News from the Great Beyond

Musings... on (un)Common Courtesy

This is so me.  When we first saw this cartoon, Hubby-head and I had a good chuckle recognizing my tendency to stay up late composing rambling blog posts or replies to the blogs and forums I frequent on the Internet.  I just could not rest knowing that there was bad information or an unchallenged viewpoint sitting there overnight corrupting the minds of complete strangers.

These last couple of weeks, though, I've been more likely to rant (internally or in writing) in response to boorish behavior rather than incorrect information.  And on the Internet, and more and more elsewhere in our society, bad behavior is rampant.

For instance, while poking through new threads on a video game forum I occasionally read, I noticed one particular post lamenting how rude and disrespectful people have been within the multi-player game.  Within the first ten responses, people began to insult the original poster's poor choices in how he geared and customized his character, and then justify their obnoxious responses as "explaining" why he gets treated badly in game.  The few people who tried to sympathize with the original poster were brushed aside and laughed at.   When I'd read several pages of this, I finally had enough, and had my rant:

Musings... on Giving

Last year at this time, I was in the midst of my first holiday season without my beloved Hubby-head, learning firsthand all that I had been told about how the holidays are so difficult when you are grieving.

This year, it is my good friend Tom who is in this place, and he and his wife are endeavoring to do something productive and bless others in a tangible way this Christmas.

First - watch this:

Then, go here and see what Tom and Deb are thinking.

Then search your own heart.

What can you do?

What will you do?

For your Presidential Debate pleasure...

Ahhh, politics.  That's something I have avoided like the plague for the last couple of years - but with the presidential election looming, and being back in the habit of blogging and blog-reading, guess I'm caught up and forced to form an opinion again.

I've been collecting a few good links here and there and will probably do a round-up soon, but this should be shared before it's too late:

Presidential Debate Bingo (or Lingo, as the artist calls it) - which strongly brings to mind the corporate "BS Bingo" for use during deathly boring meetings.  If you're watching the debates tonight, print out your cards and be ready to play along...  As for me, I think I'll find something more interesting to do.

(Hat tip to the Drawn! Illustration and Cartooning blog - check them out if you have an interest in visual arts!)

Sung to the tune of... I Got You, Babe

That's right woodchuck chuckers, it's Groundhog Day!  (And if you didn't get that reference, for shame.  Go rent the Bill Murray movie already.)

So it's February already, what's going on with me?

Let's see... the socialization of BoyKitty continues, slowly but surely.  He has free roam of the house now while Hubby-head and I are home and awake but we keep him closed up in the upstairs bathroom with food, water and litter box overnight and while we are gone.  There have been a few minor spats with the other cats - the older one (Anastasia) seems to be a bit afraid of him and will hiss and growl at him when he gets too close... and if he doesn't move after that warning, she'll lunge at him.  That's happened once so far.  Twice, he's taken the initiative to pounce on the younger cat (Katie) when she's been prowling around him making little hissing and chattering noises.  All three times so far it's broken up quickly without any intervention (other than yelling "HEY!").  Bagheera does love high places - he used to walk around on the plant shelf ledge at his previous home - so he's been exploring a lot to find his new hangouts in our condo.  So far his favorite place appears to be the little cut-out window at the top of the stairs overlooking the living room (vaulted ceilings).  It's a fairly narrow ledge and if he falls, he'll land on the piano and probably hurt himself as well as breaking some doodads I've got set around there, but since cats have good balance I suppose I'll trust that he won't fall.   I'll try to get a picture of him up there one of these days. 

I've decided that 9:00 or 10:00 AM is the ideal time for me to get anything done that involves organization or housecleaning or anything.  Most days at that time I've got plenty of energy and (this is the important part) the desire and motivation to get moving, make a plan, and put things in order.  Unfortunately, Monday through Friday at that time I'm at work, and Sunday at that time I'm at church.  And since I'm forced to be up early every other day of the week, on Saturdays (unless I have something scheduled earlier) I'm as likely as not to be asleep at that time of day.  By the time I get home from work, I'm usually worn out and ready to turn into a vegetable for the evening.  Zucchini anyone?

What else?  Hmm.  We've got a busy few months ahead - later this month, we're heading to L.A. for a reunion celebration at Hubby's old church... In March, we're doing photography for a friend's wedding (B-Rad, he of the Jetta Theory... although strangely, his fiancee drives a Neon)... And another set of friends is getting married in June, with Hubby-head and I in the wedding party for this one.  Guess that whole "getting in shape" thing will be bumped up the list of priorities, since my dress is strapless and I really don't want pudgy arms showing for the photos.  Ah, Pure Fitness, how I've missed you.  Not really.

