The Sunday Morning Muse, December 30, 2007

"We're poor, but H and R Block gave us some money." Jimmy, age 7, overheard in a store.

---

I've been giving some thought to buying a computer or maybe a laptop. The income tax checks are the next thing to really look forward to, and if I come across a deal perhaps I'll go for it, and be able to pay it off just like that!

It's funny how a seven year old's view of the world is really not so far off target. I have always thought of the income tax check as "free" money. Not money withheld from me all year that I could have had a little at a time all along, but, in a sense a "Christmas club" kind of check that used to arrive in the mail just at about the time I was tapped out with winter heating bills and such.

Art Bell to Host Annual New Year's Shows

Here's some good news. Art Bell, who retired from Coast to Coast AM this past year, plans to host the show Sunday night Dec. 30 and Monday night December 31st for a two part annual prediction show. Refer here to my postings on last year's show.

The fun part is when he takes caller predictions from this past year, 2007, and determines if they came true --- giving them DINGS and BONKS. Then callers are allowed one prediction a piece and he keeps a compilation for the following year to see what came true.

You can review some predictions from the website.

If you are an insomniac or are up really early.... flip around the AM dial. You are sure to catch it somewhere.

We'll Tak' a Cup o' Kindness Yet, for Auld Lang Syne

I've sung at least part of the song dozens of times but until last night I did not know what Auld Lang Syne meant.

wikipedia:

Auld lang syne literally means "old long since"—but a more idiomatic English translation would be something like "long long ago", "days of long ago", "in olden days", or even "once upon a time".

Holiday Wishes from Me and Sweet Pea

List of Top 10 Lists for 2007

Here is a link to Time Magazine's list of 50 Top 10 Lists. I skimmed a few.... and it's amazing how my awareness and connection to things other people feel are important, is drifting into the mystic. Number one song? Rehab, by Amy Winehouse? I clicked on the Youtube video and watched it. If this is the best our culture can do we are in serious trouble. That's all I'm sayin'.
-
The number one Fashion Must-Have is the Tent Dress pictured above. I wouldn't be caught dead in that dress. Or even at work.
Hell, maybe like the 8 or so men's size large teeshirts I have around the house, I can always sleep in it.
-

Under the Top 10 Religion Stories of the year, the elimination of Limbo didn't even make the list. Imagine that. Just goes to show you that some people aren't even paying attention.
-
When you read a few of the other lists, I can't help thinking the following. As Former Representative James Traficant used to say.... Beam me up Scotty.

Sunday Morning Muse, December 23, 2007

I put a coin sorter type device on my Christmas list this year. No, it's not a 36 inch digital TV, that's on the list, too. However no one is going to buy me that anyway. Ahem. I can go out and buy a coin sorter myself very easily, and probably may end up doing that if no one buys it for me this year--but that, to me kind of defeats the purpose. It makes no sense to buy a coin sorter to count up all your coins, in hopes of having a little "found money" to spend, if you spend that money first buying the damn coin sorter.

-

This old guy from Indiana actually bought a $25,000 dollar truck with the coins he saved over 13 years. Imagine that. Hell, I'd be lucky to be able to buy a new pair of winter boots with my coin money, but hey, I'll enjoy them far more than seeing the jars of coins in the bottom of my closet taking up space now.

God Bless Us Everyone! -- Tiny Tim

The sick little boy with the beautiful voice..... what was the matter with him? Livescience has a great piece speculating about what actually ailed Tiny Tim. Kidney disease? Rickets? Internist Dr. Daniel J. Glunk, president-elect of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, examines the theories.

--

Trivia:

How Small We Are, How Little We Know... is the title of an album of songs sung by Richard Beaumont... the Tiny Tim shown above--who starred in the Albert Finney version of Scrooge. (My favorite version)

The Shortest Day

And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, revelling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us - listen!
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome Yule!

--The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper

May the Darkness Illuminate the Light

It is still the longest night as I write this missive. Today is the first day of Winter and the days will slowly get longer.

I was privledged to get a chance to walk a meditative labyrinth at dusk. Labyrinths have been around for over 4000 years, and take various forms.

-

I was struck by the complexity, as I had never seen one. Some people don't know the difference between a labyrinth and a maze. You actually walk into and out of a labyrinth through the pattern. I immediately wanted to know more about the origins of this particular one I walked which was based on the one at the Cathedral on Chartres, France:

-

link

One of the most famous aspects of the cathedral in Chartres is the spectacular rose window over the great west doors. It has the same dimensions as the labyrinth and is exactly the same distance up the west wall as the labyrinth is laterally from the cathedral's main entrance below the window. An imaginary cosmic hinge located where the doors and floor intersect would, if closed, place the rose window directly on top of the labyrinth, thus the sparkling, colored light of the window and the darkness of the labyrinthine pilgrimage are combined.

-

Walking a labyrinth is a deeply personal experience. You can clear your mind completely, or recite a mantra to yourself, or go into the walk thinking about a problem that troubles you. I used my walk to reflect on the need for Peace in my life. The War, the partisanship, the religious conflicts going on.... I wanted to keep myself open to anything that would guide me to a more peaceful way of dealing with life in the coming year.

-

It takes about 10 minutes to walk at a casual pace to the center of the labyrinth. At the center is a special place that you may want to spend time reflecting or praying or doing whatever you feel compelled to do at the moment. A change occurs after that. Whereas going into the labyrinth you meditate on the problem.... on the way out you open yourself up to receiving a solution.

