Same job, different uniform.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Curiouser and Curiouser

Apparently New York City has a park where adults are only allowed if accompanied by a child. According to the gentlemen at Glib and Superficial, this is an effort to deter pedophiles.

Ah.

Read it here.


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Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Monster of the Deep!

I can't believe it, but they have finally photographed a living Giant Squid. An Australian team has been in search of the famed and elusive animal for years, but this photo appears to have been taken by a camera operated remotely by a Japanese Team.

I'm not an expert on these things, but I do know that (cue creepy music) no one has ever seen a Giant Squid and lived to tell about it.

I grant you--this isn't a "sighting," but a photo is still pretty amazing.

See it here.


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Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Austin City Limits Music Festival, 2005

This weekend I sweated my way through 108 degree Austin weather to experience for the second year in a row the Austin City Limits Music Festival. I went all three days to the festival last year, but only made it to the Sunday shows this year. When I first arrived with my friend Ashlie and her friend Paul, I felt paralyzed from the heat and was wondering why on earth I had decided to put myself through this again.

The first band we saw was the Doves, and they're one of my favorites, but their stage performance wasn't that much different from listening to one of their CDs. We left early to find some shade and something cold to drink.

The next band we saw was Arcade Fire, and they were by far the best performance of the day, and from other people I talk to, I hear they were the best all weekend. It was during their performance that I realized why I like coming to this festival. First of all it's great people watching. Austin is the perfect city of people watching, especially at a music festival. Secondly, I like being a part of something big that's happening in the city where I live. Last of all, it's very relaxing laying down my blanket, closing my eyes, and just listening to live music.

The next performance was the Decembrists, and they were good too. The last band we saw was Wilco. I love Wilco. Even though I didn't enjoy their performance as much as Arcade Fire's, they're such a sentimental favorite of mine that I loved seeing them again. Wilco to me is everything I love about Austin. I began listening to them the winter after I moved here, and I associate so many good memories with their songs.

We left after Wilco, and I'll admit this even though I will probably be banned from being a contributor to this blog from here on after. Coldplay played last, and I didn't go. My friends aren't big fans of theirs, and I didn't really care either way. Also, so many people were showing up for it that there was dust from the dirt on the ground flying everywhere. People who remembered this fact from last year were smart enough to bring surgical masks to wear when this happened.

At the end of the day I enjoyed a warm shower and meal more than I ever had before. Even though it's miserable at times, I will more than likely put myself through the heat again next year.

But just in case some member of the festival planning committee is reading this, would it be so hard to move it up few weeks??? A three day outside festival with no shade in Austin, TX in September??? It's the hottest month of the year! Seriously, people! I feel especially sorry for bands who have never been here before because they're probably thinking, "Yeah, it's outside, but hey, it's September, it can't be THAT hot." Poor ignorant fools. But my props to all the bands who played their hearts out when I didn't even have the energy to remain standing for an entire performance.

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What if...

Awhile back, before Katrina hit, I was listening to President Bush give a speech about our military efforts in Iraq, and something stuck me: We haven't had a substantial terrorist attack on our soil since Sept. 11, 2001. And I would bet the farm it's not for lack of trying or planning. How great is that?

One of Bush's focus points was the concept of "taking the war to them" after those hideous attacks. Originally "them" was Afghanistan and many people debate (which is healthy) where we took the war next. But to me, the bottom line seems to be that at least for us civilians living in the states, something is working because natural disasters aside, we have been safe. I'm not a military nor political expert and usually don't pretend to be in heated discussions (I usually assume the safe and understated "devil's advocate"), but what if that was the point all along?


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Monday, September 26, 2005

Real is Better Than Fake

On her talk show last week Supermodel Tyra Banks removed her Wonderbra from underneath her shirt and demonstrated to her studio audience that her breasts are the real thing.

Which reminds me that I was going to talk about flossing.

Having run a small dental clinic for folks without dental insurance, I have a lot to say on the topic. I have statistics and anecdotes galore. (My favorite: A caller who boasted that he brushes his teeth once a day whether they need it or not.)

