2883 Thursday Thirteen about health fads, habits and myths.

Like many Americans, I'm concerned about my health. After all, if I don't care, who will? So I do things now that I probably should have done many years ago, and used to do some things better than I do these days.

1. I watch my weight. I watch it go up. And then I'm really careful and I watch it go down. This is called yo-yoing, and all the ladies know this is not good, but we all do it. My reunion is next July, so it is time to start watching it go down again. I need to plan now and decide if I want to be a size 6 again, or fill out my facial wrinkles and be a 10.

2. I exercise semi-regularly, in fits and starts, with lots of good intentions. If good intentions and resolve were good for me, I'd live to be a very toned 120. I was never a good athlete and hate to get sweaty, so I don't look back with regret. Negative thoughts are bad for you, so I have none about formerly being buff. Never played tennis, golf, climbed mountains, swam competitively or tap danced like some of you other bloggers.

3. I've never smoked. This is a biggie for good health. It's #1 in our culture. Kills thousands every year and cripples many more. If I want to throw out my arm patting myself on the back, this would be the time.

4. I've never had a beer--this helps my brain cells with 8 blogs and the weight thing in #1, since beer is pretty high in calories, and most of the people I've observed don't drink just one.

5. After 2002 I began having a glass of red wine occasionally. This is supposed to help my heart and protect me from all sorts of bad things, but mainly it just makes me dizzy and fuzzy. I just can't imagine why people are fond of putting things in their bodies that cause them to feel yucky and addled. That comes with time so why speed it up? I've had conversations with people whose brains were damaged by alcohol and those who have Alzheimer's, and trust me, there's very little difference.

6. I stay out of the sun as much as possible. I'm very fair, but why would I want to be brown if it will just promote wrinkles and skin cancer? I have discovered sun screen in the last 5 years, but most of the time I forget to use it and I think it makes me smell like a swimmer. See #2.

7. I have a pet. I've read a lot of articles about this and I think the research is pretty squishy, but I'm going with the guys who say a pet helps your blood pressure and heart rate, and as long as my daughter is willing to take our kitty in while we're out of town, I'll go with it.

8. I love fruits and vegetables. My favorite breakfast is an apple, because if I eat a "healthy breakfast" I'm hungry all day. See #1. I particulary love Honey Crisp, and it is just about time for them to come on the market. (Fall)

9. I'm not o.c. about cleanliness. Keeps the resistance up and saves wear and tear on the body.

10. I get an annual check-up. My doctor usually reminds me about #1, but other than that he tells me I'm a good girl and then we talk about church, family and community matters.

11. I obey the speed limits and traffic rules, and I don't drive a lot, nor do I drive much at night when all the crazies are out there. See #4. I wear my seat belt always. I mean, if I'm in the car.

12. I chose healthy parents and grandparents, and most have lived to near 90. Now that doesn't always work if you smoke or drink, but it helps.

13. I read a lot of medical books and articles and used to work in a medical library so I know how to find all the scary stuff on paper or on-line. Even so, I like to read the current medical journals and not rely on the rehashed health scares. But basically, it boils down to: eat all the colors, in moderation, get 8 hours of sleep, don't smoke, drink lots of water and marry a nice person and stay that way. That pretty much sums it up.

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2882 Wedding preparations

We have come to California for my sister-in-law's wedding. My husband and his brother will walk her down the aisle to "give her away." We spent the day with the bride and groom, visiting their new home and the site of the wedding. It is a joyful time and we look forward to welcoming a new family member.

2881 The new poet laureate of the United States

Somewhere I read that today is the birthday of Donald Hall, the newly appointed but not yet seated poet laureate. He begins his "duties" on September 30 according to this notice from the Library of Congress.

"Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has announced the appointment of Donald Hall to be the Library’s 14th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry.

Hall will take up his duties in the fall, opening the Library’s annual literary series in October with a reading of his work. He will also be a featured speaker at the Library of Congress National Book Festival poetry pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 30, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Hall succeeds Ted Kooser as Poet Laureate and joins a long line of distinguished poets who have served in the position, including most recently Louise Glűck, Billy Collins, Stanley Kunitz, Robert Pinsky, Robert Hass and Rita Dove." News from the Library of Congress

Since I had previously blogged about Ted Kooser, I thought it only fitting to say Happy Birthday to Mr. Hall.

2880 The Getty Center Museum

What a special birthday treat. We visited the Getty Museum yesterday In Los Angeles (there is also one in Malibu), and although I had read many articles about it when it first began appearing in my husband's magazines, I was not prepared to fall in love with it. We both thought the design was wonderful and very human, unlike so much of modern architecture that seems to fit the whim of the designer with CAD. We started with the architectural tour with a docent, and if you care about architecture as well as paintings, drawings, sculpture, etc., I would recommend beginning there. This is a place to go back to often--as long as your brother-in-law is driving and a native Californian.

Rubens and Brueghel, a working friendship. Until seeing this exhibit I was unaware that the great masters worked together on some paintings. I'm looking a bit Rubenesque myself here, don't you think?


I wish I'd gone inside, but there was so much to see. This is the library/research institute. Oh, I just must go back!

The separation of the buildings and exhibits allows for many visitors without feeling closed in and cramped.

Getty Museum
Getty Center
Peter Paul Rubens
Los Angeles

2879 Katrina Refugees Update

These two lovely Rhodesian Ridgebacks escaped Katrina with their people in their owners' car with a few emergency supplies, but all else was left behind--home, friends, careers, and belongings. Most was lost, but some things are portable and irreplaceable, like the love of family, a good education, and a professional network. So pups and people resettled here in Huntington Beach where their people are starting over, living with his mother and her husband, our hosts. They are big--and although you don't want to be in the way when they hear the doorbell--they are loveable and friendly, and a great comfort to their owners who have lost so much. These dogs know quite a few words, so if you want to mention the beach, you have to spell it, b-e-a-c-h.

Diesel and Nola at the pool

Rhodesian ridgebacks

2878 Enjoying Huntington Beach

Yesterday we viewed a few local sights and sites. Had dinner with the happy couple at Zubie's--I think that was the name. Huge quantities of food--we split a dinner. My husband's father used to have a restaurant in the same shopping center many years ago. John, the groom, grew up in Huntington Beach and remembers the old days when much of it was farm land and oil fields.

I haven't been in the pool yet, but did enjoy some quiet time in the shade. Maybe today.
Me with my coffee by the pool



My sister-in-law and hostess with 2 of her other "guests"

Rhodesian ridgebacks

Monday Memories: The neighborhood story I missed

When I'm at Lakeside, I only read USAToday occasionally, so I missed the story September 1 about Krema Nut Co. and the Chef-O-Nette Restaurant, two local favorites of mine that were featured in a story about "down home dining."

When we moved here in 1967 we rented an apartment that was one block from the Chef-O-Nette--in fact, I think we took a short cut through a neighbor's drive-way into an alley to get to it. We bought a house in the same neighborhood and later when my daughter was in pre-school, I started stopping by with my son to get a cup of coffee for me and a treat for him just to pass the time. I became one of the regulars, dropping in when the kids were in school across the street. I can't remember how many years I spent discussing the news of the day and gossiping at the second bay--maybe 10 or 15. "Our bay" even entered a float in the 4th of July parade and had picnics and birthday parties together. Eventually, the opening time (7:30 a.m.) wasn't early enough when I worked downtown and the university and I switched to Paul's Pantry in Grandview or one of the local McDonald's. We still love the Chef's tapioca pudding.

