My HP Deskjet 5650

I can count on my printer.  I've had it for nearly 10 years and it still works beautifully.
Isn't it nice when you can rely on something?

I have an HP laptop I bought in 2009 that's still going strong as well. 

Thank you HP. 

Oops

I feel terrible for this Metro bus driver.  He entered the express lanes going southbound soon after it had been closed to southbound traffic and one minute after it was open to northbound traffic.  

Good article from KOMO News, with WSDOT twitter commentary, and a photo gallery.  

I want this

Link directly to article with the video

3D images of you, you and your dog, you and your spouse, you and your baby.

Hot.  I like it.

Here's a link to another video about 3D images of ourselves.  I'm sad to say the store featured on this link is owned by another major retail store that I don't like and will never visit.

Government Shutdown - Rachel Maddow

The Shutdown:  A Summary by Rachel Maddow

Participating in the Battle of Ideas

I don't have an image for today's post so this is a scanned picture of my Grandmother while on a trip to Asia (South Korea and China?) in the 1970's.

CBS This Morning  - This is a story about how police in London are approaching the problem of young people becoming radicalized.

I was particularly struck by Charlie Rose's ending comment that we need to be participants in the Battle of Ideas.

***

To change the world, we must be participants in the Battle of Ideas.

Silence leaves room for negative energy.

Active participation is exhausting, but necessary.

Closer to resolution

John Boehner put out a statement at 3:30 ET today.

“The House has fought with everything it has to convince the president of the United States to engage in bipartisan negotiations aimed at addressing our country's debt and providing fairness for the American people under ObamaCare. That fight will continue. But blocking the bipartisan agreement reached today by the members of the Senate will not be a tactic for us.  In addition to the risk of default, doing so would open the door for the Democratic majority in Washington to raise taxes again on the American people and undo the spending caps in the 2011 Budget Control Act without replacing them with better spending cuts. With our nation's economy still struggling under years of the president's policies, raising taxes is not a viable option. Our drive to stop the train wreck that is the president's health care law will continue.  We will rely on aggressive oversight that highlights the law's massive flaws and smart, targeted strikes that split the legislative coalition the president has relied upon to force his health care law on the American people.”

I have some quibbles with Boehner's view on things:
1. Obamacare was already debated and voted on by the congress.  During the course of developing the plan, Obama did engage in bipartisan negotiations.  If it had been Obama's choice, we would have a single payer health system.  The fact that Obamacare isn't perfect is a testament to his efforts to bring Republicans into the process.
2. Our nation is still struggling under the years of conservative policies of President George Bush and company - not Obama.  Obama's been digging us out of this mess as best he can with a Congress who doesn't care about anything except getting re-elected and destroying the federal government.    
3. Nobody even knows if Obamacare is a train wreck yet.  According to the Tea Party types implementation of Obamacare is worse for our country than defaulting on our debt.  I just don't see that.  And most economists would disagree with the Tea Partiers.  Yes, the website hasn't been perfect - but that's not a condemnation of the policy.  

And, based on his last sentence we can look forward to more of the same from them in the future - ugh.
Next step - the votes. 

Congress

I am so angry at John Boehner and the 'Tea Party' Republicans in Congress.
If John Boehner had allowed the House to vote (to open the government and increase the debt limit), this would be worked out already.  There are enough Democrats and Republicans who would vote yes to move the bill to the Senate who would have voted for it, and the President would have signed it.  The story would be that the Tea Party Republicans tried a strategy to defund Obamacare and it didn't work.

Instead, John Boehner is catering to the Tea Party Republicans by putting changes to Obamacare into the bill so they will be happy.  Which will never be acceptable to the Senate or the President.

On Monday, the Senate Majority and Minority leader had almost reached an agreement.  John Boehner decided he needed to get an acceptable House bill to the Senate before he lost control and the Senate came up with a plan.  The Senate stopped their negotiations (I don't know why - out of respect?  Crazy.)  Boehner created a bill that had at least one small change to Obamacare.  He couldn't get the Tea Party Republicans behind it because it didn't go far enough to defund Obamacare!  He had to drop it.

Now, it's the final day and the Senate is back to creating their deal.  A wasted day brought to you by John Boehner.

The final day before what, you ask?  The United States will not have enough money to fund the current programs and the debts..  The Treasury Department will have to choose what doesn't get paid.  Of course, the debt has to be paid first, so programs will get cut.

We don't know what will happen next.  The financial people are using words like armageddon, and global economic meltdown.  The stock market hasn't tanked yet because the people in charge of Wall Street believe cooler heads will prevail in the end.