I'll spare you the lecture and say this: Only brush and floss the teeth you want to keep.

Skip the bothersome ritual if the idea of prosthetic teeth excites you.

If you start thinking of dentures, crowns and implants as prosthetics, as uncomfortable and unnatural as any other, you might work a little harder to spare yourself the trouble. Comfort and flexibility are not the hallmarks of prosthetic limbs.

I have seen my share of painful denture seatings, full-mouth extractions, four-unit bridges.

And yes, fake is better than nothing.

But real is better.


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Friday, September 23, 2005

Rita Precautions

Are Texans who are "riding out" Hurricane Rita supposed to:

a) fill up their bathtubs with water;
b) get in their bathtubs and cover themselves with a mattress; or
c) both?

I have heard they should do both, though of course not together. That really would defeat the objective which is not to drown.


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Why I heart TV, too: Part I

I've realized that I have a profound contribution that I make to this blog: raving and ranting about TV. I'm not going to deny that I watch a lot of TV. . . probably more than is good for me, but I enjoy it so. I've gone through a lot of losses in the last two years of television viewing. Three of my all-time favorite shows have come and gone (R.I.P. "Friends," "Sex and the City," and "Six Feet Under"), so I've been searching for a few new shows to call my own.

It's not a new show, but the longer I watch it, the more "Gilmore Girls" moves up my list of favorite shows. It unfortunately doesn't get the respect it deserves because it's on the WB. The writing is quick and witty, and the characters are endearing. I'd love to see Lauren Graham win some kind of award for playing Lorelai Gilmore someday.

It's quite possible that "Arrested Development" is not only the funniest show on television right now, but also the funniest show ever. The fact that the dad was in prison the first season for selling his mansions to Iraq when the U.S. had sanctions against them is priceless. What other TV show would think of that?

I look at Steve Carell and I laugh. I will watch anything he's in, and think "The Office" is side splitting, even though I'll always miss him as "Produce Pete" on "The Daily Show."

I didn't watch an episode of "The O.C." until the last two episodes of the first season, and I was hooked enough to netflix the first season on DVD and watch the entire thing within 3 weeks' time last summer. You can't beat the first season, but I'm beginning to wonder if maybe this show peaked in its first 24 episodes. So much drama happened in that first season, that the drama this season feels re-hashed and forced. However, last night's episode was better than the first two this year, so I'll keep watching. Yeah, I'll be honest, I'll probably keep watching even when it's completely unwatchable, because I love Adam Brody. Yes, yes, I do.

There's so much more to write. . .I haven't even discussed new shows this fall (I think I'm gonna like "My Name is Earl"), and I haven't said a word about reality TV . . . so, I know you'll be waiting on pins and needles for my further reviews. Until then . . .

Peace out.


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Thursday, September 22, 2005

O happy day

It's autumn ... at last. But more importantly, it's another day alive and well in my own job, my own car, my own home, my own bed. That's more than can be said for most people on the Gulf Coast and our prayers are with them. But perhaps it would do us well to think beyond our borders for just a moment.

Imagine if you had no job of your own, no car — just tin walls for a home and a mat for a bed. And when disaster (natural or man-made) strikes, imagine no friendly state to flee to nor government with an obligation to feed you. That's life for a lot of the world; but not for all, and thank God.

It's strange to remember that even as a newlywed, apartment-dwelling, novice editor, I'm richer than most of the world. I can't eat out every night, but I choose how to spend my grocery budget. I can't wear designer duds, but I own pants, shirts, shoes, socks, bras, jackets ... that's all plural, no less!

Pray always for our country men, and pray always for our fellow man, period.

Read more about the glories of autumn here.


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Rita

Being a Kate, I have sometimes been called Katrina. Not lately, and maybe only again when I am really getting on your bad side.

Katrina and Rita are not going to be names of anyone's children any day soon.

Texans: We are praying for you. Just be safe.


