Tagged!

Ho hum. Life is so ... meaningless. That's why I have jumped at the chance to do the meaningless meme, just as DCup knew I would.

1. Five names you go by:
a) Mom (Mommy, Mama ... depending on what they want from me)
b) Ms. Grindrod (my schoolmarm persona)
c) Snoozin' (or sometimes Snoozin' Suzan or Snoozer)
d) Suzy
e) Hey you! Feed me!! (spoken in cat, dog, and guinea pig)

2. Three things you are wearing right now:
a) my favorite Irish cardigan
b) felted green wool slippers (I made them myself)
c) my nuddies (under my clothes)

3. Two things you want very badly at the moment:
a) another 2 days off
b) a good book and bed

4. Three people who will probably fill this out:
a) Enriched Geranium
b) Poodle Doc
c) (insert your name here)

5. Two things you did last night:
a) Went to hear my sweetie's band (Reptile Palace Orchestra) at the beautiful and amazing Mabel Tainter Theater in Menomonie, WI -- about 3 1/2 hours north of here
b) soaked in the bacteria & chemical stew, er, hot tub at the Menomonie Country Inn & Suites

6. Two things you ate today:
a) eggs benedict at the Norske Nook in Osseo, WI
b) roasted, salted cashews from the Menomonie Food Co-op

7. Two people you last talked to on the phone:
a) my older daughter Cinderbelle (true story: She called shortly after we arrived home, while I was trying to put things away. I was talking and walking when -- eeeuwww -- I stepped right in a pile of dog doo outside of our bedroom. I guess Molly didn't get out right away when she needed to.)
b) Sparkly Seacow's friend Violet's stepdad Todd

8. Two things you are going to do tomorrow:
a) go to work
b) meet a friend in the sauna at the Y to conduct some Quaker Meeting business. (Hey, it was her idea!)

9. Two longest car rides:
a) Madison, WI to Keene, NH in my 1967 VW beetle with my dog, my mama cat and her 4 newborn kittens
b) Madison, WI to Salt Lake City with an 8 year old and a toddler

10. Two of your favorite beverages:
a) Yorkshire Gold black tea, brewed strong, with milk and sugar the British way. I drink a cup every morning and afternoon.
b) Mocha Millie, a coffee drink at a neighborhood coffee shop, made with chocolate and malt powder. "Whipped cream on top?" "Yes, please."

And finally, a clip from a favorite movie: Etre et avoir (To Be and To Have). If you have not seen this wonderful French documentary about a teacher in a country school, do yourself a favor and rent it.

Still Moved

These pictures of President-elect Barack Obama, particularly the ones from election night, still move me to tears.

Pico Iyer, in his book The Open Road: the Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, says,

"No one at the beginning of 1989 expected that, by year's end, the Cold War would effectively be over, and no one imagined when Mandela emerged from prison, that apartheid would soon be driven out of his country. The Dalai Lama reposes his faith on such surprises -- the sudden result of what has been building invisibly for years -- as if to say, as he put it once, "Until the last moment, anything is possible."

I couldn't help thinking about election night (was it only a month ago?) as I read that passage.

Joe the Who?

Oh yeah, that guy.
I'm just getting around to posting this clever pre-election pumpkin creation.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is the sunrise that greeted me when I got up at around 6:45 to let the dog out. Soon I will be making winter squash gratin and a broccoli salad to take to my mother-in-law's for dinner.

I also hope to squeeze a good long dog walk in (Molly hopes so too.) I always think it is a drag that we can't get out into the country to walk on Thanksgiving, because it's Huntin' Season™ around here.

Wishing all of you and yours a wonderful holiday.

Going to the Zoo Zoo Zoo

Do you ever have a hankering to ... just hang out with otters? I did today. After reading a book to my students, where there was an otter on one page, I had otters on my mind all day. The weather was sunny and a mild 45˚, so after school I left at my contract time, grabbed my family, and we went to the zoo.

