another day, another song......

ok, so ya gotta look in an alternative address, as teflon agnes doesn't care for my song picks........yeah, well...you probably have it already...but you never know......

1200 year old book found.....

ok, so this is big news...... Ireland’s National Museum said on Wednesday that a 1,200-year-old Book of Psalms found last week by a construction worker in a bog was so archaeologically significant that it could be called an “Irish equivalent to the Dead Sea Scrolls.”

Museum officials said it was remarkable both that the psalter had survived for so long in boggy terrain and that a construction worker had spotted it and halted a mechanical digger just in time to save it from destruction.

“In my wildest hopes, I could only have dreamed of a discovery as fragile and rare as this,” Patrick F. Wallace, the director of the National Museum in Dublin, said in a statement. “It testifies to the incredible richness of the early Christian civilization of this island.”

Aoife Demel, a spokeswoman for the museum, said in a telephone interview that several experts had examined the text and that there was no possibility that it was a hoax.

The museum said in a news release that “in discovery terms this Irish equivalent to the Dead Sea Scrolls is being hailed by the museum’s experts as the greatest find ever from a European bog.” The museum said it could not determine how the manuscript ended up in the bog. “It may have been lost in transit or dumped after a raid, possibly more than a thousand to twelve hundred years ago,” the news release said. Bernard Meehan, a manuscript expert at Trinity College, Dublin, said this was the first discovery of its kind in 200 years.

The manuscript, containing approximately 20 pages, was discovered last Thursday in the Irish Midlands when the construction worker noticed it while excavating for commercial potting soil. Museum officials declined to specify the bog’s location, explaining that archaeologists were still exploring the site.

The museum said that the bound pages had slipped outside the book’s wraparound cover, made of vellum or leather, and that the psalms were written directly on vellum and the book was found open at a page showing Psalm 83 in Latin.

In later English-language versions, Psalm 83 exhorts God to act against conspirator nations plotting to wipe out “the name of Israel.”

Raghnall O Floinn, who is in charge of collections at the museum, said each page of the document contained about 40 lines of script, with around 45 letters per line. “While part of Psalm 83 is legible, the extent to which other psalms or additional texts are preserved will only be determined by painstaking work by a team of invited experts, probably operating over a long time in the museum laboratory,” he said.

The estimated age of the manuscript would place it in the same early medieval period as the Book of Kells (circa A.D. 800), an illuminated manuscript of the Christian Gospels that is on public view in the Old Library at Trinity College, Dublin.

books, books, books......

ok, so....the books they are arriving.......such a wonderful thing...to open a package when one knows it is a book......but which book?......that is the question that lingers only as long as it takes to cut away the strapping tape that half.com sellers tend to orefer as binding for reused cardboard........today it is ken keesey's sometimes a great notion......i especially like late summer for book-buying......as there is never a question about such purchases......they are patently necessary...it is only the non-bookclub selections that beg the question......'just how many more books will it take to slide the house down into the lake.....?......we could be close, for all i know.....except that we did take a whopping load to the goodwill last summer......and i am pretty darn sure we haven't caught up volume-wise.......i just ordered a few more books...hoping to sneak through a few before the euphoria of book-club buying wears off.......don't tell..........

prayer cards

ok, so the wednesday night group at our (moderate) southern baptist church has sent our middle child prayer cards since he left oh so many weeks ago......sometimes they send one to us (the parents) as well......as so i must call them on friday morning to turn ff this goodwill......i was thinking of this during the sermon today, delivered by a graduate of the baptist seminary of kentucky...standing in for our vacationing pastor....she preached on esther, and her amazing act of faith.......i need you to take careful note of the she-part.......as moderate baptists are the only ones who honor god's call for all believers to witness in his name...this bsky graduate attended, and now works for a divinity school founded after the southern seminary in louisville kicked out all of the female professors...and started a campaign to direct all of the women's missionary groups in local churches by a male......our church's women's missionary group has thus far rebuffed such ludicris invasions of sovereignty........i was thinking about ann coulter during the sermon...she who claims that the left is godless.......and i was wondering about what her sunday school class thinks of her...drinking and smoking and sleeping about......i jest, of course.......ann coulter has no sunday school class....and could probably not name 3 of the 10 commendments.......just to be on top of things, i have studied up on exodus chapter 20.....and can name all 10 or 11, depending on how one reads the list........i am thoroughly amused that so many folks go into such tirades about how u.s. laws are based on the 10 commandments......ha......this document covers adultery, theft, murder, and coveting.....and not much else save honoring one's parents......and therefore i don't see many, if any legislators who have not broken 1 or more......coveting highlights a multitude of sins.....................but i digress from the prayer cards...it is very sweet that so any folks took time to pray for our son while he was away...............

sapphires and garlic......

ok, so...while it was hot and humid this afternoon i read sapphires and garlic, by ruth reichl about her stint as the nyt food critic......i am especially fond of a book that can be savored in one sitting....or at least between miserable bouts of weeding the area behind the heritage pink rose and up past the forsythia.....this task was best done in short spurts, with ample time to rehydrate and recover......and reading about a food critic dressing up as alter egos was just what i needed....and the food she ate while she was undercover....oh my.......the poor woman ate out 12 times a week, on the company dime......luckily for her she was well-versed in fine food.....could guess all the secret ingredients.....and had a cozy writing style........she has since moved on to gourmet magazine, which i dropped in favor of saveur...because every article seemed to be the same......ah well......i did enjoy her book.............

ok, so......

ok, so...just this moment i could hear jane kazmarik (sp)...the mean mamma on malcom in the middle screaming her head off, as she does numerous times during the show's airtime.....and i marched out to the back room to inquire, ever so diplomatically, why she gets to scream.......as much as she wants....and when i scream it can only mean i have anger issues?........and though she hasn't managed to win an emmy for this feat.....the milktoast mamma on everybodylovesraymond has had the dubious distinction for many years now...go figure.........jane k. is such a fine example was the kind of mamma that all of us really would be if we had our druthers........bold, brash, loud, unorganized yet on top of most things.......i just love her....or at least the woman she plays on t.v.........i could earn a thing or two about child-rearing from jane............

muggy

ok, so the outside climate can only be described as muggy...that ultra-humid level of warmth that preceeds a storm...or not....as the current weekend attests........not ideal conditions for outdoor work.....so let's look at other spots about the globe.......it is a delightful 66 degrees in moscow as we speak......a bit overcast, but i hope nobody is complaining.....in roan mountain, tn where we will be next week at this time it is 78 ...again not bad, but 8 degrees warmer than yesterday, according to cnn weather........at sunday school the conversation turned to 1)picking up stephan and 2) our hiking trip.....at which time a good friend related her recent experience with a bear while hiking in north carolina, not far from our destination.......ouch....bears never occured to me....note to self- research correct reaction to a bear on the trail........the 5 day forecast puts us driving to cincinnati on wednesday evening in thunderstorms.....which may or may not clear by the time the plane is set to touch down on thursday......granted, 5 day forecasts are forecast to be proved wrong...moreso than right.....the last time i checked a 5 day forecast i was informed that it was to rain all day yesterday........which couldn't have been more wrong......maybe i'd be better off with a nice nap during the afternoon (peak sultry hours....) which may just rejuvenate my aging bones for intense weeding after the sun goes down...say 7-8:30 pm........sounds like a grand forecast to me............

when you wake up feeling old......

ok, so.....the morning after a day of heavy labor is humbling.......one wishes that one had stretched before all of the bending, tugging, lifting.....and put on sunscreen....the work took place under cover of the canopy that s the mulberry tree......and a sunburn in the shade never crossed my mind.......not that the shade was cool.....so sireeee......the humidity was oppressive.....lots of progress made......cleared out the old and dead from the entire stretch.......knarled redbud to the gate......and mulched an entire truckload of......mulch......and moved hosta from an overcrowded existence to a spot surrounding the locust tree......the effect is lovely, i must say......but as i sat on the red chair on the walk up near the hydrangea.......all i could think about was how achey/brakey my body feels this morning, and how i could have managed the afternoon better........given that there was an able-bodied 13 year old at home.....in the house while i worked outside.......and the basic question must apparantly be addressed each and every saturday.......exactly what work must be done before play.......there are some who stumble down to breakfast around 9:45.....and rush through vacumning and a load of laundry started....and see the time after....say 10:45 as playtime...no matter that i end up finishing up said laundry at some point to expedite my own loads......but on this day i had made an effort to give greater direction for chores that could be done while i worked in the yard.......like laundering sheets and towels...and folding them and putting them away ...remaking her own bed...picking up her room...chore directives that were poorly received, to say the least...and done intermittently, given that every time i came into the house to cool off the television was on and she was laying (lying?) upon the sofa........and after about 5 hours of labor, when the mulch was clinging to my being like chocolate frosting.......my youngest bolted from the door, announcing that she was all done and was going up the road to play with the neighbor's dogs.....gentle readers......when a child has time to play with dogs that are not her own, she was time to help with outdoor chores.......and so it was begrudgingly that the project was finished with 2 sets of hands.....so far so good....until i showered and settled in to finishing up my own saturday chores.......only to discover that a load of laundry i had put in the dryer early on had been been unceremoniously tossed into a basket, unfolded....and was now congealed into a mass of wrinkles......gentle readers...there are few things that really get my riled up......and thoughtless attention to the property of others is one of them.....especially given that i routinely fold any load of laundry i remove from the dryer....it is the polite thing to do......and the notion that i my child could lay (lie) upon the couch yet not find the strength to fold a few pairs of pants for her hard-working parent brought out the worst in me.....and i screamed at her......loud enough that my spouse came down from 2 floors above to find out what was wrong.......i suppose when one doesn't normally scream.....a brief tirade has greater dramatic impact.......in this case my daughter fell into hysterical sobs........ a scene right out of a dysfunctional family novel.......i have few memories of being brought beyond the raised voice phase when the boys were small......but this younger child has evoked such scenes at least 6 times that i can recall........mostly with regards to my other pet peave....that of truthfullness........and so the question has been begged.....do i have anger management issues...or do i just need to manage the particulars to prevent the scenes in the first place.....or simply have my hormones adjusted.......i don't know.....what i do know is that i do not sleep well after a such altercations....which makes my current state even more pitiable........feeling old both mentally and physically.......blogging the details is somewhat cathartic, but not was soothing as a nap or a warm bath might be.......maybe there are support groups for meanmammas who scream......i might feel better if i knew that other women react in the same manner when tired and overworked while others lounge about.......

poetry.......

ok, so i liked this poem, as reprinted with fondness rather than permission from writer's almanac.......

