday was on Friday the 13th. Oooooooh!
17. I love crossword puzzles, anagrams, mad-libs, any kind of word games.
18. I also love games like Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit.
19. But my math skills SUCK.
20. I like to look at dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, most reference books.
21. I also like to play The Sims 2 and make myself, my family, friends and famous people and watch them "live".
22. I don't have a lot of free time to do much of the above anymore...
23. ...because I am a stay at home mom and have been for 4 years.
24. I believe being a stay at home mom is a REAL JOB, damnit, and it's not all about sitting around in my skivvies all day eating Pop Tarts and watching SpongeBob!
25. I have a tendency to start my sentences with the pronoun I, to use "quotation marks" and CAPITAL LETTERS in them and to end them with exclamation points!!!!!!!
26. I like to make lists, but not as much as in the past. I am still in recovery. I used to make lists of what I needed to do instead of doing those things. :/
27. I love rings...especially silver and ones with unusual stones, like hematite.
28. Based on a questionnaire, my animal totem is a lion and it helps me to remember to take charge of my life and be aggressive when needed. I think it fits (see #2).
29. I love to laugh and to make other people laugh. People have said I am funny. Sometimes I hear crickets when I try too hard to be funny.
30. My mom would always sing to me (real songs and made up songs, too!) when I was a kid. I sing to Ava all the time.
31. I have had a love affair with the Beatles since I was about 7 years old when I heard "Penny Lane" on AM radio. And when I saw Paul McCartney in a teen magazine my aunt saved from 1965, I fell hopelessly in love. I had all their albums (VINYL!) by the time I graduated from high school. There is no one who can touch them for me.
32. I love seafood, esp. shrimp. And my favorite color is red. Damn, now you have peered into my soul and there is NO GOING BACK. I feel so naked.
33. I have discovered that potty training a child is quite difficult.
34. Even though I quit teaching 7 years ago, I still remember all my students and wonder how they are.
35. I like to read the obituary section of several newspapers from where I used to live. My husband thinks this is morbid, but I feel a need to know who has died that I used to know.
36. The most beautiful place I have ever been is Lucerne, Switzerland.
37. People have told me I have a very nice voice and that I read stories and things aloud well. I have read passages for relatives at weddings and funerals. But I do mumble sometimes or talk too softly when I am less than confident.
38. Sometimes I come across as pre-occupied or self-absorbed. Enough about me, what do YOU think of me? ;)
39. At times talk and write like Yoda I do. Why at the end of the sentence the subject and verb do I put?
40. I started liking SpongeBob SquarePants since I started watching it with Ava last month. I have seen every episode! I really like Squidward Tentacles.
41. I hope number 37 doesn't make me sound like an arrogant ass.
42. I am now on number 42 and I am excited about it!!!! Why? Because 42 is the answer to life, the universe, everything.
43. I check too often to see if people have made comments on here.
44. Throughout my life and even now, I have tended to be a follower. When I was a kid, if someone asked me if I liked a band or movie, I would ask if they liked it before I gave an answer. If they liked it, I liked it, too. I try to remember that it is okay to have a differing opinion from others and that I do not have to defend my opinion or denigrate others' opinions.
45. I love to window shop on the Internet. I'll go to a site like Neiman Marcus, fill up my cart with thousands of dollars of stuff and then bail out. Hardeharrhar.
46. The only time I truly have to myself is the wee hours of the night when everyone else is asleep. I don't take advantage of it often because then I can't wake up early enough the next day.
47. I do have a part-time job that I adore. I am teaching English to a 10-year-old boy from Vietnam who is here in Houston until next year. I can see a big improvement since we met last November. We see each other 4 days a week. I feel like he and his family are a part of my own. He has taught me just as much as I have taught him. He is a fantastic artist and an expert on the Titanic and other ocean liners, airplanes, whales, chess, and building intricate models of ships from Legos.
48. Losing weight, especially after pregnancy and while being a stay-at-home mom is hard as hell.
49. I love doing work in my yard, especially planting flowers and bushes. It's really gratifying to see them grow. I bought a wilted little plant from the store precisely because it was in such bad shape and I wanted to help it. It is beautiful and healthy now.
50. Phew! Making a list like this was fun, but I really had to delve into my mind to find enough things to write about. I hope I didn't drone on too much about myself. But there I am, in black and white and in lovely list form, numbered for your convenience. The last tidbit about me is that I used to love taking personality tests to find out who I am. I even got a book about the MMPI (the mother of psychological tests back in the day) when I was in college and administered it to myself. Haha, it told me I was an insecure introvert!!!! The conclusion I have drawn from all that self-analysis is that I love to do self-analysis. I don't do it anymore. So much more to life there is!!!
Happy Holidays!!!
Gren
***All the above things are true about me, but I want to say that above all else, I adore my little girl who will be 4 on December 14th. She is my sunlight and my inspiration! Being a mom is the most rewarding, challenging and important thing I have ever done.***
1. I have an irrational fear of small holes and groups of holes, like honeycombs.
2. I have a hard time standing up for myself and I need to be more assertive. (If it's okay with you...!) hahaha
3. I love learning languages and I am pretty proficient in French. Gren is from grenouille (frog in French)...it's one of my favorite words in French along with fromage (cheese). Don't know why. I like other "ouille" words in French b/c they are fun to pronounce!!!! (For me, because I am language geek).
4. I taught French at a rural high school in Louisiana for 3 years.
5. I tend toward nostalgia and thinking of how things should have or could have been in my life.
6. "The Slithy Toves" comes from a line in Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky.
7. I tend to appreciate absurdity in art, comedy, films...and in real life. I have a very, very dry sense of humor. I like Monty Python and Flight of the Conchords for that reason.
8. I was a loner as a kid/teenager, and stayed in my room most of the time, listening to The Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, etc. and drawing and daydreaming.
9. People have told me to "lighten up" throughout my life.
10. I enjoy learning about other cultures, religions, and social customs.
11. I miss my family in Louisiana so much and I talk to my mom everyday on the phone. I cry almost everytime they leave here from a visit.
12. I worry too much about whether other people like me. And I hate conflict.
13. Sometimes I might come across as aloof because I either don't know what to say or I figure the other people don't like me anyway.
14. I would say I'm a tad complex.
15. But some people say you can read me like a book.
16. My 13th birthday was on Friday the 13th. Oooooooh!
17. I love crossword puzzles, anagrams, mad-libs, any kind of word games.
18. I also love games like Jeopardy and Trivial Pursuit.
19. But my math skills SUCK.
20. I like to look at dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, most reference books.
21. I also like to play The Sims 2 and make myself, my family, friends and famous people and watch them "live".
22. I don't have a lot of free time to do much of the above anymore...
23. ...because I am a stay at home mom and have been for 4 years.
24. I believe being a stay at home mom is a REAL JOB, damnit, and it's not all about sitting around in my skivvies all day eating Pop Tarts and watching SpongeBob!
25. I have a tendency to start my sentences with the pronoun I, to use "quotation marks" and CAPITAL LETTERS in them and to end them with exclamation points!!!!!!!
26. I like to make lists, but not as much as in the past. I am still in recovery. I used to make lists of what I needed to do instead of doing those things. :/
27. I love rings...especially silver and ones with unusual stones, like hematite.
28. Based on a questionnaire, my animal totem is a lion and it helps me to remember to take charge of my life and be aggressive when needed. I think it fits (see #2).
