Saturday, July 04, 2009

Happy Birthday, America!

I love living where this country started and feeling the rumblings of change coming ahead. I love that the Liberty Bell has come to stand for some much more in this world than just American freedom. And I love that our forefathers made the time and effort to write our Declaration of Independence, which should always be remembered.

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

Friday, July 03, 2009

Celebrate America Haiku Friday

Dear America,
Happy Birthday! You don't look
too worse for the wear!

***

It's been a touch
these last few years: elections
wars, economies.

***

But I feel good,
optimistic, even, that
we can get 'er done!

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Book Report Thursday

My mom lent me The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. She had just finished reading it and sent me home with it the last time I was in CA. I've just finished the book and I am absolutely in love with it. It takes place on a British island between England and France shortly after the end of WWII. The entire book is written in letters, which, at first, are somewhat cumbersome, but eventually come to represent the characters quite well. Our heroine is Juliet, a writer living in London who receives a somewhat random letter from a man named Dawsey, who is residing on the island of Guernsey. He has come across a book Juliet used to own and begins writing to her about the book (and can she send him some more?). The correspondence is lovely and well written, and brings you into a world you never thought existed. It turns out that Guernsey was occupied by the Germans during WWII, and they are now starting to recover from said occupation. Juliet becomes fascinated by this subject, thinking nobody knew about these plucky islanders and their multiple year occupation. Looking for a subject to write a book on, Juliet embarks on a journey looking for tales of the occupation and how the islanders, particularly a group called the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and how they dealt with the occupation. As she begins to get to know the characters on the island, she begins to make plans to visit and meet the friends she's made quite by chance. This novel is lovely, brave and endearing, written in a manner I thought long dead (actual letters) and it describes (sometimes in horrifying detail) the trials and tribulations of war and all of its consequences. At the end, I could not put the book down and actually carried it with me to work to finish during my lunch break. It's a great book, with wonderful characters, a great story line and a nice, although somewhat sad ending. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, as the characters are still in my head, the humor is dry and entertaining, and the plotline seems original and creative.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Just to remind you....

Monday, June 29, 2009

Time to go organic?

I always thought we should listen to the frogs.

Philth-a-delphia

So, the most recent ad campaign for Philadelphia Tourism is all over the city right now. It's "With love, Philadelphia" (as in, the sign off to a postcard) and it's part of the "Philadelphia, the city that loves you back" ad campaign that's been going on for a few years. There are signs all up and down Broad St saying "With love, Philadelphia" in several different languages, I suppose trying to show you how cosmopolitan we can be here in the city. I think this whole campaign is kinda funny. Aside from NYC, I have never been to a place filled with such anger and impatience. People are not nice here. And if you are nice to them, they're suspicious (like, what do you want from me?). There is traffic everyday, at rush hour, as expected. Yet, everyday, people are honking the hell out of their horns all the time. Homeless people masturbate on the sidewalk. People are screaming all the time and most weekends, there are roving bands of drunken Jersey fools screaming various forms of the "F" word for all the world to hear. Don't get me wrong, I love Philly. I think it's eclectic and rough around the edges and full of working class neighborhoods where families have lived there for decades. I am pretty sure it's where "stickball" originated, and man, are we nuts about sports. But lets not misrepresent, right? I mean, yes, we have world class museums, wonderful universities, great art, music and theatre. But I guarantee you, you will see someone pissing on the side of the road as you make your way to said places. I'm not sure there is an ad campaign that would tout that (or would want to) but Alex and I came up with some "ironic" slogans just for fun. Let me know what you think!
  • Philadelphia: We're really fucking trying, OK?
  • Philadelphia: Buy your guns here!
  • Philadelphia: Teach your kids the proper way to use curse words all in one trip!
  • Philadelphia: Yes, that man is jacking off, honey.
  • Philadelphia: You better not be wearing the other team's jersey or we will kick your ass.
  • Philadelphia: Didja hear me?
  • Philadelphia: We will SERIOUSLY kick your ass, even if you're a grandma!
  • Philadelphia: What the fuck?
  • Philadelphia: Don't expect bus drivers to help you.
  • Philadelphia: What corruption?
  • Philadelphia: What do you mean cheesesteaks and pretzels are not a food group?

Thursday, June 25, 2009

RIP, Michael


There's not a slumber party I remember that did not include the Thriller video. Thanks for all the good times, the amazing music, the videos. You will be missed.

An Affair to Remember?

I have attended several weddings this year (and last). A fair number of my friends are now married and I have watched most of them stand up in front of friends and family and take the vows of a lifetime. I have witnessed as they fell in love and chose a partner (and even as some have reproduced - eek!). We've all formed families of our own choosing, with our own unique signature. A lot of my friends are in science - we are apparently the "educated elite" that was so reviled in this past election (good God, no! not a smart president!). We are or will be significant contributors to society and most of us will hold pretty powerful positions. We are all driven and determined and many of us have put off having a family in order to pursue a career. To each his own. What I am not understanding is this connection between holding positions of power and cheating on your spouse. For one, how long are you going to be in said elected position? Seriously, Bill, can you keep it in your pants for 8 years? It's not that long? Do you have to go AWOL, fly to Argentina to get laid? Really? Hire a prostitute? WHILE IN OFFICE? I realize, people have sex drives and egos and that not all marriages last forever. I realize that sometimes you don't think and you make mistakes and you need to apologize. I get that. What I don't get is the forethought part of it. If you are so calculated as to have reached a position of power (trust me, it's a long hard climb), don't you examine your priorities? Your actions? Watch your steps? Don't you know that people are depending on you? Looking up to you, even? Do you think about that? Have you seen others fall? Have you learned from their mistakes?
I realize that nobody's perfect, that people living in the public eye might have it harder than I do. I'm just disappointed and disgusted. I have no idea how this affects a family and a career and a life. I just feel like this betrayal is so prevalent - and I'm sorry, but a PRESS conference to announce it? Oh, you are so full of yourself. How about doing YOUR JOB - showing up on a daily basis and letting people know where you are? Is responsibility that hard?
I guess I'm an idealist. I just hope that all my friends' marriages and relationships are built on more steady ground than these peoples'.
getting off my soapbox now...

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

First Harvest

kale from our garden - I picked and cooked WAY more than this!

our first peppers from our garden :)