"Tremont Chef-O-Nette, 2090 Tremont Center, Upper Arlington; 614-488-8444. There's an abundance of charm at this bright, cheery and expansive diner, not only on the menu but also on the walls, which are adorned with numerous plaques and mayoral proclamations thanking the owners for participating in various parades and charity drives. The Chef-O-Nette opened in a shopping center in 1955 in this now-upscale suburb of Columbus (Jack Nicklaus is its most famous native), and from day one, it has amply fed the locals with bedrock fare such as pancakes and waffles, burgers, ham steak with pineapple rings, red-sauced pastas and fried seafood. Most entrees are under $9. The regional touches are modest but reliable: specials such as spareribs with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes, tapioca pudding, cherry cobbler and a salad of lettuce topped with cubes of American, Swiss and provolone cheeses."

Krema Peanut Butter is a staple in my cupboard. I've used their products for about 30 years. However, I've never tried the take-out.

"About 18 months ago at its flagship retail store, a small take-out operation was added, offering about two dozen variations on the peanut butter-and-jelly theme. Sandwiches ($3 to $4) are made with white bread or whole wheat and come layered with almond, cashew or peanut butters in creamy, crunchy or hot/spicy and various fruit toppings. Typical is the PB Apple Cheesecake, made with peanut butter on one side and cheesecake cream cheese and chunky apple fruit spread on the other.

Desserts ($2.25 to $3.25) include sundaes, milkshakes and splits made with peanut-butter ice cream and fruit sauces. The PB&J Classic Old Timer Sundae is the most sinfully delightful with peanut-butter and strawberry ice creams, peanut-butter topping, whipped cream and sliced strawberries."

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We're off to California

We've got a full week planned for California, topped off on the weekend with my sister-in-law's wedding, then we'll fly back to Columbus next Sunday. I'm hoping to also see my childhood friend Tina, but if not, we'll meet at next summer's class reunion. The good Lord willing and the creek don't rise.

I'll post Monday Memories early and catch up when I can.

2874 Limosines, laundry and lofts

From time to time at this or that blog, I've written about college laundry, college dorm rooms, and the 1950 Packard my sister and I drove to Indiana when we were in college. But we couldn't imagine college life like this--actually I can't believe it now!

DePaul University in Chicago: "Known as Loft-Right, the mod-looking structure has all the amenities: expansive city views, granite countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms, modern designer furniture and satellite TV hookups. The lobby lounge - like something out of a hip hotel - has a pool table and fireplace, and soon will have a Starbucks and tanning and hair salons next door.

Living at a place like this isn't cheap.

Students at Loft-Right each pay more than $1,000 a month for a private bedroom in a two- or four-bedroom unit, with bathrooms shared by no more than two people."

Whole story at "College dorms go upscale" By Martha Irvine

HT Kept up librarian

2873 My new dress

I found a lovely dress yesterday in soft fall colors--moss green, brown and sort of a deep rose. A paisley type print, button front, body skimming with short sleeves. I had my husband take a photo so I could send it to my sister. We sort of look alike and have similar body types, but she's taller and prettier. . . but I'm younger. After looking at the photo, I decided I needed to go back to the store and buy a new. . . undergarment.

Someone out there is creating identical foam inserts for every woman smaller than Pamela Anderson. It is really odd to see acres and acres in every imaginable color, some with lace, some with bows, skinny straps and fat straps, bridal, strapless, sports, seamless, but identical foam shapes. After a great deal of searching, I found one in my size with no foam padding and no underwire and no gel (security checks, you know). While I was waiting in line at the cash register (are they still called that), I noticed that the tall skinny Japanese woman (about a size 0) had the exact same shape as the clerk, a short middle eastern woman who was about a size 16. Then a woman quite overweight and slightly disabled with a cane came up, and she too had the same shape. A Bahamian woman with two young children playing hide 'n seek among the nighties also had the same shape.

2872 If it hadn't been in the paper

I wouldn't mention it. A lot more people read the Columbus Dispatch than my blog! The former pastor of our church committed adultery. That's bad. Really bad. Particularly since he was quite a finger wagger from the pulpit, and helped the church establish a position paper on sexuality. He formerly was with Missouri Synod, and I always had the feeling he didn't think our synod (ELCA) was quite "Lutheran" enough. And he was a charismatic. You know, the joyful ones who get a special word from the Lord on how to be a dynamic Christian the rest of us aren't privy to. The affair happened during the early years of his "reign" and he was with us quite a while. In 2001 we probably had kids going off to college whom he baptized as infants. Unlike Jimmy Swaggart, the televangelist who got caught, he didn't go public and tearfully confess so we could have booted him--after we forgave him, of course.

Anyway, my computer spell-check tries to change his name to weasel. And I'm not going to correct it.

2871 The difference between men and women

There are actually several, but two come to mind. I found this photograph at a clergywomen's retreat site. 1) In a Protestant denomination that ordains both men and women, the men wouldn't be allowed to have a retreat limited to only men. 2) But if they could find enough guys to pull it off (women are outnumbering men in many seminaries), chocolate wouldn't be a featured part of the programming.

2870 Go Bucks! Bucks go to the Library

The Ohio State University Department of Athletics is donating $5 million to the renovation of the main library building which is closing Sunday for four years (Columbus Dispatch, September 16, 2006). Employees, computers and materials are being moved to a number of different sites. This is the second largest donation for this renovation. About $70 million is coming from state funding, but over $30 million needed to be raised. Soliciting for libraries is tough, because they don't have a constituency (alumni) they can tap into. Changes here.

In January I wrote about the money that athletics bring in to the university here.

"Ohio State University is number one in revenue from sports teams. OSU got $89.7 million from ticket sales, royalties, advertising, broadcast agreements and other cources in 2004-05 (Columbus Dispatch, Jan. 4, 2006, version from USAToday). OSU also has the most athletes and teams in Division I NCAA--900 in 36 sports. The program receives NO money from the government or university and it paid $12 million to the university to cover athletes tuition and other expenses."

2869 Blogging at work

Some of my favorite bloggers either write from work, or write about work, or write about co-workers and supervisors, or write about clients. Not a good idea. If even one person knows your URL, or true identity, you're toast. Maybe not today or tomorrow. Eventually. I'm retired, and I know where a lot of bodies are buried, but I know I can't tell.

Sometimes it's a learning experience, teaches patience and forgiveness.

2868 How to lie with statistics, charts and quintiles

David R. Henderson at TCS Daily has an interesting thought. Read the Census Report on income, poverty and health 2006 before deciding that the gap between rich and poor is widening. It's important to note, he says, that income is not wealth (ask any retired baby-boomer). To me this is always the most glaring failing when liberals try to cram horror stories about the economy down our throats at election time. The oldest boomers are now 60; many have retired. Hello! What happens to income when you retire? It either stops, or is reduced drastically. Does that make you poor? Not if you have a home, pension and investments.

