ok, so this evening.......boston evened things up with ny 5-3....many pitching changes...one needed a scorecard....literally to keep track of who was on the mound......and at some point...the boston fans stood up and sang......sweet caroline........by neil diamond.......npr ran a sweet piece on the phenomona this morning between the time i left the house and the time i walked into work......many theories about why this song is sung.....as it is clearly not a baseball song......
Where it began, I can't begin to know when
But then I know it's growing strong
Oh, wasn't the spring, whooo
And spring became the summer
Who'd believe you'd come along
Hands, touching hands, reaching out
Touching me, touching you
Oh, sweet Caroline
Good times never seem so good
I've been inclined to believe it never would
And now I, I look at the night, whooo
And it don't seem so lonely
We fill it up with only two, oh
And when I hurt
Hurting runs off my shoulder
How can I hurt when holding you
Oh, one, touching one, reaching out
Touching me, touching you
Oh, sweet Caroline
Good times never seem so good
Oh I've been inclined to believe it never would
Ohhh, sweet Caroline, good times never seem so good
i suppose it is the good times that never seem so good that make it a fun song to belt out...especially after a few sam adams.......better still if boston is up on the baords..............
Friday, September 30, 2005
fyi.....
ok, so this info is per the planned parenthood website....and for the record...the morning after pill is available on-line via overnight shipment from several locations in this country....it is effective if taken within 5 days (120 hours) of unprotected sex......
Emergency contraception reduces the risk of pregnancy and helps prevent the need for abortion; it itself is not a form of abortion (Grimes, 1997; Guillebaud, 1998; Hughes, 1972; Van Look & Stewart, 1998).
The IUD, used as a regular method of contraception, "alters tubal and uterine transport and affects the sperm and ovum so fertilization does not occur" (Stewart, 1998). Postcoital emergency contraceptive insertion of an IUD may involve the same mechanism in some cases, but it is more likely to interfere with implantation (Van Look & Stewart, 1998).
Women Now Have More Options for Emergency Contraception
Yuzpe Regimen:
This method of emergency contraception is named for Canadian Professor A. Albert Yuzpe who published the first studies demonstrating the method's safety and efficacy in 1974. This regimen of ECPs uses two doses of oral contraceptive pills that combine estrogen and certain progestin hormones (FDA, 1997). The doses are taken 12 hours apart. Various prescription products contain the appropriate hormone combination and can be used as ECPs:
* Many common oral contraceptive pills can be used as ECPs, although their manufacturers do not label the pills for this use. "Off-label" use of approved medications is legal and commonplace in American medicine. Further, in February 1997, the FDA declared ECP use of birth control pills, following the Yuzpe regimen, to be safe and effective. At that time, six suitable pill brands were available on the U.S. market (FDA, 1997).Currently, the following brands of pills can be used as ECPs in the U.S.:
Pill Brand Manufacturer Pills per Dose
Alesse® Wyeth-Ayerst 5 pink pills
Aviane® Duramed 5 orange pills
Cryselle® Barr 4 white pills
Enpress® Barr 4 orange pills
Lessina® Barr 5 pink pills
Levlen® Berlex 4 light orange pills
Levlite® Berlex 5 pink pills
Levora® Watson 4 white pills
Lo/Ovral® Wyeth-Ayerst 4 white pills
Low-Ogestrel® Watson 4 white pills
Nordette® Wyeth-Ayerst 4 light orange pills
Ogestrel® Watson 2 white pills
Ovral® Wyeth-Ayerst 2 white pills
Portia® Barr 4 pink pills
Seasonale® Barr 4 pink pills
Tri-Levlen® Berlex 4 yellow pills
Triphasil® Wyeth-Ayerst 4 yellow pills
Trivora® Watson 4 pink pills
Emergency contraception reduces the risk of pregnancy and helps prevent the need for abortion; it itself is not a form of abortion (Grimes, 1997; Guillebaud, 1998; Hughes, 1972; Van Look & Stewart, 1998).
The IUD, used as a regular method of contraception, "alters tubal and uterine transport and affects the sperm and ovum so fertilization does not occur" (Stewart, 1998). Postcoital emergency contraceptive insertion of an IUD may involve the same mechanism in some cases, but it is more likely to interfere with implantation (Van Look & Stewart, 1998).
Women Now Have More Options for Emergency Contraception
Yuzpe Regimen:
This method of emergency contraception is named for Canadian Professor A. Albert Yuzpe who published the first studies demonstrating the method's safety and efficacy in 1974. This regimen of ECPs uses two doses of oral contraceptive pills that combine estrogen and certain progestin hormones (FDA, 1997). The doses are taken 12 hours apart. Various prescription products contain the appropriate hormone combination and can be used as ECPs:
* Many common oral contraceptive pills can be used as ECPs, although their manufacturers do not label the pills for this use. "Off-label" use of approved medications is legal and commonplace in American medicine. Further, in February 1997, the FDA declared ECP use of birth control pills, following the Yuzpe regimen, to be safe and effective. At that time, six suitable pill brands were available on the U.S. market (FDA, 1997).Currently, the following brands of pills can be used as ECPs in the U.S.:
Pill Brand Manufacturer Pills per Dose
Alesse® Wyeth-Ayerst 5 pink pills
Aviane® Duramed 5 orange pills
Cryselle® Barr 4 white pills
Enpress® Barr 4 orange pills
Lessina® Barr 5 pink pills
Levlen® Berlex 4 light orange pills
Levlite® Berlex 5 pink pills
Levora® Watson 4 white pills
Lo/Ovral® Wyeth-Ayerst 4 white pills
Low-Ogestrel® Watson 4 white pills
Nordette® Wyeth-Ayerst 4 light orange pills
Ogestrel® Watson 2 white pills
Ovral® Wyeth-Ayerst 2 white pills
Portia® Barr 4 pink pills
Seasonale® Barr 4 pink pills
Tri-Levlen® Berlex 4 yellow pills
Triphasil® Wyeth-Ayerst 4 yellow pills
Trivora® Watson 4 pink pills
frozen fish.......
ok, so i peeked into the freezer......looking for something/anything to fix for supper......and they were still there......the bag of frozen tilapia that my mother bought when the prison down the road had its annual shrimp and fish sale........when she told me she had bought both shrimp and tilapia....she didn't mention that the shrimp came whole and unwashed....direct from the ponds......and the fish came just as God made them......only dead....i was so unsure whether the shrimps were dead that i rinsed them well int he sink and plunged them into boiling water....think lobster scene from annie hall........ and then pulled off the tenticles and heads after they had cooled.......it was grosser at the time that it sounds now....if that is possible......but the fish.....i could not begin to dress them as is necessary for consumption......and so i stashed the bag in the freezer......in hopes that a fishmonger will show up to do the deed?........and that begs the question............how can i be a consumer of piscean flesh if i am unwilling to do the gutting/scaling/boning necessary prior to slapping the fillets on the grill?.......and that is a dialogue dealing only with fish......what about pork/beef/chicken.........i have witnessed the butchering of all of the above foodstuffs......such is the lot of a child of the rural midwest.......i have vivid memories of my dad taking my brother and i fishing in grandpa crown's pond....for sunfish and bluegills.....and my dad dressed the few fishes we managed to catch...in my grandma's side yard in the vicinity of the cats feeding area..an old pie plate....(the dogs ate in the front yard on a flat stone)......and there was no drama about the procedure......just a lot of quick moves with a sharp knife.......i suppose if my family were starving i could manage to do what it takes.......but with numerous other supper options on ice........i could go several days before having to deal with those forzen fish....and by that time i would have had the chance to shop again.......so......should i really call myself a shrimptarian.....in that i have been able to stomach the transition from pond to plate?.....plenty of food for thought............
daughters vs sons......
ok, so i stopped at the library to check out my weekly quota of books, books on cd, and movies in both vhs and dvd format.........and chanced to get to talk to georgia, the supernice mamma of meghan......who asked after the middle child's college experience.....and her jaw dropped when i admitted to the single phone call......and though i added quickly that he has emailed a few times...there was silence amidst the shock and awe.......she helped the recovery to the awkward moment by offering....'i saw candy this week....and she says that she doesn't hear from (her boy) either.....she has to ask his friends to find out if he is o.k.'......seems that the phone calls home from iowa have tapered off......from several times a day to only once....once a day!!!!!!!so that is what???......30/1 phone call ratio between daughters and sons......omg.......young male college students....if you chance to read this entry today....i challenge you to pick up the phone and call your mother and tell her how much you miss her................
Thursday, September 29, 2005
random....
ok, so i have come to enjoy searching out wikipedia.org.......and clicking on random article..........the following was the second article to come up......the piece on osaka airport was not especially interesting....
Steganography is the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no one apart from the intended recipient knows of the existence of the message; this is in contrast to cryptography, where the existence of the message itself is not disguised, but the meaning is obscured. "Steganography" is a Greek word and means covered or hidden writing. Its origins can be traced back to 440 BC. Herodotus mentions two examples of Steganography in The Histories of Herodotus[1]. Demeratus sent a warning about a forthcoming attacks to Xerxes by writing it on a wooden panel and covering it in wax. The second example is Histaeus who shaved the head of his most trusted slave and tattooed a message on his head. After his hair had grown the message was hidden. The purpose was to instigate a revolt against the Persians. Later, Johannes Trithemius's book Steganographia is a treatise on cryptography and steganography disguised as a book on black magic.
Generally a steganographic message will appear to be something else: a picture, an article, a shopping list, or some other "cover" message. Recent trends include steganographic coding inside of a transport layer such an MP3 file or a protocol such as UDP.
Steganographic messages are often first encrypted by some traditional means, and then a covertext is modified in some way to contain the encrypted message, resulting in stegotext. For example, the letter size, spacing, typeface, or other characteristics of a covertext can be manipulated to carry the hidden message; only the recipient (who must know the technique used) can recover the message and then decrypt it. Francis Bacon is known to have suggested such a technique to hide messages.
Steganography is the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no one apart from the intended recipient knows of the existence of the message; this is in contrast to cryptography, where the existence of the message itself is not disguised, but the meaning is obscured. "Steganography" is a Greek word and means covered or hidden writing. Its origins can be traced back to 440 BC. Herodotus mentions two examples of Steganography in The Histories of Herodotus[1]. Demeratus sent a warning about a forthcoming attacks to Xerxes by writing it on a wooden panel and covering it in wax. The second example is Histaeus who shaved the head of his most trusted slave and tattooed a message on his head. After his hair had grown the message was hidden. The purpose was to instigate a revolt against the Persians. Later, Johannes Trithemius's book Steganographia is a treatise on cryptography and steganography disguised as a book on black magic.
Generally a steganographic message will appear to be something else: a picture, an article, a shopping list, or some other "cover" message. Recent trends include steganographic coding inside of a transport layer such an MP3 file or a protocol such as UDP.
