Stages

The stages of grief ... from houses sold to relationships left to death. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/garden/27letgo.html?ex=1364356800&en=2770ec217ef40022&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Death of the physical body or death of the assured understanding that everyone reads English as well as I do. Case in point is the article with the New York Times. Each word in there is linked to a dictionary which defines it for readers who don't know how to read English or who read but don't understand the word they see on the page. But dictionaries, while good, do not give a whole story. They can't. They only define and pin a word to a page like a butterfly to a display board. Words live in the culture. And without context, all that anyone writes are just ... words. Shakespeare said it best in MacBeth....

There would have been a time for such a word.To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,Creeps in this petty pace from day to dayTo the last syllable of recorded time,And all our yesterdays have lighted foolsThe way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!Life's but a walking shadow, a poor playerThat struts and frets his hour upon the stageAnd then is heard no more: it is a taleTold by an idiot, full of sound and fury,Signifying nothing.

SCENE V. Dunsinane. Within the castle.

More than just a pose

Serenity is more than just a pose of calm ... it is an interior way of being.
Peace now

Bug Pictures

It is official. We are Buggy!

Fallout

I thought at the time we went into Iraq it was a monumentally bad idea. I thought at the time of the door to door fighting that this was an even worse idea. I thought the failure of the Veterans Administration to treat the returning soldiers for post traumatic stress disorder or other psych problems to be criminally negligent. And now I read that a returning soldier who served in the Iraq theatre is accused of murdering a girl in Georgia. Georgia - Mother of Student Murder Supect Offers Apology COLUMBUS, GA (AP) -- The mother of the man charged in the killing of Auburn University student Lauren Burk has offered an apology to Burk's family for the ...
Why do I care? Because there are tons of stories about the murder of the North Carolina coed and hardly any mention of the murder in Georgia. Why? I find that disparity oddly reminiscent of "spiking" a story that copy editors do when they know it will be unpopular for their readers. Is it because of the Iraq connection? Is it because the victim is Jewish? Is it because the murder is in Georgia? Is it because it isn't a 'sexy' story. Murder does sell but uncomfortable facts don't. Nothing can convince me that the victims' families wishes can keep the reporter vultures away after a murder. So that probably isn't why it isn't getting much coverage. I think it is because the alleged murdered is an Iraq vet and the victim a Jewish girl in her freshman year at college. She hailed from a Jewish family in Georgia. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-03-10-unc-investigation_N.htm?csp=34 As a Jew, as a Buddhist and as a antiwar 'watcher', I am not surprised by this fallout. I am surprised that the coverage is so bad and that the situation is so sad. Peace please!

Despair

I meet so many remarkably wonderful people who care deeply about the way the world is going. There seems to be an Ozone Hole in the Soul - not only in the sky above us. So I worry for all of us who are sensitive to what is going on in the world today. How much psychic scarring happens in a soul before despair sets in? That is such a deep well for me and often I dance on the edge of it when I am tired and just want to give up. So the best I can do is talk with others like me, talk with cat rescue people, admire my girls, and write in my blog. I am trying as well as I can to keep myself centered and grounded in this world using buddhist readings and other spiritual practices. Even got back into meditation more since my flirting with it in the 1970s with the wave of Transcendental meditation that swept through the college scene. I often wonder whether I opened chakras back then that are rampaging about now with the fibromyalgia because I didn't know I needed to shut the meridians down after meditation and do other after care like grounding myself. Sigh. We live and we learn (if we are lucky). I guess Dickens' comment "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times," will be my mantra today to maintain perspective. Because truly duality is all over the place. It just depends on whether we are looking up the mountain and are stuck at the trees we see or we are looking down from the top and can see all the horizons and richness around us.
May we all be blessed as we follow our hearts today.
Namaste,

Elegies

The shortest one for me would be
Hugs from Down Here.

Longer ones ...

An Elegy for Trees and Me...
Bury me near the gumdrop tree so sweetness falls nearby
Though a snowball tree would be nice for fun
or a dogwood to keep me warm,
But best of all is the pussy willow which grows straight and tall
and Fluffy like my thoughts which to wander around in the month of May
... Hugs from Down Here
****

How to be a Swan

Shucks! Sitting pretty is easy, acting pretty is hard. And it is in the execution where the duckling becomes a swan.

So always reach out to help the ones who fall on their backs.

C-Span and USAToday Report More Failures

I write today to discuss a childhood memory about the fluoride scare of the 1950s and 1960s. Jan. 25, 1945: Fluoridation — Better Teeth, or Commie Plot?
Grand Rapids, Michigan, fluoridates its water, beginning a controversy that remains unsettled to this day.

Fluoride was added to the water supply to deal with cavities. However, it was the height of the "red" scare and every time it was proposed for water supplies, we had lectures about how it was a commie plot. Well, ve don't need no stinking commies these days. We have lax water inspections, lax laws and lax cleanup so that prescriptions for Joe down the street are getting into the water for Jane who lives in another town or for drugs to get into the water supply of feedlots. USDA and FDA claim they don't have enough inspectors to make foods or drugs safe. They blame the lack of inspectors on the Congress. I say, nay. It is the job of the USDA and the FDA to make sure we have enough competent inspectors to check on the quality of water and slaughter houses. And that is not what is or has been happening. Third party investigators from the Humane Society and AP are the ones who alert the public to these irregularities and outright abuses. I find this even more troubling than the fact that now the water can kill me because I am deathly allergic to penicillin. And yet, the Administration claims that if we want a safe society, we must and give up our rights to phone privacy, email privacy and general privacy. If that is the case, then for that sacrifice, don't we deserve a safe society that isn't potentially being poisoned by these chemicals that are in our water? When security isn't secure, can the phrase freedom isn't free make any sense at all?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-03-10-drugs-tap-water_N.htm

Mom-nesia and the Lasagne Effect

I was listening to a pop station this morning and heard the term "Mom-nesia" for the forgetfulness that occurs after women have children. I have lived with this for many years -- it is not a short term condition. Thank god for google because I have a fighting chance to type in a word that I remember that may be tangentially related to the nagging fact lurking in the shadows of my mind. This week's fight, for instance, was about Abraham. IDK why I was reminded of him precisely. All I know is that it had to do with picking up stakes and going to a new land. There was some really good parallel I planned to use in a blog entry. Gah.

