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March 28, 2017
Playing catch up - I've been sick with the plague (upper respiratory / sinus).
Playing catch up - I've been sick with the plague (upper respiratory / sinus).
March 27, 2017 - Where (and when) Will It Be Found?
My brown leather belt is missing. It's here in the house, I know that, I just don't know where. I've looked everywhere I know to look, but I guess it wants an extended vacation...
Ah well, when it's ready, I'll find it. I just hope it's soon or I'll have to buy another.
March 26, 2017 - Swing Set
Many, many years ago, the school sytem here in town wanted to expand one of their Vo-Tech buildings. In order to do that, they had to purchase all the homes on a full city block, all four sides. My Granny Ware hated to move but there wasn't any choice in the matter.
My dad and my four uncles all showed up to her house on moving day with their pick up trucks. My brothers and sisters, and all my cousins sat in the bed of the trucks to keep things from falling out on the drive to the new house. It was a lot of fun and we laughed a lot.
Granny had a swing set in her backyard. I'm honestly not sure which of the men had the bright idea not to disassemble it, but to place the whole thing in the back of one of the trucks. Some of my older, heavier boy cousins sat in the swings, then the menfolk placed two girls at each leg, standing with our arms wrapped firmly around them to hold everything steady.
Believe me when I tell you that was one of the most exhilirating rides I'd ever been on. Roller coasters are wonderful, I love them. However, standing in the bed of a moving truck, hanging onto the leg of a swing set, with no safety gear or seat belt between me and the pavement... yeah.
It makes me laugh, and feel sweaty and anxious every time I think about it!
March 25, 2017 - Policeman
Some people still join the police force for the right reasons -- to protect and serve. I totally respect that and I love, love, love these kind of videos. I'm further south than Kansas City, but this still makes me proud of their police force and I think these guys are the awesome.
Some people still join the police force for the right reasons -- to protect and serve. I totally respect that and I love, love, love these kind of videos. I'm further south than Kansas City, but this still makes me proud of their police force and I think these guys are the awesome.
March 24, 2017 - Good Medicine
Everyone at my house has spring time allergies when the trees start budding and pollen is floating everywhere. I found a product at Wal-Mart. It's just Guaifenesin 400mg, no other active ingredients to make us feel weird or sleepy. And? It costs $0.88 for 15 tablets. I always buy at least four boxes whenever I'm at the store so there is no chance of running out.
Everyone at my house has spring time allergies when the trees start budding and pollen is floating everywhere. I found a product at Wal-Mart. It's just Guaifenesin 400mg, no other active ingredients to make us feel weird or sleepy. And? It costs $0.88 for 15 tablets. I always buy at least four boxes whenever I'm at the store so there is no chance of running out.
I highly recommend it.
I Saw It In The Sky
In 1980, Cathy and I were fortunate enough to take a Caribbean cruise. One of our cousins organized the whole thing, and the more people we could enlist to go, the cheaper everyone's fare would be. It was a fantastic time, and I still remember it like it was yesterday. I won't bore you with the travel itinerary, just tell the story for the writing prompt.
Two young men that we'd known for most of our lives accompanied us on the cruise - David and James. For the entire eight days of the cruise, after the evening meal, we'd head up to the Lido deck because it was always deserted afer sunset, where we would drink and smoke weed until two or three in the morning, then stumble our way to bed. We had many indepth, philosophical discussions... and found out a lot about one another. It was a good time.
On our last night aboard ship, we'd just settled into our seats and were getting ready to get lit. Jim noticed something in the sky and pointed it out to the rest of us. The best I can describe, it was like looking at a the old Simon game everyone played as kids.
In 1980, Cathy and I were fortunate enough to take a Caribbean cruise. One of our cousins organized the whole thing, and the more people we could enlist to go, the cheaper everyone's fare would be. It was a fantastic time, and I still remember it like it was yesterday. I won't bore you with the travel itinerary, just tell the story for the writing prompt.
Two young men that we'd known for most of our lives accompanied us on the cruise - David and James. For the entire eight days of the cruise, after the evening meal, we'd head up to the Lido deck because it was always deserted afer sunset, where we would drink and smoke weed until two or three in the morning, then stumble our way to bed. We had many indepth, philosophical discussions... and found out a lot about one another. It was a good time.
On our last night aboard ship, we'd just settled into our seats and were getting ready to get lit. Jim noticed something in the sky and pointed it out to the rest of us. The best I can describe, it was like looking at a the old Simon game everyone played as kids.
After we all noticed it and watched it hover in place for roughly a minute, the lights began blinking furiously, then it took off. I kid you not, there were light trails, just like in the Star Trek movies, when they are in warp speed, and it was gone. poof! As if it had never been there at all. The whole process of blinking lights, light trails and disappearing took less than three seconds.
