tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9319123164615276192024-02-06T18:46:22.280-08:00Christy Robinson: WorldMusings! Observations! And all that! in Dallas and beyondChristyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15196699723422154158noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-87875413104016798842014-04-01T16:46:00.001-07:002014-04-01T19:08:12.083-07:00I've taken a different pathHowdy. As you can see from the timestamp of the previous blog post, I don't blog here anymore. Feel free to read what's here, but also connect with me in these places:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://twitter.com/christyrobinson">twitter.com/christyrobinson</a><br />
<a href="http://instagram.com/christyrobinson">instagram.com/christyrobinson</a><br />
<a href="http://facebook.com/christyrobinson">facebook.com/christyrobinson</a><br />
And other spots, found at <a href="http://about.me/christyrobinson">about.me/christyrobinson</a>.<br />
You can see my <a href="http://christy-robinson.com/">(not-often-updated) running blog here</a>, too.<br />
<br />
Ta-ta,<br />
<br />
CUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-73541042318069783272010-08-15T11:18:00.000-07:002010-08-15T14:17:44.592-07:00Don't blame men because you shave your legsI received an email forward from a friend and former co-worker that got me thinking about women's deflection tendencies. The email is a list of why men are never depressed. At least half, maybe more, of the bullet points are actually ways in which we make ourselves depressed, but acknowledging that would put the responsibility back on me and I've got a cut and color at 3 o'clock and a wedding to plan all by my lonesome, leaving no room to tend to my own happiness. (Mind you, the friend who sent this, Michelle, is quite a cool, independent chick with a better sense of humor than someone like me who over-thinks things like email forwards.) Take a look. The italics are me.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WHY MEN ARE NEVER DEPRESSED:</span><br /><br />Men Are Just Happier People — What do you expect from such simple creatures?<br /><br />• His last name stays put.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— So did mine. And yours would have, too, if you hadn't changed it.</span><br /><br />• The garage is all his.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Probably because you haven't declared that you need to share that space. No room for two? Save up and build your own dang lady cave.</span><br /><br />• Wedding plans take care of themselves.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> — Planning a wedding is no fun and I wasn't any more stoked about planning our wedding than Brian was. After a year of engagement I informed him that we simply were never going to get married if I had to plan the thing alone. Brian ended up planning at least half of it and did a great job.</span><br /><br />• Chocolate is just another snack.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Eat the chocolate, sweetie. I guarantee you it's not him scrutinizing your extra roll of cush you've got underneath that trapeze top.</span><br /><br />• He can be president.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— I also guarantee you that every time a woman has been up for the position, a deciding factor of women voters chose the male candidate. Check your own prejudices before blaming this one on the guys in this modern era.</span><br /><br />• He can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— So can you. What are you doing wearing a frilly bra to a (I take it they mean) amusement park, anyway? Throw a sports bra on under that white tee and go have, oh you know, fun.</span><br /><br />• Car mechanics tell him the truth.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Car mechanics only lie when it's obvious the customer has no clue about this really big, expensive thing she owns and is dependent on men to tell her things about. Don't know anything about cars? Ask your boyfriend to show you a few things. Ask your dad. Ask your cousin. Ask Google. Ask </span><span>Auto Repair for Dummies</span><span style="font-style: italic;">. It's the exact same way men come to know about cars and not get lied to.</span><br /><br />• The world is his urinal.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— I guess the world could be your urinal, too, if you dropped your drawers and popped a squat. We don't have the same external plumbing but we can pee in non-orthodox places if we have to. The men I know don't pee in the bushes just to crack themselves up; they have to go, and there isn't a reasonable alternative within driving or walking distance. Don't blame them because you'd rather risk a UTI.</span><br /><br />• He never has to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— I'm pretty sure I've done this before. And yes, it would have been because the men before me made the whole room their urinal, not just the toilet, and yes, that's gross. If traveling to the next gas station is not an option, just line the seat with toilet paper/hover, pee and get out of there. You're taking a bio break, not attending a spa appointment.</span><br /><br />• He doesn't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Lefty-loosey, righty-tighty. I got that from a former boyfriend, because I asked. </span><br /><br />• Same work, more pay.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— No one's going to ride in on a white horse and pay you more money.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Find out what someone with your experience in your position in your geographic area should be making. Raise hell until you get it.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Stop being a sweetie-pie at work, during interviews and during annual reviews.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Millions of women before you have already done the hard work of making equal work/equal pay possible. You spit in their face when you struggle internally with a success fraud complex then passive-aggressively blame The Man for paying you unequally.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Still having trouble with this? One of the reasons this country is great is we are a nation of laws. We have a court system. Use it.</span><br /><br />• Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Brian's tux rental costs $150, my</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> wedding dress cost $79 (Target Bridal) and </span><span style="font-style: italic;"> and I have to say, I looked pretty darn cute. I got a hug from a friend who accidentally got lipstick on my dress. She freaked out; I just laughed and ate cake. Your wedding dress only costs $5,000 because you apparently insisted on having a $5K wedding dress. That's not your man's fault.</span><br /><br />• People never stare at his chest when they're talking to him.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Do you embarrass the jack-A who does this to you by calling him out, or do you sheepishly continue talking, hoping he magically becomes a gentleman before the conversation's over? Yeah, that's what I thought.</span><br /><br />• He can never be pregnant.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Don't want to become pregnant? Neither do I, so let's don't. Don't want to become pregnant but want children? There's a process called adoption.</span><br /><br />• Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— This is only a problem if you don't like long phone conversations yet find yourselves constantly entangled in them. Again, AT&T's not going to ride in on a white horse and magically drop the call for you.</span><br /><br />• One mood all the time.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Ok, I'll give you that one.</span><br /><br />• He can open all his own jars.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— What, if there's no man around, the jar of pasta sauce simply isn't going to get opened? Lame. Whack at the side of the lid with the back of a butcher knife, get one of those rubber jar-opener dillies and. open. the. dang. jar.</span><br /><br />• He gets extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Because instead of credit, you keep giving him extra credit, driving home the message that he's going above and beyond his duties as a human being. I guarantee it's not his buddies cooing and clapping when he changes his own baby's diaper or when he picks up his underwear.</span><br /><br />• If someone forgets to invite him, they can still be friends.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Are you that petty or just not grown up yet? Don't flay him for not bringing the wine to your petty-party just because you haven't learned how to keep friends yet.</span><br /><br />• His underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Girl, please. A 6-pack of Hanes Her Way string bikinis cost $8 at most. Trust me, if you're taking your clothes off in his line of sight, he's not going to care nor will he notice if you spent half a paycheck on something more expensive than that. If the underwear is just for you, 100 percent cotton is much, much nicer to your lady parts, anyway.</span><br /><br />• He almost never has strap problems in public.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Are we still worrying about this? I thought, along with pantyhose, we stopped obsessing whether or not it's "snowing up north" around 15 years ago.</span><br /><br />• He can play with toys all his life.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— And you're not able to play with toys because ...??</span><br /><br />• One wallet and one pair of shoes — one color for all seasons.<br />• Wrinkles add character.<br />• He only has to shave his face and neck.<br />• He is unable to see wrinkles in his clothes.<br />• Everything on his face stays its original color.<br />• The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades.<br />• Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.<br />• A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.<br />• New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle his feet. ...<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />My response to anything related to modern American beauty standards: These are ALL the fault of women, not men. These are the standards we've created because we keep trying to outdo each other for the attention of men, plain and simple. When we ran out of ideas on how to distinguish ourselves, the plastic surgery industry was invented. These time-consuming, expensive and often-painful standards won't stop until </span><span style="font-style: italic;">we</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> stop. But it's like nuclear disarmament — we don't want to disarm until and unless we're absolutely positive everyone else is going to disarm, lest we get caught with armpit stubble and bare toenails while the inspectors overlooked another woman's secret stash of concealer and highlight foils. So if you're going to play these games, play and stop whining or go rogue and rock that unibrow.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— I don't wear shoes that mangle my feet anymore — I'm either going to pay for the good stuff or wear flats, running shoes or flip-flops. No one is hiding in my closet with a shoe horn ready to force a ridiculous pair of shoes on me.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— We are the ones who insist on painting our faces like some daily indigenous tribal ceremony and shaving/lasering ourselves into hairless oblivion. Sometimes I lament to Brian that my legs are sooo hairy, I'm too disgusting to go into public like this with you, I'm sorry my legs are covered by the Black Forest, etc. He'll feel a leg, get a confused look on his face and grunt something of a "meh" that I translate as, "Sister, that's your own neurosis; don't look at me like it's my fault you regularly eradicate 80 percent of the hair on your person in a desperate attempt to infanticize yourself."</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">— Wonder how men seem to have more money than women? It's not because they're making vastly more money than you, although if you're a meek little mouse come pay-raise time, that probably contributes. It's because you're alloting so much more of your paycheck to all those clothes and all those shoes and all that hair color and all those creams and serums that, by the way, is what's making you pack so heavily, too.</span><br /><br />===<br /><br />I wear makeup, shave my legs (which I hate, but I'm the one swiping the razor up and down) and I keep Clairol's Natural Instincts in business. If these things are as much of an annoyance as we claim, let's place the blame for performing them where it belongs, the chica in the mirror. Accept responsibility for what you make of your life, because that's partly what equality is about.<br /><br />I love all my ladies and desire the best for each and every one of you! Go forth and conquer your corner of the world! Mwah!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-37433322194890079962010-03-07T10:21:00.000-08:002010-03-09T14:11:07.627-08:00Outtakes from my Oregon/Washington tripYes, it's been a while since I've graced these pages. Enough about that.<br /><br />Ten days ago I returned from a six-day trip to the Portland, Oregon, area and Olympic National Park in Washington to the north. Here are my outtakes, thoughts and advice on Being Sacagawea for a week.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Photos, days 1-2</span><br /><center><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fchristyrobinson23%2Falbumid%2F5442234938599637809%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" height="267" width="400"></embed></center><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Portland, Oregon</span><br />• One of the coolest cities in the U.S. I've ever visited. Extremely walkable, great public transit options, slap-your-face scenery (even in the city), awesome eating, green-conscious. Except hardly anyone used umbrellas even though it was raining most of the time. This intrigued me.<br />• I'd never stayed in a hostel until this trip, but I received confirmation from others more seasoned than myself that the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nwportlandhostel.com/">Northwest Portland hostel</a> is a good one. It's, you know, a hostel, so don't expect Andes candies on your pillow or anything. Or non-disgusting shower curtains. I did pay the lowest rate, after all — a low-season $20 for a bed in an eight-person dorm. But the staff is very friendly, overall cleanliness isn't an issue, there are several lounge areas and kitchens, and the location can't be beat (hopelessly hip Nob Hill neighborhood, walkable to lots of stuff). If I have one piece of advice to pass along re: hostels from my one night of hosteling, it's this: Unless you sleep like the dead or own a high-end pair of earplugs, spring for a private room vs. a dorm bunk. People snore like the Second Coming.<br />• <span style="font-weight: bold;">Visit</span><br />— <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Park_%28Portland,_Oregon%29">Forest Park</a> (it's the largest forested natural area within city limits in the U.S. and dadgum gorgeous)<br />— <a target="_blank" href="http://www.powells.com/">Powell's Books</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=0G2&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&oq=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=skyline+restaurant+%2B+portland,+oregon&fb=1&gl=us&hq=skyline+restaurant+%2B&hnear=portland,+oregon&cid=0,0,17965202854361598898&ei=zgGUS7rBF53qNYyU6KUN&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CAwQnwIwAA">Skyline Restaurant</a> (best butterscotch milkshake AND chocolate malt ever)<br />— <a target="_blank" href="http://pittockmansion.org/">Pittock Mansion</a> (didn't get to go but heard it's worth a look)<br />— <a target="_blank" href="http://www.worldcupcoffee.com/">World Cup Coffee & Tea</a> (across the street from the hostel)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Coastal Oregon</span><br />• I took U.S. Route 26 west to the coast and caught U.S. Highway 101 north. Just north of that junction is adorable <a target="_blank" href="http://www.seasideor.com/">Seaside, Oregon</a>. I stopped to check out the Pacific Ocean; first time I'd seen it that far north, and first time in a long time I'd seen it at all. Misty, dramatic, gorgeous. But, had I known at the time, I might have gone out of my way a bit to the south on 101 to <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannon_Beach,_Oregon">Cannon Beach, Oregon</a>. And not just because that's where the La Push beach scenes in <span style="font-style: italic;">Twilight</span> were filmed, heh heh. It apparently sports some amazing sea stacks and the scenic Ecola State Park.