HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY

SURPRISE. Drum roll please. It is once again HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY. Yes, you read that correctly. HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY is back on Thursday.  Indeed, it looks like this might actually become a weekly event again. Who knew? Well, I had a feeling. Moving on... For those of you unfamiliar with the once again weekly HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY posts, I bet you're wondering what is going on. Well, peeps, let me give you the skinny on this event...

This is a weekly event landing typically on Thursdays. The best (or worst) part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol. Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.

Also, this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side), click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.

Now, let's get this PARTY STARTED!!!!

This one is for everyone:


This one is for JJ at The Disconnected Writer:


This is for Chris at A Deliberate Life (Part 1 of 2):


This for Chris at A Deliberate Life (Part 2 of 2):


This one is for Alex Cavanaugh at Alex J. Cavanaugh:


This one is for Stephen T. McCarthy at FERRET-FACED FASCIST FRIENDS:


This one is for The Factory Girl at Not completely crazy yet:


This is for The Blue Grumpster at The Blue Grumpster...well, usually (Part 1 of 2):
click here to watch

This one is for The Blue Grumpster at The Blue Grumpster...well, usually (Part 2 of 2):
click here to watch


image found at www.weheartit.com

HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY

SURPRISE. Drum roll please. I present to you HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY. Yes, you read that correctly. HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY is back on Thursday and it's author is really trying to make it weekly again. Wowza. I have actually been doing a fair amount of blog reading and even taking notes when a blog strikes a chord with me. I say to myself, "I might be able to find some footage for that for the Thursday post." And here we are. Back in business. Some of you are wondering what in the heck I am rambling about now. Well, peeps, let me give you the skinny on this event...

This used to be a weekly event landing typically on Thursdays. It is my hope that it will be a weekly event again. Today is a good start. The best (or worst) part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol. Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.

Also, this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side), click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.

Now, let's get this PARTY STARTED!!!!

This one is for everyone:


This one is for Liza at Middle Passages:


This one is for Alex at Alex J. Cavanaugh:

This one is for Myra at Of Pounds and Politics:
start at 13:04


This one is for Matt Conlon at =]V[=:


This one is for Lotta Joy at the Witless Relocation Program:


This one is for Jasmine at A Yellow Rose of Texas:


image found at www.weheartit.com

Movie Quote Wednesday Collides With Lance Armstrong

"I choose to drink! And I blame it on me. I’m happy to. I’ve got an ex-wife and a son I don’t see. Why? Because I choose to drink!"                                                     ~Whip Whitaker, Flight



I read today over on Alex Cavanaugh's blog that today was the day to post your Movie Quote of the Week. Of course, he wanted me to pick a futuristic sci fi movie. Well, that didn't really fit in with what I wanted to talk about today. However, I liked the concept. Furthermore, Alex is one of those people who really praises people on his blog. He is a big encourager, high-fiver, makes wanna-be writers actually perfect their craft, gives big Shout Outs to those who get published, and hosts events for all and sundry to share their work. I admire that. I rarely participate, but I admire. So, I am posting a Movie Quote today. Thank you, Alex.

 Of course, it lends itself very well to my topic at hand.  I posted the trailer to the movie FLIGHT for those of you unfamiliar with it.  I saw it in the theatre when it came out.  So appropriately named.  Yes, it was about an airplane flight that crashed.  But, man that is such a small part of the story.  Whit Whitaker, played so amazingly by Denzel Washington, is literally a man in flight.  Partway through I wondered if they should have called it HIGH.  However, that would have been *wrong.*  Even though he was so high even when he was on the ground.  If you watched the trailer, and I hope you did, you saw that he had this amazing talent that could only be God-given.  Every person who simulated that crash landing killed all of the passengers.  This guy did it drunk.  And that is so drunk that he needed to run lines of coke to get right.  And then he drank more on the plane while it was in flight (obviously prior to the crash).  Imagine what skill he would have clean and sober, but I am jumping ahead.  (BTW, did any of you know that shooting coke would make a person who was drop dead drunk able to present a relatively presentable image of someone sober?  As for me, I had no idea.  These entertainment people are all over this drug scene.)

