879 Where have I been?

This is going around the internet. East to west, plot where you've visited, lived or are now.

Bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

878 What can the customer expect?

Last week I needed to stop at a store for a specialty item. After making my purchase I was returning to the parking lot when I noticed another store that carried a product I've been thinking about, but hadn't researched yet. So I stopped in.

The 20-something female clerk was very well informed, polite, and not at all pushy. Even if I'd been primed to buy, I didn't stick around long enough for her to make the sale, although I took some literature home to read. I found out enough to know I'm very interested in this particular piece of technology just from the information she provided.

So what's the problem? Her appearance. She had on a faded gray denim jacket, over a blue denim shirt hanging out over black jeans atop thick athletic shoes. Her skin was bad and she had on no make-up except smeared mascara. Her hair was clean, but carelessly pulled back into sort of a large mushroom type style. She had no visible tatoos or piercings, but she did have bad breath. At one point I asked a question she couldn't answer, so she called to her male coworker. He appeared from the back room with a ready answer, dressed in nice slacks, a long sleeve dress shirt, and leather shoes. Which employee will get the next opening in management?

Similar theme about churches here.

877 Irrational exuberance

That's how Mark Cuban recalled the heady era that made him a dot com millionaire on an NBC show I watched this morning. This week is the fifth anniversary of the beginning of one of the biggest stock market crashes in history. The dot com bubble was really over when the NASDAQ hit 5,000 five years ago. From March 11th, 2000 to October 9th, 2002 it then dropped 78%.

And George W. Bush was still campaigning. I wonder how the guy who invented the internet would have turned it around in such a short time.

876 A way to catch up

Two of my favorite cable TV programs are not commerical, and both are on C-Span: Booknotes and Washington Journal. If you need to catch up on your history, politics or current events reading, this is the place to do it--painlessly. You can get the transcript or watch the video of the program. They also sell video tapes of the programs. And coffee cup mugs.

Today I selected Martin Marty, Professor Emeritus at University of Chicago, discussing his new book on Martin Luther. I'm not a fan of his writing, but thought, "It's hard to mess up a biography of Luther, so let's see what he has to say." I turned back to find another program after he proudly said he was Lutheran because he was born Lutheran, and that if he'd been born in India he'd probably be a Hindu. That's a pretty limp testimony for a Christian. I guess he's never heard the proverb that God has no grandchildren.

875 Not on my links

As more bloggers joined in on blogging for Terri, my links were becoming overwhelming--there must have been over 200. So I’ve pulled the automatic listing and have added a link to a page that will list them all. I don’t know if this will help the speed of downloading my page or not. It will probably remove me from Mammal status, since that is based on links, but so be it. A page that loads like ice melting in Columbus in March just isn’t acceptable.

Bloggers for Terri Schiavo

I added a few more women bloggers, one of which used “live journal” and immediately had trouble again. I’m wondering if Blogger.com just doesn’t want to share the playground. But she also had sort of a potty mouth as I read through her archive, and I tend not to promote women who want to use the F-word as adverb, adjective, noun and verb. I think our beautiful English language deserves better writing. Most of the men I link to are fairly deep thinkers, so they learned long ago the limits of that word in complex explanations. Women on the internet are sometimes enjoying freedom and anonymity, and like children with the giggles, they try to see how far they can go with their blogs.

Some things the guys just do better, and profanity is in that category. Free country and internet, ladies, but not on my links.

874 Can you teach what you don't know?

Joanne Jacobs always has interesting items about our educational system, from elementary school to grad school. Recent items include, should experienced teachers be allowed to opt out of the tough schools, and a tip to an article about applicants for Master's in teaching of history degrees who not only don't have history undergrad degrees, they haven't taken any history courses at all!

Professor Stan Wineburg of Stanford writes: "But how can you teach what you don't know? Would someone who wanted to teach calculus dare to submit a transcript with no math courses? Would a prospective chemistry teacher come to us with a record devoid of science? Yet with history, the theory goes, all you need is a big heart and a thick book.

The state of California encourages this state of affairs. Although it requires teachers to earn a rigorous teaching credential before they may teach math, English, biology or chemistry in the public school system, there is no such credential for history. Instead, the state hands out a loosey-goosey "social science" credential."

I loved history, but it hasn't had much respect for years. I don't recall a boring history class (well, OK, there was that one professor at U of I who was so excrutiatingly dull a grad student stood up in class an yelled at him and stormed out). I had enough credit hours in college for a history minor (but not the right classes), and wouldn't think of trying to go into a classroom and teach it. My major was such a struggle and I was so over my head, that the history classes were pure joy (they were also in English).