I'm guilty. I haven't read the report. But here's what I know for a fact going in.

• Married people are wealthier than unmarried;
• children of divorce are poorer than children of in tact families;
• divorced and unmarried fathers are less likely to provide a college education for their children than fathers married to the children's mother;
• people who work have more money than people who don't work;
• government programs often encourage people not to work, or at least reward them for working less, so they have the unintended consequence of creating a poor class;
• people in the bottom quintile usually don't stay there because their age, education or marital status changes;
• inexpensive leisure activities and entertainment lull people into not doing their best but create great wealth for a small number;
• millions of destitute people sneak into our country every year and are added to the poverty rolls;
• marijuana and alcohol keep a lot of people poor and dysfunctional while making a small number rich;
• for 30+ years schools have encouraged students to seek non-monetary satisfactions and rewards in life and liberals shouldn't complain if it is working.

Women (of certain types and political thought) have been leading the charge that keep families poor for over 30 years. Wake up and smell the coffee, ladies.

poverty
U.S. Census
economy

Friday Family Photo

This group of young college students, ca. 1895, were enjoying the social contacts made through their "boarding club," at Mt. Morris College in Mt. Morris, IL. I know they don't look thrilled to be there, but I think that's because photography still required the subjects to be quiet still. The older woman in the middle of the group is the "house mother," probably a local widow who opened her home and supplied the meals for a small income. Many of the student would have also roomed at homes in the community.



My maternal grandparents probably met this way, she is in the upper left, next to her future brother-in-law, and he is in the lower right. Grandma was from Ashton, about 20 miles away and probably used a train to travel back and forth, but Grandpa was from near Dayton, Ohio, (Jamton, which no longer exists) and I am told that he and his brother bicycled from the Dayton area to get to Mt. Morris. Bicycles were still fairly new then and long distance travel was not unusual, especially with clubs. Their materials and innovations and the rider's sense of freedom and independence really paved the way for the automobile, and many early bicycle makers became auto makers.

One of the things I find interesting in this photo is the clothing. It looks rather plain to us in the 21st century, but these young people were most likely members of the German Baptist Brethren (later called Church of the Brethren), but none are dressed "in order," the word "order" meaning discipline and separation. For men this might be suits without ties or lapels, and for women dresses with no adornment and prayer coverings over the hair. I would need to check with an historian of this group, but it is possible that they did not dress "in order" until they were baptised which may have been in adulthood.

After one year of college, Grandma went home to Ashton to manage her father's farm home because her mother died, but she did continue with her painting and took private lessons. Grandpa and his brother after two years of college headed west, taught school along the way in the Dakotas, worked as lumberjacks in the northwest, and tried to get into Alaska for the gold rush. Eventually the young adventurers returned to the midwest. My grandparents got together to renew a college friendship (he was probably out of money), and married in 1901.

Update: Modern view on anabaptist dress.

Church of the Brethren
Mt. Morris College
Mt. Morris, Illinois

Thursday Thirteen

13 things I just don't get (in no particular order). I do like to have certain things make sense. Call it age, but there are common every day sights and experiences that just baffle me. I come up with a blank for an explanation on these thirteen.

1) Declarative sentences that end with a question mark. (The voice rises at the end and the eyebrows go up even though there is no question.) Women do this much more than men. I would almost rather hear the word "like" 15 times in a sentence, than hear it go up at the end.

2) Why I would put on 20 lbs three years after I retired, but not the first two years. It's not the how (too many calories), but the timing.

3) Ugly art. Why bother to create it or buy it? We have friends who spent about $70,000 on their son's fine art education, and I use the term loosely. I would demand my money back.

4) The moral level and premise of popular TV shows like Sopranos (New Jersey psychopaths and their relationships), Desperate Housewives (botoxed and enhanced women as non-productive mooches sleeping with the help), Weeds (Tupperware type woman who makes ends meet by starting her own door-to-door pot dealing business), etc. If those are your favorite shows, what would you be turning off? Football and golf on TV look better to me all the time.

5) Rancorous political pundits in blogs. Left or right--are they just letting off steam or harming the nation? The left far outnumber the right and are even more outrageous and conspiratorial, I just don't link to them. I've already told you I don't read potty mouth bloggers in another "13." Nothing worse than a woman stumbling up to her blog template with a dirty mouth.

6) Fashion trends that glorify sway backs, bellies and muffin tops. I hope the natural waist returns soon to slacks and skirts, someplace other than the L.L.Bean catalog.

7) Poker and gambling glorified on cable TV. We don't have enough addictions in our society? Just invest in stocks. Held long enough, you'll get about 10% over time.

8) Loud, thudding worship music. Do you think God is deaf? Or does your music director own stock in Peavey?

9) Crotch grabbing musicians and poets. Ode to crabs? And inseams that start below the knees. Oh please. Those guys look like men in skirts.

10) Why sex offenders on the Internet or next door is a left-right issue. Why public librarians are such wimps about it.

11) Why we blame restaurants, advertisers and food vendors for Americans being overweight (and Europeans are just a decade behind us). No one is dragging us into the store and force feeding us.

12) Why we can't build roads that will keep up with the traffic, instead of creating life time employment for state workers.

13) Men with earrings. Sissies. The whole bunch. With a pony tail and tattoo they really look dumb and driving a pick-up truck won't change it. Leave the tresses to ladies wearing dresses. Next they'll want their own scrunchies.

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2865 If your kids are fat, blame Bush

The latest report about obesity in children has some clues about who is to blame. It isn't genes; it isn't choice; it isn't TV advertising. It isn't even fast food. It's the government. And that, as we all know, means Bush.

This was in my mailbox from Rueters:

"There was a national campaign called VERB done by CDC and the federal government to increase children's awareness of being physically active," he added. "That was shown to be effective in doing those things but then it ceased to be funded."

The program ends this month."

And this from the same article:

"Many parents have complained that testing requirements, budget crunches and other factors have caused schools to drop recess and physical education -- two important opportunities for children to get exercise.

"From my perspective as a physician and public health professional ... I'd have to say we should not remove physical activity from the school day," Koplan said.

"You put a group of 8-year-olds together sitting in a chair all day and ...they, like us, will lose concentration," he said."


"Federal funding for Verb was $125 million in 2001, $68 million in 2002, $51 million in 2003, $36 million in 2004 and $59 million in 2005. At press time, the House had proposed $11.2 million for Verb in the fiscal year 2006 budget, while the U.S. Senate had proposed no funding at all. According to the 2006 budget justification released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the “budget request reflects the elimination” of Verb, noting that the program was originally authorized for five years in 2001. However, Congress can reauthorize Verb funding if it desires or simply continue appropriating funds for the program." Nation's Health.

2864 Wedding Photos

In August we attended a lovely wedding (although we left before the dancing started so we could get back to Lakeside). Eric has now posted photographs of the wedding party and festivities. Eric is one of my blogging students from last summer, although with his background, it was pretty easy. We've known Eric and Sharon about 30 years and watched their two boys grow up.

2863 Fall tasks

My husband and son are painting the trim on his house today.


I'm doing laundry and getting ready for our trip to California. We will be there for a week, so blogging might be light. Every time I say that, however, I find a way. . .

