Predictions for the Coming Year

Tonight and tomorrow night Art Bell is back with his annual Predictions Show on Coast to Coast. I'll just skip that Tylenol PM tonight and hope I wake up to catch at least part of the show which runs on our local affiliate (the link is the map of stations) from 1 - 6AM in the morning. The best part is the "dings and bonks." (last year's predictions)

Art determines which happened and which did not.

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I never called into the show myself, but I have given a little thought to predictions for the year ahead. Be sure and check this post next year to see how many I get correct!

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I predict:

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We still won't see peace in the mideast.

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Food prices will continue to go up, and gas prices will rise again to at least $3.00 a gallon.

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Sarah Palin's daughter will never marry her baby's father.
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Tom Cruise will check into a hospital suffering from some type of breakdown.

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Someone will be critically hurt on Survivor because of some stupid contest and the show will be taken off the air due to public outcry.

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At least two members of Congress will resign their seats because of sex scandals, and one member of the Senate will be named in questionable financial dealings that will cause this person to retire early.

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Life will unequivocably be declared on Mars. ( I'm not saying they'll unearth cromagnon man or anything.... but some little, tiny spec of something was there in that frozen water. I just know it.)

The Sunday Morning Muse, December 28, 2008

I live in a small town where nobody really goes out all that much on New Year's Eve. I asked around, and got the typical blah responses.

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"It's amateur night."

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"Too many drunks on the road."

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"I don't go out because of the chance of getting a DUI. (the limit is .08 here and that is rather easy to reach with a few drinks...)

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"There's no where to go here...and I don't want to drive out of town."

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One positive response I got today was from a mentally challenged fellow who gleefully informed me he was going to a local pub where there will be a band from "out of town."

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I see him out a lot. He can't drive but there is always someone willing to take him home. He also gets a lot of hugs from many women.

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Today he was also sporting a Steeler shirt with Big Ben's number on it and was excited for the big football game today against Cleveland.

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He sure seems happy.

Getting Ready for the New Year

It seems everyone I talk to is more than ready to close the book on this year. I myself could list more misery than glee in 2008 but I don't feel like dwelling on it. Suffice to say it wasn't a banner year for me. The highs weren't especially high and the lows... well. The year couldn't even end on a high note. I've been really sick these past few days with the bug that's going around. Having to stay at home did give me the time to get reacquainted with my couch and listen to some CD's I got for Christmas.

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Sometimes it helps to look at how things could have been worse. It puts things into perspective. I still have a job and roof over my head. There are thousands who don't.

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As Aunt Millie used to say, that's the way the mop flops.

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So there's a new year coming. I can't believe it's 2009. It seems we all were just worrying about whether the computers would work in the year 2000. I remembered I set the date back on mine just in case.

Happy Christmas!

So this is Christmas

And what have you done

Another year over

And a new one just begun

And so this is Christmas I hope you have fun

The near and the dear one

The old and the young

A very merry Christmas And a happy New Year

Let's hope it's a good one Without any fear

And so this is Christmas

For weak and for strong

For rich and the poor ones

The world is so wrong

And so happy Christmas

For black and for white

For yellow and red ones

Let's stop all the fight

Mark Twain Said. . .

"There are women who have an indefinable charm in their faces which makes them beautiful to their intimates, but a cold stranger who tried to reason the matter out and find this beauty would fail."





-- Mark Twain


Perhaps that's a long way of saying beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Or the beer holder.

Winter Solstice 2008

Last night was the Winter Solstice party. The fire was incredible this year. The "outside" of the bonfire was big 6 foot logs...about 40 of them stacked into a teepee…and the center was completely packed with other firewood and newspaper. The winds were gusting at 30 miles an hour and switching direction constantly….. so there would be big "wooshes' of flames out the side and way over the top…. I threw in a wish for Suki. For a new back.

The labyrinth walk was enlightening. On the way into the labyrinth I asked about present moment living. What is the best way to maintain it? I really want to rid myself of the guilt and worry….. I've just been overwhelmed worrying about the future lately…and then I get these bouts of regrets about things in the past.

I opened myself up to the labyrinth and I got signs. While on the stepping stones in the middle of the labyrinth I first saw a rock of an old foundation. I took this to mean that I have to build a foundation… then I saw some ornamental grass swaying in the high winds… which to me was obvious. Bend with the flow. Don't be rigid. Next I saw the fence on the other side of the field, but it was squarely in "front " of me. I took this to mean that there are always obstacles, but they are able to be crossed. And last I saw the entrance to the lane that leads over the hill to the rest of the woods and down to the railroad tracks. It was a road calling me.
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On the way out of the labyrinth, it got especially cold and windy. I just kept my head down and kept following the footsteps in the snow in front of me. I tried to be "in the moment" and be conscious of every twist and turn in the labyrinth. Then I sped up…going faster… to get …done.

Then it came to me… it's the journey not the destination. Which of course, is the motto for The Goosepath. The journey.

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Just slow down. So I did. What a great metaphor for 2009.

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The Sunday Morning Muse, December 21, 2008

Welcome to the shortest day of the year. As I write, I was startled by a ray of sunshine that came through the window onto my computer screen. Haven't seen sun in awhile. The Northeast is in the midst of gloom, ice, rain, darkness and snow. But.... we're at the halfway point. It's Winter Solstice.
The days will get longer now. I say get out and enjoy the lights, ring the bells, eat some food, drink some wine and celebrate any way you can. Maybe even under the mistletoe!