I'm not so sure.  I mean, it seems unthinkable, but so did so much of the other stuff that has happened.  Personally, I'm afraid my company will shrink and my job is on the line.  I worry about my savings and what will become of me.

The Tea Party Republicans want this to happen.  They want a smaller government.  They want the government to stop spending so much.  They win no matter what.
And they were voted into office by people - Americans who don't care about anyone else; they want us all to live and believe just like they do.  They're a minority and they're holding the rest of us hostage.

Do I wish Obama had taken control of them a long time ago?  Yes.  But, I don't fault him for believing the Congress should do their job and act like adults.

Whatever happens in the next few hours or days, or weeks, I wonder what will happen in the next election.  Will Tea Party people get more power?  Will conservative Republicans get more power?  Will people remember this?  What will people value when they go to the polls?

Okay - I'm done.  Sorry this isn't written well - I'm very frustrated by the subject matter.

Slate

Slate redesigned their website in the last couple weeks.
David Plotz explains how, why, and what.

Four reasons I'm disappointed with the update:
1. I'd love to give them feedback, but I can't because you have to register to make a comment.  I didn't register with them before and I don't want to encourage their changes by registering now; they might think it's because I love the changes.
2. Did they fire the proofreader?  Lots of mistakes - missing words, bad punctuation, typos.  I thought a serious news site would care about how words and sentences work together to communicate ideas.  I guess not.
3. It's hard to tell which home page 'tile' is from Slate, a content partner, or an advertisement.
4. No search field.

I don't dislike the Slate content, but I don't enjoy the content presentation.

Here are some articles about the redesign:
Digitopoly
Washington Post
Mashable - this article makes clear to me why I don't like the homepage...the new version has 13 'boxes' of information while the old version had only 7.  I don't understand why they think it's a cleaner design.

It's a testament to my disappointment that I'm compelled to write about the redesign two weeks later.  It still bothers me.
I guess I'll get used to it.
Will I also get used to the lousy proofreading?  (Will I get used to lower standards?)

The Tea Party gets what they want

The Tea Party wants a smaller federal government.
They're getting it.

There's no sense in what they're doing because the thing they really want is already happening.

The Tea Party Republicans won't approve a continuing resolution to fund the government unless the Affordable Care Act is delayed for a year (originally they wanted ACA to be completely dismantled).  The ACA is funded separately and doesn't rely on the continuing resolution to continue.  In fact, the ACA website opened yesterday.  Taking an idealogical stand at this time doesn't make sense.

I think they're shaking shiny keys in front of our face while behind our back they're pleased with themselves for 'shrinking' the federal government.

The sequestor was a shrinking of the government and we're getting along.  They're hoping that after a while we'll all get used to the current federal shutdown and realize how unnecessary a large federal government is.

We're in a no win situation. unless someone comes up with a creative way to get out of this.
(By 'we' I mean people who appreciate a federal government)
This tactic is similar to what perpetrators of domestic violence do.
(I know that's a provocative statement.  It's not intended to minimize the horror of domestic violence or equate the brutality of domestic abuse to the  government shutdown.  It's a comment about the tactic.)

Two other factors that are contributing to the current stand-off
1.  The debt ceiling needs to be raised by October 17th and the Tea Party people don't like that either.  Economists think this will have the greatest impact on our economy.
2.  The Tea Party Republicans come from districts that have been gerry-mandered so much that the representatives don't worry about getting re-elected (usually, the only leverage people have to send a message to their representative).  They're representing districts that support this ridiculous plan.

Grrrrr...this makes me angry!

It's InSANity!

Today's (10/01/2013) Google Doodle honors the 123rd anniversary of Yosemite National Park on the very day the federal government has shutdown because Republican House members are trying to repeal the lawful (voted into law by congress in 2009), and constitutional (per the US Supreme Court) Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare).

Celebrate Hump Day with Caleb the Camel

I'm not the only who loves Caleb the Camel

CBS This Morning celebrates Hump Day and Caleb the Camel

My previous post about Hump Day

Fox News

Jon Stewart speaking about Fox News on The Daily Show 9/10/2013...
"...Fox opposes the Syria peace plan because it's modus operandi is to forment dissent in the form of a relentless and irrational contrarianism to Barack Obama and all things democratic, to advance its ultimate objective of creating deliberately misinformed body politic whose fear, anger, mistrust, and discontent is the
manna upon which it sustains it's parasitic succubus-like existence."

Booya!  Bam!  Bazinga!

He later called out all the mainstream media who seem 'disappointed' not to be going to war.  They don't care about news, they care about the momentum that leads to ...anything.

