Some people get the image of Jesus, I get Ed Asner...

I have a classic love/hate relationship with city snowplow drivers. I truly love how they make my life a whole lot better but frankly, I have been known to moan about their timing.

Anyone who lives in a high snow area knows exactly what I'm talking about. A lot of snow falls, you go out and shovel it because you want to do it before it gets any heavier and then the snow plow comes and plows all the snow from the street back into your driveway. When timed correctly, a person can go out and clear the driveway before it freezes.

Over the past couple of days, we had what was forecasted to be one of the storms of the century but it went from a snowstorm to a slush fest and back to snow again creating what is known here as "heart attack snow" which is best shoveled in increments during the entire storm so you don't kill yourself at the end by trying to clear it all at once.

Sage advice that to my recent memory a person would be well served by taking and that's what I did.

This morning, after doing what I hoped was my final shoveling for a few days, I came in and had just pulled off my boots when I heard the snowplow come up the alley. Now the alley had been plowed yesterday so I was a little surprised but after a deep sigh and a cup of cocoa, I pulled my boots back on, gathered my shovel and chopper and went back out to finish one more time.

Imagine my surprise to find that the snowplow driver had deposited Ed Asner in my driveway!!

Just for comparison purposes:

Thanks snowplow guy! You made my day!!

Tim Tam Slam

I remember watching this one night a few years ago and wondering where I could get some Tim Tams.

Tonight I can tell you two things.

1) Tim Tams have arrived in Minneapolis (at Rainbow)

2) Oh. My. God. Graham Norton's reaction is spot on!!!

Food Euphoria!!

Looking For Christmas

For the first time ever, I woke up this morning, the Saturday before Christmas, without a single present purchased.

This is usually is one of my favorite times of year to the point where I actually choose to listen to the 24 hour Christmas music radio station for hours at a time while I plan to bake cookies, go look at lighting displays, and call up old friends just to say "Merry Christmas". I normally get a kick out of even the small things like having to look for my single roll of scotch tape that I might have used once since the same time the year before.

But this year it's different. I suffered a hard loss earlier this year and I've discovered that as Christmas nears I've somehow managed to keep busy enough and strong enough for the other people who need me to get through the last months without truly grieving. As each day passes in December, I find that I don't want to leave my dark, dank dungeon until Christmas Eve and then I only want to pop my head out to watch the yule log burning on the television and really cry it all out. (Of course in my delusional state, on December 26, I believe I'll wake up and feel more like my normal self.)

So today, when I realized that none of the shopping had been done, I looked at my husband (who has been positively a saint as my moping as been getting worse) and asked if he would please come out and do some Christmas shopping with me, even though he hates it because if I didn't have some support, I'd probably get nothing accomplished given my frame of mind.

I made a list of everyone we needed a gift for (about 20 adults and 2 children)

Turns out it was the shortest Christmas shopping trip ever and I mean ever!

The first store we went to, the parking lot was pretty full so I decided to park about a block away and we walked back. When we went in the first thing we saw was a giant Toys For Tots donation box that had one lonely toy in it. I asked one of the people working how often they had to empty the box and she told me "not often, it's a tough year for everyone".

Thinking about all the children whose families by circumstance have to rely on strangers to receive even a single present, I turned my husband and told him what I was thinking, he nodded as he smiled warmly at me and said, "and I think it's a great idea, every kid needs something to hold on too and as a bonus, it will get me out of this madhouse really, really fast!"

We spent all our time in the store looking for deals on stuffed animals (because we figured there was less of a chance they would be damaged or broken that boxed toys). We spent our present money on a large pile of good sized Mickey, Minnie, Pooh, Tigger and teddy bears that we then donated to Toys For Tots.

Sometimes you have to grab the Christmas spirit and hold on tight when it finds you.

Merry Christmas everyone.

The Lemming Preservation Society

I have reached an age where, with the exception of new technology, many, many, many things pull up images from my past. Some of these gentle nudges, make me waste time on things I never meant to ever think about again, but other's come from so far out of left field, that I explode in laughter in celebration of their stupidity.

Lucky for you, dear readers, this post is about one of the latter.

First of all, for any younger readers, can you imagine a time when the phone rang, the person answering it had no idea who was calling? You had to answer the phone because it was the primary means people communicated with each other besides letters and postcards when they were not face to face.

The telephone while useful, could also be a thing of terror. Ask your grandmother about "heavy breathers" if you don't believe me because that's not what I'm here to talk about.

Today I saw the following tweet on Twitter:

I prefer to call them lemmings.

I burst out laughing because it called up (get it? Called up?) a long forgotten memory about how the telephone was also a great toy for kids and teenagers to use to annoy anyone with reckless abandon.

