4070

Wiki-wacky wonks and wobblies

Conservatives should be making a stronger presence in using wikis on the internet. Not all are Wikipedia. All sorts are cropping up in every field, but the liberals are running away with this genre. There is a new Encyclopedia of the Earth that is well financed, supported by liberal think tanks and non-profits, and because it is free, you just know that's where the school children will be going. There is a complete book included chapter by chapter, "Climate Change and Foreign Policy" by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, a Canadian (i.e. global) non-profit. Its agenda: promote the needs of the poor through limits set by the state on technology and social organization or some similar socialist/progressive/Marxist chatter.

I'm sure the contributors to the enclyclopedia will have a long line of credentials behind their names, drawing on our finest academic departments from our most liberal universities. Someone with more sleuthing experience than I, like American Daughter or Amy, needs to take a look at this.

I'm 100% in favor of taking care of God's creation--after all, it's the marching orders for Christians from the Bible, but not when animals, plants and political parties come before human beings in a pantheistic based faith promoted by the left.

PS: You won't want to miss the article on Totems (animal worship in the form of carved statues) and how it can be the basis for environmental laws. It's in the same section as fundamental legal rights for animals.

Successful in starting businesses

I saw a small item in the WSJ that successful business start ups are more likely to come from the top 25% income group than the bottom. Well, doh! You mean having educated parents who stay married and provide you with the better things in life really makes a difference? Who'da thunk it.

Didn't Ronald Reagen say something about the difference between a small businessman and a big businessman being the government getting out of the way: see the quote here.

4068

Al Qaeda's Travel Agent

Be sure to check out Joe Lieberman's opinion piece in the WSJ today. He says,

When Congress reconvenes next month, we should set aside whatever differences divide us on Iraq and send a clear and unambiguous message to the Syrian regime. . .

His suggestion is that we stop all flights into Damascus International to close off Al Qaeda's supply line and stop the murders in Iraq. Of course, it really is a no brainer. However, we've learned since 9/11 that Democrats have no interest in protecting us or the Iraqi people, they only want to bring down the Bush administration. Bush is the #1 enemy, is their rant, and they are sticking with it. Anything that makes sense even from a fellow Democrat, doesn't stand a chance.

Everyone's talking about the weather

It really doesn't make much sense to discuss the weather on a blog, but I will anyway. That's not particularly fascinating for someone in Florida or India. We're getting dumped on big time here in northern Ohio--the drought is definitely over. Yesterday storm after storm rolled in and I even turned the heat on for awhile, even though it is supposed to get in the 90s again in a day or two. To walk to Coffee and Cream, the coffee shop, this morning I tied two plastic bags around my feet covering the bottom of my jeans, put on a hooded rain coat, wrapped my notebook in a bag, wore the coat over my purse, and carried a beach umbrella. There were no puddles less than 2" deep, but the bags held, and I was mostly dry by the time I got there. The fabric above the bags and below the jacket was a bit damp. I threw the bags away, having brought two extra ones with me, but when I left, the rain had slacked a bit. Now it is back, and it looks like a river running down our street. Toledo and Detroit are cancelling a lot of events. I'm signed up for guitar lessons today, but if this keeps up, I won't make it.

The son who transcended his father's failures

A very interesting article about Arthur Miller's son, who was hidden away most of his life because he had Down Syndrome.

Daniel Miller, they say, is a "guy who's made a difference in a lot of lives." They also say he is someone who, considering the challenges of his life, has in his own way achieved as much as his father did. The way Arthur Miller treated him baffles some people and angers others. But the question asked by friends of the father and of the son is the same: How could a man who, in the words of one close friend of Miller's, "had such a great world reputation for morality and pursuing justice do something like this"?

4065

Great Travel Blog for midwesterners

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has a really nice travel blog, especially if you live in the midwest. I've seen a lot of things for Ohio that I didn't know about. To my knowledge, it hasn't covered the Fall Warbler Symposium here at Lakeside September 8-9 (although it may be in the archives). I picked up the brochure at the hotel--didn't know there was such a program, but then I'm not very knowledgeable about birds. For details you can visit one of the sponsors, or this blog. Speakers include a biologist and ornithologist,, acoustic monitor, field guide authors, and globe trotting tour guide.

4064

A perfect score

My husband took advanced sailing this week. Their final day was a sail to East Harbor (about 2 miles) where they had lunch and sailed back. As I've noted here before, Lake Erie is the most treacherous of the Great Lakes because it is very shallow, and a wind can really whip up the waves. By noon, the wind had picked up and the next class to sail got stranded at East Harbor, because it wasn't safe to sail back. The staff had to motor over and pick them up. By 1 p.m. when I went down to the dock, the waves were crashing over it.

He just walked in carrying his score for the week--he got of perfect score. Only he and a high school girl he was paired with who took her first lessons this summer, got a perfect score for all the summer classes (taught each week). So, all you old guys, take heart--you can teach an old dog new tricks.


I'd asked him earlier in the morning if he was going out today, but he said NO, he was going to work in the yard. But he's so thrilled with the scores, he's heading out. Who knew that the skinny, athletic kid I married 47 years ago would grow up to be a skinny, athletic old sailor?

4063

It's new notebook time

This notebook, with a pink/coral hydrangea design by Tina Higgins, is all used up. I started it June 13. Looking through it, I see many things I never added to the blog, so you are welcome to them. In May 2006 I listed 44 items I didn't blog about that were in the used up notebook. In October I listed over 30 blogging leftovers I didn't use. Here's the summer of 2007 list.

1. EPA estimates of removing 100 lbs from the trunk of your car. I may still use this one in a weight loss blog, about removing excess from your own trunk.

2. Fashion advice for Father's day. This was a photo essay in the Columbus Dispatch. Idea was not to be so sloppy and don't wear clothes too big.

3. Amnesty. Biggest issue of the summer. I probably used these notes, especially about Ted Kennedy's role in this mess.

4. Where Bush has failed conservatives--think I used some of the notes in various blogs.

5. Anne Graham Lotz quote about a PBS special on her Mom (Mrs. Billy Graham) that managed to never mention the name of Jesus.

6. FBI hiring 4,564 agents since 9/11 and what they are looking for (sounds like all the same skills that librarians treasure).

7. Alli--that new weight loss product that has the side effect of oily discharge. Yuk.

8. Diabetes death rate lower in men than women--may have noted this.

9. Nicotine patch success rate same as placebo.

10. Global pedophile ring--ring leaders are British.

11. John McGoldbreck, MD--reader writes to WSJ on how his family has more money now that they live on one income. I may still use this one--looks good to go up against the Dims for wanting to raise taxes, and the Repubs for not doing anything about the AMT.

12. Bush vetoes stem cell bill.

13. My stolen identity.

14. 70 year-old wearing shorts to the coffee shop. This didn't seem too alarming after I got to Lakeside and see most 80 year-olds in shorts.

15. Direct and indirect costs of heart failure, CHD and stroke.

16. Direct and indirect costs of obesity as identified in workers' comp claims (Arch. of Int. Med.: 2007;167:766-773).

17. Cleveland's crime rate--problems with police and firefighters as perps.

18. NOLA's deaths up 47%. Look at how cities run by Democrats for decades are faring.

19. Cream cheese use at the free snack table at Panera's. Guess who?

20. Alison E. Burke, medical illustrator. I like her stuff.

21. God and the blow fly. Illustrates all the reasons I don't believe in evolution. Using a hbc bear, the ODNR staff observe the blow fly maggots at work. It's an incredibly complex and precise schedule, and the information is used to determine time of death in humans.

22. Death of Bob Evans, 1918-2007.

23. My IQ test in elementary school, 126.

24. $54 million pants litigation. This was so well covered by comedians and reporters, there was no need for me to weigh in.