-

At some point during my walk back out, the words of St. Francis of Assisi entered my head. A poem I had read again and again in my life, but it had been a long time since I read it. I didn't quite remember much of it other than the first few lines.... Lord, make me an instrument of thy Peace.

-

Be a peacemaker, in other words. That's what I got out of my 20 minute walk in and out of the labyrinth. Don't go looking for peace. Help create it.

As We Begin the Holiday Season. . .

This is a great message right now. Thank you Suki for sharing it with me. It speaks volumes. I searched around to find out the explanation for the various symbols that make up the COEXIST bumper sticker. Here goes:

(from www.stampandshout.org)

Every letter has a symbol that represents a system of thought: The crescent and star for Islam; the pentagram for Wicca; the relativity formula for science; the star of David for Judaism; the Karma Wheel dotting the i for Buddhism; the Tao symbol for Taoism; the cross for Chrisitianity.

The Sunday Morning Muse, December 16, 2007

Good Morning everyone! Spending a lot of couch time this weekend, and I've seen a few of those "Year in Review" lists, and it got me to thinking about putting together a Goosepath Top Ten or something like that. This is my 195th post. That number even suprized me. The path was a bit rocky at first. I've taken some criticism for meandering a bit, but the theme of this blog is the Journey, not the destination, so who knows what direction it will take next year.

Year End Reviews serve up a nice helping of nostaglia at the perfect time. It's like taking one last look at the slate before wiping it all clean and starting again. For sports fans, it's the highlight tape. In golf, it's a string of those miracle shots that Tiger Woods' hits over and over again. (And I never tire of it. Did I really hear that he teed it up 16 times on Tour this year and won 7 of the events?)

THE GOOSEPATH TOP TEN POSTS OF THE YEAR

1. Limbo eliminated. As of Friday, April 20, 2007, Pope does away with Limbo.

2. Tony Soprano is Dead. The subject of the most controversy on the Goosepath.

3. Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud. It's amazing. According to my statcounter, this post was what more people searched for who found my site, than any other posting. It is the title of Brian May's thesis for his Doctoral degree in Astrophysics.

4. Art Bell Retires... Again. Some people think of him as a charlatan...and maybe he does put us on a bit.... but late at night when I heard his famous "sounds from Hell" deep from a hole into the center of the Earth, or those eerie ghostlike soundbytes caught on tape in a cemetary... I shivered a bit under the covers . Just like a kid at camp.

5. All I need is the air that I breathe. The latest air quality study doesn't bode well for the region at all. All the news stories about CO2 emissions really hit home when you live close to coal powered power plants. A lot of people get cancer around here. I'm just sayin.

6. What to feed the cat. The pet food scare. Wow. I still get upset thinking about it.

7. Dumbledore is Gay. Nuff said. Not that there's something wrong with that.

8. God Speaks...Again. What a paradox.... God first tells Richard Roberts that we live in a "litigious society".... and to fight the charges against him. Then God changes HIS mind. Tells him He'll do something miraculous if Roberts quits his job at Oral Roberts University. (You'd think God would have known all along how all this would turn out..... unless... gee... maybe it wasn't God at all talking to Roberts. Maybe he is just a money grubbing nutter.)

9. Will He Get Hazard Pay for This? One of my favorite posts. Silly.

10. My Favorite Video. I try to stay above the fray with politics, but this attempt to make fun of it all, was just too tempting for me.

Spanish Mike with Kim Kardashian on Telemundo

The "live" version of the One Semester of Spanish Love Song... on Telemundo.

Leonard Cohen to be Inducted in Hall of Fame

“I don't consider myself a pessimist. I think of a pessimist as someone who is waiting for it to rain. And I feel soaked to the skin.”

-

"I've always held the song in high regard because songs have got me through so many sinks of dishes and so many humiliating courting events."

-

"Only in Canada could somebody

with a voice like mine win 'Vocalist of the Year'."

Here Comes the Sun... la la la la la..

Sometimes you find some pretty neat things looking up other things. Remember a while back I posted about the Death Clock? Well, get out, there is a Life Clock, that shows Earth's clock of life in a way that even Huckabee (who is running for President) can understand it. You see, he believes the Earth is 6 thousand years old. I wish I was kidding about that. You can easily Google him yourself if you don't believe me.

Anyhow, in a nutshell, Earth is about 4.5 BILLION years old. And some scientists calculate that the death of Earth is about 7.5 BILLION years away.

snip

"The last life may look much like the first life – a single-celled bacterium, survivor and descendant of all that came before," the authors write. Finally, even the surviving microbes "will be seared out of existence."
-------
The Life and Death of Planet Earth" is like its predecessor, "Rare Earth," in that the authors collected and distilled some of the latest scientific ideas about the Earth's place in the universe, Brownlee said. He hopes the new book, like "Rare Earth," will spark widespread discussion, and give people a fundamental and realistic view of the past and future of their planet.

"It's a healthy thing to think of the place of Earth among the other planets, and its place in the sun. The sun gave life and ultimately it will bring death."

Well.... so much for a happy ending.

