13 August 2005

Gave me a chuckle..

I don't have too many laugh-out-loud moments, but I saw this today and cracked up. It was a black t-shirt with a devil on it, and it said, "God's busy. May I help you?"

04 August 2005

August 4, 1991

Today is the 14th anniversary of the day that I set out as an exchange student to Kungsör, Sweden. I was 16; and that year changed my life forever. I wanted to mark the occasion by saying TUSEN TACK to Rotary , who sponsored me, and to my parents and my host family. Wanna see where I was? Check out these two links, which are my hometown in Sweden and the town where I went to school.

26 July 2005

My WTF moment of the week

Went to an asian restaurant for dinner and the fortune cookie fortune...this IS a direct quote...You can't aim a duck to death.

20 July 2005

Horrors?

Please click here to see what NARAL has to say about W appointing whats-his-name (you will need Acrobat to read it)…if you listen to the news channels, though, this isn’t the worst possible nomination. I don’t know about THAT, but for the moment, until I’m better informed, I’m not going to rant on about this guy. What I’ve read thus far isn’t encouraging, however, and I’m real worried, folks. Please click to tell your senator not to vote for this fella, courtesy of NARAL or NOW. Helen Keller once said, "Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all- the apathy of human beings." (Thanks to the Quote Lady for that!) So please join me in DOING SOMETHING!

19 July 2005

Pottermainia and other nonsense

Carl Rove is in trouble; there’s still the worry of who W is going to appoint to the Supreme Court; and I heard a pretty upsetting report on NPR this morning about yet another solider who died needlessly in Iraq. They had his three-year-old son on the air, for God’s sake. He said, “Daddy’s dead.” Merciful heavens, if that isn’t the way to start a Tuesday! Please, NPR, stop making me cry on the way to work. But, of course, for those of us who like escapism and haven’t progressed past the mental age of 12, there’s GOOD news; the new Harry Potter book is out.

I read the entirety of the book yesterday. I was on vacation in Toronto, Canada on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, or I would have read it the minute that it was released. How silly is this, I had to stop myself from buying the Canadian/British edition of the book in every bookstore that I walked past, even knowing that I had a copy waiting on my front doorstep at home. When we got back last night and the UPS package wasn’t sitting on my front porch, I was of course bitterly disappointed. I’d ordered it, you see, in February. So I logged on to the computer, checked the shipping status and saw that it was “in transit”. Argh! Then I went and checked my mailbox, and joy, delight, happiness, there it was. Did I stay up until waay after midnight to finish it? U bet. Am I going to spoil the ending for you? No way. READ THE BOOK!

I was reading in the Canadian newspaper that the hotel left outside our door yesterday morning that British reviewers were saying it was poorly edited, and I regretfully must agree. There are a couple of silly editorial errors that I firmly believe they had more than enough time to fix, as the book was finished more than a year ago. And at 652 pages, it isn’t as long as The Goblet of Fire (which comes in at a hefty 734 pages), or The Order of the Phoenix, which at 896 pages was the heaviest of all 6 books. I still think the Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite, with the best story of them all. Much like I don’t like my youngest sister getting older (because it reminds me that I’M getting older) I don’t think I like Harry being 16. My own mid to late teens were fraught with so much angst that it is difficult to remember those times without remembering the anger that I felt. I was so mad at the whole world, for no real reason. Harry’s got a lot more reasons to be pissed than I ever did…and when his rage manifests itself it makes me angry too.

I have to stop here before I spoil the plot for anyone; I’m refusing to say more until the book’s been out a while. I read that the final book is finished; JK Rowling said so in an interview. What the hell are they waiting for, when will the next one be out?

11 July 2005

Rumors

No, sorry, I’m not going to hold forth on the 1977 Fleetwood Mac album of the same name. Not that I don’t like Fleetwood Mac, but I’m about to have another panic attack!!

I’m worried today about the rumors that Chief Justice William Rehnquist is going to resign from the Supreme Court, creating a rare, but not un-heard of, two vacancies on the Supreme Court. If Rehnquist does step down, this creates the ideal situation for right wing extremists to push their anti-choice agenda. YOUR RIGHT TO CHOOSE IS IN EXTREME PERIL!!!! It is in danger now, but if Rehnquist does indeed step down, we may very well lose the right that has been ours for the majority of my lifetime. I’ve never known anything else. While I freely admit to being resistant to change as most human beings are; we dislike change for change’s sake; this would not be a change for the better.