<br />• <span style="font-weight: bold;">Visit</span><br />— <a target="_blank" href="http://sites.google.com/site/cbytheseallc/Home">C by the Sea</a> gifts in Seaside<br />— <a target="_blank" href="http://www.pacificwaybakery-cafe.com/1/Photos/Pages/Exterior.html">Pacific Way Bakery & Cafe</a> in Gearhart<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Southwest Washington</span><br />• My non-researched, drive-through observation of the difference between northwest Oregon and southwest Washington (and on up to Forks, Wa.): It seems that the towns in the SW Wa have allowed logging to solely define their existence. It would be different if a) logging didn't remove the pride-fostering visual cues of the region's best natural resource, or if b) logging created jobs that allowed families to live more than just a hair above the poverty line. But a drive around logging towns like <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberdeen,_Washington">Aberdeen</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoquiam,_Washington">Hoquiam</a> prove the detriment of placing all your eggs in one, big sad-making basket. You see shadows of cute-towns-that-could-be behind the code-iffy homes and boarded-up storefronts. Aberdeen and Hoquiam, for example, are located on the water (Grays Harbor, I believe). They could leverage that fact and other natural draws to bring in tourists, investors and permanent, monied residents. And where the actual logging takes place? Could the industry be any more aesthetically ham-handed? They leave the landscape looking like a mix of Beruit/shock-and-awe/Hiroshima/California-wildfire/Tank-Girl-apocolypse/Paul-Bunyun-vomits-napalm. Mountain sides either look like someone took a razor down the middle of a head of long, lustrous hair for a reverse-mohawk, or at best they look like a Disney-inspired Christmas tree farm with their eighth-growth, 20-year-old, uniform-height, perfectly-spaced trees. Visually, it's just sad, grotesque, and makes me wonder why people who would allow their surrounding natural beauty to become so unnaturally ugly. And please. Don't talk to me about the "jobs" the industry provides when your towns look like the Flint, Michigan, of the Northwest. The industry is giving you so much less to work with than what God originally provided. You're allowing the timber lobby to pick that nature gift clean in exchange for food stamp living. I don't know the exact answer. I don't exactly live in an area widely known for scenic beauty. But it's obvious that the blanaced answer isn't being lived out in southwest Washington.<br />• <span style="font-weight: bold;">Visit:</span> Keep driving.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Photos, days 3-4</span><br /><center><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fchristyrobinson23%2Falbumid%2F5442418031530708385%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" height="267" width="400"></embed></center><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Olympic National Park</span><br />• Once you're actually IN the park proper, you don't have to worry about shaking your head into a crick like you did through all the land-rape on your way up. It's gorgeous.<br />• I stayed near Quinault Rain Forest. The other rain forest is the Hoh Rain Forest, which seemed to be the more well-known. I asked a couple of locals, and they both claimed that you won't miss anything by seeing one over the other. I visited the Quinault Rain Forest and was terribly, terribly pleased.<br />• I recommend the place I stayed, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.visitlakequinault.com/">Lake Quinault Lodge</a>, but you MUST know two things that I did not before I settled into my room: 1. There are NO telephones in the rooms. You likely will have no cell phone coverage while you're there, so this amounts to being phoneless while in your room. Be ready to leave your room and walk to the front desk if you need to speak to a lodge employee. 2. There is no wifi in the rooms, only in the lobby (which is nice: tables, comfy chairs, couches, huge fireplace). BUT: I slept in one of the king-sized fireplace rooms, close to the main lodge where the lobby is located. I got one to two bars of connection most of the time. But don't depend on that.<br />• The restaurant attached to the restaurant, the Roosevelt Room, is yummy but somewhat pricey. I took a Seattle Times travel story's advice and had the sweet potato pancakes for breakfast, and they were great. I didn't have dinner there, however, so I can't speak for it.<br />• There is no room service here. I did carry a globe of Washington red (pinot noir?) from the Roosevelt to my room for a hot bath my first night, however.<br />• They serve Starbucks coffee. I mention this because I was pretty astounded at the lack of Starbucks on my trip, seeing as how this was the general birthplace of the chain. It was awesome to see so many independent coffee joints and, even more numerous, drive-through coffee stands instead. I guess that's just places like Dallas where independent = scarce.<br />• Please eat at least one meal across the street at the Mercantile. The pizza is amazing, but they serve just about anything else you're in the mood for if not that.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >West of Olympic National Park (including Forks!)</span><br />• Lake Quinault Lodge is managed by Aramark (yes, the company you most associate with Styrofoam cups and other concession-stand products), which also manages other lodges in the park, like <a target="_blank" href="http://www.visitkalaloch.com/">Kalaloch Lodge</a> (trivia: Kalaloch is pronounced "clay-lock"). It's located 33 miles northwest of Quinault and includes a main lodge and individual cabins located directly on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Take pictures in the white gazebo, but don't play too closely to the side or you'll meet your maker in a pile of drift logs.<br />• A few miles to the north, 101 takes you away from the coast a bit. That takes you to .... dum dum DUM! Forks, Washington!! TWIIII-LIIIIGHT!! If you like the Twilight saga, there are things to see and do here. If you don't, there's not. Warning: the Chamber of Commerce's Michael Gurling (<a target="_blank" href="http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26811199/">shown here </a>in a <span style="font-style: italic;">Today</span> story) is enthusiastic about the Twilight-Forks connection and will tell you everything you ever or didn't want to know about the town, the books and the movies. He does know his stuff, however. Like how absolutely nothing in the Twilight movies was filmed in Forks. Not one little bitty frame. Crews came by to take a picture of the "welcome to Forks" sign, and that's it. At first I was surprised, but then it made sense. Forks, while home to many warm residents, isn't terribly photogenic (Forks scenes were filmed in Vernonia, Oregon), and then I realized that the movie version of town doesn't resemble the real thing in the least. Michael was nice enough to give me a list of Twilight scenes and where they were filmed. The majority of which? In the Portland area. Really? Well, looky looky. I had been debating in my head whether to drive up to the northwestern most tip of the continental U.S. (Neah Bay, Wa., on the Cape Flattery Trail) or just heading back to Portland for my last couple of days. Hmmm.<br />• <span style="font-weight: bold;">Visit </span>(all in Forks)<br />— The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.forkswa.com/">Chamber of Commerce</a>-slash-Twlight-information-center<br />— <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dazzledbytwilight.com/">Dazzled by Twilight</a> memorabilia and gift shop<br />— JT's Sweet Stuffs for ice cream or old-fashioned candy<br />— <a target="_blank" href="http://www.forksoutfitters.com/sportsgoods.html">Forks Outfitters</a>, where Bella worked part-time (just drive by)<br />— Pacific Pizza, next door<br />— Gathering Grounds coffee stand for a cup of Bella Selva (product not related to our Bella of Twilight fame)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Photos, days 5-6</span><br /><center><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fchristyrobinson23%2Falbumid%2F5444207070394859025%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" height="267" width="400"></embed></center><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Portland, Oregon, area</span><br />• Without knowing it, Michael from the Forks Chamber pointed me in the right direction. Not because I saw a couple of Twilight film locations, but because I would have missed out on some of the most scenic highlights of my trip: the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.crgva.org/">Columbia River Gorge</a> (with sights along the Historic Columbia River Highway) and <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multnomah_Falls">Multnomah Falls</a>.<br />• Remember the prom scene at the end of Twlight? Michael's list says it was filmed at the Columbia River Gorge Vista House. While trying to find this place, I ended up turning around in the parking lot of a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.theviewpointinn.com/">View Point Inn</a> and thought, Wow, this looks a lot like where the prom scene took place; oh well. I found Vista House and spent some time there. They both offer gorgeous views, but I found out when I returned home that prom scene did in fact take place at View Point Inn.<br />• I spent the most time at Multnomah Falls. Remember the baseball scene in Twilight? It was filmed on the Washington side of the gorge, and the waterfall shown in the background as Bella and Edward are walking to meet his family to play is Multnomah, which is located on the Oregonian side. It looks majestic from the highway, but you have to experience it up close. You can even hike to the very top of the falls on Larch Mountain by a 1-mile trail (warning: it's steep and doesn't <span style="font-style: italic;">feel</span> like a mere mile). Not only is the trek worth it when you arrive at the top, but the trail itself offers stunning views of the gorge.<br />• While I was purchasing my Multnomah magnet, coffee mug and earrings at the ground-level gift shop, I asked the cashier if she thought the attached <a target="_blank" href="http://www.multnomahfallslodge.com/">Multnomah Falls Lodge</a> restaurant was worth a stop. She gave me a wide-eyed, freaked-out look and whispered, "Nooo!" I didn't ask why, but that was enough to keep me away. Too bad because the atmosphere seemed amazing. But good thing I didn't eat there because that lead me instead to dine at ....<br />• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.stonecliffinn.com/index.php">Stone Cliff Inn</a> in Carver, Oregon. I bumped into it while driving around, and it was a good bet. Nestled way up on a cliff overlooking the Clackamas River, it's fashioned like a log cabin, inside and out. I sat by the fireplace. I had an Oregon merlot, salmon, garlic mashed potatoes and a salad with a tomato-y vinaigrette. The waiter — no lie — looked like Jacob Black (and knew it). On my way out the door, I noticed a poster showing the "lion fell in love with the lamb/as if you could outrun me" scenes from Twilight. They were shot behind the Stone Cliff Inn's parking lot! The restaurant had set a spotlight on the big, mossy boulder that Edward crouched on. I visited another filming location, and I didn't even mean to this time ; )<br />• <span style="font-weight: bold;">Visit</span><br />— The aforementioned Vista House, View Point Inn, Multnomah Falls and Stone Cliff Inn<br />— <a target="_blank" href="http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_164.php">Portland Women's Forum State Scenic Viewpoint</a><br />— <a target="_blank" href="http://www.carvercafe.com/">Carver Cafe</a> in Damascus, Oregon, where the cafe scenes with Bella and her dad were filmed. Only open for breakfast and lunch, though. I drove by too late, but it looks adorable (and the menu, online, looks crazy-delicious).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-66107833601441718912009-11-20T14:45:00.001-08:002009-11-20T15:24:34.571-08:00Dead magazines I miss<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_%28magazine%29"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 162px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIAuKkbSHeIq7pbENfl05jqs6aN6PNYz01nD2IcKa-ckKxrNJVPkOSxq_ivIhP2HffgRtJH_UodyZDtC9080isDKZsf6tT66_7loby0fs5NorjvuWQGhIz63uNSAxxbOalD5dX3CmO/s200/george.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406328407499221282" border="0" /></a>The other day I said in my Facebook status that I missed <span style="font-style: italic;">George</span>, and several FB friends commented with other great defunct magazines. Below is my homage to magazines discontinued in the past decade that I've subscribed to, have fond childhood memories of, remind me of good times or that I simply enjoyed reading.<br /><br /><br />Click on each name for its respective Wikipedia (or other info) page, and let me know in the comments if I missed any good titles!<br /><br /><center><table><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9s78i5I8UCRf-xZeTqnKbeGudTwMUqFUecLIY5tOjvwmK9FGOunAqh3rOQriKdupva3wNw3KHcuoUfTLN7XryRKQI8CSQNtV-yGmqD_XhG7bBy373BwbCnqSxy4Liu9_nZYyIYuU/s1600/bonappetit.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 147px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9s78i5I8UCRf-xZeTqnKbeGudTwMUqFUecLIY5tOjvwmK9FGOunAqh3rOQriKdupva3wNw3KHcuoUfTLN7XryRKQI8CSQNtV-yGmqD_XhG7bBy373BwbCnqSxy4Liu9_nZYyIYuU/s320/bonappetit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406315610634474114" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_App%C3%A9tit">Bon Appétit</a><br /><br /></td><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFJEaiFTw0BE12Mz-HyZMh-dxuXf4MJJLeIodUm2xTgrHKaFSn77YLXzV3A1vCQgHWKZfFtInqO2eepI-CSiIKxiyfV3g8GilN9PlcKgfk0lCuIwDhFiD6Sa08LlvUWwC8Q6851ma/s1600/domino.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 155px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFJEaiFTw0BE12Mz-HyZMh-dxuXf4MJJLeIodUm2xTgrHKaFSn77YLXzV3A1vCQgHWKZfFtInqO2eepI-CSiIKxiyfV3g8GilN9PlcKgfk0lCuIwDhFiD6Sa08LlvUWwC8Q6851ma/s320/domino.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406315714868631954" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domino_%28magazine%29">Domino</a><br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeod-_nc1I2jvRnXkKf5ZGtXw_3D-r075HP30JZ18wUPv9GZLnkz5eF7uJI9DoZ5SJHC0n6LLdqVkSMNXFJnXBHL4f4GyN8pjGw5GuJioZaXls_mr9DsgpEUGv6nHOpyM56hMbYb7Q/s1600/gourmet.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeod-_nc1I2jvRnXkKf5ZGtXw_3D-r075HP30JZ18wUPv9GZLnkz5eF7uJI9DoZ5SJHC0n6LLdqVkSMNXFJnXBHL4f4GyN8pjGw5GuJioZaXls_mr9DsgpEUGv6nHOpyM56hMbYb7Q/s200/gourmet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406318449033380562" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gourmet_%28magazine%29">Gourmet</a><br /><br /></td><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU_rSSNaUQd5nFobbEqe2XKMsO29hUpUchC_F4UyB9J_5rtczK1JzXI9mQgBtp9dBZ_DQoVrmxGDdMBDy2p44dU_3MxHbPsXbPcH-7DjygnFsXRBnAR8upC_MH9uhJMHHXvNJZt_su/s1600/honey.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 154px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU_rSSNaUQd5nFobbEqe2XKMsO29hUpUchC_F4UyB9J_5rtczK1JzXI9mQgBtp9dBZ_DQoVrmxGDdMBDy2p44dU_3MxHbPsXbPcH-7DjygnFsXRBnAR8upC_MH9uhJMHHXvNJZt_su/s200/honey.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406318547210107970" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" href="http://www.honeymag.com/">Honey</a><br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5776D3bzBfQkuGVYcZWcc__w0EowJkXAyBlcd_hPvKRBpUYoenNsD6-KG30jx6RGz-L2MIZA7f9bgNmTA_RosqfD6d-L5mkpxGxfmD1yICW12sIFDE1PFRfmstMpWN7_aa0eDOR3/s1600/jane.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 148px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5776D3bzBfQkuGVYcZWcc__w0EowJkXAyBlcd_hPvKRBpUYoenNsD6-KG30jx6RGz-L2MIZA7f9bgNmTA_RosqfD6d-L5mkpxGxfmD1yICW12sIFDE1PFRfmstMpWN7_aa0eDOR3/s200/jane.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406320731548929762" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_%28magazine%29">Jane</a><br /><br /></td><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_AA8qg69Svb9NTNo5JdGhmYSQTTaP8dhNyTqyoDZkTINlW3gDsI2vEtA3-0BbZJFTh_ExDh5FBuwEOCwOXxb0UR4KOO1tYKQ7IMxBeE2-3C4diXkcxlMrCo6o0SG99YNovQ5wroT/s1600/mademoiselle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 152px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_AA8qg69Svb9NTNo5JdGhmYSQTTaP8dhNyTqyoDZkTINlW3gDsI2vEtA3-0BbZJFTh_ExDh5FBuwEOCwOXxb0UR4KOO1tYKQ7IMxBeE2-3C4diXkcxlMrCo6o0SG99YNovQ5wroT/s200/mademoiselle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406320800090268130" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mademoiselle_%28magazine%29">Mademoiselle</a><br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRUbZY_A_BLYF_CqqYDkuyGH9bV3CZWLH0D4C4RTMpLGEYpPmj2jSJwBiQ7BKGOzJnzorjC921CbrFgrN5VRwpnD04Hob9_LOhswm_VhHJN2kmcT66rSlZwogpNzDZzPAj95wWL-WZ/s1600/mccalls.