The Fine Art of Surfacing

After a good night’s sleep, I got up today and was feeling better. Shortly after I got up, my sister Diana called, and we talked for an hour. It was a great start to my day, and we talked about things good and bad, spoke of philosophical matters, and had lots of laughs. She is less than a week away from retirement, and I am so happy for her!

One of the things that she has resolved to do upon her retirement is to lose weight and exercise. I said that one thing that has really helped me and made me feel good is working out, and I usually do it five days a week, 45 minutes at a time. She said, “That’s great!” I said that I was really working on my arms and trying to get Michele Obama arms. She got a kick out of that. I’ll keep working on my definition and put a picture up! Anyway, we laughed a lot, and that was a very good thing. Diana is super cool.

I’ve been ordering lots of CDs lately, and one I got recently was one of Keith Richards’ solo efforts, “Talk Is Cheap.” I listened to it when I as working out today, and you all know how much I love Keef...but when I listened to this, I thought, “This is why you and Mick are a team.” Honestly, Keith is a great guitarist and writes some great music, but the sparks don’t fly without Mick. I also had a discussion with some friends on Facebook about Aerosmith and Steven Tyler. Could Aerosmith continue without Tyler? I don’t think so. Joe Perry is badass, but Tyler’s voice is so distinctive. Can you imagine the conflict that musical teams like this have? I’ve read that it was the same with Lennon and McCartney. Knowing that your success depends so much upon another person would be really hard. I can’t help but think about things like that when I read about such artists. I find it fascinating.

I finished Tina Fey’s book, Bossypants, today. I want to be her when I grow up. I’m not sure what I want to read next. So many books to choose from! I’m catching up on Time issues at the moment.

It was warm and humid today, and after I worked out, I put on a bikini and sat out in the sun and read for about a half an hour. Vitamin D is important. Enjoying the warmth and sunshine after a long winter and some sad times is also important.

Tomorrow I’m having lunch with Cousin Shane and Matt. We’ll talk and laugh, and I’m looking forward to it.

I apologize if this is disjointed, but right now, simple thoughts are about all I can process. I’m working on coming up for air. There is much to discuss in the political realm, including Mitch Daniels deciding not to run for President, but right now that stuff doesn’t seem all that important to me. Well, I know it’s important, but right now I just don’t care. The rhetoric is becoming increasingly ludicrous, and it’s amusing to watch people scramble to clarify, pander, and pontificate. There will be time to address that in the near future. But not right now.

I want to thank everyone for their kind wishes, good thoughts, and yes, their prayers for me and my family. You are all very kind people, and it is very much appreciated. If you have a moment, stop by my friend George’s site and give him some good thoughts, too. He had to say goodbye to one of his sweet kitties today, and I know that many of us know how much that hurts.

Here’s to better things. This is one of my favorite songs. For you, George.

Here's wishing you the bluest sky,
And hoping something better comes tomorrow.
Hoping all the verses rhyme,
And the very best of choruses to
Follow all the doubt and sadness.
I know that better things are on the way.

Here's hoping all the days ahead
Won't be as bitter as the ones behind you.
Be an optimist instead,
And somehow happiness will find you.
Forget what happened yesterday,
I know that better things are on the way.

It's really good to see you rocking out
And having fun,
Living like you just begun.
Accept your life and what it brings.
I hope tomorrow you'll find better things.
I know tomorrow you'll find better things.

Here's wishing you the bluest sky,
And hoping something better comes tomorrow.
Hoping all the verses rhyme,
And the very best of choruses to
Follow all the drudge and sadness.
I know that better things are on the way.

I know you've got a lot of good things happening up ahead.
The past is gone it's all been said.
So here's to what the future brings,
I know tomorrow you'll find better things.

Sarah Palin talkin', and just DON'T do it!

I was happy I got my Christmas cards done today. When I told Ken, he (jokingly) said, "Wow, you really got an early start!" As soon as I said what I did, I realized that it didn't sound quite right. "Doing my Christmas cards" meant that I took all the Christmas cards we got this past Christmas and cut them up into gift tags. What I couldn't use, I put into recycling. It's a great way to use your cards, and it will be a nice reminder of family and friends when I wrap gifts next year! Get creative, too. Remember there are often little logos on the backs of cards, so just put the holiday logo in the lower corner, and hey presto! You've got a nice little gift tag. There were some cards that I got 6 tags out of! And some cards were so pretty that I was able to use the entire front, and I can put those on large presents. Give it a try--I guar-ohn-tee you'll never have to buy another gift tag!

I've mentioned Sarah Palin's most recent interview, this time with a guy named John Ziegler. I'm not familiar with him, but he is a conservative something-or-another (writer? blogger? radio personality? I don't know, and don't care enough to investigate further.), and he has a website titled How Obama Got Elected. When I went to the blog, there was the picture of Obama by artist Shepard Fairey, except Ziegler had added a halo to it. That told me all I needed to know. I'll preface the rest of this entry by saying that I've made no bones about my utter disdain for and dislike of Sarah Palin, and I gave up trying to be kind shortly before the election, when she disrespected fruit flies. I'm not going to be kind here, either--not by a longshot--so if you choose not to read this, I'm cool with that and will not be offended. You have been fairly warned.