That auditor guy hasn't e-mailed me with inane questions in a couple of weeks now - since I posted about him, in fact.  I wonder if he found my blog and realized I was talking about him?  Nahhh.... Maybe someone knocked him on the head and told him to finish the part of the audit he's working on and make a list of the questions that arise in the process so he can ask them all at once instead of interrupting me twice a week so I can drop everything to figure out what he wants.  Hey, novel idea.

Speaking of novels, are you reading anything good lately?  On PaperBackSwap, a bunch of us have undertaken a challenge for the new year - to read books by 26 authors we've never read before, one for each letter of the alphabet (by last name, of course).  I'm a touch on the anal-retentive side so I must be organized about such a thing, and I'm reading mine in order.  I'm on my "F" author - Vince Flynn, reading Memorial Day.  So far it strikes me as Tom Clancy-esque, with the CIA and various government good guys trying to foil a terrorist plot, and some political intrigue thrown in.  I've found some other interesting authors for this challenge also - based on Jared's influence, I tried a Paul Auster novel for my "A" book, and my mom-in-law recommended Diane Mott Davidson's catering mysteries, which I used for my "D" author.

Enough of my rambling.  The groundhog has spoken and six more weeks of winter await... Alito has been confirmed... A new House majority leader has been selected (and not Arizona's John Shadegg - a shame)... Britney Spears is going to play a Christian conservative talk show host on an upcoming episode of Will & Grace (!)... Disney has started working on the next Narnia movie... So tell me what's on your mind today!

I finally found something to post about!

A number of center-right and conservative bloggers have created a petition to endorse true reform in the wake of shenanigans in D.C. that may or may not have (read: probably did) involved Tom Delay and others.  N.Z. Bear over at The Truth Laid Bear has the petition for all to see, and specifically they welcome the entry of Arizona's own John Shadegg into the race to replace Delay.  I agree with them heartily, as I don't really think the others in the running stand a chance of reforming much of anything that's wrong with Congress right now.

Shadegg has held the seat of Policy Chairman for his party and is probably the most acquainted with their future plans, not to mention being committed to making reforms that others don't even mention in passing much less throw their support behind.  Of course, the fact that he's from Arizona is a plus, but by no means is this just throwing my support to the local boy.

If you're a blogger who wants to sign the petition yourself, follow me over to TTLB and leave a comment -or- trackback it from your own post like I've done with this one.

(See, Songstress, I did post something again someday like I said I would! ;)  I'm hoping this is the start of me blogging again, seeing as how my last post was 9 months ago and I'd like the next one to be a bit sooner than that.)

Random Things that Go Through My Head

I'm checking numbers on a potential change order from our contractor and see that one line item has 60 feet of pipe at $11.10 per foot - doesn't take a math whiz to figure out that totals $666.00.   A couple of lines down there's a listing for pipe hangers - 4 units, at 1.11 hours each, with a labor adjustment factor of 1.5... this calculates out to 6.66 hours... My first thought is "My gosh, our plumber is the Antichrist!"

I am soooo digging the new Starbucks drink - Cinnamon Dolce Latte.  For the uninitiated, it's a brown sugar/cinnamon thing - soooo good.  I'd put it on a "Tuesday's Top 10" list but I don't think I can come up with 9 other items for it right now.  Oh, except for Cinnabon cookies.  Those are pretty darn awesome.  And the Chronicles of Narnia soundtrack - that's on the list.  OK, maybe I could come up with a full top 10 list after all.

So Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are having a baby.  Somehow, I don't care.  Except that I'm curious to see what he/she/it looks like.  I think it's ironic that sometimes good looking people have kids that manage to inherit the worst possible combination of their features.  When you really look at her, Angelina Jolie has some odd features.  The whole package is attractive, yes, but I can imagine that it might not work so well in other combinations.

Shoot me, I'm speculating about Baby Brangelina.  Even more so, shoot me - I just said "Brangelina".

Is it time to go home yet?

I just heard "Every Season" by Nichole Nordeman on my iPod. That song brings tears to my eyes every single time (so of course I repeated it 3 times *ahem*).  It also makes me want to live somewhere where there are actual seasons, but that's beside the point.  I'm sensing in my own life that spring is coming.   