25. Where is your reading nook? Based on a Home Magazine survey.

26. WSJ subprime article based on 3 complaints out of 60,000 loans in 2006-2007.

27. Value of $1 million. Gas prices.

28. Democrats and Talk Radio--why they can't walk the talk.

29. People who grieve for those in Darfur, but are willing to kill the unborn. You know who you are, and I don't get it.

30. Wellness seminar. My way is too boring.

31. Wearing the U.S. flag on your butt.

32. Jill Rappaport [Today show] how many trees died for her home in the Hamptons? (Architectural Digest, June 2007)

33. More people in Cleveland die without a verb than in Columbus.

34. My favorite lunch.

35. Plain Dealer travel ideas. www.blog.cleveland.com/travel

36. Campbell's Soup is going to market canned soup to Russians.

37. How to kill an already struggling state--Michigan. John Dingell's idea for a carbon tax.

38. Separate is not equal; it is better. Why the ACLU wants Cleveland to scrap successful one sex schools.

39. Sanctimonious celebrities and environment issues.

40. Friendships--how many in a lifetime? On the decrease according to PD reporter John Campanelli's figures.

41. National ice cream day.

42. Barns. A barn in Burton Township in Geauga Co. had been cleaned up for the wedding of the owner's daughter.

43. Going green is anti-female.

44. Mega veggie diets and cancer.

45. Nationalizing health care--what Obama and Hillary want.

46. New Harry Potter book. (no need to report)

47. What if Obama's mama had been black?

48. Novak's Prince of Darkness book.

49. Cleveland Public School scores, as reported in the PD, compared to the rest of Ohio and private schools and charter schools.

50. Democrats and the poverty theme. This one will definitely need to be resurrected, especially in light of John Edwards' investments in funds that hold subprime loans for homeowners in New Orleans.

51. Short term missions by Christians.

52. Silly car ads--I'm looking for 13 but only have 9.

53. Hurricane statistics.

54. 13 reasons to read JAMA--this is in draft form, but essentially finished.

55. Large companies that recruit the disabled. I found 13 points in an article featuring Walgreen's plan--might use it for a TT.

56. Photo of Tom Drake (movie star, dancer) in the paper. He's the uncle of my sister-in-law.

57. Meeting Roger's daughter-in-law in the coffee shop.

58. The faith of scientists in science.

59. The conditions of local bridges.

60. hyphens

61. Student loans, based on Ana M. Alaya's article. This was almost too easy to poke fun at, but I may still use it. Predatory lenders are causing a college grad to take a roommate and ride the train because of high repayment amounts.

62. Review of "The two income trap" by Amelia Tyage, apparently doesn't tell the whole story--biggest increase in costs since the 70s is our tax bill (140%), and Democrats want it to go even higher. Reviewed in WSJ by Todd J. Zywicki (hard to read my writing).

63. James B. Stewart on the amazing economy which just keeps expanding despite the perfect storm.

64. Pay raises: who gets the biggest. War for talent: 1) signing bonuses for IT, finance, administration, marketing and sales. 2) Flexibility

65. What dredging of the St. Clair River is doing for Lake Erie and to Lakes Huron and Michigan.

My goodness, that's a lot of stuff I didn't write about. Once I put the notebook in the cabinet, it's pretty much forgotten.

4062

Judge John Plough needs to go

Earlier in the summer it was reported in the Cleveland Plain Dealer that Judge John Plough of Portage County got into trouble for gaming and gambling on the people's dollar. He got the internet blocks removed for his work computer and his employees in January and then it was reported (by an employee he fired) he was visiting gaming and gambling sites. Many employees waste millions of hours on the web, but I think judges should display a better example. Plough was already under investigation for a long list of issues, including displaying a volatile temper.

Now today's PD reports he has a habit of arresting public defenders who aren't prepared--even if they've only been assigned the case for one day. Some say the intention is to intimidate the defendants into guilty pleas.

This sounds like a guy who needs to be removed.

Friday Family Photo--Uncle and Nephew

My uncle and brother-in-law enjoying a family get-together over the Fourth.

Democrats get chewed out and up by the Daily Kos crowd

Today's Opinion by Kimberly Strassel:

"If the liberal blogging phenomenon deserves to be known for anything, it is the strategy to intimidate or silence anyone who disagrees with its own out-of-the-mainstream views. That muzzling has been on full display in recent weeks as Mr. Moulitsas [Daily Kos] and fellow online speech police have launched a campaign against the centrist Democratic Leadership Council. DLC Chairman Harold Ford, Jr. was even thwacked last week for daring to speak to this editorial page (my sincere apologies, Mr. Ford)--the clear goal to discourage him from making such a free-speech mistake again."

No, the Soros Kossacks don't allow any centrists. Look out, party faithful.

Mary Wilson of the Supremes

will be performing at Lakeside tonight. The original trio was Mary Wilson, Florence Ballard and Diana Ross. I can't figure out who is who in this YouTube, but I notice all the dancers are white kids.

4059

Chapter Six at Lakeside

Last night's program at Hoover was a male vocal group of 6 handsome young men who met in college in Illinois Chapter 6, a jazz a cappella ensemble. I rarely stay for an entire program, but these guys were terrific. If you're ever within driving distance of one of their shows, don't miss the opportunity.

The reason there are 7 in the photo is that one is the writer and arranger, although he also came on stage for one number. A really fun group.

4058

Confronting global warming fundamentalists and alarmists

There is no conservative theological basis for the current belief of environmentalists that humans [are] principally consumers and polluters rather than producers and stewards and that nature knows best, or that the earth, untouched by human hands is the ideal, according to this testimony by David Barton before the U.S. Senate Environment Committee

"The reason for skepticism among the conservative religious community on the hotly debated issue of man-caused Global Warming is based on lengthy experience. Recall that twenty years ago the scientific community asserted that fetal tissue research held the solution for many of the world’s health problems; science eventually proved the opposite.

Similarly, in the 1960s, environmental science alarmists warned that the Global Population Bomb would soon doom the entire planet and that by the year 2000, economic growth would be destroyed and there would be a worldwide unemployment crisis; yet the worldwide unemployment rate this year was at 6.3 percent – hardly a crisis by any measurement.

In the 1960s, environmental science alarmists similarly claimed that DDT harmed humans and caused cancer, thus leading to a near worldwide ban on the use of DDT and now resulting in the deaths of between one and two million persons each year from malaria. In fact, four decades later, the scientific community still has found no harm to humans from DDT, so the World Health Organization, the Global Fund, and U.S.AID have once again endorsed the use of DDT in fighting malaria 20 – after millions of lives were needlessly lost.

And let’s not forget that in the 1970s, aerosols were considered a leading cause of harm to the environment, but recent reports note that "Aerosols actually have a cooling effect on global temperatures” that helps “cancel out the warming effect of CO2." Environmental science has a demonstrated pattern of announcing strong conclusions, and then reversing itself following further time and study. . ."

Read the whole piece, with references which I've removed. Also, if you are a member of a main line protestant church, your left leaning leadership has bought into the alarmists' argument and may be pushing BUZZ orange t-shirts so 3rd world peoples can sleep under insecticide soaked nets.

4057

The most interesting job in the world

Yesterday and Tuesday I attended lectures by Rustin Levinson, president of Rustin Levenson Art Conservation Associates. She received her conservation training at Harvard University's Fogg Art Museum and worked at the National Gallery of Canada and the Metropolitan Museum of Art before beginning a private conservation practice. She has studios in Florida and New York City, and summers in Lakeside. Couldn't get better than that. I know just the young lady from Columbus, a recent college grad with an art background, who should look into an apprenticeship with this woman.