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 169px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRUbZY_A_BLYF_CqqYDkuyGH9bV3CZWLH0D4C4RTMpLGEYpPmj2jSJwBiQ7BKGOzJnzorjC921CbrFgrN5VRwpnD04Hob9_LOhswm_VhHJN2kmcT66rSlZwogpNzDZzPAj95wWL-WZ/s200/mccalls.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406320886722282978" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCall%27s">McCall’s</a><br /><br /></td><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBasjC5dqViC12uUsG0kxje0yG4sP02m7bC7wA-WCokm2HwPCL6GLjGGRRdzLDm7Ru9ooXAYqX4cLW7fviFt3q57Dg_dCIXKipu4y9vXhbH6jgRRPHgFVxzsfBYC8wopHzLLQb_f6m/s1600/mode.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 151px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBasjC5dqViC12uUsG0kxje0yG4sP02m7bC7wA-WCokm2HwPCL6GLjGGRRdzLDm7Ru9ooXAYqX4cLW7fviFt3q57Dg_dCIXKipu4y9vXhbH6jgRRPHgFVxzsfBYC8wopHzLLQb_f6m/s200/mode.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406320934534783362" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mode">Mode</a><br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_7NnFAG6rt3wBXZC82qQ15fKYZi_ErP_vI2cx76jHOxJtNWvdOF-WmHeQmhfVetDDYEH-HRmSTrS-DgZFTAxFboc48om58F6FgKAz_2nPzWxywj_6z7Xs2Qc65lkbKKOG4s00_yW/s1600/more.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_7NnFAG6rt3wBXZC82qQ15fKYZi_ErP_vI2cx76jHOxJtNWvdOF-WmHeQmhfVetDDYEH-HRmSTrS-DgZFTAxFboc48om58F6FgKAz_2nPzWxywj_6z7Xs2Qc65lkbKKOG4s00_yW/s200/more.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406321088856023490" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/More_%28magazine%29">More</a><br /><br /></td><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIPD29E4nx13IthBk-AgK7ffvKlY5zTaAKCFbwN9gl12u1Rlb_2xMKAZMK5vqG2_ViRCVO7SsKs0QsfpjpKfUs4TO3CwldBFFlQrLKzK55SrN1-xN4oV-95Z1wyI-5wqPd9R5-SrM/s1600/pcmagazine.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIPD29E4nx13IthBk-AgK7ffvKlY5zTaAKCFbwN9gl12u1Rlb_2xMKAZMK5vqG2_ViRCVO7SsKs0QsfpjpKfUs4TO3CwldBFFlQrLKzK55SrN1-xN4oV-95Z1wyI-5wqPd9R5-SrM/s200/pcmagazine.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406321204215583154" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_Magazine">PC Magazine</a><br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwMmqdti16MBOXcVj69CA_ATcBYtPvKju7sAj5mCK6D2x7_GpU8PdysZLtVbzFoZO765BBlsd-y1d4iFhcv0rcNv7vboiMlXCLKlebF63ulE6PvtfiMt3_vrP7jpaJkjiXxiv3-_g/s1600/radar.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 153px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwMmqdti16MBOXcVj69CA_ATcBYtPvKju7sAj5mCK6D2x7_GpU8PdysZLtVbzFoZO765BBlsd-y1d4iFhcv0rcNv7vboiMlXCLKlebF63ulE6PvtfiMt3_vrP7jpaJkjiXxiv3-_g/s200/radar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406321274172257506" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar_%28magazine%29">Radar</a><br /><br /></td><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAlrjo-v41cbTYa4QWvKulbEpthQ5iv118edn8Gez0kBqh7BOviN-El0i0n55O0hRWbrsNUMSvxsJIgehuOtXcitxlP8vIdXcFxqyjyupoglwFoBgo6PYVWQMNtlLJ_cuV5mM5Pe7f/s1600/SI_+women.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 155px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAlrjo-v41cbTYa4QWvKulbEpthQ5iv118edn8Gez0kBqh7BOviN-El0i0n55O0hRWbrsNUMSvxsJIgehuOtXcitxlP8vIdXcFxqyjyupoglwFoBgo6PYVWQMNtlLJ_cuV5mM5Pe7f/s200/SI_+women.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406321350056262658" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_Illustrated_for_Women">SI for Women</a><br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1DkmMZ1sFENjfJ3HSR2bmYXV_IHEJyX0Hly25sz4Q77VKZFfHQaw52fuG3qtp448cOiE9qB_4cEz0IiWZclaPFo5xyMH-aIkKh_XHWRaLYxIxPm1-CyGgM2uuaV6oZdYODj_F_Rxg/s1600/sportsandfitness.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 147px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1DkmMZ1sFENjfJ3HSR2bmYXV_IHEJyX0Hly25sz4Q77VKZFfHQaw52fuG3qtp448cOiE9qB_4cEz0IiWZclaPFo5xyMH-aIkKh_XHWRaLYxIxPm1-CyGgM2uuaV6oZdYODj_F_Rxg/s200/sportsandfitness.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406321430494829298" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sports & Fitness</span><br /><br /></td><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizXztjhQcTVa7f4WBLpNzM_-7iJcADd1kUMAaWHoDJCJz_Xzss_pRbWmgWhyphenhypheni7NwVpmJ6NjarZyV7ix4atHEdWRmWpqoJP49v2IlDvGaGzaQOz-O5VkrLlya5zs1YwglvYGEA9iDU-/s1600/vibe.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 148px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizXztjhQcTVa7f4WBLpNzM_-7iJcADd1kUMAaWHoDJCJz_Xzss_pRbWmgWhyphenhypheni7NwVpmJ6NjarZyV7ix4atHEdWRmWpqoJP49v2IlDvGaGzaQOz-O5VkrLlya5zs1YwglvYGEA9iDU-/s200/vibe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406321499966372514" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibe_%28magazine%29">Vibe</a><br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHOYT1xqpVajJMDjl21FOJP6vhEhuycxISRglh9rnp2QzYR0bW_6xVNpG1bE1NDa7xx6VnBpsQryaHZIRwckRWhndp8hFoMokBMLJgrwnSIVodzMpxOGz9-_X-GvWfH9UoMbMke9wB/s1600/WeeklyWorldNews2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 165px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHOYT1xqpVajJMDjl21FOJP6vhEhuycxISRglh9rnp2QzYR0bW_6xVNpG1bE1NDa7xx6VnBpsQryaHZIRwckRWhndp8hFoMokBMLJgrwnSIVodzMpxOGz9-_X-GvWfH9UoMbMke9wB/s200/WeeklyWorldNews2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406321577058350706" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weekly_World_News">Weekly World News</a></td><td style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" target="_blank" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzenVNrrg7FA1H1_xk-G92Is6zZ6xTl8e2F-uu49zeedZZLiJRx4PSa97SjlfXxiROnAhNaS60hzy2WHDME9PNX4e52BguI51F3JyTnt_CuoVyTxJ_aKmBDzgAIP51X8q1DzJ8WzeJ/s1600/womensport.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 158px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzenVNrrg7FA1H1_xk-G92Is6zZ6xTl8e2F-uu49zeedZZLiJRx4PSa97SjlfXxiROnAhNaS60hzy2WHDME9PNX4e52BguI51F3JyTnt_CuoVyTxJ_aKmBDzgAIP51X8q1DzJ8WzeJ/s200/womensport.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406321870350228546" border="0" /></a><a style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WomenSports_magazine">WomenSport</a></td></tr></tbody></table></center>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-37736369117566139432009-11-08T12:54:00.000-08:002009-11-08T15:54:12.342-08:00Health care and the soulWhat does my father's recent heart attack and a New York Times interactive have in common? Little, except that they both have me thinking about health care at the moment, framed in the context of morality.<br /><br />First, dad. Mom drove him to Medical Center of Arlington a week and a half ago after pain struck him in the chest, the first time it had ever done so. The entire week of his stay, my family and I were dumbfounded at the cardiac doctors' coarseness, unprofessionalism, unavailability, lack of communication skills and patronization. My mother has spent time in [other] hospitals for surgeries and procedures, and her doctors had always been professional and sympathetic. The reason for dad's stay was inherently bad enough, but watching doctors treat our elderly father in such a harsh, uncaring manner all week (when they got around to seeing him at all) doubled our stress.<br /><div id="NYTHealthCareConvosWidget" style="width: 350px; height: 400px;"><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/flash/health/health-care-conversations/NYTConversationsWidget.swf" height="400" width="350"><br /><param name="movie" value="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/flash/health/health-care-conversations/NYTConversationsWidget.swf"><br /><param name="wmode" value="opaque"><br /><param name="FlashVars" value="numTopics=21&topicIds=9,13,2,5,6&showHeader=true"><br /><embed src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/flash/health/health-care-conversations/NYTConversationsWidget.swf" flashvars="numTopics=21&topicIds=9,13,2,5,6&showHeader=true" wmode="opaque" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="400" width="350"></embed></object><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A sample of the interactive's topics</span></div><br /><br /><br />My sister and I couldn't help but wonder if his treatment had to do with the fact dad is a Medicare patient. We could have been wrong. We have no proof. But hospitals and doctors are reimbursed for only a fraction of their trouble when caring for Medicare patients, and we agreed it at least was a possibility. Toward the end of his stay, we were trying to get dad an appointment with his primary care physician. He'd had a Dr. Brandy Robinson (no relation) chosen as his PCP for quite some time, but he hadn't gone to see her yet. I called to make an appointment — and they wouldn't see him because they're not taking any new Medicare patients. I was reminded of a story I recently read about more and more doctors not taking Medicare patients because the government simply can't keep up with doctors' costs. I thought to myself, The profit motive of health care is rotting its soul.<br /><br />Then today I clicked around through NYTimes.com's fabulous Health Care Conversations interactive. You click a specific health care topic (i.e. Medicare and the Elderly, Illegal Immigrants) to get to a conversation-starter question, then you include your comments on the question. I chose the health care topic <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/09/29/health/health-care-conversations.html#/6/">Moral and Spiritual Considerations</a> and scrolled through the comments (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/09/29/health/health-care-conversations.html#/6/">click here</a> or play around with the embed, above). Timothy Shaw, M.D., of Madison, Wisconsin, did the best job of describing the connection I feel between my Christian faith and collective health care for all:<br /><br /><blockquuote><span style="font-style: italic;">Our healthcare system is unjust because patients are discriminated against based on their ability to pay. Even though they attended public tax-payer funded medical and dental schools, some doctors and dentists will not see Medicaid patients or those without health insurance.<br /><br />Our healthcare system is unjust because doctors and hospitals charge different patients different prices for the same service based on their insurance or employer. A patient without insurance may pay 70% more for the same operation or medical treatment as someone with insurance. If one would go to a gas station and be told that you have to pay $3.40 per gallon of gas but that your neighbor has to only pay $2.00 per gallon because of who you work for – there would be "civil" war. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Our healthcare system is unjust because it pits the doctor's fiduciary and moral obligation to the patient, against the fiscal obligation to the health insurer with whom the doctor has a contract. For example, in the mid 1980's, 32 states passed consumer protection laws, in the form of "drive-by delivery" laws to protect mothers and newborns from being discharged from the hospital by their doctors too soon.<br /><br />Much of the medical research in our country is supported with public tax money through the National Institute of Health grants. Additionally, public tax money supports the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Library of Medicine; institutions which also supports private for-profit medical/insurance corporations. Although many of the discoveries of medicine were not the work of the American medical/insurance industry, past medical discoveries are used to create profit for our private medical/insurance system. For example, when the Austrian pathologist Karl Landsteiner won the Nobel Peace Prize for his 1901 discovery of the ABO blood groups which made blood transfusions safe, saving billions of lives, he gave his discovery to humanity, not a patent lawyer.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Our hospitals were built by the hard work of all citizens. In the late 1800's Catholic nuns from St. Louis hitched their horses to wagons and rode into the Northwest Territory armed with a mission statement from God and founded our first hospitals. They built these hospitals for all citizens, not just the patients with "good" insurance. Our healthcare system is unjust for the reason that people without health insurance or those who can't get health insurance just as likely had fathers and grandfathers who laid on the sands of Normandy and Iwo Jima, and who themselves or their sons and daughters are serving in the Armed Forces today. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Our health system is unjust because of huge profit taking. Health insurance executives don't worry about going bankrupt from getting sick. Forbes reports that two Healthcare Insurance Corporation CEO's made $121 million and $77 million respectively in the last five years. While the medical / health insurance and pharmaceutical industries make billions in private profits, our citizens are lining up at a county fair in western Kentucky, in neglected health, with their teeth rotting from their heads, just to be cared for at a free medical/dental clinic set up in animal stalls in a barn.<br /><br />I've often wondered why educated people and our leaders cannot see the injustice of our healthcare system. In a historical context however, it is inconceivable to think that the man who wrote "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", as he looked out his window he could see his slaves working in his fields.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">To right the injustices perpetrated by the British against his countrymen, Thomas Jefferson would write the words which lent justification and strength to his fellow patriots to fight the world's most powerful army and navy. However, Jefferson's quill had not the power to convince his countrymen to right an injustice perpetrated by themselves against another people. This would be a conflagration for another time, another generation.<br /><br />Let us encourage our congresswomen and men to have the moral courage to pass legislation long overdue, to create equality in health care. They should establish a national healthcare insurance plan as a civil right of American citizenship.<br /><br />Some say that we don't want a Canadian or British style healthcare system. I say let's make America's healthcare system look like the United States space program compared to Britain's or Canada's! Ours would soar like an eagle!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Thomas Jefferson's last words in the Declaration of Independence now ring out as a living document for us today. "And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor."<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span>My dad isn't so poor that he's having to get care in an animal stall. But like those Western Kentuckians and insurance company CEOs, he's worked hard and paid his taxes. Expectedly, there will be a disparity in the houses they live in and the cars they drive. But as a Christian, I can't view one of their bodies as less valuable than the others. I value my soul too much.<br /><br /></blockquuote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-87290377882248086132009-10-23T10:22:00.000-07:002009-10-23T10:57:53.448-07:00About the "Women are Unhappy" study<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSII2HZSkT_pTc_IrHVuE3qHDWMhqBOf2CxtBgM_-K5DR1wtzkFQRdKFLs9CTMrfFi4HNXAR1Tw2yi4zqKw8i2psnQwq2uU1p96meo2y-tndI4AEY4W-KJQhlfYjO4E52z0Gu5zkL/s1600-h/unhappy-t13470.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOSII2HZSkT_pTc_IrHVuE3qHDWMhqBOf2CxtBgM_-K5DR1wtzkFQRdKFLs9CTMrfFi4HNXAR1Tw2yi4zqKw8i2psnQwq2uU1p96meo2y-tndI4AEY4W-KJQhlfYjO4E52z0Gu5zkL/s200/unhappy-t13470.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395855161838648146" border="0" /></a>I really appreciated this study (<a href="http://bpp.wharton.upenn.edu/betseys/papers/Paradox%20of%20declining%20female%20happiness.pdf" target="_blank">more on it here</a>) when it came out, which essentially states that women are generally unhappier since the women's movement of the '70s (findings exception: black women).