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Wednesday, September 21, 2005

The Point of it All

Christ's love is like his name, and that is Wonderful, Isa. ix. 6...it is so wonderful, that it is supra omnem creaturam, ultra omnem measuram, contra omnem naturam, above all creatures, beyond all measure, contrary to all nature.

It is above all creatures, for it is above the angels, and therefore above all others. It is beyond all measure, for time did not begin it, and time shall never end it; place doth not bound it, sin doth not exceed it, no estate, no age, no sex is denied it, tongues cannot express it, understandings cannot conceive it: and it is contrary to all nature; for what nature can love where it is hated? What nature can forgive where it is provoked? What nature can offer reconciliation where it receiveth wrong? What nature can heap up kindness upon contempt, favour upon ingratitude, mercy upon sin? And yet Christ's love hath led him to all this; so that well may we spend all our days in admiring and adoring of this wonderful love, and be always ravished with the thoughts of it.

Excerpted from Christ's Love to Poor Sinners by Thomas Brooks

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Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Right v. Want

Tagging on to GirlFriday's post about the problem of women, I was watching Spiderman 2 recently and thought this was a worthwhile quote from the scene at the end of the movie in which Peter is trying to convince Dr. O not to given in to the evil that has literally attached itself to him: "Sometimes, to do what's right, we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams."


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More props for Texas

Now fully recovered from my virus, I'd like to share my experiences of the short-lived opportunity I was given to help the Katrina evacuees now sharing with me the great city of Austin, TX.

When the evacuees first arrived, there were electronic signs all around town asking people for donations. Within less than a week all those signs read, "Donation centers closed. Thank you, Austin for your genorosity." That made me proud.

Driving into downtown on the night of Sunday, September 11, I did my best not to stare at all the people loitering around the surrounding streets of the convention center, because I'm sure they all felt like they were an exhibition. The Convention Center is across the street from some rather upscale restaurants in Austin. It was interesting to see the contrast between the restaurant-goers (who managed to keep their heads down the entire walk to the restaurant) and those who seemed to be aimlessly wandering, trying to pass the time in a strange city.

I volunteered at the child care center, which had been set up a few days prior to when I arrived, and is being run a group called "Child Inc." They had taken over the child care from the Red Cross the previous Wednesday. Apparently the Red Cross didn't really know how to deal with kids who were acting out, so Child Inc. volunteered their time to take on this massive project of child care. In the building where I worked, it was separated into three class rooms, and I was in the Infant/Toddler room, and if you know me at all, you know that's where I'd fit in best. In the building next door was where they kept the "Nanny 911" kids. I heard stories from workers in there about kids picking up desks and throwing them, hitting teachers, etc. Thankfully, many of the volunteers came from child care centers from across the city, and unfortunately children acting out like that can be very common. I also heard a story about a little boy with sores on his feet that looked like blisters, and when a teacher asked him why he had them, he said "I was on my brother's shoulders, and something in the water kept biting me."

I spent my evening with a little boy named Jarmon. When I came into the room he was standing at the window, watching everyone go by. He was about 2 1/2, and had a little brother in there with him who was 15 months old. The lady who was in charge of the room that night told us all that Jarmon kept crying every time someone tried to play with him, so we were basically supposed to just let him stand at the window. It was too sad to watch him staring outside, and I knew he must have been on the look out for someone he knew. I got him to play with me for a few minutes, then he started to cry and say "window" which sounded more like "winnow." I picked him up then, and he immediately put his head on my shoulder. As the night went on, he was getting sleepier and sleepier, but was very alert, and didn't want to let his guard down. He kept asking for his grandma, and all I could think to say was that it was going to be alright. I pretty much held him for two hours straight, and he was very close to falling asleep more than once, but just wouldn't let himself. His dad arrived around 9:30, and Jarmon was very excited to see him, but so tired he was really out of it. The dad told us he had tried to go the mall to buy the kids some new clothes, but by the time he made it there on the bus it was already closed. And then it took him over an hour to get back. I totally empathized, as I went through many similar experiences with the wonderful bus system in Austin. Places that should take you only 15 minutes to get to, can take nearly two hours. How frustrating it must be to try and figure all of these things out while you're sharing your living quarters with 1,000 other people, and are only allowed to shower and eat at certain times.

