Weekend Musings

Saturday, we went to the 50th birthday party of an ex-neighbor. The party was held in the banquet room of a local Chinese restaurant. We dined on the usual Anglo favorites: egg flower soup, egg foo young, sweet & sour pork, broccoli beef, fried rice, cashew chicken, and beef chow mein (none of which I EVER order and none of which can be found anywhere in China) and were serenaded by The Great Morgani, "Accordionist Extraordinnaire" (he plays everything but 'The Lady of Spain' and 'Metallica.' Don't believe me? Go here http://www.thegreatmorgani.com/)


Anyway, I mention this because while watching our friend open her presents, it struck me that I was at a Portuguese birthday party, in a Chinese restaurant, listening to Italian polka-style songs (yes, those kind) and thinking this scene would be complete if only I were wearing plaid madras shorts and a pink polo shirt with black flip-flops.

Christian Fundamentalist Terrorists

Operation Rescue is not Christian organization, it's the new American Taliban. The man who murdered Dr. Tiller was not a Christian following Jesus Christ and Randall Terry is not walking the walk of Christ.

Isn't it strange that these so-called "pro-life" advocates are more concerned with the lives of fetuses than they are of their mothers? Otherwise, why murder a physician who was dedicated to protecting the health and lives of women? And how about his children and wife who are now deprived of a father and a husband?

Yet, these people have the audacity to call themselves "pro-life."

It seems to me everyone has their own ideas when it comes to ending life, whether they are "pro life" or "pro-choice." Everyone has their exceptions to the rule, be it Capital Punishment or War. Believe what you want, don't do what you don't believe in and leave your nose out of others' beliefs. They will be judged and you will be judged by whomever and whatever they believe in, before we die or after. I think we've got enough work to do improving ourselves while living our own lives, than by trying to improve others by interfering in theirs.

I cannot rejoice in Dr. Tiller’s death. He did not die for a cause, he lived for one.

BTW, Joe Biden was right. He said Barack Obama would be tested by terrorists in his first 6 months.

WolframAlpha

The latest new Web toy I'm playing around with. You really should check it out. Here's the home page http://www92.wolframalpha.com/

and a 13 minute screencast introduction

Screencast: A Quick Introduction to WolframAlpha by Stephen Wolfram:
http://www.wolframalpha.com/screencast/introducingwolframalpha.html

REALLY, REALLY COOL!!!

Simpler Times

I was listening to a satellite radio talk show this morning on the drive into work. People were calling in about what they (baby boomers) remembered most growing up. I had tears in my eyes from some of the things people were calling in with. It's amazing the similarities no matter what part of the country they grew up in. Here's a few of mine:

Being home by the time the streetlights came on
Playing in the apricot orchards
Picking bouquets of mustard flowers for Mom

Riding bikes with playing cards rubbing the spokes, attached with a clothespin

Fizzies
Kool aide popsicles

Sitting in from of the TV with a mixing bowl of cereal watching cartoons on Saturday

Captain Kangaroo
The Mickey Mouse Club
“Combat” (with Vic Morrow)
Leave it to Beaver
Sunday drives
Family dinners at Nanny & Pop-Pop’s
Penny candy
Double features at the movies
Drive-ins
Red light, Green light, Hide n Seek, Simon Says
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Swanson’s chicken pot pies
Hillbilly bread
TV dinners
Summer road trips
The County Fair
Lemon aide stands
Slurpees
Pet turtles
The Kid’s Table
Root beer floats
Playing Army men
Cowboys & Indians
Home movies
Going to bed when it was still light outside
The Ice Cream man
Doughboy swimming pools
Spaghetti night!
The Woolworth’s lunch counter
Gordo, Able, Miss Baker, Sam, Miss Sam, Goliath & Scatback
New shoes for the first day of school

I'm a Proud Californian Today

Yesterday voters gave Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California "Do Nothing" Legislature a swift thwack upside their collective heads by soundly defeating Props 1A-1E. Finally, fed up and no longer willing to “just open your wallet and shut your mouth," 19% of California voters did the right thing and just said NO MORE. Not one more dime, fix it with what you have. We've had to make do with less, now it's YOUR turn.

True, this defeat will now push the California State budget to a $21.3 billion deficit and tens of thousands of teachers, police & firefighters, state employees (including myself) will/may be furloughed or laid off, and money taken (back) from local governments. Public education is going to suffer. Mental health services is going to suffer. All public safety services are going to suffer.

It's gonna hurt BIG TIME folks, and we ain't seen NOTHING yet.

"Tonight we have heard from the voters and I respect the will of the people who are frustrated with the dysfunction in our budget system," the governor said in a statement. "Now we must move forward from this point to begin to address our fiscal crisis with constructive solutions."