Steganographic messages are often first encrypted by some traditional means, and then a covertext is modified in some way to contain the encrypted message, resulting in stegotext. For example, the letter size, spacing, typeface, or other characteristics of a covertext can be manipulated to carry the hidden message; only the recipient (who must know the technique used) can recover the message and then decrypt it. Francis Bacon is known to have suggested such a technique to hide messages.
vaughn
ok, so michael vaughn was killed off on the series premier of my favorite show alias....and while several new characters were introduced.......and jennifer/sydney's pregnancy was written into the plot line....i am saddened that the producers/directors/writers have taken this path.....i would not be so twisted as to say that these people are my friends....but i do get wrapped up in the drama that they create for my pleasure on a weekly basis......and as a recurring diversion with seasons 1-3 on dvd....... and now sydney's baby will have no father....omg.......this is just too much......and i cannot wait til next thursday to find out what happens next...........
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
the perffect mile.....
ok, so it was the book club plus sam this evening...and sam (the last of the morgan runners) is the most likely of the crowd assembled to actually break the mile record.....and we got to talking about not just landy, and santee, and bannister...but about steven prefontaine....and mary decker slaney and zola budd.....and all of the could have/should have/runners of yore....including mark nenow who peaked after he graduated from u.k.......and mostly we chatted about runners who couldhave/shouldhave/wouldhave....and it came to a larger and more global chat about advantage....whether chemical or physical or psycholical.......as in matching singlet and shorts......as opposed to e.p.o. blood doping.......and we agreed that we are basically resigned to major advantage taking over.......so far from folks like bannister who ran a sub 4.0 minute mile while still in medical school...for the thrill rather than the payoff.......
quoting candide...
ok, so i received a thought-provoking quotation via electronic mail this day.......maybe i need to read candide, in the original language.....to take my mind off of other, less mundane things....
"Man is bound to live either in convulsions of misery or in the lethargy of
boredom.” - Martin in Voltaire's Candide.
"Man is bound to live either in convulsions of misery or in the lethargy of
boredom.” - Martin in Voltaire's Candide.
where was expedia.com when fema needed it?....
ok, so this was posted on wonkette today.....
Lest you think that Tom DeLay is the only sinkhole of cash operating on the Potomac, let us briefly redirect your attention to the chronic condition of inept money bloat afflicting our oold friends at FEMA. The WaPo's Jonathan Weisman reports that the crony holding pen that gave us Michael "I'm No Superhero; I'm Not Even a Competent Horse Inspector or Lawyer" Brown has floated a grotesque sweetheart deal with Carnival Cruise Lines, to the tune of $236 million. What FEMA gets for all that scratch is three cruise ships, totalling 10,000 berths, for the next six months. Well, they're at least providing desperately needed emergency shelter for flood evacuees, right? Well, you see, the thing is, those ships . . . . now bob more than half empty in the Mississippi River and Mobile Bay. The six-month contract — staunchly defended by Carnival but castigated by politicians from both parties — has come to exemplify the cost of haste that followed Katrina's strike and FEMA's lack of preparation.
To critics, the price is exorbitant. If the ships were at capacity, with 7,116 evacuees, for six months, the price per evacuee would total $1,275 a week, according to calculations by aides to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). A seven-day western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston can be had for $599 a person — and that would include entertainment and the cost of actually making the ship move.
Yeah, but $599 gets you who? The Ozark Mountain Daredevils? Tiffany? Evacuees on this special cruise package get the unsurpassed entertainment of knowing they're center stage in the slow yet steady implosion of Bush-era Republicanism. Priceless. --
Lest you think that Tom DeLay is the only sinkhole of cash operating on the Potomac, let us briefly redirect your attention to the chronic condition of inept money bloat afflicting our oold friends at FEMA. The WaPo's Jonathan Weisman reports that the crony holding pen that gave us Michael "I'm No Superhero; I'm Not Even a Competent Horse Inspector or Lawyer" Brown has floated a grotesque sweetheart deal with Carnival Cruise Lines, to the tune of $236 million. What FEMA gets for all that scratch is three cruise ships, totalling 10,000 berths, for the next six months. Well, they're at least providing desperately needed emergency shelter for flood evacuees, right? Well, you see, the thing is, those ships . . . . now bob more than half empty in the Mississippi River and Mobile Bay. The six-month contract — staunchly defended by Carnival but castigated by politicians from both parties — has come to exemplify the cost of haste that followed Katrina's strike and FEMA's lack of preparation.
To critics, the price is exorbitant. If the ships were at capacity, with 7,116 evacuees, for six months, the price per evacuee would total $1,275 a week, according to calculations by aides to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). A seven-day western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston can be had for $599 a person — and that would include entertainment and the cost of actually making the ship move.
Yeah, but $599 gets you who? The Ozark Mountain Daredevils? Tiffany? Evacuees on this special cruise package get the unsurpassed entertainment of knowing they're center stage in the slow yet steady implosion of Bush-era Republicanism. Priceless. --
even more dylan...
ok so this sad song proves to me that dylan can be capable of meaning something when he writes songs.....
sara.....written in 1976 after dylan's wife left him......
I laid on a dune, I looked at the sky,
When the children were babies and played on the beach.
You came up behind me, I saw you go by,
You were always so close and still within reach.
Sara, Sara,
Whatever made you want to change your mind?
Sara, Sara,
So easy to look at, so hard to define.
I can still see them playin' with their pails in the sand,
They run to the water their buckets to fill.
I can still see the shells fallin' out of their hands
As they follow each other back up the hill.
Sara, Sara,
Sweet virgin angel, sweet love of my life,
Sara, Sara,
Radiant jewel, mystical wife.
Sleepin' in the woods by a fire in the night,
Drinkin' white rum in a Portugal bar,
Them playin' leapfrog and hearin' about Snow White,
You in the marketplace in Savanna-la-Mar.
Sara, Sara,
It's all so clear, I could never forget,
Sara, Sara,
Lovin' you is the one thing I'll never regret.
I can still hear the sounds of those Methodist bells,
I'd taken the cure and had just gotten through,
Stayin' up for days in the Chelsea Hotel,
Writin' "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" for you.
Sara, Sara,
Wherever we travel we're never apart.
Sara, oh Sara,
Beautiful lady, so dear to my heart.
How did I meet you? I don't know.
A messenger sent me in a tropical storm.
You were there in the winter, moonlight on the snow
And on Lily Pond Lane when the weather was warm.
Sara, oh Sara,
Scorpio Sphinx in a calico dress,
Sara, Sara,
You must forgive me my unworthiness.
Now the beach is deserted except for some kelp
And a piece of an old ship that lies on the shore.
You always responded when I needed your help,
You gimme a map and a key to your door.
Sara, oh Sara,
Glamorous nymph with an arrow and bow,
Sara, oh Sara,
Don't ever leave me, don't ever go.
sara.....written in 1976 after dylan's wife left him......
I laid on a dune, I looked at the sky,
When the children were babies and played on the beach.
You came up behind me, I saw you go by,
You were always so close and still within reach.
Sara, Sara,
Whatever made you want to change your mind?
Sara, Sara,
So easy to look at, so hard to define.
I can still see them playin' with their pails in the sand,
They run to the water their buckets to fill.
I can still see the shells fallin' out of their hands
As they follow each other back up the hill.
Sara, Sara,
Sweet virgin angel, sweet love of my life,
Sara, Sara,
Radiant jewel, mystical wife.
Sleepin' in the woods by a fire in the night,
Drinkin' white rum in a Portugal bar,
Them playin' leapfrog and hearin' about Snow White,
You in the marketplace in Savanna-la-Mar.
Sara, Sara,
It's all so clear, I could never forget,
Sara, Sara,
Lovin' you is the one thing I'll never regret.
I can still hear the sounds of those Methodist bells,
I'd taken the cure and had just gotten through,
Stayin' up for days in the Chelsea Hotel,
Writin' "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" for you.
Sara, Sara,
Wherever we travel we're never apart.
Sara, oh Sara,
Beautiful lady, so dear to my heart.
How did I meet you? I don't know.
A messenger sent me in a tropical storm.
You were there in the winter, moonlight on the snow
And on Lily Pond Lane when the weather was warm.
Sara, oh Sara,
Scorpio Sphinx in a calico dress,
Sara, Sara,
You must forgive me my unworthiness.
Now the beach is deserted except for some kelp
And a piece of an old ship that lies on the shore.
You always responded when I needed your help,
You gimme a map and a key to your door.
Sara, oh Sara,
Glamorous nymph with an arrow and bow,
Sara, oh Sara,
Don't ever leave me, don't ever go.
from garrison keillor.....
ok, so i don't always take the time to read writer's almanac......this morning's on-line issue contained the following....
Today is a big day in the history of the English language. On this day, in 1066, William the Conqueror of Normandy arrived on British soil. Having defeated the British in the Battle of Hastings and on Christmas day he was crowned the King in Westminster Abby.
At the time the British were speaking a combination of Saxon and Old Norse. The Normans, of course, spoke French, and over time the languages blended. To the Saxon word "house" came the Norman word "mansion." To the Saxon word "cow" came the Norman word "beef" and so on.
So the English language now contains more than a million words, one of the most diverse languages on earth. Cyril Connelly wrote, "The English language is like a broad river ... being polluted by a string of refuse-barges tipping out their muck." But Walt Whitman said, "The English language is the accretion and growth of every dialect, race, and range of time, and is both the free and compacted composition of all."
Today is a big day in the history of the English language. On this day, in 1066, William the Conqueror of Normandy arrived on British soil. Having defeated the British in the Battle of Hastings and on Christmas day he was crowned the King in Westminster Abby.
At the time the British were speaking a combination of Saxon and Old Norse. The Normans, of course, spoke French, and over time the languages blended. To the Saxon word "house" came the Norman word "mansion." To the Saxon word "cow" came the Norman word "beef" and so on.
So the English language now contains more than a million words, one of the most diverse languages on earth. Cyril Connelly wrote, "The English language is like a broad river ... being polluted by a string of refuse-barges tipping out their muck." But Walt Whitman said, "The English language is the accretion and growth of every dialect, race, and range of time, and is both the free and compacted composition of all."
