I thought this article on AlterNet was so interesting, and true for me. I barely know my neighbours, and don't even care that I never see them.
"Access to endless amounts of cheap energy made us rich, and wrecked our climate, and it also made us the first people on earth who had no practical need of our neighbors.
In the halcyon days of the final economic booms, everyone on your cul de sac could have died overnight from some mysterious plague, and while you might have been sad, you wouldn't have been inconvenienced. Our economy, unlike any that came before it, is designed to work without the input of your neighbors. Borne on cheap oil, our food arrives as if by magic from a great distance (typically, two thousand miles). If you have a credit card and an Internet connection, you can order most of what you need and have it left anonymously at your door. We've evolved a neighborless lifestyle; on average an American eats half as many meals with family and friends as she did fifty years ago. On average, we have half as many close friends.
In short, we're less happy than we used to be, and no wonder -- we are, after all, highly evolved social animals. There aren't enough iPods on earth to compensate for those missing friendships."
Friday, 30 April 2010
Brain shuts down when religious healers do their thing
Isn't this interesting:
WHEN people fall under the spell of a charismatic figure, areas of the brain responsible for scepticism and vigilance become less active.
That’s the finding of a study which looked at people’s response to prayers spoken by someone purportedly possessing divine healing powers.
According to The New Scientist, to identify the brain processes underlying the influence of charismatic individuals, Uffe Schjødt of Aarhus University in Denmark and colleagues turned to Pentecostal Christians, who believe that some people have divinely inspired powers of healing, wisdom and prophecy.
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Schjødt and his colleagues scanned the brains of 20 Pentecostalists and 20 non-believers while playing them recorded prayers. The volunteers were told that six of the prayers were read by a non-Christian, six by an ordinary Christian and six by a healer. In fact, all were read by ordinary Christians.
Only in the devout volunteers did the brain activity monitored by the researchers change in response to the prayers.
WHEN people fall under the spell of a charismatic figure, areas of the brain responsible for scepticism and vigilance become less active.
That’s the finding of a study which looked at people’s response to prayers spoken by someone purportedly possessing divine healing powers.
According to The New Scientist, to identify the brain processes underlying the influence of charismatic individuals, Uffe Schjødt of Aarhus University in Denmark and colleagues turned to Pentecostal Christians, who believe that some people have divinely inspired powers of healing, wisdom and prophecy.
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Schjødt and his colleagues scanned the brains of 20 Pentecostalists and 20 non-believers while playing them recorded prayers. The volunteers were told that six of the prayers were read by a non-Christian, six by an ordinary Christian and six by a healer. In fact, all were read by ordinary Christians.
Only in the devout volunteers did the brain activity monitored by the researchers change in response to the prayers.
Thursday, 29 April 2010
A Christian court of law
It's amazing that the former Archbishop of Canterbury would ask for a special court just for Christians so they don't have to follow the laws that the rest of us follow. Soon the Scientologists will be asking for their own court, I guess:
"A senior judge today delivered a stinging attack on demands by a former Archbishop of Canterbury for a special court for Christians.
Lord Carey had called for a specially constituted panel of judges with a "proven sensitivity and understanding of religious issues".
But Lord Justice Laws described the suggestion that Christianity should be protected more than other faiths by law as "irrational" and "divisive, capricious and arbitrary".
"A senior judge today delivered a stinging attack on demands by a former Archbishop of Canterbury for a special court for Christians.
Lord Carey had called for a specially constituted panel of judges with a "proven sensitivity and understanding of religious issues".
But Lord Justice Laws described the suggestion that Christianity should be protected more than other faiths by law as "irrational" and "divisive, capricious and arbitrary".
Turkish food
The food was so delicious in Istanbul. I ate like a pig and enjoyed every mouthful.
Here's one dish I loved - it's orange baklava with a creative flower on the side. How did they do that?
I ate this at a fancy restaurant on the Bosphorus. The water was all around us -- we were sitting in a glass room while we ate. We could see the bridge that leads to Asia -- it had lights that changed color every few minutes.
Here's Mel, me and his sister Paula -- there was some magnificent building underneath the bridge that you can see in this picture but I have no idea what it is:
I think my favorite dish was Turkish meatballs with pistachios. I think the recipe below is pretty close to what I ate but I would add cinammon too.
Turkish meatballs
500g lean lamb mince
½ cup dry breadcrumbs
1 clove crushed garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
½ teaspoon ground coriander powder
60g pistachios kernels, chopped
salt and cracked black pepper
1 clove crushed garlic, extra
pinch chilli powder
700mls tomato passatta (puree)
¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
Method:
Place the lamb mince, breadcrumbs, garlic, cumin, coriander, pistachios, salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix until fully combined. Roll the mixture into walnut sized balls and place on a baking tray lined with non stick baking paper. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
While the meatballs are chilling, heat a saucepan over medium heat. Spray lightly with oil spray and add the extra garlic and chilli powder. Cook, stirring for 1 minute then add the tomato passatta. Simmer for 10 minutes and set aside.
Heat a non stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook for 5 minutes, turning regularly until golden and nearly cooked through. Pour over the tomato sauce and cook for a further 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Serves 4.
Here's one dish I loved - it's orange baklava with a creative flower on the side. How did they do that?
I ate this at a fancy restaurant on the Bosphorus. The water was all around us -- we were sitting in a glass room while we ate. We could see the bridge that leads to Asia -- it had lights that changed color every few minutes.
Here's Mel, me and his sister Paula -- there was some magnificent building underneath the bridge that you can see in this picture but I have no idea what it is:
I think my favorite dish was Turkish meatballs with pistachios. I think the recipe below is pretty close to what I ate but I would add cinammon too.
Turkish meatballs
500g lean lamb mince
½ cup dry breadcrumbs
1 clove crushed garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
½ teaspoon ground coriander powder
60g pistachios kernels, chopped
salt and cracked black pepper
1 clove crushed garlic, extra
pinch chilli powder
700mls tomato passatta (puree)
¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
Method:
Place the lamb mince, breadcrumbs, garlic, cumin, coriander, pistachios, salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix until fully combined. Roll the mixture into walnut sized balls and place on a baking tray lined with non stick baking paper. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.
While the meatballs are chilling, heat a saucepan over medium heat. Spray lightly with oil spray and add the extra garlic and chilli powder. Cook, stirring for 1 minute then add the tomato passatta. Simmer for 10 minutes and set aside.
Heat a non stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook for 5 minutes, turning regularly until golden and nearly cooked through. Pour over the tomato sauce and cook for a further 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Serves 4.
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Turkish toilets
You don't see bathrooms like this where I come from....
The bathroom in the Istanbul airport had this warning sign:
As if I intended to do my ablutions in there!
The bathroom at the hotel looked like this:
See the faucet/tap thing to the left of the toilet bowl? This turns on a high-pressure jet of water in the bowl RIGHT where you need it, if you catch my drift.
Now this is a fine invention -- why don't we have these things in the west?
The bathroom in the Istanbul airport had this warning sign:
As if I intended to do my ablutions in there!
The bathroom at the hotel looked like this:
See the faucet/tap thing to the left of the toilet bowl? This turns on a high-pressure jet of water in the bowl RIGHT where you need it, if you catch my drift.
Now this is a fine invention -- why don't we have these things in the west?
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Mysterious Istanbul
My husband and I went to Istanbul over the weekend to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday. We had a fabulous time -- so much exotic food, atmosphere and places to see.
The hotel was great -- they had tons of staff there (labor is cheap in Turkey) to help with our every need. A nice alcoholic drink upon arrival, then every afternoon they served a delightful apple tea and sandwiches. You didn't have to get the tea yourself -- they brought everything over as many times as you wanted.
When I got to our room, I saw Turkish Delight and a nice note waiting:
I bragged to my sister-in-law at dinner that *I* was the hotel's dearest guest, but she said she had a note just like it! (I don't believe her.)
The hotel had its own Turkish bath -- so relaxing. I also had a massage that pounded every tired muscle.
We had lunch every day at a restaurant on the Bosphorus. Look at the view from our table:
I have to tell you some more about Istanbul in the coming days but will try not to bore you. By telling you about it, I get to relive my trip.
In the car back on the way to the airport to go home to England, this beautiful song was playing:
Cat poo awaits me
Just in case I was too pampered over the weekend, reality was ready for me. I opened the door to our house to be greeted by the strongest and vilest smells of days of accumulated cat poo. My son never emptied the litter tray. There were tons of dishes all over the house, spills, messes and days of unread papers and untouched mail.
Think I'll go back to Istanbul just to avoid cleaning up the mess.
Obligatory photo of me going native and looking silly
We had so much fun dressing up in Turkish clothes and posing. My sister-in-law hates the photos and won't let me put any up with her in it so you just get me now:
The hotel was great -- they had tons of staff there (labor is cheap in Turkey) to help with our every need. A nice alcoholic drink upon arrival, then every afternoon they served a delightful apple tea and sandwiches. You didn't have to get the tea yourself -- they brought everything over as many times as you wanted.
When I got to our room, I saw Turkish Delight and a nice note waiting:
I bragged to my sister-in-law at dinner that *I* was the hotel's dearest guest, but she said she had a note just like it! (I don't believe her.)
The hotel had its own Turkish bath -- so relaxing. I also had a massage that pounded every tired muscle.
We had lunch every day at a restaurant on the Bosphorus. Look at the view from our table:
I have to tell you some more about Istanbul in the coming days but will try not to bore you. By telling you about it, I get to relive my trip.
In the car back on the way to the airport to go home to England, this beautiful song was playing:
Cat poo awaits me
Just in case I was too pampered over the weekend, reality was ready for me. I opened the door to our house to be greeted by the strongest and vilest smells of days of accumulated cat poo. My son never emptied the litter tray. There were tons of dishes all over the house, spills, messes and days of unread papers and untouched mail.
Think I'll go back to Istanbul just to avoid cleaning up the mess.
Obligatory photo of me going native and looking silly
We had so much fun dressing up in Turkish clothes and posing. My sister-in-law hates the photos and won't let me put any up with her in it so you just get me now:
Monday, 26 April 2010
A mainstream Republican's fears
Interesting article in the Times on Sunday that the US Republican party has lurched so far to the right with the Tea baggers, Fox news and Sarah Palin, that England's Conservatives - the Tory party - look like lefties to Americans. So being conservative in one country means something different in another.
A conservative writer who is more of a mainstream Republican writes:
"Ask any Tea Party-ers what they'd like to cut and you get nothing specific. They are as adamant in defending the defense budget as they are in supporting Medicare and social security...