Comedy Central hasn't posted the video of  tonight's show yet.  Here's the show's website...

Benjamin Franklin

Heavy rain, thunder, and lightening this morning.  

It made me think how amazing it is that Benjamin Franklin used lightening to make discoveries about electricity.  How did he even know where it would strike?  He must have been very smart.

Electricity scares me.  

Big Brother 15

Nobody cares what I think about Big Brother and it's driving me crazy!

I have insightful thoughts (you bet they are!) about the houseguests, the strategy, and the socio-political aspects of the game and no one to share it with.

And then I remember that I don't care about Big Brother either.

Grrrrr

Diana Nyad

Diana Nyad, at age 64, completes a 103 mile swim from Cuba to Key West Florida without a shark cage.

Brava!

Several years ago, MFJ and I went to a book fair in Portland.  She was there with Bonnie Stoll to promote an exercise dvd called BravaBody.  Her name has flitted in and out of the news since I was a teenager so I was interested to see her.
The room wasn't full so before the presentation she went to each one of us, shook our hand and said hello. She was friendly and full of energy.  I remember being impressed with her attitude and how she was living her life.
I purchased the DVD, but wasn't comfortable getting it signed.

At the end of the swim, these are her words...

"I've got three messages.  One is, we should never, ever give up.  Two is, you're never too old to chase your dreams.  From here it looks like a solitary sport, but it's a team"

She looks pretty weak and out of it right now.  It'll be good to hear from her later.

Congratulations, Diana!

Syria - A letter to President Obama

I plan to send President Obama a handmade card.  I'm hoping that will get me an autographed photo or some other souvenir.  I've had no luck when I use the 'contact us' link on whitehouse.gov.
If you know me, you know it will take me a LONG time to get a card out.

And in the meantime, trouble's a brewin' and I have to get a message to the President before it's too late!
I sent him this message using the 'contact us' link on whitehouse.gov.

Dear Mr. President,
I'll keep this short and to the point.
I do not support intervening in Syria.
Using violence to get what we want is never going to help.  It doesn't make things better on a personal level, and it won't make things better on a global level.
No good can come of it.
Why are the deaths we cause using bombs less despicable than the deaths caused by chemical weapons?
There is no acceptable war, so don't convince yourself that some line has been crossed now that chemical weapons were used...the line was crossed when the first bullet was shot, and we did nothing (which I agree with).
It's horrible that people are dying.  We shouldn't add to it.
I wish you the best President Obama...I know these will be hard days for you.
Thank you for everything.
Vicky

Fingers crossed this note will make the difference!!!

And now I know...Whodunnit

The killer was revealed in Sunday night's fnale.  Three contestants remained, a final quiz that involved a lot of running...it was an exciting finale.
Except the part where the killer is revealed.  That part still confuses me.  The killer was a castmate who was playing the game all the way through with the rest of the contestants?  The killer didn't know how the murders were done, but only knew that he or she was the killer?  Was the killer an employee then?  Or a contestant they selected randomly?

I felt bad for Lindsey who was suspected to be the killer most often, and the one who knew it was Chris the whole time.  She came in second - the last victim.  But, Cam played a good game so it's fine he won.

Oh well.  It was a fun enough show. I'll leave the final word to Andy Dehnart at Reality Blurred, who writes better than I do, and I agree with what he says.

P.S.  I'm sorry I thought you were the killer Melina!

Orange is the New Black

I spent 13 hours this weekend watching all episodes of "Orange is the New Black" on Netflix.
Why?
'Cause it was good, that's why!
(I managed to take a couple walks as well, so it wasn't all couch potato time)

Love all the characters, the acting is fantastic, interesting setting, nice blend of comedy and drama.  Great show.  I'd like to tell you about the character/cast standouts, but they're all really great.
I like every character...except the male guards/counselors - and I'm not supposed to like them!

I'll note Kate Mulgrew because I've been watching her from Mary Ryan on "Ryan's Hope" to Mrs. Columbo, to Star Trek Voyager.

I also like Uzo Aduba as Crazy Eyes

Her character's real name is Suzanne, but everyone calls her Crazy Eyes. She's very intense and straight forward so she seems childlike sometimes.  But, she can be threatening, sexually provocative, and aggressive as well..  "You don't want to see me when I'm angry", she says.

And now that I've named two I feel guilty for not naming all of them.
But wait, there's more!
The characters in Piper's home life are good too (Piper's the main character).  I want to dislike her best friend because she's too sassy and hip and rich.  But, the writing (and acting, of course) are keeping her balanced; I DO like her!