Kids used to call stores and ask the clerk who answered "Do you have Prince Albert in a can? Yes? Well you better let him out!". How many harried housewives got the call asking if there refrigerator was running only to then be told ,"Well, you'd better catch it!". There was some serious kid joy in hearing the line go dead as the receiver was slammed back down into the cradle.

What's this got to do with lemmings, kimbers, hmmmm?

Well, one night, there was a slumber party for 15 girls at a friend's house. About 7:30, her mother, who had a serious drinking problem (very normal behavior in those days) got fed up with the noise and in her drunken rant called us a bunch of lemmings.

Problem was, none of us knew what a lemming was and we weren't sure she hadn't just made the word up, so Mrs P (sorry, I'll never identify her) got her wish for quiet as the gaggle of girls went into the library to look up lemmings in dictionary. Then we had to get out the Encyclopedia Britannica, to see just how adorable these little things were.

We herded ourselves (like a pack of lemmings) back into the kitchen to tell Mrs. P we thought lemmings were very cute and she slurred back at us "they might be cute but they are stupid... one does something stupid, they all do it! Do you know that if one jumps off a cliff they all do? Stupid I tell ya! Stupid! now you girls keep quiet, I'm going to bed!" and with that she was off.

Now maybe it's adult in me, but no matter how confident I might be in my children to do the right thing, leaving 15 6th graders alone and unsupervised at 8:15 with a whole night looming before them does not seem like the best plan.

Especially when there is a phone in the kitchen, far, far away from the slumbering Mom. After sending a scout to make sure Mrs. P really was asleep we started calling people randomly out of the phonebook and saying:

Hello?

Long distance calling.

Norway.

We're calling from the Lemming Preservation Society and we were wondering if you would like to donate a dollar to buy a brick to build a wall to protect the lemmings from themselves?

and then we cracked up into peals of girlish laughter unable to go any farther. After about an hour of this one guy thanked us for being the best "unwanted call" he had ever received....

What a killjoy! Nothing like adult approval to kill the fun!

Touching Video of 86 Year Old WWII Vet and Life-long Republican on Gay Marriage

Transcript: Good morning, Committee. My name is Phillip Spooner and I live at 5 Graham Street in Biddeford. I am 86 years old and a lifetime Republican and an active VFW chaplain. I still serve three hospitals and two nursing homes and I also serve Meals on Wheels for 28 years. My wife of 54 years, Jenny, died in 1997. Together we had four children, including the one gay son. All four of our boys were in the service. I was born on a potato farm north of Caribou and Perham, where I was raised to believe that all men are created equal and I’ve never forgotten that. I served in the U.S. Army, 1942-1945, in the First Army, as a medic and an ambulance driver. I worked with every outfit over there, including Patton’s Third Army. I saw action in all five major battles in Europe, and including the Battle of the Bulge. My unit was awarded Presidential Citations for transporting more patients with fewer accidents than any other ambulance unit I was in the liberation of Paris. After the war I carried POW’s back from Poland, Hungary, and Yugoslavia, and also hauled hundreds of injured Germans back to Germany.

I am here today because of a conversation I had last June when I was voting. A woman at my polling place asked me, “Do you believe in equal, equality for gay and lesbian people?” I was pretty surprised to be asked a question like that. It made no sense to me. Finally I asked her, “What do you think our boys fought for at Omaha Beach?” I haven’t seen much, so much blood and guts, so much suffering, much sacrifice. For what? For freedom and equality. These are the values that give America a great nation, one worth dying for.

I give talks to eighth grade teachers about World War II, and I don’t tell them about the horror. Maybe [inaudible] ovens of Buchenwald and Dachau. I’ve seen with my own eyes the consequences of caste systems and it make some people less than others, or second class. Never again. We must have equal rights for everyone. It’s what this country was started for. It takes all kinds of people to make a world war. It does make no sense that some people who love each other can marry and others can’t just because of who they are. This is what we fought for in World War II. That idea that we can be different and still be equal.

My wife and I did not raise four sons with the idea that three of them would have a certain set of rights, but our gay child would be left out. We raised them all to be hard-working, proud, and loyal Americans and they all did good. I think it’s too bad those who want to get married, they should be able to. Everybody’s supposed to be equal in equality in this country. Let gay people have the right to marry. Thank you

Tired of Green Bean Casserole?

Want to try something different? How about:

Green Onion Casserole

8 bunches of green onions cut lengthwise in 1" pieces
2 cloves of garlic minced
3 tbsp butter
1/2 c heavy cream
1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
2 c breadcrumbs

Cook onion pieces and garlic in butter until soft.

Stir in cream and 1/4 c Parmesan and transfer to baking dish.