My fear is that a natural anti-incumbent swing in the mid-term elections will only convince Republicans that their lurch to the far right is what they need to regain the White House and Congress. The new Tea Party-approved freshmen will be ready to rumble -- the path to a candidacy is through a Fox News television show, and the last dregs of conservative realism and moderation will be swept away."
A conservative writer who is more of a mainstream Republican writes:
"Ask any Tea Party-ers what they'd like to cut and you get nothing specific. They are as adamant in defending the defense budget as they are in supporting Medicare and social security...
My fear is that a natural anti-incumbent swing in the mid-term elections will only convince Republicans that their lurch to the far right is what they need to regain the White House and Congress. The new Tea Party-approved freshmen will be ready to rumble -- the path to a candidacy is through a Fox News television show, and the last dregs of conservative realism and moderation will be swept away."
Sunday, 25 April 2010
Faux Thomases
My husband is a Thomas. Thomas is a Welsh name -- they all originate from Wales in the United Kingdom.
When I lived in Vicksburg, Mississippi, I noticed there were many Thomases there too -- but they were Lebanese. That wasn't their original name, though -- they selected the Thomas surname when they went through immigration at Ellis Island a long time ago.
(For example, a popular entertainer in my mother's day was Danny Thomas, of Lebanese origin. His real name was Amos Muzyad Jacobs.)
Anyway, because everyone in Vicksburg knows Lebanese Thomases they think those are Real Thomases. When I told people I was getting married to Mel Thomas, they said: "Oh, you are marrying a nice Lebanese boy! Good for you."
When I reported this to my future husband, he fumed. "Those aren't REAL Thomases!" he said. "The only real Thomas is from Wales. Those are FAUX Thomases."
When Mel came to Vicksburg for our wedding ceremony, we toured the local graveyard that is so beautiful and gothic. There he saw row upon row of graves bearing the name Thomas but their inhabitants were Lebanese.
"More fake Thomases," he commented.
When my god-daughter married in Mississippi recently, she married into a nice big Lebanese family that -- you guessed it -- include several Faux Thomases. When we shared our little anecdote with them at the wedding rehearsal, we all had a good laugh.
When I lived in Vicksburg, Mississippi, I noticed there were many Thomases there too -- but they were Lebanese. That wasn't their original name, though -- they selected the Thomas surname when they went through immigration at Ellis Island a long time ago.
(For example, a popular entertainer in my mother's day was Danny Thomas, of Lebanese origin. His real name was Amos Muzyad Jacobs.)
Anyway, because everyone in Vicksburg knows Lebanese Thomases they think those are Real Thomases. When I told people I was getting married to Mel Thomas, they said: "Oh, you are marrying a nice Lebanese boy! Good for you."
When I reported this to my future husband, he fumed. "Those aren't REAL Thomases!" he said. "The only real Thomas is from Wales. Those are FAUX Thomases."
When Mel came to Vicksburg for our wedding ceremony, we toured the local graveyard that is so beautiful and gothic. There he saw row upon row of graves bearing the name Thomas but their inhabitants were Lebanese.
"More fake Thomases," he commented.
When my god-daughter married in Mississippi recently, she married into a nice big Lebanese family that -- you guessed it -- include several Faux Thomases. When we shared our little anecdote with them at the wedding rehearsal, we all had a good laugh.
Saturday, 24 April 2010
Why can't liberals and conservatives get along?
Here's the view from Live Science:
The reasons are many-faced, involving deep-seated personality differences, contrasting moral views, polarized political parties and today's 24/7, tell-it-all in-great detail media, all of which prevent liberals and conservatives from seeing eye-to-eye, experts say.
And at the end of the day, these divisions could explain why we can't all just get along.
Conflicting morals
Before they even get to the issues, liberals and conservatives are already starting off on the wrong foot for bipartisan agreement. Fundamental differences in morals and personality, paired with emotion-driven logic lead to a basic disconnect between the political bents.
Jonathan Haidt of the University of Virginia and his colleagues have pinned down five basic "moral triggers," or the factors people use to judge right from wrong and that have evolved in human societies. Different cultures and even individuals place more emphasis on certain triggers compared with others.
In a broad sense, they boil down to:
Harm/care
People are sensitive to suffering and have negative feelings toward those who are harmful and cruel. They value kindness and compassion.
Fairness/reciprocity
A history of cooperation means humans have evolved a sense of fairness and reciprocity, leading to altruistic actions.
Ingroup/loyalty
People place moral value on those who do what's good for the group; are loyal to the group; and dislike disloyal members.
Authority/respect
Humans tend to respect authority and tradition.
Purity/sanctity
The idea that we view our bodies as sacred. This idea ties into religious views about the body and human actions.
Studies have shown that liberals tend to care only about harm and fairness when considering whether something is moral or not, said Peter Ditto, a professor of psychology and social behavior at the University of California, Irvine, who is involved with Haidt's research.
In contrast, conservatives have a more traditional moral structure, and tend to care about all five morality factors, he said.
"So that's where a lot of the problems come in, is that the things that really bother conservatives don’t bother liberals very much," Ditto said. "And the two groups don't understand each other's morality very well."
The reasons are many-faced, involving deep-seated personality differences, contrasting moral views, polarized political parties and today's 24/7, tell-it-all in-great detail media, all of which prevent liberals and conservatives from seeing eye-to-eye, experts say.
And at the end of the day, these divisions could explain why we can't all just get along.
Conflicting morals
Before they even get to the issues, liberals and conservatives are already starting off on the wrong foot for bipartisan agreement. Fundamental differences in morals and personality, paired with emotion-driven logic lead to a basic disconnect between the political bents.
Jonathan Haidt of the University of Virginia and his colleagues have pinned down five basic "moral triggers," or the factors people use to judge right from wrong and that have evolved in human societies. Different cultures and even individuals place more emphasis on certain triggers compared with others.
In a broad sense, they boil down to:
Harm/care
People are sensitive to suffering and have negative feelings toward those who are harmful and cruel. They value kindness and compassion.
Fairness/reciprocity
A history of cooperation means humans have evolved a sense of fairness and reciprocity, leading to altruistic actions.
Ingroup/loyalty
People place moral value on those who do what's good for the group; are loyal to the group; and dislike disloyal members.
Authority/respect
Humans tend to respect authority and tradition.
Purity/sanctity
The idea that we view our bodies as sacred. This idea ties into religious views about the body and human actions.
Studies have shown that liberals tend to care only about harm and fairness when considering whether something is moral or not, said Peter Ditto, a professor of psychology and social behavior at the University of California, Irvine, who is involved with Haidt's research.
In contrast, conservatives have a more traditional moral structure, and tend to care about all five morality factors, he said.
"So that's where a lot of the problems come in, is that the things that really bother conservatives don’t bother liberals very much," Ditto said. "And the two groups don't understand each other's morality very well."
Friday, 23 April 2010
I'm finally going to see Santa Sophia
When I was taking a World History course in high school, I had to read a chapter on the Byzantine Empire.
Wiki background: The Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire was the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by emperors in direct succession to the ancient Roman emperors.
Was it tedious! I kept falling asleep when I tried to read the chapter in our school book, and our teacher was even worse. She could make the most exciting events in history seem dull.
So anyway...it was a Sunday night, and I had to get through this chapter for a test the next week and my eyes kept closing. I turned the page, and saw this photograph:
Then I read about how Constantinople, now Istanbul in Turkey, stood right between Asia and Europe -- it was, in effect, a gateway from one region to the other. The church in the photograph, Santa Sophia, looked like nothing I'd ever seen before. It looked so foreign to my eyes and fascinating.
I didn't learn much else about the Byzantine Empire that night but this church was such a marvel and the idea of a place that stood midpoint between two cultures -- I knew then that is was too far out of my reach as a girl in Mississippi that I would probably never see that church or the city with my own eyes.
I never forgot the photograph, my reaction to it and the feeling that I would never travel so far that I would see it.
But then again, I didn't know I was going to marry an Englishman and move far away from Mississippi either. When my sister-in-law wrote me to say that her husband was celebrating his 50th birthday in Istanbul, and we had to come, I was excited but unsure. Was this really going to happen? Would I be able to see the city that I had dreamed of for so long?
I think so -- we are flying over there for the weekend today.
Wiki background: The Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire was the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by emperors in direct succession to the ancient Roman emperors.
Was it tedious! I kept falling asleep when I tried to read the chapter in our school book, and our teacher was even worse. She could make the most exciting events in history seem dull.
So anyway...it was a Sunday night, and I had to get through this chapter for a test the next week and my eyes kept closing. I turned the page, and saw this photograph:
Then I read about how Constantinople, now Istanbul in Turkey, stood right between Asia and Europe -- it was, in effect, a gateway from one region to the other. The church in the photograph, Santa Sophia, looked like nothing I'd ever seen before. It looked so foreign to my eyes and fascinating.
I didn't learn much else about the Byzantine Empire that night but this church was such a marvel and the idea of a place that stood midpoint between two cultures -- I knew then that is was too far out of my reach as a girl in Mississippi that I would probably never see that church or the city with my own eyes.
I never forgot the photograph, my reaction to it and the feeling that I would never travel so far that I would see it.
But then again, I didn't know I was going to marry an Englishman and move far away from Mississippi either. When my sister-in-law wrote me to say that her husband was celebrating his 50th birthday in Istanbul, and we had to come, I was excited but unsure. Was this really going to happen? Would I be able to see the city that I had dreamed of for so long?
I think so -- we are flying over there for the weekend today.
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Welcome home
The volcano in Iceland caused such chaos in Europe. Nokia, where I work, had hundreds of employees stranded all over the globe. They'd been attending business meetings then found they were unable to get home.
Nokia creatively decided to charter buses. To get home from Finland, employees had to board a bus that went through Eastern Europe then on a ferry, then back to roads, etc., so the entire trip was 48 hours long. Can you imagine? 48 hours on a bus?
I noticed this outside one of our buildings -- Nokia balloons (our corporate colors are blue and white like the Finnish flag) and a Welcome Home sign to greet the exhausted travellers. I thought this was such a nice thing to do.
Here's one employee's travel diary:
After 2810km overland, 50 hours, 10 countries, 1 ferry and a very long coach ride - I'm back in the UK!
Today is time to recover (have you ever tried sleeping in a coach?) so I'm off-line today. Normal service will be resumed tomorrow.
I never realised Finland was so far away.
Nokia creatively decided to charter buses. To get home from Finland, employees had to board a bus that went through Eastern Europe then on a ferry, then back to roads, etc., so the entire trip was 48 hours long. Can you imagine? 48 hours on a bus?