"Creed" by Meg Kearney from An Unkindness of Ravens. © BOA Editions, Rochester, New York, 2001.

Creed

I believe the chicken before the egg
though I believe in the egg. I believe
eating is a form of touch carried
to the bitter end; I believe chocolate
is good for you; I believe I'm a lefty
in a right-handed world, which does not
make me gauche, or abnormal, or sinister.
I believe "normal" is just a cycle on
the washing machine; I believe the touch
of hands has the power to heal, though
nothing will ever fill this immeasurable
hole in the center of my chest. I believe
in kissing; I believe in mail; I believe
in salt over the shoulder, a watched
pot never boils, and if I sit by my
mailbox waiting for the letter I want
it will never arrive—not because of
superstition, but because that's not
how life works. I believe in work:
phone calls, typing, multiplying,
black coffee, write write write, dig
dig dig, sweep sweep. I believe in
a slow, tortuous sweep of tongue
down the lover's belly; I believe I've
been swept off my feet more than once
and it's a good idea not to name names.
Digging for names is part of my work,
but that's a different poem. I believe
there's a difference between men and
women and I thank God for it. I believe
in God, and if you hold the door
and carry my books, I'll be sure to ask
for your name. What is your name? Do
you believe in ghosts? I believe
the morning my father died I heard him
whistling "Danny Boy" in the bathroom,
and a week later saw him standing in
the living room with a suitcase in his
hand. We never got to say good-bye, he
said, and I said I don't believe in
good-byes. I believe that's why I have
this hole in my chest; sometimes it's
rabid; sometimes it's incoherent. I
believe I'll survive. I believe that
"early to bed and early to rise" is
a boring way to live. I believe good
poets borrow, great poets steal, and
if only we'd stop trying to be happy
we could have a pretty good time. I
believe time doesn't heal all wounds;
I believe in getting flowers for no
reason; I believe "Give a Hoot, Don't
Pollute," "Reading is Fundamental,"
Yankee Stadium belongs in the Bronx,
and the best bagels in New York are
boiled and baked on the corner of First
and 21st. I believe in Santa
Claus, Jimmy Stewart, ZuZu's petals,
Arbor Day, and that ugly baby I keep
dreaming about—she lives inside me
opening and closing her wide mouth.
I believe she will never taste her
mother's milk; she will never be
beautiful; she will always wonder what
it's like to be born; and if you hold
your hand right here—touch me right
here, as if this is all that matters,
this is all you ever wanted, I believe
something might move inside me,
and it would be more than I could stand.

murder kitty......

ok, so this is a piece from npr that ran this afternoon after the downpour......about a last student of the austrian composer Schoenberg, who died in her 80's this week....the woman, whose name was dika......was also into the richmond, punk scene.......and composed her own alternative compositions...the one at the end of this interview finds her impersonating her cat as she plays.......shubert...murder kitty, not to be confused with an earlier piece...murder city......and her 'cat' meows along....i laughed joyously........this was not to be the only feline story on npr this day.......the other involves a cat named matilda.....who is the hotel cat at the algonquin in nyc.......seems this hotel, notable for the round table of brainiacs including dorothy parker....had a tradition of harboring a cat in the lobby, with its own chaise.......gentle readers...take the time to listen to murder kitty and read about matilda.......thanks so much.......

rejected comments.....

ok, so the mm will admit to rejecting and deleting a few comments....now and again....curiously....such commenters seem especially piqued with my way of denoting pauses.........with periods....(excepting the idiot who berated me for misspelling jane austen....and then misspelled it herself in her comment space.....).....such a plethora of periods must bring out the worst in some who are not used to my style of blogging......the last entry, with it's comment about my editorial idiosyncrasies was evocative.......the bumbling blogger took time to misspell the very word he/she targeted for shame.......and so i feel as though i must take the biblical high-road here......wwjd?.........for starts.......j. would never have misspelled his comments on misspelling.......didn't he say that he/she who is without sin should throw the first stone?........and then there are the pauses.........as a sunday school teacher with at least 18 years of study under her belt.......i can honestly say that the bible implies breaks and pauses by the use of verses........i suppose i could take the biblical high road and start using verse delineations rather than periods......but it would seem so very foolish and.....ralph reed-like.....and heaven sakes i do not want to take that path............i prefer to think that when the blogger-style book is revised.......all of god's bloggers will use periods to show pauses........

colbert report.....

ok, so....it is not like i haven't anything better to do.....i actually put in 1.5 hours of after-hours consulting......i arrived home with the pavement steaming from the downpour........and concluded that outdoor labor was out of the question.....and took to perusing my favorite sites.......all of which had colbert clips from youtube......wonkette/crooksandliars/smokinggun/gawker........i especially enjoyed the delegate from d.c.....an older black woman who took colbert to task because he doesn't pronounce the 't'...and asked him what part of paris he was from....all this in response to colbert asking her why she doesn't get to vote in the house, even though she is a delegate (d.c. isn't technically part of the united states......).....she was brilliant as a sparring partner for colbert....of course....earlier in the week we had the word on ralph reed.....which i played for my spouse after he heard my bellowing guffaws.......that has to be one of colbert's best pieces.....aside from his roast of dubya.....who is probably still swirling the evening around in his mind....seeking clarity......and then the wexler piece......how funny....and the guy who tried to put through legislation requiring the 10 commandments be posted in congress....who could not recite even one.......precious..........yeah, yeah...the sun has come out....but wet bricks still hide wet dirt....and that would be just too messy for this late hour.....better wait til morning to do anymore physical work........

red square

ok, so in my dreams last evening......my middle child calls me 'from a little cafe off of red square'...because he was feeling celebratory.......but i am also in red square...on a telephone with a cord.....that i must continually adjust and move aside for passersby, which includes a woman in a babashka.......which is where the story gets curious....as dreams always do....the woman is carrying a single boot......why?...where is the other boot?......that si when the dog started in an unusually minimalistic round of crying.....at the time i mamaged to grap my body out of the bed he had given up, and gone back to bed himself......i had to wake him up to let him outside......speaking of dragging out of bed.......we are on the last legs of the walk project...in the front yard....which begs the question....should i go ahead and do some brickwork in back because i have the time to do so?.......at least in front fo the fishpond.....and while i am at it....i could go ahead and replace the fishpond pump......fishpond is nto accurate, in that there are no fish....but there are also no lilies, and so i cannot call it a lilypond......there are some frogs......but frogpond doesn't sound quite as quaint......if it rains, all bets are off.....i'll just crawl back into bed in hopes of answers to the burning boot questions.......

say it isn't so.......

ok, so there are not words to express the sadness i would feel if this allegation proved to be true........i keep out a thread of hope that test tube b will be negative......

the right cannot have it both ways.....

ok, so.....the senate passed a restrictive 'child protection bill'........which means that no one but a parent may transport a child across state lines for an abortion under burden of jail time...not grandma...not an older sister...it must be a parent.....we trust only parents under this administration......unless we disagree with parents....as in the caseof the 16 year old with hodgkins disease who desires to withdraw treatment...the united states has gone to court to force the parents to make this child accept chemo treatments......even though this is an administration that believes that the family is the core to all things good and holy.....luckily, a higher court has ruled that the parents have the final say in this matter.......in the end...the supremes will have to weigh in........and the family may be in jeopardy in the newly right-leaning court.......life (as science calls it) versus parents....who'd thought it would come to this.......curious how the right see can skew every last view and still sleep at night.......

garrison.....

ok, so i blatantly copied this entire piece into my blog from salon so y'all would'nt have to watch the damned commercial.......garrison is always worth the rsk.....

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/07/26/keillor/print.html

Heatstroke
Temperatures in the 100s can melt the brain of any well-meaning columnist, prompting fevered rantings about ice fishing and iced tea.