29. I love to laugh and to make other people laugh. People have said I am funny. Sometimes I hear crickets when I try too hard to be funny.
30. My mom would always sing to me (real songs and made up songs, too!) when I was a kid. I sing to Ava all the time.
31. I have had a love affair with the Beatles since I was about 7 years old when I heard "Penny Lane" on AM radio. And when I saw Paul McCartney in a teen magazine my aunt saved from 1965, I fell hopelessly in love. I had all their albums (VINYL!) by the time I graduated from high school. There is no one who can touch them for me.
32. I love seafood, esp. shrimp. And my favorite color is red. Damn, now you have peered into my soul and there is NO GOING BACK. I feel so naked.
33. I have discovered that potty training a child is quite difficult.
34. Even though I quit teaching 7 years ago, I still remember all my students and wonder how they are.
35. I like to read the obituary section of several newspapers from where I used to live. My husband thinks this is morbid, but I feel a need to know who has died that I used to know.
36. The most beautiful place I have ever been is Lucerne, Switzerland.
37. People have told me I have a very nice voice and that I read stories and things aloud well. I have read passages for relatives at weddings and funerals. But I do mumble sometimes or talk too softly when I am less than confident.
38. Sometimes I come across as pre-occupied or self-absorbed. Enough about me, what do YOU think of me? ;)
39. At times talk and write like Yoda I do. Why at the end of the sentence the subject and verb do I put?
40. I started liking SpongeBob SquarePants since I started watching it with Ava last month. I have seen every episode! I really like Squidward Tentacles.
41. I hope number 37 doesn't make me sound like an arrogant ass.
42. I am now on number 42 and I am excited about it!!!! Why? Because 42 is the answer to life, the universe, everything.
43. I check too often to see if people have made comments on here.
44. Throughout my life and even now, I have tended to be a follower. When I was a kid, if someone asked me if I liked a band or movie, I would ask if they liked it before I gave an answer. If they liked it, I liked it, too. I try to remember that it is okay to have a differing opinion from others and that I do not have to defend my opinion or denigrate others' opinions.
45. I love to window shop on the Internet. I'll go to a site like Neiman Marcus, fill up my cart with thousands of dollars of stuff and then bail out. Hardeharrhar.
46. The only time I truly have to myself is the wee hours of the night when everyone else is asleep. I don't take advantage of it often because then I can't wake up early enough the next day.
47. I do have a part-time job that I adore. I am teaching English to a 10-year-old boy from Vietnam who is here in Houston until next year. I can see a big improvement since we met last November. We see each other 4 days a week. I feel like he and his family are a part of my own. He has taught me just as much as I have taught him. He is a fantastic artist and an expert on the Titanic and other ocean liners, airplanes, whales, chess, and building intricate models of ships from Legos.
48. Losing weight, especially after pregnancy and while being a stay-at-home mom is hard as hell.
49. I love doing work in my yard, especially planting flowers and bushes. It's really gratifying to see them grow. I bought a wilted little plant from the store precisely because it was in such bad shape and I wanted to help it. It is beautiful and healthy now.
50. Phew! Making a list like this was fun, but I really had to delve into my mind to find enough things to write about. I hope I didn't drone on too much about myself. But there I am, in black and white and in lovely list form, numbered for your convenience. The last tidbit about me is that I used to love taking personality tests to find out who I am. I even got a book about the MMPI (the mother of psychological tests back in the day) when I was in college and administered it to myself. Haha, it told me I was an insecure introvert!!!! The conclusion I have drawn from all that self-analysis is that I love to do self-analysis. I don't do it anymore. So much more to life there is!!!
Happy Holidays!!!
Gren
***All the above things are true about me, but I want to say that above all else, I adore my little girl who will be 4 on December 14th. She is my sunlight and my inspiration! Being a mom is the most rewarding, challenging and important thing I have ever done.***
Sunday, November 30, 2008
I'm as giddy as a preteen about my new purse!
It's my first new purse in many a moon! I'll be getting it soon!
*Hangs head in shame*
I apologize for my overt materialistic outburst. It won't happen again.
NOW THAT I HAVE MY PURSE!!!
Hehe, just kidding, I'm not like that.
David Bowie Ashes to Ashes
This video is still intrigues and disturbs me after all these years. What does it for me is the walk on the beach...
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Music 25 Years Ago and Now
1983 Grammy Awards
Album of the Year Thriller, Michael Jackson (Epic/CBS)
Song of the Year “Every Breath You Take,” Sting, songwriter
Best New Artist Culture Club
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male Thriller, Michael Jackson
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female “Flashdance: What a Feeling,” Irene Cara
Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal “Every Breath You Take,” Police
Best New Rhythm and Blues Song “Billie Jean,” Michael Jackson, songwriter
Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal Synchronicity, Police
Best Rhythm and Blues Instrumental Performance “Rockit,” Herbie Hancock
Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male “Beat It,” Michael Jackson
Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female “Love Is a Battlefield,” Pat Benatar
Best Video, Short Form “Girls on Film/Hungry Like the Wolf,” Duran Duran
Best Comedy Recording Eddie Murphy, Comedian, Eddie Murphy
Billboard Top 5
1. The Police - Every Breath You Take
2. Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
3. Irene Cara - Flashdance
4. Men At Work - Down Under
5. Michael Jackson - Beat It
2008 Grammy Awards
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
River: The Joni Letters, Herbie Hancock
RECORD OF THE YEAR
''Rehab,'' Amy Winehouse
SONG OF THE YEAR
''Rehab,'' Amy Winehouse, songwriter (Amy Winehouse)
NEW ARTIST
Amy Winehouse
MALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
''What Goes Around...Comes Around,'' Justin Timberlake
FEMALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
''Rehab,'' Amy Winehouse
POP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCAL
''Makes Me Wonder,'' Maroon 5
R&B SONG
''No One,'' Alicia Keys
ROCK PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCAL
''Icky Thump,'' the White Stripes
COUNTRY PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
''How Long,'' the Eagles
COUNTRY SONG
''Before He Cheats,'' Carrie Underwood
Billboard Top 5
1. T.I. Feat. Rihanna - Life Your Life
2. Beyonce - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
3. Beyonce - If I Were A Boy
4. T.I. - Whatever You Like
5. Katy Perry - Hot N Cold
I remember (and enjoy) most of what was popular in 1983, when I was 11. Now, today at 36, I hardly know any of the popular stuff. Is that a bad thing? I've been listening to "Top 40" radio lately to try to understand what is the going thing these days (dear god, I sound like an old lady who throws rocks at kids to get off my lawn). I guess it's really all the same. But in 1983, videos still rocked!!!