I noticed this outside one of our buildings -- Nokia balloons (our corporate colors are blue and white like the Finnish flag) and a Welcome Home sign to greet the exhausted travellers. I thought this was such a nice thing to do.
Here's one employee's travel diary:
After 2810km overland, 50 hours, 10 countries, 1 ferry and a very long coach ride - I'm back in the UK!
Today is time to recover (have you ever tried sleeping in a coach?) so I'm off-line today. Normal service will be resumed tomorrow.
I never realised Finland was so far away.
Brits didn't want black waiters in the US
This is pretty amazing. Imagine them thinking this was OK, and the hotel complying with their request:
A British family is at the centre of an astonishing lawsuit in America after telling a hotel they did not want to be served by a black waiter.
Their racist request was entered into the computer of the five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel on checking in and a black waiter was stopped from serving them.
Haitian-born Wadner Tranchant claims he was stopped from serving the family during their recent stay at the beachfront hotel in Naples, Florida, to avoid upsetting them.
Lawyers representing the 40-year-old waiter named the principal family member as Rodney Morgan. Court papers identified the guests as British guests who were registered at the hotel from February 28.
A British family is at the centre of an astonishing lawsuit in America after telling a hotel they did not want to be served by a black waiter.
Their racist request was entered into the computer of the five-star Ritz-Carlton hotel on checking in and a black waiter was stopped from serving them.
Haitian-born Wadner Tranchant claims he was stopped from serving the family during their recent stay at the beachfront hotel in Naples, Florida, to avoid upsetting them.
Lawyers representing the 40-year-old waiter named the principal family member as Rodney Morgan. Court papers identified the guests as British guests who were registered at the hotel from February 28.
In health but not in sickness
I don't need anyone to tell me that men are more likely to leave women when they become ill than the other way around.
According to a recent study in the journal Cancer, a man is seven times more likely to leave his wife if the other becomes seriously ill. In the research, Dr. Marc Chamberlain, a neuro-oncologist at the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center in Seattle, looked at 515 marriages where one of the patients had an illness such as Multiple Sclerosis. Of those, 105 ended because the wife was ill, but onl 15 couples divorced when the husband was sick.
My personal experience of this is that when my mother (who spent years trying to please my demanding father) was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, my father said: "I cannot be married to a sick woman," and thus the unpleasant breakup of their marriage began.
According to a recent study in the journal Cancer, a man is seven times more likely to leave his wife if the other becomes seriously ill. In the research, Dr. Marc Chamberlain, a neuro-oncologist at the Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center in Seattle, looked at 515 marriages where one of the patients had an illness such as Multiple Sclerosis. Of those, 105 ended because the wife was ill, but onl 15 couples divorced when the husband was sick.
My personal experience of this is that when my mother (who spent years trying to please my demanding father) was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, my father said: "I cannot be married to a sick woman," and thus the unpleasant breakup of their marriage began.
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
What if Obama nominated Jesus for the Supreme Court
A tongue-in-cheek article sent in by Brody in DC:
By Rick Chertoff (Washington DC) Apr 19 | President Barack Obama is expected to nominate Jesus Christ, an immigrant originally born to a virgin mother in Bethlehem, to fill the new vacancy on the U. S. Supreme Court. Although Mr. Christ is over 2,000 years old, He is immortal, so Democrats and Republicans expect that He will serve on the high court forever or until He decides to start the End Times.
Republicans are expected to fight the nomination on the grounds that Mr. Christ would radically move the Court to the left. The GOP is also concerned that, despite decades of controversy and speculation, Mr. Christ has never revealed his position on abortion. Mr. Christ, according to many authorities, is expected to oppose the death penalty in all forms.
Michael Steele, the head of the GOP national committee, issued a statement:
"Christ is a complete mystery to us. He won't reveal His physical appearance and many of His positions are unknown or the subject of speculation. He is a stealth candidate. Why won't He reveal himself? Who does He think He is?"
Republicans are reportedly outraged that Mr. Obama even considered Mr. Christ, who has been widely quoted for his sentiments supporting the poor over the wealthy. In a Facebook post, former half-term Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin called for an investigation into the Bethlehem chapter of ACORN because of what she termed the "highly suspicious" coincidence that both President Obama and Mr. Christ had each spent three years as community organizers. In her post, Palin also wrote that:
"More and more of good God-fearing smalltime Americans from hardworking smalltime towns from great parts of this real America, West, South, East, North, are seeing more and more every day that Christ is a community organizer. We don't need another
community organizer in the White House!"
Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) asked;
"We're not even sure where He was born. Why is He afraid to show us his birth certificate?"
Bachmann also announced that she would vote "no" when the Christ nomination came before the House of Representatives. Later, her congressional staff released a statement saying that the Congresswoman had forgotten that the House does not vote on judicial nominations.
According to Rush Limbaugh;
"Christ doesn't know anything about free enterprise. This is part of the Obama conspiracy to drag us to socialism. If this guy is approved, I'm moving to Costa Rica."
Sobbing, Glenn Beck attacked Christ's support for the separation of church and state, telling his audience:
"You know who else wanted a separation of church and state? Hitler."
By Rick Chertoff (Washington DC) Apr 19 | President Barack Obama is expected to nominate Jesus Christ, an immigrant originally born to a virgin mother in Bethlehem, to fill the new vacancy on the U. S. Supreme Court. Although Mr. Christ is over 2,000 years old, He is immortal, so Democrats and Republicans expect that He will serve on the high court forever or until He decides to start the End Times.
Republicans are expected to fight the nomination on the grounds that Mr. Christ would radically move the Court to the left. The GOP is also concerned that, despite decades of controversy and speculation, Mr. Christ has never revealed his position on abortion. Mr. Christ, according to many authorities, is expected to oppose the death penalty in all forms.
Michael Steele, the head of the GOP national committee, issued a statement:
"Christ is a complete mystery to us. He won't reveal His physical appearance and many of His positions are unknown or the subject of speculation. He is a stealth candidate. Why won't He reveal himself? Who does He think He is?"
Republicans are reportedly outraged that Mr. Obama even considered Mr. Christ, who has been widely quoted for his sentiments supporting the poor over the wealthy. In a Facebook post, former half-term Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin called for an investigation into the Bethlehem chapter of ACORN because of what she termed the "highly suspicious" coincidence that both President Obama and Mr. Christ had each spent three years as community organizers. In her post, Palin also wrote that:
"More and more of good God-fearing smalltime Americans from hardworking smalltime towns from great parts of this real America, West, South, East, North, are seeing more and more every day that Christ is a community organizer. We don't need another
community organizer in the White House!"
Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) asked;
"We're not even sure where He was born. Why is He afraid to show us his birth certificate?"
Bachmann also announced that she would vote "no" when the Christ nomination came before the House of Representatives. Later, her congressional staff released a statement saying that the Congresswoman had forgotten that the House does not vote on judicial nominations.
According to Rush Limbaugh;
"Christ doesn't know anything about free enterprise. This is part of the Obama conspiracy to drag us to socialism. If this guy is approved, I'm moving to Costa Rica."
Sobbing, Glenn Beck attacked Christ's support for the separation of church and state, telling his audience:
"You know who else wanted a separation of church and state? Hitler."
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
Thankful tragedy has passed me by
Whenever I hear of something awful that has happened to a friend of mine I feel sick then invariably a quick rush of relief comes to me that it has not happened to me or my family. After the feeling of relief, I return to grieving for my friend.
I wrote about a high school friend's son dying of cancer last week. Now tonight I've heard that the son of a friend of mine has killed himself. He was at the same school as my son. She was an expat Southern girl living in England just like me. Her son and my daughter attended the same nursery when we were working for the same hi-tech company.
I keep looking at the bed in my spare room where her son slept one night when she was away on a business trip. Why did you do it, I ask in the silence.
We were having similar problems with depression in my family last year -- I think, this could have so easily have been us that this happened to. But it wasn't. How lucky we were spared; how tragic that she wasn't.
The Ten Commandments movie was on when I had the flu, and I stared at the TV, a prisoner of my illness. But now I'm thinking of the scene when the first born of each family was being taken one night, and how families cowered in their homes saying, "Please let this pass us by."
We were spared this time, and I'm so grateful, but so very sorry that she wasn't.
Postscript:
I got a phone call at 2:30 in the morning today. My daughter was robbed getting off a bus in London. Her attackers took her bag and when she tried to pursue and fell over, they laughed and laughed. Poor thing -- she lost everything, and is in the middle of exams and trying to write a dissertation for a neuroscience degree so this was the last thing she needed. But she is physically OK so that's the most important thing.
I wrote about a high school friend's son dying of cancer last week. Now tonight I've heard that the son of a friend of mine has killed himself. He was at the same school as my son. She was an expat Southern girl living in England just like me. Her son and my daughter attended the same nursery when we were working for the same hi-tech company.
I keep looking at the bed in my spare room where her son slept one night when she was away on a business trip. Why did you do it, I ask in the silence.
We were having similar problems with depression in my family last year -- I think, this could have so easily have been us that this happened to. But it wasn't. How lucky we were spared; how tragic that she wasn't.
The Ten Commandments movie was on when I had the flu, and I stared at the TV, a prisoner of my illness. But now I'm thinking of the scene when the first born of each family was being taken one night, and how families cowered in their homes saying, "Please let this pass us by."
We were spared this time, and I'm so grateful, but so very sorry that she wasn't.
Postscript:
I got a phone call at 2:30 in the morning today. My daughter was robbed getting off a bus in London. Her attackers took her bag and when she tried to pursue and fell over, they laughed and laughed. Poor thing -- she lost everything, and is in the middle of exams and trying to write a dissertation for a neuroscience degree so this was the last thing she needed. But she is physically OK so that's the most important thing.
Monday, 19 April 2010
Freak-show fat
This is amazing -- the guy in the photo below (Chauncy Morlan) used to tour with the circus in a freak show because he was so fat.
Look at this -- you see people this size all the time in Walmart these days.
What would the circus goers of 1890 have thought if they were told that in the America of 2010 Chauncy Morlan would be unremarkable?
Look at this -- you see people this size all the time in Walmart these days.
What would the circus goers of 1890 have thought if they were told that in the America of 2010 Chauncy Morlan would be unremarkable?
Mirror neurons help us understand each other
I didn't know about mirror neurons, did you? From Live Science:
We can understand the actions of others because of mirror neurons — cells that are located in the movement and memory sections of our brains and which help us interpret the actions of others, scientists have long suspected. Now they have evidence.