The title of Ziegler's documentary for which he interviewed Palin is called "Media Malpractice," so it obviously takes the position that Palin was unfairly treated by the media. (By the way, I'm not going to link to Ziegler's site, because it almost locked up my computer. You can Google it or search on YouTube for excerpts from the interview.) Palin is on her "unfair treatment" like mud on a pig, and although she previously said she got a real kick out of Tina Fey's portrayal of her, she now says that both Fey and Katie Couric "exploited" her candidacy, and that "says a great deal about our society." WTF? What exactly does that say about our society? That we like political satire, and that news anchors like to interview political candidates? How dare they?!

Palin went on to say that the press treated her harshly because of her background. Personally, I saw none of that, although she and McCain often spoke of the "liberal elite media," and "liberal elites," who McCain said live in the fine cities of Washington, D.C. and New York City. Seems to me that her alleged harsh treatment was more of an insecurity problem, i.e., she herself felt inferior, so was quick to attack others for their "uppity ways." She even spoke of the question asked by Couric about the newspapers she reads (and Palin's infamous answer), and says that she found the question offensive, and felt that Couric was implying that people in Alaska don't read. "To me the question was more along the lines of, ‘Do you read, what do you guys do up there, what is it that you read?’" If she read that Couric was implying Alaskan ignorance with that question, that tells me more about Palin and her insecurities and paranoia than anything else. I know people like that in my life, and it's pretty obvious when someone has an inferiority complex.

Palin really didn't care for Fey's line (when Fey was portraying Palin in the VP debate skit, in response to a question about gay marriage), "I believe marriage is meant to be a sacred institution between two unwilling teenagers." Palin commented, "The mama grizzly rises up in me, hearing things like that. Here again, cool, fine, come attack me. But when you make a suggestion like that that attacks a kid, it kills me."

I'll admit to laughing at the line in the skit, but I am not laughing about the fate of Bristol Palin, nor am I laughing about her future. I honestly feel sorry for that kid and her boyfriend and their child, and if I've ever sounded like I'm attacking them, that was not my intention (but I still think Tripp is a silly name). What infuriated me about the whole thing is that Palin is an advocate of abstinence-only education, and my question is still, "How's that workin' for ya?" A recent study shows that abstinence-only education does not work. I urge you to take a look at the graphs in the study: they show statistically identical results for those who received abstinence-only sex education and those who did not. However, those who pledge abstinence are less likely to use birth control and protection. I know it's a noble goal to promote abstinence, and I applaud any kid who decides to wait, and I applaud the parents who are able to get a kid to make that decision. But I believe that it is wrong to teach only abstinence, because hey--have we collectively forgotten what it's like to be a teenager with raging hormones?! Forewarned is forearmed, people, and I would much rather any kid of mine--kids in general, for that matter--be conscientious about the consequences of unprotected sex, rather than block them from access to birth control, protection, and knowledge! Why are some people still stuck in that rut that knowledge is dangerous? Knowledge is POWER.

Palin also wasn't happy with McCain's campaign, because after her first poor performance in an interview with Couric, she realized that it didn't go well, but the campaign gave the go-ahead for a couple more sessions. Sorry, Palin, but I remember at that time that you were virtually inaccessible to the media, and it was getting to the point where you had to give interviews, otherwise the media was going to get royally pissed. For a while, weren't you pissed that the campaign wasn't allowing you to give interviews? Which way is it? The fact is that you were woefully unprepared, both for interviews and for the vice-presidency, so I have no sympathy for you, the campaign, or McCain. He made the decision and the offer, you accepted. End of story.

The comment that really made me laugh was when she was talking about the Couric interviews, she said, "Katie, you’re not the center of everybody’s universe." Wow, nice job. Way to win friends and influence people--piss off a national news anchor. Here's a news flash, Palin: if you want to be part of the national scene in politics, you are going to face much tougher interviewers than Katie Couric. Couric was asking simple questions, and you couldn't handle it. Couric was not acting like she was the "center of everybody's universe," she was doing her job.

Ziegler said that he enjoyed his interview with Palin, and that anyone who thinks she is "stupid" is seriously misinformed. I've never thought she is stupid. I wouldn't say she's particularly smart, and would be more likely to say she is..."unstupid." I think she's a canny politician, and has a knack for seeing which way the wind is blowing. I do, however, think she is willfully ignorant. As I've written before, she is intellectually incurious, and anything that doesn't make sense in her world she deems as being of no consequence to anyone else. If you wonder why I'm still writing about this woman, it's because she keeps putting herself out there. Meanwhile, John McCain has kept a low profile and has quietly gone back to doing his thing in the Senate. Palin seems to be aiming for national office, and as long as she does so, I'll keep aiming for her...with words only, obviously.