By Garrison Keillor

Jul. 26, 2006 | I had meant to take up the Middle East today, but my analytical powers have wilted in the heat, and it is all I can do to get the recycling out to the curb and take the car in for an oil change. And now I'm all caught up in the question of what color sheets to buy. Flowered pattern vs. white. Thread count, etc. Usually my wife handles this, and I devote myself to larger matters, the coming crisis in healthcare, that sort of thing, but the heat wave throws everything off.

Cold weather stimulates a man. A little-known fact. The temperature drops and snow falls and men feel the primal urge to hurl themselves into the teeth of the storm and rescue the livestock, but after a week of temperatures in the 100s those same men become fascinated with fabrics and window treatments and recipes involving fava beans and minced scallions. A man who on a bitterly cold day would squat on the ice and fish through a hole now is wearing yellow shorts and flip-flops with rhinestones on the straps, and preparing a salad with endive and sliced pear and walnuts and gorgonzola, and when his wife puts her arms around him and blows in his ear, he thinks, "What is that supposed to mean?"

The rise in homosexuality coincided with global warming. Look it up. Back when winter was winter, gay guys lived in Key West and New Orleans and Santa Monica. They like to show off their legs and keep tan, that's why. It's a proven fact. Warming trends enabled the tribe to move into Massachusetts. The way to fend off gay marriage is to reduce carbon emissions. And also to reverse the flow of people to the Southwest.

Retirees head for the Arizona desert, and before you know it, you've got old coots in love relationships who, had they remained in Minnesota, would've sat in the Legion club drinking bourbon and Seven and griped about the cold and kept their hands off each other.

Northern blue states get less government spending than Southern reds. The more people receive from the government, the more anti-government they become. You have to wonder if some of that Southern Republican crankiness isn't the result of confusion about sexual orientation. Why so fixated on gays and gay marriage, if not because you're spending a lot of time on personal grooming and shopping for throw rugs and accent pieces, and you need to fend off the suspicions of your supporters?

And what is one to think of the Current Occupant spending his August break in Texas? Does his speech sound more sibilant these days? I am only asking a question. This is not meant to be negative in any way. It's not enough to outlaw gay marriage. We need to beat back the lavender tide by paying Americans to live in the Northern low-gay tier of states, a frost subsidy of, say, $10,000 per year. Plus generous disaster benefits for blizzards and cold snaps. If we give blizzards names (Astrid, Bjorn, Christina, Dagmar) and plump up the casualty list with the week's coronaries and get good TV coverage (sideways-blowing snow, people hunkered down at bus stops, raggedy girls selling matches on street corners), we could get FEMA to slip us a few billion. Grow North Dakota and gay rates go down. It's a fact.

There are no drag queens in International Falls. Maybe in Duluth, but not that many. I was in Alaska recently and was pleased to notice so many manly women, women who feel good about themselves in Carhartt shirts and overalls and hiking boots, no jewelry or doodads, no moisturizing lotion. Tall gals with a long stride and a sure hand with an ax. They weren't all that interested in me, but hey, I'm OK with that.

Wait a minute. Be right back.

Tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick.

OK, I'm back, with a cool drink. Iced mint tea. Hot days have been easier for me since I put away the gin bottle and took up tea. With gin you were likely to get weepy after a while and drape your arm around your pal and sing "In My Life" in a high trembly voice, but with tea you just soldier on and do what you need to do. And what I need to do is decide about sheets. I have a secret fondness for Marimekko, but I don't think the wife will go for it. So I guess it's going to be white. What were we talking about?

- - - - - - - - - - - -

(Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" can be heard Saturday nights on public radio stations across the country.)

(C) 2006 By Garrison Keillor. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.

-- By Garrison Keillor
Salon Media Group, Inc
101 Spear Street, Suite 203
San Francisco, CA 94105
Telephone 415 645-9200
Fax 415 645-9204


Copyright ©2006 Salon Media Group, Inc. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. SALON® is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a trademark of Salon Media Group Inc.

intermediate occupations.....

ok, so for the brilliant yet not fully employed foloks in my aquaintance.....this is yet another article for you.........again, this is salon and you might just have to waste 15 seconds watching mindless drivle commercials to get to link........i am so sorry.....

headphones.......

ok, so i finally got around to investing in headphones to wear when i listen to my music a lunch at work....today i walked through the halls for 15 minutes (i walked 15 minutes earlier outside on a break and it was too hot for a repeat......) at lunch.....and i carried my palm....and though it doesn't pump out the sound it was loud enough to distract the only other coworker in the building...who kept asking what i was listening to......and there are just somethings that cannot be explained to some folks.......at least amongst the barry manilow crowd.......which reminds me...i started a list of tunes i want to delete so i will have room for my latest downloads......must do that this evening......

ok, so.....i have heard it all now.......this from the web........the likeness of the two-month-old - already dubbed "the world's most famous baby" - was unveiled at the New York branch of the world famous museums today.

According to Madame Tussauds, the waxwork had her mother's "signature pouty lips and delicate features" and "would be displayed in an "African-themed nursery".

Likenesses of Shiloh's parents, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, stand overlooking the model.

For a small fee, visitors to the attraction would also be allowed to pose with the famous family - minus the couple's adopted children, Maddox, 4, and 17-month-old Zahara - and have their pictures taken.

$1 from the cost of each picture taken will be donated to UNICEF.  

intense conversation.....

ok, so i came upon an intense conversation this morning upon arriving at work........debate over the war(s) in the middle east?......no......discussion over the audactiy of the senate to label an abortion-control bill as child protective....nope.......the discourse was about.....the beauty pageants last night at the local fair......seems that numerous of my workmates beat a path to the fairgrounds to be on hand for the first event....the little mister and miss m.c. fair...or maybe it was the tiny mister and miss....or both.....or maybe the term junior was there somewhere......but the words were heated....as aunts/grandparents and the like debriefed on how their kin was robbed....i tell you robbed....of the title.....which led yet another workmate, mother to a photogenic toddler, to rue that her mother was taking her boy to the baby contest this evening 'whether i like it or not'......last year she entered her baby in the contest (for his age group)...and he lost....and she admitted to being quite upset that the baby who won was not as cute as her boy....'i decided then i wouldn't do it again'....and here my own mamma is going to take him.....i might as well go, too........'.......most amusing was the part about how the judges were unfair in the competition...'they asked each contestant a different question, so they couldn't copy or prepare ahead......hmmm......seems they asked one child to name his favorite cartoon character, and another one his favorite food...the nerve!!!......and the neice who wou;dn't answer the question at all because she is shy didn't win, and it was so unfair because she is so adorable.......omg.......i came really close to asking sweetly about the pageant garb....but didn't want to appear too interested for fear i would be subjected to the photographic evidence when the film gets back from the cvs........on the other hand...i cannot wait to see this film about a dysfunctional family driving cross-country to get the little one to a beauty contest...this film stars many of my faves.....toni collete, greg kinnear....ought to be delicious.........the link is from salon.com...which may require you to watch a 10 second commercial...please bear with the world of commerce.......

good night's sleep.......

ok, so.......there are few things worth as much as a good night's sleep......in these days of doggie senility i am surprised to sleep all night without waking up once.......it seems that i was so tired that i never heard my spouse get up to let the whining dog out........he was relatively silent when i went out to get the newspaper this morning, which can only mean that he wore himself out with his own machinations.......isn't it called sundowners syndrome when elderly humans sllep all day and are awake all night...surely the doggie equivalent has a label.....and some celebrity spokeperson......i'll look into that at some point....out of curiosity.....

alternative hair charities......

ok, so i was looking up online just how much hair i had to grow before i could mail it off to the people who make wigs for kids with cancer.......when i discovered sites that question the ethics of this claim......in that the locks of love folks routinely sell off hair donations to keep themselves afloat...and that out of 104,000 hair donations in the past 6 or so years...only 1000 actual wigs have been made....and that these wigs tend to go to kids with allopecia rather than cancer.........i am not going to to the trouble to grow this hair for the locks of love outfit to turn around and sell my hair to the retail wig trade.......omg........i did find a group working out of rocky river, ohio that promises to use hair donations for children's wigs......and though this may not be true....it seems a better bet than the oprah-publicized hairing-selling group.........

weddings......

ok, so.....this weekend there will be two weddings of grandeur...one in danville and one in louisville.......and i am going to....neither.........praise be to god......the local one is a classmate of my eldest....who will be coming in for the event......i have kindly purchased a gift for him to take....not on her list....i have spent the past few weeks listening to folks fussing about having to buy 2-3 shower gifts as well as a wedding gift....which is a lot to ask of folks who are not kin.......and even kin have their limits....which brings me to the louisville wedding.......i am closely aquainted with 2 aunties of the bride, who both balked at the notion of $900 placesettings......together they had no intention of a single plate/cup/plate combo........gentle readers.......in this day and age......who could possibly believe that they deserve the lifestyle that involves such dishes?..........certainly not the college drop-out that is the l'ville bride...at least the danville bride with diminutive tastes finished her degree......the local wedding has been a bit ackward...at least for me.....in that all of the festivities have been c.c. related.....and i take the woody allen position on such things...' I wouldn't belong to any club that would have me as a member '........somehow i managed to make it through 25 years of marriage without a registry......and of the things we were given......i have managed to cope with the loss of 10/12 wine glasses and 9/12 cereal bowls.........in fact, one of my offspring is happy as a clam to eat out of a 2-cup pyrex measuring cup......and feels no need for any cereal bowls.......though i have purchased 4 lovely bowls that match his dishes nicely.......and could find another 4 if need-be......but i digress from the notion that any newlywed couple need spend all their funds on stuff........of all the things that i have done in this earthly life....i am most proud that my spouse and i spent everylast penny on three weeks of camping in europe on our honeymoon........a $900 placesetting will likely outlast the marriage itself......but a continental camping honeymoon is priceless.............