Mirroring is believed to be the way in which the brain automatically interprets the actions, intentions and emotions of other people. Mirror neurons, the cells in the brain that activate when we perform a particular action or watch someone else perform that same action, were up until recently only a theory. Scientists knew that they existed deep in our minds and were responsible for making us empathize with others, but had no hard proof to show for it – until now.
While such neurons have only been directly measured in monkeys, scientists have previously conducted experiments using encephalograph (EEG) machines that led them to believe mirror neurons exist in human adults and infants. The latest research, using fine electrical conductors called depth electrodes, has resulted in the first ever direct recording of mirror neurons in the human brain.
We can understand the actions of others because of mirror neurons — cells that are located in the movement and memory sections of our brains and which help us interpret the actions of others, scientists have long suspected. Now they have evidence.
Mirroring is believed to be the way in which the brain automatically interprets the actions, intentions and emotions of other people. Mirror neurons, the cells in the brain that activate when we perform a particular action or watch someone else perform that same action, were up until recently only a theory. Scientists knew that they existed deep in our minds and were responsible for making us empathize with others, but had no hard proof to show for it – until now.
While such neurons have only been directly measured in monkeys, scientists have previously conducted experiments using encephalograph (EEG) machines that led them to believe mirror neurons exist in human adults and infants. The latest research, using fine electrical conductors called depth electrodes, has resulted in the first ever direct recording of mirror neurons in the human brain.
Spend your money on boots or strengthening relationships?
This was good advice I read in a mag today:
When deciding how to spend your money, consider whether the purchase will strengthen your relationships.
If you're trying to choose between spending money on a train ticket to visit your sister or on a new pair of boots, the visit to your sister will bring more happiness in the long run.
Experiences tend to make us happier than stuff.
When deciding how to spend your money, consider whether the purchase will strengthen your relationships.
If you're trying to choose between spending money on a train ticket to visit your sister or on a new pair of boots, the visit to your sister will bring more happiness in the long run.
Experiences tend to make us happier than stuff.
Sunday, 18 April 2010
Liberal Democrats win the first debate
I told you earlier how my son has me involved with British politics now (there's a general election on May the 6th). He's been helping the Liberal Democrat candidate for Parliament in Reading East with canvassing and putting leaflets through doors. Today Mikey was busy studying for his spring exams so Mel and I walked around our neighborhood putting leaflets through letter boxes.
England televised their first debate ever, and people seemed quite excited by it. They talked on TV about how Americans have been doing it for years -- explaining what can go wrong and what you should do to win them, and so on.
What a surprise when the Liberal Democrat leader won the debate. He wasn't expected to. What would have been a dull contest between the two main parties has now turned exciting because the third party, the Lib Dems, are getting traction.
Here's how it was reported in the US:
Nick Clegg donned the Obama change mantle—and stole the U.K.'s first televised campaign debate, says Mark McKinnon, a former adviser to President Bush and John McCain.
There’s a new kid on the political block in Britain after today’s debate.
It’s remarkable that the country that created “Question Time”—a frequent practice of making government ministers, including the top dog, answer questions from members of Parliament live on television, has never held debates between candidates running to lead the country.
At last, Great Britain changed all that Thursday, as 20 million viewers tuned in to watch Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Conservative leader David Cameron and Liberal Democrat head Nick Clegg face off in the first of what will be three live debates before the May 6 election.
By the end of the 90-minute session, Clegg had cleverly managed to position Cameron and Brown as two peas in a conventional political pod. In his closing, he referenced all the audience questioners by name, then went on to deliver a knockout message of change: “Say no to the old parties. Yes to something new and something different. Don’t let them tell you the only choice is between two old parties that make and break the same promises. That keep making the same mistakes. I think, despite the problems, we can be hopeful. We can have a better, fairer society. Give real change a chance. Trust your instincts. Choose fairness.”
England televised their first debate ever, and people seemed quite excited by it. They talked on TV about how Americans have been doing it for years -- explaining what can go wrong and what you should do to win them, and so on.
What a surprise when the Liberal Democrat leader won the debate. He wasn't expected to. What would have been a dull contest between the two main parties has now turned exciting because the third party, the Lib Dems, are getting traction.
Here's how it was reported in the US:
Nick Clegg donned the Obama change mantle—and stole the U.K.'s first televised campaign debate, says Mark McKinnon, a former adviser to President Bush and John McCain.
There’s a new kid on the political block in Britain after today’s debate.
It’s remarkable that the country that created “Question Time”—a frequent practice of making government ministers, including the top dog, answer questions from members of Parliament live on television, has never held debates between candidates running to lead the country.
At last, Great Britain changed all that Thursday, as 20 million viewers tuned in to watch Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Conservative leader David Cameron and Liberal Democrat head Nick Clegg face off in the first of what will be three live debates before the May 6 election.
By the end of the 90-minute session, Clegg had cleverly managed to position Cameron and Brown as two peas in a conventional political pod. In his closing, he referenced all the audience questioners by name, then went on to deliver a knockout message of change: “Say no to the old parties. Yes to something new and something different. Don’t let them tell you the only choice is between two old parties that make and break the same promises. That keep making the same mistakes. I think, despite the problems, we can be hopeful. We can have a better, fairer society. Give real change a chance. Trust your instincts. Choose fairness.”
Blue peaceful skies
I live in a Victorian house, and when I sit outside on a peaceful sunny day, I think how amazed the house's original owners would be to see big jets flying overhead all the time and leaving white trails in the sky.
But today, the Victorian owners would feel at home. Due to volcanic ash drifting over from Iceland, the airports in the UK have been closed and nothing has been taking off or landing for days.
The sky is perfectly blue, and the only thing you can hear in the air is the song of birds.
Here's my view of the sky today -- taken through my apple trees starting to flower:
Postscript:
It's all very well for me to praise the blue skies but I'm scheduled to fly to Istanbul on Friday to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday so I need that volcano to stop spewing NOW.
But today, the Victorian owners would feel at home. Due to volcanic ash drifting over from Iceland, the airports in the UK have been closed and nothing has been taking off or landing for days.
The sky is perfectly blue, and the only thing you can hear in the air is the song of birds.
Here's my view of the sky today -- taken through my apple trees starting to flower:
Postscript:
It's all very well for me to praise the blue skies but I'm scheduled to fly to Istanbul on Friday to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday so I need that volcano to stop spewing NOW.
Saturday, 17 April 2010
People with loads of stuff not so well liked
This is interesting -- my husband and I always had less material stuff than others because we never had the money that they did. Don't know if anyone liked us better though....
ScienceDaily (Apr. 16, 2010) — People who pursue happiness through material possessions are liked less by their peers than people who pursue happiness through life experiences, according to a new study led by University of Colorado at Boulder psychology Professor Leaf Van Boven.
Van Boven has spent a decade studying the social costs and benefits of pursuing happiness through the acquisition of life experiences such as traveling and going to concerts versus the purchase of material possessions like fancy cars and jewelry.
"We have found that material possessions don't provide as much enduring happiness as the pursuit of life experiences," Van Boven said.
The "take home" message in his most recent study, which appears in this month's edition of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, is that not only will investing in material possessions make us less happy than investing in life experiences, but that it often makes us less popular among our peers as well.
"The mistake we can sometimes make is believing that pursuing material possessions will gain us status and admiration while also improving our social relationships," Van Boven said. "In fact, it seems to have exactly the opposite effect. This is really problematic because we know that having quality social relationships is one of the best predictors of happiness, health and well-being.
ScienceDaily (Apr. 16, 2010) — People who pursue happiness through material possessions are liked less by their peers than people who pursue happiness through life experiences, according to a new study led by University of Colorado at Boulder psychology Professor Leaf Van Boven.
Van Boven has spent a decade studying the social costs and benefits of pursuing happiness through the acquisition of life experiences such as traveling and going to concerts versus the purchase of material possessions like fancy cars and jewelry.
"We have found that material possessions don't provide as much enduring happiness as the pursuit of life experiences," Van Boven said.
The "take home" message in his most recent study, which appears in this month's edition of the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, is that not only will investing in material possessions make us less happy than investing in life experiences, but that it often makes us less popular among our peers as well.
"The mistake we can sometimes make is believing that pursuing material possessions will gain us status and admiration while also improving our social relationships," Van Boven said. "In fact, it seems to have exactly the opposite effect. This is really problematic because we know that having quality social relationships is one of the best predictors of happiness, health and well-being.
Friday, 16 April 2010
Today's 'this is why you're fat'
I love today's entry, a fried doughnut cream-cheese cupcake:
Actually, I just ate something almost as bad. A friend brought me back a Mignon Easter Egg from Finland, where she'd been on a business trip.
The Mignon egg is produced by pouring a fine almond and nut nougat filling into a real egg shell. In the old days this Easter delicacy was delivered even to the tsar of Russia and his family.
(I'm sure my friend brought me back the Diet Mignon Egg though....)
Actually, I just ate something almost as bad. A friend brought me back a Mignon Easter Egg from Finland, where she'd been on a business trip.
The Mignon egg is produced by pouring a fine almond and nut nougat filling into a real egg shell. In the old days this Easter delicacy was delivered even to the tsar of Russia and his family.
(I'm sure my friend brought me back the Diet Mignon Egg though....)
Activities for cancer-stricken kids
I got an email from a pal last week, telling me about his sister who I went to high school with. He said:
"She's living in Bend Oregon, married a real good guy, had three kids, doing well. Anyway, about three years ago her middle son, Jimmy, was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer. Long story short, after many ups and downs, good news and then bad.. good again and bad again.. he passed away last summer. He was such a good little kid. Very funny and smart.. Loved to laugh.. Smiled all the time. It was really hard on everybody.... Anyway, Debbie has come up with a great idea for a very small charity web site. It's going to give teens who are stuck in hospital rooms for weeks on end something to do to pass the time. I'm talking video games, magazines, books, sketch pads, and other similar items .. I'm giving you the web site:
www.hospitalteenfund.org
Please go check it out, pass it along to others.. give just a few dollars if you can. It would mean the world to these teenagers and I would really appreciate it... Thanks so much.. Your buddy Buzz..."
I was very sad when I heard this news. Debbie's son was about the same age as my own son, Mikey, so you can imagine how I felt comparing her situation to mine. I went and donated some money right then and there.
After I donated, Debbie wrote: "Thank you for your donation. It will go directly to a teenage girl or boy as an item of fun for them to do, taking up a full day of time - beading project, art project, Lego set, card games, painting miniatures, clay sculptures. We did all of that and it makes a world of difference in the hospital."
Then Debbie sent me a link so I could see a video of her son and photos so I'd get a better idea of what the family went through. Check it out. This family has been so brave.