In skillet, heat oil and saute breadcrumbs until golden (about 3 minutes). Transfer breadcrumbs to bowl and cool. When cool, add remaining Parmesan and season to your taste with salt and pepper.

Top onions in baking dish with crumb mixture.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees until hot, about 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy this delicious change of pace!!

A Thanksgiving Dinner Dressing Recipe For the Space Impaired

This simple recipe came about many years ago cooking a Thanksgiving dinner in a small kitchen with the world's tiniest partially working oven (there was one burner and the oven would get no hotter than 325 degrees) for a man who was missing the 'food is an adventure' gene and didn't want any frill's in his dressing.

It's very basic, but really tasty and comes out perfect everytime.

Crock Pot Stuffing

2 bags of Pepperidge Farm stuffing
4 eggs
1 medium onion chopped
3/4 c celery
2 tsp sage
3/4 tsp pepper
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cans chicken broth
2 tbsp butter

Lightly grease crock pot. This is important!! I forgot to do it once and cleanup took forever!!

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except the butter and pour into the crock pot.

Dot the top with butter.

Cover and cook for 2 hours on high or 3-4 hours on low.

Enjoy!

**** special note****learned lesson****

No matter how dry it looks, do not add extra liquid! The crock pot contains all the moisture this dressing needs.

I'm Rich! Why didn't my family ever tell me?

Gosh, it must be real since he is warning me about the Nigerians in Nigeria.

Please people.

Don't fall for this.



BARCLAYS BANK PLC.
CLAPHAM JUNCTION BRANCH,
7 ST JOHNS HILL,
SW 11 1 TN, LONDON
E-mail:revfr.philismatthew2@gmail.com


Attention: Sir/Ma

REF:- INSTRUCTION TO CREDIT YOUR BANK ACCOUNT $USD28,500,000.00.

This is to notify you about the statue of your fund right now in my desk.

After due vetting and evaluation of your Inheritance file which The Ministry of Finance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Forwarded and contacted us to see to your immediate payment.

From our findings you have been going through hard ways by paying alot of charges to see to the release of your fund ($28, 500, 000, 00) which has been delayed. We advice that you stop further communication with any correspondence from Nigeria.

You don't have to pay any charges to receive your Inheritance fund anymore as you have met up with the whole requirements, your representatives in Nigeria will tell you to still go ahead with them but on your own risk. The only thing required from you is to obtain Non-Resident Clearance Form/Reciept which we are not asking you to pay the fee to us here in United Kingdom as the Government of Nigeria have paid us for handling/processing of your payment with other customers.

We will help you to see that you obatin the form so that our bank will effect immediate transfer of your Inheritance sum ($28, 500, 000, 00) in to your designated bank account. Will you follow up our directives your fund will reflect in your account within five working Bank days from the day you obtain this form.

Do not go through anybody again but through this Bank if you really want your fund. Respond to my private E-mail: revfr.philismatthew2@gmail.com



Yours faithfully,

Rev Fr. Philips Matthew
Head Private Banking Section.
For: Barclays Bank Plc

This is so juvenile of me but......

because of People magazine's fine decision making processes, I thought it was timely to give an early holiday present.... enjoy!

For Sophie

Love to read?

Last night I was listening to a man in his 50's talk about his childhood. I was enthralled because this man had such clear memories, he could remember every minute detail. It was fun to watch his eyes as he was speaking as he searched his inner memory banks to recall even what his younger brother was wearing when his family gathered around the clunky black and white television to watch The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis in the 50's.

I admit it, I envy people that can do that. For whatever reason, I have very few memories of my childhood. But one constant in my life has been my love of reading a book.

My Mom once told me that she taught me to read when I was toilet training, to give me (and no doubt herself) something to do in there while I figured out basic body functions.

I became a voracious reader. The ability to read made me a snoopy kid. Reading also made me an escape artist or a procrastinator depending what chore I was trying to get out of. I would read anything. Newspapers, magazines, open mail lying around (including bills), any book, anywhere.

I would babysit for neighbors and read all their books. The couple next door probably would have been mortified to know that the 12 year old babysitter was devouring Peyton Place and Valley of the Dolls after their children were sound asleep.

My love of books continues to this day. At any given time, I have 3 or 4 different books that I am in the middle of. There's something about using a cookbook compared to a computer printout when trying a new recipe.

Someone suggested that I get a Kindle but I won't. I love the feel of holding a book in my hands be it a paperback or a heavy hard backed tome. I like the crispness of a new book as well as the old dog-eared copy that has survived the years.

Sadly, there are two downsides to my love affair with books. Buying new books is slowly becoming cost prohibitive and having so many books has made me an allergy ridden hoarder.

Which leads me to one of the internet's worst kept secrets.

