Month: February 2007

  • oscarTUESDAY POLITICS

    I
    enjoy the Academy Awards and all the other awards shows each year.
    Usually, I turn off the TV and fall asleep before they’re over, but
    Sunday night I watched to the end. As for the winners, Forest Whitaker
    was one of two black actors taking top spots, thereby giving them 50%
    of the wins. That’s progress. Surprisingly, Eddie Murphy did not make
    it 75%. Helen Mirren and Alan Arkin represented us older folks. And of
    course there was our beloved Ellen DeGeneres, posting up for gay
    Americans. Quite a diverse group. Then we had Al Gore winning for his
    very important film, An Inconvenient Truth to much applause. Ellen
    threw in a comment about the stolen election seven years ago, but you
    know what I just realized was missing? Not a single mention by anyone
    at the podium of the Iraq War or what and who got us there. Not one. As
    for Best Picture, while I loved Little Miss Sunshine and The Departed
    and The Queen (didn’t see Letters from Iwo Jima), I recently watched
    Babel on DVD and felt it had the most relevant message that would
    relate to the current world situation. It was complex and a little
    convoluted, like Crash and Traffic in former years, but its point (in
    my mind) was that so much horror on this planet occurs because of
    simple misunderstandings in communication, jumps to conclusions based
    on too little evidence that wind up being wars that kills thousands.
    This coming Friday, the much maligned Cindy Sheehan will be speaking
    against the war once again before a Senate panel and apparently they
    haven’t been able to find a single person to oppose her and speak for
    the war. We probably won’t get to see it, this mother of one soldier
    who won’t give up and doesn’t have the appeal to the media of Anna
    Nicole Smith, but billions of us sure did get to see those Academy
    Awards. Wonder how many more will die in Iraq before they come around
    again next year. What an opportunity missed.

    Deep Thought: “Love is not something that you can put chains on and throw into a lake. That’s called Houdini. Love is liking someone a lot.”
    Today I am grateful for: Snow in pictures and other places
    Guess the Movie: “My plan was so simple. It terrified me. First I must get the death mass and then, I must achieve his death.”  Answer:  Amadeus, 1984.  Winner:  titus_bigglesworth
    Dems’ Me-Too Iran Talk
    by Gareth Porter
    As
    the Bush administration ratchets up its military threat to Iran, the
    leadership of the Democratic party is providing a free pass to continue
    on that potentially disastrous course. Congressional leaders have
    tacitly or explicitly accepted the necessity of keeping the “military
    option”—meaning a massive, unprovoked air attack on Iran—”on the
    table,” as have all three of the leading candidates for the party’s
    presidential nomination. (Rest of article here.)

  • lordgodSUNDAY GOOD NEWS

    It’s
    another grey damp day in Portland, Oregon and don’t get me wrong I’m
    not complaining about the weather (having been in frequent touch with a
    friend in Rochester, New York who hasn’t seen anything but snow in
    weeks). But between the grey and the news of Britney’s newly bald head,
    and the failure to pass the resolution in the Senate against the war
    that wasn’t even binding, and the effect of watching Spike Lee’s
    beautiful film on Katrina the past few days on DVD, and just the
    general crapitude of the season of late winter, I went looking for
    something far out, unique, and magical while humming hare krishna hare
    krishna krishna krishna hare hare. And I found the Lord God Bird (the
    holy grail of rare birds). Also known as the ivory-billed woodpecker,
    the last time it was spotted for sure was in 1944, but 60 years later
    in 2004 a “possible” sighting in Arkansas captured on video with the
    drumming sounds the bird makes got birdwatchers all in a dither again.
    So this month they came up with the world’s first robotic twitcher.
    This is a pair of smart video cameras that point at the sky in the
    region where the sighting occurred. These have software that activates
    when a bird flies over and filters out false positives like falling
    leaves. They’re even programmed to how fast the bird flies (20-40 mph).
    This will save humans having to sit in the bayous during mosquito and
    snake season or freeze their butts (if not die from boredom) during the
    cold Arkansas winter. And don’t ask me why it’s called a “twitcher” -
    I’m no robot expert. If they nail it down on camera, the news will
    probably be beat out by Anna Nicole Smith, but I’m going to keep my ear
    to the ground. I sure do need a shot of magic.