What is.....Get Well Soon Alex

I freaked out for a bit when I heard Alex Trebek, the host of Jeopardy! had a heart attack. Thankfully, it was a mild one, and he is expected to resume taping the show in January. Let's just say I've had a crush on him for about 20 years. He is in my livingroom with me just about everynight from 7 till 7:30 and one of the proudest moments of my life, though no one was there to witness it, was when I answered 26 questions right on one show.

I love you Alex!

Lennon Remembered

Imagine there's no heaven --It's easy if you try. No hell below us, above us only sky. Imagine all the people living for today... Imagine there's no countries-- It isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for and no religion too. Imagine all the people Living life in peace...

The Sunday Morning Muse, December 9, 2007

Christmas list:

1. Cat bed for Sweet Pea.

2. (deleted, so as not to spoil the suprize)

3. An invisibility cloak for my sister, if I can find one.

4. Wine and spirits for us who drink.

5. Books and CDs for those who don't.


Done.

Fearless Fonzie

An amazing and riveting moment from Childhood TV.

The Sunday Morning Muse, December 2, 2007

I was only a kid but I first remember the hype surrounding Evil Knievel when he made that ill-fated attempt to jump an Idaho canyon on a rocket-powered motorcycle in 1974... What a daredevil! Why would someone DO such a thing? It was cool. Just like on Happy Days when Fonzie-- jumped over 14 garbage cans and crashed into Arnold's Chicken Stand.
-
Evil Knievel action figures were in the stores-- and were probably on many Christmas lists that year. I can remember my neighbor yelling I'M EVIL KNIEVEL and jumping his bicycle off the curbs in the local parking lots.

-
Perhaps Evil was not the best choice for hero... but he certainly made life a little more exciting.

Hard to believe that Evil died of natural causes at age 69.

God Speaks Again.... (but not to me)

And no, He didn't speak to George Bush again. He spoke to none other than Richard Roberts, who headed up Oral Roberts University. Reference this Sunday Morning Muse I posted about his last conversation with God in October, where God told this religious shyster we live in a "litigious" society and to fight the allegations against him. (There is a lawsuit accusing him of using university money on lavish shopping sprees, buying a stable of horses, paying for a daughter to travel to the Bahamas aboard the university jet, and let's not forget the 800 dollar cell phone bills for his wife's alleged underage boyfriends.)

Well apparently God change his mind. He told Roberts to resign. Actually, to hear Roberts tell it, God insisted.

Associated Press

On Wednesday, Roberts said God told him he would "do something supernatural for the university," if he stepped down from the job he held at the 5,700-student school since 1993.

---
I'm offended by this story on so many levels:

---

1. If God talks to George Bush and to Richard Roberts why won't he talk to the leaders of the Israelis and the Palestinians and help resolve their problems? Certainly a much more worthwhile conversation?

2. If God bargains with religious shysters who misuse funds gathered in His name, to promote His work, what does that say about God?

3. If God is so concerned about our litigious society, why doesn't he talk to the judge instead of insisting old Richard drop his fight against the allegations against him? I'm sure whatever the result of a court fight, any judge could be swayed to agree with God if God would just talk to him.

4.If God really did offer to "do something supernatural" for the University, yet he hasn't intervened so far with a cure for AIDS or Cancer, what party trick could he really have in mind?

I'll quit for now, I'm too worked up. Wake up people.

The Sunday Morning Muse, November 25, 2007

I spent most of yesterday trying to talk myself out of buying an IPOD. This whole shopping frenzy is starting to get to me. My whole voluntary simplicity lifestyle seems on the back burner.

My thoughts were full of reasons to justify buying one. I don't want to be left behind by technology do I? Besides, I really NEED one.... I RUN, now, and running without something sticking out of your ears blasting digital music is almost like running naked. Or worse...running with antique headphones and a cassette player clipped to your pants. Yikes.

I asked my hairdresser. If you were to buy an MP3 player, what would you buy? Sheesh, if I had known the conversation that would result from that.... well let's just say next time in a bar I'm going to use it as a pick up line because EVERYONE has opinions on this subject and are willing to chime in. People in the shop even piped up to offer suggestions. He even brought out two examples of them to show me that he stood in line for to buy on Black Friday. Then proceeded to enlighten me about the features of each.... 500 songs... 5000 thousand songs, video screens.... etc....

Then I realized something. I really don't WANT an IPOD or MP3 player. I just THOUGHT I did. I don't want to download 5000 songs. I don't even want to listen to music while I run. If I'm bored there is a TV to stare at at the Gym, people beside me to talk to, provided I can talk while I'm gasping for air as I tend to do, and at home, I really have NO USE for it right now.

Saying that, there will come a time, when I'll change my mind. And if someone buys me one, well, I'll certainly learn to live with it.

Naked Beowulf 101

When I agreed to go see Beowulf, the only thing I knew about the movie was what I remembered from the epic poem we studied in High School English Class:

-

* Beowulf kills Grendel and Grendel's mother gets revenge.

-

This didn't add up to much for me, but I went anyway. The digitally enhanced Beowulf.... a barely recognizable Ray Winstone with six pack abs, embodied everything a superhero should be. And he faught Grendel naked. Grendel's Mother? A very recognizable, and naked, Angelina Jolie. What brought the hideous monster Grendel-- an evil super-ugly, bloody gory pus filled wretch of a creature-- to the new Mead hall? Sounds of boisterous, lustful, drunken men partying with busty, drunken women.

-

Do you see the pattern here?