On Tuesday she showed photos of damaged art and what can be done about it. She explained the tools of her work--ultraviolet light to detect over painting, infrared light for under drawing, radiography, x-ray, cross section samples, evidence from the painter's records like letters, notes or sketches, notes on the back of paintings, and the artist if still alive. She also briefly went over supports, grounds and paint, including the odd materials some artists use, which make restoration so difficult (mayonnaise, house paint, wax).

On Thursday she showed us examples, before and after, of 33 of her 2006-2007 projects. It was an amazing list of artists and projects, ranging from the Tom Loftin Johnson mural in the mess hall at West Point, to a Maxfield Parrish mural, Old King Cole in the St. Regis Hotel in NY, to a DeKooning to Salvador Dali. One interesting story she told of a project was repairing damage to a watercolor called "Sugaring off" in Vermont by a Gruelle dated 1954. It was done for a mural, but no one has been able to locate the mural! I think she said the artist is a brother of Johnny Gruelle who created Raggedy Ann.

Rusti has co-authored a book, "Seeing through Paintings," Yale, 2000, and has chapters in "The expert versus the object" ed. by Ronald D. Spencer, Oxford, 2004 and "Tiffany Chapel at the Morse Museum" Winter Park, 2002. It would definitely be worth a trip to Florida to see the Morse Museum of American Art. She also writes articles on conservation at the Chubb Collectors web site.

4056

Lenders are tightening their standards

Apparently, you're going to need a good credit rating and 10% down to get a home loan. Now that's a shocker, isn't it? Sounds just like 1961 (6%), 1968 (6.5%) and 1988 (10%) the last years we took out a mortgage--although in the 1960s banks wouldn't figure the wife's income in the mix. WSJ had another story today in its series about the subprime market problems. Like the Tiger op ed piece I put into poetry a few days ago, this story uses an Hispanic family. There were a few details in the piece that I'll put at the beginning instead of the end:

When the Montes bought their house
they had little savings (no amount was given)
not-so-great credit (no information on score)
were eating out as a family twice a week
paying $70 a month for piano lessons for one daughter
planning college for the other
taking vacations in Lake Tahoe
had 2 car loans (make and model not given)

When they got the home loan
they didn't read the small print
there is a prepayment penalty--$12,000 before 3 years
didn't realize their property taxes would jump $3,000 because of the new valuation based on their purchase price
they got a 2/28 loan, which means it can reset after 2 years for as much as 30% more in the payment amount when it floats to fixed for 28 years
their payment on the 2/28 was $3,200 a month, not adding in the increase in property taxes
their mortgage, which was actually 2 loans, covered only the interest, which means they were not building equity

I'm guessing that a person with the discipline to have a good credit rating and a savings account would have started putting money back immediately by eliminating the restaurant meals and vacations and piano lessons, knowing they had only two years before the crunch would come. But they didn't. They counted on refinancing the house, fantasizing that home values would continue to go up. They didn't, and the house is now worth less than they paid, plus they have no equity built up. They hope to hang on to the house by working some additional part time jobs and making the cuts they should have done two years ago.

Fortunately, God looks at the heart,

not the results. While driving to Wal-Mart today to buy a new computer mouse, baby aspirin, Dixie cups, and deodorant, I was listening to a commercial on WJR Detroit urging people to buy book bags for 3500 homeless kids filled with school supplies and hygiene items. To listen to the enthusiasm of the voice overs on the commerical, you would think that this was all it took to turn a kid around--an $18 bag of school goodies. There may never be public school programs to teach young girls that they need to respect themselves enough to finish high school and be married before they make babies, or young boys that they should keep their pants zipped, turn off the music and get a job, but there will always be book bags.

4054

Poetry Thursday--a betrayal of trust

Last week I took a writing class at the Rhein Center here in Lakeside with Patricia Mote. One of our assignments was to write an editorial, poem or song lyrics about a fallen person in public life--a president, sports figure or celebrity. I chose Bob Taft (Robert A. Taft, II), our former two-term governor of Ohio, who by the end of his term was ranked 50th of the 50 governors.

He bears one of the most famous names in American politics--Taft. His Taft fore bearers have included a president, senators, supreme court judges, secretaries of war, as well as state politicians. He left office entangled in an ethics scandal (quite mild by standards of other politicians), and he and his wife went to Africa where he had served in the Peace Corps as a young man. He will be at the University of Dayton this fall.

Poor Bob Taft
by Norma Bruce

Gone are the days when our Taft name was strong and great.
Gone are my state house friends who also met my fate.
Gone from Columbus to far off Tanzania,
Peace Corps memories and far off Tanzania.

I'm going, I'm going, this life is still a draft--
I read the Zogby ethics polling, poor Bob Taft.

Why do I weep so, it can now not be improved,
George Bush is my eleventh cousin once removed,
And I'm the ninth cousin of Richard Bruce Cheney;
Yes, in my family, Vice President Cheney.

I'm going, going, before I get too daft--
I hear the ethics charges tolling poor Bob Taft.

4053

Lakeside 80 years ago

On my bookshelves at our summer cottage is the Lakeside on-Lake-Erie Season 1927 program. I think I bought it several years ago at a yard sale. On p. 7 there is a photo of a man doing a high dive and I think it is Frank Thompson, for whom the baby pool here is dedicated. He taught generations of little Lakesiders to swim, and built our house in the 1940s which we purchased from his widow.

"Hundreds of people are looking to Lakeside to provide for tem a happy vacation. People will not be disappointed, for Lakeside is full of promise for another splendid season. Physically, many improvements have been made which will have the hearty commendation of our patrons. The grounds have been improved; trees, flowers, and shrubbery have been planted; and a more beautiful Lakeside is on the way.

The program for the season is a good one. The Chautuqua program has been carefully built, and men and women of genius and power have been secured to appear upon our platform. Lakeside is a platform of the open mind where authoritative speakers are welcomed."

The main speaker the week of July 1 (opening week) was Dr. William A. Ganfield, president of Carroll College in Waukesha, WI. He was a former Presbyterian Minister who also ran for Senate against Robert LaFollette. That week he spoke on "Is the world doomed to starve," "The next step in American progress," and "Saving the day for the U.S.A." There were daily band concerts in the park, and the Inskeep Players performed "Other People's Money," and "The Mender;" also available--Pathe news reel, a 2 piano recital, 4 reading recitals by Jeannette Kling, performances by the Vintons, father and son, orchestral preludes in the auditorium (Hoover hadn't yet been built), and various youth choirs that opening week. Each week had wonderful programming, just like today.

During the season there was not only the Chautauqua Assembly, but a conference for the Congregationalists and the Lutherans, the WCTU, School of Foreign Missions, the German Methodists, the Epworth League, a horseshoe tournament, science week, a junior tennis tournament, a music week, and a Shakespeare Day.

In 1927 you could reach Lakeside via the Steamer Chippewa from Sandusky and Cedar Point, or the Lakeside and Marblehead Railroad, connecting with the New York Central at Danbury. There was an auto ferry Sandusky to Lakeside and a trolley between Toledo and Lakeside for $1.50 round trip. Everyone over age 10 had to have a ticket within Lakeside, which were $.25 a day for adults, or $5.00 for the season. Automobiles were $.10 daily, or $3.00 a season. Clergy and family got in for half price.

Well, the prices have certainly changed.

4052

Can you say No?

Some people have a problem saying or hearing the word NO. I think it is the first word children say, either because they hear it so often or because it is short and easy to say. So why is it, that people have such a problem with it later in life? My mother, God bless her, had a problem with that word. Her favorite phrase was, "We'll see." That just put off the inevitable, but she didn't get into trouble with it. I didn't follow her example. In fact, it drives me crazy when people aren't honest about wanting to say NO, so they just lead you on until it is too late to make other plans, or you've moved on only to find out later something else was about to happen.