Here is the thing about alcoholics and drug addicts: you never know where the bottom is.  I would think that a plane crash would be the bottom.  Nope.  Not necessarily so.  Because Whit is still aware that he is THE ONLY GUY who could have landed that plane, it is not the bottom.  He saved lives.  The fact that he was drunk on the job?  The fact that the boozing and drugging had cost him his family?  It didn't matter.  See the above quote.  The man is drunk off his behind when he is screaming it at the only person who still cares a rat's ass about him, and she is on her way OUT.  "I choose to drink! And I blame it on me. I’m happy to. I’ve got an ex-wife and a son I don’t see. Why? Because I choose to drink!"  I AM HAPPY TO.  I HAVE AN EX-WIFE AND SON I DON'T SEE BECAUSE I CHOOSE TO DRINK.

Oh, yeah, he is in flight.  He is in flight from his LIFE.  Things probably got hard and he started drinking and then they got harder and then he ran.  He is in flight. And then he drank more and then he couldn't come home.  And now his son hates him and he is in FLIGHT.  He later says in the film not to worry about him because he lies about his drinking better than anything else.  He's got it covered.  He's been doing it a LONG time.  Or something like that.  It was the classic liar, alcoholic response.  Once you do anything long enough it is second nature.  And to someone who doesn't actually KNOW you, they will believe it.  Of course they will.

I am going to do my best and not ruin this movie for you, because it is well worth your time.  At what point is someone redeemable?  At what point do they deserve your forgiveness?  As someone who has been lied to by the men in my life, I can look back now and say that I know I can't forgive you if 1) You keep on lying (it means you don't actually mean it), 2) Your "truth" turns out to be another lie (so you were still lying), 3) You gave me only a portion of the truth (so you were actually still lying), 4) You only told the truth when I gathered enough evidence that you were cornered (up until then you swore up and down that the other version, which was the lie, was in fact truth). 5)  You cannot say  I am truly sorry for how my behavior hurt you. I need Remorse.  Genuine remorse.

Our newest Celebrity Liar asking for Mea Culpa is Lance Armstrong.  No, he didn't kill anyone.  However, he was perceived by many as a Hero.  And he accepted the title willingly enough.  He was even a Cancer Survivor and had legions of fans in that arena who expected him to "represent" them in some way.  I would use words like Honor, Honesty, Integrity.  He gave none of those things back to the people who supported him so ardently.

I watched a good bit of his interview with Oprah asking for his side of the story to be heard.  He admitted to doping during all seven of his Tour De France wins.  He agreed that the doping wasn't particularly honorable, but it was easy.  In fact, everyone was doing it.  However, since this was about him, he didn't want to go pointing fingers at anyone else.  Hmmm.  Counterpoint: there were a handful of guys running clean on the circuit and "I really admire those guys."  Apparently he didn't admire them enough to run a clean race himself.  But, he admired them.  Well, okay.

He also readily admitted to being a bully and tearing into ANYONE who discovered his doping.  Woah.  What a nice fellow.  Someone we can all look up to: a doper and a bully.  I can't decide which aspect of his personality is now my favorite.

And then we got into the semantics over whether or not you could be on HIS team if you doped or not.  We must remember that he was Team Captain and that you lead by example.  Several non-dopers said that you could NOT be on the team if you didn't dope.  A fellow doper claimed that they regularly doped in the tents right outside, with people all around and none the wiser,  and NO ONE knew.  He related this in his book.  Lance said he had no memory of these events, but if the other guy said it then he wouldn't deny it.  WTF?  Lance also said that he didn't feel as bad about HIS doping because he only MINIMALLY doped.  I guess that means he was a light doper.  And he also said that, at the time, he was able to justify it after his cancer because he lost his ball.  You know, he had less male hormone, so he needed it more (the dope). After all, he was the only guy out there riding around out there with one ball.  I can see his point.  Not really.