-

Perhaps if all the boring high school literature classes could be modified to include naked superheroes with computer generated monsters to fight, more kids would learn the classics. I say that in jest. Don't take the kids to this one.

Let there be Peace on Earth...

If someone arrived here from another planet and watched the news yesterday, they would think we are all really screwed up. First they would see the tables full of hundreds of needy folks being served up helpings of turkey and mashed potatoes, then cut to the story about the crazy people waiting in line for several hours in freezing cold temperatures to fight their way into a store for the purpose of saving a few bucks off of the latest toy, TV or gadget. Then the "on the street" interviews of shoppers. I heard one lady, a 20-something mother, saying that her kids have a 1700 hundred dollar list of things they want, and she knows that this year she can't get everything.

What? Oh, what a bad mother.

-

Didn't those pictures of the people at the Food Bank, at the Salvation Army, or in those church halls, mean ANYTHING?

Yesterday there was also a disturbing story about a group of kids at a school in Florida that started a Peace Club. They wore a Peace Shirt once a week on the same day. It sounds so sweet and innocent. But not in this society. The political partisanship that dominates our culture has gotten to the younger generation and now these kids are harrassed and called names by other kids, being accused of being "against the Troops.." Sounds like Little Rush Limbaughs doesn't it?

From the Article

But what started out as a light-hearted gesture soon started to be taken out of context. Students started approaching the group members, yelling obscene things at them, said Lauren. "People just turned on us like that," she said. "At least 10 boys stood up and yelled things at me at once, and we couldn't even walk through the halls without a harsh comment being made."

---snip---

Soon, a second group started to wear Confederate flag shirts to oppose the peace group, Skylar said. She saw shirts with sayings such as "This is America, get used to it," and "If peace is the answer; it must be a stupid question." "Now there are even 'support our troops' kids who don't like us because I guess they think you can't say peace and support the troops at the same time," Lauren said.

How does this happen? That the whole concept of PEACE.... something so beautiful and innocent... a message gangbangers need to hear, a message that fighting families with all the domestic violence we have in this country... really need to hear. And the word itself has been perverted by shrill voices on the right, so determined to promote the President and his war. So to Rush, and to all the others out their spewing hate and constantly pounding their pro- war message: Hey, the children are listening. The fruit of your message is intolerance, which is what tends to lead to war in the first place.

Peace really IS the answer. At least that's what you say in church. Remember Peace Be With You?

Are You As Tired as I am of the Debates?

Tom Waits on Letterman

What a gem this is! You gotta hear his story about the horse. Funny in a really absurd way.

Shameless Self Promotion

Cholesterol is everywhere! You can't get away from it! And I don't mean just in your food. You can't watch TV anymore without getting barraged with people telling you about the latest drugs. Well, I invite any and all who are struggling with cholesterol issues to visit my "other" blog called "Omega What?"

I need to get serious about lowering my own cholesterol, so I'm trying to educate myself a bit, and at the same time take some steps to get the numbers where they need to be. This means I spend a lot of time reading stuff on healthy eating, exercising, herbal supplements, pills and all that crap.

I figured I'd share some of my gems of knowledge, add a little humor to this daunting task, and at the same time motivate myself toward a healthier life.

In my own way, of course.

The Mamas And Papas - California Dreamin

Please watch this until at least 1 minute and 18 seconds in to get the full effect.

The Sunday Morning Muse, November 11, 2007

It just isn't fair. It used to be like this: Someone recorded a pretty good song. The song was shopped around, starting with the local radio stations. If it got airplay and people responded to it by calling in....then it went regional.... the buzz got bigger and it gets national....and vala! You have a hit. Suddenly you are selling a million records!
-
The important ingredient? YOU the listener. The fans who called the stations...and bought the records.
-
I heard about a local gal this weekend who has a great voice, plays some great music, has a lot of local buzz...and yet? Local DJ's have absolutely no say anymore over who gets on the air. Nothing they can do.

-
Public supported radio stations do their part, and do launch the efforts of new talent with special shows and such. But, and many people do not realize this, commercial radio is controlled by conglomerates, or big companies that dictate the music on hundreds of radio stations in many different markets. These companies actually determine who gets played and who does not.... ( remember what happened to the Dixie Chicks?) and, in the case of some of the largest companies ,they even have a grand "pay for play" scheme, which is illegal. Oh they will pay lawyers to tell you that what they are doing is legal... but the finagling they do to cover up money exchanged between their own concert promoters and indie labels, and the deals made for better air time slots, still amounts to PAY FOR PLAY.
-
What chance does a local artist have? Well, many say the answer is the internet. It seems like the perfect place to launch your music to the world, given all the IPODS out there plugged into so many ears.
-
But how do you make money? That's the problem. The young kids today think music is "free."
-
Well, just ask any starving artist how much it costs to get a decent CD produced, and you will learn otherwise. Let's hope that the very advances in technology that give artists exposure
don't discouragethe fair compensation they deserve for their work. Because, and especially right now, true talent is soooooo scarce in the homogenized, conglomerate radio world.

Remembering Dad on Veteran's Day

My dad served in the Navy near the end of World War II. That's him with the Argus Camera. He was always fumbling with cameras.
-

Dad never talked about the Navy much. Lots of the returning veterans kept their experiences to themselves. He served in the Pacific Theater. I don't believe he was in any serious action. I have pictures of when he went through the Panama Canal, a few pictures of his Navy buddies, and perhaps one fading story about the time he came to the aid of a poor little dog onboard ship who became seasick.