Mom-nesia, indeed. I used to call it the lasagne effect....to pun on the many layers of the mind a parent needs to have. There is only so much storage in a brain, after all. So the way my mind stores facts is in layers. If I ping one layer with Abraham, then eventually I will remember why I wanted to use him in a blog entry. It is just a question of getting through all those other useful layers held together by that cheesey substance called the Mind.

Electronic Frontier Foundation Banner

This just makes sense.

Bush League Government

I hail from the Great Lakes region and just discovered this information on line when I was looking for who is in charge of the recent ricin incident in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is more important though because it is just so typical of the Bush Administration to keep information away from the public eye. More than 10 years ago, a group was organized to take a good look at the water quality of the Great Lakes. Their report was issued last July and was not released for 7 months. Suppressed is the exact word used in the report. It still hasn't been published into the public realm. The Washington Post wrote an article about it 2-29-08. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/29/AR2008022900324.html

Here is the link from PublicIntegrity.org which has portions of it on their website. I urge you to take a look and then download the report because I don't know how long it will be available. http://www.publicintegrity.org/GreatLakes/index.htm

Duck

In the interest of yesterday's election results, I feel we all need a good laugh. Feel free to use this with candidates, political parties or just generally when feeling bugged. Enjoy!

The caption of this photo is mine, the photo was emailed to me:

Beware:
The following folks are deemed Duck:
Write names here:

______________________

______________________

______________________

New Cool Word Alert

BBC Scotland just used this word "Gazumps" in their top story out of Edinburgh.

According to the freedictionary.com it means to fleece, cheat or otherwise deceive folks. We need words like that here for the political process.



gazump

The Reining in of Corporate Power

Corporate power runs everything in the U.S. From who gets elected to how much their corporations have to pay in tax to how much they can charge for their products. It is obscene. We are seeing a rebirth of the Robber Barons but the landscape is very empty of folks like Teddy Roosevelt either in his trust busting years http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/sat2/history/chapter14section2.rhtml or in his second run for the office as an independent candidate of the Bull Moose Party. He even gave a speech just after being shot by an anarchist in a planned assassination attempt. The first link is just a quick history of the attempt but the second is T.R. himself commenting on the attempt not more than 5 minutes after being shot. http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=1506
http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/research/speech%20kill%20moose.htm

We need a bodacious leader like that for America who can take on Wall Street, oil companies, a rejuvenating Russia as the economy sinks lower and lower. Someone who can make the presidency a bully pulpit to get things done. Not like Bush who slams his hands on the table when he speaks with reporters about the FISA Act and how important being in Iraq is. He acted in yesterday's press conference (2-28-08) just like a kid with a tantrum. As a citizen, it is deeply embarrassing to hear such behavior on C-Span. Don't believe me? Here is a link to another news blog's commentary on it. http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/14740.html

Gah! Peace now.

Learn History

A caller into C-Span this morning asked the guest whether GW was the worst president in history. The guest skated as inoffensively as he could past this question by referencing the Hoover administration. Gah! I completely disagree. He should have mentioned President Warren G. Harding whose massively corrupt administration spawned numerous scandals. Here is a link: http://hnn.us/articles/550.html And much like Enron, there were plenty of distractions -- prohibition, mobsters, the roaring 20s -- to keep those who were not directly involved complacent about the ripple effect. It pays to pay attention.

Sometimes Serenity resembles beads on a string

The more I write, the more I create with my cat studies and the more I wriggle out of zipped up jackets, the more beads of serenity gather together.
Peace

Vitamin C and Me

Lord knows, I have tried all the nostrums available on the internet and through my doctors for pain. What I just discovered is that Vitamin C seems to help with the energy level so I can keep going on even though I hurt. What a gift! The book I used to help focus my search is called: http://www.doctoryourself.com/vitaminc2.html. I am still taking low-ish doses of Vitamin C but it is working which is much more than other medicines do. And I can sleep which is impossible when I have to take pain killers which give me a buzz that keeps me awake. Bliss!

Getting Stuck

I got stuck in my zip up coat this morning. I bring that up because, like so much in our lives today, getting stuck happens all the time. I was able to wriggle out of the coat and then realized that I could do that because I stayed calm. Serenity truly is a state of calm awareness of the transitory world and an acceptance that sometimes I get stuck...whether in traffic, in a zip up coat, with work, with life in general. The trick is staying in a state of calm awareness and moving forward. Peace

Study cat 3: Reflections

I may actually try to do this cat the way he appears here--reflecting on things. He adopted me -- not the other way around. I hear that those are the best cats. IDK. I love 'em all.

Study Cat #2

This is the face of mischief. My next cat study centers on this character. So my challenge is to find cool poses for him to get into. My bet is that the project will show him on top of the aquarium drinking out of the water filter. He does this just because he can get away with it. I laugh too much.

A big cat photo

Unearthed a picture of my big cat. I am doing a study of him for an upcoming embroidery project and this shot will help me capture his features. I am not the best quick draw artist. But I am pretty good when I have a drawing or a photo to work from. So currently I am going through all my photos and then all the books I have of Japanese art. Talk about digging in scraps.....
Peace.

Interesting

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080206162301.htm

Very Young Found To Process Fear Memories In Unique Way
ScienceDaily (2008-02-18) -- Very young brains process memories of fear differently than more mature ones, new research indicates. The work significantly advances scientific understanding of when and how fear is stored and unlearned, and introduces new thinking on the implications of fear experience early in life. ... read full article

Is it real or is it Memorex?

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/02/video-pentagon.html

Carpetbaggerreport.com Wow!!

And just when I thought I was the only one writing about Bush and being angry about the Iraq War, etc., etc., and in complete disbelief that the military could shoot down a school bus sized space object with one shot, here comes my newest resource. All I can say is, Wow! I am fascinated.
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/14600.html

Just when I thought I'd ache forever

This is a reflexology book for relieving pain by applying pressure to points on the hands. There is a complementary book for feet but it looks much more complicated chart-wise. Very Cool.

http://www.dorlingkindersley-uk.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781405315654,00.html

Lois McMaster Bujold: Feminism and the Gernsback Continuum in Recent Women’s SF

Lois McMaster Bujold: Feminism and the Gernsback Continuum in Recent Women’s SF

Playing with Words

My website, http://www.skyscraps.com/, focuses on how to find serenity. There are many ways. Playing with words is something I love to do. Today's venture is "serenity drops." Serenity is a common word. Pairing it with "drops," makes me think of rain falling into a calm pond, cough drops, rain drops or the verb, to drop. So I am happy with it.