On the more dramatic side, there's a lot of story to tell, about the personal lives of the women, and the prison system in our country today.
I recently heard the US imprisons more people than any other country in the world.  I don't think they limited it to the 'western' world, but ALL the world - even our nation's enemies don't have as many prisoners as we do.

I hope the success and praise the show is receiving won't cause too much stress for the creator.  I've seen it happen many times to shows I love - they get a lot of buzz and suddenly the show turns into cardboard mush; generic story, plot without motivation.  Ugh.

Bah I'm getting all negative about the future when I've only just finished watching and loving the show!
It's worth checking out on Netflix.  Do it!

I am grateful for...

a soft place to rest my head...I know for many, this is a luxury.  I didn't do anything to earn it except keep my head above water.  

In a 60 Minutes profile of Zhang Xin (billionaire real estate developer changing the face of Beijing), she talked about months as a child when she slept on a desk with a dictionary for a pillow.  

I wonder, was she born with the courage to rise up from her difficult circumstances?  Did she learn the skills she needed from her parents?  Or, did the hardships of her childhood awaken something in her?  

It's a fascinating question to me.  

Another Whodunnit

Cast of "Whodunnit?"

I wish they hadn't named the show "Whodunnit?" 'cause how would I know?  It doesn't even mean anything.  It's throwing me off.  Last night Melina became the next victim of the killer...?  She's the one I thought WAS the killer.  But, in the previews for next week she was walking near Giles (who is tied up with guns pointing at his head), so I'm not sure what's going on.

And, if the killer is Lindsey then that's no fun 'cause she was the obvious choice since she kept switching sides.  And, would the killer really win as often as Lindsey has?  Of course, if that's my criteria, the killer is Cam 'cause I don't think he's won as many as Chris or Lindsey.  And I don't think it's Cam.  Although he seems like he's 'acting' less than the others.  Cam or Chris seem like they've done some good work to get where they are.  Lindsey as well except I'm going to hop on board the 'Lindsey is the Killer' train.  

Oh, I don't know!

I guess at this point it doesn't matter.

I liked the idea of this game, and it's been compared to The Mole, but even in that series I couldn't figure out how I could play along to answer the question who is the Mole?  Or, in this case...Whodunnit?

I like the puzzles though and that's what keeps me coming back.

(I've previously written about "Whodunnit?" here and here)

The Kiss Off

"I do desire that we may be better strangers."

That's a nice kiss-off from "As You Like It"

I have no idea the context in which this line is spoken.  I have never read a Shakespeare play.  I believe I've seen a play or movie by, or based on, Shakespeare, but I couldn't tell you which ones or when.

Everything I know about Shakespeare is from other people's references to him or his stories.

I like to think I'm well read - but, I'm not.  I just listen to what people who are well read have to say.

(and even then, I forget quickly until it comes up again and then it will pop into my head)

I want to say "I do desire that we may be better strangers" to someone.  Love it.  Where did I hear this?  On Slate's Dear Prudence column today.  

Naked and Afraid in the Louisiana swamps

Ky Furneaux and Billy Berger in the Louisiana Swamps

Well, these two had a really wet adventure

They both seem like nice people

Billy was not a big ego on two feet. (Yay!)

In the swamps they had to be constantly on alert for snakes and alligators.  I never saw them jump or get startled when they saw the snakes in the water (that they were walking in).  

Really great episode.

All six of the Naked and Afraid episodes have been fantastic.  

In Borneo, Puma drank bad water, and had to be evacuated, leaving Julie alone for another week before she decided to leave a bit early.

I thought I'd mentioned all the episodes, but I guess I missed one...Laura and Clint in Panama?  

Next week is a final episode with a reunion of the participants in this season's six episodes.  

Fascinating stuff, and once again, I'm reminded how amazing our earliest ancestors were to have survived - thrived - in this world.  

I attribute it to the innate knowledge they had as biological beings (as with all other animals) and then that 'spark' that pushed us to build fire, and tools, and other things that make humans special.

That 'spark' is the interesting moment, right?

:) 

Let's talk about unions

A union is a combining of resources to accomplish a goal.
The United Brotherhood of Carpenters is a union of workers
The Chamber of Commerce is a union of businesses.

Both have dues and both are involved in the political process to accomplish goals beneficial to them.

The logo on the UBC emblem is Labor Omnia Vincit, Latin for "Work conquers all"
The logo on the Chamber emblem says "Standing Up for American Enterprise"

People who say they're 'against unions' aren't really against unions.
Right?
They aren't against the Chamber of Commerce.
They aren't against their local neighborhood association.
They aren't against the Rotary Club.
They aren't against the National Federation of Independent Business.