I went back again the next night, but no kids showed up, which we all considered a good thing, because it probably meant they were with their parents. They called all the volunteers together to ask for two people to stay that entire night with a one-year-old boy whose mom had been taken to the hospital for an indefinite amount of time, whose grandma was in Houston, and whose brother and uncle were seriously ill in hospitals in San Antonio. The next day I was in bed all day after catching the stomach virus that was spreading throughout the convention center. It was miserable, but I had to remind myself that at least I was in my own bed, in a comfortable home where I had restroom facilities available to me all the time. Only 500 people are left at the convention center, because the Red Cross is paying for the first month's rent for people who went out and found jobs and apartments. Unfortunately those who are left down there, and are of able mind and body, may not ever go out and find jobs and apartments, and will try and free load off of the system for as long as possible. But that was not the case with most of them, and certainly everyone I met was genuinely grateful for the services we were providing, and were excited for the new jobs and homes they had found.

Even though Austin may never be home to these people, it's a great city, and I know we'll take good care of them, and at least it's not Houston (insert smiley face here).

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Monday, September 19, 2005

Rave

Like any great musical purchase should be, David Gray's new album, "Life in Slow Motion," truly is a treat.

He's back with a bigger sound and higher language (I actually had to pull out my dictionary a couple times for good measure). Gray commands the slow build: You'll be listening to a perfectly delightful song and before you know it, you've reached a crescendo strong enough to stir your soul. Coincidentally, a lot of British-Isles acts seem to excel at this (think U2, Coldplay or Travis).

This review can explain it more eloquently than I, though I would have been a bit more generous with my grade. My favorites (so far) are "The One I Love," "Slow Motion," "Ain't No Love" and "Disappearing World." No, this CD is not an "upper," but with the haunting choruses and beautiful music, it is by no means a "downer."

The bottom line is David Gray doesn't get nearly the attention he deserves. He's a masterful musician and lyricist. He consistently achieves that more and more elusive goal of conveying a specific emotion or thought without spelling it out. Even if you don't comprehend the meaning of each word or phrase, you "get it." That's what good poets do.

Read this and other brilliant thoughts on my own blog ... or don't. It's all good :)


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The Problem of Women

Women pose a problem for politics. If women were not permitted to vote or work, contemporary political thought would look a lot different. As it stands, we are. In the pageant of world history this is a fairly new Act. It seems to me that with this new voice comes a certain responsibility.

To be a human being is to be given a gift. It is to be endowed with the ability to reason, to imagine, to have a sense of the future, to love, and to be redeemed. It is also the awful power to dominate. For better or worse, Man rules over Earth and Animal.

Men and Women are consequently given gifts respective to their sex. To be a woman is to be given the gift of womanhood. That sounds ridiculously simple and I think it is. Women are not men.

But both are human beings with unique powers over each other. As is often the case men are more powerful and sometimes fool themselves into believing their ability to dominate is a right to dominate. This is called the oppression of women, and it is ugly wherever it is found. Read the U.S. Representative to the UN Commission on the Status of Women here. It is a sobering snapshot on the status of women in countries where women pose a political problem simply because they are women.

And it got me thinking.

It would do us well to remember, and I include myself here, that America is a place where women pose an equally complicated political problem: We are permitted to exert our unduplicated power over a fully-equal, less strong human being. Our child.

A pro-life feminist at a small college called St. Hyacinth summarizes. “Pro-abortion feminists open themselves to charges of crass hypocrisy by indulging in the very same behavior for which they condemn men: the unethical use of power to usurp the rights of the less powerful.”

Either this usurpation of rights, demonstrated by man or woman, is always wrong, or it is not.