SkyScraps
Serenity Drops

Until then, peace now.

Boy, Can She Right!

http://www.dendarii.com/reviews/kelso.html
This link sums up Bujold's work better than I ever could Read it and enjoy....
I only echo the comment of Anne McCaffrey on Bujold..."Boy, Can She Write!"

Look into Style

http://www.fineliving.com/fine/favorite_things_essentials/article/0,1663,FINE_1426_1543811,00.html

Seriously, Now

http://www.ehow.com/how_2032670_taken-seriously-women.html To be taken seriously, take yourself seriously.

Looking at the Moon

My daughter introduced an entirely new way for me to look at the sky with one phrase. "God's Thumbnail" which more than adequately describes the crescent phase of the moon to me. Marvelous new perspective on looking at things in my mind's eye. It is pretty surprising to me that people see things so differently. Perhaps it is a cultural thing. Perhaps it is an inability to "see." Or perhaps it is just a dislike of the different. PBS and Ovation often have programs on "what is art?" My personal feeling is that the artist is driven to produce art. Creative outpourings are tough to stem. I begin to believe that the artist and the viewer create a partnership (unconsciously) between them. The artist and the viewer (or the writer and the reader) participate in making something artistic between them. The result of that union is an unexpected outcome. The difficulty of that path comes in hurt feelings and misunderstandings between the artist and the viewer. The strength comes from mutually growing in the ability to remain true to your art no matter what. Not trying to make art that everyone likes, but producing art that remains true to what you are feeling and what you are trying to say. As Lois Bujold likes to say, • "Aim high. You may still miss the target but at least you won’t shoot your foot off." – Elli Quinn . Here is the link I got this quote from because the rest of her quotes are not to be missed. Like shooting at the moon, she hits it every time! http://www.epinions.com/content_4838039684 For more on Bujold and her article on the interaction between artist and reader/viewer read her article in Dreamweaver. Here is a link to that wonderful perspective: Dreamweaver's Dilemma
Dreamweaver's Dilemma is the Boskone 33 book (1996) by Guest of Honor Lois McMaster Bujold. It contains two novellas which have never been published.

Itches I Can't Scratch

You know the ones--that inaccessible part of your back between your shoulders 2 inches below your shoulder blades. I have mental itches I cannot reach either until out of sheer stubborness I distort myself into position to scratch them. One of those itches was getting a chance to ask a serious question to a commentator on C-Span. Ok, one scratch down. Another scratch is taking the time to take myself seriously. Still working on that. The trick is to expect respect from others instead of puppy like hoping for a scratch behind the ears and mistaking that for respect. I am not tripping myself up on that as much but ... There are always boors who punch that button. Ah, well, if wishes were fishes my cats would eat free. I suspect lots of us work for the attention of others -- negative or positive. So I will continue on my stubborn way -- actively working on not letting my buttons get pushed by folks who don't deserve my ability to distract myself. That's a worthy itch to reach. Until then, peace now, folks.

Art -- What it is -- Progress

Maturing as an artist is an interesting path. I am far more interested in the impact of a drawing than in how accurate it is to what I am seeing. A zen approach, if you will, to drawing. I still want it to resemble reality but not as much like a counterfeit of the original as my own interpretation. When did I start having my own interpretation, I wonder?

Taxation and Public Policy

Many of the calls to C-Span regarding the war and the economy are focusing lately on how much money we will be able to spend on our national infrastructure as soon as we get out of these wars. I don't believe it because we are borrowing the money we are using for the wars in the first place. Odds are the Pay As You Go types won't be best thrilled by borrowing to pay for bridges or roads or train tracks or other issues like medicare here in the USofA. It is an illusion. We need to end the war and declare victory but not count on our domestic economy improving any time soon.

The American Heritage Says It All

http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1994/8/1994_8_57.shtml

Philosophers' Stones

My daughter is studying the Enlightenment Philosophers...Locke, Rousseau, Descartes, Hobbs, Montesquieu and Voltaire.

Here is a link from Middlesex University that I plan to look through often.

http://www.mdx.ac.uk/WWW/STUDY/bio.htm

A Little History

After WWII, we rebuilt Europe and called it the "Marshall Plan." My mother was against it on the theory that we would only be feeding the next generation of soldiers who would be sent against us. But I must respectfully disagree with her within the context of the current actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. It seems to me much easier to defend our presence in those countries if we would just declare a Victory and start working on rebuilding the damage we did to the countries when we bombed their infrastructure out of existence. In some cases, there was no infrastructure to start with but what better way to have a "hearts and minds" political win over there. For those who are interested, here is a link to the Marshall Plan. http://www.usaid.gov/multimedia/video/marshall/

Critical Link to an Understanding

http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ai=214&ar=1050wmv&ak=nul


Here is another link. You'd think I'd have seen this before somewhere. It is the first time her name and her anger and her wonderful fight surfaced in my attention. Thank you so much. I am forwarding this to my kids, my synagogue, my husband, and someone here at work. I agree -- it is amazing Al-Jezeera is allowing it to remain available.Southern California InFocus - WAFA SULTAN: Reformist or opportunist?
Dr. Wafa Sultan has been honored countless times for her now famous appearance on Al-Jazeera television opposite a Muslim cleric named Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouly ...www.infocusnews.net/content/view/4009/135/ - 65k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

How do you

Anthony Cordesman, Center for Strategic & International Studies, Strategy Chairman discussed his recent trip to Iraq, Afghanistan and the Gulf region on C-Span this morning. He took a lot of flak on the phone calls. One of the interesting calls concerned the poppy growers in Afghanistan on how do we control the drug trade, etc., etc. Which brings me to my issue today...Why does the US continue on these wars against words? From the War on Drugs to the War on Terror? Who can say when a war is won when we fight -- not individuals -- but concepts? On drugs, my mother suggested legalizing drugs back in 1965. She was right then and even more right today. Legalizing drugs would have many benefits which are invisible at first glance. (1) No reason for gangs or druggies to rob and kill to get the money for drugs; (2) no reason for people to die from drugs laced with things that are even more deadly; (3) no revenue spent on interdiction; (4) no police or military pulled off essential tasks to search for robbers and gangs who live on the profits of drugs; (5) we will need fewer prisons for drug offenders; (6) policy makers would not need to be holding hearing after hearing on drug trafficking and (7) we could tax the revenues of those offering the formerly illegal drugs and get much needed money in the Treasury coffers. And the list could go on and on. Simplify. Of course, on the other side of the argument we will hear from those who have a vested interest in treating the citizen as an idiot who must be scared to be led.