We all described the same thing to one another, and then, the next morning, we discussed it again. All of our memories matched.
Now, whether it was a weather balloon, an experimental military plane, or an honest-to-God UFO, I have no clue. But, I saw it. I saw it in the sky!
We all described the same thing to one another, and then, the next morning, we discussed it again. All of our memories matched.
Now, whether it was a weather balloon, an experimental military plane, or an honest-to-God UFO, I have no clue. But, I saw it. I saw it in the sky!
March 22, 2017 - Saying Goodbye
Today was the last day for one of my team members, she's staying with the organization but moving to a different team in a different building. We had a carry-in lunch with lots of wonderful stuff, and we all chipped in a few bucks and bought fried chicken from the deli at a local grocery store. It was a nice day, we had a lot of fun, but then it was sad when she packed up her things and left.
Today was the last day for one of my team members, she's staying with the organization but moving to a different team in a different building. We had a carry-in lunch with lots of wonderful stuff, and we all chipped in a few bucks and bought fried chicken from the deli at a local grocery store. It was a nice day, we had a lot of fun, but then it was sad when she packed up her things and left.
Big Little Lies
This show is incredible --
- Reese Witherspoon
- Nicole Kidman
- Shailene Woodley
- Alexander Skarsgard
- Zoe Kravitz
- Laura Dern
And that's just scratching the surface. Go Check It Out Now!
The First Memory I Have Is:
A little background first - the house my parents owned until I was four, sat on ten acres. The house was at the front, with a detached garage, and a barn. The rest of the property was fenced, and my dad bought a calf each year to raise for beef in our freezer, and he boarded horses for a couple of guys who competed in the rodeo circuits in and around Misery.
One memory is really clear, I believe it is a true memory, rather than just hearing family tell the story over the years.
Cathy and I may have been four, but were probably still three. Our older brother, who was twelve or thirteen, convinced us that we could get pillowcases from our bedroom, and if we jumped out of the barn loft, the pillow cases would work exactly like parachutes and we'd float slowly to the ground.
I distinctly remember standing beside Cathy in the loft, looking down at my brother shouting encouragements up to us. Then, I remember my Dad coming out of the back door at a dead run, my brother taking off around the side of the house and continuing on down the road, never looking back. We climbed down the ladder and out of the barn, much to my Dad's relief. He told us that the next time Steve hatched a plan, one or both of us should run it by him or our mom first.
While it was actually happening, I do not remember being scared until our dad came outside and started yelling. Now, that I'm older, with kids and grandkids, I realize just how frightened he was.
When our brother finally made his way home, he was banished to his room the rest of the night, and again the next evening, after school.
Thankfully, it's only a story of what could have been, with a really funny ending.
Sunday was a lazy day.
Other than running the dishwasher and doing a couple loads of laundry, my behind has been sitting or reclining.
- The Walking Dead is finally gearing up to the uprising and (hopefully) end of The Saviors. Since the season premier, I've wanted to see Negan's brains splattered all over the pavement, just like he did to Glenn and Abraham. Yeah...
- The Feud with Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange gives me the feels. It is definitely not what I expected, but I couldn't possibly enjoy it any more than I already do. My parents didn't go to the theater as they were notoriously cheap, and had no problem waiting a year or two for a movie to play on television. We watched it as a family and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Whenever it plays on television, I still watch. Honestly, I had no idea that both Bette and Jane had such horrible lives, and I can definitely understand how that shaped them into the mean, jealous, competitive, and amoral women portrayed in The Feud.
- Hap and Leonard -- I found this on Netflix yesterday, and it's awesome. A Sundance original, Netflix only has the first season. The second is currently playing, but I don't have the channel. Hopefully I can find it streaming on one of the pirate sites, rather than wait a year for Netflix to get season two.
That's all I've got - I was a complete slug today.
Eyes that don't see - to know much but understand little:
"...Knowledge always comes paired with responsibility. Any insight into who we are--our gifts and faults--and about who our neighbor is--their needs and suffering, comes with an equal measure of responsibility. Do we take what we know, about the world, ourselves and God, and knead it into the very fabric of our lives--acting with love toward others? Or are we as certain stoics and cynics, peering out at the broken mass of humanity, smugly clutching onto ineffectual knowledge, choosing not to put what we know into practice (or if we do, only half-heartedly) and be the hands and feet of Christ? Do we see a neighbor, or just someone else?..."
Eyes That Don't See - To Know Much But Understand LittleThe Christian Right Was Right!
The Christian Right Was Right
"...As a lifelong Christian I’ve had a sick sense of déjà vu watching politicians professing to be followers of Jesus dismantling every program designed to care for the vulnerable and the hurting, seeing the way the powerful are being awarded greater power, watching empathy vanishing and hatred skyrocketing. I’ve heard this story a million times before; proclaimed on Sunday mornings from pulpits, unleashed in religious social media rants, and shouted through bullhorns on street corners. I knew this was coming, or at least I should have. We all should have. These harbingers of doom were absolutely right to warn us—and ironically they were the very ones they were warning us about. In the sickest kind of self-fulfilling prophecy, they were the plague of these days that they said would come...."