People who say they're 'against unions' are either reflexively repeating what they've heard in conservative circles, or they are against workers.

Most of us are workers.  We have the right to organize into a group for our own best interests, just like the businesses do.

People may not like the way labor organizes their unions, but if that's the case, they should also take a look at the way big Pharma organizes, and the way the Banking system organizes.

Somebody has defined the conversation so that labor unions are bad.
I wonder who that was...

(I'm looking at you big business union, and people who have lots of money and want to keep more of it for yourselves)

Whodunnit, again.

This is who I think the killer is (Melina).  I've thought that for the last two episodes (if only I'd made this post last week I could prove it!).  All season long, she's been overreacting to the deaths, the reveal of the scare/spare cards,  and the 'creepiness' of the scenarios.  She acts like the innocent, but she's the killer.

One note though - I think this 'killer among us' thing isn't very interesting.  There's no way I can play along because based on what I see, anyone could be the killer.

So, my guess is based on intuition.  And none of the rest of them think it's her.

Mandela Day 2013

The first Mandela Day was in 2009, when Nelson Mandela was 91 years old. 

I heard about Nelson Mandela for the first time when he was in a South African prison. I heard a song on the radio - the only words were "Free-ee-ee Nelson Man-del-a" sung over and over.  I still hear the tune in my head.  

I must have started hearing his name more and more on the news.  I clued into it because I recognized his name from the song.

I recall the day he was freed from prison.  They broadcast it live.  I remember he walked out of the prison and down a long road lined with people cheering him.

And then everything started moving very fast in South Africa.  He became president, there was a Truth and Reconciliation council, there was scandal in the African National Congress (that was the name, right?)

I can't imagine what a strange time that must have been.  The whole South African society was changing.  

What must it be like to be this man?

How has he managed to inspire the world?  

I imagine he's fairly ordinary in many ways - even now there's bickering among his extended family and there have been some scandals (right?).

I don't know much about him.  

Courage.

He stood up against the state and wore them down.  

And then, he didn't seek revenge.  He moved forward.

Just like Gandhi.

Updated 7/21/2013 - I did the a small amount of Google research which reveals Mandela did end up advocating violence after years of nonviolence.  He was imprisoned for the violence.  So, not Ghandhi.  But, in any event - a remarkable, courageous life.

George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin

photo from...

Everyone's talking about this.  Here are my two cents.  

George Zimmerman made the wrong choice to shoot Trayvon Martin.  If he was in fear for his life, but he could see Trayvon was only fighting with his fists, why didn't Zimmerman fire a warning shot first?  Or shoot him in the leg?  Why did he shoot to kill?  

Americans have a 2nd amendment right to own and carry deadly weapons.  They should also have a responsibility to pay the price when they use the weapon.  You use the gun, you pay the price.  Even if you think that's your only choice.  You saved your life, great.  Now the price to save your life is that you have to live in prison for an amount of time.  Not life, not even 20 to life, but some period of time.  

At least, though, you have a life to resume.  You killed a person and they don't have any life to resume.

Bottom line, we shouldn't have had any trial because he knows he shot Trayvon and there's no disputing that.  In my world, the only reason there may have to be a trial is to determine the length of the sentence...it could be longer if there was premeditation or cruelty or intent.  

That's what I think.

Let's just get rid of guns.  That would solve a lot of problems.

More on the Hijab...

Hollywood Game Night

I had high hopes for this show.  I like games.  I like to watch people play games.  I like to guess along while people on TV play games. 

I still like the idea of the show.  But, it's execution is making it less appealing.  

1.  Two teams competing...3 celebrities and a contestant on each team.

They sit on couches facing each other.  In the middle, is Jane Lynch, host.  And, at the end of each couch, a buzzer.  Problem:  Not all the celebrities care about the game.  It's annoying.

2.  Games on the pilot episode:  Crunch Time (name the snack item in the picture).  Really?  Take a Hint (one word clues to guess the person, place, or thing) I like it, if only people understood how to play.  Lil Picassos (children draw pictures of celebrities - name the celebrity).  Okay.  Timeline (put 6 pictures of one celebrity in order from earliest to latest).  Pretty fun - and only one celebrity had to get up off the couch.  And finally, Charade.  Fast moving.  Pretty good.   Bonus round was good.