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Sunday, September 18, 2005

re: art

"You don't look at a bed of flowers and wonder what it means . . ." Jackson Pollock in the movie "Pollock."


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Friday, September 16, 2005

Why I Heart Texas, Too

I was just reading an article out of my Texas Monthly (a gift from ihearttexas!) that mentioned something about San Jacinto (brief history lesson: this is the site where Texas won it's independence from Mexico on April 21, 1836, three weeks after defeat at the Alamo). This reminded me of how Texans pronounce San Jacinto - not the Spanish way. It is pronounced with an English "j" - as in Jennifer. I loved that when I lived there! I loved how many words around Austin (and Austin is the LIBERAL town in Texas) were not prounounced "properly." Like Guadalupe St., a main drag that runs through the UT campus - it's "guad uh loop" in Texas, instead of the Spanish "guad uh lu peh." There's also Bexar County - pronounced "bear." This one's a little less politically incorrect as "bexar" in Spanish would be pronounced "bejar" and that pronunciation is barely different than "bear." It's just that in Texas you sort of imagine that the folks there see a big old grizzley when they pronounce Bexar. :] And then there is the mysterious, though maybe not politically incorrect or not pronunciation of the street named Manchaca. In Austin it was always pronounced without the last "a." Just "man shack."

At the end of the aforementioned Texas Monthly article, the author abbreviated San Jacinto in reference to a historical figure who fought in the battle, calling him a San Jac vet. I've never heard this term before, but my bet is on the pronunciation being "San Jack."

Yeah! Remember the Alamo, baby!


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Thursday, September 15, 2005

David Brooks on the Roberts Hearings

Thanks, Bill Heath. Go here to read "Ready? Cue the Sun..." by David Brooks, New York Times. It's very funny, and I had it published here, but it's also very long.

Tickler:
"Arlen Specter: Welcome to Day 3 of the confirmation hearings of John Roberts. I'd like to take this opportunity to remind the nation of what a wonderful job I'm doing chairing this committee, and I'd like to let the ranking member tell me so."


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Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Art Appreciation for Dummies

"Art in the Park" was this weekend, and I am going to talk about it. You have been warned.

I am not an artist or an art connoisseur. I feel snobbish and awkward when I talk about art. So forgive me if I sound either when I say I love good art. I am awed by people who can see something beautiful or moving and recreate it. Or people who can imagine and translate that imagination into something for the rest of us to enjoy. I love Realism. Impressionism. Some Cubism and Expressionism. Modern art, and its use of color. (Though I admit there are many strange pieces of modern art, barely definable as such.)

Don't worry: I had to look these titles up.

Quality photographers intrigue me, too, as long as they are not photographing napping cats or dogs in pin-striped suits.

In my judgment, art should be one of two things: meaningful or damn good. If it doesn't transport you, or add a lot of value to your home or collection, skip it. And don't be afraid to call a generic wood sketch of a Mallard Duck bad art. "Shirley's Painting in Wood" was a display this weekend. We didn't stop. Lots of people can draw ducks and mountain scenes. But can they draw you in?

If you're going to buy mediocre artwork, it should mean something to you.

Gardenstown is a tiny village tucked away on the East Coast of Scotland, just up from Aberdeen. It is a treacherous drive down the steep, narrow roads into the village, and the parking is impossible. The tiny houses are piled on top of each other, yards away from the rocky coastline.

Gardenstown is not high on the tourist radar and consequently it's almost impossible to find a postcard or other regional memorabilia. I finally found a couple of very blurry photographic postcards, which I bought. I want to remember that obscure, freezing town and the people that have homes there, and if that means buying a postcard by a local photographer lacking a little artistic flair so be it.

On the other hand, when I stop to consider whether or not the Mona Lisa, its value and history aside, is the kind of piece I want in my living room, the answer is probably no. But if I were offered the Mona Lisa, well of course I would display it.

Meaningful or damn good and best if it's both.