2862 Blogmares

Mark Leggott says he has blogmares. That's the blogger's version of the dream that you've got an exam and can't find the classroom.

1) you create a new "cutting edge" post only to realize you made essentially the same post 12 months ago
2) you create a new post about something you just read, only to realize that you did the same thing last month and said something completely different
3) you get a message from a blogger you've never heard of asking why you copied his stuff without credit
4) you delete the best comment ever (one of the few you've ever had) when cleaning up your #@*^% blogspam
5) then of course there would have to be the you-forget-you-have-a-blog-until-the-conference-talk-on-blogs one...

See the whole post at Loomware.

2861 Terrible tragedy in Canada

I've been watching the terrifying footage of the Canadian campus where a gunman shot many students. The first thing that struck me as I watched the students running, was that they were still wearing their backpacks. If I thought I was fleeing for my life, would I weigh myself down with 20 lbs of books and computer?

2860 Matt Lauer and Debra Lafave

Why is he even giving her the time of day? Would she have been interviewed if she were ugly? Find your own link.

Rosie O'Donnell hates Christians

Why not just stop watching The View? If they are going to let a host insult 80% of the audience and call it freedom of speech or political commentary, then let's use freedom of the remote and change channels. (Disclaimer: I've never watched more than 5 min. of The View without changing channels.)

Rosie O'Donnell
The View
Debra Lafave

2859 If the election were today, Joe would win easily

According to Survey USA Election Poll #10179:

Independent Lieberman 13 Points Atop Democrat Lamont for U.S. Senate:

In an election in Connecticut today, incumbent U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, running as an Independent, defeats Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican Alan Schlesinger, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for WABC-TV New York. 8 weeks to the 11/7/06 general election, it's Lieberman 51%, Lamont 38%, Schlesinger 7%.

Lieberman leads 6:1 among Republicans, 3:2 among Independents. Lamont leads 3:2 among Democrats. 83% of the Democrats who voted for Lieberman in the 08/08/06 Democratic Primary, which Lamont won by 4 points, stick with Lieberman as an Independent in the General Election. 16% of Democrats who voted for Lieberman in the Primary switch to Lamont in the General. 17% of Republicans support the Republican Party's nominee, Schlesinger.

Of those who approve of President Bush's position on Iraq, 76% vote Lieberman. Among those who disapprove of Bush on Iraq, 59% vote Lamont. Of those who say "Terrorism" is the most important issue, 75% vote Lieberman. Of those who say "Iraq" is the most important issue, 73% vote Lamont.

SurveyUSA asked voters whether they are voting "for" their candidate or "against" another candidate. 57% of those who vote Lamont say they are voting "against" another candidate. 60% of those who vote Lieberman say they are voting "for" Lieberman.

For Lamont, there is solace in this one fact: of voters who in 2000 voted for Joe Lieberman both for Vice President of the United States and for U.S. Senator from Connecticut, half now vote for Lamont, half now vote for Lieberman. But that alone is not enough to elect Lamont.

HT GOP Bloggers

2858 Get out of my way, dude

I have a hair appointment at 9:30. Need to leave the drive-way at 9:15. There is a gravel truck parked at the end of my drive-way, and a a road grader parked in front of him. I'd better get out there about 9:10 and raise hell for 5 minutes, because nothing stands between me and Melissa when the roots need attention.

2857 You just don't say this in a small town

Right Murray? Sylvia? Amy?

"Last month, New York Times Sunday Styles columnist Bob Morris aimed a finicky gaze at the upstate town where he and his partner, literary agent Ira Silverberg, keep a second home.

Mr. Morris, 48, meant to poke fun at the clash between his own metropolitan snootiness and small-town reality. “When I’m there,” he wrote, “I see a new gas station with a sign so big I’m convinced it’s illegal, a market that would be adequate only if you could eat lottery tickets, fishing camps that resemble trailer parks, a river that shouldn’t be so brown, and an unpainted gazebo off Main Street that makes a tiny park look like a cluttered lawn furniture outlet.”

“I didn’t think anyone would notice,” Mr. Morris said. “I didn’t even name the town.”

Mike Calderone, New York Observer, story about the newspaper wars that resulted from his misplaced observations.

2856 Bloggers and journalists

I've never confused the two--i.e. the little people like me and the alpha bloggers, especially when I listen to folks on the Popular Mechanics blog--who are both. But I thought this observation worth pointing to:

". . . blogging takes up a lot of time. Not just the time to write a post but the time spent combing the ‘net for something interesting. Or documenting episodes in your life via pictures to create a post.

And beyond that blogging takes a lot of mental energy. When you aren’t blogging, you ar thinking about it. You think about your traffic, links, comments; you wonder how to get an edge on other bloggers. You wonder why your [deleted] blog is ignored, why you toil in obscurity while someone else’s [same word] blog becomes a media darling.

Above all there’s the realization that while you can, on your best day come up with a brilliant or near brilliant post, there are others who are doing it consistently on a daily basis. Sometimes twice or three times a day."

And he goes on to say that unlike when he started [and he has to write anonymously because of his profession], now the biggest blogs are all controlled by people who are in the media by profession. Also, unlike two years ago when conservative and libertarian, well-reasoned blogs were blossoming, now it is the radical left wing bloggers and conspiracy kooks who have taken over the ranks of bloggers (I've noticed this too).

"Blogging once held out great hope that the media could be held to account for their inaccuracies, biases and blatant falsifications of the news. But modern journalism has proven to be like the old Soviet Union - you could invade and cause great damage but ultimately you would run out of steam and like punching Jell-o it would eventually bounce your fist right out."

Sad to say, I absolutely agree.

From Meatriarchy

2855 Paragraph Farmer

had this conversation with his pastor.

My pastor and I had the following exchange before Mass yesterday.

"Frankly, Father, I'm tired of praying for peace. I'd rather pray for victory."

"Well, we'll pray for Jesus to come back. That'll fix everything."

Pretty good, huh?

Paragraph Farmer blog.

2853 Middle of the night with the conspiracy theorists

As I mentioned about a week ago, I've been sleeping in the guest room with my cold and my cat. But that means I can leave the radio on all night. You know, I'd sort of forgotten how bizarre nighttime a.m. radio can be with UFOs, seances, tattoo artists, and 9/11 conspiracy theorists--much more outrageous than nighttime TV with its health scares, crystals and blind dates. How do these seriously sick people earn a living? I'm so happy that Popular Mechanics is on the job.

This morning on Glenn Beck I heard the author of the book that evolved from the article debunking the various theories. And it wasn't hard. Most of the time all they had to do was go to the original quote or sources--like the one about a cruise missile hitting the pentagon, where the first part of the sentence--"An American Airlines jet flying so low it looked like" a cruise missile with wings.

• Claims that air traffic control violated standard operating procedures by not immediately intercepting the stricken jets;
  
• That the fire caused by the crashes wasn't actually hot enough to melt steel and cause structural damage in the World Trade Center;
  
• That the holes in the Pentagon were too small to have been made by a Boeing 757;
  
• That Flight 93 was actually shot down by an Air Force plane.