I know that there are people who strongly dislike zoos, and for legitimate reasons. I understand that, and ... I still love to go to our little zoo. It was my stomping ground when I was but a wee lass. We lived a block away from it; I could hear lions roar from my bedroom at night -- I was always scared one would escape -- and the peacocks shrieked all the time. And in that wonderful age when parents set their kids loose and didn't pay attention to where they went, I usually headed to the zoo. Security was amazingly lax in those days; I spent many "after hours" hours there, and had a few harrowing experiences. But I digress.

Our zoo costs nothing to enter; that is actually stipulated in the original charter from when the land was donated to the city. That means that it is no big deal to go even an hour before closing time if, say, someone has a strong urge to see the otters. We spent a lot of time there when our kids were little. There was a blessed period of time when Mr. Ether worked part-time and took care of our youngest, when they went to the zoo often enough to be on intimate terms with the lemurs. But I digress ... again.

We went to the zoo. Sparkly Sea Cow persisted in being as sarcastic as only a twelve-going-on-thirteen-year-old can be -- a far cry from the cute little girl who always wanted to shake keys at lemurs, but I think she had a good time. As we watched the otters in their underwater viewing tank, I felt the tensions of the day (week, month) drain away. I tried to take their picture, but the little buggers wouldn't hold still. They'd swim right up to the glass, run up it, and do a back flip away in a swirl of little bubbles. Again and again. I never get tired of watching them.

What else did we see?

Harbor seals.
Polar bears. The one in the cage looked cute and cuddly, but looking at the size of that one standing up, I was mindful of the fact that children in Churchill, Manitoba do not go trick-or-treating on Halloween. Apparently polar bears do.



Flaming O's.
I didn't get pictures, but we also saw the wallaby, alpacas, camel butts, goats, one wild turkey (who, on the day before Thanksgiving, should have been thanking its lucky star that it lives in the zoo -- and nowhere near Wasilla, AK,) a meerkat, and a red panda.

And Mr. Ether embarrassed Sparkly by having his picture taken, not once, but twice. He looks a little like the soon to be ex-"President", don't you think?

It was fun to do something so spontaneous.

Sigh

My eldest daughter, Cinderbelle, has moved out to an apartment and is in the never-ending (or so it seems) process of cleaning out her room at home so that we can take it over. Tonight she gave me a note that she found, written to me from a friend of mine who tragically committed suicide 2 years ago. It's sad, but also a kind of a sweet "Hello." And I say, "Hello back. I hope you have found some peace."

Food for Thought

I found this article on AlterNet:

Today's global financial cloud got you feeling gray? Vermonter Jim Merkel sees a silver lining.

Back in 1989, the Long Island native was a weapons engineer who helped design a cutting-edge computer that could transmit military secrets, survive a nuclear blast and, a decade before the dawn of the BlackBerry, fit in the palm of his hand. Sitting at a hotel bar in Stockholm, Sweden, he was drinking in his accomplishment when a bulletin flashed on television. (Read the rest here.)

In the article I posted yesterday, someone was quoted as saying "There is no silver lining." There is a disaster mindset that we are in -- that the "experts" and the media are urging us to be in. They want us to scream, "The sky is falling" and hurry to demand bail-outs for our favorite banks and corporations. I quite agree with the gentleman in this article that we are being handed a gift, in a way. A chance to quit our unsustainable ways and find a different way to live. A couple of years ago I was saying that perhaps an economic depression would be a good thing in the long run, forcing a return to different values.

I don't mean to sound glib. DCup has a poignant post about her family's economic struggles, and with Mr. Ether in year 2 of unemployment, we are skating on thin ice ourselves. Yet there is something liberating about "simplifying." (I put that into quotation marks, because "simplification" has become a consumer commodity in and of itself. "How can I simplify if I don't subscribe to Real Simple?" she asks, gnawing on her hemp sweater.)

So yesterday I was despondent. Today I have a measure of hope that we will be OK. And you will too.