<br /><br />Then I was bewildered by the response to it, most of which drew that women are unhappy <span style="font-style: italic;">because</span> of the strides in equality we've made. Total Alice in Wonderland conclusion. <a href="http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/when-were-equal-well-be-happy/?8ty&emc=ty" target="_blank">A post by Judy Warner on <span style="font-style: italic;">New York Times</span>' Domestic Disturbance blog</a> explains the real reasons. A pull-out summary if you're not in the mood to read the whole thing, but I encourage you to read it-read it and decide what you think (a mixture others' quotes she uses in the post and her own):<br /><br />"The opening up, diversifying and expanding of women’s sphere of existence may have given them more things to potentially be unhappy about ..."<br /><br />"The wage gap persists, particularly for mothers, who now earn 73 cents for every man’s dollar. Our workforce and education system is still sex-segregated, operating along generations-old stereotypes that steer most women into low-paid, low-status, low-security professions. Women pay more for health insurance than men, have more extensive health needs than men, and suffer unique forms of discrimination in their coverage. (Women may be denied coverage because they had a Caesarean delivery or were victims of domestic violence — both 'preexisting conditions.') Regardless of the number of hours they work, they continue to do far more caretaking and housekeeping work at home than do their husbands. And discrimination against mothers (but not fathers) in the workplace is all but ubiquitous."<br /><br />"Entering the world of men may very well have raised the bar of expectations ... greater equality may have led more women to compare their outcomes to those of the men around them. In turn, women might find their relative position lower than when their reference group included only women. ... In other words: if you expect less for yourself, you’re easier to please."<br /><br />"In public opinion surveys, women consistently rank their own <em>inequality</em>, at work and at home, among their most urgent concerns. ... If the women’s movement raised women’s expectations faster than society was able to meet them, they would be more likely to be disappointed by their actual experienced lives."<br /><br />In other words, June Cleaver wasn't happy <span style="font-style: italic;">because</span> she got to cook and clean. She was happy because she succeeded within that limited sphere.<br /><br />On a happier note: "The happiest marriages ... are those in which a couple shares egalitarian values. Men in today's world who have gone with the flow of changing roles and mores ... are healthier, closer to their wives and children, happier and … having more sex."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-3089299949747978522009-09-24T14:36:00.001-07:002009-09-25T22:30:57.719-07:00Try this in your morning coffeeThe weather here in Texas has been overcast and downright mild, making me excited about the change of season. One of my favorite ways to celebrate the change? Peppermint coffee.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzmY9rsdZe3dT_v_53C6IRxnglcOGcSUCFyk3wetGS1U8cCQASKjAvhcowYMO17BbsD4fXsF9PE2QJ0pFHo4hKirm1gjFccmUERDNp8DiQa7-HoqvM1vilcLmcz58bQZJ_eGPW93It/s1600-h/pepp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 100px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzmY9rsdZe3dT_v_53C6IRxnglcOGcSUCFyk3wetGS1U8cCQASKjAvhcowYMO17BbsD4fXsF9PE2QJ0pFHo4hKirm1gjFccmUERDNp8DiQa7-HoqvM1vilcLmcz58bQZJ_eGPW93It/s200/pepp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385155351126418754" border="0" /></a><br />When the weather is cooler, I'm able to find peppermint-flavored coffee beans at the store, or I'll drink peppermint-flavored mochas at Starbucks when I have to. In warmer weather (read: most of the year), the combination is hard to find. Then I thought, What if that useless bottle of peppermint extract I have in the cabinet would work?<br /><br />It does! Just put a couple of drops right into your brew, and there you have it folks. A yummy, steamy juxtaposition of hot and cool, right in your morning cup.<br /><br />Find peppermint extract at the grocery store on the baking aisle, alongside the vanilla extract and other flavors.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-4400330464282271012009-09-16T09:43:00.000-07:002009-09-16T21:42:24.129-07:00Jimmy Carter is the man<div class="image-box-left" style="width: 75px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3fzf0T2Q6vCnMX6_PPDFsjpdHkGFp_OqyKOoEMTMrXHrkPRtvhcqwHm5jT3-vtC-6gRibXv57jXNXW_bbiC6ugSo6Vev1h8MRptj718-xUTri_CTvNtn173pU3yYEXD9pfd0a3tz/s1600-h/carter75.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 75px; height: 75px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3fzf0T2Q6vCnMX6_PPDFsjpdHkGFp_OqyKOoEMTMrXHrkPRtvhcqwHm5jT3-vtC-6gRibXv57jXNXW_bbiC6ugSo6Vev1h8MRptj718-xUTri_CTvNtn173pU3yYEXD9pfd0a3tz/s200/carter75.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382127828523250034" border="0" /></a></div>No rocking chair for this senior citizen. Love this man. When most ex-presidents reach his age (especially of the defeated, one-term variety), they're not hauling their passion for peace and human rights around the globe to his particular intensity.<br /><br />For me personally, it's heartening to see a powerful, fellow Christian taking stances on sexism, racism and the death penalty because his relationship with Christ compels him to, even though it won't boost his stock in the evangelical Christian world.<br /><br /><div><iframe src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/32873590#32873590" frameborder="0" height="339" scrolling="no" width="425"></iframe><p style="background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-size: 11px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); margin-top: 5px; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; text-align: center; width: 425px;">Visit msnbc.com for <a style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(153, 153, 153) ! important; text-decoration: none ! important; font-weight: normal ! important; height: 13px; color: rgb(87, 153, 219) ! important;" href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/">Breaking News</a>, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032507" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(153, 153, 153) ! important; text-decoration: none ! important; font-weight: normal ! important; height: 13px; color: rgb(87, 153, 219) ! important;">World News</a>, and <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted rgb(153, 153, 153) ! important; text-decoration: none ! important; font-weight: normal ! important; height: 13px; color: rgb(87, 153, 219) ! important;">News about the Economy</a></p></div>As detailed in the video above, Pres. Carter is not content to pretend the South doesn't have the problems with which it's still plagued — it's an elder's job to chastise the younger generations' errant ways, is it not? He doesn't neglect the duty. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/15/carter.obama/index.html">He points out</a> what most of us already know but are too timid and in denial to admit. The South is still mired in latent racism. Anyone who a) lives in Texas/the South, and b) doesn't operate in a state of willful blindness knows this.<br /><br />You know when you're in Wal-Mart, and there's a toddler in the same aisle who's pitching a wild-eyed fit, but all the mom does is silently detach or, to the most, lamely request, "Now, now, Breanna; please try to be quiet for mommy"? That's not Jimmy Carter. But he's not the opposite, either — we've already seen how much change the take-no-prisoners cowboy routine actually affects. It's his sound, gentle, yet unapologetic rebuke of the world's pink elephants that makes him such a national treasure.<br /><br />The man is 84 years old. <span style="font-style: italic;">84</span>. Still sharp as a blade, crazily articulate, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, AND he's a deacon and life-long Baptist Sunday school teacher. (Totally irrelevant trivia: He's Elvis Presley's fifth cousin and is related to Motown founder Barry Gordy, Jr. on his mom's side.) And let's talk about <a target="_blank" href="http://hnn.us/blogs/entries/31513.html">this man's IQ</a>. He's one of the top five most intelligent U.S. presidents, just below John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton, and just above the smart likes of Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. For perspective, George W. Bush's IQ, based on his highest score, is in the bottom two, just above Grant. Just sayin'.<br /><br />He's thought to be one of only two U.S. presidents (along with Nixon) who's been faithful to his wife (I think that came from the book <span style="font-style: italic;">White House Confidential</span>; let me know if I'm wrong). He's simply one of the most respectable statesmen this country has.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijk8wo85mn8WQHOPqhqtlzebPuV7glyXuhtit0AbF83bNhJAmKH41Dc3rsYLt0x0H3Ahd46-ax2-HBcLvvGeOwlM4EU5viVih6g-6AAU3y7OVbRMLTIfh17iBzkTn5rK-3A0D-p68y/s1600-h/Jimmy_Carter_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 130px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijk8wo85mn8WQHOPqhqtlzebPuV7glyXuhtit0AbF83bNhJAmKH41Dc3rsYLt0x0H3Ahd46-ax2-HBcLvvGeOwlM4EU5viVih6g-6AAU3y7OVbRMLTIfh17iBzkTn5rK-3A0D-p68y/s200/Jimmy_Carter_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382131241475510866" border="0" /></a>Yet he continually endures insults of "irrelevant," even though he's made it his life's purpose to do nothing but work on the most relevant issues of our time. Instead of his detractors attempting to reach his intellectual plane and form legit counters to his views, you're likely to hear that "<a target="_blank" href="http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3939210/Re_Jimmy_Carter_officially_sen">Jimmy Carter's officially senile</a>!" from too many of them. He's constantly chided to quietly fade into the past like a good, elderly ex-president should.<br /><br />Well, not this grandpa.<br /><br />I hope to be half as fearless and active when I reach his age.<br /><br />Viva las old folks who refuse to diminish!!<br /><br /><u>Jimmy Carter primer:</u><br />• <a target="_blank" href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/jimmy_carter/index.html">Jimmy Carter topic page on NYT</a><br />• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/losing-my-religion-for-equality-20090714-dk0v.html?page=-1">Losing my religion for equality: Women and girls have been discriminated against for too long in a twisted interpretation of the word of God</a><br />• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.straight.com/article-245073/expresident-no-other-jimmy-carter-passionate-feminist">An ex-president like no other: Jimmy Carter, the passionate feminist</a><br />• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/us/politics/16carter.html?_r=1">Carter sees racism in Wilson outburst</a><br />• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cartercenter.org/homepage.html">The Carter Center</a><br />• <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter">His wiki page</a><br />• <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_sq_top?ie=UTF8&keywords=jimmy%20carter%20author&index=blended&pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0743284577&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0NJCY0EYPHF72QSYKXK7">An Amazon list of his books</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-54533169199984716292009-08-24T20:00:00.000-07:002009-08-24T21:05:38.164-07:00Year One: MarriageYesterday Brian and I marked one year of marriage. I have many things to learn yet, but I've gathered a few gems along the way.<br /><ul><li>Men are better at housekeeping than women give them credit for.</li><li>The storied "honeymoon phase" is fiction. The whole first six months, if not the whole year, is an extended adjustment period. I went through plenty of negative but necessary emotions: fear, grief over the loss my former self as I knew her, anger, confusion. It was all part of transforming from a single individual to a married team member.</li><li>The change that I didn't expect to have such an impact: sleeping in the same bed with another person every night. It seems so insignificant. But after 32 years of sleeping alone, it was quite a shock to my mind and body.</li><li>It's frighteningly easy to forgo all social life in lieu of just slumming it at home with your spouse in front of the TV.</li><li>Getting married does not, in fact, cause a supernatural mind meld that seamlessly merges your two sets of ideas, hopes, tastes and values. Intellectually, I knew this. But in my subconscious, where all the world's subtle suggestions about what women should expect from life are buried, I felt we would automatically snap to the same page beginning Aug. 23, 2008. Not so.</li><li>It's cliche because it's true: If both spouses don't actively participate in frequent, open, honest communication, the marriage is either doomed for misery or for failure.<br /></li></ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGGV8ukoKBZbb4uxbxXfP_byRghA_Rf3Go7SgEyg12gYyxDkl159FVGx3WDLgT8dmBomCc1LFwLQtpJywC_cSo7EwJtvqc5tjs3qco2AOgFseD_O7kiourZgI01CYbtbQeaz4rBGE/s1600-h/pic.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 5px 5px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 156px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRGGV8ukoKBZbb4uxbxXfP_byRghA_Rf3Go7SgEyg12gYyxDkl159FVGx3WDLgT8dmBomCc1LFwLQtpJywC_cSo7EwJtvqc5tjs3qco2AOgFseD_O7kiourZgI01CYbtbQeaz4rBGE/s200/pic.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373746175187708930" /></a>And that's why I'm glad Brian is willing more than any man on earth to work against the grain of his sex: he tries his blessed best to communicate, and he does the dishes. While we still battle the realness of marriage from time to time, these two qualities let me know everything's going to be all right.<br /><br />Love you, babe.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-60119706977216031192009-08-21T08:16:00.000-07:002009-08-21T15:27:37.539-07:00Dallas restaurants, please don't listen to the new restaurant critic<span style="font-style: italic;">The Dallas Morning News</span>' restaurant critic, Leslie Brenner, has been here all of six months. And she's got our dining scene <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/0816glsunlede.1ce886b.html">all figured out</a>.<br /><br />She came from L.A., and I agree with parts of her assessment about how Dallas can become a better restaurant city, like using more local produce and offering more fruit desserts alongside all the chocolate. She says a few nice things about our scene and starts off by ticking off the main Dallas hoods — "<span class="vitstorybody"><span class="vitstorybody">Uptown, downtown, Oak Lawn, the Arts District, the Park Cities, Bishop Arts District" — to show that she <span style="font-style: italic;">knows</span> us, complimenting our "vibrancy" because we eat out for lunch.</span></span><br /><br />I am not a critic and I am not a foodie. But I laughed while I read this column, because it screams, "Why isn't Dallas doing things the way I'm used to?" It's all the funnier because it's written by a fresh-from-the-airport transplant from L.A. Her big gripe, that our chefs and restaurateurs are giving Dallasites what they want.<br /><br />Counter: Dallas restaurateurs, do not listen to her; please continue giving me what I want: good food, not high art. I will simply stop visiting you if this changes.<br /><br />I want to believe she only means that we should look to other cities to emulate how they've carved out a reputation for themselves. But the column reads like she's suggesting we actually de-Dallas ourselves. I don't know why in the world we'd want to do that.<br /><br />Leslie sounds like a bad American tourist in a foreign city, wondering why everyone's doing things differently and upsetting her comfort cart. I've never heard a critic come out and say quite as straight as she does that a city should, essentially, study other large cities' restaurants and copy them. That wouldn't make us better; that would make us lame.<br /><br />She seems to be experiencing a bit of lost-in-translation culture confusion. She says servers at sushi restaurants here are confused when she wants to order directly from the chef. Perhaps they're confused because that's not a <span style="font-style: italic;">thing</span> here. The chef wouldn't have conveyed to your server which fish is good? Maybe that's customary in sushi restaurants elsewhere, but from a local's perspective, it's seems like a big waste of everyone's time. We can be pretty pretentious here, but I can't imagine my boring question of "What fish is good today?" as being so important that I would need to drag the chef away from his or her work of conjuring up the exciting, New York-flavored dishes you admonish them to provide us, when I could simply ask my waiter.