Album of the Year Thriller, Michael Jackson (Epic/CBS)
Song of the Year “Every Breath You Take,” Sting, songwriter
Best New Artist Culture Club
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male Thriller, Michael Jackson
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female “Flashdance: What a Feeling,” Irene Cara
Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal “Every Breath You Take,” Police
Best New Rhythm and Blues Song “Billie Jean,” Michael Jackson, songwriter
Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal Synchronicity, Police
Best Rhythm and Blues Instrumental Performance “Rockit,” Herbie Hancock
Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male “Beat It,” Michael Jackson
Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female “Love Is a Battlefield,” Pat Benatar
Best Video, Short Form “Girls on Film/Hungry Like the Wolf,” Duran Duran
Best Comedy Recording Eddie Murphy, Comedian, Eddie Murphy
Billboard Top 5
1. The Police - Every Breath You Take
2. Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
3. Irene Cara - Flashdance
4. Men At Work - Down Under
5. Michael Jackson - Beat It
2008 Grammy Awards
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
River: The Joni Letters, Herbie Hancock
RECORD OF THE YEAR
''Rehab,'' Amy Winehouse
SONG OF THE YEAR
''Rehab,'' Amy Winehouse, songwriter (Amy Winehouse)
NEW ARTIST
Amy Winehouse
MALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
''What Goes Around...Comes Around,'' Justin Timberlake
FEMALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
''Rehab,'' Amy Winehouse
POP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCAL
''Makes Me Wonder,'' Maroon 5
R&B SONG
''No One,'' Alicia Keys
ROCK PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCAL
''Icky Thump,'' the White Stripes
COUNTRY PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
''How Long,'' the Eagles
COUNTRY SONG
''Before He Cheats,'' Carrie Underwood
Billboard Top 5
1. T.I. Feat. Rihanna - Life Your Life
2. Beyonce - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)
3. Beyonce - If I Were A Boy
4. T.I. - Whatever You Like
5. Katy Perry - Hot N Cold
I remember (and enjoy) most of what was popular in 1983, when I was 11. Now, today at 36, I hardly know any of the popular stuff. Is that a bad thing? I've been listening to "Top 40" radio lately to try to understand what is the going thing these days (dear god, I sound like an old lady who throws rocks at kids to get off my lawn). I guess it's really all the same. But in 1983, videos still rocked!!!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Thou Shalt Not Foist the Manifestation Of Wordplay Upon Hapless Creatures!!
Taco Cat thinks, "What fresh hell is this ?!!?"
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Rest in Peace, Edna Parker
She was 115, and the oldest person in the world. She died today. I can't imagine living that long! Her husband died in 1939. Parker outlived her two sons, Clifford and Earl Jr. She also had five grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and 13 great-great-grandchildren. She looks so sweet in this photo.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
A quote I found from a pseudo-journalist
I am a serious journalist who writes about serious topics.
Which is why I use this format.
You may wonder why I use this format. Lots of people wonder.
But they don't know what I do.
They don't know.
Why do you write like that. That's what they want to ask me.
Then they want to ask why I didn't use quotation marks.
For a quote, you know.
A "quote," as in when someone speaks.
And I try to explain.
I try to explain to them that this is edgy writing, writing that grips the heart and seizes the eye and makes your soul soar with prosaity that practically screams Pulitzer, even though the only award I've ever won was that Godfrey P. Snogbiter Literary Plaque, which my undergraduate literary magazine put out once a year. And I'd been the editor of it the previous year, to boot. And I try to explain that not using quotes puts me in the literary company of titans like Cormac McCarthy and makes me seem like I know things you don't.
Like I can break rules that you can't.
And, you see, I can.
See, I'm doing the short sentences again. You like that? See how it breaks up the rhythm of my writing?
Goddamn, I impress myself.
Sometimes, I really do.
Like this time.
Right now, I'm trying to decide which line to end on.
Maybe this one.
Or maybe this one.
Or maybe, just maybe, this one.
Which is why I use this format.
You may wonder why I use this format. Lots of people wonder.
But they don't know what I do.
They don't know.
Why do you write like that. That's what they want to ask me.
Then they want to ask why I didn't use quotation marks.
For a quote, you know.
A "quote," as in when someone speaks.
And I try to explain.
I try to explain to them that this is edgy writing, writing that grips the heart and seizes the eye and makes your soul soar with prosaity that practically screams Pulitzer, even though the only award I've ever won was that Godfrey P. Snogbiter Literary Plaque, which my undergraduate literary magazine put out once a year. And I'd been the editor of it the previous year, to boot. And I try to explain that not using quotes puts me in the literary company of titans like Cormac McCarthy and makes me seem like I know things you don't.
Like I can break rules that you can't.
And, you see, I can.
See, I'm doing the short sentences again. You like that? See how it breaks up the rhythm of my writing?
Goddamn, I impress myself.
Sometimes, I really do.
Like this time.
Right now, I'm trying to decide which line to end on.
Maybe this one.
Or maybe this one.
Or maybe, just maybe, this one.
Four Songs
Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
Lundy, Fastnet, Irish Sea
I read the news today oh boy
Please could you stop the noise, I'm trying to get some rest
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.
I got a message I can't read,
About a lucky man who made the grade
From all the unborn chicken voices in my head
Strawberry Fields forever.
Another message I can't read
And though the news was rather sad
What's that?
What's that?
Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.
Being the first in the Irish Sea,
Well I just had to laugh
When I am king, you will be first against the wall
It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out.
I got a message I can't read,
I saw the photograph
with your opinion which is of no consequence at all
It doesn't matter much to me.
Another message I can't read
He blew his mind out in a car
What's that? (I may be paranoid, but no android)
Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
I'm on your side
He didn't notice that the lights had changed
What's this? (I may be paranoid, but no android)
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.
Nowhere to hide
A crowd of people stood and stared
Ambition makes you look pretty ugly
Strawberry Fields forever.
Trapdoors that open
They'd seen his face before
Kicking, squealing, gucci little piggy
No one I think is in my tree, I mean it must be high or low.
I spiral down
Nobody was really sure
If he was from the House of Lords.
You don't remember
That is you can't you know tune in but it's all right.
You're living in a fantasy world,
I saw a film today oh boy
You don't remember
That is I think it's not too bad.
You're living in a fantasy world.
The English Army had just won the war
Why don't you remember my name?
Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
I'm lost at sea,
A crowd of people turned away
Off with his head, man
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.
Don't bother me
but I just had to look
Off with his head, man
Strawberry Fields forever.
I've lost my way,
Having read the book
Why don't you remember my name? I guess he does...
Always no sometimes think it's me, but you know I know when it's a dream.
I've lost my way
I'd love to turn you on
Rain down, rain down
I think a No, I mean a Yes but it's all wrong.
You're living in a fantasy world,
Woke up, got out of bed,
Come on rain down on me
That is I think I disagree.
You're living in a fantasy world,
Dragged a comb across my head
From a great height
Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
You're living in a fantasy world...
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
From a great height... height...
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.
The most beautiful world
And looking up I noticed I was late.
Rain down, rain down
Strawberry Fields forever.
Lundy, Fastnet, Irish Sea
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Come on rain down on me
Strawberry Fields forever.
I got a message I can't read
Made the bus in seconds flat
From a great height
Strawberry Fields forever.
Another message I can't read
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke,
From a great height... height...
and Somebody spoke and I went into a dream
Rain down, rain down
I read the news today oh boy
Come on rain down on me
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
That's it sir
And though the holes were rather small
You're leaving
They had to count them all
The crackle of pigskin
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
The dust and the screaming
I'd love to turn you on
The yuppies networking
The panic, the vomit The panic, the vomit
God loves his children, God loves his children, yeah!
*This is a mix of four songs that I love: Strawberry Fields Forever and A Day in the Life by the Beatles and In Limbo and Paranoid Android by Radiohead. It might not make any sense, but I thought it would be an interesting thing to do.
Lundy, Fastnet, Irish Sea
I read the news today oh boy
Please could you stop the noise, I'm trying to get some rest
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.
I got a message I can't read,
About a lucky man who made the grade
From all the unborn chicken voices in my head
Strawberry Fields forever.