PaperbackSwap.com.

This website has allowed me to not only get books (both paperback and hardcover) for the price of sending books to other members for the cost of media mail, but to clear some shelves.

These are not just old books either. This past spring I was listening to an interview with Ted Turner who was promoting his new book. The interview was interesting and I wanted to read the book. I went to the bookstore and the cover price was $30.00. I admit it. I balked. I then logged into paperbackswap.com and added it to my "Wish List". By June, a pristine copy of the book arrived in my mailbox.

paperbackswap is very easy to use, you can set your account any way you'd like too (allergic to cats, dogs or smoke? Use your settings to filter books out from animal loving smokers! ).

It's my belief that there isn't a book that doesn't get listed there eventually. I don't know where else I could have received a book from 1965 about Lefton Pottery nor made someone else's wish come true when I listed an obscure book about the Minnesota Legislature.

If you are interested in checking it out, please clink the icon below. If you love books and reading as much as I do, you won't regret it. Oh and parents? They have kid's books too! My Mother would have loved this site!

The season's almost over

I'm listening to the waning song of summer as I type this.

That's right. I've got the World Series going in the background and it seems plausible at this moment that the Yankees might win it tonight bring another season to a close.

As I'm listening, my mind is doing some weird type of time traveling through every baseball season and how much things have changed over the years.

It used to be a whole lot cheaper.

I had a moment of revisionist history in thinking that it didn't seem like the alcohol flowed so freely but then I remembered the time at Met Stadium many years ago when someone lit a fire under the seat of a man who had some serious gas in order to force him to go and sit somewhere else. Looking back, I'm pretty confident that was not the act of a sober man.

I remember when baseball fans, especially the young ones were considered almost as much of an asset to a team as the players. I can't imagine a kid going to a game these days and coming home with souvenirs like this from Jim Kaat, Zoilo Versalles, Jim Perry, Rich Rollins, Mudcat Grant, Tony Oliva, Don Mincher, Earl Battey and others for the price of admission:





Next year when the Twins move to the new outdoor stadium in an attempt to recapture the good old days, this will be allowed???

This girl can dream.

Goodbye 2009. It's been a fun season. I can't wait until next year!

Oh. And Yankees? You're still 3 outs away from winning but if you do succeed, congratulations on your victory.

Minnesota nice.

What WOULD you do if she WAS your daughter Senator Vitter??

I have an ear worm I feel like sharing....

Time just keeps marching along...

On this day in 1901, the first American ball-point pen went on sale in NYC.

The kid down the street just asked me, "What's a ballpoint?"'

I am officially old and he might just be a future pen collector.

Gosh those blueberries look so real too....

No they don't. I'm kidding.

C'mon Jimmy Dean, you're better than this. Do you really want America eating their meals off a stick in their own kitchen??

We Should All Have A Boss Like This

Yesterday, AFSCME in Minnesota endorsed Mark Dayton in the race for governor here in Minnesota.

Now putting aside my feelings for how early it is to be endorsing anyone, especially considering a few weeks ago the biggest Teamsters local here endorsed someone who hasn't even declared his candidacy yet, I have to make a comment about Mark Dayton.

Mark Dayton is someone I don't agree with all the time. Sometimes, he just seems a wee bit to out there for my taste. I've been lucky enough to meet him on several occasions, and he genuinely believes what he believes. I like that in politicians. You know,a person who actually states their beliefs and values and then stands by them, consistently? Not enough politicians like that in my opinion, but I digress.

In reading some of the various commentaries in the comment section of the articles about his AFSCME endorsement, I noticed that several folks made comment of how cowardly Mark Dayton had been when he closed his Senate office after 911.

At the time it happened, I think I developed the mentality of the crowd and agreed with this knee jerk assessment.

But then in April of this year, I read an interview with Mark Dayton, where he stated:

"I acted to protect my staff," said Dayton. "The intelligence I saw made 9/11 pale in comparison. The likelihood of an attack against Washington was heightened. I didn't communicate my decision as well as I should have, but we senators were leaving for the recess anyway and it would have been immoral and unethical to leave the staff members there unaware of the threat."

and

"Everyone else played Russian Roulette with the lives of their staff members," said Dayton. "I'm willing to stand alone in a decision and accept criticism later."

*the rest of the interview is here: http://www.minnesotabrown.com/2009/04/mark-dayton-minnesotabrown-interview.html

I owe this man a public apology and now that I have started this blog, here it is:

Mr. Dayton, I am truly sorry. You did not deserve the anonymous venomous wrath that I and others brought your way in our 'we don't care what the facts might be' frenzy.

I wish that I could convince myself that my reaction was due to the terror of those days but while that might be a reasonable excuse, it is still nothing more than an excuse.