Now is the time for activism. Don’t wait for someone else to do something. I’m doing something, and you can too. Visit NOW, where there’s a link to send e-mail or real paper letters to your senators…no looking up the address or anything, they take care of all of it. Just a few clicks of your mouse, and our elected officials will know that we’re not going to stand idly by while they erode our rights. Or visit NARAL, where you can send another e-mail to your senators, but you can also find out where your local chapter of Pro-Choice America is, and get involved with their events. I love the quote at NARAL's portal…next to a big picture of our beloved W are the words, “Don’t let his choice end yours.” LOVE IT! Another location is Planned Parenthood. This is the link to PPFA, but I promise that even if you live in the sticks that there’s a chapter of Planned Parenthood near you. That means that you can get involved no matter where you live. There’s a Planned Parenthood here, here, and here after all. While you’re at PPFA, check out save roe.

Don’t let another day go by without making your voice heard!!!

08 July 2005

London

Have you ever been to London? I have. I was only 14, and it was longer ago than I like to admit. I was dazzeled by the big city, the wonderful accents...years later, when I was in business school, I took as many international bussiness classes as my university offered. One of them had instructions on how to take the first steps in doing business with the Brits and Asians, but only those two groups, strangely enough. Anyway, it said that when doing business with the Brits that you had to get everything in writing, because Americans tend to be so beguiled by those awesome accents that we agree to things we don't mean to, just to keep 'em talking.

London was too cool. We were only there for 3 days and couldn't do everything or even a fraction of what we wanted to do. I've been to St. Paul's, and have memories but no pictures of the revolving Scotland Yard sign I keep seeing on TV. The London Underground system is maybe my favorite subway system in the world. Just as I had a real hard time dealing with the September 11th attacks, I'm still in shock and disbelief mode on this one.

I do not understand why anyone wants to kill innocent people on their way to work. I just don't get it. Would someone from Al-Queda please tell me what killing mothers, sons, daughters, and husbands accomplishes? Let me give you quick lesson in cultural sensitivity. Well, really, it doesn't matter if you want one or not, I'm giving it to you. People, all over the world, no matter what their religion, nationality, ethnicity, or skin color, want several things. Food. Shelter. Comfort. To be loved. A life for their children that is better than their own. That's just basic psychology, folks. Start there any time you think you have nothing in common with someone who is different from you. I don't understand anyone who believes in a vengeful god and thinks that any supreme being encourages killing non-believers. Gimme a break. To drop a note of sympathy to the people of London or to express your support for them, click here or here or to donate to the Red Cross in the UK specifically for the London victims, click here.

07 July 2005

But HAVE we come a long way?

Much thanks to Greta for having a Bachlorette party yesterday and to I think Sara for bringing this to give us all a chuckle. The following is from a May 13, 1955 article of Housekeeping Monthly. Title? "The Good Wife's Guide" There are 18 bullet points and to avoid giving everyone heart attacks, I'm not printing them all here, just the most egregious.

1. Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

Egad!! Prepare yourself, indeed, to be a doormat.

2. Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.

Your DUTIES?!? I think nuff said.

3. Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part. Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.

YIKES! This is getting worse as it goes on. Prepare the children. Like you prepare a meal? The little perfect robots should "play the part". H'mmm, no sarcasim there on MY part.

4. Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arraival is not the time. Let him talk first-remember, his topis of conversation are more important than yours.

They are? "Hello, darling, welcome home. After a full day of washing your nasty socks and underwear, not to mention all the extra laundry created by changing the children's clothes so that they're looking fresh for you, and caring for the little monsters that you helped create, I'm feeling rather suicidal and I thought you ought to know."

and the worst of the bunch?
5. Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgement or integrity. Remember, he is master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

That's so horrible that I don't have a smartass remark to counter.

It does make me wonder, however, about how far we really have come since 1955. In "The Time Bind; when work becomes home and home becomes work", Arlie Russel Hochschild writes about how we're all putting more time in at work to support our families, but working more hours puts more strain and stress on the family. I highly recommend anything she's written, this
  • LINK
  • will take you to her page on Amazon. Check out too The Second Shift.

    PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go to NOW's website at NOW and give your senators a piece of your mind.

    06 July 2005

    Sandra Day O'Connor Resignation

    Do you know how close we are to losing a woman's right to choose? The last time Roe v. Wade came up for Supreme Court review, the vote was 5 to 4. One vote, ladies, is all that stands between us and a return to back alley abortions. Do you know WHO that one vote was? Sandra Day O'Conner. And we stand now at a point in our history where things could go backward in time, instead of a triumphant march into the future. Our president, George W Bush, is gleefully anti choice, and has said repeatedly that he'd like to see justices on the federal bench who share his views. Please, please, please speak out. Now is not the time to wait for everyone else to DO SOMETHING! Be the badass girl I know you are and write to your senators, telling him or her not to vote for anti-choice, anti-women nominees. Go to NOW and use their link to send an e-mail to your senators. Or check out Planned Parenthood at PPFA.org. Do it today. DO IT NOW! Stand up for your rights, and the rights of your daughters, granddaughters, neices, friends, and all other wonderful women that you know.