My point is that we cannot fight a war against an enemy who exists only in the dictionary.

Perspective

It has been a tough week. So to find perspective, here is a link http://www.alohabible.net/nice/bless1.html

Namaste

Balancing Acts Through Actions

wisdomcap@ayurbalance.com

The Art of Misdirection-Here We Go Again

http://www.learn-great-magic-tricks.com/misdirection.html
I reference the link above because the Congress is interviewing another bad boy baseball player. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7796272/Clemens-going-against-more-than-just-McNamee-?MSNHPHMA I get so tired of these Congressional hearings that misdirect attention from pressing issues like foreclosures, economy, primaries, Iraq/Afganistan, oil prices and the like. I helped the 2004 democratic take over of the Congress primarily so that we could focus on real issues - not bogus ones. So my question is: What is it that the media doesn't want us to notice while they are covering this issue?

Aloha and Representative Abercrombie

http://www.house.gov/abercrombie/
This is the website for Representative Abercrombie from Hawaii. I listened to him on C-Span on February 7, 2008, a week or so ago. He absolutely made sense about what we are actually doing in Iraq -- occupying force, not war anymore. He absolutely made sense lots of things. From immigration to ... and he did so in a civil manner which is refreshing on a radio program where the government shills for the President's inepitude. This fellow did not do that. He listened, he responded, he was a professional. Here is the information printed on C-Span's page for 2-7-08. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) 1st District, Armed Services Subcommittee Chairman talks about the cost of Iraq war the and what U.S. policy should be. Rep. Abercrombie is a member of the Out of Iraq Caucus. He also wants troops to have the best body armor and armored vehicles that the military can provide as long as they're in Iraq.

Lois and Lehrer, Move Over

I feel a new obsession coming on. Perhaps it is cabin fever from being stuck on the 395S for over 4 hours last night inching through the ice storm after the road was closed by VDOT. Whatever it is, this website is just what I've been looking for. http://www.govtrack.us/ It is the website that posts bills working their way through Congress. I simply cannot locate the stuff any other way. The government run websites are 'way too confusing. But govtrack does that here. They blog on the affects and effects (look the words up--not into word babysitting today) of bills on citizens. I think I'm in love.

Thingie for today

Your Mood Ring is Magenta

Weird Creative Insipired Thriving

Mood Ring Generator

Check it out at http://www.blogthings.com/moodringgenerator/

Lehrer + Krause = Bliss

As all of you must know by now, I am a devoted fan of Tom Lehrer. Marvelous thinker, mordant sense of humor. I have now found a new star in that vein. Lawrence Krause formerly Physics Chair at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. What is it about Clevelanders that I find so appealing? I need to see if I can find a reprint of his comments. He was a breathe of fresh air to this miasma of misinformation we get inside the Beltway.

I have copied a link to the page as well as a quote from another page which I find simply wonderful. First the link: http://www.aei.org/events/eventID.1553,filter.all/event_detail.asp

Now the quote from a different website: Krauss will discuss how the trillions and trillions of elemental particles that are in every part of us are actually restless galactic travelers that belong to us only temporarily. Lawrence says that atoms drift through space and time, reconstituting as stars, planets and people in the ultimate recycling process. “I’ve always thought that one of the most poetic things I know about science is that almost every atom in our bodies was at some time inside an exploding star,” said Krauss.

https://publicaffairs.llnl.gov/employee/articles/2001/07-27-01-krause.html

Enjoy!

Victims' Rights and Military Tribunals

Finally made it onto the call in for c-span this morning. Just a quick question on whether the families of the 9/11 victims will be able to confront the 6 individuals going on military tribunal for their part in the attack. I was surprised my phone call was answered. I was more surprised that I was the first on the program to ask the LA Times fellow my question. I need to do more research on what victims' rights will be for these tribunals.

Playing Mah-Jong

It is all about stereotypes, folks. I used to believe the only people who played Mah-Jong were old, nursing home crotchety ladies who made impossible rules no one could follow. But...I am learning how to play Mah-Jong at my synagogue. Which makes me? I hope open minded enough to realize that stereotypes are just plain wrong and are something for me to challenge from time to time. So go and challenge some old beliefs for yourself.

Double Binds

When expectations exceed reality on an unconscious level....

Foreclosures

Perhaps I am too cautious. However, it seems to me that the foreclosure crisis started when the price of a house rose to ridiculous amounts. The houses in my area are out of my price range. I rent. I have to rent. The townhomes in my area are over $400,000 and there is no way I can afford that. The folks who did buy, who were encouraged to buy, who were literally told it was a fiscally great idea to buy, did so on the assurance that the market would continue to go up and up and up. At some point, folks, the sky will fall and that is just what happened. Folks scrimped, gathered money from all sorts of places, went together with other families to live in the same house so they could afford the houses which continued to drive up the market. Now that the mortgage rate for the 30 year is dropping, we are seeing the same pressure to buy, buy, buy. And I am keeping my checkbook closed because the price of housing still isn't going down enough for me to risk taking on a mortgage in this economic climate.

Healthy Meals - Healthy Lifestyle A La Carte - Chicken Parmesan

Healthy Meals - Healthy Lifestyle A La Carte - Chicken Parmesan

Wanting to eat healthier is expensive. I am so clueless, however, that I need to look at these kind of websites for ideas these days.

C-Span and Car Radios

You'd think I'd learn to turn the radio knob in my car off. It would spare me all the emotional turmoil I get into when I listen to my inside the beltway soap opera, aka C-Span. I listen to C-Span because I really don't have time to hunt online to find the relevant transcripts of really fascinating hearings to read through. Listening is much faster -- although listening can be very tough on my car radio when I get so frustrated with either the guest or the callers that I hit it. The radio. I hit the radio when (a) C-Span says it has a call in number but the number doesn't work, (b) when the number works but the phone disconnects, (c) when a caller is abusive, (d) when a guest is an idiot. Any one of those things and my car radio is in serious danger. As a case in point, the Mukasey hearing on 2-7-08 was carried live on C-Span. It was embarrassing. Sadly, the link may not be live anymore. But perhaps someone more intrepid can find the printout of the hearing. Perhaps I will look it up on my newest love....Govtrack, see my newer post. Atty. Gen. Michael Mukasey responds to five questions posed to him by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), House Judiciary Cmte. Chairman. The Atty. Gen. was asked to discuss the politicization of the Justice Dept. and waterboarding, among other issues.2/7/2008: WASHINGTON, DC: 3 hr.