<br /><br />She also gets offended when she's left food on her plate and the server doesn't ask her what's up with that. Maybe I can lend a regional lesson here as well. Sure, some servers will subtly inquire, but generally they don't ask why you've left food on your plate because it's none of their business. Maybe you became full before finishing, maybe you're trying to lose weight, maybe you get gas if you consume too much wheat flour, maybe the portions are simply too large to prudently complete. Consider it regional manners that they're not asking. We tend to be a little more independent here, so if a meal is that bad, don't be a wallflower about it. Leslie does remind us that diners have a responsibility to say something if the food isn't working for them, but she says this right after boo-hooing that servers don't do the asking. She advises servers, "Pay attention to what diners are silently telling you." Honey, we don't silently tell anyone anything. Restaurateurs know this.<br /><br />She also says our chefs should travel (could she <span style="font-style: italic;">be</span> more condescending. Why does she assume they <span style="font-style: italic;">don't</span> travel? Because we're in Texas and Texans don't travel?) and that creme brulee is <span style="font-style: italic;">so</span> 1994 (if we enjoy a dessert and it works, we're not going to care if it's from 1884 or 3004).<br /><br />My gripe about the Dallas dining (and nightlife) scene is that it wants to be L.A. and New York so badly. It takes itself a little too seriously and behaves like a wealthy yet self-conscious teenager at NorthPark, constantly wondering who's looking at her and trying too hard. Dallas needs to do Dallas and stop trying so desperately to be somewhere else. It's not charming and erodes regional identity. Let's explore (the <span style="font-style: italic;">so</span> 1980s) Southwestern cuisine further. Let's make ourselves known for the Dallas flavor we blend with other styles, too, like vegan, Asian, Brazilian, Italian.<br /><br />When my mother made spaghetti and other pasta growing up, the sauce contained ground hamburger meat and jalapenos with a side of garlic Texas toast and salad with Ranch dressing. Borrow from a region's ratatouille, and the people will love you. Borrowing too heavily from another region only further prevents Dallas from forming a unique identity outside of that dang-blasted TV show we're known for. Being innovative means exploring regional spins on established cuisines. I imagine that travelers visiting with us would like to experience how Dallas does Korean, not how another city does Korean.<br /><br />Along with regional spins, I'm down with classic, authentic flavors of French, Italian, etc., and I'm not going to fault a restaurant that doesn't get freaky with the <span class="vitstorybody"><span class="vitstorybody">tapas and paella. When I eat Spanish, that's what I want.</span></span><br /><br />But mostly you're going to find me at very North Texas eateries, like El Ranchito, Manny's Tex-Mex, Joe T.'s and Spiral Diner. They give me what I want, which is a mix of comfort <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> new experiences.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-85808234112069044842009-08-19T11:50:00.000-07:002009-08-19T13:54:48.698-07:00A life geography lesson for us wanderlustersOn a spiritual tip ...<br /><br />Lately I've been dealing with an issue that I've struggled with off and on since I was very young. It's not an issue unique to me. Depression slyly tricks someone into thinking that THIS particular bout of melancholy affects <span style="font-style: italic;">only</span> me, magnifying the suckiness. But many of you have wrestled with this.<br /><br />I'm talking about spiritual wanderlust. That feeling that you've missed the bus of your life's calling. You'd be more than glad to get on, but you have no idea when the bus is coming back around, what other part of town to run to so you can catch it there, or if there's an alternate bus you can take that will route you to your heaven-prescribed destination.<br /><br />So <a href="http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/2009/08/600-asking-god-geography-questions.html" target="_blank">this post</a> on one of my favorite blogs, Stuff Christians Like, was a balm to read today.<br /><br />I grew up in a faith tradition that taught God has a divine purpose for each and every person on earth, partly based on Jeremiah 1:5 and 29:11:<br />• <span>Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart, I appointed you as a prophet to the nations</span>.<br />• <span>"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."</span><br /><br />God was speaking specifically to Jeremiah and to Israel here, yes. But we were taught that God's plans extend to the individual, and that he has a special mission for anyone who believes. Words and phrases from the keyword cloud of my religious upbringing include "pursue God's will for your life," "purpose," "your calling," "divine appointment." What has God called <span style="font-style: italic;">you</span> to do with your life?<br /><br />The filters on my young ears picked up these messages as a direct message from God: "Christy, you're kind of a big deal. One day you're going to do something so spectacular, so significant, there's not even going to be room for your awesomeness on this planet. I'll have to move you to another planet just to fit all of your crazy-massive works of ending hunger, stopping deforestation, discovering unknown tribes through your jungle adventures and providing them medical care and clean water. I'll name the planet 'St. Christicus,' because you'll have the LEAD ROLE in my grand, eternal scheme. Big plans, Christy — BIG PLANS."<br /><br />I wanted my divine itinerary, stat! Move out of the way — me and God are going to <span style="font-style: italic;">do</span> things! But as the years passed, I never discovered God's specific will for my life or or heard from him in the miraculous, direct way I imagined about what, exactly, I should be doing with this existence he gave me.<br /><br />Fast-forward to now. I've since decided that God uses you where you are and that our contributions can, in fact, be small and impactful at the same time. God isn't a giant project manager in the sky handing out assignments and deadlines, writing you up for missing meetings that he never put on your Outlook calendar. We don't have to actually <span style="font-style: italic;">do</span> anything, in the sense that we control God's calling on our lives. Just serve him, be open and he will direct the show.<br /><br />Still. My mom and dad used to be foreign missionaries and pastors, and my mom just recently retired from 25+ years of being an elementary teacher at Christian schools. My sister works in the field of social work, heading the mental health division of a local children's home. My brother and sister-in-law have pastored the same church for 25 years and have touched countless of lives in their community.<br /><br />My upbringing, my relationship with God today, my family, and maybe even my temperament, to an extent, have all conspired to "set eternity in my heart." This is a wonderful thing — if I knew what to do with it. Don't get me wrong; I've done good things in my life, but nothing compared with the "big deal" dream of my adolescence. Recurring residual tugs in my heart periodically whisper, "There's something <span style="font-style: italic;">else</span> you should be doing, you trite web producer, you."<br /><br />When I'm sorting through this over-<span style="font-style: italic;">eternalizing</span> invasion of the mind, I focus on training my perspective back to street-level instead of constantly viewing the world from a spiritual perch somewhere in outerspace, like I'm trying to do now. That's why what Prodigal John said today over on <a href="http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Stuff Christians Like</a> grabbed my attention:<br /><br /><blockquote>The idea of "place" has been something I've been wrestling with a lot lately. I've got this overwhelming feeling that God wants me somewhere else. Whether that's a product of immaturity or selfishness, there's a part of me that loves to focus on there instead of here. ... It's always sexier to think your mission in life is going to involve some sort of adventure with a rope ladder over a ranging river full of piranha as you carry a vaccine and the hope of the gospel to a lost tribe of people that will eventually give you a wicked cool village nickname (mine would be Rik-Rok) and perhaps your own machete. It's a lot less fun to think that maybe you're already in a mission field and the annoying guy who you pass TPS reports to, the guy who sits near you in a sea of cubicles, the sniffler, yeah that guy, he needs to know about the love of God.<br /><br />I get caught up in that attitude and when I do, I eventually start peppering God with geography questions. ... Where do you want me? This doesn't feel like where I'm supposed to be God, can you please give me a sign? Can you tell me where you want me to go? Is this job, is this relationship, is this church, is this city where you want me to be?<br /><br />.. Do you know the first answer God always gives when we say, "God where do you want me to go?"<br /><br />"In my presence. ... I've got other destinations planned for you, far off places and close to home addresses that you can't even imagine, but every destination, every adventure begins with the same starting location, in my presence."</blockquote><div style="text-align: center;">- end -</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-33998436821093215462009-08-13T18:13:00.001-07:002009-08-19T13:59:35.585-07:00Good Dallas jernts to take the laptop + work<p>Since starting to work from "home" in July, I've discovered some good spots suitable for working, with free wifi that fulfills the "gotta get out of this kitchen chair or my butt is going to fall off" objective. Notice that Starbucks is nowhere on this list ($10 to fire up my laptop each time? I'm trying to <span style="font-style: italic;">make</span> money here).<br /><br />• <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://beckleybrewhouse.com/bbh/Default.aspx" target="_blank">Beckley Brewhouse</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1111 N. Beckley Ave (Beckley at Zang Blvd), N. Oak Cliff. Next door to <a href="http://www.spiraldiner.com/" target="_blank">Sprial Diner</a>.</span><br /><iframe marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=1111+N+Beckley+Ave,+Dallas,+TX+75203&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=30.875284,93.076172&ie=UTF8&ll=32.756964,-96.823239&spn=0.002707,0.003219&z=16&iwloc=A&output=embed" frameborder="0" height="200" scrolling="no" width="200"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=1111+N+Beckley+Ave,+Dallas,+TX+75203&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=30.875284,93.076172&ie=UTF8&ll=32.756964,-96.823239&spn=0.002707,0.003219&z=16&iwloc=A" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small><br />One of the Cliff's best gems, and it's not even in the Bishop Arts District. Very neighborhood. The small converted crack house is now an adorable restaurant, coffee bar and regular (alkie) bar, all in a space the size of your living room. Best cheese fries, good burgers. A motley mix of normal folks. Heavy on post-shift nurses and doctors from nearby Methodist hospital. Great patio. Short story — I came in this evening for a coffee and to get some work done. No dice. Sitting in the cushy chairs across from me were two older black men who just got off work, Arthur and Bernie. Surrounded by piles of Miller Lite bottles. They immediately started talking to me like we all go way back. I'm always initially shy in situations like this, plus I was, um, trying to work. This did not deter them. I heard all about their world travels together throughout the decades, about growing up in separate but equal days of East Texas, about chasing women in the '60s, about the prostate cancer Arthur's been beating for the past 30 years. People coming in said hi and asked where they'd been lately. That kind of place.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">• </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://thepearlcup.com/" target="_blank">The Pearl Cup Espresso Bar</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">North Henderson and McMillan</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Off Central Expressway, exit Knox/Henderson and go east. Keep going til you reach McMillan; you'll see it on the left.</span><br /><iframe marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=North+Henderson+and+McMillan+%2B+dallas,+tx&sll=32.758804,-96.823239&sspn=0.007994,0.022724&ie=UTF8&ll=32.822264,-96.770496&spn=0.014426,0.017166&z=14&iwloc=A&output=embed" frameborder="0" height="200" scrolling="no" width="200"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=North+Henderson+and+McMillan+%2B+dallas,+tx&sll=32.758804,-96.823239&sspn=0.007994,0.022724&ie=UTF8&ll=32.822264,-96.770496&spn=0.014426,0.017166&z=14&iwloc=A" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small><br />This is a hot spot for coffee right now in an area that used to be considered the grittier cousin of chichi Knox Street but is slowly becoming just as Knoxy as the west side of Central. Thankfully, "hot spot" in this case doesn't mean "filled with that famous, loathesome, Uptown douchebag vibe." The owners, workers and clientele are a mixture of urban, soccer-dad, unpretentious and friendly. Can't beat that combo in these here parts. They're really friendly to the laptop crowd; there's like 15 electrical outlets per customer. Supposedly they've got a latte that'll freak you out, but I haven't had it yet (I'm a black coffee or Americano girl). Right now a small construction crew is doing something to the patio (expanding, hopefully), so it appears like there's no parking. Just go around back, where there's plenty.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">• </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.itsagrind.com/index.php" target="_blank">It's a Grind Coffee House</a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2901 Indiana Blvd, Deep Ellum. It's located on the ground level of the Ambrose apartment buidling. Just park inside.</span><br /><iframe marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=2901+Indiana+Blvd+%2B+dallas,+tx&sll=32.812418,-96.774724&sspn=0.007989,0.022724&ie=UTF8&ll=32.795356,-96.777706&spn=0.01443,0.017166&z=14&output=embed" frameborder="0" height="200" scrolling="no" width="200"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=embed&hl=en&geocode=&q=2901+Indiana+Blvd+%2B+dallas,+tx&sll=32.812418,-96.774724&sspn=0.007989,0.022724&ie=UTF8&ll=32.795356,-96.777706&spn=0.01443,0.017166&z=14" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-align: left;">View Larger Map</a></small><br />It's a chain, but this one's in Deep Ellum. Now hold up, chain snobs; this ain't no Buck Star Inc. It's a Grind is part of the Demeter Project. That essentially means it treats its employees well — livable pay, benefits. As the Observer puts it in <a href="http://www.dallasobserver.com/2009-07-16/news/it-s-a-grind-in-deep-ellum-is-more-than-just-a-coffee-shop-it-s-a-sanctuary-for-second-chances/" target="_blank">this story</a> from July, it employs "asylum seekers, immigrants, victims of domestic violence, ex-convicts, reformed prostitutes, former drug users, pretty much anyone in dire need of a second chance." Totally worthy, even if the coffee isn't great, which it's not. Atmosphere is better: large paintings of jazz greats decorate the wall, like Ella Fitzgerald and others I can't remember the name of in spite of wanting to be cool for knowing them. Fireplace. Coffee refills are 50 cents, but that's ok. Smart placement: It's located directly on the about-to-blow-up DART Green Line.<br /><br />There are other places, like Murray Street Coffee in Deep Ellum. But I haven't been there recently enough to comment on it. Any other suggestions?</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-87599964949336066662009-07-26T17:13:00.001-07:002009-07-26T21:22:23.303-07:00My Mayborn weekendI'm talking about the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference in Grapevine, sponsored by UNT's Mayborn Graduate School of Journalism. I attended Friday and Saturday's events, but I decided to skip Sunday for a variety of reasons, among which were not because the conference itself lacked gems and good times.