Hospital Teen Fund
"She's living in Bend Oregon, married a real good guy, had three kids, doing well. Anyway, about three years ago her middle son, Jimmy, was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer. Long story short, after many ups and downs, good news and then bad.. good again and bad again.. he passed away last summer. He was such a good little kid. Very funny and smart.. Loved to laugh.. Smiled all the time. It was really hard on everybody.... Anyway, Debbie has come up with a great idea for a very small charity web site. It's going to give teens who are stuck in hospital rooms for weeks on end something to do to pass the time. I'm talking video games, magazines, books, sketch pads, and other similar items .. I'm giving you the web site:
www.hospitalteenfund.org
Please go check it out, pass it along to others.. give just a few dollars if you can. It would mean the world to these teenagers and I would really appreciate it... Thanks so much.. Your buddy Buzz..."
I was very sad when I heard this news. Debbie's son was about the same age as my own son, Mikey, so you can imagine how I felt comparing her situation to mine. I went and donated some money right then and there.
After I donated, Debbie wrote: "Thank you for your donation. It will go directly to a teenage girl or boy as an item of fun for them to do, taking up a full day of time - beading project, art project, Lego set, card games, painting miniatures, clay sculptures. We did all of that and it makes a world of difference in the hospital."
Then Debbie sent me a link so I could see a video of her son and photos so I'd get a better idea of what the family went through. Check it out. This family has been so brave.
Hospital Teen Fund
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Something to watch while you miss your flight
There is a volcano erupting in Iceland, and the ash and debris is drifting to England now. All flights have been cancelled because of this, and people are stuck. We did have a little laugh in the office because someone we don't like much is stuck in Finland. We can just imagine the whining going on now....
Apparently, volcanic ash makes beautiful sunsets so we are looking forward to that later.
In the meantime, here's a funny airplane video:
Apparently, volcanic ash makes beautiful sunsets so we are looking forward to that later.
In the meantime, here's a funny airplane video:
Books won't be books anymore
I was reading a column by a 21-year-old woman. She said reading wasn't going to die with her generation but that traditional books would. Well, we sort of knew that already because of e-books on Kindle, for example, but she meant the act of reading pages of text, whether electronic or printed. New books will have videos or music embedded, pop-ups -- whatever is technologically feasible.
It's amazing to think of -- and I love to read the assumptions of other generations to see how they think.
I was pondering what she wrote yesterday, and then I saw a perfect example of what she meant. This is how you can read Alice in Wonderland on an iPad. It's incredible. Take a look.
It's amazing to think of -- and I love to read the assumptions of other generations to see how they think.
I was pondering what she wrote yesterday, and then I saw a perfect example of what she meant. This is how you can read Alice in Wonderland on an iPad. It's incredible. Take a look.
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
Another lesson I've learned: Don't be so friendly with everyone
I am one of those people who is too friendly. I know the personal life histories of almost everyone I come in contact with -- from office cleaners to executives. I'm a good listener and interested in people so people find it easy to talk to me.
I have been burned by this a few times in my life, and I never learn.
The latest is that I became too friendly with the deli staff at our office, so when service levels went down there and I spoke about it, one of the staff felt it was fine to confront me over it right there and then. I was surprised that she felt that was an acceptable thing to do to a customer so then I complained officially.
Well, now getting a sandwich from there is as pleasant as having a root canal. I even hid behind one of the guys in my group earlier in the week but then I thought that was silly -- I just have to keep going down there and take it (like a man).
So you all out there learn a lesson from me. Don't be overfriendly with everyone you meet. Keep some distance or you might regret it later.
Anyone have any other life lessons to share with me so I can learn faster than having to experience everything myself numerous times? Please send in and I'll post.
I have been burned by this a few times in my life, and I never learn.
The latest is that I became too friendly with the deli staff at our office, so when service levels went down there and I spoke about it, one of the staff felt it was fine to confront me over it right there and then. I was surprised that she felt that was an acceptable thing to do to a customer so then I complained officially.
Well, now getting a sandwich from there is as pleasant as having a root canal. I even hid behind one of the guys in my group earlier in the week but then I thought that was silly -- I just have to keep going down there and take it (like a man).
So you all out there learn a lesson from me. Don't be overfriendly with everyone you meet. Keep some distance or you might regret it later.
Anyone have any other life lessons to share with me so I can learn faster than having to experience everything myself numerous times? Please send in and I'll post.
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
You can't possibly wear that!
I had a good laugh today when I brought in some Indian clothes I'd bought years ago off Ebay and worn to an Indian wedding in London. I was intending to wear them again to a wedding I am going to in Mumbai (Bombay) in May.
I am just a Mississippi girl. I have no idea about Indian clothes. My friend at work was horrified when I showed her the clothes.
"You can't wear that!" she gasped. "These dresses are so old-fashioned. The cloth is cheap. It looks tacky."
I was surprised into silence. "But I was up late at night with the flu watching the Asian Weddings channel, and this is exactly the sort of stuff they were wearing."
She shook her head. "No way can you wear this."
I did have to laugh at that. My eyes can't tell the difference between any type of Indian clothing. She explained the type of pattern the dress I have has on it, the type of cut, the cloth -- and it's all hopeless. "They will laugh at you if you wear that," she explained.
Anyway, it's all worked out. The groom's family is going to dress me on the day of the wedding. It was going to be a surprise for me but now that I have shown such distress over what to wear, the groom revealed it to me ahead of time.
How wonderful an experience that will be.
I am just a Mississippi girl. I have no idea about Indian clothes. My friend at work was horrified when I showed her the clothes.
"You can't wear that!" she gasped. "These dresses are so old-fashioned. The cloth is cheap. It looks tacky."
I was surprised into silence. "But I was up late at night with the flu watching the Asian Weddings channel, and this is exactly the sort of stuff they were wearing."
She shook her head. "No way can you wear this."
I did have to laugh at that. My eyes can't tell the difference between any type of Indian clothing. She explained the type of pattern the dress I have has on it, the type of cut, the cloth -- and it's all hopeless. "They will laugh at you if you wear that," she explained.
Anyway, it's all worked out. The groom's family is going to dress me on the day of the wedding. It was going to be a surprise for me but now that I have shown such distress over what to wear, the groom revealed it to me ahead of time.
How wonderful an experience that will be.
Monday, 12 April 2010
What I want for Christmas
Thanks to Casey Ann of the Natchez Blog for sending me this so I can ask Santa for it next Christmas:
Confederacy History Month
There is such an interesting debate going on in America now. The governor of Virginia declared April 'Confederate History Month' and didn't mention slavery in his announcement, and that upset some people. Then the governor of Mississippi, who is often spoken of as a Rebublican presidential contender in 2012 gave an interview where he said people were making something of nothing, and that it meant 'diddly,' which upset people again.
This raises the question again what is happening to the Republican Party? Is it still a national party or is it more of a regional thing now? Here is some opinion, and you see what you think:
"If the slaves are erased from the picture [of the Civil War], then what took place between Sumter and Appomattox is not about the fate of human chattel, or a battle between good and evil. It is, instead, more of an ancestral skirmish in the Reagan revolution, a contest between big and small government.
We cannot allow the story of the emancipation of a people and the expiation of America’s original sin to become fodder for conservative politicians playing to their right-wing base. That, to say the very least, is a jump backward we do not need."
And also:
"Something that links the mentality of today’s right to the mentality of the slaveowners and segregation proponents is the white southern political tradition’s very partial and selective embrace of majoritarian democracy.
As long as national institutions are substantially controlled by white southerners, the white south is a hotbed of patriotism. But as soon as an non-southern political coalition manages to win an election—as we saw in 1860 and in 2008—then suddenly the symbols of national authority become symbols of tyranny and the constitution is construed as granting conservative areas all kinds of alleged abilities to opt out of national political decisions.
Even if you think opposition to the Affordable Care Act has nothing whatsoever to do with race, the underlying political philosophy by which a George W Bush or James Buchanan is a national president but an Abraham Lincoln or a Barack Obama merely a sectional one remains incoherent and pernicious."
This raises the question again what is happening to the Republican Party? Is it still a national party or is it more of a regional thing now? Here is some opinion, and you see what you think:
"If the slaves are erased from the picture [of the Civil War], then what took place between Sumter and Appomattox is not about the fate of human chattel, or a battle between good and evil. It is, instead, more of an ancestral skirmish in the Reagan revolution, a contest between big and small government.
We cannot allow the story of the emancipation of a people and the expiation of America’s original sin to become fodder for conservative politicians playing to their right-wing base. That, to say the very least, is a jump backward we do not need."
And also:
"Something that links the mentality of today’s right to the mentality of the slaveowners and segregation proponents is the white southern political tradition’s very partial and selective embrace of majoritarian democracy.
As long as national institutions are substantially controlled by white southerners, the white south is a hotbed of patriotism. But as soon as an non-southern political coalition manages to win an election—as we saw in 1860 and in 2008—then suddenly the symbols of national authority become symbols of tyranny and the constitution is construed as granting conservative areas all kinds of alleged abilities to opt out of national political decisions.
Even if you think opposition to the Affordable Care Act has nothing whatsoever to do with race, the underlying political philosophy by which a George W Bush or James Buchanan is a national president but an Abraham Lincoln or a Barack Obama merely a sectional one remains incoherent and pernicious."
Going to a wedding in Mumbai (Bombay)
I got a wedding invite the other week from a very nice Indian pal at work asking me to attend his wedding. Indian weddings are a lot of fun, and I still had a sari I'd ordered from Ebay for the last one I went to, so I said yes.
Then I saw the wedding is being held in Mumbai (formerly Bombay). Eeek. How would I manage over there for a weekend by myself? I had to go see my Indian doctor about my back, and he began to warn me. "Don't jump in a cab with a meter. They will pretend to break down and let the meter keep running and bilk you."
"Don't be over friendly with people. Stay cautious." And so on.
I started to get really nervous. Was I an idiot to think I could go over to Bombay by myself and get around?
A friend at work said, "I know you'll go anyway just for blog material. You live your life just for your blog."
I wonder if that's true?
Anyway, I decided if it was that scary that I was going to go. I can't say no because I'm frightened, can I?
Then I saw the wedding is being held in Mumbai (formerly Bombay). Eeek. How would I manage over there for a weekend by myself? I had to go see my Indian doctor about my back, and he began to warn me. "Don't jump in a cab with a meter. They will pretend to break down and let the meter keep running and bilk you."
"Don't be over friendly with people. Stay cautious." And so on.