In elementary school we started history as an actual discipline in fifth grade, beginning with pre-history moving on to the Greeks and Romans. Before that, any exposure to history was included in reading stories and class projects. In sixth grade we got western European and British, and I think by seventh (changed schools, so I'm not sure of the sequence) we began to focus on American history, and by eighth grade, Illinois history. I think high school history classes took a similar route--Greece, Rome, Europe, England, United States, Illinois. That probably wouldn't be politically correct today, but in our day-to-day life living as responsible American citizens and taxpayers, it wouldn't hurt to know a few of the events who brought us to 2005. My own children, who attended high school in the 1980s, hadn't memorized any of the "facts," like dates, or even centuries, or the major players. They weren't sure where to place the VietNam War in the 20th century of back-to-back major wars and many smaller wars.

Wineburg concludes, correctly, in my opinion: "Lack of knowledge encourages another bad habit among history teachers: a tendency to disparage "facts," an eagerness to unshackle students from the "dominant discourse" — and to teach them, instead, what the teacher views as "the Truth." What's scary is the certainty with which this "Truth" is often held. Rather than debating why the United States entered Vietnam or signed the North American Free Trade Agreement or brokered a Camp David accord, all roads lead to the same point: our government's desire to oppress the less powerful. It is a version of history that conjures up a North Korean reeducation camp rather than a democratic classroom."

873 Have you noticed?

This afternoon I took my book to the coffee shop--and I'm all the way to chapter 8 (slow reader). It does have some good things to say. I do wonder how everyone is going to fit on the campuses of Harvard, Yale and Stanford, however. And where will the rest of us academics work? That's not my point here. While I was in the coffee shop I looked up as some women customers came in. Have you noticed how so many people have very white teeth these days? I mean glistening, sparkling, movie-star white. Whiter than natural white. It must be all those teeth-whiteners you see advertised. I wonder how long it will be before teeth-whiteners will be the next Cox-2 or HRT or phen-phen and people will find out they do something awful in lab rats eating it 15 times a day in addition to removing tea, cigarette and coffee stains from human teeth?

Back to the book and chapter 9.

872 George Will calls public TV a preposterous relic

“In 1967 public television did at least increase, for many, the basic television choices from three -- CBS, NBC, ABC -- to four. Not that achieving some supposedly essential minimum was, or is, the government's business. In today's 500-channel environment, public television is a preposterous relic.”

Full essay here.

Are there any shows on public TV that you think couldn't make it commercially? If yes, is that a good reason to keep them on the air?

871 The Big Boys and Martha

Reading what male columnists and commentators have to say about Martha Stewart is like reading what the liberal MSM have to say about President Bush. They just don't get it. Someone who has a purpose, a direction, believe in self, who confounds the pundits and does exactly what she/he promised to do.

In his Wonderland essay today in the Wall Street Journal, Daniel Henniger writes about the "Gates" exhibit in Central Park. He just can't resist sniping at Martha:

"Cristo and Jeanne-Claude use the tool of free media publicity as skillfully as any politician, or as naughty Martha Stewart is doing right now."

A slam with a put down. Nice work. Relegating her to the status of a kindergartner sitting in the corner.

870 Reading under pressure

Book Club is meeting Monday night, and as usual, it is crunch time and I'm still in the first chapter. The selection is a little odd--we usually read solid non-fiction, biography or genre fiction. This time it is Hugh Hewitt's book, In, But Not Of; a guide to Christian ambition and the desire to influence the world (Thomas Nelson, 2003). First I checked OhioLINK, then OPLIN, and I think there were only one or two copies in the state. Public libraries don't have very good collections of Christian material (considering that their clients are overwhelmingly Christian), but I thought I'd be able to borrow it. So I purchased it, knowing it was "gift book" material and maybe I could pass it along. So far I'm stuck in the preface and not enthusiastic. Of course, "ambition" was never my watchword, even when I was working, so as a retiree the concept doesn't hold a lot of interest. Maybe he has a really fresh take on ambition and influence. Hope so.

I look really sharp today. Mascara. New lipstick shade. Dark blazer. Ambitious. Sometimes it helps to look the part.

869 You can't tell a person by a face

This site purports to be able to determine your ethnicity, intelligence and personality from a submitted photograph. I submitted about 5, and got a different evaluation each time. I never got out of the average intelligence range although it fluctuated. The photo I'm currently using here at the blog (taken at Wal-Mart) had me eastern Indian and southern European, a white collar worker, maybe a secretary. I did best with my studio master's degree photo, which said I was 100% Anglo-Saxon (correct), a charmer, and brighter than I was when I was east Indian. I hope these guys aren't working on terrorist screening.