Another message I can't read
And though the news was rather sad
What's that?
What's that?
Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.
Being the first in the Irish Sea,
Well I just had to laugh
When I am king, you will be first against the wall
It's getting hard to be someone but it all works out.
I got a message I can't read,
I saw the photograph
with your opinion which is of no consequence at all
It doesn't matter much to me.
Another message I can't read
He blew his mind out in a car
What's that? (I may be paranoid, but no android)
Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
I'm on your side
He didn't notice that the lights had changed
What's this? (I may be paranoid, but no android)
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.
Nowhere to hide
A crowd of people stood and stared
Ambition makes you look pretty ugly
Strawberry Fields forever.
Trapdoors that open
They'd seen his face before
Kicking, squealing, gucci little piggy
No one I think is in my tree, I mean it must be high or low.
I spiral down
Nobody was really sure
If he was from the House of Lords.
You don't remember
That is you can't you know tune in but it's all right.
You're living in a fantasy world,
I saw a film today oh boy
You don't remember
That is I think it's not too bad.
You're living in a fantasy world.
The English Army had just won the war
Why don't you remember my name?
Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
I'm lost at sea,
A crowd of people turned away
Off with his head, man
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.
Don't bother me
but I just had to look
Off with his head, man
Strawberry Fields forever.
I've lost my way,
Having read the book
Why don't you remember my name? I guess he does...
Always no sometimes think it's me, but you know I know when it's a dream.
I've lost my way
I'd love to turn you on
Rain down, rain down
I think a No, I mean a Yes but it's all wrong.
You're living in a fantasy world,
Woke up, got out of bed,
Come on rain down on me
That is I think I disagree.
You're living in a fantasy world,
Dragged a comb across my head
From a great height
Let me take you down, 'cause I'm going to Strawberry Fields.
You're living in a fantasy world...
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
From a great height... height...
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about.
The most beautiful world
And looking up I noticed I was late.
Rain down, rain down
Strawberry Fields forever.
Lundy, Fastnet, Irish Sea
Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Come on rain down on me
Strawberry Fields forever.
I got a message I can't read
Made the bus in seconds flat
From a great height
Strawberry Fields forever.
Another message I can't read
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke,
From a great height... height...
and Somebody spoke and I went into a dream
Rain down, rain down
I read the news today oh boy
Come on rain down on me
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
That's it sir
And though the holes were rather small
You're leaving
They had to count them all
The crackle of pigskin
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
The dust and the screaming
I'd love to turn you on
The yuppies networking
The panic, the vomit The panic, the vomit
God loves his children, God loves his children, yeah!
*This is a mix of four songs that I love: Strawberry Fields Forever and A Day in the Life by the Beatles and In Limbo and Paranoid Android by Radiohead. It might not make any sense, but I thought it would be an interesting thing to do.
Monday, November 24, 2008
The Voyager Golden Record
This intrigues me and I wonder how it would be perceived if it were to be intercepted by some extraterrestrial life form. I found out about it accidentally on the NASA web site since Ava wanted to learn about all the planets. I like to listen to all that is on it, and I think it is a nice compendium of life here on Earth.
www.goldenrecord.org
The Voyager message is carried by a phonograph record-a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth. The contents of the record were selected for NASA by a committee chaired by Carl Sagan of Cornell University, et. al. Dr. Sagan and his associates assembled 115 images and a variety of natural sounds, such as those made by surf, wind and thunder, birds, whales, and other animals. To this they added musical selections from different cultures and eras, and spoken greetings from Earth-people in fifty-five languages, and printed messages from President Carter and U.N. Secretary General Waldheim. Each record is encased in a protective aluminum jacket, together with a cartridge and a needle. Instructions, in symbolic language, explain the origin of the spacecraft and indicate how the record is to be played. The 115 images are encoded in analog form. The remainder of the record is in audio, designed to be played at 16-2/3 revolutions per minute. It contains the spoken greetings, beginning with Akkadian, which was spoken in Sumer about six thousand years ago, and ending with Wu, a modern Chinese dialect. Following the section on the sounds of Earth, there is an eclectic 90-minute selection of music, including both Eastern and Western classics and a variety of ethnic music. Once the Voyager spacecraft leave the solar system (by 1990, both will be beyond the orbit of Pluto), they will find themselves in empty space. It will be forty thousand years before they make a close approach to any other planetary system. As Carl Sagan has noted, “The spacecraft will be encountered and the record played only if there are advanced spacefaring civilizations in interstellar space. But the launching of this bottle into the cosmic ocean says something very hopeful about life on this planet.”
www.goldenrecord.org
The Voyager message is carried by a phonograph record-a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth. The contents of the record were selected for NASA by a committee chaired by Carl Sagan of Cornell University, et. al. Dr. Sagan and his associates assembled 115 images and a variety of natural sounds, such as those made by surf, wind and thunder, birds, whales, and other animals. To this they added musical selections from different cultures and eras, and spoken greetings from Earth-people in fifty-five languages, and printed messages from President Carter and U.N. Secretary General Waldheim. Each record is encased in a protective aluminum jacket, together with a cartridge and a needle. Instructions, in symbolic language, explain the origin of the spacecraft and indicate how the record is to be played. The 115 images are encoded in analog form. The remainder of the record is in audio, designed to be played at 16-2/3 revolutions per minute. It contains the spoken greetings, beginning with Akkadian, which was spoken in Sumer about six thousand years ago, and ending with Wu, a modern Chinese dialect. Following the section on the sounds of Earth, there is an eclectic 90-minute selection of music, including both Eastern and Western classics and a variety of ethnic music. Once the Voyager spacecraft leave the solar system (by 1990, both will be beyond the orbit of Pluto), they will find themselves in empty space. It will be forty thousand years before they make a close approach to any other planetary system. As Carl Sagan has noted, “The spacecraft will be encountered and the record played only if there are advanced spacefaring civilizations in interstellar space. But the launching of this bottle into the cosmic ocean says something very hopeful about life on this planet.”
Friday, November 14, 2008
Photos from where I grew up...because nostalgia is taking over
I grew up in St. Charles Parish in Southeast Louisiana. I miss Louisiana so much.
Here is an aerial view of the area. The Mississippi River cuts through it, and it colors life in the area in every way. I lived on the East Bank where it was more developed.
This is where I went to school from 1977 to 1983, St. Charles Borromeo in Destrehan, Louisiana. I don't know why, but the statue makes me feel very uneasy. I have had many dreams about this church and school.
I met my husband in 1989, and his aunt and uncle were running Ormond Plantation at this time. This is also in Destrehan, LA on Brown's Curve along the levee of the Mississippi.
View Larger Map
And to top it all off, I found a pic of the house where I lived for 25 years...and here it is now. The trees have grown so much and the house looks even tinier. I haven't been there since 2000. Now I have it to look at without having to go there in person. Why do I feel the need o see it? It somehow validates my life and reminds me that I do have some roots after all.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Friday, November 07, 2008
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Monday, November 03, 2008
My Choice for 2008 - The Absorbent Party
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS
and
GARY THE SNAIL
...Because a vote for Spongebob and Gary is a vote for a sponge and a snail!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
John Oliver breaks down The Stupid Vote for us
Paste eaters
Numbskulls
Nitwits
Tiger Petters
Shaved Gorillas
Frozen Lake Jumpers
F@#ktards
Stuck in Pickle Jars
Lose to Babies
Douchnozzles
Voluntarily Lobotomized
Cubs Fans
Numbskulls
Nitwits
Tiger Petters
Shaved Gorillas
Frozen Lake Jumpers
F@#ktards
Stuck in Pickle Jars
Lose to Babies
Douchnozzles
Voluntarily Lobotomized
Cubs Fans
Friday, October 03, 2008
Rum, arrowheads, mine rescue, plug-in electric drive vehicles, NASCAR?