Hear the interview with Jim Meigs and David Dunbar here at Popular Mechanics Radio. Don't miss the description of the radically different construction used on the WT towers--the lightest buildings in NYC. They did not have steel girder columns holding them up. And how the conspiracists thought the word "Pull-it" referred to bringing down a building, but they were discussing getting the firefighters out.

"How can we account for our present situation unless we believe that men high in this government are concerting to deliver us to disaster? This must be the product of a great conspiracy on a scale so immense as to dwarf any previous such venture in the history of man. A conspiracy of infamy so black that, which it is finally exposed, its principals shall be forever deserving of the maledictions of all honest men.…What can be made of this unbroken series of decisions and acts contributing to the strategy of defeat? They cannot be attributed to incompetence.…The laws of probability would dictate that part of…[the] decisions would serve the country’s interest." Joseph McCarthy, 1951

The Internet ignites a conspiracy faster than jet fuel in the hands of Islamofacists propped up by left wing bloggers. You have my word.

conspiracy theories
Popular Mechanics

2852 Heading back for "old math?"

Someone in the Ohio Department of Education (or whoever hands out teaching licenses) noticed I had no college math on my transcript back in the early 1970s. Apparently in the 60s, someone decided math wasn't needed for a "liberal" education. So I went over to Ohio State and signed up for Math 101 at the beginning of the push for "new math." Fortunately, the instructor was not a grad student from India or China (although we had some that subbed), but a math teacher from West High School in Columbus who was going to grad school. It wasn't too bad, and he was an excellent teacher, but I'm awfully glad I didn't learn the basics that way. I think I got a B+. I'd hate to haul out a calculator if I needed to figure out whether to buy a package of 8 rather than 12 of paper towels. I'm not sure how the "new math" of the 70s compares to TERC, the term used today for math instruction that doesn't use drill and memorization.

Today's WSJ has an article on the scores of American students in math, and how some schools are offering "Singapore Math" based on the methods used in Singapore, whose students score the highest. They memorize, don't use calculators, and work problems out in their heads. I couldn't even come close to figuring the problems presented in the article.

Here's a site comparing, Singapore, TERC and Saxon (which is probably closer to what I learned as a kid). So this war among math educators and even homeschoolers will make Iraq look like kids' play.

And all this leads to a website called The Math Worksheet. You select the type of problems (i.e. fractions), the level of difficulty, and whether you want the answer sheet. There is also a subscription option where you pay for quantity. I don't know what method this is called, but it looks like a good review for someone like me.

HT Dawn treader

Singapore math
math

2851 Congratulations, Median Sib

Carol, who writes the blog Median Sib has recently returned from a lovely trip in Alaska where she got married, to the same nice guy she married the first time.

2850 Lincoln Museum

Last night our book group discussed Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Our discussion leader had recently visited the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Most of us had never heard of this wonderful Lincoln resource so close to home (i.e., if you were going to be in northern Indiana anyway).

"In 1905, Arthur Hall and a group of business leaders from Fort Wayne, Indiana, founded The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company. Hall, a lifelong admirer of Abraham Lincoln, wrote to the president’s only surviving son, Robert Todd Lincoln, to ask for a photograph that the company might use on its letterhead. Robert replied, “I find no objection whatever to the use of a portrait of my father upon the letterhead of such a life insurance company named after him as you describe; and I take pleasure in enclosing you, for that purpose, what I regard as a very good photograph of him.”

The company prospered, and in 1928 Hall took the opportunity to repay the Lincoln family by creating the Lincoln Historical Research Foundation, dedicated to the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln. The Foundation, under the leadership of Dr. Louis A. Warren, began to collect Lincoln-related material in 1928, published Lincoln Lore in 1929, and opened The Lincoln Museum to the public in 1931."

The very popular current exhibit (extended) is on weddings in American history which includes the story of the weddings of the three Mary Lincolns—Mary Todd Lincoln, Mary Harlan Lincoln and Mary Lincoln Isham.

Our next selection is A share in Death by Deborah Crombie. This is the first (1993) in a series, and although mysteries are my absolutely least favorite genre, I'll play along. Also, it's my turn to do dessert that night.

Abraham Lincoln

Monday Memories: Carpenter Ants

It was our first spring in our new home. We just couldn't believe our good fortune. A gorgeous baby girl, a wonderful house in a beautiful neighborhood with old tall trees and a fresh start for my husband's career in a different city. Life was good, I thought, as I heard a light rain start. But wait. It was only raining in one room. In fact, I looked outside and it wasn't raining at all. I walked into the den and held my ear against the paneling. Sounded just like rain falling lightly--inside the walls.

The image you see on your screen is about the size of this ant and they can be more destructive than termites. The sound I heard was actually sawdust falling behind the paneling. Eventually we took the roof off the den, and found underneath a thick mat of ants, thousands, maybe millions. In those days, you could still use strong chemicals to kill ants (EPA doesn't allow it now). They really got blasted--the guys pulled the roof back and the exterminators went to work.

The next time you hear unexplained rain, put your ear on the wall.

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2848 What is your blog worth?

Why I can't imagine, but I clicked on it. And that's how web sites make money, by getting you to go there and click. So this guy is a pretty good web businessman.

My blog is worth $413,243.28.
How much is your blog worth?

Still, it's hard to get people my age to buy stuff for the sake of stuff. If we don't have it by now, we've learned how to get along without it.

2847 Would you list your birthdate on a job application?

In the USA, that is a big no-no. Your vita, or CV, or application shouldn't list any dates--not birth, graduation, honors, years of professional membership, etc. You and your wrinkles still have to face the personnel officer and/or the search committee who may be decades younger, but at least you need to get your foot in the door. Laws won't help if you're stupid. Therefore, I was surprised reading a British librarian's website with a link to his CV which just blurted all that out. He's unemployed, or underemployed, or a "consultant," and is looking for work. His birthdate and other personal information (marital status, number of children) are on his CV.

In our family my dad's employment stories were always fun. His first job was at about age 10 when he took water to men in the fields for tips. He retired the first time, I think, when he was about 55 or 57, when he sold his business. He sat around a bit staring out the window and then began a series of jobs that didn't end until his final brief illness in his late 80s. His strength was sales--never met a stranger. In the 1990s he applied for, a got, a job selling agricultural implement parts to farmers--you make the rounds of your customers, check the bolt locker and replace what's needed, send the farmer (who was probably in the field) a bill. It was one of the businesses he'd started and sold after his first retirement. But all these civil rights laws were in place by then, so they didn't now how old he was (over 80) until he filled out the post-hiring paper work. Then they saw his birth date: 1913. The next laugh was on them when he outsold all their younger salesmen.

If he'd told them upon application that he was over 80, I'm sure they would have found some reason to not hire him. And that's the way it is these days with being over 40 or over 50, depending on the job. In the library field, where you're competing with gamers and gen-xers for jobs, I'd get some botox, hair dye, and lie. . . what they know can hurt you.

2846 A 9/11 collection

"Never did I imagine that we would remain free from further attacks, and for that, I blame the Bush Administration and its courageous efforts--despite all the whining, screaming, and hysteria to the contrary--to do what it thought was right to protect America." Dr. Sanity

"It's too late to decide to attack Bin Laden, so let's attack this TV show." Althouse.