Who Knows

I made the mistake of listening to C-Span's coverage of the economy and the Senate interview yesterday with the head of OMB. But I got frustrated because I couldn't find the hearing.

It was held 2-5-08. Because real news in the U.S. is embedded and hidden as much as possible, I cannot locate the hearing. I know that the Bush Administration came into office with one goal of making governmental websites more accessible. To that end, they re-designed all the government access portals. After those re-designs, I couldn't find a thing unless I out-stubborned the web site.

So perhaps that is why OMB Director Nussle came across as an idiot yesterday. Maybe he can't use the portal any better than I can. He was asked question after question and could not answer them. Not would not. Could not. He admitted he didn't know. This was the same fellow whom Google identifies as a former member of the Congressional Budget Committee before he was "elevated" to the OMB. It makes me scratch my head in frustration.

It is my observation that almost to a man, none of the folks who have testified before Congress know what is going on either. From Alberto Gonzales to Nussle, these folks spout rhetoric and make promises they don't keep. Or, in the case of the attorney firings at Justice with Monica Goodling, they lawyer up and won't testify at all

So, what exactly is going on here? I guess no one really truly knows. But it concerns me because as a voter, it is my duty to make informed decisions and without information how informed can a voter be??????????

U Snooze, U Lose

It is a U Snooze, U Lose election.

Political Wake Up Call

This is going to be a tough election for me. My favorite, Dennis Kuchinich, bowed out of the race due to media pressure to leave. After all, when NBC changes the rules to keep you out of the debate in Los Vegas even a blind man can see the writing on the wall. And the wall says that the media is not fond of Dennis. Now the only one left standing in my belief area is Obama. I see the media starting to do the same thing to him as it did with Dennis. The pundits' mantra of the moment is Hillary, Hillary, Hillary. I am not fond of pundits. I am not fond of political slaughter house chutes that force voters to make limited choices. There is death on both sides--Republican and Democrat because the voters are not being allowed free choice. I see Hillary winning the nomination and Senator McCain winning the election and I shudder. We need alternatives in this country to vote for. We need a change from the ground up -- starting with the 4th estate, aka news outlets. The news has snoozed these past 8 years. Frankly, the news snoozed through Clinton too except for the Monica incident. (Mind you, nobody died when Clinton lied but that's just a bumper sticker that represents my personal opinion.) That's the only positive thing about Clinton, though, I can think of. If Hillary is nominated, the entire country will lose. We don't need another dose of NAFTA endgame - Bill Clinton's maneuverings to achieve passage of ...
NAFTA endgame - Bill Clintons maneuverings to achieve passage of NAFTA in the House of Representatives from National Review in News provided free by ..... We certainly don't need more Whitewater boxes lost in her living room for 4 more years. We just don't. We have more important issues. To quote an old Clinton war cry, "It's the economy, stupid!" And sadly, the Clintons brought us NAFTA and outsourcing which has ruined the U.S. economy.

So, no, we don't need to hear all the arguments against Bill again from the sore losers of the failed impeachment proceedings. Those fights are over and done and yet... With Hillary in the game, they will come back to life. If only because the newscasters who snooze can just dust off their old columns and old opinions and not wake up.

We need to wake up.

Aquarium Cats

My Cats have decided that watching the fishies swim in the aquarium is better than the Food Network. Not surprising. The fish are food they can get nose to fin with. Cats are smart! I have covered the tank to keep them from using it as an additional water bowl. Didn't work. So today, I put some old cat "good cat" placemats on top. That actually seems to help. Maybe my cats read too!!

A Plague on Both Your Houses

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/health/research/29plag.html?ex=1359262800&en=934238753ec0a93b&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

From Buddhist Wisdom 1-31-08

How much of your life do you spend looking forward to being somewhere else?

-Matthew Flickstein, "Journey to the Center"
Copyright Wisdom Publications 2001. Reprinted from "Daily Wisdom: 365 Buddhist Inspirations," edited by Josh Bartok, with permission of Wisdom Publications, 199 Elm St., Somerville MA 02144 U.S.A, www.wisdompubs.org.


So true!

Joe Biden, Disraeli, and Michael Mukasey

Sorry folks, I made the mistake of listening to the hearings on the "waterboarding" issues yesterday. Here is a link for those who want to catch up on the news.

News results for attorney general
PRESS TV
Senate grills attorney general on waterboarding - 22 hours ago
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Attorney General Michael Mukasey told the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that he will refuse to discuss the legality ...

What I suspect doesn't show up in this report are the comments of Joseph Biden to Attorney General Mukasey. He quoted from Benjamin Disraeli. For those who want to see who that was, here is further link. Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)
Benjamin Disraeli served twice as Prime Minister, the first time from 27 February to 1 December 1868 and the second, 20 February 1874 to 21 April 1880. ...www.victorianweb.org/history/pms/dizzy.html - 14k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Okay, all set now? I bring this fellow in because I want to document a comment from Joe Biden that is attributed to Benjamin Disraeli when he was interviewing Mukasey. There are three catagories of lies, "Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics." Love the quote. For the record, there is some dispute about who said that. Mark Twain deserves some of the credit for bringing the quote to the attention of the public. See, for instance, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lies,_damned_lies,_and_statistics

Mess of Pottage

I am writing today about the stimulus package which really needs to be renamed because it reminds me too much of the K-Y Intimate Lotion ads on the TV these days. And folks, there are not enough bottles of lotion to help the economic package go on smoothly. Even worse it reminds me of the tale of Esau and his brother Jacob. For those who need serious refreshing on the saga, here is link to what I am going to discuss. http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/p98.htm For the others, here is a shorter version. Two brothers (twins), one father, one mother (who thought she couldn't have children), one bowl of pottage (bean stew). Esau, the older brother loved to hunt. Jacob, the younger brother, was a farmer. Jacob came home hungry one day and bugged Esau for his bowl of stew (aka pottage). Jacob tricked Esau into giving up his birthright (father's blessing) for the food. In giving up his birthright, Esau (the older brother), fades back into history. In taking his older brother's birthright, Jacob (the younger brother) marches into history to eventually become Israel. All brought about by a mess of pottage. And the situation is analogous even more when the Government chooses to sell our debt to foreign nations. It is chilling. Our birthright sold to finance a war many of us no longer agree with. A war many of us believe was started under false pretenses. The proposed stimulus (see KY Intimate Lotion) package is another mess of pottage. If the government were serious about helping us, it would say we didn't need to file our taxes this year. Not give us measley $500.00 checks which get used in one weekend with a family of four. Not sell off Treasury Bonds to pay for these checks. Not, not, not. Here in lies the crux of the story. In giving up long term rights to gain short term satisfaction we all lose our birthrights as Americans.