Thank you for what you did. We should all have bosses who care about people as much as you do.

James Arthur Ray

There are none so blind as those who will not see.

From today's news:

http://www.startribune.com/local/65182047.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUnciaec8O7EyUsl

Texas resident Beverley Bunn is the first participant in the tragic incident to speak out publicly about the events that led up to the deaths. The 43-year-old told the AP in a series of interviews this week that by the time the sweat lodge ceremony began, the participants had undergone days of physically and mentally strenuous events that included fasting. In one game, guru James Arthur Ray even played God.

Within an hour of entering the sweat lodge on the evening of Oct. 8, people began vomiting, gasping for air and collapsing. Yet Bunn says Ray continually urged everyone to stay inside. The ceremony was broken up into 15-minute "rounds," with the entrance flap to the lodge opened briefly and more heated rocks brought inside between sessions.

"I can't get her to move. I can't get her to wake up," Bunn recalls hearing from two sides of the 415-square-foot sweat lodge. Ray's response: "Leave her alone, she'll be dealt with in the next round."

By that time, Bunn had already crawled to a spot near the opening of the sweat lodge, praying for the door to stay open as long as possible between rounds so that she could breathe in fresh air.

At one point, someone lifted up the back of the tent, shining light in the otherwise pitch-black enclosure. Ray demanded to know who was letting the light in and committing a "sacrilegious act," Bunn said.


From Mr.Ray's blog, also today:

http://blog.jamesray.com/

People are throwing out accusations and disparaging me and our mission. Yet despite that, and despite considerable criticism, I have chosen to continue with my work. It's too important not to. One of the lessons I teach is that you have to confront and embrace adversity and learn and grow from it. I promise you I am doing a lot of learning and growing. I have taken heat for that decision, but if I chose to lock myself in my home, I am sure I would be criticized for hiding and not practicing what I preach.

It means a great deal to me that so many of you have come to see me speak this week and last--that you are investing your time and energy into creating more fulfilling, successful and productive lives. It reaffirms my decision to continue my schedule and these event experiences.

I will not comment on the disconnect here other than to say, along with my continued prayers for the victims of this tragedy and their loved ones, I'll say a prayer for you too Mr. Ray.

What? You breathe through your nose? Since when?

Since today.

I have suffered from year round allergies my entire life.

I've never met a flower, pet, weed, perfume or dustmite that didn't make me sneeze or clog my sinuses. I have tried every medication known to man. Long ago,I finally quit taking them. It seemed as though for every allergin they drove off, another spore was just lurking waiting to enter and fill the newly vacated space in my head. I also had some (possibly) irrational fears about what all those chemicals were doing to the rest of my system.

That's right, I made a concious decision to go through life sounding like I had a head stuffed like a pillow.

Over the last couple of days, in an effort to take advantage of a couple of beautiful days and get some of the last summer/ winter prep chores done, my head finally screamed "ENOUGH! DO SOMETHING"!!!

Too cheap to pay a co-pay to be told I had allergies, I hopped into my 11 year old carbon footprint and drove up to Walgreens and met the person who might have changed my life.

She sold me a Neti Pot. This Neti Pot Kit in fact.



Now seriously, if anyone had told me when I got up this morning that by noon I would be pouring anything up my nose, I would have told them they were nuts.

So nuts in fact, that when I got home, I set the box on the kitchen table and stared at it for about 30 minutes.

Then I read the instructions and thought about it some more. I took the little pot out of the box along with a packet of the mixture that needed to be added to warm but not hot water.

When I tore open the little packet, I was standing next to the sink. The furry thing with super sonic hearing that lives here was sleeping on another floor of the house. She woke up, and bounded down, clearly anticipating a new food taste test experience. She must have sensed my reluctance to pour anything in my nose because she parked herself literally on my feet, looked up at me and gave a little yip as if to say,"Don't worry. Pretend you're at K-Mart, if you need a clean-up in aisle 4, I'm here for you". Dang dog.

In the instructions, it tells you when you do this, to keep your mouth open and to try not to swallow the solution even though it won't hurt you. Suffice it to say, when the big moment came, the solution went in my nose and some went down my throat. Pretty gag worthy but to put it in perspective, it was nothing compared to that junk you have to drink before a colonoscopy.... More importantly, was how much stuff was coming out my other nostril. I switched sides and again stood there, bent over the sink lost in a really weird fascination of what was going on.(The dog was fascinated too, but after the first round she chose move and watch with a wary eye from under the table as water poured out my nose)

I finished up as per the instructions and here it is, hours later and I can still breathe. One side is completely clear and the other about 65%.

Granted I need a longer trial period than just once, but the kit comes with 50 little packets so I'm going to try it at least for the next 50 days.