"Seeing all the attacks of the 90s laid out and dramatized (with a couple of screwed-up attempts to get Bin Laden thrown in) was kind of shocking, even for someone who is already familiar with the facts. I understand why the Clinton people do not want this to air. About the two disputed scenes: Berger does not slam down the phone but he comes of very very badly anyway. The scene with Albright doesn’t look to have changed at all (from descriptions I heard earlier). I tend to share Lileks’ (and your) view about pre-9/11 actions getting a pass, but I must say, seeing one incompetent act after another does make me angry with the Clinton Administration. I imagine it might have the same effect on other viewers." A viewer who watched the ABC movie, Path to 9/11, in New Zealand, comment on Instapundit

"Once the 9/11 attacks did occur, measures were taken that have reduced the likelihood of a recurrence. But before the attacks, it was psychologically and politically impossible to take those measures. The government knew that Al Qaeda had attacked United States facilities and would do so again. But the idea that it would do so by infiltrating operatives into this country to learn to fly commercial aircraft and then crash such aircraft into buildings was so grotesque that anyone who had proposed that we take costly measures to prevent such an event would have been considered a candidate for commitment. No terrorist had hijacked an American commercial aircraft anywhere in the world since 1986." Review of the 9/11 Commission Report in the NYT by Richard Possner.

"As wild as it may seem to Americans, especially heathens, the war against terror is a religious war. Whether the enemy chooses to conquer us by force with bombs and flaming airplanes, or by our own suicidal and weak-willed acceptance of their demands to change our way of life (swimming pools today; the legal system tomorrow) to adhere to their religious laws, he will attempt to conquer us by any means necessary." LaShawn Barber

"Ysidro came to the United States because of the promise of freedom and the ability to make his own way in the world. He died because terrorists fear and hate that about America and the West. Ysidro stood for something they could not abide: the ability to make his own decisions and live life his own way. Ysidro deserves to be remembered far more than the lunatics who took his life and all the others. Godspeed, Ysidro. I'm sorry we didn't get the chance to know you better. The terrorists stole that opportunity from us." Captain Ed, writing a remembrance about one of the 9/11 lost

2845 My score is dropping

I think it is because I just cleaned my office and don't have any food in here. Or maybe because I had to guess at all the Periodical Table questions. It's been a long, long time since chemistry class.

2844 Triple the fun

Cathy is a school teacher and she lists this as one of her pleasures this past week. It was fun, clean, and smelled good. When you're working with kids, you can't beat that!

"Placing shaving cream all over the table at school and "finger painting" with the kids. One of the kids decided to imitate what he must see and had it all over his face. We drew faces, wrote letters, made waves, and just had plain old fun. And, afterwards, had a clean table and a great smelling room (it really is an excellent cleaner)."

2843 Lessons in pie baking

After all these years of declaring myself the second best pie baker east of the Mississippi (my mother was #1), I've learned an extremely painful lesson today. I've lost my touch. I may never bake again.

I probably should have figured this one out even without high school chemistry, but apparently, if you're going to make a fresh fruit pie ahead of time, you should freeze it, not refrigerate it. You need something to stop the sugar's reaction with the fruit.

A few days ago I made a fresh peach, two crust pie. As a special treat, I actually used sugar which I rarely do. Then I covered it and put it in the garage refrigerator (which sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, but seems to be on a roll right now). When I went to get it this morning to put it in the oven, the juice had expanded (exploded?) and was everywhere the pie pan wasn't in gooey puddles. I gingerly carried it into the house and with a half a roll of paper towels attempted to clean it up.

It is now in the oven and smells wonderful; however, we all know that the juice is now below the bottom crust, burbling and bubbling, waiting to become permanently gelled to the pie pan as it bakes. The pan is nearing 50 years old (I had it before I was married), but still, I wasn't anxious to toss it. In order to eat this, we'll probably have to treat it like peach cobbler, dousing it with some vanilla ice cream. Sigh.

2842 Do your eyes get misty

when you meet an old friend, especially one you thought was dead? That's a bit how I felt when leafing through the premiere issue of Hallmark Magazine, September/October 2006, Vol. 1, no.1, at the coffee shop today. My friend Bev, who loves to surprise people with little personal gifts, passed it along to me, knowing I collect premiere issues. It will have strong ties to its products and expects to have 550,000 out there for the next issue. There are many delightful articles in this beautifully designed magazine, but when I got to the end there was an excerpt from Alice McDermott's new novel, After This, with soft watercolor illustrations.

I was immediately transported back to an era of women's magazines when you eagerly picked up the latest issue because of the serialized fiction, or short fiction, sometimes on different colored, or textured paper. There I was, for a moment, back in my parents' home on Hannah Ave., stretched out on the living room sofa on a steamy summer afternoon, no air-conditioning or fan, magazine propped up on my then very flat belly, trying to ignore my mother's call to come and snap the green beans before they got tough.

I've confessed here before that I am not much of a fiction reader, having discovered non-fiction in graduate school. But when I did read it in the 60s or 70s, it was most likely in a woman's magazine, perhaps while waiting in the doctor's office or business lobby. Ladies Home Journal, Cosmopolitan (before all the cleavage and sex articles changed it), Redbook, Woman's Home Companion--they all gave many women writers their start. I thought fiction had pretty much disappeared from the traditional woman's magazine, but when I Googled the topic, I learned that isn't so. At least feminists are still writing articles about how it rots women's brains and doesn't reflect real women's lives and somebody somewhere absolutely must do something about it. I don't know what. Force women to write and read about lesbian sex? Women scientists who discover malaria is best controlled by DDT and lose their jobs? Women pols based on Nancy Pelosi's character? Who would read that drivel?

The mother of Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Elizabeth, wrote unkindly about women's fiction in the New Republic in March 1946. Although it wouldn't get her a PhD in women's studies, it harks back to a 1933 study about how trivial the 5 most widely read ladies' magazines were. Actually, she only included one line about fiction, ["boy and girl tales, generally with happy endings consumed endless space"], but we know fiction doesn't consume "endless space" these days. It's been replaced by diet and exercise articles, like we needed to learn that we should eat less and move more.

In March 1949 Ann Griffin in American Mercury blasted women's fiction--out of 100, she said, maybe 10 would be concerned with a genuine, recognizable problem. The settings were "never-never land inhabited by disembodied spirits completely free of entangling environments." And everybody lived in New York, Florida or San Francisco (just like today's mainstream media slant), nobody worked, and no one had problems with housing, the high cost of living (1949?) or elections.

Then came the feminists roaring through in the 1970s, so magazines had to have the obligatory push for women to all be working and worrying about day care, wardrobes for the office, and additional education. I'm not convinced that feminists didn't kill a very nice market for women writers and illustrators. So if you're looking for a thesis topic, I've just given you one.

So truly, I can't be blamed for thinking there was no longer any fiction in the ladies' magazines. It's apparently out there, but I've been reading the Wall Street Journal, or Weekly Standard, or JAMA, or New Republic, or American Artist. And my doctor's office just seems to have golf and boating magazines.

fiction writers
women's magazines
women and media, Hallmark

2841 Rep. Pryce tongue tied on immigration?

To listen to Deborah Pryce's reelection ads, you'd think Ohio doesn't have an illegal immigration problem. She's actually got an opponent this round, but doesn't even address the issue that both Democrats and Republicans say they care about and want action. And she's stupidly campaigning for Democrat votes (that won't happen) by supporting stem cell research in her ads. That issue probably doesn't even register.