Ufortunately only one of the "artists" I bought something from this weekend has a website (David Levy) so you can't weigh in on whether or not you think I have a true eye for art. But I do like the artwork found at Lone Prairie, though it's not all available yet, and Ward Hooper is a wonderful Idaho artist for those who like retro.


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Geeks of the world unite

We may not get a sequel, but Napoleon Dynamite will rise again. Read it here.


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Everything's not lost

The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.
-Isaiah 32:17


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Tuesday, September 13, 2005

Unto the Least of These

Just learned today that contributing writer "ihearttexas" has been at the Austin Convention Center helping traumatized infants and toddlers until she contracted the intestinal virus that is going around there. I hope she gets better soon, and if she has the strength, can share her stories.


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God Bless Small Towns, II

I don't know if Austin, TX (or Boise, Idaho for that matter) really counts as a "small town" - but it does have some small town spirit and that photo that Katy took of the sign outside Edward's Theatre reminds me of the sign outside one of the local restaurants in Austin. El Arroyo, located on W. 5th Street, near downtown posted a different message on its sign every day. On October 7, 2001 the sign read: "Hook 'em W!" That was the day we invaded Afghanistan in response to Sept. 11.


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Monday, September 12, 2005

The End of Summer

Summer is ending and with it, my perennial urge to take a cross-country road trip.

It's been two and a half years since Dad and I drove away from DC like madmen with an aim to make it home in time for the annual Christmas party. We missed it, but we completed the 2,000+ mile trip in 2 and a half white-knuckled days. It went something like:

DC to South Bend, Indiana. South Bend to somewhere in Nebraska. Nebraska to Home.

A year and a half before that, in car that lacked a functional speedometer, odometer, air conditioner and sufficient brakes, I meandered my way across I-90, eagerly absorbing Yellowstone, Teton National Park, the lovely Black Hills, the endless stretch of South Dakota freeway, the forsaken town of Albert Lea, MN, the lush farmland of Wisconsin, Chicago at a distance, Notre Dame, and finally the Appalachians at Dawn.

I remember that drive with great clarity and affection. Wyoming in the blazing red and orange heat. South Dakota with its subtle beauty and tacky billboards. Local postcards. Historical sites. Football stadiums that ring with old rivalries.

Now the days are shorter and I am wearing my black fleece jacket more often. I reluctantly let go of another road trip-less summer.

It is time to turn my thoughts in the general direction of bonnie Inverness.


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Roll on, small town America


It's pathetic, but I admit that I nearly forgot Sunday was September 11.

The management at the local Edwards Theater didn't, though.



It reads:
"Our prayers are for the Katrina Relief Efforts.
God Bless America.
Remember 9/11."

God bless small town America.


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Roberts Hearing as of 10:45 am this morning

Still doing opening statements - so far the following members have spoken:

Spector (Chair)
Leahyy (Vice Chair)
Hatch
Kennedy
Grassley
Biden
Kyl
Kohl
DeWine


NOTE: I claim no impartiality here, but I'm pretty sure if you read the transcripts of the members' statements you would find I'm not too far off here in my summation . . .

Summary of Republican Statements:
- we hope these hearings don't deteriorate as recent past confirmation hearings have;
- you have the right to your views on various issues
- there is no precedent for nominees revealing how they would rule on various issues that may come before them, so, in short, don't let Ted Kennedy or Joe Biden bully you into answering these bogus questions
- lots of references to the Ginsberg nomination
- various past quotes by Ted Kennedy and or JFK about how nominees don't have to answer questions revealing how they would rule on various issues that come before them . . . .(with a specific reference to the 15 minute confirmation hearing back in 1962 of JFK's nomination to the SC - Byron White).

Summary of Democrat Statements:
- if you are nominated you'll probably roll back the rights of blacks to vote, women to work, old people to have beds to die in, and children to eat . . . .
- we deserve to know what's in your heart and mind (this is almost an exact quote from Herb Kohl) on all the issues of concern
- the federal government doesn't have the right to intrude on personal issues (i.e. Terry Schiavo) - [I just put this last one in because I thought it was, um, well, ironic given Herb Kohl's statement about how we needed to know exactly what was in Robert's heart and mind . . .]
- race, creed, color, race, creed, color, gay rights, race, creed, color . . .