<br /><br />The conference came at a great time in my professional life. I quit my web production job at a magazine about two weeks ago to venture back into writing, and the 31 hours of lectures, literary ambiance, old friends, new contacts and an always-available supply of coffee and cheeses gave me a needed shot in my writing hand (and my brain's motivation lobe).<br /><br />Highlights. This is from memory — my personal notes are over there in the dining room.<br /><br />Friday night's Southwest Soiree kicked things off. Well, for most of us it did — friends Marissa and Joanna spent the day at writing workshops getting feedback on their contest entries, and friend Stella traveled to Archer City with a Mayborn entourage to spend time with Larry McMurtry. Later at the soiree, the opening comments of "Welcome to Texas!" clued me in that this conference now drew writers from a much wider geographic boundary than last time I attended, back when it was still a little North Texas gathering.<br /><br />The night's keynote: Paul Theroux, a big deal in travel writing and author of books like <i>Mosquito Coast</i> (I vaguely remember the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091557/">'80s movie</a> made of it starring Harrison Ford). Things he said about himself, his travels and writing-in-general that grabbed me:<br /><ul><li>Growing up as a Boy Scout in rural Massachusetts made him as much of a writer as reading books did.</li><li>His father taking him and his six siblings to places of local historical interest gave him a sense of place and belonging.<br /></li><li>Spending most of the '60s in Africa with the Peace Corps gave him an extraordinary view of the U.S. during that tumultuous decade.</li><li>When people don't travel, they can end up with a perverse idea of what is normal.</li><li>Writers are deeply-affected people. Conferences like the Mayborn are often like "Mental Illness Theater."</li><li>Writing the truth is prophetic. When he was in China, he simply wrote about the feelings, effects, and the players in the scenes of what he experienced. The truth. A year later, Tiananmen Square happened. Looking back, it reads as if he was writing the opening chapter of this time in Chinese history. In a way, he was. Truth will do that.</li></ul>Time with the girls — Marissa, Stella, Beth, Joanna, Leila — at the Hilton's Bonnie & Clyde bar. We tried to get the DJ to play "Smooth Criminal" but apparently it was against Bonnie & Clyde policy. Split a big, comfy room with Beth.<br /><br />On Saturday I only woke up in time to be late to the third of 10 lectures of the day. DMN's Alfredo Corchado and Dianne Solis. Their beats render fiction completely unnecessary. Notable:<br /><ul><li>Alfredo and photog Erich Schlegel had a bet about who could find the most interesting story from the Texas/Mexico border. Erich later called Alfredo on the phone, trying to communicate against loud singing in the background. Alfredo told Erich to turn the radio down. Erich replied, "Man, that's the damn story!" <b>Story:</b> Nov. 2007, <i>The Dallas Morning News</i> — <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/world/mexico/stories/111507dnintcanyonsinger.2ab2e5d.html">Mexican balladeer sings to save vanishing village</a></li><li>Alfredo talked a lot about the drug trade between Mexico and the U.S. He showed a photo of a man in one village kneeling at a shrine to <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Muerte">Santa Muerte</a>, which communicated everything about the danger and death Mexican drug culture has created. </li><li>He told about being in a village eatery and hearing what sounded like two men discussing their next murder, in Spanish. It dawned on him that it was someone's cell phone. He thought it was someone's sick, isolated idea of a funny ringtone. The next time he went to Mexico City, he heard the exact same ringtone on another person's phone. Drugs are affecting Mexican life and culture in some unexpected ways.</li><li>The headline to a similarly-themed story he wrote for DMN read "Wasting Away in Margaritaville," which one attendee pointed out during the Q&A as evidence that the media still isn't taking this topic seriously, and that it's even evidence of latent racism.</li><li>Alfredo said about a half-dozen sources for his stories have been assassinated. That weighs heavily on him.</li></ul>A lighter respite: <span style="font-style: italic;">Houston Chronicle</span>'s beauty and fashion writer, Joy Sewing. She talked about how fashion is a decision everyone makes every day, and how newspaper journalists have gone from <i>feeling</i> like we're selling out to advertisers to giving up and just selling out. Documentary filmmakers Allen and Cynthia Mondell showed footage from a doc that tells the story of how Dallas, despite of its lackluster contribution to state history, scored the Texas State Fair, thanks to the Lone Star can-do (and money) of Mayor R.L. Thornton. The doc also reminds us of another state mystery: The fond place deep in our hearts for the Creepiest Texan Ever — Big Tex.<br /><br />Skip Hollandsworth and Mike Hall of <span style="font-style: italic;">Texas Monthly</span>. They were entertaining, but really only one nugget jumped out at me. Mike, a music writer, told how someone asked him why he also writes about ex-cons and other stories from the criminal justice system. His answer made sense: As a music writer, he enjoys doing stories about lost causes, like DJ Screw and Townes Van Zandt. It was natural to be interested in lost-cause people caught up in the criminal justice system, too.<br /><br />Stephanie Elizondo Griest — what a trip. She's a gorgeous vagabond memoirist (with a journalist's standards, JAMES FREY) who's excitable by nature, smiles freely and has traveled and written more in her young life more than most people — shoot, writers — will during their entire lives. Bullets:<br /><ul><li>Being a memoirist means you'll lose friends.</li><li>It also means you'll lose your privacy. You're bearing your life to the world, so readers think they know you. Like, really know-know you.</li><li>As a memorist, you become a really good expert at ... you. It's hard to specialize in any one topic like most other writers/journalists.</li><li>"All writers need to do their 'New York' time."</li><li>She always jumps on an opportunity. Fodder for memoirs comes from the stuff of life. She's always thinking in terms of "this would be great for a memoir."<br /></li><li>She ended with a really funny, high-strung story that involved her naked, the Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas, a fire, her laptop, a stairwell, Ira Glass, her copious hair going berserk right along with her, and her assessment in a robe that this was "going to make a really great story."</li></ul>Next was the sleeper of the conference, I think: Roger Thurow, foreign correspondent for the <i>Wall Street Journal</i>. Wrote the book <i><a target="_blank" href="http://www.enoughthebook.com/">Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty</a></i>. His lecture was called "Consumed by Hunger" — and he is. A fairly subdued temperament couldn't suppress the missionary spirit inside this author. I'll have to do a whole post alone on this lecture and the ways in which it struck me. He didn't talk much about the mechanics of writing but about the conviction he felt to reverse the injustice of hunger. The desire to change the world for the better through writing — we as journalists get that. He's bleeding-heart + hard-core — a powerful combination. His mission to expose the causes of world hunger is an example of what this journalism thing is all about. It's exactly what earned him the only standing ovation of the day.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Vogue</span>/<span style="font-style: italic;">Newsweek</span> contributing editor Julia Reed and <span style="font-style: italic;">Atlantic Monthly </span>contributing editor Roy Blount Jr. — folksy, fun, insightful lectures.<br /><ul><li>She said that all disasters in the South happen to guys named either Donnie or Dwayne. She keeps a "Dwayne" file for literary anecdotes in her Southern writing.</li><li>It's ok to digress. Sometimes you have to. Once she had to write about iceberg lettuce, and it would have been boring as all get-out if she hadn't included an old funny anecdote that had only slightly something to do with iceberg lettuce.</li><li>Southerners have an interesting penchant for accepting life as a mysterious force that doles out unexplained happenings. Like, instead of a man having a heart attack because he didn't take care of himself, it's because "His blood just up-and-backed-up on him." It's a subtle, almost charming evasion of responsibility. (She could say these things. She's from Mississippi and has the drawl to prove it.)</li><li>Roy Blount was a riot. Heavy accent, too, ("we were standing there in our <span style="font-style: italic;">tux-</span>ee<span style="font-style: italic;">-</span>duhs"), but paired with a heady subject: give your readers' mental tongues something pleasant to caress, to play with. Something with texture.</li><li>He gave the word "piss" as a good example of how a word's phonetic sound and the sound of the word's active experience <span style="font-style: italic;">feel</span> interrelated. The physicality of words — give readers something mentally crunchy, something to wrestle with. That was fine and well, but then the point devolved from there. The adorable elderly man with the thick accent went on and on with it — "piss" this and "piss" that and vividly describing orifices and sphincters and the audience cracking up into giggles and me wondering "OMG are we really talking about this?" He didn't bore while making his point, for sure.</li></ul>Then a trip to the hotel room for a quick rinse and change for the Literary Lights Dinner. Sleeveless black satin cocktail dress with slight boat neck that shortened when I sat down (forgot to do the sit-down test in the dressing room, ugh). Good thing I paired it with flats. Heels would have turned me into the Literary Tramp Fest.<br /><br />Squealing-, screaming-girl moment of the night: the announcement that Marissa won first place in the writing competition's research and reporting category for her Blue Angels story. I'm really proud of her.<br /><br />The keynote: Ira Glass of "This American Life" fame. Yes, he's a radio guy, but we didn't care. We love his show. Hearing that famous voice in person was so ... pleasantly weird. He told some great stories, gave some great insight.<br /><br />Later during the author book signing, I stood in line with Leila so she could get his sig (latest book, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/New-Kings-Nonfiction-Ira-Glass/dp/1594482675"><span style="font-style: italic;">The New Kings of Nonfiction</span></a>). I was struck by how warm he was with each and every person, chatting them up, offering a story, writing lengthy, personal ditties in every book. And I was surprised about how hot he is, too. Don't tell Brian I said that.<br /><br />We spent the rest of the evening at Bonnie & Clyde's. I talked with DMN arts/lifestyles editor Mike Merschel about the paper, family, adoption. Marissa and I got upside-down outside, trying to find her cell phone underneath the driver's side seat of her car. I resisted calls to share a bottle of champagne with the girls (I needed to leave!). I announced to the table on multiple occasions that "Yes, I'm coming back tomorrow — I'm saying this out loud, so I have to do it."<br /><br />It's been a great weekend, even if I did cut it short. Looking forward to reading the two books I bought: <span style="font-style: italic;">Mosquito Coast</span> and Alan Weisman's <span style="font-style: italic;">The World Without Us</span>.<br /><br />Shoutout to my sweet husband for driving my new business cards that just came in all the way to Grapevine for me Saturday. Mwah.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-59631256825290909942009-06-18T21:43:00.001-07:002009-06-18T21:48:15.809-07:00Back and black!<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><span style="font-family:sans-serif;">Ok not really. I'm just as white as I was since the last time I posted. But I am, in fact, back.<br /><br />Got a story for you. It was time for an eyebrow wax (BOY was it time). Brian and I stopped off at my favorite Vietnamese nail salon before our run after work yesterday.<br /><br />Now, my hairy sisters will hear me on this. Getting waxed = getting skinned. Delicate facial skin needs some love after a wax or it'll break out. It gets angry. But I have tactics.<br /><br />One of them is unscented deodorant gel. I swipe it with my finger and apply to the angry area. Whatever powers it has at killing bacteria also helps keep irritation at bay.<br /><br />Except this time I applied the gel right before taking a shower. I squeezed my eyes shut, leaned back and rinsed my hair. Then I leaned forward, opened my eyes and ... I had deodorant eyes. It ran into my eyes, and I had dadgum Mitchum For Women on my dadgum eyeballs. It wasn't painful, but anti-moisture product + body part that needs moisture = no can see.<br /><br />A mini-freakout, 47 eyedrop applications and a day later, I'm still seeing things in soft-focus. But it's better.<br /><br />My eyebrows look nice.<br /></span><br /><br /></div>Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15196699723422154158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-15003875945045189822008-04-23T14:30:00.000-07:002008-04-23T15:26:49.098-07:00LatelyMonday I went to Uptown Pub to visit with Tiffani. Her fiance Ryan works there. It was nice seeing them interact casually even though he was at work. They can still talk in bytes, touch each other's hands on his way to deliver a drink. A positive example of erasing the borders between work and life, in a way. They're getting married two weeks before Bri and me, and they won't quite be back from their honeymoon to S. Africa/Ireland in time to take part in the Peters-Robinson hitching. Sad. But life, in general, for them appears to be good.<br /><br />I'm at work and supposed to be — what's the word? — ah, yes ... working. Very distracted. I'm really wanting to leave and do a long-ish run somewhere. Not sure why.<br /><br />I saw a sweet gmail from Ty that he sent the other day, and I haven't responded yet (hiiiii Tyyyyy). I could just as easily be responding to it now. But it's one of those you have to absorb, let it moisturize your cracked parts, massage. Only then can you take up the craft of response.<br /><br />Brian is being my hero lately. And man, have I needed a hero. Hard for me to admit, but geez, a wedding can threaten to take out the sanity of even the most "I don't care if I have a wedding or not" women in the world. Not just because of the pratical stress — money, planning, inviting, etc. But whatever issues you attempt to keep buried, at bay, managed in life ... a wedding will beat you at that little game. So just be prepared to deal.<br /><br />Holly brought me this week's TV guide thing from inside the paper, with a picture of <a href="http://www.christopher-meloni.com/frame.html">Christopher Meloni</a> on the front. I cut it out and stuck it on my cubicle wall, so now he's staring at me with his arms crossed, all <em>Law & Order</em>-like.<br /><br />Sunday the family celebrated mom and dad's birthdays (72 on 4/21 and 75 on 4/26, respectively). Went to church with them and then to Abuelo's afterwards. It was a good time. Next big event for them will be their 50th anniversary next January. We (their offspring) originally were planning to send them to New York so mom could visit her twin sister, who moved up there a few years ago and whom mom misses terribly. But mom doesn't fly well and dad would have to miss too much work for a road trip that far. So now we're thinking a Hill Country road trip for them. Which suits them much better anyways.<br /><br />Tomorrow night is going to be very <em>haaaaaaaaay</em>. DMN publication <em>Quick</em> is hosting this event at Palladium Ballroom called Quick's Big Thing, with performances from locals like Polyphonic Spree and PPT, and with panelists discussing local music stuff. Beforehand there's a VIP reception with food, which is why I'm going ::urp:: Afterward, me and some of my paper girls (and a paper boy or two) are going to Minc, following the DJs who used to do the old school hip-hop night at Slip Inn before Slip Inn decided they didn't like the "element" it was bringing in. I.e. It was all white people at first then OMG black people started coming. Imagine that. How dare black people think they can go to a dive to catch a little <strong>HIP-HOP</strong> music. Ridiculous. That's ok, because the loudest way to protest is with the $$$, and Slip Inn won't be getting anymore of <em>our </em>DMN dollas.