Not reform; enforcement. We've got a border. Enforce it. Protect it. How hard is that to say Ms. Pryce? Reform is just another word for more illegals at low wages to pad the sagging Social Security rolls in hopes there's someone around to clean the kitchens and bed pans of America. But guess what? With the unions recruiting them (they need members too), they won't even be available for the reason you're letting them in.

Pryce votes.

2840 Democrats' cherry picking

That's what I've heard Republicans say about focusing on one item, the strawman they set up, in the huge report about the intelligence that preceded the war. Well, Captain's Quarters is actually reading the report, and provides links. He had some analysis by p. 16 that showed Joe Wilson a big liar, but the Dems didn't lead with that story, did they?

"The Senate Select Commitee on Intelligence Phase II reports may take some time to process, reading the source data rather than just relying on the conclusions, but I've found one interesting nugget already. In the WMD accuracy report, a significant passage demonstrates the falsity of one leftist talking point (page 16, emphases mine):"

I opened the first section--151 pages, and peeked at the second, 211 pages, which seems to be posturing by the committee members. I wonder if anyone but the staffers ever read these? What gets rolled out for the media is really skewed. It says pretty clearly that all this mish-mash is based on material gathered after the war.

And all this smoke screen at a time when the Democrats are threatening ABC's broadcast license if they run the docu-drama about the Path to 9-11. Powerline includes a list of the terrorist activities just during the 90s. It is what it is.

2839 Why we must forward e-mails

I NEVER forward an e-mail chain letter or health alert or money appeal, but receive many that tell me to do that. I particularly don't like my e-mail address being forwarded in those batches. I do occasionally recopy what other bloggers say, so this comes from KeeWee's Corner, and I don't know where she got it. But I love it.

I must send my thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat crap in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet towel with every envelope that needs sealing.

Also, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time.

I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail Program.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa's novena has granted my every wish.

I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers. I can't enjoy a good Latte from Starbucks anymore because they WOULD NOT send any coffee to that poor Army Sgt who requested it.

I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer can buy gasoline without taking a man along to watch the car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping gas.

I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.

And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup water in the microwave anymore because it will Blow up in my face...disfiguring me for life.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our American troops or the Salvation Army.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.

I no longer worry about sudden cardiac arrest, since I can now cough myself back to life instead of wasting time calling 911.

I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike.

I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.

I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt.

Thanks for all the endless advice Andy Rooney has given us. I can live a better life now because he's told us how to fix everything.

And thanks to the great advice, I can't ever pick up $5.00 I dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM this afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician, who is a lawyer.

Have a wonderful day.

2838 Friday night date

We've been going out on Friday nights probably for about 38 years. Recently it's been Rusty Bucket; before that Old Bag of Nails; but we've closed a lot of nice casual restaurants and sports bars. Schmidt's on Henderson, Gottliebs in Grandview.



Anyway, I feel too rotten with this cold to go out tonight, plus I can't taste anything. Even the cat has moved to the other bed after keeping me company the first night.

Yesterday David, our investment advisor was in the dining room with my husband (I didn't join them so as not to spread the germs), and he said, "Hmm, something smells really good." I thanked him (baked chicken with an apricot/mustard sauce), but said I couldn't smell it. For lunch today I had some of that sliced left over chicken on a piece of toast--homemade bread my son sent over. I'm sure it was fabulous. Couldn't even taste it.

2837 John McCain for President

If he's the best the Republicans can put forward in 2008, I hope Hillary is running, because I'd vote for her. He gets a black mark from me for personal character. Deserted his first wife after she stood by him through all his Vietnam prison years and campaigned for his release. She never told him about her injury, so when he discovered she wasn't the pretty babe he married, bye bye. Then he looks around for a rich second wife because he had a name (thanks to his first wife) and no money. Doesn't hurt that she's got good looks and political connections.

Then the second black mark is the McCain Feingold Campaign Reform which restrains our freedom of speech. This is not a good foot to start on in a race against Democrats, who are already severely attempting to undermine free speech.

The third black mark is he is smarmy, dishonest, sneaky and a back stabber.

There. I feel much better.

Hillary is looking better all the time. She's stayed married to her piss-poor husband, who has given her every reason to leave, and has been a good senator representing the interests of New Yorkers, even though she had absolutely no ties to that state and was a blatant carpetbagger. Better a carpetbagger than a bumbling, mumbling baglady, like McCain.

John McCain
campaign finance
Free Speech

2836 Funning the liberal bloggers

Go to Google and type in "60 books Bush" and find the outrage among the liberal bloggers that Bush is reported in a national magazine to have read 60 books this past year. That hardly puts him in Truman's league, whom elitists also made fun of, but it is about 55 more than I've read. Lincoln got by with the Bible, Shakespeare and a few law books, and was self educated. They made fun of him too.

"Democratic newspapers had a field day ridiculing his biography. He is "a third rate Western layer," the Herald gloated. "The conduct of the Republican party in this nomination is a remarkable indication of a small intellect, growing smaller." Team of Rivals, p. 257

See what others think about this lastest round of Bush bashing.

This writer calls it "drunk with literacy" and "idle flatulence."

Yes, his critics have a small intellect, growing smaller.

book reading
George W. Bush
liberal bloggers

2835 What's in a name?

For yesterday's Thursday Thirteen the contributors were challenged to write 13 things they liked about themselves. I didn't play--I often have mine written ahead of time, and I sort of liked thinking up 13 wedding gifts I still use after 46 years. That alone tells a lot of my good qualities. Sentimental, frugal, careful, tenacious, etc. But I can see why the co-hostess did it. I am puzzled and perplexed by the titles women give their blogs. When I teach people how to blog I encourage them to put a little thought into the title. It is the front door, and if you've ever put your house up for sale, the realtor will tell you: clean up the door, trim the bushes, and put fresh lightbulbs in the lamps. I can't tell you how many versions I see of "crazy," "mad," "goofball," "mundane," "boring," "tired" or not very flattering descriptions of an animal or body part appearing in blog titles. Frankly, I don't want to go much further if I arrive at a pretty template that says the equivalent of, "this blog sucks, why are you here."

If anyone told them that their children were boring or mundane, they'd scratch their eyes out, but for someone reason find it OK to say that about their childrens' mother.

2834 Labor unions recruiting illegals

Labor unions are heavy contributors to these various immigrant marches and demonstrations so trendy this year. Unions have no qualms about accepting dues from illegals (that's a legal loophole that needs to be plugged). How does the rank and file union member tolerate this? Do they not get what bringing in people who will take lower paid jobs will do to them? Why would an employer hire someone at union wage?

Toledo Blade is having a lock-out. I don't know enough about union negotiations to comment on the issues, but I can read salary information. In Sunday's paper there was a full page ad listing salaries [top range], medical benefits, pension plan, etc. Benefits: they all get 100% medical, surgical, vision, dental; paid sick leave up to 13 weeks; up to 5 weeks vacation; tuition reimbursement; paid holidays, employees assistance plan, overtime pay after 37.5 hours; paid military/jury leave.