But I thought I'd share my experience and recommendation to anyone with a cold or allergies to try this.

Good luck and good breathing.

Why I love the internet

I was listening to a radio show Saturday afternoon that was talking about (this is my interpretation) friends and friendship are being redefined by social networking sites.

There were some interesting comparisons between friends you have known forever and still see, friends you may not see anymore due to a change in either your or their social status (marriage for example) and friends you meet, or old friends who find you on the internet via Facebook and other sites.

Having lived over half a century, I consider myself blessed.

I am lucky enough to have friends in my life who have seen me at my worst over the years and stood by me until I became my best.... well ok, since I'm still a work in progress instead of best, I'll say better.

I am also very lucky because I live in an age where the tapestry of my life has been made so much richer by the people all over the world whose path would have never crossed mine if not for the internet.

Let me give you an example. One of these people is a man who works in many different facets of media. He's a writer and an on air personality on a local TV station among other things. Not exactly someone who would ever be in my orbit, nor I his. Trust me on this.

I 'met' him about a year ago, playing a word game on a discussion board for a radio station. We then found ourselves getting into some discussions about other issues. I like to think we both enjoy our discourse.

Over the course of the year other things I learned about this man is that he is a devoted, considerate husband, an incredible father (which gives me great hope for the next generation), ex-military, an incredible organizer, loyal to a fault (Hecker), a determined researcher when he wants to make a point, a baker, kind to strangers and generous with those who have less than he does. The list could go on.

I consider this man a friend even though we have never met and unless we run into each other at Target or somewhere and I actually recognize him not in HD, we probably never will.

I heard it was his birthday this week. So to my friend, Happy Birthday. I hope you have a fabulous, fabulous day.

I'm glad the magic of the internet has allowed us to get to know each other.

Who is going to break the news to Governor Pawlenty?

What is wrong with these people???!!!!

Shameful.

Tinkerbell

I get it.

Things change.

Everyone wants to improve and put their own stamp on traditional things, be it in business or on cartoon charactors.

But c'mon.

Seriously Disney? Seriously?

This most recent version of a much beloved Tinkerbell looks like a .... um no, I don't want to say that.... let's just say she doesn't look like she's going to be sprinkling fairy dust and waving her magic wand to make any little girls dreams come true any time soon.

This Land Is Your Land

Today I saw an article about a new Roseanne Cash album entitled The List.

You can read it here:

http://www.spinner.com/2009/10/08/rosanne-cash-keeps-the-rest-of-the-list-private?icid=mainhp-desktopdl2link4http%3A%2F%2F

The tracks on this album are songs that were on a list compiled by her Dad, Johnny Cash, of what he considered to be 100 essential country songs. She received this list when she turned 18 in 1973 and until this album was released she has never made any of the list public.

In the piece I was reading, she spoke about how hard it was to decide which songs to include on her album but clearly didn't have the same problem when deciding what songs she didn't value.

She said,"They were too gender specific or they were too much of a period piece, and I couldn't do another version of 'This Land Is Your Land.' You know what I mean?"

It's probably a really good thing I don't make my living as an interviewer.

Celebrities wouldn't like me very much.

Especially if they asked me a rhetorical question like:
"You know what I mean? "

If Roseanne Cash had asked me that question, I would have had to respond:

"No Roseanne, I don't know what you mean.

I look around and see my country, that I love, so ripped apart and polarized.

I think it would be a great idea for a singer/star of your caliber to record an album of songs that might make people stop and at least for a moment remember that we are all in this together.

You could invite artists of every kind to join you and call it

America Aid.

Instead gathering donations for one cause or another, you and others of such great talent could and should do it to lift the spirits of a weary nation."

Some 'period pieces' are timeless.


THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND
words and music by Woody Guthrie

Chorus:
This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me

As I was walking a ribbon of highway
I saw above me an endless skyway
I saw below me a golden valley
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

I've roamed and rambled and I've followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts
And all around me a voice was sounding
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

The sun comes shining as I was strolling
The wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling
The fog was lifting a voice come chanting
This land was made for you and me

Chorus

As I was walkin' - I saw a sign there
And that sign said - no tress passin'
But on the other side .... it didn't say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!

Chorus

In the squares of the city - In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office - I see my people
And some are grumblin' and some are wonderin'
If this land's still made for you and me.

I love people who love what they do!!

What the heck... I'll blame the Yankees for this too...

doing plenty of wondering today

This video makes me wonder...

Why it is that the people who seem to hate government most vocally, or claim to 'not need government' in their lives because they, among other reasons, previously had a successful career as a Federal tax attorney before being elected are even in Politics...

It's a paradox indeed.