So here's how I'd do it--how to say NO.

1. To a request to bake a cake for a fund raiser/good cause. I say, "NO, if you needed a pie, I'd gladly help out, but I don't do cakes. If you'll accept store-bought or bakery, I'll do it." I never say, "Let me get back to you on that." I'm 67 years old and I think I should know the answer to this one--you'll love my pie, and pass on my cake.

2. To a request to join yet another organization. I say, "NO, I already belong to two small groups and that's about my limit. I don't want to add anything else to my calendar." However, I do say YES if it's a short term task with a beginning and end in sight, but that has to be clarified. Also, I can spot "empire building" from 50 yards, so don't even ask if that's your intent.

3. To a request for a dinner date with my husband for Thursday if we already have plans for Friday and Sunday. I say "NO, sweety, those extra calories don't bother you one bit, but I don't want them." I'm probably the only wife who says NO to a dinner out, but you gotta do what you gotta do, or else walk an extra 5 miles a day!

4. To a request for a donation. I say, "NO, we tithe to our church and contribute to several community organizations we believe in. We have met our limit for this year."

5. To a request to help in my professional area of expertise. I say "NO, I believe that level of support deserves an employee and not a volunteer. Have you considered hiring someone?"

6. To a request to join a committee. I usually say NO, but there are exceptions. You don't ever want to appoint me Chair, because I'll dissolve the committee.

7. To a request to borrow money. Usually this is NO, but we have helped out our children occasionally, and other relatives if we know they haven't been irresponsible. My parents loaned us the downpayment for our first house, loaned me money to finish college and financed a car for us, so I had help, too--in my early 20s. Dad would set up payments with interest. However, don't ever loan money that you can't offer as a gift, or you might be disappointed and don't use it as a means to control behavior. The relationship is more important than the money. You just create hard feelings by making people indebted to you. Once we gave money to one of my husband's relatives because we knew a loan was out of the questions--he would have never paid it back.

8. To a request to babysit or help in the church nursery. Can't think that any one would ask this today, but in the past, I always caught a cold. Babies and toddlers are crawling with germs for which I have no immunity. Wording this NO is tricky, however, or you do sound like a meany. Honesty would be best so they can call the next name on the list.

My mother did give me some advice on saying NO, although I don't usually follow it. She suggested, in her dear, nonconfrontational way, that I at least look like I'm thinking about the request before I say NO.

When my daughter was in elementary school, the teacher sent home a grade report that said something to the effect that she had an overdeveloped sense of NO. Good girl. A woman after my own heart.

4051

Remembering labor

Normally, I never think about labor--not the paycheck, but the kind that has a baby at the end of the effort. You really do forget it almost as soon as they place the baby in your arms. But when I read about it, somehow it all comes back, and I have a feeling that most women wouldn't see it the way this writer does.

4050

Memorials at Lakeside

Some light the way with period sensitive street lamps, this one in remembrance of Hazel and Wendell Lutes, Sr. who may have strolled along the lakefront holding hands.

This one preserves flowers found only on our peninsula, the Lakeside Daisy, in memory of Daisy Foster.

The 19th century bell from the old bell tower on the lakefront was taken out of storage and restored in memory of Robert and Olive Pekar a few years back.

We're all enjoying the fine landscaping at the Hoover Auditorium in memory of Marian and Hurst Anderson.


The Steele Memorial allows us wonderful times for evening vespers, Sunday afternoon band concerts and weddings. It was built in 1979 for the memory of Fritz and Karilyn Steele, who died in an auto accident, by his parents with additional upgrading provided by Mary Corbett in 1995.


The Fountain Inn was expanded and beautified by donations by the Warner and Wolf families.

Almost every park bench and tree has a memorial plaque, this one for the Martins.


We can hardly remember what we did for fun before 2000 and the opening of the Rhein Center where families draw, paint rocks, create pottery, make kites, write poetry and knit and crochet and hundreds of other crafts. This building was closed for many years, but was transformed as a wonderful memorial to C. Kirk Rhein, Jr. who lost his life on TWA Flight 800 in 1996.

When I walk by a plaque, I stop and read it--and say thank you.

4049

Maybe he could take up golf

Lionel Tiger is an anthropologist who sees himself as an economist when he writes for the op ed page in the WSJ. I see him as a poet, because his writing about the subprime mess is so obscure and squishy, it just screams for the pages of Poetry. In today's piece he writes movingly of Maria (note the Hispanic, i.e. working class allusion) and her home loan problems. Tiger says that the savings and investment industry is built on optimism and overestimates--by all parties, but the blame when that goes awry does not go to Maria, however. Here's where I see the poetry.

Blame
by Norma Bruce
based on Lionel Tiger's essay

For Allen who
never checked Maria's paperwork,
who assumed because she had a heartbeat
she was both
fine and subprime
all at once and
he didn't give a damn.

For the companies who
lurked outside
the gated-city building sites
promising the moonlight
on the deck
for just a little
overestimate please.

For the regulators who
couldn't follow
the trail of crumbs
leading from an
intimate overestimate
by a hopeful Maria
for a humble bungalow.

For the massive banks of Paris who
decided to close
their cash windows
and take
a long lunch
just when Maria comes
to refinance.

For the rating agencies who
are largely paid by the
companies they rate
[without a word to condemn the social scientists
who urged the high-risk, poor-credit workers
before they were ready,
to grab for the American dream.]

Read about banking on illegal immigrants, and see how business, the federal government loop holes and do-gooders work together, but we the people will pay.

4048

I should feel sorry for her,

but I don't. She's working 80 hours a week to meet her mortgage payment, which was an ARM and she couldn't get refinancing in today's fearful market for a fixed mortgage. So why doesn't my heart bleed for her? Her mortgage payment is $8,200 month, and she owns 2 acres of prime real estate in Marietta, GA, which she wanted assessed at $1 million to secure a loan, but the bank said, $900,000 tops [story in today's WSJ].


The number one rule of economics that every child should be taught in school is, "All bubbles burst." Give every senior on the last day in high school a cup of sudsy water and a wire wand, ask them to swish it and blow. Tell them to watch the pretty bubbles float, admire to colors, laugh at their classmates' antics. Then watch the bubbles pop--every single one will pop. Remind them that they are watching the real estate market, or the stock market, or their current love interest or their chosen career aspirations. It could be as valuable as a typing course and about as exciting.

Monday Memories--Is there life after high school

I saw this meme over at Big Mama. She's been out of high school 18 years, so her memories are a little fresher than mine--I've just had my 50th high school reunion. Well, not the 50th reunion, but you know what I mean.

1. Who was your best friend? My best friend Tina moved to Florida after our junior year. We both lived on Hannah Ave. and would walk to school together, stopping for Kay and Priscilla on the way (probably a 2 mile walk, and longer for her). We also double dated a lot. Lynne's best friend got married that year and left school, so Lynne and I started hanging out together, and we still correspond and see each other when I go home to visit family.

With Lynne and Sylvia in 1999


2. Did you play any sports? Not so you could recognize them. Those were pre-Title 9 days, and in Illinois, there were no competitive sports for women. We did have GAA which allowed us to wear uniforms not seen since my mother's college days. Katie, our PE teacher, was a guest at our reunion in July. What that poor woman had to put up with.

3. What kind of car did you drive? Anything my Dad owned, and he changed cars rather than change oil. I love those 50s cars. I had a boyfriend from Polo that had a 1953 royal blue Plymouth with dual pipes--unbelieveably sweet and loud--the car, not him.

4. It’s Friday night. Where were you? With my friends of course, usually at a slumber party after a school athletic event. Or it seems that way in my memory. I was part of a "birthday group" (clique) of 12 girls, and so we'd have at least 12 parties a year, pretty mild by today's teen standards. No boys. Lots of food. Presents. Occasional picnics. Movies.