vocal discomfort.......

ok, so...in my spare non-bricklaying moments i enjoy perusing the nytimes and the washington post and the like........anf this evening i happened upon a review of the bsoton pops summer series at tanglewood...mostly mozart, with the requiem and the jupiter symphony as the centerpieces.....and the following paragraph caught my eye.......The other odd interpolation in the weekend, opening the Friday program, was the extended concert aria “Ch’io mi scordi di te ... Non temer amato bene,” which is not often performed because it calls for a solo pianist as well as a wide-ranging female voice. But it received considerable attention in January in connection with an internationally televised concert on Mozart’s birthday in his hometown, Salzburg, Austria. The soprano Renée Fleming, who was to sing the piece with Riccardo Muti conducting the Vienna Philharmonic and the pianist Mitsuko Uchida, withdrew late in the game because of vocal discomfort with the piece and was replaced by the mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli.....vocal discomfort......isn;t that a kinder/gentler way of saying that renee fleming couldn't/wouldn't/shouldn't sing the piece?.......heck. i have vocal discomfort most sunday mornings trying to wring my vocal chords around 200 year old verses......but i draw the line at standing up and refusing to sing because i won't do the lines justice.......and so renee fleming, she who accepts major reimbursement as an opera star for wearing goods such as jewels and watches.......draws the line at mozart's requiem.......is she saying.....'he was just too good for me?'.......or does she really mean.......'y'all arent't paying me enough to take vocal risks'.....the jupiter symphony is one of my favorites.....very bold and emphatic....good thing renee's services weren't needed for that piece.....they'd still be in negotiations.......

paris.......

ok, so....i have avoided this blog about paris........skirted around it like the tour today riding endless miles in the environs before blasting onto the champs d-e...........the stage started in sceaux......i have been to sceaux....to a chateaux with a lovely park that had an exhibition in it's orangerie of impressionist garden scenes......it was one of those singular experiences where i had to take the banluie (sp) train then walk......in the hopeful direction in that there were no signs.......but i digress from paris.....i have not been to paris in 2 years.......which to some could be seen as a greedy statement rather than one to court pity.......2 years since...and no trip on the horizon.......or at least no trip with a date certain.....i want to go with my 13-year-old.....but the cosmic forces must allign to make this happen this year........and even the prospect of that trip is one of dread rather than anticipation......as i would travel with one who does not embrace the culture.......i could be better off planning a weekend at disney world...but i will not take that path.........a bad time in paris is always better than a medicocre visit to the magic kingdom..........but today...watching the scenery around the tuilleries, the place de concorde......the seine.....rue de rivoli.......ah.......i can almost smell the deisel fuel and taste the cafe creme.......i want to update an earlier blog...the one about floyd's mamma....it seems that floyd did fly them to paris several years ago to see him finish his first tour.....they were very uncomfortable with the experience....and this year they opted to watch....on somebody else's tv.......one must keep with one's standards.......and i say this as one who took a no-cable vow 25 years ago.....fearing that such free-range access to television would ruin us all......who's to say if we were right or wrong.......and now we watch recorded stages rather than live t.v......which is not so different than floyd's mamma walking next door daily to watch her son's performance.......and think about floyd in paris......where i'd rather be........

a day of rest......

ok, so....i had every intention of finishing the last section of walk today, after lunch......but i just couldn't do it.....physically.....i do not want to inumerate my petty injuries and pains in this forum.......so let us leave it as oldsters need to rest their joints between bouts of backbreaking labor...........and so i took a nap after lunch.......a long leisurely nap.....and dreamed of neither bricks nor mortar nor mulch....i do have that one section to finish....and i am running out of time....having set my deadline was the return of the native.......maybe i can polish off the front after supper this week and start in on the back next weekend.......

ok, so this from pelham, ny........a feline glove-snatcher.......As if the gardeners of Pelham don't have enough to worry about, with the rocky soil and the slugs and the big trees that cast too much shade, a feline felon has been sneaking into their backyards and carrying off at least two dozen gardening gloves.

Goche's flower-patterned glove may soon take its place on the clothesline that's strung across the front fence at Willy's home in this village just northeast of New York City, which he shares with Jennifer and Dan Pifer, their 19-month-old son, Hudson, and a mutt named Peanut Chew.

Above the line is a sign that says: "Our cat is a glove snatcher. Please take these if yours."

Nine pairs of gardening gloves and five singles were strung up Thursday morning. Willy, looking innocent, was playing with a beetle in the driveway and occasionally dashing after Hudson.

"This all started about the time people began working in their gardens, I guess March or April," Jennifer Pifer said. "Willy would just show up with a glove, or we'd see them on the front steps. I guess it's better than if he was bringing home dead birds." 

ok, so this is the great eddie merckx, five time tour winner, congratulating floyd landis, teammate of his son axel.....on his likely tour win.....traditionally, the yellow jersey is not challenged on the paris stage........but then, this has not be a traditional tour.......we shall see tomorrow...... 

back in yellow...

ok, so flyod landis is back in yellow for the final stage in paris tomorrow....he did not win the time trial...cam ein third....but third place was enough to catapult him over the former leader PEREIRO.........

when judges mean well but rule badly........

ok, so i was saddened to read this online.......Judge Orders Teen to Cancer Treatment
By SONJA BARISIC , 07.21.2006, 06:43 PM


A judge ruled Friday that a 16-year-old boy fighting to use alternative treatment for his cancer must report to a hospital by Tuesday and accept treatment that doctors deem necessary, the family's attorney said.

The judge also found Starchild Abraham Cherrix's parents were neglectful for allowing him to pursue alternative treatment of a sugar-free, organic diet and herbal supplements supervised by a clinic in Mexico, lawyer John Stepanovich said.

Jay and Rose Cherrix of Chincoteague on Virginia's Eastern Shore must continue to share custody of their son with the Accomack County Department of Social Services, as the judge had previously ordered, Stepanovich said.

The parents were devastated by the new order and planned to appeal, the lawyer said.

meanmamma notes: much as i believe that a sugar-free organic diet will not cure this fellow's cancer.....i believe that treatment decisions must be made by families involved not by courts, even if these treatment decisions are wrong.........while one could argue that suicide is illegal....and child abuse is illegal.....this 16 year old is old enough to have a say in his treatment........this case reminds me of the florida terry schiavo case....where 'concerned' strangers and extended family tried to take over for the nuclear family.......this is the price we pay for living in a free society....we have to let other people make their own mistakes even though we think we know better..........

floyd landis's mamma

ok, so i have searched through scores of press releases about floyd landis....and while all mention his mennonite upbringing...and lack of tv/movies as a child......nobody has yet mentioned whether his family has watched this year's tour....especially yesterday's brilliant stage win.....and today.....i found what i was looking for (and not in the linked article, btw)......mrs. landis does, in fact....walk over to a neighbor's home to watch the tour...gentle readers....this brings great comfort to me...that a man's family will overcome cultural constraints for family ties......there are many degrees of amishness and mennoniteness......i have mentioned this before, but it is worth mentioning again, that i was born in an ohio county with a large amish/mennonite constituency....i have been in numerous amish/menoonite homes with my dad, who was the county extension agent (for the ohio state university)......some homes had no electricity........some had a phone in the barn but not in the house.....some would ride in cars but not own them......i went to school with amish girls and boys....and the girls wore underdrawers that were basically diapers held together with straight pins.......one never forgets a sight like that.........they also wore longsleeves and black stockings to school regardless of the temperature....and little white caps........and they had no church.......rather they owned benches....and the benches were rotated amongst the farms for a weekly service in the largest barn.......speaking of barns, i vaguely recall being briefly at a barn-raising, which is everything it is rumored to be.....a glorious example of many hands make light work.......but i digress from floyd landis's mom.......one of the other hallmarks of this culture is the tradition of shunning those who leave the fold........floyd's family must not take things to this extreme......thankfully....and his mamma must feel free to at least watch on a borrowed television that footage that she cannot watch in her own due to culteral reasons........at yesterday's stage, there were a few brief glimpses of floyd's wife, amber.....who is decidedly neither amish nor mennonite......i do hope that mamma has met amber......it would be quite a shock to see that footage unprepared.......and i do hope that the landis family have forgiven floyd for foresaking farming......this is a tough subject for farming families......i do have clear recollection of my grandfather....years ago.......bemoaning the fact that none of his sons came home from wwII to farm with him........and my dad gently reminded him that he had told grandpa...at the time....that he would have to buy an adjoining property to have made it a lucrative venture....and that when he had the chance my grandfather had not pursued the purchase.......and so i grew up in a non-farm situation.......yet visited farms and learned to tell the difference between cow breeds and to distinghish between the aroma of a dairy operation and a hog farm.......(this is a gift rarely mentioned.....).....tomorrow is the time trial...let's hope that floyd gives his mamma something worth walking next door to see.......

floyd......