So, let's look at my criteria.  (#1-5).  #1 You keep on lying.  Well, the guy lied long enough to win seven Tour de France competitions.  I would say that is a lot of lying.  #2 The truth is just another lie.  Well, that also qualifies here.  He said repeatedly and forcefully that he was not doping when he was.  Not doping was his truth.  #3 Now that it is all out we are getting portions of the truth.  "If so and so said that we doped in the tent, we doped in the tent, but I have no memory of that."  Seriously?  Is that owning it these days?  #4  You only fess up if you get caught, and there is no way out but the truth.  This guy got caught.  If he hadn't, would he still be doing it?  My gut says he would.  He doesn't really think anything he did was all that bad.  Everyone was doing it.  He was doing less.  And, let's face it, he was only working with one ball vs. other guys with two.  #5 Remorse.  I didn't see any.  The only thing he seemed to work up any emotion about was getting caught again in 2011,  Maybe he was doping then and maybe he wasn't.  But who can believe him?  He has zero credibility.  His mommy should have read him the book about The Boy Who Cried Wolf.



The best quote from the interview with Lance Armstrong: "I'm not the most believable guy in the world right now."

Ya think?

You gotta laugh.

Many blogs are covering this BIG day in one way or another.  Yes, it is Martin Luther King Day.  But, that isn't the real buzz.  It is the day of the Coronation, peeps.  Apparently Jimmy Kimmel had a bit on his show several days ago where his crew walked around in the streets quizzing people about the Inauguration this year.  What did they think?  How did it compare to last time around?  They even asked about specific made-up events to get the reaction of the populace.  Almost everyone loved it.  Thought it was amazing, awesome, incredible, best-ever, totally beat the "event" 4 years ago, and totally expect the President to do even better this time around.  Did anyone know the event had not yet happened?  Nope.  Totally explains how we are here if you ask me.  This is not part of the funny portion of this blog.  Seriously.  Not funny.


So, let's fast forward to today. The day. I couldn't watch it again. I did some blog reading. Then I spent the better part of the day in bed with a migraine. However, I did find one blog that decided to take the humorous approach. Maybe that is best. This blog is a big fan of Bad Lip Reading. Prior to this blog, I had never seen any YouTube videos that put together clips featuring humorous clips of Bad Lip Reading. Now, I am becoming a fan. I even enjoyed a clip on Bad Lip Reading recently that was all sports stuff. Yeah, I like Bad Lip Reading. Who knew?

So, what does have our President have to say on this momentous day?  Take a look:


Now that was funny, right? Bad Lip Reading is funny. It just sucks all my stress away. Laughter does that. Let's say what the Vice President has to say:



Bawahahahaha. Now, that one was so good it was a bit freaky. There were times I would swear it was actually him.

Bad Lip Reading. My newest YouTube obsession.

Happy MLK Day everyone.

The Best Salesman Ever

I wasn't planning on posting anything tonight.  I have felt pretty lousy all day today.  My migraine cycles up and down.  It was up today.  That happens.  It derailed my plans for unpacking boxes.  Yeah, I am still working on that.  It is the project that never ends.

Anyway, I was just passing my mom and her TV.  She was watching the evening news and I ended up stopping in my tracks.  Once again, the topic was guns.  Gah.  Apparently, there was a gun show in Jacksonville today and it was very well attended.  First Coast News was right there to get the news straight from the attendees.

"Our President is the best gun salesman ever.  The more he talks about guns, the faster they fly off the shelves.  We can't keep guns in stock."
~Vendor (I missed his name because mom and I were laughing so hard.)

I have read more blogs and articles about guns in the last month than I can even tell you.  The President keeps saying that America doesn't want guns.  I think the number of gun sales since the President started all of his talk about gun laws suggest something else entirely.  We The People are in favor of the 2nd Amendment.  We The People are in favor of background checks.  That is the only sound legislation that we have heard proposed yet.

No matter who you are, saying something doesn't make it true.  It doesn't become more true if you say it with children behind you.  It doesn't become more true if you get children to say it.  And for someone who has said that he wants his administration to be one of Transparency, things couldn't be less Clear.  Exactly what was in those Executive Orders?  And why do we need reminding that "everything" needs to go through Congress when it is so obvious that it doesn't?  However, thank you for having a child remind us to call our Congressman to push him/her to stand strong on the 2nd Amendment.  I am not sure it will make any difference, but I did send an email.  So, thanks for that.