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
more dylan.....
ok, so i also forgot to mention the following dylan classics......it's all over now, baby blue, tamborine man, it ain't me babe, i dreamed i saw st. augenstine, highway 61 revisited, just like a woman, a simple twist of fate, and tangled up in blue........i may think of more before the night is over.......the documentary ended abruptly with dylan's motorcycle wreck, an accident which happened not logn after his cataclysmic appearance at newport folk festival and a european tour....whereupon fans booed his metal music and screamed accusations that he had sold out from his folk roots....and turned his back from his topical (protest) format....the filmed sequences of dylan at press conferences were amusing.....with reporters asking him insipid questions about what his songs meant.....at one point...dylan asked the querrying reporter what the songs meant to him.....and the guy replied that he heard any of his songs......it was only his job to ask questions not to know answers.......the same could be said for dylan.....it was not his job to know answers......i felt especially sad for joan baez.....who recalled the disapointment she felt when dylan declined to get involved in the vietnam war protests.......dylan had sung a duet with her during the march on washington for civil rights....something about a shipcoming in.......the documentary was unclear whether they sang before or after mlk's i have a dream speech....i had not known of dylan's presence at that event........dylan went on to make music with a backup band.... like a rolling stone was one of the first in this format....hard to conceive of crowds booing such a catchy, witty, and deeply serious song about...well....according to bob in the documentary...he never meant his songs to mean anything.....he said that his words mean different things to him now than they meant then.....and therefore have no eternal meaning......hmmm......so i suppose it is right and good that i take from his lyrics what i want to take from them.......and disregard the rest.......wait.....that was a simon and garfunkle lyric....not dylan....sorry....all of these rock poets can run together at some point......
aussies......
ok, so i may, or may not have mentioned that several weeks ago my spouse and i hosted an overnight stay for a pair of aussies who were biking across america.....a couple about our age who met whilst working in the northwestern australia mining district......who semi-retired to a life of house-sitting on the eastern coast........they finished their trek......and rather than rushing back home from the atlantic seaboard.....felt compelled to travel instead to louisiana to help with post-katrina work....and so we received an email today from these fine folks who have been working relief for nearly 3 weeks now......a couple of aussie missionaries, if you will........who really have no commitments until christmas....when they have agreed to housesit for couple who will be spending the holidays in england.........what a wonderful life.........i should mention that this pair have not 2 pounds of body fat between them......
potential plot line.......
ok, so last night. before my spouse returned home from his family weekend...i chanced to enter the room of my middle child......to stow away some things that could be his...could be because when one has more than one child anything could be anybodys until proven otherwise...but i digress........when i turned on the light the first thing i noticed was the outside door.....ajar about 2 inches.....omg.......how could this be......we had been in there last tuesday...when we went through his french book shelf overthephone.....so that we could overnight livres en francais from the class he had added..........but since he left for school the room has reverted to shrine status.....nobody goes in without a specific purpose.......and nobody has fessed up to opening the door.......nobody....as in the other 2 persons who are left in this dwindling household........and this begs the question......is somebody secretly living in my basement........yeah, i know that there isn't anybody living in my basement.....but it would make an interesting novel plot, eh?.......a friend of your child has dropped out of school....and doesn't want anybody to know......so he has figured out how to co-exist in your home.....without you suspecting........not living, per se....but at least a place to sleep and have shelter from the elements.......i haven't worked out where this person would park his/her vehicle............it would be more intriguing if it were a female rather than a male......the entrance to this basement room....is not so much secluded as it is away from most ears......and there is hardly any real use for such a secret living space.....as there are 2 completely empty weekend lake houses on our circle.......i do like this thread........don't know where it would/should end up yet........but at least this is something to keep my mind off of food............
omg
ok, so i read about this on wonkette....and followed the link to reasoned audacity (aren't blog names wonderful?.......)
from reasoned audacity-
A mother took her 13-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old friend on an overnight shopping trip. While at a mall in White Plains, New York, they "ran into" Gilberto Gonzalez, who is 19, and Michael Berger, who is 18.
I can't quite imagine what happened in that interaction at the mall because the next part of the story is inconceivable: the two men met the mother and the two girls at a room in the Crowne Plaza Hotel. For sex. With the girls. With the mother's collusion. She provided the beer.
The two men had sex with the 13 and 14-year-old girls while the mother was in the room!
That's an outrage. But it gets worse.
The men are now being prosecuted for rape. That's good.
The mother is being prosecuted for second-degree rape. Maybe good.
But the judge says he is going to sentence the woman to six months in jail and 10 years probation, if she convinces him "that she understands the seriousness of the crime."
Six months in jail? Six months in jail? For pimping out your daughter? And a friend?
The judge is the one who doesn't understand the seriousness of this crime.
His name is Judge Rory Bellantoni, 9th Judicial District, Westchester County, New York.
from reasoned audacity-
A mother took her 13-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old friend on an overnight shopping trip. While at a mall in White Plains, New York, they "ran into" Gilberto Gonzalez, who is 19, and Michael Berger, who is 18.
I can't quite imagine what happened in that interaction at the mall because the next part of the story is inconceivable: the two men met the mother and the two girls at a room in the Crowne Plaza Hotel. For sex. With the girls. With the mother's collusion. She provided the beer.
The two men had sex with the 13 and 14-year-old girls while the mother was in the room!
That's an outrage. But it gets worse.
The men are now being prosecuted for rape. That's good.
The mother is being prosecuted for second-degree rape. Maybe good.
But the judge says he is going to sentence the woman to six months in jail and 10 years probation, if she convinces him "that she understands the seriousness of the crime."
Six months in jail? Six months in jail? For pimping out your daughter? And a friend?
The judge is the one who doesn't understand the seriousness of this crime.
His name is Judge Rory Bellantoni, 9th Judicial District, Westchester County, New York.
Monday, September 26, 2005
the new season.......
ok, so my television-watching habits have decined to the point that there was a pbs miniseries nominated for an emmy....and i had neither watched it nor heard about it........i tend to watch only on eor two selected programs a week...in the 8 or 9:00 timerame.......never 10:00....and therefore i have completely missed the csi phenomona...but i digress......my favorite show for the past 4 seasons....my only show it would seem....was/is alias......and because alias switched from sunday....i started to watch lost, with was the intro show at 8:00pm......but last wednesday.....i went to bed and didn't watch the season opener for lost...omg........happily...the network has opted to replay it this wednesday.....which will conflict with my bookclub ( a perfect mile)...so i will be forced to tape it.....and the 2nd episode.....jsut to be on the safe side.......thursday is the opener of alias....which has been rewritten to include jennifer garner's pregnancy........so much for my history with primetime....last night......i succombed....and watch not just the season opener for desparate housewives......but also grey's anatomy immediately following.....as nobody else was up/at home to tell me not to........and i was surprised that the show was as good as it was........i guess that i will have to either tape it form now on...or stay up.......and it is the staying up part that i find troublesome......i simply do not function well nextday without a pre-10:00 pm bedtime.......so now.....right this moment....why am i not watching primetime.......because the dylan special isn't on.....and arrested development was silly.......and a letdown............nighty-night............
ok, so this photo was taken over thw eekend at the huge anti-war march on washington.......and i am not sure which side these folks are on......or what the point of dubya in tightie-whities and boots is supposed to make.......frankly....the notion of bush in his underwear is a bit much for the hour, without benefit of a glass or two to take the edge off of the notion of dubya in his underwear...........
Sunday, September 25, 2005
12 sentences.....
ok, so my youngest was visiting a friend this afternoon....and my spouse is away.........and my eldest came by to make a vehicle switch.....and while he ate carryout chinese leftovers....we got to talking about just why i cannot seem to string together more than 12 sentences in more than random sequence.....nearly 3000 entries is more words than the average novel plus sequels......lots of words, but none that connect.....and why is that....sloth, most likely, or fear of success, or....lack of imagination.....or maybe the best stories are those i am not ready to tell...............nope...not even 12 sentences........maybe medication could help...............
ok, so martin scorcese's retrospective on the career of bob dylan airs monday/tuesday evenings beginning at 8:00 pm........and while i have read so-so reviews of it.......i will watch it anyway.......such is the draw to watch footage of the man who has such a way with words.........hard ot pin down my fave dylan song......forever young is way up there........i hope that it is read in the event of my demise......as it is such a poignant blessing for one's children.........and there is all along the watchtower.......and layladylay.....and my back pages......and shelter from the storm......and like a rolling stone.......maggie's farm.........the times they are a changing.....the list just goes on and on.......pretty admirabel for a guy who traveled from upstate minnesota to nyc with little more than a guitar.........can't sing worth a lick...but i suppose that is part of the charm.......
Saturday, September 24, 2005
live like you are dying.......
ok, so i am encouraged by the news from upstate new york.....my sisterinlaw is home......sleeping in a hospital bed set up in their parlor right next to the huge breakfront where they have fred's family's civil war sword and other memorabilia.....she is able to get up and and make the trek to the family room recliner for short visits with family and friends.....and after my spouse and the youngest sister arrived this afternoon....they made root beer floats just because they sounded like a good idea.....and i was reminded of a fine evening.....30 years ago.....with my friend jane.....before she married poorly and contracted a debilitating disease......lots of company for dinner.......with her good china....and her artichokes and chicken dish.......and we all got to talking about last meals.......my last meal is pretty transparent to those who recall all of the left-hand meanmammalikes notes ove the years......smoked salmon....cucumbers and onions in sour cream....goat cheese........down-under white to wash it all down........and something with red raspberries for dessert.....no idea about the entree......surprise me......and maybe nice marinated asparagus as a side........sadly......i would have to be able to get up and fix all of this to be able to sit back and enjoy it..............maybe even get out the bavarian china that i don't especially like.......maybe break the bavarian china that i don't especially like...........a curious last meal,,,,eh?
10-4.......
ok, so i successfully managed to operate my spouse's business for 6 hours........without major problems.....we actually sold 2 bikes........pre-adolescents celebrating birthdays are not a hard sell.......i must admit that my 12-year old.....who spends everyday after school at the shop......is a talented salesperson........she steered an imposing woman driving a latemodel mercedes and sporting a 6+ carat diamond away from the less-suitable insoles that this customer came in to buy.....i was impressed.........both with her terrier-like determination to stick with what was right rather than what the customer wanted to buy wrongly.......so much for the customer is always right.....when it comes to feet.....the customer who found out she was wrong once she gets home will be back the next business day....better to sell what is best the first time.........i did have a glimpse of the l.o. walking with her dad down mainstreet...perchance to work?.......though i deal with the public in my m-f career.......i am basically unsuited for sales........where the customer is in the driver's seat........and i found it difficult to be nice for 6 straight hours...but then, gentle readers.....you aleady knew that.............
warren.....
ok, so the political landscape in california could get even more interesting if the warren runs against arnold.......at least warren can act.......and all of his affairs with women have been out in the open rather than clandestine...and his mother and one of his children are both named kathlyn....gotta love that.......