ok, so floyd landis, the ex-mennonite who rides for phonak, dragged himself back into contention yesterday by a gutsey breakaway yesterday on the peaks that range just south of lake geneva........i only mention the location because our daughter became quite annoyed that i insisted that we all had a feel for the context of these climbs (we came through this area on our honeymoon)......and she finally exclaimed 'why do we always have to know all there is about everything?'....to which i replied that there is rarely any reward in knowing as little as possible .......but back to floyd.......his ride was so courageous, given that nobody gives such a contender any help.....and he pulled along riders until he dusted them off in their turn.......at this point he is up to 3rd place from 11th, and within 30 seconds of the overall win......with a relatively flat stage today and a time trial tomorrow he could pull this one out of the hat.....vive le floyd........

my day in public health....

ok, so i thought a lot about my middle child today.........mostly because i saw a baby this morning that was nearly as yellow as my middle baby was about the time he came home from the hospital, and it gave me the confidence to address this issue with a 15 year-old mamma and her know-it-all 30-something meanmamma.....the discourse went something like this........is the jaundice improving since you've been home.....?.....have the billirubin tests improved?.......'this baby doesn't have no jaundice......she isn't yellow...that's just her skin reflecting the yellow outfit and her yellow blanket........hmmm.....are you sure, that baby looks really yellow to me....let me get a nurse to take a look at her........the nurse i chose used to work ob....and took control of the conversation from the get-go.....she pressed her thumb into the baby's arm.....and said to the grandma....when i press in and release, her skin stays yellow....this baby is much to jaundiced for a 5-day old to ignore...let me go ahead and call your pediatrician to get her in asap.......after the nurse left the grandma said......well....i guess grannie was right when she said she thought that the baby was yeller.....i guess we should have believed her.......and then grandma (15 to 20 years younger than me) says to me.....what can happen to yeller babies?.......the pat answer is.....well, they can get brain damage from the build-up of the billirubin........what i didn't say is.....or they can grow up and go to princeton.........gentle readers, i was more disturbed by the fact that the actuall mamma, age 15, never touched that baby while they were in my office....any attention paid to it was by grandma......and when i asked the required family planning questions, grandma shut down that conversation right away with the predictable answer.....we don't have to worry about that happening anymore.......sadly, the next client to come in...not my client......was a 13-year-old's urine specimen for a pregnancy test.........no actual client...just the testable body fluid.......apparantly the health department has an arrangement with a crisis pregnancy center for such a service........the test was negative, and i will admit to having mixed feelings about the entire transaction....yes, privacy was insured, but who is proctecting this child against further unprotected and illegal sexual contact?........will this child have negative tests up and until she gets pregnant...only to become yet another underage mother, whose own mamma is raising her child for her........?

sent

ok, so a song called sengal fast food by amadou and mariam, a couple of blind musicians from.....senegal...has been sent to the oldest music fan i know...at her non-school account........i like happy, food-related songs in french that have a dance beat.......

for pynchon fans

ok, so this is especially for the l.o....from gawker.com

There's been a bit of a stir around reclusive New York author Thomas Pynchon's latest novel. Slate reports that someone, very possibly Pynchon himself, posted a brief blurb for his forthcoming novel on the book's Amazon page. Amazon quickly pulled the page, but that didn't stop the legion of Internet-savvy supernerds who make up the core of his fanbase from engaging in an orgy of speculation as to what it all meant. Well, we've been able to locate a screen cap of the page itself:

Jul 16, 2006 12:48 PM PDT

"Spanning the period between the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 and the years just after World War I, this novel moves from the labor troubles in Colorado to turn-of-the-century New York, to London and Gottingen, Venice and Vienna, the Balkans, Central Asia, Siberia at the time of the mysterious Tunguska Event, Mexico during the Revolution, postwar Paris, silent-era Hollywood, and one or two places not strictly speaking on the map at all.
With a worldwide disaster looming just a few years ahead, it is a time of unrestrained corporate greed, false religiosity, moronic fecklessness, and evil intent in high places. No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred.

The sizable cast of characters includes anarchists, balloonists, gamblers, corporate tycoons, drug enthusiasts, innocents and decadents, mathematicians, mad scientists, shamans, psychics, and stage magicians, spies, detectives, adventuresses, and hired guns. There are cameo appearances by Nikola Tesla, Bela Lugosi, and Groucho Marx.

As an era of certainty comes crashing down around their ears and an unpredictable future commences, these folks are mostly just trying to pursue their lives. Sometimes they manage to catch up; sometimes it's their lives that pursue them.

Meanwhile, the author is up to his usual business. Characters stop what they're doing to sing what are for the most part stupid songs. Strange sexual practices take place. Obscure languages are spoken, not always idiomatically. Contrary-to-the-fact occurrences occur. If it is not the world, it is what the world might be with a minor adjustment or two. According to some, this is one of the main purposes of fiction.

Let the reader decide, let the reader beware. Good luck."

--Thomas Pynchon

We're not sure what it all means, but the guy is clearly more of a marketing genius than any of us ever knew.

the gates of hell.......

ok, so the last time i used that term to describe outdoor summer weather conditions, we were in las vegas and the temp was 108.......sadly, the temperature in these parts is creeping up toward the vegas city limits.......no use worrying about going to hell when when we die, now that we are living too close for comfort now....

when a christian can't get elected in georgia....

ok, so i have read with amusement the stunning loss by raplh reed in goergia for leut. gov.......his supproters claim that the liberal press are to blame.....somehow the fact that mr reed was in infamous photograph with jack abramoff on his st. andrews golf junket paid for by the indian casino money.......i suppose there are things even christians won't forgive........

wolff, wolff

ok, so i was able to find at least a photo image of the undressed wolff..alas his/her clothing options were not on this flicker site......

parfois le folie est la sagesse......

ok, so....my middle child would have been proud of me as i slowly toured the single-room exhibition at the central library in lexington of zelda fitzgerald's artwork.....i took notes......copious notes, in a fashion....because there was no catlog for sale......no postcards, no posters.....and i would have gladly lifted a few of the pieces right off the wall if i thought i could have gotten by with it.......which i might have if i had a car waiting....as i was the only person making my way methodically around the room......which is not my art-viewing style on most occassions....but zelda's body of work amazed me as well as delighted my memories of childhood fairytales or cities taken in with childish wonder........let me begin with my favorite piece.......which was like many other pieces.....a triplet sort of presentation........a middle character in underclothing.....flanked by costumes for that character........the one i kept coming back to was the wolff, (that is how she spelled it) from red riding hood.......ideally, the art director for this project would have put red riding hood, grandma and the wolff in proximity.....i came close to moving the pieces by myself.....again...i was the only one there, my eldest having bolted for the audio collection upstairs.......the wolff was tall and drawn sinewy and muscular, but in a gender/bending manner that made one unsure if this was a male or female wolff......the black wolff wore a provocative red undergarment somewhat off the shoulder........and had the look of.....anime......and was captioned 'wolff, wollf'......the outfit to the right looked straight out of starwars.....a black hooded getup with several weapons and high black boots, with the caption....'the bigger and badder of wolves'......while the costume on the right was the same wolff wearing a white gossamer wedding-type dress with white wings peaking from behind and an evocative veil.......captioned...'who also owned a party dress'.........the colors were brilliant, the style fantastical......and the feel.......a contemperary pitch for an anime production of red riding hood.....keep in mind that these drawings were from the mid 1940's, when she was institutionalized after her breakdown...or at least the fairy tale ones.......the grandma triptych was as good or better......a sensuously drwan grandma in racy white under garments ...captioned....grandma blissfully reassigned to the wolff age....on the right was a blue, red and black peasant sort of outfit titled 'grandma at the office'......at the right a white and black fanciful evening gown captioned 'grandma en fete'......and then there is red riding hood herself, a bleached blonde......in a white swimsuit of the 40's genre......captioned 'a real joy to the summer day'.........with a red riding hood outfit on the left called red riding hood in haut coutour........and another version on the right termed red riding hood in academic vein............so clever, so unexpected in terms of detail, whimsey, complete understanding of the storyline.......gosh darn....i was very impressed.........there were others that struck my fancy less......the little pigs, alice in wonderland.....the entire fitzgerald family and staff painted on a lampshade.........her cityscapes were delightful......place de l'opera, le pantheon and the luxembourg gardens....thought her best was of central park....that literally sang with people enjoying a lovely sunny day.........i go on and on about these pcitures because 1) they were quite good, and i judge quite good by what i would be prepared to buy and display on my own walls.......2). they were so unexpected.....my literary experience with zelda is totally from hemingway's a movable feast, and a bit from tender is the night.......i don't know what i would find, but it wasn't this.......3)i was struck by the force that was zelda, in an unmedicated state.........these days, someone with manic depression would be drugged to the point that there would be no mood swings, but also no temperament driven to create.......i cannot say for certain that these were the works of a crazy woman....though the motto given as title, meaning sometimes madness is wisdom was on the brochure she gave out at her only one-woman show in nyc in 1934.........yes, sometimes madness is wisdom.......those who read my blog and live near lexington owe it to themselves to pop in and take a quick look......park in the library lot, see the pieces, get your parking ticket validated at the desk, trot on down to natasha's for greek appetizers and wine......then go on back home.......i am surprised to feel so passionate about her work......and this is saying a lot, from someone who has traveled extensively to see works i enjoyed far less.............

