Pawprints From Space

Being a wordsmith and "she who eats dictionaries for breakfast" there are a few recent trends in the vernacular that are driving me nuts. "Peeps" is one of those trends. When I think of peeps I think of those horribly sweet little marshmallow things parents put in Easter baskets. They come in obnoxious colors and taste awful. Those are Peeps. The company even has a trademark on the name. "Peeps" are not people. Hangin' with your peeps is not a phrase that makes you sound cool or even "G" (gangsta - and how in the world that term became something to strive for eludes me). You sound as those you slept through English class in the seventh grade. Now I love slang as much as the next person, maybe more since there are fun things that have been done with language over the centuries thanks to the use of slang. And as everyone who knows me is aware I do so like to have fun with language. But you have to draw a line somewhere and frankly I do not want...

Thank You God! Yes indeedy Blago is gone. He is outta there. And yet he continues to act as if he was "railroaded". There have been a lot of jokes but the best bumper sticker I have seen is: Illinois: Where Our Governors Make the License Plates The new Governor Quinn has been sworn in and if he has half a brain he will behave himself through the rest of this term. Of course if Blago had had half a brain he would have behaved too but oh well... It will be interesting to see where the Feds go with their case. Not that Illinois has had problem governors before. We have (I can say "we" even though I don't live there any longer - I did live there for 23 years) had more than our share: Ryan is still in jail being only 2 years into a 6 1/2 year sentence; Walker served 17 months of a 7 year sentence; Kerner served 3 years (he was in the 1960s) and Stratton was acquitted. And we won't even go into all the other politicians who have server or are serving time. Yup, Il...

A friend of mine in Australia has a lovely blog about a wonderful thing she is doing: taming feral cats. Oh I know, feral cats get a bad rap everywhere. There is even a small town nearby whose Council wanted to authorize citizens to shoot them! The cats, not the Council. Although after reading about that idea in the paper I wanted to shoot Council. In any case, read this blog: http://tameferalcats.blogspot.com

Well, he's done it again. Governor Blagojevich of Illinois has opened his mouth and let a whole bunch of nonsense out. So if you didn't think he ought to step aside before, this ought to do it. The latest silliness occurred yesterday when Blago held a news conference and proceeded to give a long roundabout ramble of how he was like a cowboy in the old west being accused of stealing a horse. That maybe he was going to get a trial but the guys in the black hats would hang him anyway and he couldn't bring his six cowboy friends along to testify on his behalf. The reason Mr. Governor that you can't have witnesses testify to matters being investigated by the Federal government at your impeachment trial isn't because those black hats in Springfield are just being well, black hats. It is because the Federal government has told them the impeachment trial can not deal with matters being investigated by them. You can't testify on those matters, your friends can't test...

The folks on television, especially the network Sunday news shows are supposed to be experts in one way or another. They should also be able to pronounce words properly, put together sentences that actually make sense and otherwise sound as if they really are educated people. Today's rant is on the proper pronunciation of the word "ideology" a noun defined by the Oxford American Dictionary as 1. the principal idea or beliefs that characterize a particular class, group or movement and 2. the ideas that form the basis of an economic or political theory, etc. As you can see ideology refers to ideas. The word idea is pronounced with a long I not a short i. According to the dictionary so it ideology. There is no second listing for pronunciation as sometimes occurs but even in those cases the first listing is the preferred choice. This morning on Meet the Press several (I didn't count could have actually been half) of the round table guests pronounced the word with a short ...

Okay, so Ohio isn't exactly the "wilderness" any more but I am reading Team of Rivals about Lincoln's presidency and Ohio was still considered to be pretty far West. Considering the temperature and the way the wind was blowing snow across the country roads today it FELT like wilderness ... or maybe some post-apocalyptic realm that was frozen instead of arid wasteland. I was intrigued by the small eddies of snow as they moved first one way then the other in front of my car. Tiny whirlwinds of light almost ethereal snow so cold it couldn't even stick to itself. We have not had so many days of negative temps in a very long time. The last few winters have been mild enough for flowers to bloom on my porch all through the season. Not even the pansies are considering hanging in there any longer. No, the porch is not heated. I prefer hot to cold. In the cold my lungs protest their very existence. And with them in full revolt it is quite difficult to breathe as you might ...

Well, President Bush just gave his farewell address. It wasn't too badly worded although bits were awkward in phrasing. But hey, wouldn't be him if it was perfect. I suppose that has been part of his charm. The overall theme seemed to be that his intentions through it all were good. He meant well, he had out best interests at heart. He came off to me as still naive. Which is bit sad. And we all know which road to where is paved with good intentions. I do feel for him. Really, I do. To have the "honor" off going out of office with one of the lowest if not "the" lowest approval ratings of any president since we've been tracking this sort of thing is pretty sad. Even if you never agreed with him, even if you never voted for him, even if you never even really liked him... there was a measure of respect that should still have been reserved for the office he held. If you can't respect the man, you should respect the office. Even if you don't think that...