I'm wondering....

Since NASA has developed instruments that can probe the surface of Mars for water, why do we have to 'bomb' (media's term not mine, but very effective) the moon tomorrow looking for the same thing?

Anyone care to try and explain the difference to this layperson who just likes to look at the sky?

Hilarious Mr Mayor Who Might or Might Not Want To Be Governor

From Twitter:

MayorRTRybak Proposed bet with Mayor Bloomberg/ Yankees win:He gets basket of Honeycrisps. Twins win:He pays my daughter's tuition at Columubia U(in NYC)about 1 hour ago from web

I'll take progress where I find it....

In south Minneapolis this afternoon, there was a protest rally planned by a neo-Nazi group called the National Socialist Movement.

This group was protesting an anti-racism workshop that was being held at the YWCA.

From the local paper's website tonight (bolding is mine):

After standing on the street south of the YWCA for about 30 minutes, the neo-Nazis --all four members -- were escorted to their car by Minneapolis police officers, followed by the 200 counter protesters.

Score one for the good guys.

Dear Mr. Letterman

• Dear Mr. Letterman,
  
  I guess it’s a good thing to be you.
  
  Not every boss who commits sexual harassment by bedding the young, starry eyed members of their staff is lucky enough to be employed in an work culture so acceptably hostile that another equal opportunist seriously expects that you will pay to maintain their silence.
  
  You had the power to stop this person in their tracks from using you Mr. Letterman, because you are the top, the cream of the crop.
  
  The same power you held over your employees.
  
  What chance did your staffers have of stopping you?
  
  I listened to your ’confession’ last night Mr. Letterman and while it was admirable that you claimed that you wanted to protect your family and the women involved, I found myself wondering why were you not protecting your family and the women before unzipping your fly?
  
  Why did it only matter when it might become public and should anyone really believe it matters to you now?
  
  What is it that makes women have so little meaning to you?
  
  I’m certain each woman had more value than what you assigned to them. Each one was at the very least someone’s daughter and possibly sister, mother, wife/girlfriend or just plain friend.
  
  I gave you more credit Mr. Letterman and it appears that my ‘prick meter’ needs a new battery.
  
  I wish I could join with others who, in the anonymity of the Internet are :

• Feeling the pain you feel as a victim of circumstances or
• Justifying that you were just doing what what people in power do or
• Dragging in politics and that it’s somehow Sarah Palin karma paying you back.
  
  
  Sorry, I can’t.
  
  I’m just too angry.
  
  I hope tonight you don’t thank viewers for their support. Of course, if you do, I won’t know about it. Not that it matters to you but I won’t be watching.
  
  Not tonight, not tomorrow, never again.

Inspired by Sarah Palin

I was getting caught up on my blog reading earlier today and was reading a follow up about Sarah Palin's dinner auction on eBay or, more specifically, about a bidder who lost the auction because he was not allowed to cast the winning bid because of the rules that had been set up for the auction itself.

The blog post I was reading is here:

http://www.themudflats.net/2009/09/25/will-sarah-palin-have-dinner-with-keith-olbermann-for-200000/

Ken Morris was the bidder who did not get to place a final bid on the eBay auction. Mr. Morris then offered $100,000 to be paid to a veteran's charity if former Gov. Palin was willing to have dinner with he and other people with opposing viewpoints from her own.

After her speaking engagement in China earlier this week, he doubled his offer to $200,00 because:

'Here's what's got my head Linda Blairing: Sarah Palin--who must've said our President was "pallin' around with terrorists" a thousand times--gave a speech in a communist nation known for human rights abuses, forced late term abortions, child sweatshops (thereby making products so cheaply that U.S. manufacturing cannot compete), and poisoned dog food. She then criticized the president in this foreign land for implementing trade restrictions.'

When he increased his offer, he wrote this:

'I originally wanted to post a challenge to the hundreds of readers who have expressed a willingness to contribute to veteran charities if this meeting of the minds came about. My thought was to match public contributions up to an additional $100,000. However, there are many logistical problems beyond my ability to address, so I’ll simply double the offer to $200,000and suggest to Ms. Palin that there are many people who will add to the total. The $200,000 minimum might well be something substantially larger.'


This bothers me.


Plenty.


For the record, I am not a Sarah Palin fan but I am even less of a fan of people who deliberately use our veteran's and charitable contributions as political footballs. The men, women and families of our military and the non-profit organizations that support them deserve so much better than this.

I would like to propose if Sarah Palin never responds to this offer, that Mr. Morris and anyone else who was so eager to make a donation if this dinner took place, make the donation anyway.

Include a note if you want that your donation is specifically because you don't support Sarah Palin- whatever.