    Deep Thought:
    “If you’re being chased by an angry bull, and then you notice you’re
    also being chased by a swarm of bees, it doesn’t really change things.
    Just keep on running.”
    Today I am grateful for: Slowing down.
    Guess the Movie:
    “Yes, proper! In another year I’ll have enough money saved. Then I’m
    going to go back to my home town in Oregon, and I’m going to build a
    house for my mother and myself, and join the country club and take up
    golf. Then I’ll meet the proper man with the proper position, to make a
    proper wife, and can run a proper home and raise proper children. And
    I’ll be HAPPY because when you’re PROPER you’re SAFE!”  Answer:  From Here to Eternity, 1953.  Winner:  twoberry.
    Edwards Steps out Front on Health Care
    by Dean Baker
    For
    the people who will vote in the Democratic primaries next year, the
    Iraq War will rightly be the central issue. On this topic, it is worth
    noting that we already have a president who can’t admit that he made a
    mistake. But, after Iraq, health care will almost certainly stand out
    as the most important issue.
    John Edwards
    moved the health-care debate forward last week when he outlined a plan
    that could provide universal coverage at an affordable price. (Rest of
    article here.)

  • cats FRIDAY FIVE

    Appetizer – Have you been sick yet this winter? If so, what did you come down with?
    I’ve
    been super lucky this winter considering all the stress of the past
    year. Once or twice I’ve had those little whispers of sore throat or
    cough or runny nose and immediately quaffed a Zicam (my wonder drug
    which actually amounts to zinc – known for its immune system
    properties). I carry a little package of them in my purse at all times
    because they work best at that first moment. A nurse’s aid at my old
    job told me about them and it’s the melt in your mouth lozenge type I
    like best. One every 3 hours. This winter one has been enough every
    time. Of course, I also take a tonload of vitamins and supplements
    every day.
    Soup – What colors dominate your closet?
    Solid
    colors, mostly dark – black, brown, blue, green, maroon. I gave up on
    girly-girly fluffy type clothes years ago. Plus I now wear almost
    entirely cotton, nothing that has to be dry cleaned, and nothing so
    tight it’s stuck to my skin. Comfort is god and god is good.
    Salad – How would you describe your personal “comfort zone”?
    My
    family were not huggers. My parents didn’t even hug each other much. My
    mother turned into a really hands-on grandmother when my children came
    along, but I don’t remember lots of hugging even then. Then in my
    hippie years there was more touchy-feely type interaction, and once I
    hit 12-step programs it became practically mandatory. I have a woman
    friend who not only hugs but kisses you on the cheek. Now that’s way
    over my boundaries. And yet, if I had a live-in soulmate I’d want the
    comfort of easy physical contact. I do believe if humans don’t get
    enough of that kind of love they wither and wilt inside.
    Main Course – On which reality show would you really like to be a contestant?
    Zero
    zip none. Not an exhibitionist in my wildest dreams. Occasionally watch
    a few minutes of the various singing and dancing extravaganzas but I’d
    much rather watch a good serial killer movie.
    Dessert – Which holiday would you consider to be your favorite?
    New
    Year’s Day – no hustle and bustle and overspending and major
    housecleaning or cooking, etc. Cleaning of spirit, clearing of
    emotional decks. Too bad it won’t come again for almost a year.

    Deep Thought:
    “If I could be any kind of dog, I think I’d be one of those little
    yappy dogs, because while you’re sitting there on the couch trying to
    sound real smart, I’m just yapping away. Just yappin’ and yappin’, and
    there’s nothing you can do about it, because I live here.”
    Today I am grateful for: Small blessings
    Guess the Movie: “You’ll never be a first class human being or a
    first class woman until you’ve learned to have some regard for human
    frailty.”  Answer:  The Philadelphia Story, 1940.  Winner:  titus_bigglesworth.
    Iraq Debate to Dominate Second Week in Congress
    by Andrea Seabrook
    NPR.org, February 9, 2007
    First
    it was the Senate, tying itself in knots over the past week in its
    effort to tackle a resolution opposing President Bush’s troop build-up
    in Iraq. Now the issue moves to the House of Representatives, which has
    scheduled three full days of floor debate on the matter, beginning Feb.
    13. A vote on a resolution — as yet not fully written — is expected on
    the night of the 15th. (Rest of article here.)