Sobering

HuffPo linked to this article from ABC News. It discusses why rising unemployment will lead to a potentially catastrophic situation with health care in the U.S. In short, we are screwed, whether we've been laid off or we have jobs that provide health insurance. The article predicts that soon the American Hospital Association will be in Washington looking to be bailed out.

"There is a huge, looming problem about what to do with people who are unemployed," said Dr. David Nash, dean of the Jefferson School of Health Policy and Population Health in Philadelphia. "The short answer, regretfully, is that there is no good answer for these people."

I have an answer. It seems to me that was has been happening in the arena of health care for so long, with insurance companies getting fat off of the suffering of ordinary people, is analogous to war profiteering. I may be naive, but I say, take them over. Nationalize health care.

I actually resent these further comments from Dr. David Nash.

"As someone who grew up in Germany and lived for some years in Canada and got used to portable, life-cycle health insurance, I have always been amazed that Americans preferred the ephemeral health insurance that comes with the job at a particular firm and is lost with losing that job." Reinhardt said. "Now, the foolishness of that preference is becoming clear to many middle-class Americans who spent their life denigrating 'government' health insurance.

"Frankly, I find it hard to muster much sympathy for people who are waking up only now."

"There is not a silver lining," Nash said. "What's coming home to roost here is the historical accident of having private health care insurance tied to the place of employment. There is no way out if it is tied to the source of where you work."

Thanks, Dr. Nash, for blaming the victims. Middle-class Americans have been duped by a Congress who allowed health care to become a commodity instead of a right.

The only people I hear denigrating "government" health insurance are Republicans and wealthy people.

Americans have been asking for health care reform for years, and we keep getting "solutions" shoved down our throats that benefit the insurance companies. Unlike members of Congress who have what amounts to a socialized health plan (paid for by us, the People,) the average American has been forced to choose between mediocre or downright bad health plans. There has been no meaningful health care reform. I still seethe when I think about the "blue ribbon panel" that Hillary Clinton chaired, on which sat CEOs from several of the major health insurance companies. Oh yeah, they were really going to come up with a plan that benefited us.

We are living in scary times, and I don't know what it is going to take to make the powers that be change their course and do what's right for the people who really make this country run.

Did I Dream This?

I think I coined a new term in my sleep last night: a nog. A news blog. Written by someone who uses their noggin of course.

Hey, it's almost Thanksgiving! Sarah Palin may be out pardoning one lucky turkey, but I have to head to the store and buy me some eggnog.( And Clementine tangerines too.)

The Blogger Album Project

DCup is a clearinghouse for all the good memes. I happily jumped onboard this one. And then I didn't post it. And then Quaker Dave did it too. So I was re-inspired.

THE RULES:

1. Post your list of the seven best albums, the seven bloggers you will tag, a copy of these rules ...
2. Each person tagged will put a URL to their Blogger Album Project post along with a list of the seven best albums in the comment section HERE.
3. Feel free to post the “I Contributed to the Blogger Album Project” Award Graphic on your sidebar, along with a link back to this page.
4. Post a link back to the blogger who tagged you.

Seven albums? It's really hard to think of just seven, and then an album that was incredibly important at one time in my life suddenly seems embarrassingly ditzy from where I stand now. (Like the Bobby Sherman album I bought in 6th grade and listened to over and over and over and ...) I think what I am going to do is work backwards chronologically until I've got seven, and hopefully I won't get to anything truly mortifying.

Eliza Gilkyson; Paradise Hotel
The Pretenders; Isle of View
Kirsty MacColl; Kite
Johnny Clegg & Savuka; Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World
Johnny Clegg & Savuka; Shadow Man
Peter Gabriel; So
John Prine; Bruised Orange

Of course there were others, albums and songs. I love the Beatles, but I could never just choose one Beatles album. When Mr. Ether and I were first going out I listened to Roxy Music's Avalon a lot. I went through a Ladies of the Canyon phase, a Jethro Tull Songs from the Wood phase, a Neil Young Comes A Time phase and a Bruce Springsteen The River phase. For a brief period I lost my heart to Lloyd Cole and the Commotions and Lena Lovitch. In later years I was pretty into Tom Waits' Raindogs and John Prine's Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings. Recently I've been excited by John Gorka and Steve Earle. Townes Van Zandt is a perennial favorite. The Bonzo Dog Band ... and ... and ... (now I'm hyperventilating. I think I'll stop.)