3.  To play, one member of each team faces off for one question.  Then, another face-off with two other people.  And so on.  8 questions.  Each person has two questions, but not consecutively...they go through all four people and start over again for the second question.  So, for every exchange the celebrity has to get up off the couch (which is sunk pretty low so it's awkward to get up), walk up to the middle and around the buzzer podium so they're facing each other.  After ONE question, they go back around and back to the couch, inevitably bumping into the next two who are going up to the podium.  What a time waster.  And awkward and boring and uncomfortable.  I suspect they hope for crazy hijinks and interactions while they're switching places.  I'd rather watch people actually play a game.  They could set the stage up different and make the game a little more difficult. 

I just don't think it's fun to watch people not play a game. 

4.  I love Jane Lynch, but I wish she'd tone it down a bit.

I'll keep watching since it's already on my TIVO, I really like games, and maybe it will get better.  I know a lot of the Hollywood crowd like to play games so some of them are smart and ready to play.  And others?  Not so much.  Just hammy.  Ugh.

I'm reminded of the old Bert Convy show called "Win, Lose, or Draw".  

It's Pictionary with celebrities.  Lots of action.  Fun.  

Here's a YouTube of "Win, Lose, or Draw"

Naked and Afraid

 Episode 1 - Costa Rica - Kim and Shane

 Episode 2 - Tanzania - Kellie and EJ

Episode 3 - Maldives - Alison and Jonathon

I've watched three episodes of the Discovery Channel series "Naked and Afraid". 

A man and woman, strangers at the outset, are left, naked, in a wilderness location.  They're allowed to bring one survival item each.  The men chose hatchet, ax, and knfe.  Women chose fire starters and a cooking pot.  A small camera crew will follow them, with strict instructions not to interfere.  The adventure lasts for 21 days with no material prize at the end.  The only prize is the experience, the challenge, surviving and learning.  

I'm most proud of the women, but also proud of the men who, in the end, expressed their respect for their female partners.

Each of the men on the shows I watched were originally reluctant to accept their partner's skills and abilities; they were dismissive of the idea that a woman would be able to contribute equally, just because she's a woman.  In each instance, the women more than rose to the challenge.  

It's not that the women 'earned' the men's respect, it's that the men were forced to see they should have respected the women from the beginning.  

My favorite episode was Tanzania because it was easy to see how precarious life was for our ancestors. It's a miracle we survived.  

Check it out...Naked and Afraid on the Discovery Channel

The News is Back in the Morning

If you're me, you watch CBS This Morning.  

If you're not me, you might want to take a look.

The first hour focuses on news items, while the second hour is more interview and entertainment.

"Your world in 90 seconds" is a quick overview at the top of the show that gives the headlines of the morning.  

They regularly feature interviews with CEO's from a wide variety of companies.

Music between segments is fun.

News and Business - it's what I want.  

There are still irritating moments - sometimes the anchors don't listen to their guests, they don't allocate enough time for a complicated topic, and there's excessive flirting at times.  

Overall, though, I enjoy the show and feel I'm getting an informed start to my day.

A Commercial I Love

Geico's Hump Day commercial in AdWeek magazine.

This ad gives voice to the camels among us!  Love it.

Cover Yourself!

Photo Credit Erika Schultz

I've noted in another post that I'm offended when I see women who are fully covered.

I find it offensive that women - not men - are told it's their responsibility to be 'modest'.  

What of the modesty of men?  Men have huge egos.  Where is their sign of modesty?  

If I see men walking around covered from head to toe in a shapeless fabric, I'll believe there's more to this than the subjugation of women.  

When all women have the choice to cover or not cover, and men make similar choices for similar reasons, it will make sense to me.

Until then, I've linked to a blog post by Seattle Times photographer Erika Schultz in which she presents many women who cover.    

Fourth of July

Do people sing along to the music when they go to a Fourth of July fireworks show?  It's been so many years since I went to one I don't know what people are doing anymore.

If not, then I suggest that someone organize a sing-along with the fireworks show.  They can get a setlist from the organizers.  They'll put out the word that everyone who wants can learn the songs and sing along.  They'll meet at the north end of the park.  That would be fun.

And in later years there'd be the rebel group who would plan their own songs to sing and it wouldn't match the music at all.  They'd meet at the south end of the park.

There'd be a big rivalry between the establishment singers and the rebel singers.
But, it's about SINGING and that's GREAT!

It would be very American.

Celebrate our Godless Constitution

This is a paid ad from this morning's Seattle Times sponsored by the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

I wish I could make it big enough to read on this blog post.  Check it out here.

Although I was surprised to see the ad, I'm glad I did.  I believe the concept of separation of church and state is always at risk.  We need to be vigilant and brave.  Religious people can become religious zealots.  