Camelot

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Perspective--Helps more than Artists

It is the enemy who can truly teach us to practice the virtues of compassion and tolerance.


-The Dalai Lama


So True. It is imperative I stay open and flexible enough to learn the lessons adversity has to teach me. From enemies to flu to fibromyalgia/myofascial syndrome, I am surrounded by my loving enemies. It is all a matter of perspective.

Falling in Late December

Fall Thoughts...Who Knew

"In the midst of life we are in death." Book of Common Prayer, The Burial of the Dead, First Anthem. ("Oxford Dictionary of Quotations," Fifth Edition, edited by Elizabeth Knowles,Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, 2001). It is the end of the week. Nearly the end of a year which saw the final endings for many friends. To bring a child into life these days means a resolute facing of the fact that children die. Some sooner than later. And then adults die. And certainly animals we surround ourselves with as surrogate family die. Ah, well. It is a sigh and goodbye if we are lucky enough to have the time to do that. And even though this blog entry sounds sad, I am not sad. It just is what it is and that is enough. Peace.

Missing Heath Ledger

Ever Notice?

There is a wonderfully funny movie 10 Things I Hate About You. The dad in the movie is a crazy obstetrician who is obsessed with his girls not having s.e.x. So obsessed that everytime they talk with him about boys, he has them wear what he calls "the belly." Now the belly is an add on device that really makes a persons' profile look pregnant. I mention this because lately I am seeing lots of people -- men as well as women -- look as if they are wearing the "belly." It is bad enough for us moms. But when the guys do it too? Pathetic!

Welcome to Casablanca-Land

All Embracing Casablanca-Land

America, land of the slurb and the traffic jam. Home of the schools that have students who need course support for the 47 different languages here in the Fairfax County area. America is also the land of last resort for those driven out of their home nations either through war, economic hardship, famine or what have you. America, land of the world warriors. We bring war to Southeast Asia and acquire Vietnamese/Laotian/Cambodian refugees. We bring war to Europe and acquire East European refugees. We bring war to Iraq and refuse the refugees admittance. Makes me scratch my head on that one. America is the place of last resort for people who no longer exist in the "wild" outside of our borders. I refer specifically to parts of the world destroyed by good old American technology. Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, South/North Korea all have sent many refugees into our country. Some landed here in Northern Virginia and for a few years there were no cats seen roaming outside. They were collecting freezer burn as the newest immigrants discovered a new food source like the ones they had left back home. The immigration resettlement officer had to deal with that one. But new people are not always the cause of bad things. It is sort of like seeing a snow leopard in repose. You sort of know the leopard isn't safe but golly gee, isn't he beautiful?? I bring this up because of the Dalai Lama recent visit here to Washington, D.C. The Tibet he represents exists only in memory due to the cruel repression of the Chinese government. We are becoming Casablanca, MiB-Land. Folks exist here even though they no longer thrive outside our borders. As we ready to eat the thousands of slaughtered turkeys, let us remember that the turkeys who run this country are not immigrant friendly, not foreigner friendly, but are the only thing between the repressive governments like China (with whom we trade now) and us. Sigh. Happy Day. Peace Now Please

Clean Cursing

Oh, cranberries!

Ever look for a clean curse and come up empty?? I have. I use seasonal ones:
"Oh, cranberries" is useful. But I am working in a new curse: You son of a bagel baker....for use during Passover. It is always a good idea to have curses in different traditions. Some are more euphonious. Ehos de basura....or Sons of Garbage.

Keep your curses clean and full of fun

Spockian Blessings

I recently voiced my rather strong opinion about the State of Virginia's newest Grand Plan -- remember the last one folks? You remember, it was the one where Richmond became the capital of the confederacy. This newest and brightest idea concerns the wholesale in-gathering of cats who are wandering outside. Whether lost or not, treasured pet or castoff, all these cats were to be hauled to the various overworked animal shelters and killed. Yes, that's right. In the land of the free and the home of the brave, the best we can do is kill animals that are not terrorists. I wrote and expressed myself online and figured I would not make one iota of difference. Imagine my shock when I heard back from one of the folks who was fighting the good fight (translation -- she was on my side of the battle line) to keep the cats from being put down. I am in her debt. She and her fellow legislators were able to take the proposal right off the table and back into the Committee for more study. I know she has surely earned my vote and that is saying something for me these days. May she live long and prosper -- a Spockian blessing.

Supposes

I suppose it is no secret that I love to write. Mostly I really love to write to people who care -- whether it is about the loss of civility, the loss of habitat, the arrogance of the majority trampling those who are too quiet to speak up for themselves or the quiet sorrows that surround people going through loss either from the death of family, friends or companion animals. I connect with those issues best. Perhaps it is because I have needed to have someone listen to me when I am sad and no one ever did, that now I am opening my heart to comfort them which in turn comforts me. I find this is a circular process -- this healing I am doing. I heal others and am healed my them. It is a process of discovery as we inch towards the future a heart at a time.

Too Good to be True

Well, You All Knew My Silence was too Good to be True

Unemployment. War. Economy. Stock companies cooking the books. Campaign trails. Observations. Overflowing with ... anger is too strong a word. Disgust doesn't come close. Best left unsaid but a huge Ah, well, pretty much encompasses my feelings at this moment. The more things change the more they stay the same. Corruption breeds corruption. Joy breeds joy. So let's clone some joy today.