Does our government seem totally wacko to you? First, the House and Senate overwhelming oppose the $700 billion bailout bill, then approve it once some 'sweeteners' are added to it. I think it's disgusting.
Here are the things that were added to the deal:
_Extending an expired provision that gives Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands a rebate against excise taxes charged on imported rum. The rebate, at $13.50 per proof gallon, helps finance local infrastructure projects. The cost is $192 million.
_Establishing a new tax credit ranging from $2,500 to $7,500 for purchasers of plug-in electric-drive vehicles. Cost: $758 million.
_Extending tax credits that expired at the end of 2007 for certain domestic corporations involved in American Samoa economic development. Cost: $33 million.
_Extending a credit of up to $10,000 for the training of mine rescue team members. The credit expires at the end of this year and the one-year extension costs $4 million.
_Enacting President Bush's proposal to erase the debt of the black lung disability trust fund at a cost of $1.3 billion.
_Extending for one year a seven-year depreciation timetable that NASCAR and other motorsport racing facilities have had for some years, the same tax break that amusement parks enjoy. Without the extension, the tracks would have to depreciate the cost of their improvements over 15 years, raising their taxes by $100 million.
_Increasing the single-year deduction in production costs, from $15 million to $20 million, that film and TV productions may take if the costs are incurred in economically depressed areas. In an effort to keep film and TV productions in the U.S., it also allows more companies to use a domestic production deduction. Cost: $478 million.
_Allowing commercial fishermen and others hurt by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska to average out damage awards over three years rather than taking a one-year hit from the IRS. Cost: $49 million.
_Extending two programs that fund rural schools and rural communities that have been relying on declining income from logging on federal land or have low property tax bases because they are located on or next to federal lands. This is a major issue in the West. Cost: $3.3 billion.
_Exempting wooden practice arrows used by children from an excise tax of 39 cents per arrow. Oregon's two senators and two Wisconsin representatives previously introduced legislation calling for the action, saying the tax was meant for more expensive archery arrows and is untenable for makers of toy arrows that may cost only about 30 cents apiece. The bill would affect about a half-dozen manufacturers nationwide, including one in Oregon; the Oregon senators said they didn't seek its addition to the bailout, however. Cost: $2 million.
Here are the things that were added to the deal:
_Extending an expired provision that gives Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands a rebate against excise taxes charged on imported rum. The rebate, at $13.50 per proof gallon, helps finance local infrastructure projects. The cost is $192 million.
_Establishing a new tax credit ranging from $2,500 to $7,500 for purchasers of plug-in electric-drive vehicles. Cost: $758 million.
_Extending tax credits that expired at the end of 2007 for certain domestic corporations involved in American Samoa economic development. Cost: $33 million.
_Extending a credit of up to $10,000 for the training of mine rescue team members. The credit expires at the end of this year and the one-year extension costs $4 million.
_Enacting President Bush's proposal to erase the debt of the black lung disability trust fund at a cost of $1.3 billion.
_Extending for one year a seven-year depreciation timetable that NASCAR and other motorsport racing facilities have had for some years, the same tax break that amusement parks enjoy. Without the extension, the tracks would have to depreciate the cost of their improvements over 15 years, raising their taxes by $100 million.
_Increasing the single-year deduction in production costs, from $15 million to $20 million, that film and TV productions may take if the costs are incurred in economically depressed areas. In an effort to keep film and TV productions in the U.S., it also allows more companies to use a domestic production deduction. Cost: $478 million.
_Allowing commercial fishermen and others hurt by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska to average out damage awards over three years rather than taking a one-year hit from the IRS. Cost: $49 million.
_Extending two programs that fund rural schools and rural communities that have been relying on declining income from logging on federal land or have low property tax bases because they are located on or next to federal lands. This is a major issue in the West. Cost: $3.3 billion.
_Exempting wooden practice arrows used by children from an excise tax of 39 cents per arrow. Oregon's two senators and two Wisconsin representatives previously introduced legislation calling for the action, saying the tax was meant for more expensive archery arrows and is untenable for makers of toy arrows that may cost only about 30 cents apiece. The bill would affect about a half-dozen manufacturers nationwide, including one in Oregon; the Oregon senators said they didn't seek its addition to the bailout, however. Cost: $2 million.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
States I have visited
visited 8 states (16%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or determine the next president
I stole this from Cansel!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Where my husband and I have traveled, combined...
visited 16 states (7.11%)
Create your own visited map of The World or determine the next president
I've been to Quebec, France, Italy and Switzerland. He was in the Navy and has been to the rest of the places.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Should I or shouldn't I?
I have a job prospect as a French Translator that I am really interested in, but I have misgivings (if that is the right word). I'd be working for the first time in 4 years doing something that I think I would enjoy and be good at. Ava would get to go to school, which she desperately needs for her social development (and my sanity!!!). But...I wouldn't be able to tutor in the afternoons (which I love) and my visits to my folks in Louisiana would be curtailed. If I could do it part-time I could still tutor, but the reduction in pay might not justify me driving all the way over to NW Houston. Gas isn't cheap, after all. And could I handle a full-time job again? Being a stay-at-home mom doesn't have exact hours, ya know!
So, what should I do? I drive out tomorrow to do some preliminary paperwork and to take a "math and logic test" (haha, there go my job chances right there). I'll get to see how long the drive is and the atmosphere of the company. I need some new clothes and I hope I can appear as professional and confident as I would like.
I'll keep you posted.
(But...who ARE you? Ah, my imaginary readership!)
**UPDATE**
Just found out today that I did not get the job. I bet I needed actual experience in translation (even though the job ad says Translator Trainee). I actually feel more relief than disappointment. I would terribly miss tutoring Ben. It's all good!
So, what should I do? I drive out tomorrow to do some preliminary paperwork and to take a "math and logic test" (haha, there go my job chances right there). I'll get to see how long the drive is and the atmosphere of the company. I need some new clothes and I hope I can appear as professional and confident as I would like.
I'll keep you posted.
(But...who ARE you? Ah, my imaginary readership!)
**UPDATE**
Just found out today that I did not get the job. I bet I needed actual experience in translation (even though the job ad says Translator Trainee). I actually feel more relief than disappointment. I would terribly miss tutoring Ben. It's all good!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Post du jour
I feel overtaxed, overburdened. All I would like is one day where nothing is asked of me, where I can sit and relax and do whatever I want. Perhaps I would read a book, take a nice, long bath, watch a foreign film. Do Wii Fit. Draw. Maybe listen to some music. Watch a TV show that I like. Meditate.
Just for one day. Or half a day.
Just for one day. Or half a day.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
26th Annual Bulwer-Lytton contest winners
“Theirs was a New York love, a checkered taxi ride burning rubber, and like the city their passion was open 24/7, steam rising from their bodies like slick streets exhaling warm, moist, white breath through manhole covers stamped ‘Forged by DeLaney Bros., Piscataway, N.J.’”