Benjamin Franklin

"When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it, so that professors are obliged to call for the help of the civil power, 'tis a sign , I apprehend, of its being a bad one."

Thomas Jefferson

"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear."

Plastic Surgery

"Plastic Surgery" by LeWelsch

There are lots of reasons to get plastic surgery.  

I'm curious, though, about people who get plastic surgery to conform with their understanding of beauty.  

Survival of the fittest would say that people with 'beautiful' characteristics will be 'selected' for reproduction more often, which genetically promotes the characteristic.

People who get plastic surgery are hiding their supposed 'less than beautiful' characteristic, so they're mistakenly selected more often for reproduction.

As a result, the 'ideal' of beauty is reinforced in culture, but the people who think they're flawed in that ideal, are genetically passing on their flaw in greater numbers.

Strange.

CBS's "Under the Dome"

On Monday I watched the premiere episode of CBS's "Under the Dome".
It's based on a Stephen King novel that I've never read.

I thought it was an interesting idea.  A dome comes down on a town and they're stuck inside.  They can see outside the dome, but they can't hear and they can't pass through it.
What will happen?

Guess what?  I'm not going to watch it.
Why?  Because the stock characters - I'm so bored of these archetypes.  Can't anyone be mostly normal?  Wouldn't that be interesting enough?

1.  The town councilman is obviously bad and nobody in the town knows it.  He wants power.
2.  The councilman's son is a psychopath and nobody knows it.  He wants to hurt people and has already trapped a girl in a fallout shelter.
3.  The main hero guy is a mystery.  Is he good, is he bad?  We don't know yet.
4.  The journalist with a supposedly philandering husband.
As you might suspect the journalist and the hero have joined forces and he realizes her husband is the man he buried at the beginning of the episode (I missed the first few minutes, did he kill the guy? I don't know.)
5.  Earnest young high school kid who is curious and kind and has befriended the mysterious hero.  His parents are both outside the dome and his friends want to use his house for parties.
6.  Older cop who has a hand in some of the bad stuff happening in town, but he doesn't like it.
7.  Younger cop who is honest and true - she has a fireman boyfriend who's on the other side of the dome.
8.  A wealthy lesbian couple with a daughter who's been in trouble - they're taking her to a camp when they get caught inside the dome.

I enjoyed the show, but really didn't like the councilman and the councilman's son.  I don't dislike those characters because they're evil, I dislike them because there's no motivation for them to be evil.  They're evil only to cause trouble for the hero and the good guys.  I can't imagine it's always in their best interest to be evil, but they will be - just to be the bad guys.

Although the book had an answer for the dome, I read the creators of the television show are giving it a different answer.  They asked Stephen King about their change and, according to them, he liked it and wished he'd thought of it.

Given all that, I read the synopsis of the original Stephen King story.
Eh.
There was an original Star Trek episode about that.

So - good show for those of you who aren't tired of the same stock characters in the way I am.  If you haven't watched as much TV as I have - they're new to you...:)

ABC's "Whodunnit?"

On Sunday I watched the premiere episode of ABC's "Whodunnit?".
I was intrigued - I'll continue watching.

Although, in a couple ways, it confused me.

First, if the contestants are regular folks who signed up to be part of a game, how are they playing dead so well?
The first victim was electrocuted and it was real enough to be creepy.
In the 'morgue', three contestants examined her body for clues.  I would be too self-conscious to lay on the autopsy table realistically.
I suspect the first 'victim' was an actress, but what about the others?
I wouldn't have suspected there were this many ordinary folk who are that comfortable in front of cameras.

Second, the contestants are trying to figure out who the 'murderer' is, and it's one of them.  Very quickly there are alliances and lying.  One group of three who viewed the victim's body in the morgue decided to keep a clue all to themselves and then each one of them went back to the group and told someone else - and got mad at the other ones for telling.  Ridiculous.
So, someone is lying because they're the murderer.  Fine.
But, everyone else is lying too.  I can't tell if the format of the game encourages typical reality game lying, or if the idea of lying on a reality game is typical so no matter what the format, the players would respond the same way.
The contestants themselves make the reality game less interesting when they act unrealistically.  Do they lie in real life when trying to solve a problem?
Wouldn't it be nice if someone came up with a different way of playing?
I find that aspect irritating.

I still think it's a good show.  They had a puzzle that took some thinking (with a little luck), and the game has been setup well.  It reminds me of The Mole, which was also a fun reality game.

#StandWithWendy

Wendy Davis filibuster in Texas

Thank you Wendy!