Okay... new year... new computer... new eHarmony membership.... now what? The computer upgrade has been frustrating, exciting and expensive. Thanks to the "joys" of Vista I get to upgrade various gadgets too. For example Palm does not have HotSync compatibility with this version of Vista and only recently got it together for the 32-bit version. So I need to try to find a Bluetooth adapter and see if that'll work. This after significant time online with tech support. Hello! Vista has been out for a while now and a LOT of people use Microsoft so.... now what? New year was rung in quietly with Mom, a pizza and a movie - nothing spectacular, just Get Smart. We were in the mood for stupid. Had LOTS of potential ... missed it by THAT much. So now bubbly, no one to kiss, clock hits midnight... now what? eHarmony. Tried it once a few years ago. Still think it is too expensive but will give it a few months and see (since they had a "special"). So far they keep sending me...

Another year is drawing to a close. We are being bombarded with lists of 'the best of', 'the worst of' and so on as folks look back on 2008. Well, I am not going to give you a list ranking my choices for even the 'most annoying' although if I did Caribou Barbie would top that one. Nope, I'm just going to look back. All in all it wasn't a bad year, it wasn't a great year so I can't quote Dickens with a 'best of times, worst of times' perspective. Yet it wasn't quite ordinary either. For that I can blame presidential politics. Oh yeah and that dating thing that only last two months. But that one is another rant for another day. To rant on it now would only make me want to punch something. And since I plan on enjoying what is left of my 4-day holiday weekend without scuffed or broken knuckles there will be no ranting (thus no punching) on that topic. Health-wise it was a decent year for me although early December was not so good for my ...

According to recent media reports, which may of course be blowing things WAY out of proportion, various liberal groups are all upset over President-Elect Barack Obama's choice to give the invocation at his inaguration next month. Perhaps they missed the part about bridging our differences, about reaching out to those with whom we may not agree but without whom we can not turn this nation around. Maybe they haven't been watching a cabinet being built not out of best buddies and those to whom you owe favors but rather the crafting of a Team of Rivals (to use the over-worked phrase) complete with members from both sides of the partisan aisle. Okay so the Reverand in question is conservative and anti-gay. He is a fundamentalist who apparently thinks his way is the only fundamentally right opinion. Face it folks, there are LOTS of people like that out there and this man is not as "crazy" as some of them. I don't agree with him but I'm not going to get all pissed of...

Last night the local art gallery held a fundraiser "Jazz at the Greenhouse". A very good jazz band from the Cincinnati area played at the event which was actually held in a local garden center's greenhouse. It was very nice. The book club gang was there (most of them anyway) and an interesting observation was made, as interesting observations often are when these women get together. Those in attendance were there to support the arts and ArtSpace (the organization/gallery). Those in attendance were Democrats. There were many theories as to why this might be. Everything from the silly: "Republicans don't come out of their caves if it is colder than 20 degrees" and "We only have the cheap wine at the bar" to the partisan: "They couldn't write off the ticket price as a tax deduction" and "They don't support the common good (in this case the arts) the way Democrats do, Republicans don't care". Whatever the reason it was a...

If you are solitary, whether by choice or not, this time of year is difficult. If by choice you are annoyed by all the social pressure for couple-ness from the ads for jewelry and the invitations to parties wherein you are the fifth or nineth wheel to children seemingly everywhere. It becomes irritating. If by circumstance not of your own making (such as widowhood) you just want to curl up a cry. Lately I've been on the crying end of the spectrum. You see, for two short months I was happy. Blissfully so in what was developing into a nice and fun relationship until the male in question scared himself somehow and ran for the emotional hills as fast as his frat-boy legs could carry him. If I had been pushy I would understand. But I let him set the pace, and it was he not I who wanted to go away for the weekend. So we did. Had a fabulous time. He got back, freaked out and did the "it's not you, it's me" dance right on out the door. Now after 13 years of solitude I had...

We hear every day about women of a certain age dealing with hot flashes. They even have all sorts of cute names for this annoyance: power surges, personal summer, the list goes on and on. But, there is also a biological response called cold flashes. Some women get cold chills that do not follow the hot flash, it is just cold. Methinks I've got those. I am entering the point where hot flashes typically start (actually I hit that a couple of years ago) but as of yet nothing. However, in the last few months I find myself getting horribly cold for no apparent reason. It can be 75 degrees and I am freezing and nothing I do will warm me up - hot shower, hot tea, bundling up...nothing, instead I am shivering, with ice cold hands, the whole nine yards. It would make sense. I have blood pressure that runs low, I have a body temperature that runs below "normal" and for most of my life I have been cold when other people aren't. I'm not rail thin so it can't be put down t...