Just Stop the World, I want to Get Off

Where to Stop

Stop listening to C-Span. Stop listening to Fox News. Stop listening to NPR News. Stop, stop, stop. We are rife with negativity. No surprise we are a nation addicted to helping other nations fight wars that never should have been started. We are so busy pointing at how awful other countries are, we have lost sight that we are certainly no better and in many ways worse because we will not look at the facts on the ground. Fact one...unemployment is low. Truth suffers on this one. Unemployment is low for two reasons -- the number of young people in the military on this bogus extension of the 9/11 war and the people who have been out of work are not counted after a certain amount of time goes by. And the facts could go on from there. Unfortunately there is not enough time in the day to list all of the bogus things passing as truth when a harried person looks at them quickly. An unblinking assessment of what we are doing to ourselves as a nation, to our citizens, to our wanna-bee citizens, to our souls is what is needed in this hyper-heated atmosphere. Global warming? Hah, it has hit critical mass here in the U.S. and no one is paying attention. The political melt down will be something DHS won't be able to REAL ID or deal with.

Rescue Me...Classic Song

Rescue

Back in the heyday of the Vietnam protests, students hung flags upside down in the universal symbol of distress. It really makes more sense now with REAL ID coming down the pike at us, with prison labor taking over regular jobs, with contracts for data entry going to the Big House, with our national economy based upon the wars we start with other nations. We need rescuing just as surely as those cats and dogs I drive up I-95. Sigh.

Meanwhile, just hum a few bars of that classic rhythm & blues song

Aretha Franklin - Rescue Me Lyrics

Morals, Ethics and Politics

Moral Principles...Daily Buddhist Wisdom

Dangerous consequences will follow when politicians and rulers forget moral principles. Whether we believe in God or karma, ethics is the foundation of every religion. -His Holiness the Dalai Lama From "The Pocket Dalai Lama," edited by Mary Craig, 2002. Reprinted by arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Boston, www.shambhala.com.

Frank L. Baum and Oz - A New Look

Behind the Breastbone Beats

Behind the Breastbone Beats ... a Heart. A heart was all the Tinman was looking for in the classic Judy Garland movie "Wizard of Oz." Recently the SciFi Channel reinterpreted the Wizard of Oz. Called the "Tin Man" this classic movie is a wonderful modernization of the original Baum book. Really thoughtful. Really thought provoking. Wisecracking, sad, wise. Frank Baum wrote lots of books about his universe of Oz. None of them pretty. And this adaptation captures that sense of ugliness amidst the stunning beauty of modernity. It captures the soul of what Baum was writing about in his modern fairy tale for the 19th and early 20th century. And its' appeal is timeless. Because, after all, hearts are the icon of the soul.

The Botox of Souls

Souls and Botox

Unlike Hollywood stars whose good looks are frozen in place by botox, the soul is the one thing that never ever needs botox to look good. No matter how tattered, no matter how closed down, the soul can revive and grow. It doesn't grow according to the filofax calendar or according to our own demands. It grows because we work it. And we need to do that work these days more than ever with all the awful news both locally and abroad coming to the surface. I don't know if there is an increase in bad news. Or if there is an interest in selling products which means that news stations need to find a "hook" to attract watchers and bad news is sexy and sells. Or if bad news is increasing (if you believe in the end of days theory of life). What I do know is that bad news is bad for my soul. It makes that maggot of fear and mistrust grow and grow so I stay away from people, stay away from food, stay isolated in my own little world which tends to shrink more and more and become as dark as 3 am with the winds of sorrow whistling through. Brrrr. So I write, I read wonderful books by Bujold, I listen to Garrison Keillor, I listen to a CD called "Irish Drinking Songs for Cats."

This Thing Called Statistics

Statisticians and Liars

If the devil is in the details, then it stands to reason that the devil is a statistician. At least these days he or she is. The older I get, the more I dislike statistics. I like plain facts. No charts, no tables, no itty bitty details buried in the document. No Disclaimer Statements, No Footnotes. Just the facts. No slippery words that could be construed another way. Just plain ordinary information.

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On Polar Bears and Snow Days

Snow Day

Polar bears are dying and I worry about a little ice. Go figure.

On Clorox and Cheap Rings

Cheap Rings and Clorox

I have a wonderful ring I found at Target. It was cheap and full of really wonderful sayings. Unfortunately, I didn't realize its shiny surface could be damaged by the Clorox I use to wash floors in the cattery. So now I have a favorite ring that is like the rest of my life -- lovely and shiny in areas and worn through in others. How appropriate! Hmmmm, maybe those harsh cleaners are actually called 'life'.

I believe a lot of us are like my ring. We look "good" on the surface but in adversity those pesky flaws come right up front and center. If we ignore them, we risk having them get bigger and bigger until they ice right over our souls.

If only global warming worked on souls...we'd thaw out and actually care about each other.

That's it for now for me. Hugs for eternity.

Dennis the Menace

Dennis the Menace and the Media

My heart goes out to Dennis Kuchinich and his campaign. For some reason that I don't understand, mainstream media is not a fan of Dennis the Menace. (Nickname from his earlier political days as Mayor of Cleveland when the Cuyahoga River would catch on fire). Dennis now is sparring with NBC who decides who will be allowed to debate using NBC/MSNBC airwaves. They recently changed the "first four" rule to "first three" which prevented Dennis from participating in last Tuesday night's debate. This arbitrary and capricious change certainly kept me from judging for myself how Dennis would answer the questions posed to everyone on the dias. And I resent that 'right' being taken away from me. Frankly, I think Dennis has an absolutely vital point and I hope he finds some positive resolution in the court system. As a nation we absolutely cannot allow corporations to choose who our elected officials are going to be. And it is all too clear that this corporate choosing is the way of the future politically in this country.

Musing on Kucinich

Observations On the Other Hand

On the other hand, Dennis might need to read the latest Buddhist Wisdom note from today:

A petty officer often thinks of the rules; a seasoned general doesn't talk of soldiering. -Zen proverb From "The Pocket Zen Reader," edited by Thomas Cleary, 1999. Reprinted by arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Boston, www.shambhala.com.

It is pretty clear from the quote that those who complain about the rules lose sight of the battle. Ron Paul (on the Republican side) has the right idea about being denied a voice. He just works on the internet polls and keeps getting money for his campaign that way. We may be seeing a new way to conduct political debate in the country where Corporations back the candidates most likely to support them economically versus Candidates who through their own supporters' efforts are viable on the internet and no-where else. At this time, though, I am not sure which way will actually work on Election Day. We, as citizens, may need to adopt new technologies and demand the process change. All I say is, 'good luck with that.'