I'm watching live on the Internet and it's horrifying and uplifting at the same time.  The Republicans are trying to ramrod sweeping anti-abortion laws through, Wendy Davis tried to filibuster, had three violations (weird), Senator Van de Putte (female) tried to call for a motion to adjourn and wasn't heard.  She said "At what point must a female senator raise her hand to be recognized over the male colleagues in the room?"  At that point, the people started clapping and shouting and the voting was suspended (?)  I think they're trying to get to midnight without the vote being completed.  The crowd's been going strong for almost 10 minutes now.  The State troopers are not quieting the people down.  Crazy stuff.
Thank you to all the people who are making an effort to keep a woman's right to control her own body.

Except, I think in the end, the 'question was adopted'.  It's moving too fast for me to know what's going on as it's happening.  I don't really know what the 'question' was...parliamentary procedure is hard to follow.

None of this is on the 24 hour news networks.
No wonder the Internet is winning.

Update 6/27/2013
Governor Rick Perry has called the state senate back into special session on July 1 to vote on SB5 again.  It's expected to easily pass the Republican controlled Senate.
Wendy Davis is getting lots of media attention.
She energized a lot of people and made everyone proud.
I would like Senator Van de Putte to get some attention as well...her question was great..

ALEC - American Legislative Exchange Program

Check out Moyers and Company - "United States of ALEC-A Follow-Up"
ALEC claims to be a "nonpartisan public-private partnership".
Their members are big corporations and legislators.

How are we ever going to get our government back? 

Paula Deen

Paula Deen admits to using racially charged words in the past.  A current lawsuit alleges she continues to speak to African American employees with the same insensitivity and lack of respect.

I've often thought, in our society filled with marketers and public relations handlers, it would be impossible to find out who people really are.
Maybe not.

I don't know the details of this specific case, but it does seem peculiar to me that people who court celebrity and know they live in a fishbowl are audacious enough to call attention to their own faults.

***

Update 6/27/2013 - The story keeps on.  The Food Network, Walmart, and other corporations are ending their associations with Paula Deen.
There is some public discussion about whether the reaction is overblown; if forgiveness is more appropriate.

Here's my take:  You don't use that word - ever.  If, for some reason, it comes out of your mouth, you move yourself out of public life.  You can be forgiven, but get yourself OUT OF PUBLIC LIFE.  You are no longer a role model and you should not continue to make money because people want to be like you.
As far as I'm concerned if you continue trying to be an influence in the public sphere then you have no integrity and that's another reason I want you OUT OF PUBLIC LIFE!!!!  There are plenty of other things you can do in life.
Not only that, but there are plenty of other people who do what you do and have never used that language.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles

Queen Elizabeth

Prince Charles (first)

Prince William (second), Kate, and future Heir to the Throne (third)

Prince Charles lives his life knowing the only way he'll fulfill his public destiny is when his Mama dies.

I'd need therapy to sort all that out.

I'm watching "Royal Memories:  Prince Charles' Tribute to the Queen" on PBS. 

In the program, Prince Charles notes that one of his mother's legacies is her consistency.  The Queen has remained steadfast through all these 60 years of her reign.

Prince Charles has remained steadfast and now lives beyond the mistakes of his younger years.

As the world moves faster and ever faster (and as I get older), it's a comfort to know some things change slowly.

Reality Bites

Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division 

Afghanistan War Casualties

US Military:

Total Deaths 2,103

Hostile Action 1,744

Total Wounded 18,734

Allied Fatalities (Britain, Canada + 20 other nations) 1,098

US civilian deaths - not counted by the Pentagon

Afghan military and civilian deaths - uncountable due to wide discrepancies in estimates.  Also not counted by the Pentagon.

Sources:  Total US military fatalities and wounded provided by the Associated Press.

Allied fatalities provided by icasualties.org

Here it is - another year has passed.

This year was more difficult than I expected.
LJB chose someone else, I discovered the 'story' we tell about who I am isn't really true, I've been frustrated by work and my apparent slowness.  I have felt on many (many, many) days that I can't do anything right.  And I've gained about 40 pounds since I moved back here.

Which means next year is gonna be FAN TAS TIC!!!!
I've been preparing for a breakthrough year...
Thank goodness it's finally here - I'm ready...Let's GO! :)

I'm a little early posting this because I don't know how to schedule a post and I don't care enough to figure it out.
(Hmmm...a personality characteristic, maybe?)

Next year I'd like to read books, feel good about work, do art.

And meditate.  And lose weight.  And eat more vegetables.

YeeHaw!

Enjoy my birthday day...:)