Guess you're going to have to start doing the job we're paying you for BIG GUY... and just put a steak over that black eye while you're at it.

What I'm Doing This Weekend

Here's where I'm off to http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/vi/vi_events/cooking/default.asp

Lots of good food, wine, the ocean breezes . . . life doesn't get any better than this!

OK, OK, my goal is to get my picture taken with Alton Brown (we're staying in the same hotel) so I'M SURE we'll meet in an elevator - or the bar - at some point.

See ya'll on Monday!!!

Falcon Cam

View the next generation of Falcons. This is right across the street, SJ City Hall, from my library. What a joy to watch!!! The pidgeon population declines a little bit each day though . . .

5/1/5/09 UPDATE: the babies were all banded this morning. Mom was flying overhead screeching at the top of her lungs (I went outside to hear it). All is well now.

NOTE: All the babies have fledged so this webcam is gone until April 2010 when we welcome Clara back again.

Earth Day 2009

I remember my first Earth Day celebration in high school in April 1970. The entire student body was assembled in our football stadium and told it was a day to reflect on our planet, our environment and what we could do to keep them healthy. At that time many of us were also involved in the Vietnam War protests (called "teach-ins") and saw Earth Day as the same type of protest except on behalf of the environment. At least I did. I was always looking for a good protest back then.

At the grassroots level, Earth Day organizers were able to tap into the environmental concerns of the general public and infuse the student anti-war energy into their environmental cause, thereby forcing the issue onto the political agenda and finally into the national spotlight. Smart cookies, they were.

In the comics section of a local newspaper, “Baby Blues” showed the lighter side of Earth Day:

“It’s weird … Green is good when you’re talking about energy, but not bananas.
A green lifestyle is good, but green water is bad.
Green corporations are good, but green meatloaf will make you sick.
The world is a very complicated place.”

So what did I do for Earth Day today, I went home and watered my roses. I know, pathetic.

Why I Don't Twitter

Since I deal with a lot of students and faculty, I try and keep up with the latest crazes but I definitely don’t have time to add another life-sucking activity like Twitter to my life.

I like what Brian Williams said on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, that he will not use Twitter until he has something “interesting enough” to say in 140 characters or less. Even Beyonce admits that when it comes to Twittering, she just “doesn’t get it” and she’s not on Facebook either. That makes two of us.

I love technology, but I have to draw the line at Twitter.

The official Twitter website says: “Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?” Sounds more like a cross between blogging and instant messaging and enabling today’s attention-deficit disorder sufferers doesn't seem a like a particularly good idea to me. What am I doing? It’s 1:30pm on Wednesday, what do you think I’m doing? Does anyone care that I’m sitting at my desk flossing the chicken salad out from between my teeth? Or that I’m on my way to the bathroom for my second bowel movement of the day? (Shall I take a picture as well?)

We are losing the art of conversation by reducing it to abbreviations and emoticons for anyone to read. What about crafting a thank you note or the impact of a well-written sympathy card after a loved one dies. Remember letters? When was the last time you sent one? And I don’t mean a Hallmark card.

Twitter devotees claim that the value of Twitter is in the quality of those you follow. To make it interesting you need to have interesting people to follow. If you don't follow interesting people, it’s just a big pointless waste of time. But do we all really want to be connected to each other in this kind of giant kumbaya?

I guess what I really want to know is: Who in the hell has time for this stuff???

I’ve come to the conclusion that Twitter, or micro-blogging, is for people who want a blog but don't want to blog. Maybe Twitter is the latest manifestation of an undesirable trend. Remember when it was people checking their e-mail 50 times an hour, and phoning you to say, "Did you not get my e-mail? I sent it almost an hour ago." Then it was instant messaging, cell phones, and text messaging, all offering improved opportunities to "be in touch all the time," a fate I'd do almost anything to avoid.

Now it’s "social networks," like Facebook, My Space and Twitter. I suppose there’s value to each of these -although I suspect that the value drops over time- but it seems to me that each “new tool” seems to be taken to sillier (or stupider) extremes than the last one.

I also recognize that it isn’t going away anytime soon. Tell you what, why don’t we all just meet at the Pub and raise a pint or two?

The Susan Boyle Phenomena

I refuse to watch reality shows of any type because of the bad taste they leave in my mouth. Let's not forget that this is television where the letters NBC stand for 'No Butt-ugly Characters' and Cinderella stories don't just happen randomly. Producers seek out the unusual because that's what sells, but a friend sent me a link to the YouTube video of her performance on “Britain’s got Talent.”