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15196699723422154158noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-84545811237958051862008-04-18T16:26:00.000-07:002008-04-18T16:32:47.351-07:00Who remembers Roosevelt Franklin from Sesame Street?<a href="http://bizarrerecords.com/galleries/sexy/JacksonMilliebath.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px;" src="http://bizarrerecords.com/galleries/sexy/JacksonMilliebath.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />You can see his dy-no-mite LP cover a few posts down at <a href="http://bizarrerecords.blogspot.com">bizarrerecords.blogspot.com</a>, which has a hilarious collection of record covers whose art is anywhere from, well, bizarre to disturbing (exhibit A to the right).Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-14183351928355806942008-04-17T14:02:00.000-07:002008-04-17T14:04:45.072-07:00Vague points mixed with ones that are, unfortunately, crystal clear<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ubZbp28696Q&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ubZbp28696Q&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-14356377266210444732008-04-09T18:09:00.001-07:002008-04-09T21:14:25.285-07:00Two-day journeyI'm on the recovering end of a difficult 48 hours. The past two days or so (mainly Monday and Tuesday) have jostled my bones. Because of a healing blend that <a href="http://tyallison.blogspot.com">Ty</a> and I like to call "God + pills," I don't go into code red crisis mode too often (anymore). So this week has felt, whether objectively it was or not, tough. I believe God used the time to slow me down and show me a couple of things, things he probably would have shown me sooner if my daily avoidance tactics didn't require a crisis mode to shut them down.<br /><br />Chronological order. Set up: I've been stressed at work, which yes, yes, is an exotic affliction unique only to me, I know. Nevertheless, work's sucked for quite a long time. In life, I've been stressed. Not knowing how to resolve these particular stressors results in an "there's always a billion people who have it worse off than you" coping mechanism. It's great for a temporary attitude adjustment, but the fact that the Sudanese and the Tibetans and war veterans and so many others have life worse doesn't make <em>my</em> stress simply go away.<br /><br />Fast-forward to Monday. We had gotten a memo at work about the vents or mold or whatever getting cleaned on our floor Sunday night. We'd been warned that we might want to work from home (smart co-workers did; I did not) because of the fumes or something. They'd done the same thing the previous Sunday night, with Monday resulting in a mysterious migraine and nausea. Power of suggestion, I thought. Then this past Monday afternoon, another migraine with stronger nausea came on, <em>and</em> I almost fainted at my desk. I've never almost-fainted before. I was slightly dizzy. Also, even more mysteriously, I started getting ... crazy feeling. I didn't understand it, but that's how it felt. I later would realize it was the beginning of an anxiety thing grabbing hold. I have no idea how those symptoms materialized, and they were so strong that I couldn't blame the power of suggestion (the cleaning came to my mind only once early in the day, then I forgot about it). I finished up what I was doing and left early. I texted my editor and told her I was for sure working from home Tuesday.<br /><br />The latter part of Monday was hard. Same physical symptoms. Increasingly, the crazy part got worse. It got sickening and oppressive, to where the other parts didn't matter anymore. I'll stop calling it "crazy" now — I'm fairly certain it was some sort of anxiety, I guess, attack. I have depression (beautifully managed by God + pills), but I don't experience anxiety, at least not on that level. If you had asked me what the matter was, or what I was freaking out about, I couldn't have told you. These things have no root in logic. The mental/emotional fissure, however, was allowing a whole bunch of my stowed-away junk to surface. I didn't want it to. Stuff from as early as six years ago to stuff that hasn't happened yet, that I won't go into here. Much unwanted weeping took place. You know it. The deep down kind, the polar opposite of the belly laughter you can't stop. I prayed and prayed and prayed. The fact I hadn't prayed like that in a while wasn't lost on me. Which made me feel guilty, adding to my already-crazy condition.<br /><br />I knew things were bad when I busted out the steno notebook. It's the non-descript spiral I only write in about once a year or so, and only when in total despair. I wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote. I hate to get all "the power of journaling" on you, but in the process God showed me the root of much of my current life-stress. As you might notice, when I DO write, it's a novel. Writing kept me up til around 4:30 a.m. I was mad about that fact. But it offered revelation and detox, which is, apparently, what I needed.<br /><br />It was awesome rolling out of bed and immediately sitting down at my laptop. That's two hours of getting ready and commute swapped out for literally 2 minutes in order to begin my work day. I thought, Why don't we do this more often? (Note to self: Talk to editor about that).<br /><br />I woke up with classic cold symptoms, on top of raging nausea. The nausea either caused me a little anxiety or vice-versa, I don't know. I scarfed some of my sister's herbs for bad moods. The fact I could take a break from the rat race and work alone without constant office space drama for a day made a major difference in my recovery yesterday. I was thankful for it. And much more productive than an average Tuesday in the office, too.<br /><br />I periodically read my Message-version Bible that was sitting by my laptop. I was in Ecclesiastes. When you think of parts of the Bible people typically read for comfort and assurance, Ecclesiastes wouldn't be the first answer. I love the translation — the book's running theme is "it's all just smoke and spitting in the wind." Essentially, all the things we normally dedicate our lives to, like making money, accumulating stuff, pleasing people, having babies, staying healthy, traditions, politics ... it's all meaningless. We all end up at the same place — dead. On its face, that's depressing. But it very much wasn't. It gave me comfort to know that someone thousands of years ago understood that truth. The solution made it even more worth while. Since you're going to die anyway, just try to be a good person and seek out good times. Good times! That's what I'm talking about. People with depression tend to view their connectedness to the world as much greater and more important than it actually is. It's not. So just have fun. That's liberating.<br /><br />Still feeling ... crazy? .. so I took a break. Took my yoga mat into the backyard with plans to stretch, breathe, pray and just be for 15 minutes. Being in the sun always cheers me up, but it was overcast. That was ok. The 15 minutes was wonderful. But I still had that inexplicable "thing" inside my chest and stomach, the anxiety, fear, confusion, darkness, whatever you want to call it.<br /><br />My sister's yard is spare save this faux-concrete miniature statue thing of a lion and lamb lying down by each other. She also has little matching stepping stones leading up to the statue with scripture on them. "Be still and know that I am God." I know the verse like the back of my hand. But for some reason, I was transfixed. They've been in the yard for a long time but I've never paid much attention. I sat in the grass and stared at the verse for a while, trying to absorb it down to my bones. I touched the lion, which was gazing peacefully down at the lamb, and the patina rubbed off on my fingers. For whatever reason, touching it, stroking it made me ... get it. I sat and just touched things for a little while: the lion, the lamb, blades of grass. It made me feel grounded.<br /><br />I felt better. I took Mylanta for the nausea, and I felt even better (see? God and pills). I slept well. I had a dream that affirmed the message God had written inside me. But I'll save that for another post.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-59019659938303096992008-04-02T23:20:00.000-07:002008-04-02T23:45:26.460-07:00Life life life life life life lifeSigh. I'm just ... tired. Whine whine whine whine whine. How about I count my blessings. • Brian • My health • Employment • More to eat than I know what to do with • I live with my sister and niece, and that's fun • The fact there's no way to describe how good God's been to me • Mom, dad, Danny, Beverly, Keena and other family • Brian, Mandy, Ty, Liz, Tiffani, Marissa, Tiara, Holly, Derek and other friends • A place to worship, and the freedom to do so • A working vehicle that carries me wherever I need to go • I'm a woman in the 21st century • Coffee • Traveling, adventure, exploration, discovery • Jazz • Mangos with salt • Words and the ability to read them • Access to medicine, health insurance, herbs, vitamins, green tea, a gluten-free diet, exercise • A bed • Lip balm • Outside • Those random, unexpected encounters that proves God heard your prayers.<br /><br />Ok, much better. Kthanx.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-52740693868808972642008-03-05T22:01:00.000-08:002008-03-06T00:55:24.460-08:00War: Apparently not mad enough yet<a href="http://www.chroniclebooks.com/images/items/1594742/1594742294/1594742294_norm.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 225px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://www.chroniclebooks.com/images/items/1594742/1594742294/1594742294_norm.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Picked up a cool book at work today, and it reminded me about how upset I used to be at the war until it dragged on and on and I became meh about it. Are you meh, too? Let me help with that. Excerpts:<br /><br />"More than ever, it is the duty of the good citizen not to be silent." Charles Eliot Norton<br /><br />"Wars are not 'acts of God.' They are caused by man, by man-made institutions, by the way in which man has organized his society. What man has made, man can change." Frederick Moore Vinson<br /><br /><big>"Do not waste time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him."</big> C.S. Lewis<br /><br />"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Leviticus 19:18, KJV<br /><br />"Love rules his kingdom without a sword." George Herbert<br /><br />"A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another. Just as a mother would protect her only child at the rist of her own life, even so, cultivate a boundless heart towards all beings." Buddha<br /><br />"Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love." Martin Luther King, Jr.<br /><br />"Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all." George Washington<br /><br /><big>"Peace hath higher tests of manhood than battle ever knew."</big> John Greenleaf Whittier<br /><br />"I am not only a pacifist but a militant pacifist. I am willing to fight for peace. Nothing will end war unless the people refuse to go to war." Albert Einstein<br /><br />"Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." John Donne<br /><br />"No nation can find its own salvation by breaking away from others. We must all be saved or we must all perish together." Mahatma Gandhi<br /><br />"As a mother, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers' lives are lost." Natalie Maines<br /><br />"As far as we are concerned, every death ... in every war that was ever fought represents life needlessly wasted, a mother's labor spurned. We are for life and creation, and we are against war and destruction." Betty Williams<br /><br /><big>"Arise, then, women of this day! Arise all women who have hearts, whether our baptism be that of water or of tears! We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience."</big> Julia Ward Howe (created Mother's Day in response to the Civil War's effects on society)<br /><br />"War loves to seek its victims in the young." Sophocles<br /><br />"In peace, children inter their parents. War violates the order of nature and causes parents to inter their children." Herodotus<br /><br /><big>"We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another."</big> Jonathan Swift<br /><br />"Hatred is the coward's revenge for being intimidated." George Bernard Shaw<br /><br />"What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." Confucius<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XtX1RnkU-P0/R8-odM1jr1I/AAAAAAAAD7Q/Plq6U6qUNuo/s1600-h/collegemoney_poster.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174539716487524178" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XtX1RnkU-P0/R8-odM1jr1I/AAAAAAAAD7Q/Plq6U6qUNuo/s320/collegemoney_poster.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />"If anyone should give you a blow with his hand, with a stick or with a knife, you should abandon any desires and utter no evil words." Buddha<br /><br />"You have heard that they were told, 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.' But what I tell you is this: Do not resist those who wrong you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn and offer him the other also." Matthew 5:38-39, revised English edition<br /><br />"When we see a blow struck, we go on and think no more about it. Yet every blow aimed at the most distant of our fellow creatures is sure to come back, to our families and descendants." Walter Savage Landor<br /><br /><big>"All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."</big> Matthew 26:52, KJV<br /><br />"I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility and its stupidity." Dwight D. Eisenhower<br /><br />"In war, there are no unwounded soldiers." Jose Narosky<br /><br />"It is essential to persuade the soldier that those he is being urged to massacre are bandits who do not deserve to live; before killing other good, decent fellows like himself, his gun would fall from his hands." André Gide<br /><br />"Weapons are like money; no one knows the meaning of <i>enough</i>." Martin Amis<br /><br />"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in a final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, from those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending its money alone — it is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children." Dwight D. Eisenhower<br /><br />"Today every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate the day when this planet may no longer be habitable. Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident or miscalculation or madness." John F. Kennedy<br /><br />"So long as governments set the example of killing their enemies, private individuals will occassionally kill theirs." Elbert Hubbard<br /><br /><big>"The world is drenched in mutual slaughter ... Held to be a crime when committed by individuals, homocide is called a virtue when committed by the state."</big> Saint Cyprian<br /><br />"Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind." Martin Luther King, Jr.<br /><br /><big>"Violence is an admission that one's ideas and goals cannot prevail on their own merits."</big> Edward M. Kennedy<br /><br />"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." Isaac Asimov<br /><br /><big>"If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility."</big> Henry Wadsworth Lonfellow<br /><br />"We have got to understand that they dream our dreams and we dream theirs. We have got to understand that they are us." Rachel Corrie<br /><br />"They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country. But in modern war there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying. You will die like a dog for no good reason." Ernest Hemingway<br /><br />"War is at best barbarism. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have never fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell." Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman<br /><br />"'Terrorism' is what we call the violence of the weak, and we condemn it. 'War' is what we call the violence of the strong, and we glorify it." Sydney J. Harris<br /><br /><big>"Almost all propaganda is designed to create fear. Heads of governments and their officials know that a frightened people is easier to govern, will forfeit rights it would otherwise defend, is less likely to demand a better life, and will agree to millions being spend on 'Defense.'"