I don't like tagging, so do it if you feel moved to do so.

One reason why I do not shop at Home Depot ...

I am pleased to say I shop locally at Ace Hardware on Willy Street. It's a little more expensive, but I can find almost anything I need there including clear Contact Paper and Velcro (essential teacher tools) for sale by the yard. They give me mis-cut keys to use for counting (kids love keys), they have a store dog, and the last time I was there one of the owners told me that he went to elementary school where I teach now. Many years ago.

Why would I give my business to Home Depot, especially given this?

This is what Home Depot's founder Bernie Marcus said on a conference call yesterday:

"If a retailer has not gotten involved with this, if he has not spent money on this election, if he has not sent money to Norm Coleman and these other guys," Mr. Marcus said, apparently referring to Republican senators facing tough re-election fights, then those retailers "should be shot; should be thrown out of their goddamn jobs."

It's nice to know Home Depot supports the death penalty for not supporting their politics. The coming EFCA fight is going to be bloody.

Read the whole story here.

Remember, every dollar you spend is a vote.

This explains a lot ...

... like, why I have to have pockets in my clothes.

Humans and kangaroos are close cousins on the evolutionary tree sharing a common ancestor 150 million years ago, according to Australian researchers.

Scientists have mapped the genetic code of the Australian marsupials for the first time and found large chunks of DNA are the same. (Read the rest.)

Cool.

Fun and Games

This game was posted on Facebook by an old high school compadre of mine, and I've adapted it for blogging.

The Book Grab Game
Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence in my comments. Post the rules on your own blog, if you wish to continue the fun. Whee!

I'm a little embarrassed to post mine; it came out of a book that my mother-in-law left on our diningroom table, and shall we say, she doesn't always share my taste in books. (She doesn't even like Terry Pratchett. Sheesh!) It sounds vaguely pornographic.

"I catch his eye and realize that his hand has moved on to me."

Molly Love

All this talk about the dog the Obamas are going to get inspires me to say (again) that I am head over heels in love with my dog, Molly. Molly came to us almost a year ago. The plan was, she would live with us for 3 months until our friends could bring her to their new home in New Zealand. During that time our beloved corgi Georgia died, our friends began to question whether the trip and subsequent quarantine would be too hard on Molly, and we fell in love with her.

Molly is 12. I know she isn't going to be with us for many years. But she has convinced me that, as cute as puppies can be, older dogs can be amazingly rewarding.

And finally, live action footage of what we have to put up with every single time we take Molly in the car, courtesy of Cinderbelle. This was last Christmas, shortly after Molly came to live with us:

Obsessing

I am obsessing just a little on the Bill Ayers/ Weather Underground story. It is being discussed a lot since Bill Ayers has broken his silence after the election. It makes me want to read his memoir Fugitive Days and see the Weather Underground documentary.

One reason that it interests me so much, is that this is my childhood history. Madison, Wisconsin -- where I grew up and still live -- was one of the "hotbeds" of anti-war activism, along with Berkley, et al. I lived about a mile off of the university campus and during riots, vestiges of teargas clouds would waft through our neighborhood. My parents, who were a doctor and a nurse, would go down to help patch students up after a meleé.

One of the decisive events that turned the anti-war movement around actually occurred here in 1970: 4 young men who identified with the Weather Underground, detonated a car bomb outside of a university building that housed the controversial Army Math Research Center. Like the WU, they wanted to destroy only the property and thought that by doing it in the middle of the night there would be no people present. Unfortunately, there was a graduate student working in his lab, Robert Fassnacht, a man with a wife and young children, who died in the blast.