I’ll admit, when she first walked onto the stage, I felt sorry for her, not because of the way she looked, but rather that the audience was already snickering and jeering at her before she even opened her mouth. Apparently, they expected her not to be able to sing simply based on her appearance. I was especially upset when I saw one specific woman in the audience rolling her eyes, shaking her head, and laughing -this is the same mentality of people who are now judging overweight people in the airline industry with financial penalties, but that’s ANOTHER blog rant- but it was when I saw that slow, well-known smirk come across Simon Cowell’s face, I knew poor Susan was going to become the butt of some sort of cruel and terrible joke. I didn’t want to watch.

Susan Boyle appears to be a regular person, maybe a neighbor or a co-worker, not a movie star with all the makeup and fancy clothes. She has heart, and it shows. She has kindness, and it shines through her. Her beauty inside and out is what makes her shine with talent. She's got great stage presence. Her face is strong and dramatic, which is an advantageous quality to have, especially in the theater. Susan’s performance was stunning, amazing, breath taking; I even got tears in my eyes (how could you not?) The fact that everyone keeps referring to her as a dumpy, middle-aged woman is bizarre to me. She’s a hero to all of us who aren't a size 0, with perfectly done make up and hair.

I say Congratulations Susan, you GO GIRL!!!

New Uses For Old Business Cards

In the spirit of Going Green (it's a slow day), here are a few suggestions:

Cleaning the spaces between your computer keyboard (use the sticky side of a used Post-it to get any crumbs)

Cutting the ends off to make labels for your hanging file folders

Attaching to CD cases to identify them as yours

Luggage tags

Making short grocery lists on the back

Entering "free meal” drawings at your favorite eateries

Makeshift bookmarks (instead of folding the corner of the page down – I HATE THAT!)

Getting that last little bit of chicken salad out of your teeth

Putting personal notes in the lunch bag of someone you love

Fingernail cleaner

Use as a wedge to balance a wobbly table in a restaurant

Noisemakers for your bike (remember clothespining playing cards to the fenders of your bike so they would struck by the spokes on the wheel creating a motorized sound?)

Wallpaper

Build a card castle

Shred them to make confetti

Tape them together to make drawer liners


And my personal favorite:

Use as a Tool Of Deception For People You Don't Like. Carry a few old business cards belonging to someone else in your wallet. When you encounter someone you wish you hadn't, hand them one of them as you leave

We're Heading North, to Oregon

Leaving early to visit a dear Niece and her husband in Beaverton. Have dinner reservations in Portland Saturday night on the waterfront (celebrating the 30th birthday of Niece's husband). Sunday we'll all spend the day in Seattle, one of my most favorite places on this planet. Monday, while the kids are working, the husband and I will scout out coastal property; serious negotiations are currently going on between us to retire there - he DEFINITELY wants to, I'm not so sure.

Problem is, I'm very close to my family, he's not (close to his). I don't want to end up living so far from everyone (except the aforementioned Niece) if ever I am alone again (i.e. husband dies before me). I think it's a reasonable consideration. The deal buster: if I can't live near the ocean (like I do now), I won't move. End of discussion.

I've checked the long-range weather forecast for the area and it'll be raining much of the time we're there, with temps mostly in the mid-40s - ahhhhh, my kind of weather. I think I was a duck in a past life.

See you all Wednesday, take care of each other.

Taking the Long Way Home

I don't remember who it was that said that the journey is more important than the destination but stopping to smell the roses was just what the Dr. ordered today.

I had a dental appt this morning - a little minor oral surgery and crown replacement - and had planned to go into work afterwards. No big deal. But as often happens, things didn't quite turn out that way and I ended up not making it to work . . . which didn't disappoint me in the least.

Anyway, when all was said and done, I decided to take the long way home. It's about a 20 minute drive from Capitola/Santa Cruz (the dentist) to my house via (the Pacific Coast) Highway One, or 45 minutes to an hour via the back roads. Since it was such a beautiful day (about 70 degs) I got me an iced latte at Starbucks (for when the novocaine wore off), opened the sun roof, put on the "Classic Vinyl" station on my XM radio and took a favorite route through apple orchards, commercial rose growing fields, and rows and rows of strawberries. I take this route when I have a lot on my mind or just need to think (this was also a favored drive of my Mom's and I always feel her near when I go this way). There's a llama ranch along this stretch of road too and a dozen or more were sunning themselves near the fence as I passed. How can people make rugs out of these beautiful animals?????

The sunshine, the music, the smell of the acacia trees in bloom was just what I needed. I even stopped at a flower stand and bought a bouquet of wildflowers to bring home. Violet "the Destroyer" will be pleased.

This was my unplanned day off and taking the long way home.

Odds & Ends, This & That

So, today I've made coconut macaroons (husband's fave), fruitcake bars for work (not yo Grannie's fruitcake) and now I'm making corned beef and cabbage. I know, I know, St. Paddy's Day is Tuesday but next Sunday the aforementioned husband is leaving (on business) to Long Beach (Los Angeles) for 4 days so we're having our Tuesday night dinner tonight (will make some Irish soda bread to go with it too - YUM!) We usually make a lamb stew using a few pints of Guinness and have some friends over, but it didn't work out that way this year. Also, the County Fair is coming up and I'm testing new goodies to enter . . .