868 Publishing in the 21st century

For those of you doing more than blogging with your words, or who are selecting titles for public and university libraries, there is an interesting three part series over at Backspace on publishing in the 21st century, how the business is changing and how technology is influencing what authors, agents and publishers do for a living. Part One is an overview of the current state of the business, Part Two is a discussion (new to me) of what's become of paperbacks, and Part Three is, On the road to virtual.

867 When age doesn't matter

While adding a site to my coffee blog today, I decided this one might be worth another look here.

"We got together for coffee recently. We both live close enough to Panera's to walk. We are both retired--I in 2000 and she in 2004. I haven't missed work a single day, but she's having a bit more of a struggle--misses "her kids." I've lived in the community for 37 years, and she grew up here. I've been a member of the church since 1976 and she is a charter member. But when she mentioned her best friend in high school, I said, "but she used to baby sit for us."

When she was 18, I was 28. We were worlds apart. I was changing diapers, shopping for groceries, making the dollars stretch for wallpaper and drapes for the new house, feeling the oldest I've ever felt in my life--wondering where had life gone. She was going to football games, planning for college, looking forward with excitement to all that was to come. And now, that 10 years doesn't make much difference at all."

Today's Laugh

I saw this link at Schadenfreude. If you are old enough to remember Johnny Carson (Tonight Show) and Jack Webb (Dragnet), you’ll love this.

Johnny Carson and Jack Webb

865 Freed Martha

My cooking may be a bit slip-shod and borrowed from my Mom's recipe box of the 1950s, but I'm a big fan of Martha Stewart's products even if I've only read one of her magazines (the first issue). Sheets, bedspreads, towels, rugs, and kitchen utensils are all well designed and made.

Now she's getting out of prison. Some men are still complaining that she hasn't admitted to a crime, even though she's done the time. Could be that in addition to beingsmart, talented, successful and providing a lot of quality for value, she's also innocent. All those guys who were wrong about her stock (jumped 40% from the low last fall) are also wrong about her. See WaPo for a less than flattering story.

From the Alderson, West Virginia prison Martha wrote her staff about foraging for wild greens on the grounds, decorating the chapel for a memorial service, and cooking impromtu recipes in the microwave with whatever the commissary had for sale. She read voraciously with the new found time she had, taught yoga, crocheted gifts, cast and painted ceramics from old molds she found, and played cards and scrabble (as reported in the latest issue of Living). This lady knows how to make lemon-ade from even dried up lemons.

You go girl! And welcome back.

Note: Last March I started my blog about premiere issues with a few paragraphs about Martha:

"The reasons people give for starting a new journal are wonderful, and that will probably end up being my focus, rather than ISSN or editor or publisher or cost. For instance, I have the "Preview Issue" of Martha Stewart Living, Winter 1990, published in the fall of 1989 for the coming holiday season. She quotes Samuel Johnson, the famous 18th century writer: For at the end of the day, no matter who we are or what we do, we want to go home. Our philosophy was nicely stated by Samuel Johnson a couple of hundred years ago: "To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition."

The issue is filled with wonderful recipes, projects, and decorating ideas. I don't think she ever changed her plan (I also don't think she is guilty, but that's another blog. The pages are drying out a bit, so I have to be careful when I open to the stencils of stars and moon to be carefully removed to spray paint a table cloth. I smile when I see the photo of the golden threads of spun sugar on cups made of brandy snaps holding black currant icecream topped with caramel syrup. Ah, Martha, nobody does it like you!

864 How did you meet your spouse?

SmockMomma of Suma Mamas writes: “we met in january of ’90 in a class entitled “ethics and moral issues” at Texas Tech. i thought he was the spawn of jimmy swaggart because he quoted lots and lots of scripture, and right from the hip, too. he thought i was a wiccan hippy – but aside from my habit of wearing lots of black and espousing very militant pro-choice, pro-gay/lesbian/transgender, rabid feminist, anti-established religion views, i can’t imagine why he thought that. i mean, he was the dingleberry who voted for a democrat, not me. he thought all i needed was a little salvation and i thought he prolly just needed to get a little. there must be something to that “opposites attract” theory cuz fifteen years later here we are, albeit a tad more complacent 'n civilized.”

Bloggers are interviewing each other, and this was one of the questions she was asked--a mother of four with two on the way. The ones I’ve read are tailored to the writer and are not the general “what is your favorite beverage” type question. I thought this one could be a general conversation starter--it works better than “how old are your kids,” even if the person is divorced or widowed. And if she is single and never married, you’ll hear an even better story.

I’m not as funny as SmockMomma, but I can tell you we met at an ROTC function and that on our first date, The St. Pat’s Ball at the University of Illinois, my husband told me he was going to marry me. When I returned to the dorm that night and went to Sally Siddens’ room to return dress, I told her, “You won’t believe the line I heard tonight. And he can dance.”