I started to get really nervous. Was I an idiot to think I could go over to Bombay by myself and get around?
A friend at work said, "I know you'll go anyway just for blog material. You live your life just for your blog."
I wonder if that's true?
Anyway, I decided if it was that scary that I was going to go. I can't say no because I'm frightened, can I?
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Richard Dawkins to arrest the Pope
You have to love Richard Dawkins....
Famed British atheist Richard Dawkins says he plans to have the Pope arrested and charged with crimes against humanity when Ill Papa visits England in September. Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, the atheist author, have asked human rights lawyers to produce a case for charging Pope Benedict XVI over his alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic church. The pair believe they can exploit the same legal principle used to arrest Augusto Pinochet, the late Chilean dictator, when he visited Britain in 1998.
The Pope was embroiled in new controversy this weekend over a letter he signed arguing that the “good of the universal church” should be considered against the defrocking of an American priest who committed sex offences against two boys. It was dated 1985, when he was in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which deals with sex abuse cases. Benedict will be in Britain between September 16 and 19, visiting London, Glasgow and Coventry, where he will beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman, the 19th-century theologian. Dawkins and Hitchens believe the Pope would be unable to claim diplomatic immunity from arrest because, although his tour is categorised as a state visit, he is not the head of a state recognised by the United Nations.
Famed British atheist Richard Dawkins says he plans to have the Pope arrested and charged with crimes against humanity when Ill Papa visits England in September. Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, the atheist author, have asked human rights lawyers to produce a case for charging Pope Benedict XVI over his alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic church. The pair believe they can exploit the same legal principle used to arrest Augusto Pinochet, the late Chilean dictator, when he visited Britain in 1998.
The Pope was embroiled in new controversy this weekend over a letter he signed arguing that the “good of the universal church” should be considered against the defrocking of an American priest who committed sex offences against two boys. It was dated 1985, when he was in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which deals with sex abuse cases. Benedict will be in Britain between September 16 and 19, visiting London, Glasgow and Coventry, where he will beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman, the 19th-century theologian. Dawkins and Hitchens believe the Pope would be unable to claim diplomatic immunity from arrest because, although his tour is categorised as a state visit, he is not the head of a state recognised by the United Nations.
Night with the girls
I went back to work on Friday after being out the rest of the week with the flu. Then I went to my friend Elise's house for dinner with the girls. We only see each other every 6 weeks or so. The minute we see each other, we all talk at the same time and get louder and louder as we try to broadcast our news.
Here's our little gang:
After 30 minutes of listening to screamed conversations over dishes in the kitchen, Elise's husband said, "Be quiet! You can't even hear what the other person is saying. All this shouting and screeching -- I can't stand it anymore." Then he laughed. (He was being cute but he had a good point.)
We had a good time, and gabbed and ate until finally I had to leave at 12:45 in the morning. My husband had woken up, found I still wasn't home, and called to find out if I had been in an accident, so I thought I'd better head on home.
I went away bearing gifts though. Elise gave me a late birthday present of a silver necklace of elephants that she got in India. Elephants are good luck, and there are at least 20 of them on the necklace so I should be fine. (Except my horse in the Grand National just lost -- a manager at work usually pick the winners but this year....well, there goes the millions I had already spent in my mind.) Also, my friend Melissa gave me a pair of stunning earrings by a designer who uses Japanese silk print patterns for her jewellry. Photo below:
Grumpy now after a long day so just sent Mel out for fish and chips, then I'm going to read a book and chill.
Here's our little gang:
After 30 minutes of listening to screamed conversations over dishes in the kitchen, Elise's husband said, "Be quiet! You can't even hear what the other person is saying. All this shouting and screeching -- I can't stand it anymore." Then he laughed. (He was being cute but he had a good point.)
We had a good time, and gabbed and ate until finally I had to leave at 12:45 in the morning. My husband had woken up, found I still wasn't home, and called to find out if I had been in an accident, so I thought I'd better head on home.
I went away bearing gifts though. Elise gave me a late birthday present of a silver necklace of elephants that she got in India. Elephants are good luck, and there are at least 20 of them on the necklace so I should be fine. (Except my horse in the Grand National just lost -- a manager at work usually pick the winners but this year....well, there goes the millions I had already spent in my mind.) Also, my friend Melissa gave me a pair of stunning earrings by a designer who uses Japanese silk print patterns for her jewellry. Photo below:
Grumpy now after a long day so just sent Mel out for fish and chips, then I'm going to read a book and chill.
Saturday, 10 April 2010
He's really really really dead
The coroner Munchkin in the Wizard of Oz just died at 94. He was one of my favorites --remember when he sings, 'she's really really really dead?' about the wicked witch?
"The name Meinhardt Raabe may not sound familiar to even the most assiduous movie buffs. But in Munchkin Country, he was a pretty big deal. Raabe, who died Friday at the age of 94, played the Munchkin coroner in The Wizard of Oz, who stood by the Wicked Witch of the East’s striped socks and pronounced her dead. With a house lying on top of her, he said, “As coroner I must aver, I thoroughly examined her, and she's not only merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead.” Raabe was 22 years old when the movie was shot in 1938 and spent much of the rest of his career touring the country in the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile—he promoted hot dogs as "Little Oscar, the World's Smallest Chef." As of 2007, when they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he was one of seven remaining Munchkins out of the original 124."
I am so sad when all the Munchkins die off!
But it's the first sunny spring day of the year in England so I need to get outside and sit in my chair under the apple tree and read until the warmth of the day passes (in about 30 minutes -- that's the English weather for you).
"The name Meinhardt Raabe may not sound familiar to even the most assiduous movie buffs. But in Munchkin Country, he was a pretty big deal. Raabe, who died Friday at the age of 94, played the Munchkin coroner in The Wizard of Oz, who stood by the Wicked Witch of the East’s striped socks and pronounced her dead. With a house lying on top of her, he said, “As coroner I must aver, I thoroughly examined her, and she's not only merely dead, she's really most sincerely dead.” Raabe was 22 years old when the movie was shot in 1938 and spent much of the rest of his career touring the country in the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile—he promoted hot dogs as "Little Oscar, the World's Smallest Chef." As of 2007, when they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he was one of seven remaining Munchkins out of the original 124."
I am so sad when all the Munchkins die off!
But it's the first sunny spring day of the year in England so I need to get outside and sit in my chair under the apple tree and read until the warmth of the day passes (in about 30 minutes -- that's the English weather for you).
Is the Confederacy still alive?
This is an interesting article from the Salon website. I was just in Natchez, Mississippi, recently and loved it but I could see how people could object to the sight of small kids dressed in Confederate uniforms in the town's pageant. It is strange to have grown up in the South but live somewhere else later. You can become so conflicted.
Here's a section from Salon:
"The political attitudes of unreconstructed Dixie remain dominant in the Republican Party, even as its would-be leaders and activists don "tea party" costumes. To understand those attitudes as well as the economic and cultural forces behind them, one of the best sources available is the Institute for Southern Studies and its Web site, Facing South, which publishes excellent news analysis and investigative reporting.
The current offerings include a well-informed essay by editor Chris Kromm on Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's sinister proclamation of Confederate History Month, for which he was forced to apologize. As Kromm explains, this incident is only the latest of many that have revealed the real message within the regional nostalgia for a certain kind of heritage:
For Southerners, the McDonnell affair is hardly Big News. As historian James Loewen documented in his excellent book Lies Across America, Southern states are filled with thousands of historical markers, tourist sites and other remembrances of the Confederacy that downplay, or entirely omit, the essential racism behind the Confederate project ...
Even when historically accurate, these ever-present memorials usually go beyond remembering Confederate "heritage" and end up glorifying the Confederacy.
Consider the Arlington Confederate Monument, where even President Obama felt obliged to lay a wreath in 2009, like presidents before him. As leading neo-Confederate scholar Ed Sebesta pointed out in a letter to Obama at the time, the goal of the monument was not just to remember the Confederate dead, but to champion the Confederate cause.
Indeed, the Arlington monument's Latin motto is "Victrix causea Diis placuit, sed victa Catoni." That translates into, "The winning cause pleased the Gods, but the losing cause pleased Cato" -- the implication being that Cato, the stoic advocate of "freedom," would have sided with the Confederacy, a sentiment that descendants of slaves would find deeply ironic.
The same is true with the Museum of the Confederacy, also in Virginia. As Southern Exposure reported in 2000, future President George W. Bush was a donor to the museum's annual Confederate ball, which each year draws hundreds of all-white guests in period costumes.
But the Museum of the Confederacy is hardly an innocent history operation: Its store is stocked with far-right literature on race and politics, including books by neo-Confederate ideologue Ludwell Johnson, who in 1993 was appointed as a "museum fellow" -- author of "Is the Confederacy Obsolete?" and other calls for revival of the old Southern system."
Here's a section from Salon:
"The political attitudes of unreconstructed Dixie remain dominant in the Republican Party, even as its would-be leaders and activists don "tea party" costumes. To understand those attitudes as well as the economic and cultural forces behind them, one of the best sources available is the Institute for Southern Studies and its Web site, Facing South, which publishes excellent news analysis and investigative reporting.
The current offerings include a well-informed essay by editor Chris Kromm on Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell's sinister proclamation of Confederate History Month, for which he was forced to apologize. As Kromm explains, this incident is only the latest of many that have revealed the real message within the regional nostalgia for a certain kind of heritage:
For Southerners, the McDonnell affair is hardly Big News. As historian James Loewen documented in his excellent book Lies Across America, Southern states are filled with thousands of historical markers, tourist sites and other remembrances of the Confederacy that downplay, or entirely omit, the essential racism behind the Confederate project ...
Even when historically accurate, these ever-present memorials usually go beyond remembering Confederate "heritage" and end up glorifying the Confederacy.
Consider the Arlington Confederate Monument, where even President Obama felt obliged to lay a wreath in 2009, like presidents before him. As leading neo-Confederate scholar Ed Sebesta pointed out in a letter to Obama at the time, the goal of the monument was not just to remember the Confederate dead, but to champion the Confederate cause.
Indeed, the Arlington monument's Latin motto is "Victrix causea Diis placuit, sed victa Catoni." That translates into, "The winning cause pleased the Gods, but the losing cause pleased Cato" -- the implication being that Cato, the stoic advocate of "freedom," would have sided with the Confederacy, a sentiment that descendants of slaves would find deeply ironic.
The same is true with the Museum of the Confederacy, also in Virginia. As Southern Exposure reported in 2000, future President George W. Bush was a donor to the museum's annual Confederate ball, which each year draws hundreds of all-white guests in period costumes.