I only jotted down two positions, neither of which require a lot of education, communication skills, team effort or personality. Rack sales: $38,617 + benefits ($13,516) = $52,133. Driver: $44,447 + benefits ($15,556) + OT ($7,419) = $67,422.

Next we'll be hearing that Americans don't want to drive delivery trucks or stock newspaper stands. There's a lot of illegals in northern Ohio probably willing to work for much less.

illegal immigration
Immigration Reform
labor unions
unions

2833 A disappointment

Last night I turned on CBS Evening News which I do occasionally, but I usually watch ABC or Fox. I wanted to see what Rush Limbaugh had to say during the Free Speech minutes, which will apparently be a regular feature (not him, but a guest). What a disappointment. Not Rush. Katie. With all that hype I expected. . .well, something. She was dull, bland, looked very tired, and not very well dressed. The female reporters at the Toledo stations we watch have a lot more pizzazz. They've killed what she did best--chit chat, gossip, looking doe-eyed and closing with a zinger.

Katie Couric
CBS Evening News
Rush Limbaugh

2832 The spiritual dimension of exercise.

I saw this subtitle in a retirement article today and comment on the concept at my other, other blog.

Thursday Thirteen

Our anniversary (46th) is next week, so here's a list of wedding gifts I still use.



1) Cookbooks from my mother
2) 6 pc kitchen tools by Ekco (still have 4 pieces)
3) Electric hand mixer (sometimes a bit sluggish, but still does the job)
4) Silverplate flatware, 8 place settings
5) Set of 8 orange glasses, now faded to pink, still have 7
6) White linen tablecloth, used most holidays
7) 3 bowl set of pyrex, with lids
8) kitchen knife set, one piece missing
9) Purple pitcher (art glass)
10) Set of 8 wooden coasters (still have 7)
11) 2 glass coasters with silver plate rims
12) silverplate dish engraved with our names
13) Set of 8 glass dessert dishes, still have 5

Oh yes, and we still have the two childhood friends, JoElla and Tom, who stood up with us.

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2830 The biggest culprit in my eyes

in the whole Plame Blame mess of the last few years is Patrick Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor. From the beginning of the investigation, he knew Dick Armitage of the Bush administration was the loose lips source of Novak's story and still he went on and on with the investigation. There was no attempt to out Plame, no conspiracy to besmirch her husband. Just carelessness. Get that man out of there and make him pay back every penny he has taken as a dishonest, cruel special prosecutor who has tried to ruin so many lives. Fred Barnes has a whole list of guilty participants, but I think the top blame for Plame goes to Fitzfizzle.

Patrick Fitzgerald
Valerie Plame
Joe Wilson
PlameGate

2829 Trip Tale: Church of the Spilled Blood

As cathedrals go, this one is fairly new--being completed just shortly before the Russian revolution in 1917. This is the name our guide gave it, but the guide book I bought calls it "The church of the Saviour on the blood." It was built on the spot where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in March 1880. He had brought about many reforms in 19th century Russia, but not enough for a terrorist group known as "The People's Will." It was quickly decided to build a chapel on the spot where he died (the second attempt that day), but it wasn't finished until 1907 so used concrete in construction, had radiators for heat and electrified lighting.





The Soviets closed it in 1930 and used it to store opera sets. In 1970 it became a museum. Restoration has taken a long time because the original mosaics and marble and enameling were badly damaged.




It was about a 45 minutes walk from our hotel to this cathedral, so we saw it on our last day which had nothing scheduled. Then we went to the Russian Art Museum and back to our hotel for lunch (we were the only people in the dining room), to be picked up by our van at 3 p.m. and the return train trip to Helsinki.

St. Petersburg
Church of the Saviour on the blood
cathedrals

2828 Do we need more or less government to fight fat?

Trust for America’s Health released a study in late August about obesity, linking it to poverty. They must have a good marketing arm, because this information has been out there for years, in medical studies, at ball games, at county fairs, and in direct observation at schools. If you haven’t noticed that the USAn is getting fatter by the year, you’re staying at home munching in front of the TV or computer screen. Monday I was at a local art fair that drew thousands and commented to my husband that overall, people who go to art shows are not as fat as people who attend sporting events.

“According to an August 2006 report from Trust for America's Health (TFAH), adult obesity rates continued to rise in 31 states over the past year while government policy efforts have consistently failed to provide viable solutions to the growing obesity crisis.”

But why is it government policy is creating the problem? Do we even have a policy on obesity? Or do we have a hodge-podge of programs design to prop up agricultural interests with food surpluses and school lunch and breakfast programs? Do we have a huge bureaucracy at the federal and state level designed to keep people helpless? This report acts as though no middle class or wealthy people are over weight. It assumes that poor people cannot be held accountable for their poor choices at the store. That they only buy “energy dense” foods because they can’t afford more nutritious food.

They’ll blame fast food restaurants and high prices at neighborhood mom and pop stores, and then scream bloody murder if a Wal-Mart Superstore with acres of fresh fruit and vegetables tries to build in the neighborhood, serve the community and employ the residents.

You can walk into any gas station/grocery kiosk or mom and pop store and buy milk, eggs, orange juice, bread, peanut butter, canned soups, fruits and vegetables and probably small amounts of meat and canned fish like tuna, baby food and cereal. I'm not sure you can buy dried beans, but you can probably get canned beans. But you do have to by-pass the candy, cookies, chips and dip, the soda pop and beer. Life is full of choices, even for poor people with limited incomes. You might even have to choose better food for the family over cell-phones, cable and artificial nails.

Women still make most of the food choices in the U.S. If a woman has finished high school, married the father of her children, and is out of her teens when she has her first baby, the chances are she will not be poor. Fat maybe, but not poor.

obesity
poverty
low income
nutrition

Gas prices in Ohio redux

We paid $2.49 in Bucyrus driving home from the lake on Sunday, but this morning in Columbus, in some areas, it is $2.20. How about your area? Does this increase or decrease the pressure to drill in Alaska, to build new refineries, or find alternatives? Will the recent information about new oil find in the Gulf hurt or help environmentalists and/or Democrats? While lying awake in the middle of the night (recovering from my cold) I listened to a radio talk show--2007 GM cars will have a 100,000 mile warranty.

The one constant is that movie stars will continue to drive the biggest gas hogs while telling the rest of us to conserve.

Gas Prices

2826 In sick bay

I've banished myself to the guest room because I've come down with a bad cold. I know where I got it--I think she reads my blog. So I'm really pleased that we finished the redecorating in that room that used to be electric bright yellow with hundreds of yards of drapery fabric and canopies (decorators used to live here). Actually, they hadn't painted the room yellow--they had made it a dark forest green--the next owners changed it to yellow. Now it is something called buttercream with a slightly darker shade on the trim. It is warm enough to have the window open, so I just stayed in bed and looked at the magnolia in the day light and the moon at night. We're using my parents bedroom suite from the 1950s in that room.


I have a number of things on my agenda during the next few weeks, including my sister-in-law's wedding, so I hope this doesn't turn into bronchitis like last year.