863 A hitch in my git-along

Remember that old expression? I don't think I've ever actually said that one, but I know it means something hurts and isn't working right, or it means something's been thwarted depending on the area you're from. Yesterday I added two really great writers to my list of writing links, and one or both caused a hitch in my get-along. Right away, my page started having trouble. First, their pages loaded really slowly. Then mine started to balk. I'd had this happen last summer when one of them was on my list. I'd added Sal and PJ that time, and it kicked up a fuss. The template change never would work right after I made that change. So I deleted both. I snuck PJ back in (great recipes) and had no problems. So recently, I added Sal and Inkmusings. Now both are relegated to my bookmarks. I'll still return to their sites--just won't be directing you there. You geeky types will probably tell me this is just a coincidence, but rather than have people fall asleep waiting for it to load (actually, no one waits on the internet--not even me), I'd rather let them fall asleep reading my prose.

862 Dress like a voting booth

Mark Steyn comments on all the changes going on in the Middle East, Full story here, “Arabs Berlin Wall has Crumbled;” my, but I do love how he turns a phrase.

“Why is all this happening? Answer: January 30. Don't take my word for it, listen to Walid Jumblatt, big-time Lebanese Druze leader and a man of impeccable anti-American credentials: "I was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks ago, eight million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world. The Berlin Wall has fallen."

Just so. Left to their own devices, the House of Saud - which demanded all US female air-traffic controllers be stood down for Crown Prince Abdullah's flight to the Bush ranch in Crawford - would stick to their traditional line that Wahhabi women have no place in a voting booth; instead, they have to dress like a voting booth - a big black impenetrable curtain with a little slot to drop your ballot through. Likewise, Hosni Mubarak has no desire to take part in campaign debates with Hosno Name-Recognition. Boy Assad has no desire to hand over his co-Baathists to the Great Satan's puppets in Baghdad.”

861 On fathers and dads

Tomorrow morning my husband will fly to California to see his father who had a heart attack on Saturday. He is refusing all "heroic" measures, including his regular medication, so it is possible that father and son won't meet again this side of heaven. A divorce when my husband was two years old means they didn't live together, but you don't have to be in the same room with them too long to see that they are related.

We sent our children out to see him for a week when they were about 14 and 15, and our son, who is an incredible mimic, can still do a comedy routine of Grandpa nipping into the candy bowl and frying bacon. In August 2003 we went out for his 90th birthday party, a huge bash in my brother-in-law's decorated backyard. He is a popular guy with many friends half his age. During WWII he had what must have been the dream assignment of the war--arranging entertainment for the troops. That 2003 visit was only the second time his four children had all been together with him at the same time, the other time being in Indiana sometime in the 1950s. I know it sounds sort of distant and cool, but it is amazing to me who grew up in an intact family with grandparents and great-grandparents in the same town, how close they all are and how they share mannerisms, speech patterns and body language. My father-in-law had eight brothers and sisters who took family very seriously and included his two little ones in everything. This is a blended family (I could write volumes) which sets the bar for that term.

In 1977 we flew to California with the children for an extended visit. A large athletic man, bigger than either son, my husband's father had lost about 50 pounds that year, as had my own father, and my husband's step-dad. I joked that I had lost one entire dad just from dieting.

In 1995 we were both at work when we got the call about my husband's step-father. We threw things in the suitcase and quickly drove to Indianapolis, but we were too late to say good-bye. He was already on a respirator. Both fathers were at our wedding, but this was the father who paid the mortgage, put food on the table, disciplined for misbehavior and smartmouthing, mowed the lawn, went to ballgames, attended our kids' parties, and told the funny stories on holidays. My husband delivered the eulogy at his funeral, finishing with "I love you, dad." The only time he ever called him "dad."

We've been blessed to have our fathers (mine died in 2002) such a long time.

860 Music on the Internet

A few of my favorite links are to radio on the internet. I don't pretend to understand this, or know who puts it out or how, but I get really good music, some from other countries, with no commercials.

Music weblogs are even more a mystery to me. People write about the music they enjoy and then post a link. I'm not sure if what I'm doing--listening--is legal--I guess it is. But if you drop down to the bottom of my left hand links to a music weblog icon, Impudent Marriage.com and click, then go to Feb. 14, you hear something I think is really good:

Julie writes in her music blog: “This song is a perfect blend of hip hop and blues. The lyrics are haunting and convey a sense of newfound independence. The tune is catchy and fun, but at the same time low key and reminiscent of a dirge.” The Truth from "Handsome Boy Modeling School"

Apparently, there is web karaoke, too. A kid named Gary was catapulted to fame and is now in hiding because he danced the Numa Numa and put it on the internet. I watched it, laughed, and thought, "This kid has a lot of talent." I can't lipsync in Romanian, can you?