But the Museum of the Confederacy is hardly an innocent history operation: Its store is stocked with far-right literature on race and politics, including books by neo-Confederate ideologue Ludwell Johnson, who in 1993 was appointed as a "museum fellow" -- author of "Is the Confederacy Obsolete?" and other calls for revival of the old Southern system."
Friday, 9 April 2010
Place your bets!! Grand National picks
Every year, EVERYONE in England puts a bet on a horse to win the Grand National. It is a fine English tradition. A guy at work follows the horses and one year predicted the winner, and I won $1,000. So we bet on whichever horses this guy picks every year.
And now, I will reveal his picks for this year in case you want to place a bet. (We use an online service, Betfair.) Good luck and share your winnings with me!
The horses he predicts to win the Grand National
Snowy Morning - this is a stand-out on the trends now that Madison de Berlais runs and keeps his weight down below 11st. He had no chance last year off a higher handicap mark but still ran well into 9th. He was 3rd in 2008 when only 8 and a bit inexperienced. He is back down very close to the same handicap mark as 2008 and looks in good form. His overall form is outstanding (placed in 15 out of 23 starts) and he is aimed squarely at this race. Currently 16-1, he must be backed. I have some slight concerns that his jumping becomes suspect under strong pressure. We'll be finding out for sure at the second last (queue a fall at the first ;-) 16/1
State of Play - This horse has a touch of class and the ground is coming right for him. The weather is set fine and while this will sink a few chances of the truly soft ground horses, State of Play goes well on firmer ground. He habitually goes well fresh and has been given a long break before this. His 4th last year was after a bad stumble mid-race and was a great run. It would not be a huge surprise to see him go even better. 20/1
King John's Castle - Second in 2008 and ticks nearly all the boxes from a trends viewpoint. He has not won over further than 2m3f which would normally be a huge negative. But the second place over this marathon trip two years ago shows he DOES stay the trip and so that stat can be ignored. This is my best outsider and I have backed him ante-post but his overall record of only 1 win from 14 chases (but 7 seconds) tempers unreserved confidence. 40/1
Arbor Supreme - This is a horse with some really strong form who has been aimed firmly at the race and seems to be coming to form at the right time for it. All the makings of the kind of Irish plot we have seen so often for this race. He has been strongly backed in the run-up but weakened a bit when the weather forecast suggested there would be a bog at Aintree. His trainer comments that he can't jump out of really soft ground. But he will not face this problem after all now and there could be further Irish Euros forcing his price in again on the day. 16/1
So its decision time...
Final Selections:
Current available Bookmakers odds quoted:
Snowy Morning 16/1
Arbor Supreme 16/1
And now, I will reveal his picks for this year in case you want to place a bet. (We use an online service, Betfair.) Good luck and share your winnings with me!
The horses he predicts to win the Grand National
Snowy Morning - this is a stand-out on the trends now that Madison de Berlais runs and keeps his weight down below 11st. He had no chance last year off a higher handicap mark but still ran well into 9th. He was 3rd in 2008 when only 8 and a bit inexperienced. He is back down very close to the same handicap mark as 2008 and looks in good form. His overall form is outstanding (placed in 15 out of 23 starts) and he is aimed squarely at this race. Currently 16-1, he must be backed. I have some slight concerns that his jumping becomes suspect under strong pressure. We'll be finding out for sure at the second last (queue a fall at the first ;-) 16/1
State of Play - This horse has a touch of class and the ground is coming right for him. The weather is set fine and while this will sink a few chances of the truly soft ground horses, State of Play goes well on firmer ground. He habitually goes well fresh and has been given a long break before this. His 4th last year was after a bad stumble mid-race and was a great run. It would not be a huge surprise to see him go even better. 20/1
King John's Castle - Second in 2008 and ticks nearly all the boxes from a trends viewpoint. He has not won over further than 2m3f which would normally be a huge negative. But the second place over this marathon trip two years ago shows he DOES stay the trip and so that stat can be ignored. This is my best outsider and I have backed him ante-post but his overall record of only 1 win from 14 chases (but 7 seconds) tempers unreserved confidence. 40/1
Arbor Supreme - This is a horse with some really strong form who has been aimed firmly at the race and seems to be coming to form at the right time for it. All the makings of the kind of Irish plot we have seen so often for this race. He has been strongly backed in the run-up but weakened a bit when the weather forecast suggested there would be a bog at Aintree. His trainer comments that he can't jump out of really soft ground. But he will not face this problem after all now and there could be further Irish Euros forcing his price in again on the day. 16/1
So its decision time...
Final Selections:
Current available Bookmakers odds quoted:
Snowy Morning 16/1
Arbor Supreme 16/1
the Double Down
Did you all see this gross thing? A sandwich with NO BREAD and using meat slices instead (but still with meat inside).
It was enough to make me feel sick with the flu again. (I am trying to function normally today, my first day out of bed but it's hard when I see stuff like this below):
At first glance, KFC's newest sandwich offering, the Double Down, sounds like a gag prop from a Mel Brooks movie: It is a sandwich made almost entirely of meat -- two pieces of bacon and cheese sandwiched between two cuts of chicken. The company's Web site (which includes an ominous countdown to the Double Down's Monday launch) helpfully explains that the sandwich "is so meaty, there’s no room for a bun!" Or as the manly men in the KFC commercial put it, "So long, bun!"
It was enough to make me feel sick with the flu again. (I am trying to function normally today, my first day out of bed but it's hard when I see stuff like this below):
At first glance, KFC's newest sandwich offering, the Double Down, sounds like a gag prop from a Mel Brooks movie: It is a sandwich made almost entirely of meat -- two pieces of bacon and cheese sandwiched between two cuts of chicken. The company's Web site (which includes an ominous countdown to the Double Down's Monday launch) helpfully explains that the sandwich "is so meaty, there’s no room for a bun!" Or as the manly men in the KFC commercial put it, "So long, bun!"
Sibling trouble
It's a shame when you don't get along with your siblings -- I always feel like it's a personal failure of mine but nothing ever changes. It helps me when other people tell me they aren't really friends with their siblings either. The mother of three boys and a girl (just like my family) said she realized a long time ago that her kids would rather spend time with other people than their own siblings and it's just the way it is and it's best to see it for what it is and get over it.
So I'll try to do that -- just forget about it - it's too bad it's worked out that way but I'm not going to let problems there impact the rest of my otherwise happy life.
So I'll try to do that -- just forget about it - it's too bad it's worked out that way but I'm not going to let problems there impact the rest of my otherwise happy life.
Thursday, 8 April 2010
It calls us from the tombs of our failures, disappointments and regrets
Home with the flu again today, and my mind feels like it is inhabiting several universes. You know how it is, you have a fever, feel strange have weird dreams, then you feel OK again then get chills -- all the while your mind behaves strangely and nothing seems real.
But one thing was real today -- I got a letter from Miss Betty, my mother's best friend from Natchez, Mississippi. I had enjoyed a couple of visits with her when I was there last -- she spoke to me about my mother, about my unresolved grief, how to move forward with my life, and when I left there, I felt like my pain was gone.
Her letter today reinforces that. It seems like only she understood how much it hurt me to leave behind Natchez and all my friends and move into a new world inhabited by strangers and my father's increasing violence and pill abuse. Then my mother got sick with Multiple Sclerosis when I was 15, and boy, that was hard.
Anyway, I feel like she released me from a lot of my pain. She told me:
The most difficult and necessary steps are made when it is still dark, when all we seem to have at that moment are our tears.
But one thing was real today -- I got a letter from Miss Betty, my mother's best friend from Natchez, Mississippi. I had enjoyed a couple of visits with her when I was there last -- she spoke to me about my mother, about my unresolved grief, how to move forward with my life, and when I left there, I felt like my pain was gone.
Her letter today reinforces that. It seems like only she understood how much it hurt me to leave behind Natchez and all my friends and move into a new world inhabited by strangers and my father's increasing violence and pill abuse. Then my mother got sick with Multiple Sclerosis when I was 15, and boy, that was hard.
Anyway, I feel like she released me from a lot of my pain. She told me:
The most difficult and necessary steps are made when it is still dark, when all we seem to have at that moment are our tears.
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
The universe is different when you're sick
Last night I watched Asian Weddings on TV until 4:00 am. There was nothing else to watch. This is the sort of life you live when you're sick. You sleep at odd times, are awake when no one else is -- you think thoughts that you usually don't because of the fever.
I remember before the Iraq war broke out, I had food poisoning at a ski resort and I decided I could singlehandedly stop the war occurring if I just tried hard enough. I had a temperature of about 103 and was throwing up constantly but in between, my mind went wild with thoughts of things I could do. I was sure that somehow I would be able to put the case to the world and stop this thing from happening.
But then my fever broke and I resumed normal life where I did nothing great nor achieved anything of note.
This afternoon I spent in bed dozing while The Ten Commandments was on. I like that movie even though it takes forever for Charlton Heston to deliver the children of Israel to Eqypt. In between, during sleeps, I think of my mother and how I wish I had taken more active steps to get her ashes after she died so I could put them in Natchez, Mississippi, the place she loved best. I received a nice letter from her best friend Miss Betty today and that set me off thinking of it again.
I have some of my mother-in-law's ashes in the closet in my room. I would only need an envelope or so of my mother's to do the deed. But I don't know where she is now. She gave her body to medical science so they could learn more about Multiple Sclerosis and I don't know what happened next.
I remember before the Iraq war broke out, I had food poisoning at a ski resort and I decided I could singlehandedly stop the war occurring if I just tried hard enough. I had a temperature of about 103 and was throwing up constantly but in between, my mind went wild with thoughts of things I could do. I was sure that somehow I would be able to put the case to the world and stop this thing from happening.
But then my fever broke and I resumed normal life where I did nothing great nor achieved anything of note.
This afternoon I spent in bed dozing while The Ten Commandments was on. I like that movie even though it takes forever for Charlton Heston to deliver the children of Israel to Eqypt. In between, during sleeps, I think of my mother and how I wish I had taken more active steps to get her ashes after she died so I could put them in Natchez, Mississippi, the place she loved best. I received a nice letter from her best friend Miss Betty today and that set me off thinking of it again.
I have some of my mother-in-law's ashes in the closet in my room. I would only need an envelope or so of my mother's to do the deed. But I don't know where she is now. She gave her body to medical science so they could learn more about Multiple Sclerosis and I don't know what happened next.
Second day of flu
At least I'm not running to the bathroom every five minutes today but have a fever and feel so run down. The kids are at home so that has been a pleasure. Well, my son ignores me as he is studying for big exams coming up but my daughter has been nice to me.