So what is Clear?  Americans feel safest when we are protecting ourselves.  We know that we are the "well regulated militia" that the 2nd Amendment is referring to, and it is our duty to uphold the 2nd Amendment.  That is Clear.  The other thing that is Clear is that you are excellent at selling guns.  Way to go, POTUS.  Gun manufacturers everywhere thank you for your lip service.

HERE'S TO YOU MONDAY

SURPRISE. Drum roll please. I present to you HERE'S TO YOU MONDAY. With love. I bet you are thinking that this post is NEVER going to land on a Thursday again.  Or be weekly again.  It might not.  I am still having difficulty getting my stuff together.  I can only say that I hope *someday* that it becomes a weekly Thursday post.  Until then, it is just a surprise post.  And we are all just grateful.  Or I hope we are.  Anyway, here it is.  XOXOXO.

Here is the recap of what is going on...

This used to be a weekly event landing typically on Thursdays. It is my hope that it will be a weekly event again some day... The best (or worst) part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol. Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.

Also, this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side), click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.

Now, let's get this PARTY STARTED!!!!

This one is for everyone:



This one is for Jasmine at  A Yellow Rose of Texas:



This one is for Yvonne at Writing My Life Away!:



This one is for JJ The Disconnected Writer:



This one is for Yenta Mary the Food Floozie:



This one is for Lotta Joy at the Witless Relocation Program:



This one is for Chris at A Deliberate Life:



image found at www.weheartit.com

The Report From Australia

From Australia's lips to your ears:



This country has been through a gun ban.  Did it reduce crime?  No.  In fact, crime WENT UP.  Home invasions WENT UP.  It was like an invite to the criminals to come on in.  And now the police are saying it was a HUGE MISTAKE to take the guns away from the GOOD CITIZENS.  Why?  Because they can't protect them.  Yep.  The criminals didn't turn in their guns and the police can't protect an out-of-control criminal population.  It was bad enough when the criminals thought twice because someone MIGHT have a gun and be able to hold their own.  Now they know every house is a SOFT TARGET.  It is open season on EVERYONE.  Murders are UP.  Home invasions are UP.  Crime is UP.  In fact, the government can't even decide on a definition of "home invasion."  Seriously.  Additionally, the police are quitting because they are scared of the criminals.  Yep.  The criminals are winning.  Banning the guns?  Epic fail.

Take note Americans.

Listen to the poor folks in Australia who have already learned this lesson.  Stand up for the 2nd Amendment.



If you are wondering why I included a clip from the show Firefly, it is because it is a TV show (now canceled) that showcases a future where the government tries to impose too many rules and regulations on its citizens and they rebel. The Browncoats believe that their cause is just and they fight for their independence from a too powerful government. In the end, they lose. However, as Malcolm Reynolds says, "Just because we were on the losing side it doesn't mean it was the wrong one." Being that it is a "future" time they have space capability, so they take to the sky.  And they live a life on the run from a government that would rein them and rule them. I am quite certain that government would demand Malcolm Reynolds turn over his guns. And I am equally certain of his response: "Over my cold, dead body."

So, whenever I hear any politico prattling on about banning guns, I think what Malcolm Reynolds say to this nonsense. He might only be a character in a TV show, but his code is dead on right. And the horrible nightmare going on in Australia right now is proof that is so. Right now, everyone in that country would love to jump on a spaceship and get the hell out of Dodge. Space is looking safer than their own house!

Christmas Reloaded: Thanks Liza

I've spent the better part of the last two hours thinking about Miss Liza's comment on my blog post from last night.  ::sigh::

In turn, that made me think about the post itself.  If you missed it, you can read it here.  This post won't make all that much sense if you don't...

My father always used to say that anger wasn't a valid emotion.  Why do I remember this?  Because every time I was "mad" about something he would say that I needed to dig a little deeper.  Mad wasn't valid.  It was just the veneer covering up something else.  Naturally.  More often than not, that something else was hurt feelings.  You could always dig a little deeper to get to the whys and wherefores, but that was usually the crux of the matter.  Funny (or not) how often we had that little conversation.  All depends upon your perspective, I suppose.

