Saturday, May 10, 2008

"Screw the gas tax holiday they should look at increasing it and plowing that money into public transporation."

The title is a quote from my husband who sent me the following NYTimes article:

BUSINESS May 10, 2008

Gas Prices Send Surge of Riders to Mass Transit

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS Cities with long-established public transit systems and areas with a strong driving culture are both reporting increases in ridership.

His full quote was, "Yea for higher gas prices. I've always said it's the only thing that will change the behavior of the masses...the stupid, stupid masses. Screw the gas tax holiday they should look at increasing it and plowing that money into public transporation. "

But he's not a socialist like me. Nooooooooooo, he's a Republican registered Democratic for the first time so he can vote for Obama. Okay honey, whatever you say. I love you dear!!

By the way he also sent me this article:

Automakers’ April Sales Reflect Shift to Smaller Cars


I like the way the country is going. Now if eggs weren't so expensive, I could start egging Hummers with few people to stop me!

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Some pictures of my plants and house:

My mother gave me star plant for Mother's Day a few years ago despite the fact I notoriously kill plants, especially houseplants. Nate has kept it alive, but it had gotten much bigger and became root bound in the pot. I split it into two pots:


I got a corn plant (Dracaena) from a Freecyler who rescued the the plant from the dumpster a year ago and rooted this clipping. Talk about reduce, reuse, recycle! (I've had a stack of vintage linens in storage forever and finally figured I would cover the ugly plastic craft trolleys in the corner of what was the house's dining room, but is now a den-like extension of our living room. So, voila!, instant side table. I have to add a lamp after I rewire it and also add a framed picture.)



This is my second attempt at lucky bamboo--yes, I killed bamboo. Told ya: Black Thumb Syndrome. I got three stalks because, as I learned in yoga, three is an auspicious number.


This is Zeke (13 years old in a month and still going strong!) and my new peace lily from Lowe's ($10) in front of my fireplace and my Buddha and goddesses corner. I got the peace lily because, like all of the other plants I have, it is an air purifying plant and because I like the name. Oh yeah, and it's pretty, no?






And a blue jay died in my yard after my tree was clipped by a trucker driving like a freaking maniac. I though I had nursed him enough when he finally flew away, but two days later Nate found him dead in our yard. I plucked a few of his beautiful feathers to add to my mantel "altar" which includes many interesting items, incuding two glow-in-the-dark Marys, a picture of a fractal, a shiva lingham, a small Kwan Yin, the card Nate gave me when I was pregnant with Holden which I framed and used as a focal point as I labored, a big hunk of rose quartz and many other weird goodies.


As you can tell from a few of the pictures, I am a collector of collections. The Haeger matte green speckled pottery in a few pics was one of my first obsessions--I have tons more throughout the house.

Random list: Things I've learned this year

These are a few things I have learned this past year:
  • No matter how long the darkness is, there IS light again at the end.
  • My boys are soon adults. (!!!!!!!)
  • My boys are more funny, intelligent and independent than I ever realized, and I like to think I have almost everything to do with that.
  • Keith Olbermann is the most entertaining and wonderful newsman on TV. Who knew I'd love someone from ESPN so much??
  • The face--the literal face--of politics is changing. A woman and a man of mixed race running for POTUS is amazing!!
  • The figurative face of politics can change--witness Obama's campaign full of dignity, truth and actual hope. It's not just a slogan.
  • When one is cruising through all of the CSI episodes ever made on Spike TV and CBS and has almost run out, ECT will make them all new and fresh to watch again. Not that I recommend this method of re-loving your shows.
  • Surprises can come in small and large packages, sometimes at the exact same time.
  • Life can throw crap at you for a few years and seemingly devestate your world, but it is more than likely not a lifetime of bad luck and life will bless you again at some point.
  • I am ready to try to keep houseplants alive again. (Wish me and my black thumb luck!)
  • Costco's filet mignon is about the best thing ever meat-wise.
  • Frank's Red Hot--a longtime favorite--can fix more foods than previously thought.
  • Good coffee and red wine (long consumed, but never before fully appreciated) are indispensible little bits of heaven in my everyday routine.
  • All that loud music as a kid really does effect your hearing. Sigh... (As a connected "thing I've learned": Closed Captioning is a wonderful invention.)
  • You can grow older and grow more liberal contrary to popular belief. (Right, my socialist little hubby? MWAH!)
  • You can absolutely retain "cool-ness" as you grow older. Sometimes you can even increase it.

Maybe more later.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Whine and wine

Actually more of a crazy-assed, screaming rant than a whine:

What the fuck is wrong with that smunt devil-woman?? When will she get it?? She is DONE! FINISHED! OUTTA THERE! A L-O-S-E-R!! FINITO!! Buh-BYE!! I seriously cannot take it anymore. Her pandering, her lies, her stiff delivery, raised eyebrows, ugly pantsuits, conservative beliefs, and general retardedness. GO AWAY HELLARY!! Go away, already!! Please!! We grown-ups have important work we have to get to, and you're holding us up.

And on to wine:
This article in the Times today "vin"dicates me, finally. (See what I did there? A little bilingual pun for your reading enjoyment.) I barely ever spend more than $12 for a bottle of wine and some of them are not only quite good, but actually better than some redonkulously expensive wines I have had. Unfortunately we cannot get Two-Buck-Chuck here, but oh! would that we could! And lately, due to either my trailer park roots or my love for the environment or my even greater lover for cheap, good wines I have been drinking Banrock Station Shiraz from a box! And guess what? It's very good! It's my "everyday" wine and the critics consistently rate the Shiraz from this environmentally friendly company from 78-85 points. Not bad for wine that costs me $15 for 3L. That works out to $3.75 a bottle!! And because of it's airtight packaging it tastes good for the two weeks it takes me to finish it. (One LARGE glass a night on most nights.)

Lastly--or second to lastly:
It won't happen--it WON'T--but if by some horrible confluence of events Obama doesn't end up on the ballot in November, I will be voting for wackadoo Mike Gravel. He was my favorite Democratic candidate once upon a time, and is now the Libertarian candidate. His videos on YouTube have rocked my equally wackadoo world. Here is his latest:



But you won't want to miss these, either:

And lastly lastly, and for no particular reason than I love him and therefore this piece, Tom Waits:

Later gator!!

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Random list: Heroes of Mine

  • Shelby Knox
  • Emily Lyons
  • Jimmy Carter
  • Liberal Mothers who stay home with their kids
  • Thomas Beatie
  • Rosa Parks
  • Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Helen Thomas
  • Angelina Jolie--really (She doesn't take shit from anyone; she does what she wants and doesn't care what others think; she uses her celebrity to actually do good things in the world; she has adopted children and seems to be a good mother.)
  • Obama
  • people who are open and truthful about their lives
  • George Tiller, M.D.
  • 5/08/08 ADDITION: Keith Olbermann (As BFF Vicki states it: I love that man. He pulls no punches. I truly think he's our generation's Edward R. Murrow. I love anyone with the balls to speak truth to power, but few are as impeccably groomed as he while speaking it.)

If I think of any others, I'll let ya know.

Who are your heroes?

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