The Christian Right Was Right
Absolute Chaos
Lord, what a day!
- At 8am, my entire team receives an invitation to a conference call beginning in fifteen minutes. On the call, our supervisor announces that she has accepted a position in the Emergency Department on the main campus, working with the physicians and other providers, to help them learn professional billing. Her last day is Friday, 03/24.
- Immediately after the call, I receive multiple instant messages and emails urging me to apply for the soon to be vacant supervisor position, once it is posted. I'm flattered beyond measure but I do not want the job.
- At 10am, my entire team receives an invitation to a conference call beginning in fifteen minutes. On the call, our manager announces that the supervisor position will not be posted. In an effort to conserve costs, and practice good stewardship, Human Resources suggested that a supervisor from another team transition to our department. Her current team's workload was significantly decreased, and some of the coworkers were moved to different positions, making her redundant. She'll start next week, working with our current supervisor, to learn the workflow and her new duties.
- Immediately after the call, I receive multiple instant messages and emails asking if I know this new person, is she nice, will she work well with our team, is she going to fire people, am I upset, am I going to leave, etc.
- The teammates who actually work in my office were stressed to the max. One lady couldn't stop talking. She wasn't even talking to us, or anyone else, for that matter. Instead, she was reading aloud what was on her computer monitor, then talking herself through the steps needed to complete the task she was working on.
- The woman who sits across the aisle from me... sigh I watched her put four sticks of gum in her mouth at once, chew them down to "gum stage" with her mouth open, slurping, and smacking. Once that was complete, she proceeded to blow bubbles, pop them, then suck the gum back into her mouth.
- The woman who sits in front of me had a small, hard plastic box clutched in her hand, and she'd open and shut the lid, almost in sync with the lady chewing gum.
- The ladies I break with, my office buddies, were so overwhelmed that they immediately requested tomorrow and next week off as vacation time. I will be there all alone to deal with the new supervisor and the team's anxiety, with no safety valve. I may explode into space!
If you think about it, send me some relaxed and groovy vibes...
Something New
A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I'd bought a Samsung Chromebook. It wasn't expensive by any standard, but it has a decent size, really pretty display, and a nice, roomy keyboard. Last night, I was at How to Geek and found an article about installing a lite version of Unbuntu called Crouton, along side the Chrome OS. Crouton adds a desktop functionality and the ability to add applications such as a word processor, spreadsheet, .pdf creator, etc. I thought this sounded like a win-win situation.
After re-reading the article and following the links, I downloaded Crouton, and followed the extremely clear, concise, user-friendly instructions to install it. This will probably surprise you, but I managed to make it much harder than it really is... anyway, after about an hour, I had everything up and running.
Crouton isn't pretty.
It's a stripped down and plain looking, I suppose, to make it run faster and conserve resources. Bonus points for being easy to move around in and understand. However, finding the tools I want to add wasn't that easy. I finally got frustrated, shut everything down, and went to bed.
Ah well, the weekend is almost here and I'll have plenty of time to play with it and search for the applications I want.
Eyes That Don't See
There is a woman who works in the same building, different department. I don't know her name, don't care to know her name, but what I do know is she's a perfect example of 'eyes that don't see'.
This morning, while I was in the break room, she was reading aloud from the newspaper about the plans to repeal the Affordable Health Care, defund Planned Parenthood, and cut Medicare and Medicaid by at least half. She announced, "I'm so excited about this! They're finally going to get rid of the deficit, balance the budget, stop abortions, and all of those people who live off the government will have to get off their butts and fend for themselves!"
Only by grace, I managed to remain silent, get my coffee, and leave without looking at her.
Now that I've typed this out, I find myself wondering: is it because her eyes don't see, or is she really just evil...?
March 12, 2017 JT Leroy
Has anyone seen Author: The JT Leroy Story?
I found it absolutely fascinating on so many different levels. Something in the back of my mind kept telling me I should remember when the actual events happened, it was vaguely familiar but still brand new.
It's the story behind literary persona JT LeRoy, the fictional writer created by American author Laura Albert. Laura had an abusive childhood and was committed multiple times, beginning when she was still in elementary school. She discovered her talent for writing, and told her story through the voice of others.
When she described JT, she called him an avatar. At times, she spoke of him as a real being, someone who inhabited her and she allowed herself to be used as his vessel. Other times, she indicated that she could express her pain and anguish through the voice of JT, a young "gender-fluid" boy, because she wasn't describing herself, telling her truth.