After so many years of H-Girl hurting my feelings I had built up immunity.  I went into this Christmas EXPECTING her to do it.  And she didn't.  In fact, she surprised me by being the opposite of what I expected.  I didn't expect C-Man to do it and he did and I got mad.  In fact, I got really mad.  It isn't that I love him more.  I don't.  I just don't have an immunity built up.  And the more you love people, the more you give them the power to hurt you.  No one can hurt you without your consent.

And it was like I said in the blog explaining what those gifts were: they were ME.  Many of those things were what I treasured most when I was their age.  And still do.  They are actually parts of ME.  And they were mocked, scorned, ridiculed, and laughed at like they were nothing.  Actually less than nothing.  So, yeah it hurt.

And Miss Liza might be right that one day C-Man might understand what those things meant to me.  But, right now he can't even keep up with where his cell phone is.  So, I don't hold much hope of his being able to actually find any of these items when the awareness sinks into his brain, if it ever does.  The books will likely be in a library, Goodwill, or the local landfill.  And all of the cartoons that I painstakingly cut out will definitely be lining a trash can.  And the quote that I so painstakingly wrote out in calligraphy... who knows where it will be?  However, I highly doubt C-Man's ability to be able to find it when "the light" comes on.

I made a judgment call here.  C-Man is 15. H-Girl is 14.  I was at a place where I didn't have much to give for Christmas but me, and that is what I did.  I was counting on them being mature enough to understand what they were being given.  I asked a bit more of C-Man.  He was older and had exhibited more maturity to date.  I made the wrong call.  So, maybe the fault lies with me.  The treasures were mine.  I am the adult.  I could have just said that there will be no gifts this year and made that call.  It wouldn't have made me the most popular, but there are all kinds of lessons.  They would have still gotten the stuff.  I would have just saved it for a time when they were equipped to appreciate it.  Of course, that would have denied H-Girl her opportunity to shine.  And she hasn't done that in a really long time.

Seems to me this is another round of Lessons.  Maybe we all had to take one for the team in order for H-Girl to shine on this one.





 image found on facebook

I'm about to shove that book up your...::Merry Christmas::

I think I mentioned that this was the strangest Christmas ever here in the land of Robin.  What with the move at the end November, there just was NO time for Christmas shopping, decorating, gifting, etc.  We let everyone know that we simply were not gifting this year.  We LOVED everyone just as much as ever, but we were stretched and stressed out. 

With this in mind, I knew it would make for a bizarre-o Christmas for H-Girl and C-Man.  I used to be The Gifter like that insane woman in the commercial who buys buys buys.  Yes, I was a Dream Come True for a kid.  I loved Christmas as a kid and I wanted them to love it, too.  I wanted them to have all of my traditions and feel.the.love.  As it turns out, my ex had tons of traditions of his own, and his family had lots of love to give, too.  So, they were WELL LOVED on Christmas.  By Christmas afternoon they went into Christmas shell-shock.  And still the gifts kept coming.  So much family dysfunction.  So many divorces.  So many relatives.  So much LOVE.

After my ex and I divorced, I decided that it was a good thing when I moved to FL, and I actually did Christmas with them in January.  They had a few weeks to come off the Christmas high.  I also decided, at long last, to tone it down somewhat.  A serious lack of finances will do that to you.  Add to that the realization that all of that STUFF wasn't actually making them better people.  Go figure.  Did you know that more stuff in the hands of children does not equate to a better child?  Seriously.  I have seen the results.  It is fact.

However, I knew that "no gifts this year" would not make me the best non-mom ever.  So, I decided, as I was packing up my stuff, to go through it and give them the gift of me.  Stuff I would like them to have maybe a little sooner than I intended.  Or stuff that I thought they would like that was currently mine.  It turned out that this was easier for H-Girl than C-Man since we are both... girls.  I did luck up and find the comforter that I bought for C-Man back when I was planning on redecorating his room WAY back in the day.  As in back when he lived with me.  Yeah, that was in storage a long time.  Fortunately, I chose something that was suitable for a boy of any age.  Lucky me.  The rest of the boy stuff looked a lot like this:

In addition to the novels, I did find a book on Astronomy to mix it up.  And I also found some "really old" books that I thought were interesting, simply because they were the first books I bought with my own money from Scholastic Book Services.  Ergo, they were important to me.  I also found a Neil Simon play because the kid showed some interest in drama at school last year.  However, I should have realized that he had totally lost all interest in reading and this was NOT going to be a hit when he was not happy about his birthday present (another book) that I had shipped to him earlier in December.  He was less than thrilled to get it. 