Friday, September 23, 2005
planes, trains and automobiles.....
ok, so in my quest for a gift tag for a child's birthday gift...in my special area for such items......i chanced upon a trains schedule....paris-quimper circa 1990....and i find this quite optimistic....that i at some point intended to travel to quimper......and that i might just follow through at some point.......the train schedules probably don't vary all that much from year to year........
my friend gail......
ok, so i had a cup of tea with my friend gail this afternoon...at the hub...her new place of employment....and it was good to sit and chat....and it was so clear that we are both suffering from the empty nest thing.......her for real....and me because that is how it would have been had not things turned out differently.......and she is talking about getting up a book club......with the centre bookstore folks......and deedra...i am in...i told her...if for no other reason than i need to make up with deedra....and this could be a god-given opportunity........i had only a 45 minute time slot.......and i walked on back down mainstreet to train for my weekend.....did i mention that i am going to cover the bike shop for my spouse while he flies to nystate with his little sister to visit the eldest sister who is dying..?......omg.........i am not sure that i can be nice from 10-4...that is long stretch for someone that prefers the backseat........but i did ok learning the credit card machine.....for heaven's sakes i have been on the other end for so many years........may i digress?.....when i walked from the bike shop down to the hub i was waiting at the 4th and main light to cross......and richard campbell the district attorney came up beside me to wait....and i chatted a minute or too, and then asked after nancy, his wife who i used to work with at the hospital for all those years....she was tom smith's personal assistant....and he said......we have been divorced for the past year and separated the past three......omg......i am out of the loop.....i replied with words as to how sorry i was to hear this.....and walked on......ouch........but back to gail......gail is still very close to my ex partner and his boyfriend.....and i made a point of not asking about them....because we had books to discuss.......
more on herbals.....
ok,so when i last ranted about herbals in world society....i failed to make the point i had intended.....which was a quote from genesis whereupon man was given dominion over the plants, the fish, the birds, the animals........and i was going to point out that nowhere in the bible does it actually say that herbal medicinals are good or bad.......abuse of alcohol is mentioned......but not medicinals.....and therefore rightwing conservative christians could claim that they have the right to their medicinals........because when asked wwjd.......we can definitively say that he said nothing on the subject........honestly....he said more on divorce that almost any other subject.....in the sermon on the mount he singled out divorce for comment.....and he was agin it...........i must also point out that though i am ranting/have ranted about the long history of their use.......i stick to wine as my biblically-based vice........and have no interest in the currently illegal alternatives........other than to say that in my day one did inhale.....wasn't that the point?.......but i was quite careful never to actually buy because that was more illegal, or at least that is how i rectified it in my head at the time.....lo these 30 years ago...ok, ok so i will disclose my story about the scardest i have ever been........yeah scardest isn't a word, but it fits......at osu...i was going out with a fraternity fellow....and he said he had a stop to make before we went to dinner.....and that stop involved a small room with several people cleaning a bale of marajuana and putting it in ziplocks......and i recall being so scared i could not breathe for fear that narcs would descend at any moment......and/or the maffia would do a drive by...or columbians wanting payouts would walk in oozies in hand....needless to say i deemed my date as inconsistent with my life goals........ i chuckle to myself when clients rant about drugs in amercia.....and list an anxiety medication along with their blood pressure and diabetes meds......wtf do they think an anxiety medication is?.........it is likely opium based...........which brings us back to the historical nature of such herbals.....they have always and will always have a place in society....the legality will certainly be at issue at each and every junction........
Thursday, September 22, 2005
herbals.....
ok, so i was about to hold court on herbals before i was asked to book an on-line flight....and so i am back on task.....with regard to herbally based medicanals.....the current spotlight is on a bone-thin supermodel who was captured on the www via a cellphone-photo.....of her consuming ample amounts of cocaine....an illegal herbal....and i find this quite amusing....in that no woman can be expected to ignore the pangs of hunger that enable such a depleted physique without narcotics.........herbally based or otherwise.....and yet the entire fashion community has stepped back from her like they sawnoevil/heardnoevil/snortednoevil........yeah, right.....it is an industry driven affliction.....just like the cycling industry balked at the possibility that lance used medicinals.....or barry bonds used medicinals......or tiger woods?.......or countless publicarena folks.......and it is not like these medicinals popped up recently.......the peruvians were known to march for days whilst chewing coca leaves......and the sherock holmes crowd injected the 7% solution when they were not smoking opium straight...my own great grandma was prescribed a lid of hemp daily to treat her asthma.....at least she breathed happy........and baseball greats like ty cobb were known for drinking copious amounts of whiskey........so...where do we go from here.......wise men like lance retire.....foolish ballplayers like giambi pretend it isn't happening,,,,,,,,,and folks like barry bonds hope that the record books are available........yeah, right........
joni mitchell
ok, so my i booked an on-line ticket for my spouse to travel to upstate new york to visit with his dying sibling over the weekend....and the following was attached to the bottom of the confirmation....
PACKAGE SUGGESTIONS
Albany, NY: Fly & Drive - Back to the Land
From working Buddhist monasteries to artist colonies, Woodstock
is worth the roadtrip.
Long after Joni Mitchell sang about getting ourselves back to
the garden in 1969, Woodstock remains a cultural stronghold in
the Catskill mountains. One hour's drive south of Albany, this
mecca for artists has countless festivals, galleries and
theaters in keeping with its reputation. Start off with a hike
up Rock City Road and into the marked trails leading throughout
the Catskill mountain range. About half way up the mountain,
you can rest up at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, an active
Tibetan Buddhist Monastery. When you stumble back into town,
make a beeline for the New World Home Cooking Co. This funky
and well-respected restaurant is welcoming to all, even tired
hikers fresh from the mountain. Try the shrimp with day-glo
beet horseradish lime dip or the Divine Trilogy of Macaroni.
Your kids will love the addition of snails, slugs, spiders and
old socks to the menu.
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra
335 Meads Mountain Road
Woodstock, NY 12498
845.679.5906"
KARMA TRIYANA DHARMACHAKRA is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery
beautifully situated in the heart of the Catskill Mountains
above Woodstock, New York. It is the North American monastic
seat of His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa, the spiritual head of
the Kagyu Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Karma Triyana
Dharmachakra was built through the blessings and inspiration of
His Holiness in response to the sincere supplication of
students in the West who yearned for an authentic place for
study and practice. Here, the teachings and practices of the
"whispered lineage" are preserved in their purity and made
available to Western students who wish to learn about and
practice Tibetan Buddhism.
The grounds of the monastery
include the site of a future stupa, solitary-retreat cabins, a
fish pond that was stocked by His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa
Karmapa, and a staff and guest house. Buddhist teachings at
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra are offered all year round and range
from introductory presentations of Buddhism to the instruction
in advanced Vajrayana practices. Many of the teachings are open
to the public; check the current schedule at
http://www.kagyu.org/schedule/sch00.html.
If you are
interested in attending teachings or visiting the monastery,
you might want to familiarize yourself with Dharma etiquette
before you arrive: http://www.kagyu.org/monastery/mon01.html.
Take the New York State Thruway (I-87) to exit 20 (Saugerties
Exit). Take Rt. 212 West straight into Woodstock to the Village
Green, which is immediately across from Houst Hardware at the
crest of a slight hill (8.7 miles). Turn right there onto Rock
City Road. After a four-way stop, the road becomes Meads
Mountain Road. Drive to the top of the mountain (2.5 miles).
If
hiking, allow plenty of time to climb Meads Mountain Road. The
monastery is 2.5 miles from downtown and all uphill. From the
village green take Rock City Road to the four way stop. Cross
Glasco Turnpike (a two-lane road) and continue to the top of
the hill.
i would find all of this amusing if circumstances were different......
PACKAGE SUGGESTIONS
Albany, NY: Fly & Drive - Back to the Land
From working Buddhist monasteries to artist colonies, Woodstock
is worth the roadtrip.
Long after Joni Mitchell sang about getting ourselves back to
the garden in 1969, Woodstock remains a cultural stronghold in
the Catskill mountains. One hour's drive south of Albany, this
mecca for artists has countless festivals, galleries and
theaters in keeping with its reputation. Start off with a hike
up Rock City Road and into the marked trails leading throughout
the Catskill mountain range. About half way up the mountain,
you can rest up at Karma Triyana Dharmachakra, an active
Tibetan Buddhist Monastery. When you stumble back into town,
make a beeline for the New World Home Cooking Co. This funky
and well-respected restaurant is welcoming to all, even tired
hikers fresh from the mountain. Try the shrimp with day-glo
beet horseradish lime dip or the Divine Trilogy of Macaroni.
Your kids will love the addition of snails, slugs, spiders and
old socks to the menu.
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra
335 Meads Mountain Road
Woodstock, NY 12498
845.679.5906"
KARMA TRIYANA DHARMACHAKRA is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery
beautifully situated in the heart of the Catskill Mountains
above Woodstock, New York. It is the North American monastic
seat of His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa, the spiritual head of
the Kagyu Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Karma Triyana
Dharmachakra was built through the blessings and inspiration of
His Holiness in response to the sincere supplication of
students in the West who yearned for an authentic place for
study and practice. Here, the teachings and practices of the
"whispered lineage" are preserved in their purity and made
available to Western students who wish to learn about and
practice Tibetan Buddhism.
The grounds of the monastery
include the site of a future stupa, solitary-retreat cabins, a
fish pond that was stocked by His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa
Karmapa, and a staff and guest house. Buddhist teachings at
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra are offered all year round and range
from introductory presentations of Buddhism to the instruction
in advanced Vajrayana practices. Many of the teachings are open
to the public; check the current schedule at
http://www.kagyu.org/schedule/sch00.html.
If you are
interested in attending teachings or visiting the monastery,
you might want to familiarize yourself with Dharma etiquette
before you arrive: http://www.kagyu.org/monastery/mon01.html.
Take the New York State Thruway (I-87) to exit 20 (Saugerties
Exit). Take Rt. 212 West straight into Woodstock to the Village
Green, which is immediately across from Houst Hardware at the
crest of a slight hill (8.7 miles). Turn right there onto Rock
City Road. After a four-way stop, the road becomes Meads
Mountain Road. Drive to the top of the mountain (2.5 miles).
If
hiking, allow plenty of time to climb Meads Mountain Road. The
monastery is 2.5 miles from downtown and all uphill. From the
village green take Rock City Road to the four way stop. Cross
Glasco Turnpike (a two-lane road) and continue to the top of
the hill.
i would find all of this amusing if circumstances were different......
a humbling experience.....
ok, so this evening...at the danville high school all-comers meet...i chanced to chat with the mother of a varsity runner.....a fellow hwo also goes to our church....and who was recently in a photogragh of newly inducted national honors society members........i congratulated his mamma about this recent event......and she proceeded to tell me all about what he was doing this year.......with ap classes.....and how he is being recruited for forensics.......and how can he do all this and still keep up his running schedule?....she asked.......and if it were any other mother....i might discount most of what she said....but this young man is by far the hardest working lad....absolutely determined to make the best of what he has got as far as talent and brains and brawn........and while most fellows in his position might just stay in the backround and be marginal.....this young man is not content with marginal......he runs on despite an awkward stride......as if that is how everybody would run if they had the chance.......i love this guy's spunk.......were i a betting person....ok....so i am a betting person......i propose that this young lad will surprise us all......out of sheer grit and will......not out of talent or noblesse oblige.........he shall henceforce in this blog be horatio alger......the true upbythebootstrap success story.....and so why was this humbling.......because i stood in the presence of this mother feeling absolutely guilty that though my offspring have been successful....and though there has been tremendous effort made........it has been effort with talent attached......and that makes effort easier....ya know what i mean?...........but to have the drive without the talent.....and to succeed because of sheer will........i stand in awe......
cleveland in contention......
ok, so despite my past support for boston to crush the curse and win the world's series.......i am drawn incontrollably toward the possibility of cleveland making the post-series........we have a tradition in this family of dragging out the 50th wedding anniversary portrait of my grandparents whenever cleveland plays postseason ball......so far it has not helped....but hope springs eternal......and though i had silent hopes of the white sox breaking into post-season play....well.....i have more of an emotional stake in the mistake on the lake....or at least that is what they called cleveland the last time i looked.......so all they have to do is to sweep kansas city...and a few other teams.......