Then, it gets even weirder. JT becomes a world-wide sensation and is embraced by rock stars, movie stars, you name it. Because Laura is a forty year old woman, she enlisted her teen aged sister-in-law to play JT in public. There were book tours, movies made from the books, premieres at Sundance, etc.
Next, some journalist figured out what was really going on and exposed everyone. There was public outcry, law suits, and complete chaos.
::whew::
This film is Albert telling her story, and her unrivaled skill in manipulating reality means the viewer has to watch it with a measure of caution; but for the most part it rings true, a fascinating yet in places disturbing tale of life and art intermingling.
I highly recommend it.
Has anyone seen Author: The JT Leroy Story?
I found it absolutely fascinating on so many different levels. Something in the back of my mind kept telling me I should remember when the actual events happened, it was vaguely familiar but still brand new.
It's the story behind literary persona JT LeRoy, the fictional writer created by American author Laura Albert. Laura had an abusive childhood and was committed multiple times, beginning when she was still in elementary school. She discovered her talent for writing, and told her story through the voice of others.
When she described JT, she called him an avatar. At times, she spoke of him as a real being, someone who inhabited her and she allowed herself to be used as his vessel. Other times, she indicated that she could express her pain and anguish through the voice of JT, a young "gender-fluid" boy, because she wasn't describing herself, telling her truth.
Then, it gets even weirder. JT becomes a world-wide sensation and is embraced by rock stars, movie stars, you name it. Because Laura is a forty year old woman, she enlisted her teen aged sister-in-law to play JT in public. There were book tours, movies made from the books, premieres at Sundance, etc.
Next, some journalist figured out what was really going on and exposed everyone. There was public outcry, law suits, and complete chaos.
::whew::
This film is Albert telling her story, and her unrivaled skill in manipulating reality means the viewer has to watch it with a measure of caution; but for the most part it rings true, a fascinating yet in places disturbing tale of life and art intermingling.
I highly recommend it.
March 11, 2017 Midnight in Paris
Saturday afternoon was dark, wet, and cold, so I stayed in. This movie was playing on HBO and I caught it just as it began.
Gil, played by Owen Wilson, has left his position as a very successful screenwriter to write The Great American Novel. He's engaged to Inez, who thinks he's wasting his time, thinks he's cheap, and makes the audience wonder why she agreed to marry him if he's such a loser. Throw in her mean, petty parents, and her boorish, snobby friends, and it's no wonder Gil walks the streets of Paris alone.
Then... at midnight, he finds the portal... and is transported to another time. He meets Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali, Gertrude Stein, Paul Gauguin, T.S. Elliott, Henri Matisse, Edgar Degas, Pablo Picasso, the list goes on and on.
The movie was originally released in 2011, but hasn't lost a bit of its charm. I fell head first and experienced the same enchantment and delight as I did with the first viewing.
Gil, played by Owen Wilson, has left his position as a very successful screenwriter to write The Great American Novel. He's engaged to Inez, who thinks he's wasting his time, thinks he's cheap, and makes the audience wonder why she agreed to marry him if he's such a loser. Throw in her mean, petty parents, and her boorish, snobby friends, and it's no wonder Gil walks the streets of Paris alone.
Then... at midnight, he finds the portal... and is transported to another time. He meets Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali, Gertrude Stein, Paul Gauguin, T.S. Elliott, Henri Matisse, Edgar Degas, Pablo Picasso, the list goes on and on.
The movie was originally released in 2011, but hasn't lost a bit of its charm. I fell head first and experienced the same enchantment and delight as I did with the first viewing.
March 10, 2017
"Nihilists?! F*ck me... I mean, say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism Dude, at least it's an ethos..."
While in still in school, I had a philosophy class that touched briefly on the different branches. The instructor also happened to be a Methodist minister, and always wore these snazzy bow ties. He was great, and I loved him.
When he discussed Nihilism, I remember feeling frightened at a gut level. Seriously? A belief system that basically states morality, love, peace, and justice are not inherent, and that finding the purpose of one's life and happiness should be the ultimate goal? It sounded like Satanism!
Keep in mind, I was still a kid with no life experience and this was the my introduction to the subject. Over the past forty years, I've matured a bit, and come to realize that Nihilists are not a bunch of lunatics plotting to destroy society as I know it. They're not evil monsters.
What does strike me as funny -- makes me laugh out loud -- is that in quite a few movies and television shows, when the subject comes up, at least one person has the same knee-jerk reaction I had during Dr. Klein's lecture back in 1977.
March 9, 2017
Today was so much fun! One of the ladies on our team got married, so we took a long lunch hour and went to the courthouse to see her get hitched!
Tonight's a different story. Our choices are:
- Struck by lightning.
- Major hail damage.
- Blown away by tornados.
- Flooded by excessive amounts of rain.
- All of the above.
In any event, I'd like to congratulate Terryn and Tyler and wish them the very best in this new adventure!