jane austen......

ok, so at lunch i had opportunity to quote jane austen...in context.......our daughter had found the fair brochure in the local sunday newspaper.....and was pouring over it trying to figure out just how many activities she could participate in.......from the pizza and pie eating contests to the pet lookalike contest to ms teen boyle county......to a talent showcase....and finally my spouse asked gently just which talents had she worked all year to perfect.......and she got indignant....and i quoted jane.....from pride and prejudice......mr bennett informing the rest that 'lydia will never be happy until she has exposed herself in some public place'........and if ever a family had a lydia on board.........

strumming......

ok, so....i freely fess up to having a fondness for strumming.......acoustic guitar played righteously is such a lovely backdrop to vocals........lets look at the last three songs i played....nelly furtado's crazy...with gnarls barkely whispering...space...space....in the backround......and nelly furtado's duet with chris martin.......and the chapin sister's cover of britney spear's toxic.......all quite strummable songs.........of course, my eldest knew this already....his last mix cd tribute....for my birthday back in february was entitled strumming.......i'd like to say i knew exactly what was on this cd, but my spouse took it off to work with him....and that is the last i have heard of it....until i drop by and borrow it back.......that is not to say that i do not respect cello, violins (aka fiddles), and the like....even mandolin....ooohh.....mandolin is so ledzep.......

painting the fence.....

ok, so my own mm came for lunch after church......and inexplicably got onto a tangent about home projects that i really should take care of after i finish the brick walk.......obscure stuff like repainting the fenceline between the garage and the steps to the lake.....gentle readers.......let me just say to my own children that should i ever notice that they have fences that need painting, i will only bring it up if i am willing to get out my painting clothes and tackle it myself.......bringing it up as something they should do in their spare time is not especially helpful, now it it?..........

ok, so....the nytimes ran a story today about the phenomenom of medication lines at summer camps......a notion unheard of in my camping days........gosh......1 out of 3 of my children take regular medication.......and up to the advent of daily hormones i have gone med-free for decades.........for the record, nobody wants a med-free mamma at this late date..........mean will know new meaning should the hormones run out....... 

refused care.....

ok, so i should have gone to bed while i had the chance......now that i am taking some leisure (non-brickwork) moments to read...i am reading things that shake me to the core......this article, from the nytimes....about how women have been denied services because the practitioner disagreed with her decision.....we are not just talking abortion here....we are talking morning after pills to the date-raped....and physicals required for single women to adopt........the worst scenario happened to a woman who had partially miscarried a damaged fetus...and the pharmacist went on the intercom in the drugstore to say that he would not participate in an abortion......i am having chills thinking back to my ectopic pregnancy.....and the notion that some surgeon could have refused to remove the collection of cells from my tube before it burst....on the grounds that it was human life.......without considering that when the tube burst i would have bled to death before anybody figured out what was wrong.......sadly, these folks consider themselves christians.......and have the twisted impression that treating their fellows thus will get them into heaven........i believe the indians put it best.....do not judge another until you have walked a mile in her moccasins........

anarchist folk-punk

ok, so honestly old sent a selction from defiance, ohio's newest collection....and it took quite awhile for me to grasp the meaning of their name.....i cannot even take credit for figuring it out........i have to bow to wikipedia......and i must also give credit to google for the download links.......i do like a new world order....but also grandma song....on general principle....and susquahanna......for clever evocation of small town youth......i have divulged my defiance, ohio connection in the past 24 hours......and having spread it forth into cyberspace once it seems redundant to do it over again.....anybody who wants to know the details will just have to ask the right questions of the right people........

reading the obits.......

ok, so....i am painfully aware that it is in bad taste to find amusement in reading the obits......but the one in question this week had that extra bit of boldness that one had to laugh......the deceased wife(the second one only) was listed, as was his numerous children by name, numerous grandchildren (not named).....all very proper so far.....but tagged on the end of the list was......and a beloved niece susan____......what is that all about.....? was no one else beloved?....did susan write the obit and slip that in for punctuation?........did the deceased and susan have a special relationship?.......this is the sort of thing that could evolve into a short story, or at the very least some boistrous dinner conversation.......

just the kind of laugh i needed.......

ok, so...i have dragged myself out of bed, quite a feat after 6 hours of relentless labor yesterday......i got only to appease my old dog, who was crying pitiably at the foot of the bed.....he wanted fed and he wanted it NOW......and so it was when i read the following i burst out laughing.......mirth can be quite the antidote for annoyance........from the onion, as if ya couldn't figure that out......

Angelina Jolie Coming For Your Baby

August 17, 2005 | Issue 41•33

MALIBU, CA—Angelina Jolie has filed for adoption of your newborn baby, sources close to the actress reported Tuesday. "Angelina loves your baby, and you should be honored that she has chosen it," said publicist Jacqueline Silver, citing the growing collection of babies Jolie has culled from families worldwide. "Color, creed, whether your child is wanted—none of it matters. Angelina has fallen in love, and through legal means or force, your baby will soon be hers." Immediately after acquiring your child, Jolie will dress it in Betsey Johnson infant wear, give it a faux-hawk, name it after a random passage from the The Tibetan Book Of The Dead, then resume her relentless search for babies.

the oldster.....

ok, so i recieved an irrverent song from my elderly friend.......a woman whose taste in music knows no equal....and i laughed through it..it was so very anibaptist.....bullseye........i was just thinking that all of the new music i downloaded in june is.....outdated in july......gish darn...how is it that i can find so many new songs to be tiresome...when i can listen to neil young every day with a sigh.............

hard work.....

ok, so.......i redid over 30 foot of walk.....anmd mulched over 30 foot of beds and planted 2 new rose bushes.......blush variety of the namebrand always blooming kind..........and my yard looks so very wonderful with a scoop of mulch....and i am so tired....what with watching the t-de-f........a team discovery rider won today....but floyd landis, a former amishmanm, remains in the yellow.........i have to root for former amishmen...........speaking of hardwork.....i want to publically recognize those dear to my heart who are trying to learn languages this summer...maybe not as difficult as mannx gaelic....but almost........i stand in awe of these scholars................

ok, so dubya doesn't love all the little children of the world, even the white aryans.......pictured here handed off a crying german tot........his facial expression is worth a thousand words 

book club picks

ok, so the club picks for next year are as follows....in no particular order: in cold blood by truman capote, gilead by marilynn robinson, sometimes a great notion by ken keesey, my name is charlotte simmons by tom wolfe, and then she got up off the couch, by somebody i do not recall, and clay's quilt by silas house........maybe the biggest news is that i moved my turn as hostess from february (my birthday) to may....when the roses are in bloom.........having company is incredible incentive to get yard work done early and well........gilead was my pick, by the way.....i had noticed it when i was looking about for a book that i finished and liked well enough to read again..........

running amuck.......

ok, so i read with amusement the descriptions of the runaway goat bursting into the centre shop at the hub...through the glass window and then out through another glass window....wow.......so much excitement and wildlife for danville.......i had a momentary brush with wildlife myself as i started my drive to work....as i pulled out onto gwinn island road from gwinn island circle, i was joined by a buck.....with a rack....who ran down the road to the right of my car several hundred feet before leaping through the brush into the field on the other side of the fence.......not something one sees everyday.....and i am mightly glad that deer never considered running in front of my car.........

it's all latin to me.......

ok, so the punch line to a cartoon in a tear-off 365-day calender at my thursday county was....cogito ergo consume......which i cannot seem to translate.....any ideas?

audio hallucienation.....?

ok, so....last nigth about 3:00 am i woke up hot as fire.....and as i lay in the bed trying to think cool thoughts.....i swear i heard a woman....with a voice that seemed to come from the deck just below out window.....i swear i heard her say......'yes'......nothing more......i leaped from the bed to open the window to look....and saw nothing....but i couldn't go back to sleep for fear that the woman was trying to break into the house.......this morning nothing is gone.......but still these things are worrisome.....if it was true i'd be worried....and if its not, i am worried that my mind is slowly slipping away.......

blank emails

ok, so my eldest tells me that at least 2 emails i sent to him arrived blank.......it occured to me that this may be why a few sent to another child have gone unanswered......and that there may have been some concern that mumsey is losing her senses......if this is the case let me know........no idea how it happened.......

from writer's almanac

ok, so i liked this little piece....

Poem: "Ex-boyfriends in Heaven" by Gwen Hart from Lost and Found. © David Robert Books.