5. Were you a party animal? See #4.
Christmas Party 1954
6. Were you considered a flirt? Oh yes.

7. Were you in the band, orchestra or choir? Yes. I played first chair trombone, and sang in girl's chorus, and whatever that smaller group was called.

8. Were you a nerd? That word hadn't been invented yet, but I was an A student. A brain who didn't study all that hard, and I really paid for that when I got to college and didn't have good study habits. I took all the college prep-courses except Algebra II. I had the classic math anxiety syndrome that afflicts many girls (or I was just dumb in math), although that term wasn't invented yet either.

9. Were you ever suspended or expelled? Heavens no! I just got the "we're so disappointed that a young woman of your talent and potential would behave like this" lecture from the principal.

10. Can you sing the fight song? I think we sing it or hum it at our reunions. One year--1987?--the reunion committee brought along band instruments and everyone in the band had to try to play the school fight song. What a hoot. I couldn't even find F on the trombone, let alone play anything.

11. Who was your favorite teacher? For a small school, we had some great teachers and an excellent administration. Warren Burstrom was memorable--managed to get me through physics and chemistry. He was a graduate of Luther College in Iowa. He later went on to teach at a junior college. His wife had been my 8th grade teacher, and she was excellent too, although I think my class was her first and we probably made her regret choosing that career.

12. What was your school mascot? Our school name was so odd, we didn't need a mascot.

13. Did you go to the Prom? All four years. Three proms with the same date.

14. If you could go back, would you? No, at this age, they'd think I wandered in from the retirement home which is next door. Our high school has merged with our biggest rival, much to the grief of the alumni.

15. What do you remember most about graduation? I had to give a speech. I still nearly pass out in front of an audience. I've got it here somewhere on my blog.

16. Where were you on Senior Skip Day? We didn't do such things, at least not as a class, but I think we did the next worst thing for the 1950s--wore jeans to school one day in the last month of our high school career.

17. Did you have a job your senior year? Yes. I worked at Zickuhr's Drug store and the town library, and also filled in during the summer if I was home, which wasn't often. I was thrifty (tight), and had saved enough for my first year of college.

18. Where did you go most often for lunch? To the school cafeteria.

19. Have you gained weight since then? Yes, about 10 lbs. Several times. But it has rearranged itself. Some of my measurements are the same--my right thigh is now what my waist was in high school.
20. What did you do after graduation? I went to Manchester College in North Manchester, IN after a summer in Brethren Volunteer Service in Fresno, CA. Then I transferred to the University of Illinois to study Russian.




21. What year did you graduate? 1957. There's a song about that by the Statler Brothers, "The class of '57 had its dream," or something like that.

And the class of '57 had its dreams,
Oh, we all thought we'd change the world with our great works and deeds.
Or maybe we just thought the world would change to fit our needs,
The class of '57 had its dreams.

22. Who was your Senior Prom Date? My boyfriend. He had to come home from colllege, but he made the sacrifice. Neither one of us knew how to dance, but we did go to them often.
This is the 1956 prom
23. Are you going/did you go to your 10 year reunion? I didn't make it to the 10 year, but did get to most of them. In 1967 we had just moved to Ohio from Illinois, and it is about a 10 hour drive to get there.

If you liked this memory meme, tag, you're it.

4046

Blogging blues

The laptop failed again. Very frustrating. So I'm back in the hotel lobby at the desk meant for little people, or the intention that you not stay long because of leg cramps.

Last night's program at Hoover Auditorium in Lakeside was Mike Albert, the big-E, an Elvis impersonator. I think this is the 5th or 6th time I've seen him over the years, and he's really a dynamic performer. He said it was the 9th performance in 10 days, but the show didn't get out until 10:45, so he always gives a lot. I wore my autographed scarf which he'd given to my son to give to me when he'd been to his shop in Columbus, maybe 2 years ago. Last night he had his own mother on the stage--said they'd sing together when he was young, and they did a little harmonizing for the audience.


Yesterday I wrote about silly things reported in the press about political candidates and mentioned Obama's church, Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. Last night at the program I was reading this week's (issue no. 10) Lakesider, and see that the Chaplain of the week is Otis Moss III, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. It says he got a BA in Religion and Philosophy from Morehouse College, was a track and field athlete, then went to Yale where he got a Master of Divinity degree with a concentration in Ethics and Theology. Then it was on to Denver to pursue a PhD in Religion and Social Change. It says he created the Issachar Movement (I used to get a newsletter from them, I think).

See? I blog. They come.

I usually go to the Lakefront service at 8:30 on Sunday, not the one with the Chaplain of the Week in Hoover. In my life time I've heard so many liberal sermons I could probably preach one myself.

4045

Ellen Goodman is just reporting what I said three years ago

There is a dearth of women bloggers who discuss politics, economics, academe, etc. That's one of the reasons I started setting up group links for women in my left hand column. But then women began running away with the stats--gossip, children, decorating, kitchens, memes, book reviews, crafts, religion and so forth. Now about half of all blogs are written by women. They are great blogs, but the men are trampling us when it comes to having any influence in the blogsphere.

The New Republic's Jonathan Chait recently called the netroots "the most significant mass movement in US politics since the rise of the Christian right." In fact, they've amplified the antiwar, anti-Bush views, become an alternative fund-raising operation, and linked cyberliberals across the country. . . Nevertheless, there is another, less flattering way in which broadband has followed broadcast and the liberal political bloggers mimic the conservative talk-show hosts. The chief messengers are overwhelmingly men -- white men, even angry white men. . . Only 7% of the influential blogs are written by women.

Ellen, if you'd been reading me instead of the Daily Kook, you could have sounded this alarm much sooner.

You could have started by reading the writing credits and articles about start-ups in Wired where all things e- appear. WSJ reported in June "all things digital" featuring five movers and shakers. One was a woman--she has a gossip site (actually she's an executive of Time, Inc., but still, gossip?). Brad and Angelina can pull in 17.5 million page views, and I'm betting on the gender of the readers.

The digital network world is about 99% mortared with testosterone, and that includes influential blogs--you must have really stretched it to find 7%. But you probably weren't reading blogs by women, and especially not a conservative blog. And we all started on level ground this time. Women could have written about topics other than "my mean boss," diaper brands, American Idol and shoes, but they write about what they talk about after work and when the kids have gone to bed, and that ain't politics. Some of the "mommy blogs" (are there really 11 million?) have the best writing you'll ever read--great recipes, too--but other than American Daughter, Amy Ridenour, Baldilocks, Neo-Neocon or women who already were writing professionally like Joanne Jacobs, Michelle Malkin and Jane Galt, no candidate will even give them a glance.

Read Ellen Goodman in the Boston Globe leftist to her tippy toes, but right about this--there is no diversity in the progressive/leftist blogosphere.

4044

Dogs on board

I've seen silly things for which to criticize politicans, but these are scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Did you know that 25 years ago Mitt Romney's dog road rode in a dog carrier strapped on top of the car to transport the dog from Boston to Canada? Have the critics never seen a dog with his head hanging out a car window, or poking through the roof of a car, or enjoying a ride in a pick-up truck bed?

Or how about this one. Barack Obama's church, Trinity United Church of Christ (Chicago) affirms its ties with the African motherland. Hello! Does the critic not know that the Lutheran synods were all ethnic, or that there is still a very large Hungarian Lutheran church in Cleveland? Obama's father was in fact an African. If anyone should belong to a church with ties to Africa, he should.

I've seen more criticism of Hillary Clinton for having heavy legs than for her plan to socialize medicine (or that she denies she wants to). What does the size of her legs have to do with her ability to declare war or lie to the electorate?