Where did the last month and a half go? Obama won the election and most people I know have been giddy ever since. I confess to a few weeks of stupid grins myself. The "Big 3" want money but are aghast that they, like any other business seeking a loan from a bank, would actually have to cough up a business plan to go along with said loan request. Gee, did they expect that all they had to do was show up in their expensive corporate jets and say "gimme"? Apparently. The Prez-Elect has been holding press conferences to show off his new advisers and whatnot, we are supposed to be confident that he and his team will be able to hit the ground running in January. Actually, I think all this is doing is giving Mr. Lame Duck Prez the opportunity to hide until January 20th when he can sneak out of town when no one's looking. Heck, no one's looking now... shoo! Had a personal life for about 5 minutes. Okay two months but it might as well have been five minutes. That pret...

Well I watched the debate last night between Senator Verbose and Caribou Barbie. They both did rather well all things considered and the drinking game was a complete bust. sigh! The interesting thing is the analysis that has followed. NPR did their fact checking and according to them Caribou Barbie was all spin and not on target with her claims about her own and McCain's record whereas Senator Verbose only exaggerated slightly here and there. Meanwhile Fox News has exactly the opposite opinion. Articles in the New Times agree with NPR and go on to say that 90% of Caribou Barbie's replies did not actually answer questions but merely gave out "talking points" with no substance, further "proving" that she is not ready to be VP let alone President should anything awful happen to McCain. And so it goes. Five weeks from the election and it is still anybody's guess as to what will/might happen. My score? Caribou Barbie got a B (mostly for effort and stage prese...

Oh this ought to be good. Amusing at least. Not that the VP candidates have EVER made a significant impact on the outcome of the election but what the heck... it is an election season (? is nearly 2 years a "season" ?) of historic firsts... The book club ladies had a cute idea. Let's have a drinking game as we watch the debate... every time Gov. Palin shakes her index finger/points in her attempt to make a point - take a drink. Every time Sen. Biden goes over his time limit in his attempt to answer the quesion - take a drink. We should all be good and drunk in about 15 minutes. This will be interesting given that the interviews Gov. Palin has given lately have not been very good. I give her points for at least looking as though she is trying but really... someone who has worked in television, made public appearaces as Miss Alaska, been on City Council, been Mayor and now Governor should be able to cope with the press. So far, she hasn't shown that she can. And Biden h...

Okay, I have been trying to get to my blog for over a week STUPID security program won't let me because STUPID web site's certificate isn't up to date. Or so I'm told. I question this because all of a sudden every web site I visit that requires a log in is supposedly having problems with their certificates. every. single. one. Coincidence? I think not. I have been wondering when did cute freckles become STUPID age spots? They look the same, they form the same way. But for some reason after age 30 they aren't freckles any more according to "them", the little brown specs are now STUPID age spots. I think not. Especially since they are the same spots that have been on my face since I was a child. New ones, maybe... old ones, not so much. Another case of STUPID society making women over 30 feel bad about themselves. I order quite a bit of plant material for my garden online. Normally there is no problem. STUPID company this time took my order in late June, cha...

Okay so there's this huge storm almost as big as Texas, heading for Texas and even though warned of "certain death" somewhere around 90,000 people decide to ride it out. Knowing that the emergency teams are not going to be able to get to them once the storm hits until after it is over. How dumb can you be? Even though the cost per barrel of crude continues to drop gas prices suddenly jump up by a minimum of 30 cents in fear of refinery shut downs due to Ike. Uh-huh and isn't it supposed to be that we don't feel the fluctuations at the pump for four to six months because it is a futures market? Supposed to and what is are apparently two different things. The economists etc say one thing (won't feel it right away) while the oil companies and the gas stations come right out and say nope, we're boosting prices in anticipation of problems. Which is the truth? Off-shore drilling, setting the environmental issues I have with that aside, is in trouble every time a...

Okay it is stupid to vote for someone "just because". Just because you are female and the candidate is female; just because you are Latino and that candidate is Latino; just because you are black and the candidate is black just because... well, you get my drift. So into the silliness and excitement of the out-of-touch vs. the "celebrity" comes Caribou Barbie. And people are ga-ga. Men 'cuz she's pretty and knows how to use a gun effectively (probably won't make you clean the fish either, she'll do it) and women because she's... a girl. Or at least that's the idea. We'll vote for her because she's a woman. We women like that you know, never mind the issues she's a girl... count us in. Oh. Come. On. She's been a beauty pageant princess, a sportscaster, a very small community mayor (one resident claims the city administrator actually did all the work), and briefly governor of a state with a relatively small population given its l...

Just finished reading a book. Good book. An excellent piece of literary journalism in fact. But now I am annoyed. The book was published in 1997. I want to know what happened to the child the book focuses on. Is she still alive? Is she still being cared for by her family? Did they have to hand her or to a care facility? Web searches thus far have only turned up info on the book, its author, various articles addressing the same topic including terms papers. The book is: The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down (A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors and the Collision of Two Cultures) by Anne Fadiman It is as I've said, an excellent book. Unfortunately it leaves you wanting to know the rest of the story. Wanting to learn more about the Hmong culture. You share so much of this family's pain and confusion that you want to follow-up on their lives. So it is frustrating but it also a testament to the author and the quality of the work.