Okay, gotta go Diane Fienstein is talking and I'm pretty sure I'll throw something at the TV so I'm shutting it off . . .


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Who's in Charge Here?

Blognostic has a link to a revealing NY Times article on what happened in the early days of Katrina.

Presidential nay-sayers--don't miss this paragraph in the article:

"Can you imagine how it would have been perceived if a president of the United States of one party had pre-emptively taken from the female governor of another party the command and control of her forces, unless the security situation made it completely clear that she was unable to effectively execute her command authority and that lawlessness was the inevitable result?" asked one senior administration official, who spoke anonymously because the talks were confidential."

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Flattery will get you anywhere

Why thank you, girlfriday, for the kind introduction. What a fabulous blog to be a part of!

No deep thoughts today, just a small annoyance: Why do people whom you haven't seen in nearly four years, nor talked to since, refuse to take your name off their mass e-mail lists? Do they think you're still friends? Or are they really just so lacking in human relationships that they feel the need to contact a person who must read their first and last name 10 times together before realizing who the writer is?

Now, I don't want to take up too much time and space as I know Jeb will have something to say about the Supreme Court Senate hearings and I simply can't WAIT to read about the glories of flossing ...


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Saturday, September 10, 2005

Meet the Contestants

Three smokin' hot, super smart, multi-talented, quick-witted contributors are here.

Also known as my sisters.

Welcome, ihearttexas, Lois E. Lane and Jeb2.

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Friday, September 09, 2005

Coming soon

The glories of flossing.


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At least act your age

I have had more comments and emails on the 'dressing your age' post.

As an unnamed minister's wife in the Northeast pointed out, it's hard to be self-objective. When are you too old for those shoes or that lipstick or that skirt? Of course, maybe you never wore these so you are in no danger at all. It's possible that THAT SKIRT shouldn't be worn by any self-respecting woman anyway. It is safer to err on the side of modesty.

What is that? Did someone say something about the pot calling the kettle black?

I wonder if there is a reverse issue: never dressing like a kid. When you walk around in that floor-length skirt and flat shoes, it is not because you've gotten older. It is because it is what you wore when you were 19, too. I'm not saying this is a problem.

How you act, though, will make as big an impact as what you're wearing. If you're classy and dress plainly that's better than dressing classy and being a bimbo. (We really oughta bring that word back.)

As for Martin, it is a good thing you gave up on the heels. The world thanks you.


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Escape to The Island

I am a fan of good science fiction. And science fiction is at its best when it is most like prophecy. Think Brave New World.

The Island (with Scottish hottie Ewan McGregor and dewey-eyed Scarlett Johansson) is good science fiction.

Cloning is coming. It is the natural extension of stem cell research and (painful as it may be to admit) abortion. So of course we are surprised when Hollywood makes a movie about the implications of advancing science at any cost. Jurassic Park is a surprising movie for the same reason, even though it's about prehistoric amphibians. Just because we can, doesn't mean we should.

But the movie isn't perfect for this reason: it shies away from admitting that it doesn't take a psycho with a God Complex to build a factory that grows human beings for their organs. It just takes a lot of well-meaning people, some carrying fresh pain from the death of a loved one, on a mission to cure this or that. Or a lot of rich people who don't want to pay the price for a life of carousing.

We have met the enemy and the enemy is us.

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The Future Mrs. Lance Armstrong

Just heard the beginning of a new Sheryl Crow song on the radio.

First lines: "Good is good. And bad is bad."

That is some bold song-writing.

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Welcome to the O.C., _____

I don't really even like "The O.C.," but it premiered last night and this is my first posting so it seemed fitting :) Girl Friday, I'm not entirely sure you know what you've done by giving me this power. I can't promise I won't abuse it, but I promise to try and be witty, clever and smart with each posting. XOXO


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Thursday, September 08, 2005

I'm pretty much a Harry Potter genius. . .