Ex-boyfriends in Heaven

Ex-boyfriends never go to hell,
no matter how many times
you suggest it. No, they ascend straight
to heaven, where they speak French,
wear matching socks, and always,
always arrive on time, with a full
tank of gas and a bottle of wine.
They never curse your cat
or your mother, never call you up
drunk doing Arnold Schwarzenegger
impressions, never say Hey Rita
if your name is Tammy,
never say Hey Tammy
if your name is Joan.
They're better trained than dogs
and they smell better, too, better
than Twinkies or camellias, better
than anything on earth. Once
in a while, they take a holiday,
drive their Porsches down
through the clouds
in one long line and ring
the doorbell in your dreams,
offering tender apologies, tender
chicken cutlets, tender love.
But before you take one sack
of groceries, before your lips
graze a clean-shaven jaw,
before you let one polished
Oxford loafer through your door,
remember that as soon as they cross
the threshold, the truth will slip
in behind them: ex-boyfriends only
exist this way in heaven, or
whatever you want to call it,
their new lives without you.

shrubbery

ok, so......it takes a lot to fluster the meanmamma......and so even i was surprised that i was a bit tongue-tied during this curious exchange at work last evening just before closing time.....keep in mind that in harrodsburg yesterday about 5:45 pm it was pouring down rain....a colleague....someone i do not see often nor know well was asking what i had planned for my evening.......my pat response was about how i was glad of the rain, because i would not feel obligated to go home and work in the garden.....'oh, do you have a big vegetable garden?......' no.....but i do grow a lot of flowers......'what about shrubbery...do you grow shrubbery?.....what aboiut taxis?....i really like taxis...its soft and not prickly like some bushes.......'...turns out all she grows at her house is...taxis.......and she was really excited that i have a few of the same at my house.........go figure.........

found

ok, so....sometimes i read so many things from so many sources on any given day that when i want to refind these things.....i cannot quite recall where i had found it originally...such was the case with a piece that i read recently...by christopher buckley, about his experience in having written the book upon which thank you for smoking was based....how he sold the option to mel gibson before it was even published in 1994.....and how it took 12 years for the book to come to the screen......buckley quoted one of my favorite authors in his rant upon the hollywood crowd......."Ernest Hemingway was so embittered by his experiences in Hollywood that he formulated what might be called Hemingway's Rule for Dealing with the Celluloid Bastards: Drive your car to the California state line. Take your manuscript out of the car. Make them throw the money across first. Toss them the manuscript, get back in the car and drive back east as fast as you can."

Turns out it was in Time, March 20, 2006....and i only read it because the eldest was home briefly and he came along with it, asking if it was true that i stopped getting Time.......yeah, yeah, yeah.....i need to get back with Time, because i miss it...curiously i missed thie piece back in March....but this time around.....i marveled at Hemingway's wit....and fantasized that maybe one day one of my offspring could stand on the California state line to toss the manuscript......

ok so.....now that the pope has had his say about gay marriage, he is back to more important matters, like blessing subway stations named jesus...... 

from writer's almanac

ok, so i like this poem..........Poem: "Bathrooms" by Elisabeth Kuhn from Average C-Cup. © Turning Point. Reprinted with permission (buy now)

Bathrooms

The condo I just bought has two. Some houses
had three. What to do with them all? Use one?
Turn the others into extra closets?
Reserve one for guests? There are none
I'd invite. I talk too much to too
many people all day. On conference
weekends I have to talk Sundays too,
and when I close my door, I want silence.

Back home we were seven. Our bathroom the only
room we could lock in a house without keys.
We'd sit, read, dream, alone, not lonely,
until testy banging disturbed our peace.
Then we'd sigh, flush, put down our text,
and turn our sanctuary over to the next.

from wonkette......

ok, so this is from wonkette, a washington d.c. political blog.....Texas came this close to ridding themselves of Tom DeLay forever, and now, thanks to some activist GOP-appointed judge, they’ll be stuck with him again. Not only will DeLay’s name remain on the ballot in the 22nd District, but Tom is strongly considering running for reelection again.

Texas, why do you hate the rest of us so very much? You do know that the crazy shit DeLay does House of Representatives affects people outside of Texas, right? Can’t you guys make him Governor or something? Because it seems like you’re letting anyone on to that ballot.

The state elections chief on Monday rejected gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn’s request to be called “Grandma” on the November ballot, but he decided her fellow independent candidate Kinky Friedman could use his nickname as long as it was accompanied by his given name — Richard.

So… what you’re saying is… we could get DeLay off the ballot… if he changes his name to “Grandma”?

rest day

ok, so the tour is on it's first rest day.....mlb is in the all-star break...wimbledon is over....world cup is over.......i work late so no brickwork for me this day........now if i can only get some good rest at work........

another blog about elderly motherhood.....

ok, so...much as i consider the woman crazy for doing so...i have to stand up and defend the right of the 62 year old woman to have a baby if she really, really wanted to go to that extreme.......given that plenty of 62 year-old men can get out their bottle of little blue pills and procreating.....although i am not sure that any medication for women advises seeking medical attention after 4 hours of...well......promises kept..........why should we keep youngish 60-something women from parenthood if we do not withhold viagra or it clones from 6o something men?.........heck....american doctors even prsscribe it for senilic cable right-wing commentators who are clearly not married and therefore not seeking any right-wing sanctioned eggs......so....as long as rush is (chemically) verile...any feminazi who so desires should be able to conceive by artificial means.......

taking it all out on the bricks.....

ok, so i devoted my entire sunday afternoon to watch zidane play in his last world cup.......and was startled to see him headbutt an italian player whilst in the act of walking down the pitch deep in trash talk....i am supposing the trash talk.....which could be construed as a reason to head-butt somebody in front of a live and television audience of 1 billion folks........and so he was red-carded and thrown out......and france's game went downhill....and then they lost in the p.k. round......maybe if the poor fellow had been taking impulse-control meds he would only have thought about the head-butt, but would not have acted on it......if i were queen, i would have poor president putin on such pharmaceutical control as well.....some things should never go beyond the contemplation point......we had a similar conversation while we were sweeping the mortar between bricks just a little while ago......for some reason our daughter opted to come out and help......something that never, ever happens........we got to talking about the last time i had doen the walk...she remembered the big pile of sand in the driveway...for the layer under the bricks......she has fond memories of making water volcanos with stephan in that pile of sand.....i do have that episode on film, btw.......and it was quite pleasant to talk about her memories of living with us from the beginning.....but then she got to talking about how that was about the last time she saw her half-brother 'bubby'....and how when she ever sees his new parents again she will beat them up......oooops.......my spouse and i went into major counselor-mode......reminding her that her brother would likely defend the only parents he knows...and that the way she sees things with regards to his adoption is not the same way he would see them........for the record, these folks left town and changed his name as to avoid having to deal with birth parents....an option that did cross our minds.......but only in the contemplation stage......and i am grateful that we did not need meds to come to that conclusion.......as of this blog i have only 3 sections of walkway to re-do.....one long section from the boxwoods to the trellis.....then the short stretch from the trellis to the quince.....and lastly from the driveway to the porch.....yeah.,.......i could redo the parts in the back....especially the part where the chimney fell down and smashed part of that section of walk.......but i can not think about that right now......like scarlett said....'i'll think about that tomorrow'....or was it...'tomorrow is another day'........

reclusive......

ok, so i did 2 social things this weekend....and that is 2 more than usual....not counting sunday school....not that i could classify myself in the hermit category....but it is safe to say that if i cannot go really far away i'd just as soon stay home.....and read or work in the garden....this year i have made bold (for me) attempts to be more social.....this past friday i had wine after work with someone i thought i knew well.......and was somewhat shocked that she and her spouse started in arguing about something really, really petty when he got home from work.......needless to say, i had to be going.....and that was that for my latest foray into polite, or at least feminine society.....i have deep regrets that past forays have ended badly...or at least with me saying things i wish i had not said......i know that i come upon this honestly.....i see my mother as someone who gets lonely and chatters on and on when she does have someone to talk to......i suppose i enjoy my sunday school class for the social contact...not so much for the holiness.......goodness knows i am the least holy of these ladies.....and i pray that they forgive me for being the resident devil's advocate when it comes to matters of interpretation and doctrinal importance.......i have mentioned this before......i can see the parting on the horizon....when i find myself so left of the center of my congrgation that i have to move on from the whole package, which would mean my sunday school class.....but not this day....and not anytime soon......maybe when our daughter graduates...maybe sooner if current conditions prevail.......2 of her on-again-off again friends sat in the same pew in the balcony.....only about 12 seats down and turned away from her.....it broke my heart to see her treated so......especially since this is a child who has absolutely no agenda other than enjoying life......13 year-old girls can be so cruel.....i had similar experiences with girls in high school and college....which may explain my lack of confidence and comofort in relationships with other women.........i cannot say.....or will not say if any or all of these theories ring true.........of course, it may be my left of center thinking that creates a social conundrum......our running and biking crowd is of a like persuasion, but i neither run nor bike....well, i do bike, but not in the same time slots........actually, my argumentative friends are quite liberal.....when they are not fighting.......ah well......it is sunday, and lunch is in the oven.....and maybe i can catch a bit of the world cup match before i start in on my brickwork.......and later on there will be cycling......all of which requires no other social effort than for me to settle into my chair and take up my knitting....or slip on my gloves and fill up my water bottle.......maybe when i grow up i will play well with others.........

