Month: February 2004

  • Hey Diddle Diddle

    When my granddaughter was six she drew this on a tiny piece of cardboard as we were riding along in the car one day. I thought it was the best thing and I’ve kept it. My daughter photoshopped the words into it but the picture says it all. I wish life could be this simple again sometimes.
    Deep Thought: If you ever discover that what you’re seeing is a play within a play, just slow down, take a deep breath, and hold on for the ride of your life.
    Today I am grateful for: Calendars

  • Tub


    Aha! This is my first photo with my new digital camera.  Tub is the last of my 5 cats.  He showed up in my back yard one day.  He has a major love of eating no matter how I try to foil him. He says Click on my picture to see how funny cats are.

    Deep Thought: I bet when the neanderthal kids would make a snowman, someone would always end up saying, “Don’t forget the thick, heavy brows.” Then they would all get embarrassed because they remembered they had the big hunky brows too, and they’d get mad and eat the snowman.
    Today I am grateful for: Jazz

  • Balloons

    Thought I would post this collage done by my aunt who died some years ago in her late 90′s. After a life spent teaching (she was the first high school teacher of Russian in the U.S.), she took up art in her 70′s, becoming locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally noted by the time she died. She was alert and still creating in her last year of life. Here is her story. So if you think your life isn’t amounting to as much as you’d like it to, this is one example of how we can begin any time a whole new adventure.
    Deep Thought: I believe in making the world safe for our children, but not our children’s children, because I don’t think children should be having sex.
    Today I am grateful for: Hot water

  • Elling

    Most of us don’t watch foreign films because it’s a little bit of hassle having to read subtitles, but some people love them. I usually watch them when I run out of English-language films that interest me. Here’s my scheme: I go to the web site Rotten Tomatoes and search under the category I like (in this case Drama) for films that score above 70% viewer approval and are as recent as in the 2000′s. Then I order them from the library for FREE. So that’s how I came to watch Elling, a Norwegian film about two adorable recently released mental patients sharing an apartment and learning how to cope in the world again. It’s not a documentary, the acting is delightful. It’s funny, sweet, and pulls you in as you pull for them. Check it out.

    On another front, today I’m giving a birthday party for my granddaughter who is turning 8. I’ll have 6 kids from 10-5 and I plan to take them skating and swimming at the nearby community center, plus videotaping as much of it as I can manage. Then this evening I’ll bring my 2 grandchildren straight from the party to join my son and his girlfriend at a potluck for multiracial families. By the time I get home tonight I should sleep well.
    Deep Thought: The big, huge meteor headed toward the Earth. Could nothing stop it? Maybe Bob could. He was suddenly on top of the meteor–through some kind of space warp or something. “Go, Bob, go!” yelled one of the generals. “Give me that!” said the big guy general as he took the microphone away. “Listen, Bob,” he said. “You’ve got to steer that meteor away from Earth.” “Yes, but how?” thought Bob. Then he got an idea. Right next to him there was a steering wheel sticking out of the meteor.
    Today I am grateful for: Community centers

  • Friday Five
    1. What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?
    Childbirth – twice.
    2. What one thing would you like to try that your mother/friend/significant other would never approve of?
    My mother is gone, I don’t have an S.O., but any friend of mine would not approve if I drink again.
    3. On a scale of 1-10, what’s your risk factor? (1=never take risks, 10=it’s a lifestyle)
    About a 5. At my age, taking risks is risky, but some risks are still very worth the calculation.
    4. What’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you as a result of being bold/risky?
    Having children and grandchildren.
    5. … and what’s the worst?
    Expressing concern about people I’m close to sometimes means they go away.
    Deep Thought: I think a good movie would be about a guy who’s a brain scientist, but he gets hit on the head and it damages the part of the brain that makes you want to study the brain.
    Today I am grateful for: My new digital camera

  • Health

    OK, I’m not whining, but this past month my digestive system has been up, down, and sideways. This has never been a health area for me. I do have a couple of appointments scheduled. There’s no history of cancer of any kind in my immediate family. And there was the stress of having the flu, the holidays, and the big snow-in during that period of time. So anyway I’m heading off to work this morning determined to imagine the best. Just thought I’d log it here for future reference.
    Deep Thought: If the Vikings were around today, they would probably be amazed at how much glow-in-the-dark stuff we have, and how we take so much of it for granted.
    Today I am grateful for: Fiber

  • Bush Insiders Plan for a New American Empire


    (from Utne Reader – Top 10 Censored Stories of 2003)


    An obscure think tank called the Project for a New American Century (PNAC), founded in the early ’90′s by Reagan-era hawks such as William Kristol, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and Richard Perle, served as the incubator for George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq, according to reports by Harper’s, Mother Jones, and British journalist, John Pilger.  Among the goals of the PNAC are permanent U.S. military dominance in the world and control of world markets – particularly the oil market.  To this end, the hawks had targeted oil-rich Iraq for “regime change” long before last year’s debate on Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction.


    _______________


    Deep Thought:  If you’re in a war, instead of throwing a hand grenade at some guys, throw one of those little baby-type pumpkins.  Maybe it’ll make everyone think of how crazy war is, and while they’re thinking, you can throw a real grenade.


    Today I am grateful for:  Free office coffee

  • Traveling
    Have fun folks making your own. Got this from twiddle38
    create your own visited states map or write about it on the open travel guide
    This map pretty much shows the route of my one hitchhiking trip across the country in my wild youth.


    create your own visited country map or write about it on the open travel guide
    Deep Thought: It’s easy to sit and scoff at an old man’s folly. But also, check out his Adam’s apple!
    Today I am grateful for: Paper clips

  • Pros and Cons

    So I used the web site further down the page on my blog to compare these two and found that the basic differences are: Dean has stronger opposition to the war in Iraq and more strongly favors a rollback in tax cuts to turn the economy around, whereas Kerry has a military background but has somewhat stronger opposition to things like organized prayer in schools and the death penalty. He is also more in favor of gun control measures. I’m watching and waiting still. I so don’t trust the media to give an impartial picture.
    Deep Thought: When you’re going up the stairs and you take a step, kick the other leg up high behind you to keep people from following too close.
    Today I am grateful for: Dental floss

  • Sunday Mornings

    This is my absolutely most favorite time of the week. For a few blissful hours the world leaves me completely alone with my thoughts, which are usually positive because I know I’ll have no Responsibilities for the whole day. I’m always up before dawn (5:30 am at the latest) out of long habit. Young people should enjoy the years of varying their sleep habits and laying in bed till all hours. That all changes one day. I don’t mind though. I grew up on a farm where if you have cows like we did you get up early, the ones who milk the cows, the ones who make the breakfast of the ones who milk the cows, and the ones who are their kids and eat the breakfast. And it was a family event, sit down all together and eat at one and the same time. You don’t see that so much these days either. It’s quiet on early Sunday morning in a way it never is in the city at any other time of the week. During the week, you take all the noise for granted – the traffic, the pedestrians, the airplanes, the garbageman, etc. It’s only when they’re all gone for a little while that you notice how sweet silence is. Then you might even notice bird noises, which are there even on Sunday mornings. You might feel like all the messiness of the past week can be cleaned up and a fresh start made. You might feel like you love the people you love more than ever. You might even love yourself as you take the time to be with yourself and find it good.
    Deep Thought: Sometimes I think the world has gone completely mad. And then I think, “Aw, who cares?” And then I think, “Hey, what’s for supper?”
    Today I am grateful for: Occasional peace of mind