I made a donation this evening. Being unemployed, it wasn't much but if I hadn't, I would be no better than those being complained about.

Just something to think about.

Another chore for the pre-winter prep list....

Sigh. I love nature but geez, these pillars aren't even made out of real wood....

I'm looking around for something to hang out there to make this a wee bit less desirable to this little guy.

Today at Cabela's

I like Cabela's. I really do. I'm an avid fisherwoman and in the spring, I can spend a whole lot of time among the rods, reels and lures and spend even more cash before leaving. (I have found it averages out to about $1.32 per minute spent looking around.)

But boy oh boy, in the fall, Cabela's becomes a serious monument to testosterone. You can start to feel it while you're still on the highway. It is tribal in nature with so many hunters coming together in one spot. It's not for the faint of heart,that's for sure.

It would be fair, at this point, to wonder what, if I knew I would feel so out of place, could possibly make me go over there at this time of year?

On Friday, at the very end of a morning drive time radio show, the talk jock as he was signing off made mention of a Firearm exhibit at the Cabela's in Rogers Minnesota. This exhibit, presented by the NRA, he said, was going to feature various firearms that had been used in movies and old westerns and if any of us old movie nuts wanted to see them we'd better get into Cabela's by closing time on Sunday.

'Color me in', I said to myself and planned a nice little outing with the hunter in my house, who I knew would not turn down a chance to go to Cabela's.

After parking the car, I received another sign from the hunting Gods to remind me, just in case I had forgotten, that I was entering serious male territory. When I got out of the car, this is the first thing I saw:




Alright then. I made some crack to myself about how if the shell fits... and we went inside.

My husband took off to look at gear and I went searching for the gun exhibit.

After a few minutes, I come across young man sitting in front of a table and I asked him if he knew where the gun exhibit was with the guns from the westerns.

He looks at me with that 'lady I've been putting up with you old movie aficionados all day' look but smiles and says "right behind me".

I look behind him and while my mind is seriously yammering along thinking 'WOW!!! Seriously?' and some other choice things, I quickly put the brakes on and the words that I forced out of my mouth were "Would you mind if I take some pictures? I was a huge Chuck Conners/ Rifleman fan when I was a kid! This is great!"

The young man (who, by the way, was one of the finest representatives of the NRA I have ever met face to face) stood up and pushed the table out away from the exhibit to 'give me room' (and that still wasn't enough because of all the merchandise everywhere), to get a picture of the whole thing, but I got most of it and would like to share it with you:

That was it. Four rifles and 2 pistols.

I'm wondering if Patrick Reusse from AM1500 was as disappointed as I was.

Sigh.

She collects love

and bugs on her whiskers.....

The Guiding Light

This is a very sad day for the soap opera daytime drama world.

The Guiding Light, which has been on the air on radio and TV for 72 years, goes dark after today's episode.

While The Guiding Light is not 'my show', I have loved the soap opera genre since I was a young girl.

Here is a copy of a note I posted on a Guiding Light discussion board and would like to share here.

_________________________________


I am writing to express how very sorry I am for your loss.

Everyone who loves the soap genre will miss The Guiding Light and all that this 72 year old show stood for. I don't know very many current soap fans who at some point in there lives did not see part of GL. For me, it was my Grandma's show and by golly we learned to hush and watch when her show came on.

Throughout the years, these shows we've had the chance to get to know and love have become another member of the family. We value the friendship, warmth and the safe haven it represented in an otherwise hectic day to day world.

We'll miss the laughter, the tears and all the good and bad times we shared. Guiding Light's memory will be held deep within our aching hearts.

I wish I could be with each of you to comfort and help you to get through this dark day. I think I speak for not just for myself but other AMC folks when I say that even though we are miles apart, our thoughts and hearts are with you today.

Funny how things go.

While writing my original post, I heard an incredible racket out in the alley. Now this is not uncommon in the part of the city that I live in but it is unusual this early in the day.

Low and behold it was collectors of a different sort.

A couple of women with a van full of babies, were opening the back of a large old TV that has been set out for pick-up.

Upon talking to them, aside from learning more than I ever wanted to know about the value of the copper wire inside the sets, I found out that both these women had recently lost their jobs and have been unable to find new ones. As their money was running out they decided two night's ago to start 'scrappin' because they had 5 children under six years old that need to eat.

I took some cool water out for the kids, (who were strapped in the van to keep them from running around) because even though the windows were open, it was getting a wee bit warm in the heat of the morning sun.

The amount of wire these woman had jammed into the back of the van was incredible considering they had only been out for a couple of hours.

But hey Kimbers, 'What does this have to do with collecting?' you might be asking yourself.

The wire filled their heart and mind with the single minded passion that drives collectors everywhere.