“‘Toads of glory, slugs of joy,’ sang Groin the dwarf as he trotted jovially down the path before a great dragon ate him because the author knew that this story was a train wreck after he typed the first few words.”
“Like a mechanic who forgets to wipe his hands on a shop rag and then goes home, hugs his wife, and gets a grease stain on her favorite sweater — love touches you, and marks you forever.”
'Hmm...' thought Abigail as she gazed languidly from the veranda past the bright white patio to the cerulean sea beyond, where dolphins played and seagulls sang, where splashing surf sounded like the tintinnabulation of a thousand tiny bells, where great gray whales bellowed and the sunlight sparkled off the myriad of sequins on the flyfish's bow ties, 'time to get my meds checked.'"
Leopold looked up at the arrow piercing the skin of the dirigible with a sort of wondrous dismay—the wheezy shriek was just the sort of sound he always imagined a baby moose being beaten with a pair of accordions might make."
"Joanne watched her fellow passengers—a wizened man reading about alchemy; an oversized bearded man-child; a haunted, bespectacled young man with a scar; and a gaggle of private school children who chatted ceaselessly about Latin and flying around the hockey pitch and the two-faced teacher who they thought was a witch—there was a story here, she decided."
"Bryson the Plainsman seldom spoke a discouraging word but he did when he filed for divorce after discovering his dear and an interloper played."
"Special agent Mark Park's strong chin and firm mouth showed that he was a man to be reckoned with, while his twinkling blue eyes revealed surprising depths of kindness and humor, the scar on his cheek a past filled with violence and danger, and his left ear a fondness for M&Ms, but only the red ones."
“‘Toads of glory, slugs of joy,’ sang Groin the dwarf as he trotted jovially down the path before a great dragon ate him because the author knew that this story was a train wreck after he typed the first few words.”
“Like a mechanic who forgets to wipe his hands on a shop rag and then goes home, hugs his wife, and gets a grease stain on her favorite sweater — love touches you, and marks you forever.”
'Hmm...' thought Abigail as she gazed languidly from the veranda past the bright white patio to the cerulean sea beyond, where dolphins played and seagulls sang, where splashing surf sounded like the tintinnabulation of a thousand tiny bells, where great gray whales bellowed and the sunlight sparkled off the myriad of sequins on the flyfish's bow ties, 'time to get my meds checked.'"
Leopold looked up at the arrow piercing the skin of the dirigible with a sort of wondrous dismay—the wheezy shriek was just the sort of sound he always imagined a baby moose being beaten with a pair of accordions might make."
"Joanne watched her fellow passengers—a wizened man reading about alchemy; an oversized bearded man-child; a haunted, bespectacled young man with a scar; and a gaggle of private school children who chatted ceaselessly about Latin and flying around the hockey pitch and the two-faced teacher who they thought was a witch—there was a story here, she decided."
"Bryson the Plainsman seldom spoke a discouraging word but he did when he filed for divorce after discovering his dear and an interloper played."
"Special agent Mark Park's strong chin and firm mouth showed that he was a man to be reckoned with, while his twinkling blue eyes revealed surprising depths of kindness and humor, the scar on his cheek a past filled with violence and danger, and his left ear a fondness for M&Ms, but only the red ones."
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
A lovely article I found about what your child (and you) should know
What should a 4 year old know?
1. She should know that she is loved wholly and unconditionally, all of the time.
2. He should know that he is safe and he should know how to keep himself safe in public, with others, and in varied situations. He should know that he can trust his instincts about people and that he never has to do something that doesn't feel right, no matter who is asking. He should know his personal rights and that his family will back them up.
3. She should know how to laugh, act silly, be goofy and use her imagination. She should know that it is always okay to paint the sky orange and give cats 6 legs.
4. He should know his own interests and be encouraged to follow them. If he could care less about learning his numbers, his parents should realize he'll learn them accidentally soon enough and let him immerse himself instead in rocket ships, drawing, dinosaurs or playing in the mud.
5. She should know that the world is magical and that so is she. She should know that she's wonderful, brilliant, creative, compassionate and marvelous. She should know that it's just as worthy to spend the day outside making daisy chains, mud pies and fairy houses as it is to practice phonics. Scratch that-- way more worthy.
But more important, here's what parents need to know.
1. That every child learns to walk, talk, read and do algebra at his own pace and that it will have no bearing on how well he walks, talks, reads or does algebra.
2. That the single biggest predictor of high academic achievement and high ACT scores is reading to children. Not flash cards, not workbooks, not fancy preschools, not blinking toys or computers, but mom or dad taking the time every day or night (or both!) to sit and read them wonderful books.
3. That being the smartest or most accomplished kid in class has never had any bearing on being the happiest. We are so caught up in trying to give our children "advantages" that we're giving them lives as multi-tasked and stressful as ours. One of the biggest advantages we can give our children is a simple, carefree childhood.
4. That our children deserve to be surrounded by books, nature, art supplies and the freedom to explore them. Most of us could get rid of 90% of our children's toys and they wouldn't be missed, but some things are important-- building toys like legos and blocks, creative toys like all types of art materials (good stuff), musical instruments (real ones and multicultural ones), dress up clothes and books, books, books. (Incidentally, much of this can be picked up quite cheaply at thrift shops.) They need to have the freedom to explore with these things too-- to play with scoops of dried beans in the high chair (supervised, of course), to knead bread and make messes, to use paint and play dough and glitter at the kitchen table while we make supper even though it gets everywhere, to have a spot in the yard where it's absolutely fine to dig up all the grass and make a mud pit.
5. That our children need more of us. We have become so good at saying that we need to take care of ourselves that some of us have used it as an excuse to have the rest of the world take care of our kids. Yes, we all need undisturbed baths, time with friends, sanity breaks and an occasional life outside of parenthood. But we live in a time when parenting magazines recommend trying to commit to 10 minutes a day with each child and scheduling one Saturday a month as family day. That's not okay! Our children don't need Nintendos, computers, after school activities, ballet lessons, play groups and soccer practice nearly as much as they need US.
They need fathers who sit and listen to their days, mothers who join in and make crafts with them, parents who take the time to read them stories and act like idiots with them. They need us to take walks with them and not mind the .1 MPH pace of a toddler on a spring night. They deserve to help us make supper even though it takes twice as long and makes it twice as much work. They deserve to know that they're a priority for us and that we truly love to be with them.
1. She should know that she is loved wholly and unconditionally, all of the time.
2. He should know that he is safe and he should know how to keep himself safe in public, with others, and in varied situations. He should know that he can trust his instincts about people and that he never has to do something that doesn't feel right, no matter who is asking. He should know his personal rights and that his family will back them up.
3. She should know how to laugh, act silly, be goofy and use her imagination. She should know that it is always okay to paint the sky orange and give cats 6 legs.
4. He should know his own interests and be encouraged to follow them. If he could care less about learning his numbers, his parents should realize he'll learn them accidentally soon enough and let him immerse himself instead in rocket ships, drawing, dinosaurs or playing in the mud.
5. She should know that the world is magical and that so is she. She should know that she's wonderful, brilliant, creative, compassionate and marvelous. She should know that it's just as worthy to spend the day outside making daisy chains, mud pies and fairy houses as it is to practice phonics. Scratch that-- way more worthy.
But more important, here's what parents need to know.