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
the boys of september.......
ok, so mm has her sentimental spot when it comes to baseball....at the end of the season.........and the cleveland indians......who are so far besting the chicago whitesox and i am tearful at the spector of my grandfather george stellar broughton, laying on the chaise longue in the screened-in porch....in the pre-1850's house on chestnut road in indepedence, ohio.....the house that was one of the last stops on the underground railroad......listening to the indians on radio....in the dark....smoking a cigar.......you could only see the red of the lit end on some nights........this man was serious about his team.....and i regret that he never took me to a game.......but i did go to so many games with him....listening in from the kitchen......batter up.....swing and a miss.................
this ain't no foolin' around.......
ok, so the eldest came for a late dinner......to borrow the van to go to the terrapin hill festival.......and to leave off the talking heads dvd he has made for us.....stop making sense cicra 1984 or so.......omg.....to think that my spouse and i could recite so many 20+ year old song lyrics....we especially appreciated burning down the house.........
a peaceful end......
ok, so i have mentioned several times that my spouse's eldest sister is in the final stages of breast/ovarian cancer.......and the current abdominal tumor defies treatment.......and she has asked that all tubes be removed.....this is what she wants.....and everyone who counts agrees....and i am so amazed that i just spent the weekend with her no less than 2 weeks ago......sometimes things go downhill quickly....or uphill quickly....depending on how one sees the end of days.........my spouse is considering flying back up......as are his other siblings.......my dad took 2 weeks to pass on after the tubes were removed.....and it was a peaceful end......with my mom telling him it was ok to let go of this life............i pray for such a transition for marilynn......
life is good.....
ok, so if there had been anybody at home to ask how was my day....i would have answered that it was a great day and life is good.......not a redletter day.....but any day when mileage is being paid.....and one work that to best advantage......let me explain......i have a 2-day conference in lexington.....on harrodsburg road........the mileage is pre-determined.....as the approximate distance between my day-job and the city of lexington...regardless of southside or northside......but i digress...paid mileage means that full advantage must be taken of lunchtime and the drive home.....and so when the lunchonyourown gong rang....i was out the door in a flash and headed toward the clay's mill goodwill....just a few turns from the st. joseph office complex.....a minor motherload.....a short-sleeved silk suit jacket, a pair of black linen pants......2 belts.....and a couple of nice shirts......for $16.10....i never argue about such things when i am in a hurry......but i was undecharged for the jacket....after the session ended for the day.....i stopped by the harrodsburg road goodwill on my way home....and found a few more nice things......black wool pants and few other things......not much....but i wasn't paying for the mileage to or fro......a quick stop at the kroger store behind......and i was home before the marketplace business report was over........there is not much to be said about diabetes workshops.......though at this particular event there was a dietitian from clark county who looked just what i would imagine that the mother of the l.o. looked like right out of college....though i am certain that art history was more of an interest to ann than nutrition, especially when the study took her to extended stays in italy....one could study the mediterranean diet in italy.....but one probably coundn't get credit for that.........i also thought about reese today......as she might have found the 2 quick trips to the goodwills humerous....and she probably would have found many more bargains in a shorter amount of time......she seems to have that knack, by all accounts.......i sent reese a copy of the russian cat theatre article....i trust she was not offended/horrified by the impulsiveness of the move......but it was only because i know her to like cats.......speaking of cats.........we did this silly icebreaker thing this morning to gettoknow the other diabetes educators at our tables.......and we were to tell our name, and where we worked.....and what animal we wanted to be if we had to be an animal.......and every other woman at my table wanted to be a cat....except for me.......i said i wanted to be a baby possum.....so i could figure out how to get in and out of the grey capecod style cottage on the circle..............
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
the new yorker
ok, so for the paultry price of $100 i could own the new yorker on dvd/cd-rom....all of them.....4000 issues....all the way back to the beginning.......of course.....i have personally thrown away/recycled 25 years or so of issues.....whereas my family has always felt the need of keeping every issue of national geographic......between my house and my mothers we could probably reconstruct the entire run of that magazine......for us it was a red letter day when we allowed the first child to actually cut out a picture from an old issue.....which is almost up there with writing in the bible.....which i allow myself to do these days as well.......making notes in the margins is a helpful way to remember key points........but i digress.....there are articles that i wish i kept....like the jonathan franzen article about his dad's losing battle with alzheimer's disease........i wept through that piece.....even the second time i read it.......and i would like a shot at reading some of the short stories that i blew off the first go-round for lack of time......now that i have complete access to each and every week's issue......i can systematically make my way from front to back.....reading everything that is of some interest.......one could consider it pitiable to read reviews of plays i will not see or restaurants that i will never try.....but on the other hand.....i will be prepared on the off-chance that i will make it to the city a few more times in the next 4 years....while the middle child is up east........and prepared is my motto when it comes to potential travel.......somewhere i have a stack of new yorker covers....the best of the bunch so to speak........or at least the ones that i thought to keep before recycling the rest.......after cutting out the best cartoons, that is.......and it is quiote possible that i cut out the franzen article, as well....but it is so much easier to covet the dvd set than it is to search through all of my collected boxes/baskets/bins of stuff.....is not having to look worth $100?.......
Monday, September 19, 2005
critical information......
ok, so in my spouse's uncontrollable urge to clean house now that we are three.......he came up with the black hat........the critical black hat..............the hat that has kept many an overseas aeroplane aloft...going and coming.....and he slipped it into the box of stuff we had accumulated to send up to princeton, nj....the bicycle helmet....and surge protector....the remote.....and thus i will no longer worry about my child away from home....as logn as he is wearing the hat........
and how was your day, dear?........
ok, so i had a curious string of clients today.....including a 50 yearold 348 pound psychotic who came with his mother....and with whom he argued,nonstop...until i offered a followup appointment to discuss progress on our goals.........she actually asked me if i was married and/or italian............what....like i'm in the market?.......omg..........i was expecting this at some point.....as they got my name from a national database....and called from a speakerphone..........looking for a diabetes educator........lucky me.........i suppose this is why i should be elated that my children have thus far left home.......because the reality of a child who has failed to leave home is too abysmal to consider......but back to being single and italian.....i was reminded of my uncle albert stephan....the one who almost married the unsuitable woman from brecksville that my grandmother (his little sister) found to be.....well....unsuitable.....better for him to die a recluse and a miser and a packrat that marry an unsuitable woman.........so very sad........i wonder what unsuitable women that this meanmamma scared away in the past....before sonny gained the last 200 pounds..........
plains, ga
ok, so my sunday school had its annual breakfast social over the weekend.....and the speakers were 2 of our own....clara and kay....who recently made a dizzying 48 hour journey to plains, ga and back.......top attend jimmy carter's sunday school class........i am jealous, obviously.....that i had neither thought of this sooner, or made the trip earlier......but we are now considering a group excursion in january....the month described by miss jane as the least attended month....miss jane being amy carter's 4th grade teacher who manages the sunday school crowd just like a teacher would manage a throng of 9 year-olds.......the visitors arrive and go through security at 8:30 am...long before the 10:00 starting time........and there are the do's and don't's......to be gone over.....and who sits where.......the roped off sections are for actual members of maranantha baptist church........the history of plains, the carter national historic site......and the church itself are detailed before jimmy ever comes over from home to teach.......jimmy carter is the only president to be a sunday school teacher, before during or after the presidency........and though he grew up in plains....maranatha baptist ws not his home church......sometime during his presidency a black family moved to plains.....the daddy was a baptist scholar of some sort....and when they applied for membership in 1st baptist...carter's home church...they were refused membership.......and 29 of the 100 members of record walked out of 1st baptist....and formed maranantha....who name is aramaic for welcome, god....or something like that.........when the carters moved back home after the inuagurals.......and sunday came...the story goes that roslyn sat up in bed and asked jimmy......ok, so where do we go to church this morning?......and they went to maranantha........and jimmy carter, nobel laureate, teaches sunday school to all-comers on any sunday when he is in town........the lesson on that particular sunday was on the last chapter in luke.......both clara and kay had their pictures amde with jimmy.....fyi- for those who will quickly understand these things.......madame gibson was also along.....and she was quite disappointed that she was not allowed to chat with jimmy about her lifelong admiration.............at our breakfast....clara gave the introduction....with a freudian slip.......she mentioned that when bush came in the sanctuary to teach..........and there was a hearty round of laughter from the group....the thought of dubya having a weekly sunday school lesson.............to absurd for words..............
wasted days and wasted nights......
ok, so i will admit to staying up to watch the emmys last night........for no good reason gvien that i watched lost only because it was on before alias.......and not from the beginning....only from when i realized that alias was soon to come on.....and i only watched a few episodes of desparate housewives after it booted alias from the time slot.......and i did watch house.......once......and only because hugh laurie was in sense and sensibility.....and i saw arrested development once.......and none of the miniseries......even the one that was on pbs...........and i have no idea how i missed that........i wish to go on record as reviling raymond........so much for the show's given name.......rreruns of this insipid show tend to be on fox 56 as i am fixing dinner.....the 12 year old has no taste in television........i got up and turned off the tv when the show won for best comedy...........hardly worth staying up for that.....at least desparate houswives was funny..............speaking of alias....the new season starts thursday at 8:00...............or it is 9:00.............
sometimes you are right......and sometimes you are wrong...
ok, so today was a mixed bag of rightness/wrongness.....the positive stuff first.......i was able to prove that the miele copr headquarters in princeton, nj....the one next door to the holiday inn.......was designed by michael graves....as i asserted on several occassions to a less-than-convinced audience........on the other hand.......i discovered today that i am not related to the billionaire crown family in chicago......mostly because they are not really crowns.......the patriarch henry crown started out as henry krinksy.........not quite the same thing.......my branch of the family can be tracked back to the shenandoah valley in virginia from 1820 ohio census records in microfilm.......so if they started out as krinskys as well......they changed it before coming to america from....wherever.......through baltimore is how the story goes.....i had no real need to be related to a ridiculously rich family.......i din't even know that there were crowns of some sort in chicago until we visited the field museum....and there was a new science wing donated by the late henry crown......and we photographed the children by the picture,on a whim.......but back to the michael graves building...............