Hope you are all well, having a wonderful Sunday and are spending it with people you love.

Madoff "deeply sorry and ashamed"

Back in the cowboy days he'd already be hanging from a rope - BASTARD!

My question is: where's the money?
Where did all that money go?
How come no one (in the media, judges, attornies, etc.) is asking THAT question?

Nadya Suleman Giving Birth

Too funny not to share

"Lane Cake, Scuppernongs and Pickled Pig’s Knuckles"

Since I’ve decided to pretty much boycott watching television in the evenings, except for Leave it To Beaver and M*A*S*H reruns - BUT not before I thank President Obama for finally ending The Chimp’s War on Science by undoing a 2001 Bush directive that banned federal funding for stem cell research - I’ve been spending that time baking and reading more.

Also due to my previously mentioned “foodie tendencies” and my current search for the perfect Lane cake recipe, I stumbled upon a Lesson Plan for teachers recently created by the Southern Food and Beverage Museum in, where else, New Orleans, Louisiana http://thebigreadnola.com/lesson-plan.pdf.

In the Lesson Plan's Foreword, “To Kill a Mockingbird” is mentioned as “a classic example of a great Southern novel filled with culinary information.” It was then that I remembered Harper Lee’s character Maudie Atkinson and her Lane cake, the one with the alcohol kick so powerful that another character, Scout, remarks "Miss Maudie baked a Lane cake so loaded with shinny it made me tight" (Shinny being a slang term for liquor).

I dug out my copy at home and sure enough, Harper Lee breathed life into her characters with food, in fact 52 foods - all Southern favorites - are mentioned in the book like ambrosia, fried chicken, collards, peach pickles, turnip greens, crackling bread, etc. No wonder I loved this book so much, I was a foodie before I even knew what a foodie was!!!

Basically, a Lane cake is a type of white sponge cake made with egg whites that consists of four layers filled with a mixture of egg yolks, butter, sugar, raisins (sometimes coconut and chopped nuts), and whiskey. The cake is frosted with a boiled, fluffy white frosting made of water, sugar, and whipped egg whites and typically served (in the South) at birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and other special occasions. The recipe was first printed in Emma Rylander Lane's cookbook "Some Good Things to Eat," which she self-published in 1898.

So ya’ll should thank Rush Limpbrain for my foray into the Southern culinary world, if it weren’t for him becoming the Leader of the GOP (couldn't have happened to a nicer guy!) I wouldn’t have turned off the tube and took up reading the book again.

Two guesses what I'm making for dessert at Easter?

Fat Tuesday (Praise the Lord & Pass the King Cake)

OK, so tomorrow is Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. I'm home tonight making a King cake . . . kinda . . . it's actually a lemon bundt cake without the baby inside. It is a lemon cake (with Meyer lemons from my own tree) with a lemony glaze. I'm going to sprinkle it with gold, purple and green sanding sugar and take it to work tomorrow for all to admire, Domestic Goddess that I am.

Don't hate me because I can bake!

Michael Steele: "Work" vs "Job"

STEELE: Well, the difference, the distinction is this. If you got a government contract that’s a fixed period of time it goes away. The work may go away. There’s no guarantee that there’s going to be more work when you’re done with that job.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But we’ve seen millions and millions of jobs going away in the private sector just in the last year.

STEELE: Yes, but they come back though, George. That’s the point. They’ve gone away before and they come back…

HUH?

By Steele’s definition, a contractor, who bids contract to contract in the private sector, is "making work," it’s not a job because there is an endpoint to the contract, after all, there is no guarantee that there will be another one (is there a guarantee that there will always be a demand for a product in the private sector?)

So, if you have a job building schools, bridges, roads, levees, or anything with money that comes from the Federal Government, you don't have a 'real' job. Isn’t making work *scratching my head* the exact purpose of the stimulus?

Good thing this doesn’t mean that a paycheck isn’t really money.

And I thought Sarah Palin was the worst the Republican Party could come up with.

I'm a Library Trustee

Last night at the monthly City Council meeting, I was nominated and appointed by my City Council Representative to serve on the city's Library Commission from my District.

Last October I attended a Candidate's Forum (many City Council members were up for re-election) and I was so impressed by the new faces I saw vying for the job - and Lord knows we needed some changes - I was inspired to get more involved in the community where I lived. And since I've worked (most) all my life in libraries I thought it a good fit. So I applied.

My first meeting is February 19th and with the state of financial affairs in this State, keeping libraries a float is going to be a real challenge. I'm up for it.