Rudy Giuliani didn't spend enough time getting dust in his lungs after 9/11. Oh please. There are a lot of skeletons in his family closet, let's look a bit deeper, OK?

You Belong in Fall

Intelligent, introspective, and quite expressive at times... You appreciate the changes in color, climate, and mood that fall brings Whether you're carving wacky pumpkins or taking long drives, autumn is a favorite time of year for you

What Season Are You?

I Scored a 100%!

I found these at UK Bookworm, another Thursday Thirteener. She has homeschooled and reviews children's books.

4043

Addiction in 6th graders

My son began smoking in adolescence, so a recent article in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2007;161:704-710 didn't surprise me.

10% of children had cravings for nicotine within 2 days of the first inhalation of cigarette smoke

More than 70% of the inhalers had cravings before they were smoking every day



"Results: Among the 217 inhalers, 127 lost autonomy over their tobacco use, 10% having done so within 2 days and 25% having done so within 30 days of first inhaling from a cigarette; half had lost autonomy by the time they were smoking 7 cigarettes per month. Among the 83 inhalers who developed ICD-10–defined dependence, half had done so by the time they were smoking 46 cigarettes per month. At the interview following the onset of ICD-10–defined dependence, the median salivary cotinine concentration of current smokers was 5.35 ng/mL, a level that falls well below the cutoff used to distinguish active from passive smokers."

"Lost autonomy"--interesting phrase, isn't it? He told me one time that he believes he was "hooked" after the first cigarette--sometime around 13 or 14. If you are a smoker, chances are your kids will be too, but it doesn't always work that way. My husband's parents were both chain smokers. Neither he nor his sister liked it and didn't smoke; another brother did. This means he had inhaled the equivalent of 102 packs of cigarettes by the time he was 5 years old. My father smoked until I was about 9, but my sisters and I didn't. Neither my husband nor I smoke, but our son can't break the habit.

I really shudder when I see teens smoking; we were walking behind a group the other night along the lakefront--the oldest being about 16. They just have no idea of the cost and health problems heading their way. They might as well be setting dollar bills on fire and tossing them into Lake Erie.

4042

Let's investigate Congress and the gas tax

Can you believe the liberals? Another "fund" for them to squander?

The Democratic chairman of the House Transportation Committee proposed a 5-cent increase in the 18.3 cents-a-gallon federal gasoline tax to establish a new trust fund for repairing or replacing structurally deficient highway bridges. CNN

Yes, liberals were horrified that Bush told the truth about where our highway and bridge repair money has gone--into the home states of the Congress people who control it. It goes to the states--let's have a special investigation. Maybe the media could even do it's job and sniff this one out--maybe bloggers like the Daily Kook could do some good for a change. Repair and maintenance isn't sexy and it doesn't get you votes--Democrats or Republicans. Every home owner knows it is critical is maintaining the value of your home. Why are we so naive when it comes to demanding accountability for the millions we give Congress for our transportation needs? Look what was being said just two years ago:

For every dollar we Alaskans pay in at-the-pump gas taxes, we get $6.60 back, thanks to you generous, unwitting donors.

According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a non-partisan watchdog group in Washington, that breaks down to $1,150 for every Alaskan in "earmark" funding for in-state projects alone, 25 times what the average American garners for his or her home state.

How could this be? Alaska is so rich that residents not only pay no state income tax, but we get individual yearly checks as our share of the oil wealth. Why should your gas taxes, which are supposed to fill potholes in your local interstate or repair your decaying bridges, end up so far from home?" Nick Jans, USAToday

Alaskans aren't the only ones bringing home the pork, but we need a full scale investigation before we give the federal government one more penny at the pump. We've got failing bridges here in Ohio, but you should see the list earmarked just for Cuyahoga County (Cleveland)--$850 million for a convention center, a juvenile justice center, a correctional facility, and a county administration building. That is NOT transportation money, but it is tax money--and that's just one county.

If Americans fall for this line, we deserve the Congress we've elected.

4041

Friday Family Photo

We all know who we are here--about a month ago, taken in Illinois during the 4th get together, with my brother's daughter and granddaughter at my sister's kitchen table.

4040

Napping on the floor

Isn't this a great photo over at A Chelsea Morning. I don't know who Cameron is, probably a grandchild, but the floor is one of my favorite spots to nap. Sometimes the cat joins me. All I need is about 10 minutes, and I feel one coming on. . .

4039

Classes at the Rhein Center

Last night the instructors at the Rhein Center in Lakeside had a pitch-in/covered dish dinner. Families also attend, so I brought a home baked pizza and a sugar-free raspberry/chocolate pie, because my husband teaches Perspective Drawing. I did sign up on Sunday for two classes (creative writing and a watercolor workshop), but after seeing the opportunities, I wish I'd made a little more effort, especially since it has rained almost every day. For instance, while we explored a delicious vegetable casserole that arrived late, I chatted with Christine Grimm who taught basic metal clay. I didn't even know such a thing existed, and you should see the jewelry that is created in that class. Here's the description:

Using clay that turns to 99.9% pure silver when fired, "we will start out small, making a pendant with basic techniques that can be used anywhere, anytime, without a kiln." The instuctor provided all the tools and materials (fee $20) to make a ring and a 16" necklace.

And then I also chatted with Barb Hall, whom I'd seen during the week at the next table. She has made and flown kites all over the world. She was a real Pied Piper with the children, and also teaches archery. She has been flying kites for over 18 years and has won awards for her hand made kites at a number of festivals. She is the president of the Central Florida Cloud Chasers. In her classes children 7-adult made kites from Tyvek, parachutes with a jumping firefighter, and an airplane from a foam plate. Class materials were $2-$5. She also told us about a wonderful, inexpensive home sharing/bed and breakfast service for travelers over 50, Evergreen Club. For an annual fee and $15 a night, travelers can stay in the homes of fellow members. And there are all sorts of pottery, ceramics, and porcelain classes--lots of clay being thrown on the wheels of the Rhein Center.

4038

Looking for horses

Whether you enjoy medicine, images from old documents or photographs, you will lose yourself in the Wellcome Images website. When I try out a new database, I usually use the keyword or subject, "horses," and am rarely disappointed.

L0044105 Credit: Wellcome Library, London 3 children dressed up as the wise men bow down before the infant Jesus Christ, lying on a pillow under a large yellow star as part of their Christmas celebrations. A child on a sledge and a steaming samovar of tea are below that and a sleigh drawn by two black horses by a man with a long white beard is at the bottom of the card. 1890s

From: Russia

By: Thomas Holloway (Firm)

Published: Thomas Holloway,London : 1890s Size: 13 cm.

Collection: General Collections

Library reference no.: EPHEPH367A

Full Bibliographic Record Link to Wellcome Library Catalogue

“Teachers, students, academics and the public can now download and use images depicting 2,000 years of mankind and medicine for free, thanks this newly launched website from the Wellcome Trust.

Launched on 15 June 2007, 'Wellcome Images' is the world's leading source of images on the history of medicine, modern biomedical science and clinical medicine. All content has been made available under a Creative Commons Licence, which allows users to copy, distribute and display the image, provided the source is fully attributed and it is used for non-commercial purposes.
Wellcome Images is constantly updated with new clinical, and biomedical and historical images from the Wellcome Library, Europe's leading resource for the study of history of medicine which recently re-launched as part of the new and forthcoming Wellcome Collection.” From news release

After practicing a bit I found that sometimes a bit of specificity works better than general, for instance, using "rose" or "lily" instead of "flower" brought up many additional images, although not what I might have expected. Still, a wonderful site for browsing.

Dog roses illustrating a page from the Psalms.