When I saw him he still had not read it.  So, I should have known that this bounty of books was going to go over like... well, a bad smell.  What did he say about my precious books, that I had so valiantly saved because they were my first ever book purchases?  "Oooh, they are old.  Look at the pages.  They are yellowing.  What is the copyright date on this?  1981.  Mommy, you are REALLY OLD." 

He had been quoting from the Neil Simon play as he was flipping through it earlier.  I hadn't really looked at it as thoroughly as I should have, and Mr. Simon used the sh*t word quite frequently.  C-Man found this to be rather amusing.  He substituted poop and kept quoting from the play.  One of the lines was about shoving something up someone's something.  I then told C-Man if he didn't lay off my book I was going to shove it up his ::something::  Merry Freaking Christmas.

Ironically, this story usually plays the other way.  Usually C-Man is a darling and H-Girl has me pulling my hair.  H-Girl was a delight.  She loved all of her hair things, fingernail polish, pedicure kit, the tiara I gave her from when I married her dad (let's face it, I won't be using that again), some purses, a tye-dye kit, some pictures in frames from when she and her brother were younger, and bracelets like these that I made when I was a camp counselor:

Those she really loved.  None of mine had the cool peace sign, but she REALLY liked them, and she thought it was pretty awesome that I knew how to make them.  I think I went up a notch.

I also gave C-Man all of my favorite cartoons that I had cut out from the newspaper and saved from the 80s.  I don't think it even registered.  He is hording that along with my treasured Calvin and Hobbes Book that was a collector's item. I gave that to him last year.  He probably lost it.  I would ask, but I just don't want to hear him tell me that he has "no idea" where it is.  I'd hate to lose control of my arm and accidentally clock him in the jaw.

My doctor told me this last visit that my stress is way too high.  She says that I need to do one hour of meditation daily.  I think she's right.


images found at www.weheartit.com

Annie Get Your Gun

There are some things that I read and I think to myself, "I wish I had written that." 

Now, sometimes I think that because it is just so darn beautiful that it makes my heart hurt.  The words fit together like music.  Actual music. 

And other times it is because it something that I have been trying to say, but I just have not quite made the point succinctly.  Often it is because I think for SO MANY REASONS that I can't decide on just one. 

Here is a portion of something that I did not write, but I wish I had:

Oh, one last thing: Here’s a little history lesson regarding gun-grabbing and the carnage that ensued:

In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.

China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.

Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th century because of gun control: 56 million.

You won’t see this data on the U.S. evening news or hear politicians disseminating this information. Guns in the hands of honest citizens save lives and property and, yes, gun-control laws adversely affect only the law-abiding citizens.

Take note, Americans.

~Doug Giles, for the full article click here

You see, I am just sick to death of politicians using gun control to promote a political agenda.  If you want to beat a drum, try discussing mental health or actually putting programs that work into protecting our kids at school.  I think many a parent would be on board with that.  And you wouldn't have to even pay them to protect their own kids.  I suspect it would work a lot like Neighborhood Watch Programs.  People are invested in their neighborhoods, so they get together and decide to work together for the betterment of their Community.  It's proven that Neighborhood Watch actually works.  I bet that if parents actually manned the doors to every school and eyeballed the kids coming and going every day, it would deter school violence. 

It has also been suggested that some of those video games that kids are playing are pretty dang violent.  I heard one military officer who train men and women for Special Forces Ops say that some of the combat videos the kids are playing are virtually no different than the training videos they use.  It is one person killing another person via a cyber connection.  It is all about the mindset.  They use those "games" to prepare those soldiers to kill people by having them do it in a "game" first.  And so do our kids.  You tell me what the "real" problem is here.  I think it is the fact that these kids have already killed hundreds of times via video game before they fired off the first round in a real shooting incident.  But that is just me.  Seems like the answer is actually taking away the video game for everyone but Special Forces... who are actually training to kill people.


image found on facebook... before I fell off that wagon.
Or would it be that I am now on the wagon?  It is rather confusing....