</big> John Boynton Priestly<br /><br />"Old men declare wars because they have failed to solve complex political problems. They send young men to go fight them. Of course, the old men have to make up patriotic and emotional rationales to justify their stupidity." Arthur Hoppe<br /><br />"Blind faith in your leaders or in anything will get you killed." Bruce Springsteen<br /><br /><big>"Fuehrers will cease to plague the world only when the majority of its inhabitants regard such adventurers with the same disgust as they now bestow on swindlers and pimps. So long as men worship the Caesars and Napoleons, Caesars and Napoleons will duly rise and make them miserable." </big>Aldous Leonard Huxley<br /><br />"The master class has always declared wars; the subject class has always fought the attles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and all to lose — especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs<br /><br />"Make wars unprofitable and you make them impossible." A. Philip Randolph<br /><br />"All ferocity is born of weakness." Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger<br /><br /><big>"A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It's a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity."</big> Jimmy Carter<br /><br />"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana<br /><br />"History is a vast early-warning system." Norman Cousins<br /><br /><big>"Throughout history, the world has been laid waste to ensure the triumph of conceptions that are now as dead as the men that died for them."</big> Henri de Montherlant<br /><br />"I do not recollect in all the animal kingdom a single species but man which is eternally and systematically engaged in the destruction of its own species." Thomas Jefferson<br /><br />"The United States of America is still run by its citizens. The government works for us. Rank imperialism and warmongering are not American traditions or values. We do not need to dominate the world. We want and need to work with other nations. We want to find solutions other than killing people." Molly Ivins<br /><br /><strong>And finally, the top Skidoo-pick:<br /></strong><br /><big>"O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle — be Thou near them! With them, in spirit, we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded writhing in pain; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it — for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen." </big>Mark Twain<br /><br /><br />Peace.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-4505111688833180912008-03-05T00:20:00.000-08:002008-03-06T00:57:25.553-08:00Never been so glad to be wrong!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XtX1RnkU-P0/R8-xyc1jr2I/AAAAAAAAD7Y/DiLRHCCBT6U/s1600-h/paper_030508.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XtX1RnkU-P0/R8-xyc1jr2I/AAAAAAAAD7Y/DiLRHCCBT6U/s320/paper_030508.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174549977164394338" /></a><br />My girl HillClint took Texas, bay-bee! The delgate count still isn't through, though. But the popular vote is hers, which matters on many different levels.<br /><br />You know, I did something so cheesy when I got home tonight. I can't believe I'm telling you this. I live in the country, and at 1:30 in the morning, an incomprehensible number of stars blanket the sky. I got out of my car, stopped halfway up the driveway, looked up for a minute and just sort of took it all in. I stared at the stars, smiling, thinking about when my mother taught me in third and sixth grades and she told the classes that we could be president someday - the girls, too. I thought of how there was no precedent for that, but mom said it, so it must be true. I remember feeling so empowered by the very fact that, even though there was no way on earth I would actually be president, I *could* be president. It made me feel important, and I've always been thankful to mom for going against he flow of her generation and believing that I, a girl, could feasibly hold the highest office in the land. That, in turn, made me hold my head up high, whether president or peasant. Because of this, I've always wondered if this theoretical possibility would ever happen in my lifetime. And now here we are.<br /><br />I looked hard into the sky as if to find God so I could wink at him. He knows where I'm coming from on the whole matter, and for a second it felt like he made Hillary win just to speak to me on this very personal issue. I grinned.<br /><br />Did I just tell you that? I believe I did. Nice. Oh well. This has been an episode of "When You Wish Upon a Star You Start Thinking God's Talking to You," with your host, Christy Robinson. Thank you for your participation.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-65089264530611626212008-03-04T18:02:00.001-08:002008-03-05T00:20:18.968-08:00Texas presidential primaries '08: Oh dearIt's going to be close, but I'm telling you ... this Obama character is quite the formidable opponent. Brian keeps saying "Obama's totally going to win Texas," to which I plug my ears and answer "la la la la." But if I had money riding on it, my predix would be for B.O. Sigh. What do you do. All I know is that I could NOT run for president. Flying to a million states in 24 hours, talking to 10 times as many people while running on 4 hours of sleep. NOTHXKBYE.<br /><br />AP's calling the Republican nomination for McCain, who just won Texas.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XtX1RnkU-P0/R84B9s1jr0I/AAAAAAAAD7I/Fscb-nkaoRc/s1600-h/primaries08.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174075181414723394" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_XtX1RnkU-P0/R84B9s1jr0I/AAAAAAAAD7I/Fscb-nkaoRc/s200/primaries08.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I'm working in Metro tonight as part of the results team (that's me with Marissa and Holly in the pic). I love working elex: Free food, get to see old Metro folks, score a little OT in the process. It's past 8, and I should probably start paying attention.<br /><br />I voted this morning at a nearby elementary school. I was actually aghast at the longish line for Democrats and the empty Republican line. I mean, Ellis county, hello. Then I remembered the McCain "why bother" domination. If I were a Republican, I would have stayed home, too.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-57666345153447211422008-02-29T19:29:00.000-08:002008-02-29T23:09:08.417-08:00Not only murdered, but dismembered... Sorry, that was the last line from the anchor on the new program my sister's watching.<br /><br />I'm partly proud of myself, partly not. I've worked more hours this week than I think I ever have. I did my normal job, then I stayed til between midnight and 2 a.m. putting together lists of polling places for Tuesday's paper. But the week's over, and I'm <span style="font-style: italic;">through</span>. Extra Metro freelance, bay-bee.<br /><br />Speaking of, I'm about to take on one more police blotter, bringing my number of weekly freelance jobs to eight. Two Good Kid columns and five blotters. That will increase to 10 if two other ones come through. I'm excited about the money, but, honestly, wary about my life.<br /><br />The family gathering at mom and dad's on Sunday was fun. Keena's 18 now. Me and Janiece the other night were lamenting that there are no "children" in our immediate family anymore. I was like "one of y'all better get busy!" Cause it sho ain't gon be me.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Nightline </span>is about porn tonight. Martin Brashear moderated a <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.abcnews.go.com/Nightline/FaceOff">debate</a> at Yale with a topic of, essentially, porn-good vs. porn-bad. The two sides were a guy that started the <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://xxxchurch.com/">XXX Church</a> and some guy who used to be a porn producer vs. some porn star chick and Ron Jeremy. At first I thought, "What's the news peg here? It's not sweeps. How cheap." But it's great having this discussion. With hand-held phones and 24-hour accesible internet, you're just a couple of clicks to porn anywhere you are. No one hides it like their dirty little secret anymore. Porn is here, so discussions about it should be, too.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.artshole.co.uk/arts/artists/Shane%20Wheatcroft/I-want-to-be-Ron-Jeremy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.artshole.co.uk/arts/artists/Shane%20Wheatcroft/I-want-to-be-Ron-Jeremy.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I'm hardly an objective viewer. But even though Ron Jeremy is a surprisingly articulate guy, there's nothing you can say in support of the porn industry that can't be shot down. The idea that porn doesn't exploit women and contribute to the already universal view that women exist in order to pleasure the other half of the world population is ludicrous at best. When Ron Jeremy was asked if he'd be happy for his daughter to star in some of the movies he's starred in, the stuttering commenced. Of course he wouldn't. Wherein lies the point.<br /><br />I'll be the first to tell you that suppression of all things sexual is a problem. No, God never meant for us to turn sex into a shameful, hidden mistake that only dirty whores and male degenerates partook of. Trust me, I know of this harmful distortion, being raised in a well-meaning but bizarrely strict evangelical environment. But the strictest of Pentecostal traditions doesn't have anything on the distortion created by porn.<br /><br />The sex industry (film, images, strip clubs, etc.) really does create smoke and mirrors about the most important, consequential activity two people can share. With sex comes facts. Whether we want it to be or not, sex is a big deal. It's huge. It makes babies, even when you don't mean for it to. It bonds you to another person, even when you don't mean for it to. It's personal. When regularly consuming media that turns sex into something it's not, something that purposefully strips it of its essential elements in order to create a deceitful fantasy, you're altering your perceptions of <span style="font-style: italic;">you</span>.<br /><br />Sure, Disney and others in the entertainment industry serve up the same fantasy-making. But when someone allows their reality to be altered by Disney, the worst that happens is that they turn into a annoyingly perky, suburban Stepford drone.<br /><br />Never mind the feminist angle. The whole argument of "the women engaging in porn are making their own 'choice'" is insulting. I didn't exactly make the choice for her to help propagate and industry that makes bodily fluid receptacles out of women. We Americans, especially, like to think we live in an individualistic Wild West of a bubble, but the choices we make do in fact affect others.<br /><br />It's along the same lines of the language revolution, where now it's not the norm to use the male pronoun ("him," "he," etc.) when referring to a population in general. "He or she" has become more commonplace, and why is that good? Because language matters. It forms how we perceive the world around us, whether we realize it or not. It helps shape what you believe to be important and what you believe to be irrelevant. It helps shape your values.<br /><br />It's the same with media consumption. I'm totally on board with countries that are trying to severely restrict advertising (there are at least two that I read about in <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.adbusters.org/home/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Adbusters</span></a> magazine, but I can't remember offhand which), especially outdoor advertising. It completely retards growth of an independent intellect and forms a society of consumers, not thinkers. In the formation of you and your very essence, media consumption matters. That's why porn matters.<br /><br />More disheartening is that the biggest stylization of porn is the whole fantasy of doing a 14-year-old, the "Barely Legal" brand of the trade. The question of, Would you want men undressing your 14-year-old daughter in their heads, is a no-brainer. If you don't have children and cannot therefore empathize (like me), ask yourself the same question about your nieces. It would be hard to regard the abstract masses as nameless faceless nobodies if we adopted the village approach and tried to view each other as family, as God intended. Porn would take a completely different shape, in which case.<br /><br />Should basic porn be outlawed? Absolutely not. I stand by the First Amendment and will fight for it to the death. I'm a journalist. Is that in contradiction with me cheering countries trying to restrict outdoor advertising? Maybe, but that's another blog.<br /><br />Is the world going to explode in a big ball of hell-fire if you've viewed porn? Um, no. I'm just challenging what's considered acceptable consumption. The discussion of sex? Let's have it. Celebration of sex? Let's have it — but of sex, not of the denigration of people.<br /><br />The porn industry will always exist in one form or another. But choices can reshape it. We can at least relegate the industry and its consumption more toward where it used to reside — in whispers, on the fringe.<br /><br />Huh, look at that. I didn't mean for this to turn into <i>The Sex Episode, with Your Host, Christy Robinson</i>. But that's what happens when you freestyle. Time go night-night.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-71094231337695364992008-02-23T01:07:00.000-08:002008-02-23T01:54:48.911-08:00Hither and yon<a href="http://blog.muchmusic.com/archives/across%20the%20universe%20still.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://blog.muchmusic.com/archives/across%20the%20universe%20still.jpg" border="0" /></a>Saw most of a DVD tonight w/ my sister called <br /><b><em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445922/">Across the Universe</a></em></b>. A musical set in the '60s to Beatles songs. So over the top, so musical, so angsty and dramatic. It's overwrought and they know it and rock it. Which I love. A little slow in parts, but other parts are fah-ree-ken TRIP-ay!!@#@ I was seriously like "WTF!" but in a good way. They got my favorite Beatles song in there, "Strawberry Fields," so that's all I cared about. Visuals were brash and yummy, too.<br /><br />A gauge if you'll like it or not: You'll probably like <em>Universe </em>if you like <b><em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203009/">Moulin Rouge</a></em></b> ("Spectacular SpecTACular!!"). If you don't like <em>Moulin Rouge</em> ... stay far far away. <em>Moulin Rouge</em> is better, though.<br /><br />You know ... my sister and my niece Janiece talked around the kitchen table tonight — me with a glass of boxed wine, them cracking me and each other up. It was a little on the magical side for me, since that's not a usual Friday night for us.<br /><br />BLUH .... That full, week-old basket of clothes over there isn't going to fold its contents on its own. Then again, apparently I'm not going to, either.<br /><br />I picked up extra-extra freelance at work, on top of the freelance I already do. It's just compilation kind of stuff for the primaries, but ugh, so time consuming. I refuse to do any of it this weekend, so next week's going to be busy.<br /><br />Brian and I have one of our many here-and-there pre-marriage counseling sessions tomorrow afternoon. I keep meaning to take along an actual list of stuff that could use discussion. We usually just wing it, then it's over, then I'm lying in bed in the dark every night afterward like, "Gah! I forgot to bring up <em>that</em>!" Rull grrr.<br /><br />My ::baby:: niece <strong>Keena </strong>turns <strong>18</strong> on Monday!! I can't believe it. The family will celebrate Sunday evening at mom and dad's by pigging out on tacos that mom and Brian make and smearing our faces with mom's chocolate birthday cake icing. That's what I'm talking about. GET THIS. Keena's turning the magic number that makes her all grown AND my other niece, Janiece, is the age of my favorite number .... ::drum roll please:: <strong>23</strong>. Ka-pow.<br /><br />Ugggghhhh. I'll be wallowing in self-hate tomorrow morning. I suppose them's the ugly, insomniac breaks.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-931912316461527619.post-48946184524006435612008-02-21T15:46:00.000-08:002008-02-21T16:06:16.785-08:00Now it's Hillary's turn, but good luckNow Hillary's <b><a href="http://trailblazers.beloblog.com/archives/2008/02/clinton-rally-set-for-oak-cliff-tomorrow.html">swinging through Oak Cliff</a></b>, and I'm interested to see which candidate causes a bigger Dallas splash. Hillary's coming in on Barack's heels from his <strong><a href="http://christyrobinson.blogspot.com/2008/02/barack-obamas-pit-stop-in-dallas.html">Wednesday rally</a></strong>, with his rockstar buzz still in the air. Good luck.<br /><br />• <b><a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/local/stories/022208dnpolhillaryrallies.1578e6ab.html">Hill's Dallas rally details</a></b><br />• <B><a href="http://www.hillaryclinton.com/">HillaryClinton.com</a></b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0