-

Even though he never said much, he was proud of his service. He wore his Navy ball cap to cut his grass, and he was a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

-

I miss dad. Next year will be 10 years since he passed on. I once kidded with him that he looked like a girl with his blond curly hair and blue eyes in that sailor suit. I wish now maybe I hadn't of said that.

The Sunday Morning Muse, November 4, 2007

Anybody who preserves the ability to recognize beauty will never get old.

-Franz Kafka

I've been taking more pictures lately with my new camera. Now that we are in the digital age you can take any picture, anytime, and not sweat over whether it is "film- worthy." If you hate it, you just delete it. Poof! So I take a lot of impulse pictures and decide later whether I want to keep them or not. Lately I've been on a search for beauty. I took this picture at a thrift shop.

LEONARD COHEN - Closing Time

It's so cool when you find your favorite video ever on You Tube. I no longer have to pray my VHS taped version won't break.

The Absolute Last Word on the Sopranos

Remember the big deal about the last scene of the last show of the Sopranos when the screen

went black at the end?

David Chase, the executive producer of The Sopranos, has"broken his silence" ---giving an interview to the AP and it caused a stir last week. Some people are using it to justify Tony not being dead. I say.... HORSE PUCKEY.

If you read the whole thing, it is quite obvious to me that he is doing what Judge Judy calls 'pot stirring.' Whether you choose to believe Tony is dead, or you do not, there are certainly no

explicit or implicit answers in this interview, as I see it.

So... what now? I say the bleak and inconclusive ending was NOT appropriate. If he wanted to give us "life goes on," he would have. He did not, and if he thinks he did, it was pretty lame. If cutting off the scene with the onion rings and going to black meant "life goes on" to him, well, I didn't get it. The range of choices for "life goes on" is staggering. This choice wasn't the best.

That said, the ending some fans like myself believe in, that he indeed is dead, is actually a more brilliant and interesting interpretation. I think he should take credit for it, even if the "da Vinci code-type meanings" were unintended on his part. (which I doubt)

-

But he is selling a book now. And the pot stirring gets people talking.

-

And talking people generate interest in buying books.

Halloween Candy- Your Personality Revealed

I'm not an expert, but I think I know as much as the next gal about candy. I certainly eat enough of it. That said, here is my personal analysis of people who like certain Halloween candy more than others:

Smarties: Let's just disclose that I really like Smarties. No, they are not chocolate, but Smarties have that nice sour taste... with a few variations of citrus...and have just enough sugar to give you that quick fix. Without all the fat calories. So... I see Smarties lovers as practical, level headed and somewhat reserved. Plus, you can eat some now and save some for later. And sharing them isn't a big deal.

Hershey Bars: Ahhh... also me. I love them. It's a state pride thing. I intend to give them out this year! It's a selfish thing. Since I don't get many Halloweeners...well... more for me! :) Hershey Bar eaters are kind, considerate, simple folk. They like Chocolate. Sure, I'll eat the Almond bars, too, but really, nothing is better than just your plain Hershey Bar.

Twizzlers: Thoughtful people like Twizzlers. You can chew on them and not talk for a long time. Einstein was probably eating Twizzlers when he dreamed up E= MC2.

M'nM's: Also me. I once got a whole case as a Birthday present. Other than Hershey Kisses, M'nM's are the best bite size candy ever made. You can eat them one at a time... or chug a lot and be a real pig. M'n M people love life, love food, and eat with gusto without regard to calories or their cholesterol level. They are smart. They know that if they eat half the bag.... that means that they SAVED calories by not eating the other half! And green ones? Well.. Let's not go there just yet. :)

Clark Bars: The last bit of chocolate left in your Candy Bag about November 5th. You ate all the good chocolate. Now it's either the Clark Bars or the Apples or the Sweet Tarts... I don't know anyone who eats them first. Maybe people with deep seated guilt who feel obligated to eat candy no one really wants.

Carmel Corn: Carmel Corn lovers want commitment. You really need both hands to eat it properly and you have to really chew it. And you end up with little bits stuck between your teeth, so it is a messy thing. Nothing easy about it, but with time--- and not a lot of dental work in your mouth, you can enjoy carmel corn.

Candy Corn: Stable, uncomplicated people like Candy Corn. This is a staple of Autumn, like jelly beans are a staple for Spring. You HAVE to eat some. Candy dishes were made for Candy Corn.

Mike and Ike: A fruity, fun candy with a burst of flavor that can be eaten relatively quickly.

Mike and Ike people are fun and flirty, but they have short attention spans.

The Sunday Morning Muse, October 28, 2007

Strolling down the costume aisle in the big box store, I saw this horribly lovely witch hat... it was black of course, with a pointy top, but was adorned with a beautiful green translucent bow made of a see through mesh material that was simply devine! And a wide assortment of cloaks, daggers, fake nails, spider jewelry and such that would make any witch's closet quite the fashion statement.

But is that what Halloween is all about? Fashion? I saw some costumes that looked more skanky than scary! Perhaps not enough left to the imagination, so to speak.