Sunday, September 18, 2005
steve martin.....
ok, so i have read 2 of steve martin's serious works of fiction in the past 24 hours........and i am so depressed...........is steve depressed or is it me....i cannot tell....the loneliness in his prose oozes from within......no person he writes about is happy, or contented, or quite sane....it would seem........and every part seems written specifically for a character actor/actress to play in the film version........so many ocd moments.......so many empty spaces....i cannot call either book sad.....or sardonic........i really like the word sardonic, by the way.......it is such a step up from sarcastic.....which is all i experience these days.......life with a 12.7 year old is nothing short of sarcasm meltdown........sarcasm in its bassest sense.......nothing beyond duh/huh/yay/....well, you get the picture.......curiously.......we are getting on well with our semi-empty nest...like we are a family of therapists focusing on the last remaining patient.........the only one who ever really needed therapy........the raison d'etre.......like the rest was grace...........i think of my life pre-empty nest as grace these days.......so little actual effort to raise child geniouses...........lots of effort into the enrichment part........trips/books/extras.....but not so much intellectual purpose....the first 2 raised themselves by virtue of their lack of need of structure...but the last one needs double-teaming every step of the way.....and we are here to do triple teaming if necessary.........................
ok, so we hear that my spouse's sister is currently in an albany hospital on iv's to correct dehydration, and getting a feeding tube inserted somewhere in her intestinal tract.......the tube buys her time......but at some point the tumor will simply pinch off the flow of her intestines.....and that will be that......pictured is the greek salad that i composed for our after church lunch in her gazebo.....the last time we were up to visit....on our way back from taking stephan to school....it was a marvelous lunch.....with good wine and pleasant conversation and soothing sounds of the waterfalls from their extensive waterfeature.......i haven't been in the habit of photographing food for quite some time.....mostly i try not to think about food/cooking/eating.....but somehomw the thought of not eating in the traditional way ever again........it is so downhill from the point at which you can no longer eat..........she may be able to take sips of liquid.......like coffee.....omg if i couldn't drink coffee in the morning.......but then i might think differently if i were in her shoes.......no matter what some folks think about tubes....and end-of-life......tubes can allow a person whose body still basically functions to enjoy life in some variation of normal......for a bit longer.......and i am relieved that she and her family chose this path............
Saturday, September 17, 2005
return visit....
ok, so i ignored the cat's cries when we got home from delivering the mattress set to andrew in lexington.....i got distracted......and figured that my spouse could take a turn......and gosh darn if there wasn't a possum in the cat food again.......a small possum....which the dog proceeded to grab in his teeth and shake.......the 12-year old began to sob......and carry-on that the dog was going to get rabies and die ...there was blood splattered all over the kitchen.....and still we have no idea how the thing got back in....if it is the same one that i let loose the last time......this one isn't coming back again.....but still.....the whole thing is making us crazy with wonder and concern......poor cat may starve......nobody wants to feed her anymore.........
fraud
ok, so I read with amusement that the skeletal actress renee z. has filed for an anulment from her country singer souse of 4 months.....citing fraud.....
fraud.....hmmmm.....like he promised her he wanted children/to co-habitate/vote democratic .......and that he failed to follow through....hmmm....li shudder at the notion that one's promises could be so scrutinized ......heck.....I made certain promises.....like the one where I promised that I would be tidy......and keep no cats......and I never seem to notice that the trash needs taken out......so is it fraud.....?....I think not.....not after all this time......and so did kenny chesney commit fraud or did his new wife hear what she wanted to hear......and why get an anulment when she could get a quick divorce .....of.course, this is not my business......but somehow fraud pricks up my ears......and I cannot seem to look away.....
fraud.....hmmmm.....like he promised her he wanted children/to co-habitate/vote democratic .......and that he failed to follow through....hmmm....li shudder at the notion that one's promises could be so scrutinized ......heck.....I made certain promises.....like the one where I promised that I would be tidy......and keep no cats......and I never seem to notice that the trash needs taken out......so is it fraud.....?....I think not.....not after all this time......and so did kenny chesney commit fraud or did his new wife hear what she wanted to hear......and why get an anulment when she could get a quick divorce .....of.course, this is not my business......but somehow fraud pricks up my ears......and I cannot seem to look away.....
maureen dowd......
ok, so maureen may be syndicated...but i will never be able to read her in the local paper........this is especially brilliant piece.......from friday's nytimes.....
Disney on Parade
By MAUREEN DOWD
WASHINGTON
The president, as he fondly recalled the other day, used to get well lit in New Orleans. Not any more.
On Thursday night, Mr. Bush wanted to appear casually in charge as he waged his own Battle of New Orleans in Jackson Square. Instead, he looked as if he'd been dropped off by his folks in front of a eerie, blue-hued castle at Disney World. (Must be Sleeping Beauty's Castle, given the somnambulant pace of W.'s response to Katrina.)
All Andrew Jackson's horses, and all the Boy King's men could not put Humpty Dumpty together again. His gladiatorial walk across the darkened greensward, past a St. Louis Cathedral bathed in moon glow from White House klieg lights, just seemed to intensify the sense of an isolated, out-of-touch president clinging to hollow symbols as his disastrous disaster agency continues to flail.
In a ruined city - still largely without power, stinking with piles of garbage and still 40 percent submerged; where people are foraging in the miasma and muck for food, corpses and the sentimental detritus of their lives; and where unbearably sad stories continue to spill out about hordes of evacuees who lost their homes and patients who died in hospitals without either electricity or rescuers - isn't it rather tasteless, not to mention a waste of energy, to haul in White House generators just to give the president a burnished skin tone and a prettified background?
The slick White House TV production team was trying to salvage W.'s "High Noon" snap with some snazzy Hollywood-style lighting - the same Reaganesque stagecraft they had provided when W. made a prime-time television address from Ellis Island on the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. On that occasion, Scott Sforza, a former ABC producer, and Bob DeServi, a former NBC cameraman and a lighting expert, rented three barges of giant Musco lights, the kind used for "Monday Night Football" and Rolling Stones concerts, floated them across New York Harbor and illuminated the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop for Mr. Bush.
Before the presidential address, Mr. DeServi was surveying his handiwork in Jackson Square, crowing to reporters about his cathedral: "Oh, it's heated up. It's going to print loud."
As Elisabeth Bumiller, the White House reporter for The Times, noted in a pool report, the image wizards had put up a large swath of military camouflage netting, held in place by bags of rocks and strung on poles, to hide the president from the deserted and desolate streets of the French Quarter ghost town.
The president is still looking for a tiny spot of unreality in New Orleans - and in Iraq, where a violent rampage has spiked the three-day death tally to over 200.
The Oedipal loop-de-loop of W. and Poppy grows ever loopier.
With Karl Rove's help, Junior designed his presidency as a reverse of his father's. W. would succeed by studying Dad's failures and doing the opposite. But in a bizarre twist of filial fate, the son has stumbled so badly in areas where he tried to one-up Dad that he has ended up giving Dad a leg up in the history books.
As Mark Twain said: "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."
Of course, it's taken Junior only five years to learn how smart his old man was.
His father made the "mistake" of not conquering and occupying Iraq because he had the silly idea that Iraqis would resent it. His father made the "mistake" of raising taxes, not cutting them, and overly obsessing about the federal deficit. And his father made the "mistake" of hewing to the center, making his base mad and losing his bid for re-election.
Bush père did make a real mistake in responding slowly to Hurricane Andrew in 1992, but that blunder has been dwarfed by what the slothful son hath wrought. Because of his fatal tardiness, W. now has to literally promise the moon to fix New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast, driving up the federal deficit and embarking on the biggest spending bonanza and government public works program since F.D.R.
In his address from the French Quarter, the president sounded like such a spendthrift bleeding heart that he is terrifying the right more than his father ever did.
Read my lips: By the time all this is over, people will be saying that Poppy was the true conservative in the family.
Disney on Parade
By MAUREEN DOWD
WASHINGTON
The president, as he fondly recalled the other day, used to get well lit in New Orleans. Not any more.
On Thursday night, Mr. Bush wanted to appear casually in charge as he waged his own Battle of New Orleans in Jackson Square. Instead, he looked as if he'd been dropped off by his folks in front of a eerie, blue-hued castle at Disney World. (Must be Sleeping Beauty's Castle, given the somnambulant pace of W.'s response to Katrina.)
All Andrew Jackson's horses, and all the Boy King's men could not put Humpty Dumpty together again. His gladiatorial walk across the darkened greensward, past a St. Louis Cathedral bathed in moon glow from White House klieg lights, just seemed to intensify the sense of an isolated, out-of-touch president clinging to hollow symbols as his disastrous disaster agency continues to flail.
In a ruined city - still largely without power, stinking with piles of garbage and still 40 percent submerged; where people are foraging in the miasma and muck for food, corpses and the sentimental detritus of their lives; and where unbearably sad stories continue to spill out about hordes of evacuees who lost their homes and patients who died in hospitals without either electricity or rescuers - isn't it rather tasteless, not to mention a waste of energy, to haul in White House generators just to give the president a burnished skin tone and a prettified background?
The slick White House TV production team was trying to salvage W.'s "High Noon" snap with some snazzy Hollywood-style lighting - the same Reaganesque stagecraft they had provided when W. made a prime-time television address from Ellis Island on the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. On that occasion, Scott Sforza, a former ABC producer, and Bob DeServi, a former NBC cameraman and a lighting expert, rented three barges of giant Musco lights, the kind used for "Monday Night Football" and Rolling Stones concerts, floated them across New York Harbor and illuminated the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop for Mr. Bush.
Before the presidential address, Mr. DeServi was surveying his handiwork in Jackson Square, crowing to reporters about his cathedral: "Oh, it's heated up. It's going to print loud."
As Elisabeth Bumiller, the White House reporter for The Times, noted in a pool report, the image wizards had put up a large swath of military camouflage netting, held in place by bags of rocks and strung on poles, to hide the president from the deserted and desolate streets of the French Quarter ghost town.
The president is still looking for a tiny spot of unreality in New Orleans - and in Iraq, where a violent rampage has spiked the three-day death tally to over 200.
The Oedipal loop-de-loop of W. and Poppy grows ever loopier.
With Karl Rove's help, Junior designed his presidency as a reverse of his father's. W. would succeed by studying Dad's failures and doing the opposite. But in a bizarre twist of filial fate, the son has stumbled so badly in areas where he tried to one-up Dad that he has ended up giving Dad a leg up in the history books.
As Mark Twain said: "When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."
Of course, it's taken Junior only five years to learn how smart his old man was.
His father made the "mistake" of not conquering and occupying Iraq because he had the silly idea that Iraqis would resent it. His father made the "mistake" of raising taxes, not cutting them, and overly obsessing about the federal deficit. And his father made the "mistake" of hewing to the center, making his base mad and losing his bid for re-election.
Bush père did make a real mistake in responding slowly to Hurricane Andrew in 1992, but that blunder has been dwarfed by what the slothful son hath wrought. Because of his fatal tardiness, W. now has to literally promise the moon to fix New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Coast, driving up the federal deficit and embarking on the biggest spending bonanza and government public works program since F.D.R.
In his address from the French Quarter, the president sounded like such a spendthrift bleeding heart that he is terrifying the right more than his father ever did.
Read my lips: By the time all this is over, people will be saying that Poppy was the true conservative in the family.