All of the "F" Words

These last few weeks have given us time to reflect on many things including Christmas, our plans for the New Year (goals, resolutions, or, if you are like me your word for the year), and maybe just some general refocusing. And there has been a lot of time to do all of this because there have been so few distractions for most of us (unless you, too, just moved into a new home and are still unpacking). Family has come and gone. Probably. If they are still here then you have a lot of family or they stay a LONG time. You are probably back to work. You may have even scratched a good many items off that Honey-Do List. And if you live alone, that list is your own list. Whatevs.

What I am getting at is that during this time life comes to a halt, changes, we get a lot of stuff done, and then in a couple of weeks, it all changes again. What happens? Our regularly televised programming comes back. Yep. Our favorite shows come back from the mid-season hiatus they took and all that free time dries right up. And that leads me to the show that has me trolling youtube looking for a fix every so often, because I just CAN'T WAIT until it comes back. J.J. Abrams and Eric Kripke joined forces to roll out the tour de force known as Revolution. It is the first show I have watched on NBC in forever. It would take an Abrams or Kripke production to bring me back. And, oh, what a show. If you are not watching that this blockbuster on Monday nights at 10pm, you are missing out.

I have posted the trailer for this show before, though it was a while ago, and couched in a HERE'S TO YOU posting.  So, I am going to post it again for anyone who missed it, or just didn't watch it.  That way you are up to speed for this post.




Okay, wasn't that amazing?  It gives you a pretty good idea where this show is going.  Yeah, it is about a time when the lights have gone off, there is no electricity, or batteries, or power of any kind.  A world where there is no USA anymore.  The government fell, militias rose.  Within that scope a writer gets to tell all kinds of stories.  Of course we want to know HOW it happened.  And, these writers will get there.  And HOW to fix it.  I imagine that they will get there, too.

But, like all Abrams/Kripke productions, at the heart of the story is CORE stuff.  Family.  Freedom.  Friendship.  Fighting.  Forgiveness.  It's all the "F" words.

Let's start with family.  That is at the heart of the show.  The Matheson Family.  Charlotte "Charlie" feels responsible for her younger brother, Danny.  She seeks out the aid of her uncle Miles; she hasn't seen him since she was a child.  These two have to work together.  When you start out as just family by blood but discover that you are family by choice and love, that becomes powerful.  Family.  How far would you go to save yours?



Without spoiling anything (I don't think), let's move on to friendship.  This element is explored through various paths.  Several people picked up the quest to help Charlie find Miles.  They were all merely friends.  Not family.  Keep in mind, this was a dangerous quest.  That asks a lot of a friend.  None of these people were really equipped for a war, either.  Then you have other people getting caught up in this mess, thinking they are on the "right" side, only to discover that maybe they aren't.  It really plays hell with your psyche to find out that maybe you were fighting on the "wrong" side of what amounts to a war for years.

And then there is the Friendship that started it all.  Miles and Monroe.  Best friends since children.  They only started the Militia to save people.  Irony there.  People were dying with the blackout.   Someone had to "step up."  The thing is that "Power corrupts.  Absolute power corrupts absolutely."  Yeah.  That sucks.  What happens when you realize that your best friend has become the Dark Side Incarnate?  And you are his Commander-In-Chief and passed on everything you know about how to kill people?  And, for the record, that is what you do best.  So, you have the best trained killing militia ever.  ::You have seriously screwed the pooch::  I would have used another one of those infamous "F" words, because it definitely applies, but I am really trying to clean up my language for the New Year.

What we have here is one of the most Intriguing Friendships of the Show.  We have had glimpses into how it began, where is has been, and where it is going.  Miles and Monroe:  Friendship gone seriously sideways.  Now this hurts.



I feel certain that there will be a lot more Fighting to come based upon how the writers left it.  There are also plenty of opportunities for some Forgiveness and Renewed Friendships.  Family was reunited and I think we might see some Family torn apart.  If Freedom is to be had, it will have to be Fought For, because that is simply where they are.  What I think we will see at the end of this season is the main characters find a Foundation.  They will know, without a doubt, what and who is worth Fighting For and that will make everything easier.  Friendship.  Family.  Freedom.