Rewind to the days of our youth. The faded, out-of-focus photographs from our school halloween parades..... those cold, and sometimes snowy Autumns of our childhoods..... back to the 1970's... when you had to be creative to come up with something really scary for halloween, something original! The alternative? You had to wear the horrible plastic masks with the tight
rubberbands around your head...that always broke. They had a little hole near the bottom to breathe through. Or you could wear the half mask. At least you could breathe, but they weren't very fun.

(I'm the cute little blonde bride. My little groom's name escapes me. But he did propose to me under the big oak tree during recess. Alas, the love didn't last.)

If Man is Still Alive... If Woman Can Survive

What will the human race, if it still exists, look like in the year 3000? Or even further out... say 10 thousand years? For some reason, I see us living back in caves. I'm not sure why. Maybe my fear of some future destruction.... caused by asteroids or maybe weapons of mass destruction. I'm not sure.

-

Something to think about as we continue on this path of evolution. It has been suggested that we will have reached our peak in selection for physical characteristics in the year 3000.

--

A report commissioned for TV Channel Bravo goes on to say humans will live up to 120 years and be 6 - 7 feet tall.

--

"Physical features will be driven by indicators of health, youth and fertility that men and women have evolved to look for in potential mates, says the report, which suggests that advances in cosmetic surgery and other body modifying techniques will effectively homogenise our appearance.

Men will have symmetrical facial features, deeper voices and bigger penises...

Women will all have glossy hair, smooth hairless skin, large eyes and pert breasts...

Racial differences will be a thing of the past as interbreeding produces a single coffee-coloured skin tone. "

--

The rather silly study borrows a theory from H. G. Wells that eventually we will split into two different races. This is way out, though. Tens of thouands of years. An "attractive, intelligent ruling elite and an underclass of dim-witted, ugly goblin-like creatures."

---

Given that we don't lose all our hair because of radiation when the nukes fly, I wouldn't mind the future... with smooth, naturally hairless, tanned skin. No more shaving! Oh, and I look pretty good with that glossy hair! I can see my New Year's Eve 3000 date now.... his name will be Lurch. He's the tall, symmetrical- faced guy with the low voice who poses for Playgirl Magazine.

We can go back to my cave for drinks.

The Shining Yakety Sax

The Sunday Morning Muse, October 21, 2007

-

Dumbledore is .... . What?


J.K. Rowling broke the news Friday night at an appearance before a full house at Carnegie Hall.
One young fan asked whether Dumbledore finds "true love."



AP News

"Dumbledore is gay," the author responded to gasps and applause. She then explained that Dumbledore was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, whom he defeated long ago in a battle between good and bad wizards. "Falling in love can blind us to an extent," Rowling said of Dumbledore's feelings, adding that Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down."

Dumbledore's love, she observed, was his "great tragedy."

---
My take? No big deal. He's still Dumbledore. Rowling says she wants her books to be a "prolonged argument for tolerance." This announcement proves it in a big way.

Now I suspect we will barraged by those who represent the prolonged argument for intolerance.

(At least they aren't burning witches at the stake in Salem anymore....)

Happy Sweetest Day

Before you click past and do what I normally would do.... mutter "Hummph! It's just another made-up holiday to keep the greeting card companies in business!".... hear me out.

I have a new respect for Sweetest Day. It began in 1922 in Cleveland,
Ohio--- the brain child of a man who worked for a candy company and wanted to give candy and gifts away to orphans and shut-ins, and people who were forgotten.

See Theda here?


She was a movie star back then. Jumped on this idea right away.... giving out 10,000 boxes of candy to people in hospitals and to those who came to watch one of her films at the Playhouse Square Theaters in Cleveland, Ohio.

My point is..... do something for someone! I know the holiday has morphed into a silly greeting card thing. Or a 'young couples" thing with the dinner for two or the "splash" package at some Holiday Inn, but it doesn't have to be that way.

And if you are alone... be nice to your cat. It'll do, until my "Cat Day" idea catches on.... but I digress.

Dr. Phibes Versus Jason

Each year around this time when all the Halloween movies find their way to the front of the video stores, I still find myself going for the really old classics ---my favorite of course, Vincent Price. You can have your Friday the 13th's and Halloween movies, I'll take Dr. Phibes, House of Wax, The Pit and the Pendulum... House on Haunted Hill. Or how about The Fly?






I first saw these movies on Saturday afternoons, as a kid . Watching them in daylight was plenty scary enough... even without the blood and gore of today. But they were scary in a really far- out and strange sort of way. Like Dr. Phibes and his freaky organ with the mannequin band playing instruments .... and those insane methods he dreamed up to kill people.


I just dug up The Trailer from the Pit and the Pendulum. Classic Vincent Price!

The Sunday Morning Muse, October 14, 2007

Wearing a flag pin on your jacket, or slapping a magnetic yellow ribbon on your 13 mpg SUV, is really the least anyone can do to show their patriotism. Seriously, it's the LEAST you can do.- Jeremy, Orlando, FL

Amen.

I found this quote in the comments section in response to a New Hampshire newspaper editorial criticizing Barack Obama for NOT wearing a flag lapel pin.

To Flag Pinners, I ask.... do you think sporting jewelry makes you oh so much more patriotic than the next guy? Perhaps it's my bias, but I figured the flag pinners to be in one of three classes:

1. A Bush supporter no matter what he does or doesn't do. So there.

2. A politician who doesn't want to be seen as someone who is not patriotic. It's like not wearing underwear.

3. And-- here I give benefit of the doubt--a bona fide supporter of the US military wearing the flag because a loved one is in harm's way, and the symbol somehow gives them comfort and a feeling of solidarity.