1. That every child learns to walk, talk, read and do algebra at his own pace and that it will have no bearing on how well he walks, talks, reads or does algebra.
2. That the single biggest predictor of high academic achievement and high ACT scores is reading to children. Not flash cards, not workbooks, not fancy preschools, not blinking toys or computers, but mom or dad taking the time every day or night (or both!) to sit and read them wonderful books.
3. That being the smartest or most accomplished kid in class has never had any bearing on being the happiest. We are so caught up in trying to give our children "advantages" that we're giving them lives as multi-tasked and stressful as ours. One of the biggest advantages we can give our children is a simple, carefree childhood.
4. That our children deserve to be surrounded by books, nature, art supplies and the freedom to explore them. Most of us could get rid of 90% of our children's toys and they wouldn't be missed, but some things are important-- building toys like legos and blocks, creative toys like all types of art materials (good stuff), musical instruments (real ones and multicultural ones), dress up clothes and books, books, books. (Incidentally, much of this can be picked up quite cheaply at thrift shops.) They need to have the freedom to explore with these things too-- to play with scoops of dried beans in the high chair (supervised, of course), to knead bread and make messes, to use paint and play dough and glitter at the kitchen table while we make supper even though it gets everywhere, to have a spot in the yard where it's absolutely fine to dig up all the grass and make a mud pit.
5. That our children need more of us. We have become so good at saying that we need to take care of ourselves that some of us have used it as an excuse to have the rest of the world take care of our kids. Yes, we all need undisturbed baths, time with friends, sanity breaks and an occasional life outside of parenthood. But we live in a time when parenting magazines recommend trying to commit to 10 minutes a day with each child and scheduling one Saturday a month as family day. That's not okay! Our children don't need Nintendos, computers, after school activities, ballet lessons, play groups and soccer practice nearly as much as they need US.
They need fathers who sit and listen to their days, mothers who join in and make crafts with them, parents who take the time to read them stories and act like idiots with them. They need us to take walks with them and not mind the .1 MPH pace of a toddler on a spring night. They deserve to help us make supper even though it takes twice as long and makes it twice as much work. They deserve to know that they're a priority for us and that we truly love to be with them.
Monday, August 04, 2008
I love this idea and I'd like to try it out one day...
Knee Play 4
Social Studies
I thought that if I ate the food of the area I was visiting
That I might assimilate the point of view of the people there
As if the point of view was somehow in the food
So I would make no choices myself regarding what food I ate
I would simply follow the examples, of those around me
I would study menus very carefully
Making note of important differences and similarities
When shopping at the supermarket
I felt a great desire to walk off with someone else's groceries
So I could study them at length
And study their effects on me
As though if I ate their groceries I would become that person; until I finished their groceries
And we might find ourselves going to the same places
Running into one another at the movies
Or in a shopping mall
Reading the same books
Watching the same T.V. programs
Wearing the same clothes
Travelling to the same places
And taking the same pictures
Getting sick at the same time
And getting well again simultaneously
Finding ourselves attracted to the same people
Working at the same job
And making the same amount of money
Living identical lives as long as the groceries lasted
Social Studies
I thought that if I ate the food of the area I was visiting
That I might assimilate the point of view of the people there
As if the point of view was somehow in the food
So I would make no choices myself regarding what food I ate
I would simply follow the examples, of those around me
I would study menus very carefully
Making note of important differences and similarities
When shopping at the supermarket
I felt a great desire to walk off with someone else's groceries
So I could study them at length
And study their effects on me
As though if I ate their groceries I would become that person; until I finished their groceries
And we might find ourselves going to the same places
Running into one another at the movies
Or in a shopping mall
Reading the same books
Watching the same T.V. programs
Wearing the same clothes
Travelling to the same places
And taking the same pictures
Getting sick at the same time
And getting well again simultaneously
Finding ourselves attracted to the same people
Working at the same job
And making the same amount of money
Living identical lives as long as the groceries lasted
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Able was I ere I saw Elbaaaaaaaa!!!!
This is going to be rather random, but who will read this, anyway? So I'm gonna go all DADA on this post.
Idea for Radiohead's 15 Steps video: Child playing with yoyo on steps, yoyo turns into sufi dancer. Sufi dancers mutiply and then strings of sufi yoyos snap, sufi dancers whirl off into space.
Pretty silly, eh?
Too simplistic for Mr. Thom Yorke and Co.
Here are the lyrics for 15 Steps:
How come I end up where I started
How come I end up where I went wrong
Won't take my eyes off the ball again
You reel me out and you cut the string.
How come I end up where I started
How come I end up where I went wrong
Won't take my eyes off the ball again
First you reel me out and then you cut the string
You used to be all right
What happened?
Did the cat get your tongue?
Did your string come undone?
One by one
One by one
It comes to us all
It's as soft as your pillow
You used to be all right
What happened?
Etcetera Etcetera
Thanks for whatever
Fifteen steps
Then a sheer drop
How come I end up where I started?
How come I end up where I went wrong
Won't take my eyes off the ball again
You reel me out and you cut the string.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Goodbye, my sweet puppy
You were five weeks old when I first held you in my arms. A little ball of Boxer, you only weighed 5 pounds. You fit in your Dad's shirt pocket. It didn't take long for you to grow into a fun-loving and mischievous Big Brown Dog. Who cares if you were really brindle, you were Big Brown.
You chewed up the baseboard in our apartment. You chewed up our couch cushions and had farts that were deadly. You quickly laid waste to every toy we got you and you were hungry for more. Rawhides never had a chance against your powerful jaws. And yum, you loved kitty cookies in the litter box. So much so that we had to move it
to where you couldn't get to it. We bought you the sturdiest kick ball we could find, but you deflated it 15 minutes and then you found a way to sneak out the door to toss it around some more. And oh dear, we pulled quite a few long blades of grass out of your butt, and you almost seemed embarrassed. When I was 7 months pregnant and exhausted, just wanting to rest, I came home to a mountain of styrofoam balls and a former bean bag chair. Oh the fun you must have had! After our daughter arrived, you would sometimes feast on wipes and dirty diapers. I realized what you had been doing when I would find regurgitated wipes on the floor. At first I had no idea what it was, but then I caught you checking out the bathroom garbage can for "goodies." Silly dog.
I knew it wouldn't be long before I had to do it, to tell you goodbye. Your tumor which had been benign for so long started bleeding profusely and when it was removed, Dr. E. said cancer had gone everywhere. Tumors popped up all over your body. We tried chemo once, but it didn't do anything. We tried so hard to make you better. I knew I had to bring you to end your suffering, but I wanted to make sure it was the right time. You were never going to get any better, as ravaged as you were by that damned cancer. Still every time I looked into your big sweet brown eyes, I hoped that day would not come.
Yesterday I knew it was time. You were bleeding so much, lethargy had taken over your once playful and indominatable spirit. I didn't want to see you this way anymore and I don't think you were having any fun just laying about, or licking your sores that would never heal. I was giving you palliative care- Benadryl, Pepcid, Prenisone to counteract the side-effects of the cancer, but what kind of life was that, considering how joyously you once had tackled your life. This goddamned illness had taken away your zeal and what we called your "butt-wiggling excitement."