FN: Harry Truman allegedly remarked he needed/liked one handed economists because he hated to hear "on the other hand" explanations. IDK if it is true but it is imbedded in my brain as if it were.....

Clear as a Lotus in the Mud

Thought for the Day

Cancer Horoscope

(June 21 - Jul 22)

Something needs to come out into the open today, so you can integrate this information into your current plan. You may already have big ideas about what you want to change in your daily routine, but may have a hard time knowing how to do it until you have all the facts. Carefully asking the right questions now can help you discover what you need to know.

**********************

Well, that's clear as mud. But it does really relate to something I am dealing with so it isn't that off base. What is worthy of mention here is that it is the tension (for me) between my wants and my responsibilities. Very far apart on this particular issue. Light years. Mega Light Years. The bottom line is for me to stay out of the origami folds trying to smooth life out. Life and the universe do not work that way. Life and the universe like bumpiness even though it tears the heck out of my personal transmission. Sigh.

I See Famous People....

Leonardo DiCaprio and Cats

I think I saw Leonardo DiCaprio this week in front of the building I work in. It was awkward. He was trying to be ignored and I was trying to stay out of the way of him and his friend because they kept turning around and looking at me. Talk about awkward. Only as I crossed the street did I realize who it was. I bring this up because it is so rare when I actually see someone who is in the news. Sadly, when people start swooning over how gorgeous he is and ask me "what did I think when I saw him?", I blank out. All I can say is that if he were a cat, I'd have been far more impressed and glowing about how cool it was to actually see him in person.

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Wisdom We All Need but Totally Lack

Wisdom for Today and Always

From TheDailyEnlightenment@yahoogroups.com

Rely on the Dharma, not on people.
Rely on wisdom, not accumulation of knowledge.
Rely on the meaning of words, not the words.
Rely on the complete meaning, not the partial meaning.

- The Buddha

From TheDailyEnlightenment@yahoogroups.com

The Heartburn of Politics

Democrats/Republicans Blech to Both

I am on someones "sucker" list. I seem to get calls from everyone I ever (in a moment of madness) gave money to. Thank goodness I have call screening and I can avoid talking to them altogether. Frankly, I'd like to ask them for my money back. It seems to me that when I give money it needs to go where it is needed. Not fattening up a political office holders' telephone robo-callers. There are some folks I give to. But never ever will I give again to the mainstream parties. Local parties or national. None of them deserve a dime. None of them really earn it.

C-Span or was that C-Spam?

The radio stations in the Washington, DC area are limited. I know, I know. You'd think a big metropolitan area would have good radio shows, but you'd be wrong here. There are shock jocks, there are rabble rousers radio stations, there are news stations that only seem to read the news every fifteen minutes and never change either the news or the shock and awe with which they report it. And then ... there is C-Span. C-Span has a call in morning program. It limits its calls to those folks who are on a call list...I can't verify that folks. I just know I can never get through when I try to call. But it is a soap opera kind of program. People just vent. Predictably. Often. Some of the venters are really quite spectacularly weird. Some are just sweet. But I listen for the weirdos who crawl out from under rocks to accuse the people featured by C-Span of being - gasp - socialists. It is shocking to me to hear troglodytes calling on the phone. You'd think being inside a rock cave (look up the meaning), there would be spotty reception. But not only do these folks get on...they get listened to. We still must be a free country no matter how hard the pres and his buddies have tried to make sure our liberties go away because these cave-dwelling folks are still able to call in and insult the rest of us.

As Friends Stay Close

Part of the focus of my blog this year seems to leaning towards "How do we stay close in times where separation is necessary?" This is a constant theme for me these days. One of my long distance friends commented that my "little jokes" are missed. Again, my nearsightedness surely needs friends like her. Desperately! So I wrote her back to bring some light into her late January dark and realized I needed the laugh just as badly as she did. It is my opinion that the world is a far glummer place these days. I don't know whether there is any one cause to point at over any other. But honestly leavening is so necessary in the slumps. Especially as we inch forward towards Passover. All that leavening has to go. As a family, we used to give the stuff with yeast or other leavening away to our neighbors. Then after the Holiday, we would ransome the bread and stuffs back. It is too bad really that we can't ransome back the lightness, the leavening in real life. I think we need it more now than we ever did at Passover. So when you get a chance and things look glum, remember to ransome back the laughter.

When the Soul Needs Glasses, Find a Friend for Reflections

I am nearsighted physically. Who knew I was also nearsighted when it came to seeing myself? True friends hold up a mirror upon which I can see the breathe of my own life.

Horoscope for the Day

Cancer Horoscope

(June 21 - Jul 22)

Being in a serious mood is one thing; self-doubt is something else. Judging yourself too harshly can take its toll on you and your relationships, making it difficult to be too close to someone else, even if there is chemistry. This isn't about separation, so don't worry. A cooling off period can be exactly what you need to allow you to feel more comfortable with your own boundaries.

Horoscope for the Day

Cancer Horoscope

(June 21 - Jul 22)

Being in a serious mood is one thing; self-doubt is something else. Judging yourself too harshly can take its toll on you and your relationships, making it difficult to be too close to someone else, even if there is chemistry. This isn't about separation, so don't worry. A cooling off period can be exactly what you need to allow you to feel more comfortable with your own boundaries.

M*A*S*H Notes

God didn't put us here for a pat on the back. He put us here so he could be here himself.
M*A*S*H thoughts for the night

You are missed

Losing Battles and Taking the Long View

Cat rescue is a tough business. Losing the little critters to sickness is a loss that is hard to handle. Recently, our shelter lost 2 cats who were valiant in their fight to stay with us. Solomon (the wise) and Elliott (the sweet). They died the same week a benefactor of the shelter did. Sometimes death visits us like that. It takes sweet souls to remind us that we need to be sweeter to each other to make up for our losses. Farewell sighs for all of you who have loved and lost. Never forget that those you lose today are always nearby and will be there to greet you in the sweet by and by.

Vampire Kitties

Cat Surfing

Trust

Peace

Tell Me About It

How Do Cats Keep Their Teeth So White?

Cats Who Walk the Walk

Present Cats

Stand Up for Yourself Cats

Beware of Sleeping Cats as Well