I don't run into many of #3--- but if you are out there, you know who you are. But it's about time someone called down this self-serving ridiculous practice by the politicians. Way to go Obama!

Ghost in the Neighborhood?

I found the following information on a haunted place website about a grave in a nearby cemetary. I went to check it out a while ago. You wonder how these things get started.

According to legend, there is a tombstone with a picture of a man with one white hand and one blank hand on it. If you put a white sheet over the top of the headstone on October 30th at midnight, then knock 3 times, the man is said to appear behind you.

---

Okay, this is the grave. No, I am not going back on October 30th. In this picture the 'black hand' is a little hard to make out, but it IS there. Poor Guy. Born in 1878. Died in 1927. Hopefully rested in peace a long time. Now he's on the internet.

The Sunday Morning Muse, October 7, 2007

And God said: We live in a Litigious Society. . .

I've always been suspicious of people who say God talks to them. Maybe because for me, it was always a one way conversation. In this case, if there is a God he truly has better things to do than worry about the outcome of lawsuits facing Richard Roberts, President of Oral Roberts University.

Maybe if God had told him to go live in poverty and help the poor of India, instead of using words like 'litigious,' I could believe him.



KARE-TV, Minneapolis

At a chapel service this week on the 5,300-student campus known for its 60-foot-tall bronze sculpture of praying hands, Roberts said God told him: "We live in a litigious society. Anyone can get mad and file a lawsuit against another person whether they have a legitimate case or not. This lawsuit ... is about intimidation, blackmail and extortion."

-
Excuse me?

How did anyone in that chapel keep a straight face? Maybe God should have told him to get his wife her own cell phone to call her underage boyfriends instead of at the expense of the ministry to the tune of $800 dollars a month, hire a tutor for his stupid daughter instead of using university members to do her homework, and quit using university money and people to inject himself in political races unlawfully. And open up the books and let the people who pay money to go there, see exactly how their money is spent. And as a bonus, God might have said why not send your daughter to the mission in the Congo with a check for $30 thousand dollars instead of the Bahamas to party with her friends on the ministry's tab?

And that is just for a start.

I'm just sayin'.

We'll see how this all ends. Maybe God can talk to him in jail someday, and educate him on misuse of funds and whatever other charges his creative accounting practices turn up.

Some Sage Advice from Carl

Every one of us is precious in the cosmic perspective. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you will not find another. - Carl Sagan

Something to think about today.

-

In this crazy world of talk radio idiots, Fox News, and any other TV programs that focus on the day's tedious and boring arguments---like who owes an apology to whom, which religious group claims the high moral ground that day, and all the brain numbing shouting and name-calling that goes with it-- it is easy to get discouraged.

-

No one seems to be focused on the big picture anymore. I salute the scientists out there in their labs late at night, quietly plugging away at their numbers, doing experiments, and seeking real answers to the big questions here in our part of the universe. We could sure use more Carl Sagans.

Past Life Regression - You Decide

I found this picture in a photo album here at the house. I thought it was just perfect for my post tonight about past life regression. An unidentified woman following a dark figure down a path. As with anything that has no definitive explanation, there are several theories about what occurs during past life regression. You can choose to believe it is reincarnation, genetic "memory" passed from cell structures through generations, or even just a fantasy. Nevertheless, something does happen during a regression, and the belief is that it can bring a person an emotional release.

When I had it done many years ago, I experienced the strange sense of being under a sort of hypnosis. It would be easy to shrug it off as simply that, but I felt as if the person who led me through the regression sort of took me down a path by asking open ended questions and I filled in the blanks. It was blissful to just let your mind go.

The way it worked, I was in a group lying on the floor of a classroom and the leader, for lack of better word, put us into a very comfortable, relaxing state and gently pushed us back through our current life's memorable moments. (Graduation, 16th Birthday, First Day of School, etc.) Eventually we went back to the very earliest thoughts we could think of, and then.... the suspension of belief, as the questions led us to the most important moment in the life before this one. All this time we "answered" the questions in our own minds instead of aloud, but every once in a while he would walk over to someone and ask what that person was "seeing" or "hearing" at the moment and it quickly became apparent that some people were having no success at all... some seemed to be making up things or showing obvious frustration at not being successful. Or quitting altogether.

Coming in as the skeptic, no one was more shocked than me to find I was experiencing, quite out of my own control, an unexpected sequence of events in this 'past life' I had entered. When asked to 'look around" and say aloud what I saw.... I saw nothing but a pair of yellow boots on my feet, and water below, as if I was on a bridge. I couldn't look up, or side to side or really anywhere. I had no idea what was going on.

The leader was fascinated by that, and came over for a more personal intervention. We 'exited' that particular 'moment' in this past life and he asked me to go to another 'important moment' in that life to see what we could learn. A series of questions revealed that I was 12 years old and living in 1902. My parents were dead and, as I sat in a wooden windowbox seat looking at a stone bridge over water out in the distance, I could hear relatives arguing over what they were going to do about me. It seemed no one wanted me. I started to cry at this point and was quite embarrassed, so the leader asked me to let this go, and instead we would go to the very last moment of this life to see how it ended.