(russian) cat theatre.....
ok, so this is the only reason i would consider living in nyc......well, this and the museums......from the nytimes...The manager of the coffee shop in Midtown was sorry, but he could not let Yuri Kuklachev and his entourage come in; the New York City Department of Health does not allow animals in restaurants. In Mr. Kuklachev's hand was a cat carrier containing Marusa, his favorite cat. He had brought her to New York, along with 25 other cats, on the nine-hour trip from Russia to perform in the Moscow Cats Theater here, and he was not about to be deterred by details. After repeated promises to keep the carrier under the table and well out of sight, everyone was allowed to sit down. (pictured-Yuri Kuklachev and the Moscow Cats Theater rehearsing at the TriBeCa Performing Arts Center. )
Then, through a translator, Mr. Kuklachev started to describe one of the cat's most famous tricks, when he suddenly leaped up. He slid out the carrier, and in a moment Marusa was standing on her two front paws in the palm of his hand, her tail waving in the air.
Customers stood up, craned their necks and pointed, as the manager hurried over to Mr. Kuklachev - and laughed. Mr. Kuklachev, a small, muscular man with white hair and wide cheeks, smiled and put Marusa away.
The show, which opens tonight at the TriBeCa Performing Arts Center and runs weekends through Oct. 30, features 26 cats; Mr. Kuklachev's wife, Yelena, as the Queen of the Cats; and two small, outnumbered dogs. The theater has a total of nine different routines, including "Cats From Outer Space" and "Nutcracker." No one show is ever exactly like another.
"Cats are like actors," Mr. Kuklachev said. "They do what they want. Sometimes a cat doesn't want one trick, so he does another."
Friday, September 16, 2005
mattress and box springs......
ok, so this afternoon......i accepted delivery of a new mattress and box springs.....and directed the old set to be lugged down to the front room...until we can get it up to andrew's new place........and from there lug his old set to the curb up in lexington or to the goodwill........such is the trickle down of the economics of such semi-durable goods...we have been thinking about the need for new bedding for quite some time....and it wasn;t until our eldest mentioned the shabby state of his own bedding that we decided that the time was ripe for improved sleeping conditions...all around......we got out of sequence there for awhile.......when a double bed was set up in the new basement room....or maybe it was when we created the retirement suite/guestroom on the first floor...at one time the only beds in the house besides ours were twins.......the mattress set that the eldest took to his apartment was the one we rejected at some point along the line and put into deep storage in the garage attic.....and so it was partially parental guilt that led us to buy new bedding and give the best of the rest to our eldest....to be together so many years as to have so many mattresses....hard to imagine how fast and furious one accumulates such things......hopefully it will be years before we reunite with a mattress set of old in the bedroom downstairs....as long as i can manage the steps.......
Thursday, September 15, 2005
a withdrawn hand.......
ok, so this weekend is the annual constitution square festival.......i was reminded this morning as i read the lexington herald newspaper headlines.......when one has no possums in the catfood one has time to read the paper........the headline was about the governor's firing of the 9 subordinates that he pardoned just last week........for violating employment laws.....like the ones that say that you cannot hire based on membership in the prevailing party .....this day republicans.....and i was reminded of a constitution square festival years ago....with my middle child...having just left the democratic table with literature......we ran smack dab into e.f.......s small man...wearing a minicheck yellow shirt.....and he thrust his hand out to shake mind.....and i instictively withdrew mine......i must have know he was trouble.........even without an introduction................ok, so you pardon your folks, then fire them a week later............hmmmm........
dolphins make me cry......
ok, so just when i thought it was safe to turn back to the npr coverage of the gulf war, ur i mean the gulf disaster........i heard a piece on the dolphins from the oceanarium in gulfport......a facility washed away.......but all of these days aftereards....the 8 dolphins came back.......altogether....like a family.....having lost weight from their lack of realworldhuntingskills.......but alive and well......absolutely amazing.....like they followed some internal guidance system that led them back to a specific longitude/lattitude.......the oceanarium folks are feeding them now 6 times a day......and hope to capture/transport them to the same holding facility as yet unnamed.....because they have been together through so much already it would be mean to split them up.....and so i just wept through this piece as a drove to the crosscountry meet at the park...the boyle invitational......and i know full well that i am crying for more than just these dolphins but for the tragedy as a whole........kind of like having post-traumatic stress syndrome without having anything tragic happen to me personally.....3 louisville women were arrested today and charged woth impersonating displaced people from the gulf.......how dispicable to pretend that you are in need when you are not......or at least...not as in need as you pretend to be.....depression is such a slippery slope......i am determined to not allow this event, so far away to trigger such a response.........as if my body is a vessel in search of a syndrome........but as i feel somehwat adrift in my emptying nest.......i have got to find things to busy myself........i could dig up the french tapes......and practice in hopes a trip will present itself........there was a time when i would have said that i found change invigorating......but as i get older.......i hate the word older, by the way......i handle change poorly.........and like the dolphins....i instinctively come right back to where i am supposed to be, even though there are no chains..............
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
the fabric of my family has started to fray.....
ok, so.......i admit that there are too many f's in this piece....just as there are too many of the other major consonants.......d...for doubt.........my spouse came home from work this evening...grabbed a beer from the downstairs refrigerator......this never happens, by the way........and asked once again....if i might have hallucinated the opossum in the the catfood....we went so far as to look up possum pictures on line (a strong p sound.....repeated.) yep....it was a possum, and not a rat, raccoon, it certainly was not oscar the wire-haired fox terrier....though he has begun to resemble the opossum since this morning......i do take umbrage at the suggestion that i imagined an opossum....babyorotherwise.....meanwhile i am skittish (bold s-sound...) about scooping catfood out of the 25 pound bag the rests directly behind the 25 pound bag of dogfood in the pantry...beside the trash can......it was the scoop in the trashcan that caught my attention.....(scoop....hard ess.......)...i had gotten up, as always....about 6:35 am........the alarm rings at 6:30....and i listen to enough npr to catch up on the essentials....and then i drag myself into the bathroom, to the kitchen to make coffee....to the mailbox for the lexington herald leader......back to the kitchen to feed the dog and the cat.....all the while the dog has gone out and the cat has come in....and begun her special feed-me routine.....the cat seemed uneffected when i shrieked at the sight of a(an) (o)possum's head cresting over the edge of the cat's food........my spouse was still out on his regular tuesday/thursday/saturday run in town with his cronies.......and i had to decide....whether til nobler to get the conundrum possum out of the house quickly...or guard the pantry until my spouse came home........(hard h.......)rather than fumble about for a camera.....i flung aside the bag of dog food....and grabbed up the catfood bag margins as closed as i could grab them.....and raced out onto the porch.......where i flung it on the grey-painted concrete......and possum trotted up the grass and into the ocver of the mist.......all the while the partial dog......yellow aka butter, a beast of a yellow lab that we share with the neighbors......headed down the hill....directly toward the cat';s food.......And at the point that the caloric intervention was made.....i was pulling the catfood bag off of the obese canine........omg.......all this before i had coffee.............catfood/canine/coffee....yep....too many hard c's...but then this was only the beginning.............and then my spouse came home.....and the disbelief began.............yet i have had the entire work day to contemplate the puzzle...of how (hard h...) the opossum got into the catfood........it translates better as a mutiple choice problem....for the new SAT, perhaps.......a) a lugubrious prankster snuck ino the snug bungalow under cover of darkness....and placed the possum in the most ironic of locales.......hee-hee.........b) the opossum crept into the house and into the kitchen pantry through a complicated maze of rube goldberg-esquely unlikely coincidences......while my spouse darted from the front door to the van and back to get his insulated mug to poor thje coffee that hadn't been made yet.......ooopps.....that bird won't fly.....well, maybe he darted into the garage to get something as yet unnamed....and the front door was open....and the pantry door was open....and the old dog was asleep.......c) there is a major breech in our home....like the dryer vent cover coming loose.....or a rock in the foundation has bulged out too much....and the opossum slipped in the made it's way toward the kitchen and the aroma of pelleted feed.............
reckless homicide
ok so i was not surprised to read this online....
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The husband-and-wife owners of a nursing home near New Orleans were charged Tuesday with negligent homicide in the deaths of 34 people during the flooding unleashed by Hurricane Katrina.
The case represents the first major prosecution to come out of the disaster.
The owners of St. Rita's Nursing Home in Chalmette "were asked if they wanted to move (the patients). They did not. They were warned repeatedly that this storm was coming," Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti said.
"In effect, their inaction resulted in the deaths of these patients," Foti said.
Salvador A. Mangano and his wife, Mable, surrendered and were jailed on 34 counts of negligent homicide. Each count carries up to five years in prison.
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The husband-and-wife owners of a nursing home near New Orleans were charged Tuesday with negligent homicide in the deaths of 34 people during the flooding unleashed by Hurricane Katrina.
The case represents the first major prosecution to come out of the disaster.
The owners of St. Rita's Nursing Home in Chalmette "were asked if they wanted to move (the patients). They did not. They were warned repeatedly that this storm was coming," Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti said.
"In effect, their inaction resulted in the deaths of these patients," Foti said.
Salvador A. Mangano and his wife, Mable, surrendered and were jailed on 34 counts of negligent homicide. Each count carries up to five years in prison.
bedding.....
ok, so my mother's church is collected bedding to be sent thursday to a methodist church in baton rouge for distribution.......sounded like an organized and targeted endeavor......and so i was able to glean 3 trashbags full of blankets, sheets, and mattress pads from multiple linen closets......sadly...i couldn't see where all of that came from when i opened the doors to show my spouse......which means i have far too much stuff for too few people.......not that many extra towels.....the extras have gone up east......
wonkette
ok, so one of my favorite blogs to read is one by a washington insider called wonkette...the following is her list....
Wonkette's Tips to Make John Roberts's Confirmation More Interesting
• Figure out which senators aren't wearing make-up.
• Go through box of crayons trying to approximate the exact shade of Roberts' dreamy blue eyes.
• Turn off sound, do voice over giving senators funny voices or accents.
• Turn off sound, start "Dark Side of the Moon." Freaky, huh?
• Miniputt!
• Put ten glasses of water on your coffee table, one containing poison: close your eyes and re-arrange them. Every time Specter says, "let him finish," drink one.
• Translate the hearings for your cat ("And then the senator asked 'meow meow meeeow meow meoooow.'").
• Count your yawns per hour; now, can you double that the next hour?
• Assfuck -- while you still can.
• Prank call the committee members' offices, asking "Is your democracy running?"
• Watch them with a gerbil in your trousers.
i could probably do without the gerbil.......
Wonkette's Tips to Make John Roberts's Confirmation More Interesting
• Figure out which senators aren't wearing make-up.
• Go through box of crayons trying to approximate the exact shade of Roberts' dreamy blue eyes.
• Turn off sound, do voice over giving senators funny voices or accents.
• Turn off sound, start "Dark Side of the Moon." Freaky, huh?
• Miniputt!
• Put ten glasses of water on your coffee table, one containing poison: close your eyes and re-arrange them. Every time Specter says, "let him finish," drink one.
• Translate the hearings for your cat ("And then the senator asked 'meow meow meeeow meow meoooow.'").