Lily feet, what they called the deformed and mangled tiny feet of Chinese women.

All images here are from the Wellcome Collection.

4037

New legislation on adoption and foster care

You probably didn't know that certain Americans have special protective laws for adoption applying only to them--Native Americans, aka American Indians. Now there will be more.

"Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) today introduced legislation that will provide Indian Tribes with the same direct access to federal funding for foster care and adoption services that states currently receive. The Tribal Foster Care and Adoption Act of 2007 will provide federal funding that will allow Native American Tribes to establish independent foster care and adoption programs." Native American Times

It seems that separating an Indian child/adult from his tribal heritage is a more painful injury than separating any other American--black, or Irish or German--from hers or his.

Origami

is one of the crafts being taught at the Rhein Center at Lakeside this week. I think they are making strings of cranes to symbolize peace. If you want to see fabulous origami try out Painted Threads by Judy Perez. She features her son's entries at Columbia College in July. Unbelieveable!

Bev: if you're reading this, see if you can get me the premiere issue of "Artful Blogging," at B & N or another bookstore. She mentions it in her blog, and I'm not near any large bookstores. I'll repay you. Or we'll name it for you, like the toilet seat (inside joke, folks).

Thursday Thirteen borrowed

I borrowed this meme from JAM who borrowed it from someone else. I really am intending to write a TT on 13 reasons I read JAMA, but I have to find the draft.

What curse word do you use the most? I never learned to swear or curse. I've got pretty clean language, but there are many substitute words that most of us don't even think about that were added to the lexicon over the years. Gee Whiz. Darn it. What the? My mother used to say, "By Jove." If you are a potty mouth blogger, I'm probably not one of your regular readers.

Do you own an iPod? No, and I can't imagine why I would want one. If I need some noise, I turn on the radio. I worry about little ears with little ear buds constantly on.

Who on your MySpace "Top 8" do you talk to the most? I talk to real people in the coffee shop.

What time is your alarm clock set for? I wake up between 4:30 and 5 a.m., but never use an alarm. It would keep me awake all night looking at the clock because I would want to shut it off before it startled me.

What color is your room?My office at home is cream and khaki. Pretty dull, but soothing. I have a lot of paintings and it works as a background color. It used to have dark hunter green and taupe wallpaper, which made it the lightest room in the house. After we painted everything else, it started to look awfully dark.

Flip flops or sneakers?Sneakers. If I wear sneakers, it's Nike for walking, although I do own Reebok and Keds for casual wear. No flip flops since college days. Sometimes dress codes don't catch up with the times. I see Muslim women in sneakers and Amish women in flip flops--seems a bit of a disconnect.

Would you rather take the picture or be in the picture?I'm not such a great photographer, but I can smile. I still have all my permanent teeth--even my wisdom teeth. Here I am with my grandpuppy Abbie.



What was the last movie you watched?I think it was Amazing Grace in a theater. Lakeside, OH has the only theater in the county.

Do any of your friends have children?Yes. Most of my friends also have grandchildren (I don't), and some have great grands. As parents they were quite sensible and strict. As grandparents they are sappy blobs of Jello.

Has anyone ever called you lazy?Not in the last 50 years. And it was well deserved. I think when I was a child my Dad did if I whined about helping Mom with the garden or housework.

Do you ever take medication to help you fall asleep faster?No. I fall asleep in about 30 seconds. If it takes longer, I complain, or get up.

What CD is currently in your CD player? My head set CD player has an audiobook, but I have one with hymns ready to go.

Do you prefer regular or chocolate milk?Now there's a question I haven't been asked in years. I don't drink a lot of milk, but it would be 2% or skim white milk.

View More Thursday Thirteeners

4034

Jamming in Lakeside

Big power outage last night, and more storms rolling across northern Ohio. I'll have to turn off the laptop soon. Today I hope to sign up for an afternoon class at Lorenzo's Culinary School. It's on making peach jam. Isn't that a great idea for a one shot class? Registration is limited, so I might not get in.

We decided to skip the program last night (it was near 90), and walked down to the dock where we visited with a neighbor and two other teachers from the Rhein Center. The lake was such an unusual color reflected for a hazy sky--almost white. Many kids were fishing with their dads--always a fun sight. We got back to our cottage about 9 p.m. and realized the power was off. It was restored around midnight. So I suppose the program was interrupted too.

I'm enjoying the writing class--Pat is such a fun teacher. Yesterday one of the writers mentioned that she is in a book group with a newspaper journalist who told the group they are taught in journalism school to include opinion in their news reporting to make it more interesting. What a shame! I read a "news" story in today's WSJ about upcoming legislation for "universal" (i.e. compulsory and tax supported) pre-school. Although the reporter (and I use the term loosely) said there was research showing Head Start had not resulted in the hoped for outcomes (I think there is zero carry over after a year or two), everything she cited was pro-government pre-school. She particularly focused on wealthy supporters of the idea. There are so many ways to slant a story--and she (Deborah Solomon) had hit most of them. Having a mother who is married to the father, and who has finished high school, will get far better results than universal pre-school in closing the "rich-poor gap" a favorite economic term of today's journalists.

Update: The peach jam class was cancelled! Not enough people signed up. Also, the power outage was due to a fire in a transformer at Rts. 53 and 163. Most of the Marblehead peninsula lost power.

4033

North Korea lecture by Swanger

It's fortunate that Dr. Eugene Swanger, Director and Professor of East Asian Studies at Wittenburg University for 33 years and a lecturer for the Department of State, has such a calm demeanor. Otherwise, one would be tempted to run screaming into the streets after one of his lectures on China, Taiwan or Korea. Truly, I'm surprised the "Peace with Justice" people (nonviolence, social responsibility), want him around for this special week. As I noted yesterday, the truce that pulled our troops out of Korea over 50 years ago resulted in millions of deaths by starvation in the north and the most repressive regime in the history of the world. What little is known about Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, his heir, (both are considered dieties) comes from defectors who have written books. Dr. Swanger provided a bibliography:

Fujimoto, Kenji. Kim Jong Il's Cook; I saw his naked body. WaPo review
Kang Chol-hwan. Aquariums of Pyongyang; ten years in the North Korean Gulag. (horror and deprevation)
Kim Hyun-hee. Tears of my soul. (Blew up an airliner)
Lee Soon-ok. Eyes of the tailess animals. (Read a chapter)
Sin Sang-ok. Kingdom of Kim. (Kidnapped film director)

The take away of the lecture: "North Korea has never kept any agreement with any country."

4032

How to clean Meladur or Melamine

If you grew up in the 1950s, you probably ate a few meals off melamine type dishware. My mother stayed with china and glass, and I never really cared to use plastic myself, but I did inherit some. When we bought our cottage in 1988 I chose the colors pink, cream, and blue for the theme. A friend of mine was going to give away old dishware, so she gave the whole box to me--enough to feed 10 or 11 easily, although our cottage is too small for such a crowd. I think she'd built her set week by week at the old A & P (Currier and Ives made by Royal, made in the USA, blue and white). But there were a few odds and ends tucked into the box, some pink Melamine type, Meladur by Lapcor, which I didn't look at closely until yesterday.

We've used these 4 pink bowls (photo from e-bay) occasionally for ice cream because they are deep with a lip edge, easy to hold, and just about the right size for people who don't overeat. But they were quite stained from scratches and food chemicals and not particularly appealing. I decided to try my Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It has worked quite well on removing the marks of our metal picture frames from the painted walls. Wow! It's not exactly like restoring a valuable mural in a chapel, but these bowls are now the color that God and American Cyanamid had in mind. Melamine was developed during WWII for the Navy so they could have lightweight, break resistant dinnerware that wouldn't conduct the heat. After the war, 11 companies, including Melmac, used this product. Now melamine is being used again and here's a link about new products. We also have 4 brown bowls, 2 different sizes, in Texas-Ware, another popular melamine type dishware.