Of the 4 men, 3 of them were eventually apprehended and served time in prison. One of them, Leo Burt, has never been caught. He is still on the FBI's "most wanted" list. The oldest of the 4, Karl Armstrong, was identified as the "ringleader." At the time he was arrested, he professed to be largely unrepentant for his act and cited the context of the war on Viet Nam. As you might imagine, this did not sit well with many people, even those sympathetic to the cause. (I have friends who are friends with Fassnacht's widow, and I understand that she has not been able to forgive Armstrong and the others. Karl Armstrong has expressed remorse as time has passed.)

Daily Kos has a post up today discussing Ayers and the tactics of the WU. He also is adamant about looking at the context. While I consider myself to be a pacifist and absolutely do not condone any violence as a means to an end, I understand what he is saying. Karl Armstrong says that he became a revolutionary when his head hit the ground while being beaten by Chicago cops outside the Democratic National Convention in 1968. (My nephew said something similar when, at the age of 17, he was arrested at the WTO/IMF protests in Washington, DC. While he was in custody, a federal marshal told him that he would "mess him up so bad, his mom wouldn't recognize him." Nice.)

In the late sixties there were groups of people in the US who felt that war was being waged against them, and evidence shows that it was not far from the truth. And then consider that many of these people were in their late teens or early twenties ... it's the whole frontal lobe development thing!

I am nearly 50 and a practicing Quaker; as I said before, I do not condone what was done. But I certainly understand it in its context. (Believe it or not, I understand what Timothy McVeigh did, in its context. In fact, I have to condemn violence in all forms, because the actions of a Timothy McVeigh seem to be the logical conclusion of the "destroy property, not people" actions of a group like the Weather Underground.)

One of my all time favorite documentary films is The War At Home. It is about the anti-Viet Nam war movement as it unfolded in my hometown (though it easily could have been made in any number of places.) If any of this interests you, I'm sure that the film is available through Netflix.

Oy, too much thinking for a Sunday morning when I really need to be doing some laundry.

Peace, friends.

I'm Curious ...

What is former HHS secretary, Republican candidate for president, and governor of Wisconsin Tommy Thompson up to these days?

Oh.

Worth Reading

Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! is devoting 2 days to an interview with Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn. Part 1 aired yesterday. Here is the transcript. Part 2 airs on Monday.

Note: This is a far more honest interview than the one on Good Morning America yesterday. Yesterday's interviewer so badly wanted Ayers to say that he was intimate friends with Barack Obama, something that so clearly is not true.

I also want to say that Obama handled the allegations during the campaign gracefully, without throwing Ayers under the bus. I was happy to see that Ayers felt the same way.

Veterans' Day

Peace.

Just for Sarah Palin's information ...

... I blog naked.

In Sarah Palin's interview with Fox News' Greta Van Susteren this evening, she referred to bloggers as "kids in pajamas sitting in the basement of their parents' homes" spewing out mean and inaccurate things about her.

My favorite Pee Wee's Playhouse moment ever was the episode where Pee Wee is having a pajama party. Cowboy Curtis arrives looking nervous, pulls Pee Wee aside, and informs Pee Wee that he doesn't wear pajamas. Jokes like that were why Pee Wee got busted for lewd and lascivious behavior. He was the best thing on Saturday morning TV since Hot Dog.

Put THAT in your pipe and smoke it, Sarah Palin!

Hello, Bonjour

I went to see Michael Franti and Spearhead last night, and they opened with this song. I debated whether I would go up until last week. I kept thinking that, if Obama didn't win, I wouldn't be able to face the anger and despair (which is what I know I would have been feeling.) As it was, it was joyful and energetic.

There were lots of kids in the audience (given that it was a school night and kind of late.) I was impressed when, towards the end Michael not only invited two young boys up on stage, but handed each of them one of his guitars to play. I suspect they will remember that for some time.

Good show. I'm still smiling to think about it.