After I got up after sleeping a millions hours, we watched It Happened One Night together, one of my favorite movies from the 1930s. I was happy to see that she laughed in the right places and enjoyed the witty banter between Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert.
General Election
A general election has been called today in the UK so that means a month of campaigning before voting on the 6th of May. (They have short and sweet campaigns over here, thanksfully.)
My son Mikey went out door-to-door canvassing for our candidate for Parliament and my Inbox has tasks for me to do for the candidate's online campaign. I can't do anything with the flu now though or I'll get it wrong and probably ask them to vote for a Tory or something dire like that.
It's a tough call in this election -- I would never vote for Labour again after they dragged us into war with Iraq but voting Tory is a horrible thought too. So it'll have to be the third party -- the Liberal Democrats.
Phone call from Paris
My friend Jeanne called me to say that she hoped I felt better soon. She's had a bug too and not been well, but she was calling me on her way to a salon to get her hair done for Cannes. She's going to the documentary film festival there later this week. It's a secret for now why she's going but soon it'll all be public and I can blab.
Back to bed now, see you later.
After I got up after sleeping a millions hours, we watched It Happened One Night together, one of my favorite movies from the 1930s. I was happy to see that she laughed in the right places and enjoyed the witty banter between Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert.
General Election
A general election has been called today in the UK so that means a month of campaigning before voting on the 6th of May. (They have short and sweet campaigns over here, thanksfully.)
My son Mikey went out door-to-door canvassing for our candidate for Parliament and my Inbox has tasks for me to do for the candidate's online campaign. I can't do anything with the flu now though or I'll get it wrong and probably ask them to vote for a Tory or something dire like that.
It's a tough call in this election -- I would never vote for Labour again after they dragged us into war with Iraq but voting Tory is a horrible thought too. So it'll have to be the third party -- the Liberal Democrats.
Phone call from Paris
My friend Jeanne called me to say that she hoped I felt better soon. She's had a bug too and not been well, but she was calling me on her way to a salon to get her hair done for Cannes. She's going to the documentary film festival there later this week. It's a secret for now why she's going but soon it'll all be public and I can blab.
Back to bed now, see you later.
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
God's revenge?
I woke up so sick today. Was that God's revenge for me spending Easter at the spa? Or was it, as Mel suggested, because I read scripture in the recent wedding in Mississippi?
But wouldn't he have taken action earlier? "Well, Easter is a really busy time for him," Mel pointed out. "Maybe he's just now getting around to it."
I'll see how I am tomorrow but I do feel at Death's Door today. If I never blog again, you'll know what happened to me....
But wouldn't he have taken action earlier? "Well, Easter is a really busy time for him," Mel pointed out. "Maybe he's just now getting around to it."
I'll see how I am tomorrow but I do feel at Death's Door today. If I never blog again, you'll know what happened to me....
Monday, 5 April 2010
Godless Easter
It's not easy being godless -- I don't get invited to some social events, and I get defriended on Facebook when people discover my (non) beliefs. But there are some good things.
I discovered an advantage today -- there are very few people at the spa on Easter Sunday. I could easy book a massage, and there were spare loungers at the pool to languish on and drink cappucino.
My daughter Katie and I went today and had such fun. I gave up any pretense of exercising -- I swam ONE (count 'em -- 1) lap in the pool then gave up and went to the sauna and steam room instead.
Tomorrow, I think Katie and I will go for a manicure, and I need to get my eyebrows done. Sometimes girls just need grooming....
I discovered an advantage today -- there are very few people at the spa on Easter Sunday. I could easy book a massage, and there were spare loungers at the pool to languish on and drink cappucino.
My daughter Katie and I went today and had such fun. I gave up any pretense of exercising -- I swam ONE (count 'em -- 1) lap in the pool then gave up and went to the sauna and steam room instead.
Tomorrow, I think Katie and I will go for a manicure, and I need to get my eyebrows done. Sometimes girls just need grooming....
Sunday, 4 April 2010
Rainy Easter, but still fab
My in-laws and other relatives came over yesterday for fake Easter. I had prepared tons of food, and my sis-in-laws brought even more. My stomach feels bigger every year with all the good Easter eating and I say to my daughter, "I feel like I'm going to have a baby, I'm getting so big," and she murmurs, "A food baby, you mean."
Here's my daughter with my grand-nephew Luca:
Luca is so cute! Here he is lunging for my cheese ball:
Here everyone is eating -- so much food, so little time!
I had to have an indoor egg hunt because it was so wet and rainy outside.
(*&^%^£ English weather)
Then it was time for the traditional egg and spoon race. Here are the eggs and spoons getting ready:
We had to run it in the rain and just for a short time. Disappointing but will try again next year. The garden was too wet and soggy to use so we had to use a path outside the dining room door:
Well, I did all my Easter cooking today and have tons of leftovers so I'm finished with the kitchen for a few days. My daughter and I are going to the spa tomorrow. What a wonderful way to spend Easter.
Here's my daughter with my grand-nephew Luca:
Luca is so cute! Here he is lunging for my cheese ball:
Here everyone is eating -- so much food, so little time!
I had to have an indoor egg hunt because it was so wet and rainy outside.
(*&^%^£ English weather)
Then it was time for the traditional egg and spoon race. Here are the eggs and spoons getting ready:
We had to run it in the rain and just for a short time. Disappointing but will try again next year. The garden was too wet and soggy to use so we had to use a path outside the dining room door:
Well, I did all my Easter cooking today and have tons of leftovers so I'm finished with the kitchen for a few days. My daughter and I are going to the spa tomorrow. What a wonderful way to spend Easter.
Saturday, 3 April 2010
Faux Easter
I never have my husband's family from London over on Real Easter even though I would like to. Someone is invariably away so we reschedule for another time and call it Faux Easter. I will save Easter eggs and decorations and put them up and we all pretend it's really Easter Sunday.
This year my sister-in-law Paula accidentally scheduled something for Easter without realizing so we've had to move Easter to today.
I've been cooking and cooking. I made a fab broccoli mold that uses sour cream, toasted almonds, nutmeg and cheese. You bake it in a water bath then turn it out of the mold. I hope it comes out in one piece.
I bought rye bread and challah (egg bread) at Portobello Market. I've made a big batch of shrimp and grits (will the English guests eat it? They will have to take some convincing), marinated pork, turkey and some Nuremberg sausages. (My German friend Sabine made these for us one time and they were so good that I had to get some from a special deli for today.)
It's cold and rainy so I don't know what I will do about our traditional egg and spoon race. My daughter Katie dyed the eggs and decorated them last night (pic above). You can't get white eggs in the UK -- they are all brown -- so we have to buy special expensive duck eggs to dye instead.
Happy Faux Easter to you all!
This year my sister-in-law Paula accidentally scheduled something for Easter without realizing so we've had to move Easter to today.
I've been cooking and cooking. I made a fab broccoli mold that uses sour cream, toasted almonds, nutmeg and cheese. You bake it in a water bath then turn it out of the mold. I hope it comes out in one piece.
I bought rye bread and challah (egg bread) at Portobello Market. I've made a big batch of shrimp and grits (will the English guests eat it? They will have to take some convincing), marinated pork, turkey and some Nuremberg sausages. (My German friend Sabine made these for us one time and they were so good that I had to get some from a special deli for today.)
It's cold and rainy so I don't know what I will do about our traditional egg and spoon race. My daughter Katie dyed the eggs and decorated them last night (pic above). You can't get white eggs in the UK -- they are all brown -- so we have to buy special expensive duck eggs to dye instead.
Happy Faux Easter to you all!
Friday, 2 April 2010
Happy Birthday to two of our contributors
Reposting this because it's their birthday AGAIN! Wow, they come around faster each year, don't they (birthdays, I mean).
A very happy birthday to two of this blog's most treasured contributors/commenters.
In Detroit, we have Elizabeth Kaplan Applebaum:
And in Jackson, Mississippi, we have Brenda Ware Jones:
Don't they look YOUNG?? Happy Birthday you two!
A very happy birthday to two of this blog's most treasured contributors/commenters.
In Detroit, we have Elizabeth Kaplan Applebaum:
And in Jackson, Mississippi, we have Brenda Ware Jones:
Don't they look YOUNG?? Happy Birthday you two!
Bacon bouquet
I enjoy the blog This is Why You're Fat. Today's entry is the Bacon Bouquet. Doesn't it look delish?
Two words that come between you and a relationship
I was talking to a woman the other night who I don't know well. She was explaining to me why she and her son have been estranged for years. She tries to heal the rift between them but it's not going well. Then she said:
"One thing I will not do is say 'I'm sorry.' I have nothing to be sorry for. I won't say those words."
Then I thought, how sad that perhaps those two words stand between her and reconciliation with her son. Of course, I applied her story to myself and thought of someone I refuse to say sorry to because I didn't do anything wrong.
I think I will get off my self-righteous box and say sorry and see if that changes anything. Will let you know.
"One thing I will not do is say 'I'm sorry.' I have nothing to be sorry for. I won't say those words."
Then I thought, how sad that perhaps those two words stand between her and reconciliation with her son. Of course, I applied her story to myself and thought of someone I refuse to say sorry to because I didn't do anything wrong.
I think I will get off my self-righteous box and say sorry and see if that changes anything. Will let you know.
Thursday, 1 April 2010
Good diet advice from Jennifer Aniston
I wouldn't think that Jennifer Aniston had anything to say that would be relevant to my life but she does.
In a magazine interview that has just been published, she offers an excellent diet plan: Just stop eating shit every day.
Here's what she says:
"Look I eat really well and I work out, but I also indulge when I want to. I don't starve myself in an extremist way. You're not taking away my coffee or my dairy or my glass of wine because I'd be devastated. My advice: just stop eating shit every day."
In a magazine interview that has just been published, she offers an excellent diet plan: Just stop eating shit every day.
Here's what she says:
"Look I eat really well and I work out, but I also indulge when I want to. I don't starve myself in an extremist way. You're not taking away my coffee or my dairy or my glass of wine because I'd be devastated. My advice: just stop eating shit every day."
Ding Dongs as addictive as heroin
You don't need to tell ME how addictive junk food is, but maybe some of you out there don't realize....
If you don't drop those Ding-Dongs right now, you may end up in rehab. A study found that overeating junk food can "trigger addiction-like responses in the brain," and be as hard to shake as cocaine or nicotine.
If you don't drop those Ding-Dongs right now, you may end up in rehab. A study found that overeating junk food can "trigger addiction-like responses in the brain," and be as hard to shake as cocaine or nicotine.
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