If you have stained or faded melamine, try the Magic Eraser.

Russel Wright and Meladur This is an interesting site with all sorts of information on this product and a designer that used it.

The rise and fall of Melamine

4031

A busy Monday at Lakeside

Yesterday at 10:30 I had a writing class with Patricia Mote at the Rhein Center. Ghastly hot, and today I'll take a cushion for the hard chair. She's a wonderful instructor, very supportive, and has had such an interesting writing career. She no longer has her publishing company, but is keeping her hand in by editing and advising other authors on their way to print. She has recently authored one of the Arcadia series books on Columbus, Indiana, and since we just visited there last summer, I think I will try to get it.

Then at 2:30 I went to the Fountain Inn to hear Dr. Eugene Swanger talk on Taiwan. He is always so interesting--gentle, kind, and carries a wonderful background of his years at Wittenburg and teaching in the foreign service. I was tempted to raise my hand and ask, "Do any of the Democrat candidates for President know this?" but I didn't. Today's topic will be Korea. Regardless of what you think about the war in Iraq, think on this: Korean War "ended" with a truce--no victory--and we're still there and millions in the north have been left to die by starvation and bad policies; we ran out on our Vietnamese allies, leaving millions to die at the victors; now our peace and justice, can't we all just get along folk want to abandon the people of Iraq. Justice for whom? Just us. We're the kiss of death. Why would any country trust our government?

At 6:30 I hustled up to the Rhein Center for an evening watercolor workshop with Neil Glazer. I would like to jump start my painting again. Haven't done anything for a year. I did two paintings, both awful by my standards, but they looked better this morning than last night. I had planned to moan and groan when I got back to the cottage, but my husband was off to the neighbors to watch "The Closer." And the cat wanted to cuddle, but didn't care to hear my troubles.

Now it is thundering, so I'm on battery power, ready to set off for the coffee shop. Yesterday I chatted with a woman near 50 who is the daughter in law of a former neighbor. I think we probably met when she was a teen-ager, before she married, because I remember meeting her husband and some of his friends when we lived on Abington. At my coffee blog I'll probably write about our meeting. It's not like we ran into each other in Europe or Asia, still it's a small world.

Monday Memories

Last Friday my elementary and high school classmates, Sylvia and Dave, were in Columbus to attend a cousin's wedding, so we got together at their hotel. We had just seen each other at our class reunion in July.



I have fond memories of their parents and remember their contributions to our little community. Sylvia's parents lived on a farm when we were very young and she attended a rural school. We attended the same church and her cousin JoElla and I both lived in Forreston when I was in elementary school and later roomed together in college. Later her parents and my parents were neighbors on Lincoln Street. Sylvia had recently had the opportunity to take a look at the home in Forreston (of JoElla's parents) where we all played when we were about 7 or 8. I hadn't thought about that house for years, but in my mind's eye was able to do a walk through and see the kitchen (which still had a hand pump in the 1940s) and where grandma was sitting when we'd come in from school, and the big porch.

I remember Sylvia's parents as both being talented writers, her dad having a column in the town newspaper, and her mom writing a number of small historical booklets concerning the area. Her mother, Ada, must have invented the modern hobby of "scrapbooking." I remember when I was maybe 11 years old being amazed at the artistic chronicle of Sylvia's life her mother had kept--in our family, photographs were thrown into a box. I finally assembled them into several albums in the early 1980s.

Dave's parents followed his school sports closely, which means they also included the rest of us with rides to the games and home parties. His mother had a wonderful sense of humor and I never met anyone who didn't like her. Our parents had known each other either from high school, college or work before we were born. They are all gone now, but not forgotten.

Ghost bikes of Lake Erie

You've probably heard of the ghost ships of Lake Erie. Those are the freighters and ore ships that disappeared mysteriously (and some not so mysterious). This week-end we saw some ghost bikes encrusted with zebra mussels and seaweed and gunk. Well, now that a scuba diver retrieved them off our dock I suppose they don't qualify as ghosts anymore, but they were still pretty creepy. I'm guessing some 12 year old in 1977 rode this one a little too fast and had to swim back home.

"The Master of all [bikes] is now in command
The course is charted to that promised land;
Not a sound breaks the silence in the pale moonlight
on those Phantom [Bikes] that pass in the night."
[from Phantom Ships that Pass in the Night by Lyle A. Myers]

4028

Just your peace loving Muslims

"The [7] Mashad hangings, broadcast live on local television [last Wednesday], are among a series of public executions ordered by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last month as part of a campaign to terrorize an increasingly restive population. Over the past six weeks, at least 118 people have been executed, including four who were stoned to death. According to Saeed Mortazavi, the chief Islamic prosecutor, at least 150 more people, including five women, are scheduled to be hanged or stoned to death in the coming weeks."

Full story in WSJ, Aug. 6.

4027

I tawt I taw a puddy tat

Interesting dynamics when our cat, who thinks knows she owns our cottage, meets our daughter's dog, who is willing to share.

Who wants to play while we pack up?

Phttt. Don't even think about it!

4026

Why I lose faith in the experts

There is so much green goo on the environmental bandwagon, it's no wonder it's a slippery slope to humanistic destruction. There are wonderful, humane, spiritual and Biblical reasons to protect and respect our earth, many of them also fiscally sound. Others are pure nonsense, designed to make a buck or three. Like this description for an education course my husband received today from AIA

"A Living Systems Approach to Design: The impact of human activity exceeds our planet's capacity to accommodate change, ultimately harming Earth's ability to sustain life. This session, presented by architects Chrisna du Plessis and William Reed, explores the new realities, and responsibilities architects face when must consider how human and natural systems can evolve together."

Now let's compare that to this

"[Look at a midnight sky] It still reverberates from the Big Bang of its creation 13.7 billion years ago. . . Gamma-ray bursts release more energy in a blink than our sun can produce in a billion years." Robert Lee Hotz WSJ, 8-3-07

One or both of these descriptions of life has to be wrong. One says earth can't withstand the measly gasoline engine in the United States and Europe, the other says it created itself with no outside help almost 14 billion years ago, killing off millions of generations of species in trial and error before man ever appeared to dig an oil well.

4025

Reuniting before the nursing home

This morning the local PBS had the fund raiser running with the 50s doo-wop groups. How long before the current reunion tours end up at the state fairs, then the PBS fund raisers, and finally Lakeside? Today's Plain Dealer listed a few on the nostalgia (i.e. money) bandwagon.

Police
Genesis
Spice Girls
Raspberries
Eagles (got an early start on this in the 90s)
Fleetwood Mac
Smashing Pumpkins
Crowded House
Squeeze

Drug problems, big egos, stealing and womanizing usually break these groups up, and love of money and dimming memories bring them back together to play for audiences who want to reconnect with a time in their lives which they recall as less complicated.

Eric Carmen, singer guitarist of the Raspberries was quoted, "There's something about being in a band. It's like being through a war with someone. . . it's a powerful thing."

4024

The Abandon-the-Iraqis Candidates

Elizabeth Sullivan's column in the Plain Dealer today listed the Democrats who wanted to withdraw, run out, abandon, retreat, provide the enemy a timetable, whatever you call it.

Hillary
Obama
Edwards
Biden
Dodd
Kucinich
McCain

She was drawing attention to McCain, but I'd like to draw attention to her use of Mrs. Clinton's first name while addressing the others by their surname. Why is that? Is it familiarity? Demeaning? Less prestige? Removes confusion because her husband is called Clinton and she doesn't want to be aligned with him?

I'm not supporting Mrs. Clinton, but I think she ought to be addressed the same as the rest of the guys.