Okay, if you haven't read "Half Blood Prince" then don't go to this link (cough, cough, Joy, cough, cough) . . . If you couldn't care less about Harry Potter, then just ignore this post . . .
xoxo - leslie

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/ny-etharry4414279sep08,0,7110184.story?coll=ny-entertainment-bigpix


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What is girlfriday?

Dictionary.com defines it.

Also, gal Friday. An efficient and faithful female assistant, as in I'll have my girl Friday get the papers together. The expression plays on man Friday, a name for a devoted male servant or assistant. The name Friday comes from Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, whose shipwrecked hero named the young native who became his faithful companion for the day of the week when he found him. In the mid-1900s Friday was applied to a male servant and then a women secretary or clerk who works for a man. The expression girl Friday gained currency through a motion picture starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, His Girl Friday (1940). Today it tends to be considered condescending and, applied to a woman, sexist.


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Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Dressing Your Age

As I look out my office window at the dozens of female staff members and guests that come and go, I wonder what I will be dressing like in 20 years. Will I be able to let youth relinquish its hold on me?

It is one thing to wear tight jeans and high heels when you are 25. It is something else to wear them when you are 45.

It's not about having the "right" to wear whatever you want, because of course you have that. I suppose. But let's leave the discussion about the American obsession with "rights" to another day.

It's really about good taste. You can look classy and fresh and beautiful without trying to look like a teenager on a first date.

Right?

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Spammer Alert

We know there are telephone solicitors.

We know there is junk email (gravely off mark, I'm afraid).

But who knew there were spammers on blogs? We're all the more educated now. I have two spam "comments" on the "This is What a Day Means Cont" post.

But in case you were looking for GREAT PRICES ON MASSAGE THERAPY, click below.

Sheesh.


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Sunday, September 04, 2005

This is What a Day Means, continued

As a follow up to Jeb2's comment that maybe the rising gas prices will compel us to lead a somewhat simpler life: I know I've already begun eyeing my bike as an alternative means of getting around for small errands. Maybe it's time to purchase a scooter. I'm thinking twice about where I'm going and when. It's dawning on me that I will have to become more organized so I don't make two trips where one would have sufficed.

Become more organized. It is like trying to will my hair purple.

That said, I have been working on my late-arrival problem. So if I can make miniscule improvements there, becoming more organized may not be a lost cause.

The bottom line is, gas prices will affect the American lifestyle. What are we going to do with the change?

Undoubtedly our Scottish friends could teach us a thing or two about coping with the high price of petrol. They do seem to enjoy their lives a bit more than most Americans...


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Trying to figure the darn thing out

Unfortunately this isn't the most user friendly site. I see Jeb2 has posted a reply (but in order to see it, you must click "Comment" underneath my original post. I don't allow anonymous posting so you have to create a username to use it.

I'll play around with other blog design companies and see if there is one that is better.


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Friday, September 02, 2005

This is What a Day Means


Remember when Andrew Sullivan wrote "This is What a Day Means" after September 11?

A day means getting up and drinking your coffee, commuting to work, feeling safe. After the attacks all of that changed. (We know now only temporarily.) We lost our sense of security and power.

A few days ago, a day meant knowing the frail and dying will be cared for. The poor will be fed. There will never be corpses in the street.

It means filling up at the gas station and only being annoyed by the 30 cent increase.

Two nights ago I pulled into the cheapest gas station in town. There were only two pumps with gas left in them. I wasn't alive very long in the seventies so I don't remember gas rationing. This was a shock. I drove into line as I watched the owner move from pump to pump, monitoring flow, making apologies to customers. He had already posted this sign on my pump.

Now this is what a day means.


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I've joined the ranks

The universe does not need another blog.

Yet here I am.

Expect simple and not very original comments on pop culture, family, religion...and flossing. It's important that readers comment if they're interested in the topic. Family and friends especially. This is important since family and friends will be the only readers. Back to the universe not needing another blog...

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