le tour

ok, so.......i have done little else in my spare time this week but move bricks and watch cycling races......stage 7....the time trial.....produced a major shake-up in the standings........american floyd landis moved up to 2nd in the overall classification......and the sprinters who had taken up many of the top positions through the pro-logue and stage 6 moved down.....the tour is a brutal mix of the flat and the un-flat.....and the potential winner must have talents with both venues......despite landis being on the tour for many years running.....lance always garnered the attention of the american press.....and landis was just a name of another american rather than a threat to the crown, so to speak.......therefore it is refreshing to see an american riding for a foreign team that seems confident that he can take on the lance-less competition.......there are other americans.......george hincappie did not do as well in the time trial as expected.....neither did levi leipheimer.....david zabriskie moved up after his solid ride.....and sadly, veteran cyclist bobby julich had a horrendous crash and is out with an injured wrist.......the crach film was replayed numerous times in yesterday's telecast.......and it is a blessing that bobby wasn't more seriously injured.......like in a broken hip.....the time trial winner.....a fellow from the ukraine named sergyi honchar is a completely new player for those of us used to the usual suspects like basso, ulrich, and.......armstrong......but this guy rode well enough to catapult himself to the yellow jersey.......and that is the special nature of this tour without lance.....there are so many riders who have waited in the wings for their moments.....there are far too many cyclists who have the potential to pull off the 2006 tour to make a prediction just yet......even though i'd like it to be landis...or hincappie or zabriskie.......the eventual winner could very well be somebody who has been riding under the radar, but sees the chance of a lifetime and seizes the day.......on that note i best be checking in with letour.fr for a stage 8 update.........

multi-sport day......

ok, so in between stints of yardwork...i managed to watch amelie mauresmo win her first wimbledom title, a few innings of boston redsox vs chicago white sox........a bit of the germany vs portugal consolation game (from afar at guadalahara (sp).....and now we are watching the tour on tape...the time trial......ok, so i already know how it pans out as i kinda followed it between stints of yard work and watching tennis.......we are late putting in the tour tape...having tried to see potc/dead man's chest at the sold-out 4:20 showing.....and then waiting to see the 6:50 show.......it is a movie one must see, if for no other reason than to keep up with the progress toward the third episode to be released next summer......alas, this installment lacked the charm of the first....and was much too long.....and had so many plot twists that i am unsure about who is on which side and why things are how they are.....got that?.......ah well....must get back to the time trial.......

it's ok.....

ok, so this link should take you to a chilling entry in the bush in 30 seconds competition on youtube......

ok, so.....there are many flip things to say about 60+ year old mammas and pappas.......but all i can bring myself to say at this point is that i am glad that we are not them.....this from cnn.....Patti Farrant gave birth at the age of 62 on Wednesday after receiving treatment from controversial Italian fertility expert Severino Antinori.

The healthy baby, weighing 6lb 10.5 ozs and known as JJ, was delivered by caesarean section at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

Patti, a child psychiatrist known professionally as Dr. Patricia Rashbrook, already has three grown-up children, but husband John Farrant, 60, a higher education management consultant, is a first-time father.  

yardwork.....

ok, so i have put off outside work far too long this morning......what with watching 3 sets of wimbledon's ladies final.....and fixing an omelet for my eldest who was in for a short visit......and though i did manage a walkon the treadmill during that final set.....i cannot putoff the hard work any longer.......oy...

the crazy belly-guitar guy.......

ok, so on my way to work, to lunch to home i pass this crazy belly guy......crazy....because he sits somewhere different everyday...and even more crazy because he is playing an electric guitar without an amp...singing loudly, with his headphones on....no doubt playing something appropriate that only he can hear........and the belly......one cannot look away from his ponderous belly......he wears his oooh-wai-ee shirt open so that we may all admire his belly........somedays he is simply walking down college street (no college- go figure).....with his electric-guitar-without-amp.......singing to himself....other days he sits on a rock ledge and belts out his tunes whilst strumming an electric guitar that is not plugged-in.......day after day.......but only this summer......he must have been somewhere else last year........sadly......this opportunity may have been wasted on me...with my windows up and the radio on.....i may have missed summer's swan song...........

sappho....

ok, so thanks to the l.o. for this lovely ode to yard work...not exactly by way of the greek, but close enough.......

Yard Work

I think that someone will remember us in another time,
Sappho once said – more or less – ,
Her words caught
Between the tongue’s tip and the first edge of the invisible.

I hope so, myself now caught
Between the edge of the landscape and the absolute,
Which is the same place, and the same sound,
That she made.

Meanwhile, let’s stick to business.
Everything else does, the landscape, the absolute, the invisible.
My job is yard work –
I take this inchworm, for instance, and move it from here to there.

– Charles Wright

i live for yard work......it is what keeps my slender thread of sanity attached.......my guess is that hindi is harder than yard-work........

the 2006 emmy nominations.....

ok, so i missed this the first time i saw the list..... Animated Program (For Programming Less Than One Hour): "Camp Lazlo: Hello Dolly/Over Cooked Beans," Cartoon Network; "Family Guy: PTV," Fox; "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: Go Goo Go," Cartoon Network; "The Simpsons: The Seemingly Neverending Story," Fox; "South Park: Trapped in the Closet," Comedy Central.........looks like tom cruise's special episode will get even more attention.......for those who missed it....it can be seen in 3 parts on youtube.com

this from the daily kos......

ok, so this is yet another politcal opinion i will not be reading at work this day....go figure...... The Kentucky governor's race isn't until 2007, but man, there are some serious fireworks already happening.

Jack Richardson IV, who heads the state's largest county GOP group, said he had considered going public with his sentiments about Fletcher for six months but thought the governor would realize on his own that re-election was out of reach.

"We're talking about a man who's no longer worthy of our support because of his stubbornness to not listen to sound advice and who makes the worst choice every time," Richardson said in an interview before his 3 p.m. announcement at Jefferson County GOP headquarters [...]

"There's no sense in going over the edge of the cliff with this fellow. The Republican Party is made up of thousands of loyal people who have built this party into a majority party," Richardson said. "We can't allow one man to drag the rest of the party down because of his political ineptitude."

Other top Republicans in the state have weighed in, and there's every indication that Sen. McConnel's considerable machine is behind this new push.

Fletcher is one of the most unpopular governors in the country, saddled with incompetence and criminal behavior. He's hanging on for dear life, but can he hold on?

Rep. Ben Chandler, though coy about his 2007 intentions, looks to be by far the best Democratic candidate for the state house.

ok, so this is from the boston globe.....and is much less disturbing than the story about putin......In this photo provided by Jerry Patterson, a bear cub sits in a vintage red Buick convertible in a Lake Tahoe neighborhood, in Stateline, Nev., in this Sunday, July 2, 2006 file photo. The bear drew a crowd of spectators as it munched on barbecue-chicken-and-jalapeno pizza in the back seat of the 1964 Buick Skylark. It also apparently washed it down with a swig of a Jack Daniel's mixer, an Absolut vodka and tonic, and a beer taken from a cooler, the vehicle's owner said. 

if only it could have been dubya......

ok, so this from gawker.com........Vladimir Putin's decision to stop a small boy as he walked through the Kremlin and kiss his stomach was prompted by a desire to "touch him like a kitten," the Russian president said on Thursday.

The five-year-old boy, identified as Nikita Konkin by the press, was clearly stunned by the kiss and speculation over Putin's motivation has run wild in the week since it happened.

"People came up and I began talking to them, among them this little boy. He seemed to me very independent, sure of himself and at the same time defenseless so to speak, an innocent boy and a very nice little boy," Putin told the Web cast.

"I tell you honestly, I just wanted to touch him like a kitten and that desire of mine ended in that act." 

rain equals rest.......

ok, so......i was downright giddy this afternoon...as the rain moved through....and the chance for me to do more brickwork after....well.....work.......faded in the drizzle.......working the the yard in the rain means working in the mud.....and i draw the line somewhere before that state of soil........not that i allowed any real rest.....i walked my daily ration on the treadmill......but the forced inactivity was like a beach vacation for my hands......hands and wrists take the brunt with moving bricks, pulling weeds, and repositioning bricks......on this particular day i can honestly report that my hands felt worse than my back.......i did take the opportunity to take a stroll around the walk...on both new and old sections....just to see how the new mortar held up to the storms......and the cat walked with me......announced by her new bell........we borke down and bought her a collar with a bell the same day she lift a partially consumed bird on the porch.....it is not fair to attract birdlife with 2 feeders....only to allow our cat to lay in wait for the least fit........

cargo capris......

ok, so yesterday's tour de france coverage was made more interesting by the numerous crowd scenes....on uphills, on downhills.....on straightaways in and out of towns.......not that there aren't people on the road on all stages....but yesterday's male spectators seemed to prefer cargo capri pants.......i found this phenomenom most amusing, given our former exchange student, henceforth known as b.b. (for belgian boy).....was wearing these doubtful pants 3 or so years ago......was b.b. ahead of the curve....or has fashion in that neck of the world's woods embraced men's pedal pushers......aka clamdiggers, ankle-pants......i am sure that there are more ways to describe them......somewhere between pants and shorts.......on a toddler i might not be as surprised and i am to behold a grown man wearing such a get-up......ah well............soon the race will be back to france.....and hopefully back to couture as we know it........

mean mamma on the porch....

ok, so.......i am waiting patiently on the porch.....coffee in hand...for my loved ones to return from lowes with a few more bags of mortar mix......i have swept the better part of 6 bags between bricks so far this morning.....about 2 bags shy of finishing the section in question.....the remaining mortar is spread evenly on my hair, my clothing, and my flipflops.....hence my wait on the porch.....no use cleaning up until i reach closure.......the break has brought pleasant respite....a few moments admiring the hummingbird on the feeder.....a pair of pileated woodpeckers feasting on the hackberry.......the dog asleep with his head right up against my right foot.......glorious moments one misses when one waits in air-conditioned isolation from nature........