Blood pooled in the back seat on the way to the vet, a kind woman who tried so hard to prolong your life with the best quality possible. Evn she knew it was time this time. There was no going back. She and her assistants helped you up onto the exam table which I regretted was so cold and sterile, but how else could it be? You lay there, panting and bleeding, and you had no idea what was happening. Just a few hours earlier you were laying waste to a mega rawhide we bought you. And I had been spoiling you by feeding you everything you wanted: meat, cheese, crackers, cookies. You looked at me with that sad, silly face and I was gone. You got whatever you wanted.
And I felt that somehow you wanted me to end your suffering. If you could have spoken, you might have asked us, "What took you so damn long?"
I cradled your head in my hands and I kissed you over and over and thanked you for being such a good dog. I drank in your doggie smell so I could never forget it, and as the medicine took hold, your panting faded away. Slowly, slowly.
Then it was over.
The finality of it was what broke my heart. No more big silly grins during the day. No more "happy fun teeth." No more playing "feet" or "pocka pocka" or "glue mouth." No more seeing that urgent "I have to pee NOW" look. No more wagging of your short tail. No more sleeping back to back with your friend, Mazie.
But also no more panting. No more constant licking and scratching. No more bleeding everywhere and trying to lick it up. No more pain. No more worrying if I would come home and find you in a pool of blood or worse, hear you crying out in pain or going into shock.
Dr. E. said that very little drug was needed to help you on you way out. She said that was a sign that you were very near the end anyway. That was a great consolation. I wanted to be sure that it was the best, most humane thing to do. She assured me it was.
I sat there with you, still holding you, stroking your brindle coat, still crying. But I was relieved that you were at peace, and the absence of your labored breathing made me feel even more comforted.
It was time to let you go, my sweet Brules. We'll always remember you as the robust and glorious dog you were. Nothing can ever take that away.
We told our daughter that you had to go to the moon when she asked where you were. Whenever she wanted to see you, all she had to do was look up at the night sky. She was satisfied with that explanantion, and to tell the truth, so was I.
We love you, Big Brown Dog.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Quotes about religion and tyranny
"A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider to be God-fearing and pious."
-- Aristotle, 343 B.C.
From a diatribe on Advertising and Bullshit by George Carlin:
"...But in the Bullshit Department, the businessman can't hold a candle to a clergyman. 'Cause I gotta tell ya the truth, folks, when it comes to Bullshit, big time, major league BULLSHIT, you have to stand in awe, in awe, of the all time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims: RELIGION! .... No contest, no contest!!
Life is sacred? Who said so, God? Hey, if you read history you'll realize that God is one of the leading causes of death...has been for thousands of years. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jews, all taking turns killing each other because God told them it was a good idea.
Instead of school busing and prayer in schools, which are both controversial, why not a joint solution? Prayer in buses. Just drive these kids around all day and let them pray their fuckn' empty little heads off.
I've begun worshipping the Sun for a number of reasons. First of all, unlike some other gods I could mention, I can see the Sun. It's there for me every day. And the things it brings me are quite apparent all the time: heat, light, food, a lovely day. There's no mystery, no one asks for money, I don't have to dress up, and there's no boring pageantry. And interestingly enough, I have found that the prayers I offer to the sun and the prayers I formerly offered to God are all answered at about the same 50-percent rate."
-- Aristotle, 343 B.C.
From a diatribe on Advertising and Bullshit by George Carlin:
"...But in the Bullshit Department, the businessman can't hold a candle to a clergyman. 'Cause I gotta tell ya the truth, folks, when it comes to Bullshit, big time, major league BULLSHIT, you have to stand in awe, in awe, of the all time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims: RELIGION! .... No contest, no contest!!
Life is sacred? Who said so, God? Hey, if you read history you'll realize that God is one of the leading causes of death...has been for thousands of years. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jews, all taking turns killing each other because God told them it was a good idea.
Instead of school busing and prayer in schools, which are both controversial, why not a joint solution? Prayer in buses. Just drive these kids around all day and let them pray their fuckn' empty little heads off.
I've begun worshipping the Sun for a number of reasons. First of all, unlike some other gods I could mention, I can see the Sun. It's there for me every day. And the things it brings me are quite apparent all the time: heat, light, food, a lovely day. There's no mystery, no one asks for money, I don't have to dress up, and there's no boring pageantry. And interestingly enough, I have found that the prayers I offer to the sun and the prayers I formerly offered to God are all answered at about the same 50-percent rate."
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Quote about Enlightenment
Enlightenment--that magnificent escape from anguish and ignorance--never happens by accident. It results from the brave and sometimes lonely battle of one person against his own weaknesses.
-Bhikkhu Nyanasobhano, "Landscapes of Wonder"
-Bhikkhu Nyanasobhano, "Landscapes of Wonder"
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Radiohead and Thom Yorke
I love the Beatles and I always will, but DAMN I love Radiohead. I could listen to Thom Yorke's voice all day. Actually, I wouldn't mind having a cup of tea with him and just looking at him, hearing what he has to say about life.
My favorite songs are 15 Steps, Bodysnatchers, Jigsaw Falling Into Place, Paranoid Android, In Limbo, National Anthem...but really all the songs are gorgeous. OK Computer, In Rainbows and Kid A are incredible albums, and I like The Bends, but I guess it wasn't weird enough for me. I didn't really care for Pablo Honey. I haven't heard Amnesiac, Hail to the Thief yet. So how can ya be a fan if ya ain't heard all the tunes, Jen? I just am!
Gee, how many other Radiohead fans have typed the exact same thing as this? I don't really care, I just had to write about it!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
One of the few things I enjoy lately...
Not so long ago, I realized that I wanted to start recycling. Our bin was stowed away at the side of the house and it was filled with dead branches. I wondered "How much time and effort would it take to start recycling? Probably too long..." It started off small enough: a few tin cans here and there. Then I began looking closely at items for the ubiquitous recycling symbol, and I was mesmerized by just how much I could keep from going to the dump, only to decompose (or not)over a very, very long time. It's amazing how much you can recycle! Every Friday I fill the bin to the rim and this last Friday, the bin was filled to capacity, plus an extra 6 inches over the top! I like it so much, that I have noticed a bit of a sanctimonious feeling come over me when I see a lack of bins out on Fridays, or ones that are not filled all the way. I would think, "Come on people, you can do this!" But this is the first thing I have been really stoked about in a long time because I feel that in some way (no matter how miniscule), I am doing something for the environment.
I'm going to hug some more trees now. Our oak tree in the back yard looks a little forlorn...:)
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Here there is no why
I would like to know why I am the way I am: full of self-doubt, fear, anger, sadness. Maybe I already do know why. Genetics? Childhood? And does it really matter WHY? How do I escape from myself? I'm always there in the shadows, lurking. No matter how normal I try to be, the dismal specter is always there, compromising my efforts. I've tried just about every (legal) psychotropic pill made on Earth, and I have not been able to find the right combination of serotonin and dopamine uplifters or downshifters, stabilizers, sanitizers or equalizers! I seem to have a toxic stew of neurotransmitters in my brain that would send the witches in Macbeth in a tailspin. Too bad I can't throw some eye of newt into the mix! Wonder what it would do?
Anyway, what else is there that could help me to feel better? ECT? With my luck, I would end up like Randle McMurphy at the end of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. But of course, he had a lobotomy as a final measure to quiet him, not ECT. I just want to feel NORMAL! Is that too much to ask?
I'd donate my personality to science, if they could extract it from me and give me a shiny, happy one!
Or...if this is even possible, how can I ever accept the way I am and learn to even like myself, despite my shortcomings?
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