What's running through your mind today?

Musings... on Mary Mapes, Oil Companies, and S3x on Television

On the radio this morning, I heard a snippet of an interview with an "unrepentant" Mary Mapes - you remember her, the now-fired producer of the 60 Minutes segment that ruined Dan Rather's career and put the blogosphere squarely in the spotlight?

Mapes apparently is under the impression that using "unsubstantiated" documents to back up a potentially scandalous story involving a sitting president mere weeks before the election is perfectly OK, and it's the responsibility of those who dispute their authenticity to prove them to be forgeries.

From the WorldNetDaily report on her ABC interview (emphasis mine):

Mapes tells ABC News she is continuing to investigate the source of the controversial documents. But she insists she had no journalistic obligation to prove their authenticity before the "60 Minutes II" report.

"I don't think that's the standard," she says.

Forget the fact that the guys at PowerLineBlog came as close as humanly possible to proving the documents to be forged, without being able to provide forensic evidence of who actually created them... Those who defend the remote possibility that they were literally authentic are stretching the bounds of reality. 

Sure, the typeface that looks so much like Microsoft Word's default Times New Roman font in 12 point may have existed and been available in some expensive typesetting machines in the 1970's... and the Texas National Guard office may have had access to one... and someone might have used it to create a document that was done completely out of the standard format for military correspondence at the time... But remember Occam's Razor, folks.  Go for the simplest explanation - they're fake. 

What Mapes and those who defend her hang their hat on is that they believe the information contained in the documents is accurate, so whatever possible explanation that someone can dream up for all the discrepancies in format and typeface has to suffice because they must be real.  And because she believes they are real, it's up to someone else to prove that they're not.

Statements like that are why Mary Mapes will never again work for a credible news organization.  Nobody who wants to have any shred of public trust would risk having her do research.

Next...

Let me get this right out on the table up front.  The vast majority of Americans would agree that gas prices suck right now.  And by association, the costs of other goods and services are rising because everyone is stuck with these nasty gas prices.  Our power company is trying to get a 20% rate increase right now, primarily because of the rising cost of energy - and I think that totally sucks.  However, this Senate hearing where they're making the oil companies defend their right to make a profit?  Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Yes, everyone is feeling the pinch of energy prices, and especially the poorer folks among us.  But oil companies are in the business of providing a product and they, like everyone else in a capitalist society, have a right to turn a profit from providing that product.  Sure, the numbers we're talking about are staggeringly huge - billions and billions of dollars.  When you look at it percentage-wise, it's not outlandish at all. 

ConocoPhillips pulled down a 7.7 percent profit margin in the third quarter.  If you think 7.7 percent is too much, perhaps you think the federal government should regulate what percentage of profit a company is allowed to make? 

Maybe it's just me, but I find that a frightening prospect.  That's just too much government control over our lives.  Hubby-head and I don't own our own business at this time in our lives, but we've considered that as a future option.  If the government is allowed to meddle in private industry to that extent - capping a profit percentage, for instance - I'd hesitate to start a company.  Sure, maybe they'd start with oil companies and other providers that they can justify regulating because of public need... but there's always that slippery slope looming ahead, and I've read Atlas Shrugged - have you?

I guess what I'm saying is that, while I would dearly love to have gas prices back down under $2.00 a gallon (or $1.50 a gallon - imagine that!) I would stop short of demanding the government take action to make that happen.  Call me a libertarian if you wish, I won't mind. 

Next...

Study Says There Is More S3x on TV.

In other news, the Pope is Catholic.

You know, if people didn't watch it, the networks wouldn't air it.  And that's a fact, Jack.

What's on your mind today?

Things I'd Like to Say

To Hugo Chavez:  Stuff it.  If the United States really wanted you assassinated, you'd be long dead by now, dude.

To whoever created Starbucks' Gingerbread syrup:  I hope they gave you a big raise.  You rock.

To the Democrats in the United States Senate:  What do you hope to accomplish by insisting on yet another investigation of things that are long since done?  If you "discover" that President Bush did willfully mislead the American people (as so many of your liberal wacko cheerleaders have been shouting for years now), it is still not a prudent course of action to pull out of Iraq immediately.  Do you think that a very public witch-hunt with nasty recriminations all around would actually be good for this country, especially at a time like this when our enemies are looking for weaknesses and cheering at our misfortunes?  What is more important to you, strengthening our country or smearing the Republicans?  Do I even have to ask?