• Count your yawns per hour; now, can you double that the next hour?
• Assfuck -- while you still can.
• Prank call the committee members' offices, asking "Is your democracy running?"
• Watch them with a gerbil in your trousers.
i could probably do without the gerbil.......
the baby opossum
ok, so had i my wits about me...i would have run to get the camera when i was preparing to feed the pest this morning.....and a baby opossum was in the catfood bag......nope...i shrieked.......and plucked the entire 25 pound bag out of the pantry and raced it outside.....and watched in relief when the animal raced off toward the bushes.......the dogs were no where in sight, thankfully....and while i know that opossum's are not dangerous....well....i think i know that.......it still begs the question of how it got there.....and are there more of the family lurking about......omg.......
Monday, September 12, 2005
run away...
ok, so today a client and his foster mamma were in my office....working through typical toddler eating habits....and the foster mamma intimated that the judge wpuld rule on her adoption mtion in the next 10 days...and I said, blurted, rather, that when the adoption was final she should move away....and tell only loved ones where she has gone with her child.....had we to do this over....../
audio porn......
ok, so i checked out a book on tape over the weekend.......one that looked cozy and hinted of a provence sort of winery mystery......and....my.....was i surprised when it turned out to be not only a romance novel....but a juicy romance novel that i had to keep away from the ears of my 12-year old due to the descriptives and subject matter.......ha!.......sometimes one cannot see these things coming.......and though a televised version might not have been as r-rated as it sounded....well........this book was far cry from the cat-who books or hercule poirot-types.........that rarely include alternative wordings for naked, scanty, erect.....no bodices were ripped but you get the picture.......the good news is this....the local library does not censor anything.......and this is a marvelous reality in this day and age of harry potter defamers.........
the new yorker...from now on.......
ok, so there is an expected thrill that comes from picking up an untouched new yorker from the table in the front room...one that was overlooked by the person who fetched the mail from the road.....one that no one will try to secrete into the netherworld of our house's many floors.....not to be seen again unless it is asked for specifically.....and sadly...an issue that no one else will read unless i send it out of state......nearer to home, one could say.......ok, so i wrote this entire blog just so i could link that single cartoon.......it made me laugh
brown resigns.....
ok, so what took so long.......Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Mike Brown resigned today after coming under fire over his qualifications and for what critics call a bungled response to Hurricane Katrina. Asked about the resignation as he toured the devastated city of Gulfport, Mississippi, President Bush said he could not comment.....bush could not comment because the script for his comments had not yet been handed to him.........
Sunday, September 11, 2005
bill turner
ok, so several weeks ago, i blogged enthusiastically about a rousing sermon by a substitute preacher....a retired paster that moved up this way from texas to help found a moderate baptist seminary in lexington.......he covered the history of the baptists, from the reformation to present day.......and went to great lengths to convince all present that the separation of church and state preserves our religious freedom and is a very good thing that the founding fathers put into law..........despite the temptation to foster more church involvement in government .........i was heartened to find that our family is not alone in this belief.....and i did mean to write a short note thanking him for his confirming words.....but i never quite got around to it......and so today it seemed to be fate that i found myself standing in back of him and his wife after the benediction.....in the long line of folks welcoming the new members......3 separate families joined today....they almost fell over each other coming forward during the last hymn......dr. turner seemed grateful that we had got the message,......as there were others who thought he had said the opposite.......no idea how they could have been so mistaken......but people do hear what they want to hear and disregard the rest.........(quoting simon and garfunkel,......but i digress......).....we also had a good laugh about how they hyphenated their names after they got married.....and then decided to go back to their original names to make it all simpler.......a pleasant interlude......
more on the least deserving......
ok, so a few days ago i ranted a bit about a committee meeting i had attended......one at which a group of local agencies was trying to orchestrate a monthly food distribution through the mobile god's pantry truck.....and how at this meeting the local agencies were worried more about how to keep the least deserving in the county from taking advantage......not how can we help the maximum number of familes, but how can be help only those who deserve our helpi am still appauled at the lack of compassion for the less fortunate.......a similar discussion popped up a family supper last night.....when i own mother started to rant about how there are families that go from church to church looking for handouts....and how her church was trying to network with other churches to keep that from happening.......again, i was horrified by the sentiment of deserving versus undeserving....when none of us deserve any of what we have......it is not like those folks who go from agency to agency are making enough from our their rounds to vacation in the south of france.........and it is not like those well-off don't do the same thing.....just think haliburton......dick cheney's company that is raking in the big bucks off of the no-bid contracts in iraq......they are now set to collect on the billions in no-bid contracts in louisiana and mississippitalk about the undeserving.......what is a few extra boxes of diapers or macaroni and cheese to a poor family when some americans end up with extra millions/billions........and at the expense of the poor who lost everything........they will see far too little of the cash being raised...and those that do reap that windfall harvest of illgotten gains will ironically, be hestitant to give it to charities that help the undeserving poor.......
Saturday, September 10, 2005
safety....
ok, so i stayed up to watch the osu/texas game.....and darned if texas didn't get a safety in the last 25 seconds.....our little party kind of fell apart when the game started.....my mom went home to watch......and our eldest and his girlfriend headed back to lex......at one point i thought that osu had the momentum......but these things change so quickly.......but i do not watch these infrequent big10 telecasts for the score....i watch because i feel so close to my dad when osu is on the field.......my dad was a fan...not the crazed baredbellytattoo kind of fan....but a knowledgable guy who remembered who had won every meeting since 1950....or so.......dad would have shaken his head at the score.....and gone on to bed......
wide world of sports
ok, so I got home from cayle's cross country meet (the e.g. plummer)....in time to watch nyy v boston on fox56......except that this fox affiliate chose to cover the atl game......and so I turned the channel to the us open...and watch agassi in a 5-set win in the semi's......I also watched a bit of notre dame's win over michigan ....always a pleasre to see michigan lose.....osu plays texas tonight .....probably won't be on....due to coverage of u.k. versus idaho
they will likely lose.....all I need now to round out My day is nascar....or maybe not....
they will likely lose.....all I need now to round out My day is nascar....or maybe not....
ok, so i am behind on posting pictures.....this is the challah that ernst and stephan made after the inspiring article about the l.o. and her meanmamma making challah....they didn't exactly follow the printed recipe exactly.....it was kind of averaged with james beard's recipe....it was delicious....many thanks to the l.o. for interesting the middle child in the art of breadmaking......
cleaning out ........
ok, so after a leisurely beginning to my saturday...coffee on the deck with the newspaper and the mist rising off of the creek.....it was time to get to the tasks at hand.....the place to start was the front room......what some could call a parlor/dining room combo.....as opposed to the back room which is a family room/dining room combo.....we never use these descriptives......the house simply flows from the front room to the kitchen to the back room.....but i digress.......every scrap of paper that touched my middle child's hand in the past year is piled in the informal newspaper recycling shelf......piled in front of it, actually....we are talking poundage of paper.......bits of the microeconomics self-study.......plot notecards from madame bovary........catalogs from colleges that were considered.........envelopes from graduation cards......the cardboard backings to tablets that had no paper......it took 2 laundry baskets to haul the stuff to the garage.......and now i can turn my attention to the crab grass...which has taken over the planting beds, the brick walk, and what is left of the lawn.......curious how crab grass can withstand drought conditions that kill everything else.......i am sorely tempted to drag out the crab grass killer spray...but such chemicals are so damaging to the desirable plants....so it will be with physical labor that the yard is cleaned up.........all this bother could ve avoided if i were to take up the bricks, lay down a mesh liner topped with fresh sand, replace the bricks, and remortar the margins.......yep...that is all it would take to keep crab grass from rooting between the bricks...eventually i will get around to the longterm solution......and crab grass could also be kept at bay if i were to do a little yard work every day.....20 minutes of weeding invested daily could have kept most of this crop from getting out of hand......which brings me back to the business of cleaning out clutter.....throwing things away as they come in is so much easier than having to haul it out after it has reached critical mass......ideally, the samesaid offspring will avoid collecting every paper that touches his hands until it is time to move out next spring......
Friday, September 09, 2005
lack of sensitivity training......
ok, so some of the media have no clue....especially when it comes to pets....the following is a discourse between marc fisher from the washington post during an on-line chat....
Crofton, Md.: Hi Marc -- Question about human behavior (mine). I am horrified at the destruction along the Gulf Coast. I see bodies in the water and felt terrible but sadly not half as bad as I feel when I see a dog, cat, etc., dead or in distress from the storm! Am I hopeless? I can look at CNN and watch coverage of body removal but I immediately turn the channel when it is an animal! Why?
Marc Fisher: Beats me. But then again, I cannot fathom why all these folks who stayed behind to take care of their pets would risk their lives for an animal that they could easily replace at any pet store.
easily replace.........this guy has no pets.......or no heart......or neither of the above........we in the see-dub clan have gone so far as to do hip replacement for our late viszla named redbone....the surgury gave him an extra couple of years.....and it seemed as worthwhile at the time as it does now.......would i stay behind if i couldn't find the cat in a crisis.....you bet i would.....she would expect me to do my duty as her human.............and i couldn't live with myself if it failed her........
Crofton, Md.: Hi Marc -- Question about human behavior (mine). I am horrified at the destruction along the Gulf Coast. I see bodies in the water and felt terrible but sadly not half as bad as I feel when I see a dog, cat, etc., dead or in distress from the storm! Am I hopeless? I can look at CNN and watch coverage of body removal but I immediately turn the channel when it is an animal! Why?
Marc Fisher: Beats me. But then again, I cannot fathom why all these folks who stayed behind to take care of their pets would risk their lives for an animal that they could easily replace at any pet store.
easily replace.........this guy has no pets.......or no heart......or neither of the above........we in the see-dub clan have gone so far as to do hip replacement for our late viszla named redbone....the surgury gave him an extra couple of years.....and it seemed as worthwhile at the time as it does now.......would i stay behind if i couldn't find the cat in a crisis.....you bet i would.....she would expect me to do my duty as her human.............and i couldn't live with myself if it failed her........
least deserving.....
ok, so i sat through a prolonged committee meeting this morning.....and went away saddened by what was said and done/notdone......those gathered together were local agencies interested in taking up God's pantry on its offer to include this county in a mobile food pantry delivery service......they are offering to provide 100 boxes of food to 100 families once a month......and the collective we have to figure out logistics....such as who the 100 families will be......and the bulk of the comments made were under the narrow heading of who deserves help versus who does not.......most of those present were fixated on just how the collective we would filter out those who are the least deserving.......and the desciption f who fit that profile was quite subjective......like unmarried couples living together versus married couples.......and folks getting food stamps versus not....and those who have jobs and those do not.....and it just went on and on.....andfor all of the christian intentions of those present.....a major point was missed........none of us deserves grace....and therefore we have no business making distinctions on deserve versus undeserving........god's pantry has financial guidelines.....and aside from those.....i say that whoever can qualify should get something...maybe not every month.....but as often as there name can pop up on a list of 100 families.......sorry for ranting about something so esoteric........
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