All of a sudden--- all I could see was those yellow boots again, and the water below. This was where I had entered this life the first time....and by chance, it happened to be the last moment in that life! I had never looked up again. And those boots were the last thing I saw before I went under the water and drowned!

--------

Strange stuff, huh? You can't make this up. Or maybe you can. I don't know.
Past life? Fantasy? You decide. I haven't.

The Sunday Morning Muse, September 30, 2007

Filming started in New York on the Sex and the City Movie. The internet is a funny thing. You can go to YouTube and actually watch the girls walking down the street during filming.... from the Crowd's point of view. Some fan with a movie camera uploading these things. I planned to do a follow up posting today on progress for the new movie. (My previous post here.)

It got me thinking how much I miss the show, so I watched it on TBS last evening. It was the one where Carrie goes to California on a train with Samantha as part of a Book Tour, and Mr. Big turns up at a reading event. It was classic Mr. Big/Carrie- with all the sexual tension between them, the flirtation, great clothes and body language. She really missed him when he left for California. And wanted to show it. He on the other hand was fixed on her book. Reading passages aloud, asking questions.... wanting clarification of different parts that were all about the way he treated her. She told him it was all "...just writing. It's in the past."

Having kept journals since I was a teenager I understood that statement all too well. It's just writing. It's the heat of the moment. When you go back and read that stuff, sometimes it is like reading about your life for the first time. We humans do not have great memories. And that is a good thing. Because that is how we HEAL.

In the end, they do have sex.

But, and here's the part that stuck out for me. You know how when Carrie always sort of sums things up at the end with a thought? At the end, she said, "Sometimes it isn't the journey, it is the destination."

And there you have it. The exception to my Blog Theme at the top of the page. It gave me something to muse about today.

Clean Air--- Into the Mystic

Stripped off all my clothes and put them straight into the hamper last night. I smelled like a firefighter. You guessed it, another evening in a smoky bar. Yuck, I hate smelling like that when I come home. It's enough to make a lot of people actually STAY home. This wouldn't have happened in Ireland, where a smoking ban has been in effect for four years now. I can't understand all the fuss over here. Pennsylvania is years behind, fighting over legislation with outcries of so called "civil liberties" taken away, fears about lost revenues, enforcement, etc. The whole debate rages on and on.

A group of doctors at a hospital in Belfast determined not only has air quality improved in the pubs, but musicians are getting better sound out of their instruments. (No doubt to me their singing has improved as well.)

From AFP

. . . they wanted to check the impact of the smoking ban on the quality of traditional Irish music played in the smoke-free pubs. They managed to contact six of the seven Irish experts who work with the instruments. All said there was a strong smell of cigarette smoke from accordions played in a smoke-filled environment when they are opened. Soot-like dirt was deposited throughout the instrument.

"One repairer commented that the deposition of dirt could be substantial enough to affect the pitch of the reed."Two others claimed that if a musician tended to play in a particular key, that this could be determined from the distribution of dirt around particular reeds."

All the repairers were categorical that these signs had definitely improved in accordions they had worked on since the introduction of the smoking ban in Ireland. The doctors concluded the smoking ban has been "music to the ears of the people of Ireland."

In March 2004, Ireland outlawed smoking in every workplace including pubs and restaurants and even on fishing boats and in company cars. Anyone found breaching it faces a fine of up to 3,000 euros (4,254 dollars) and pubs run the risk of ultimately losing their licence.

--

Van Morrison somewhere is blowing into a nice clean saxophone reed... Into the Mystic. Ahhh. Clean Air.

One Semester of Spanish - Love Song

I laughed so hard the first time I saw this that I had to post it.

Fake Acupuncture-- It's Not a Joke

My intent is not to needle anyone about this, instead I'll just get to the point. I just read a study that claims to show that fake acupuncture is almost as good as the real thing for back pain. (The fake acupuncture isn't as deep with the needles, doesn't have the "manipulation," plus the needles aren't really inserted into the traditional "points.")

The gist of the study seems to reveal that part of it is the placebo effect, of course... mental attitude toward the therapy has a lot to do with it. But also just putting the needles in may release natural painkillers.... and open up blocked energy.

I fell on the ice awhile back. It was not pretty, but could have been worse. Pain management was something new to me. I've done heat therapy, electro stimulation, massage, chiropractic manipulation, pressure points, rubber ball movement therapy, the roller table (wow!!!), exercises and even reiki.

-

Fortunately, I have never had such terrible pain that I was motivated to have someone stick needles in me. (Though I probably would, if the pain ever got that bad.) I have leveled out, though I have occasional problems when I do stupid things like bully stuff around or get in awkward positions.) In the future, if I find myself in chronic pain again, perhaps I'd go for something in between.... like, don't stick the needles in really far, but do put them where they should be, and manipulate them... a little bit.

-

I'm a big believer in massage... for the body and the mind. And I seem to have a knack for finding pressure points. The relief is incredible.... especially for minor aches.... like after sports, or for neck tension... shoulders, etc. Massage was the only thing that truly helped my lower back, by loosening me up enough to be able to then exercise and strengthen that area.

Reiki, is an area I want to explore further. I've had a couple of treatments, and though it is out there a little further on the fringe of alternative treatments, I believe there is potential for results. I don't discount anything that involves basic touch and positive energy. We all certainly need more of that.