To Rodney Olsen, of the Journey blog: Happy Two Years, dear sir.  I appreciate all the comments you have left here - and the links you've given me.  I especially appreciate the time I mentioned my friend Pablo and I had wanted to coin a new phrase, and you tried to help us get it off the ground by mentioning it on your radio program.  You, also, rock.

To the mainstream media: I understand about the whole freedom of the press thing, really I do.  But you are perfectly able to censor yourselves, and when it comes to leaked items that have national security implications, you should.

To my friend Judy, who had surgery today on her thyroid:  We'll be praying for you that the results are negative.  And we'll be by to see you this evening.  Get well, sister.  Have I mentioned lately, you rock?

To the Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives:  Now you're getting there...  Automatic United States citizenship by virtue of being born in this country is a fabulous idea.  Unfortunately, it's being exploited by those who break the laws of this country to enter illegally in order to give birth here.  The fact that the term "anchor babies" exists means something is broken with the system and it needs to be fixed.

To the dude at the Sprint Store last night:  I know you lied to me about not being able to order the phone I wanted in the color I wanted.  If I'd had the presence of mind to take down your name I would call your supervisor and have you busted for it.  Terrible customer service, dude.

To CoWorkerK and FormerBossMan: I know I unwittingly opened the door to an office discussion of religion and politics yesterday afternoon, which I profoundly regret.  I chose not to chip in my two cents because I don't think such discussions are appropriate for the workplace, especially where there is vehement disagreement.  One thing I would love to point out to you is that the phrase "wall of separation between church and state" appears in a letter written by Thomas Jefferson - only one of our founding Fathers - and does not necessarily infer that all of the Framers intended for there to be a bilateral separation between religion and government.  In fact, the actual language of the First Amendment is quite the opposite.  Congress is restricted from making laws establishing an "official state religion" or prohibiting the free exercise of religion.  Your opposition to President Bush's "faith-based initiatives" program is silly.  Why not allow government money to help support religious organizations that provide the same social services that secular organizations provide?  The job needs to be done either way, and if the religious organizations can help get it done efficiently, so much the better.  No individual religion is singled out.  In no way does this "establish" a particular religion.  What. Ever.

To my mom:  Although I acknowledged it in other ways, I also wanted to wish you a public happy birthday (if belated by several days) on the blog.  I love you!  And, you rock!

To my loyal readers: Many apologies for being more quiet than usual lately.  I'm definitely in a "down" phase as far as the blogging hobby goes.  I promise I'll try to post at least once a week if y'all promise not to abandon me entirely.  The more comments I get, the more I feel loved and missed and the more I want to communicate with you guys.  *hint hint*  You, most of all, rock.

Cindy Sheehan, Get Off My TV.

The Anchoress is at it again... this time with a fabulous rant about Cindy Sheehan and her recent decision to make an official career of public speaking.

Cindy Sheehan has signed with a speakers bureau.

Hey, there is nothing wrong with that. The woman has been proclaimed to be the “voice of the anti-war movement” and “the face of the Democrat party,” and I say “let ‘er rip.” She’s clearly never going back to a 9-to-5 world if she can help it. If we learned nothing else about Mother Sheehan last weekend, we learned that she likes her crowds and cameras and will do whatever it takes to knock a cat 5 hurricane off the front pages.

And she has “absolute moral authority,” you know.

She wants the spotlight, she can have it, and all of the attendant riches. But lady…don’t make excuses, and DON’T exploit your son’s death - AGAIN - by using it as an excuse for your career move.

There's more - including notes from some veterans who served in Iraq about Ms. Sheehan's protest and how it is playing over there. Interesting stuff, which is par for the course for The Anchoress. Go give it a read.

Katrina

There is much being written about the tragedy in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast... I have not chosen to write about it previously, because I did not feel I had anything of value to add to the discussion.

Those who are inclined to donate will have done so... Those who are inclined to volunteer their own time and resources are making their plans (good luck and Godspeed, Brian).

Hubby and I have discussed and selected where to send our donation.  We are sickened by those who are making this tragedy into a political statement (*ahem* Kanye West).  Mostly, though, we have been praying.  If you have an opportunity, I recommend going to visit Real Live Preacher and dropping in on his chat rooms.  Many of his readers have gathered to pray for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and for wisdom and strength for those who are rendering assistance.

Prayer seems like a good place to start.