Wikipedia

Mistletoe, which was sacred because it mysteriously grew on the most sacred tree, the oak, was ceremoniously cut and a spray given to each family, to be hung in the doorways as good luck. The celtic Druids also regarded mistletoe as sacred. Druid priests cut it from the tree on which it grew with a golden sickle and handed it to the people, calling it All-Heal. To hang it over a doorway or in a room was to offer goodwill to visitors. Kissing under the mistletoe was a pledge of friendship. Mistletoe is still forbidden in most Christian churches because of its Pagan associations, but it has continued to have a special place in home celebrations.

Ding Fries are Done

So I'm walking around in the midst of three and a half hours of Xmas shopping yesterday and realized I was thirsty, my feet hurt and I could barely breathe from what I sense to be a lack of oxygen in the stores. I had long lost track of my friend who was also getting somewhat confused and disoriented, tired and a bit oxygen deprived herself.

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I sat down on a chair in Sears, and it occurred to me I've been wandering around for seems like years and all I bought was a pair of socks. (In that store, anyway)

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Then, it also occurred to me I'm humming aloud to a Xmas song... but I can't think of what it is. The only thing that entered my mind was Ding! Fries are Done.

It was time to go home.

The Good King

"Good King Wenceslas last looked out,
On the feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even.
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight
Gathering winter fuel."
- Christmas Carol




Wikipedia

"Good King Wenceslas" is a popular Christmas carol about a king who goes out to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (the second day of Christmas, December 26). During the journey, his page is about to give up the struggle against the cold weather, but is enabled to continue by the heat miraculously emanating from the king's footprints in the snow. The legend is based on life of the historical Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (907-935), known in the Czech language as Svatý Václav.

The Ditty Bops - Wishful Thinking

Into the Fire

Another year is quickly coming to a close. Solstice is Sunday. It's been a tradition to throw into the fire a wish for the coming year. I hate to wait until the last minute and just write something stupid down. Which leads me to this night's muse. Other than the obvious... hitting the lottery....what would you want if you could have anything? Do you know?
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More important, do you spend much time dreaming about what it is you really want? Or instead do you get through the daily routine...collapse into your bed at night and wonder where the day went? No time to dream at all?
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There are general wishes....like the lottery thing, good health, etc. But is there something, maybe ONE THING, that... if you could have it with no strings attached, it could be yours. Without complications, taxes or consequences.

Hmmm.

Shoe Me Once, Shoe Me Twice

One Toke Over the Line- Brewer and Shipley

What's great about this is the intro. If you listen to it you find out that this song, clearly about smoking dope, was performed on the Lawrence Welk show as a gospel tune! You can't make this up. If you are really bored and want to see a few
seconds of it....click here

The Sunday Morning Muse, December 14, 2008

Quid pro quo. One hand washes the other. You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. This is pretty much the way the system works. A slight nod and a wink. The deal is sealed.

No, it's not pretty. People don't flaunt it. Unless they possess a degree of hubris that lands them in front of the cameras. That's what happened to Governor Bad Hair of Illinois.

Backroom deals, politicking for votes, for money, for jobs... sounds like your average day in Congress actually. Who doesn't believe that legislator's votes aren't heavily influenced by people who donate money to them? But somewhere is this line people are talking about. Kinda like the ones on the TV when football is on. People cross over them all the time... unnoticed. But then, some plays are more important than others and the cameras are watching... and now it's up close and personal on the big screen. THERE is the foot.... CROSSING ... OVER THE LINE.

Keep On Smilin - Wet Willie

This song reminds me of older Van Morrison stuff. First time I heard it I thought it was him.

Thursday Thoughts

There is something, well, unseemly about a 39 year old Jennifer Aniston taking it all off on the Cover of GQ Magazine. Go ahead, look. I know you want to. Let me first say I never liked the TV show FRIENDS. I thought it was stupid. That said, who didn't feel a bit of a pang when Brad Pitt dumped this woman for Angelina Jolie.

Now it's like she is trying to prove something. Hey look at me at 39... I work out. I don't have 6 kids. Look at what you are missing! Or how about...I'm not covered in super ugly weird-ass tattoos.

She's So Cold- The Rolling Stones

The Sunday Morning Muse, December 7, 2008

“To shorten winter, borrow some money due in spring.” W.J. Vogel


You know, I'd like winter more if it wasn't for the cold. I make no apologies for how much I hate winter. I could list a million reasons but most of them would ultimately fall into two categories. The Cold and the Darkness.

Yesterday we put up some lights. Should have done it weeks ago when it was warm.

CoCo Update

The picture at the left is not CoCo. That's an advertisement cat. The point is.... I just ordered an outdoor heated cat mat... with a "kitty pad cover" that comes separate. I also sprung for a "thermo-cube" to turn it on whenever it reaches 35 degrees...and shut it off at 45 degrees.

I felt sorry for CoCo with the cold temperatures these past few nights, because she will not go into a box.

There's a special insulated cat box on the porch. I also made a "homemade" bed out of a beer box and some rags... but she won't go "INSIDE" anything. She just crawls under the glider and sits in a small fleece cat bed. I think she was stuck in something for a long time... and now has claustrophobia. I can relate. I barely tolerate elevators, but that is another story.

And yes, I'm still hoping I can get her adopted to someone who can bring her into their loving home. Big bright eyes, healthy appetite, a loving nature and she eats any kind of food. But in the mean time I'm making sure she is well cared for under the glider in the closed in breezeway.

PS-- She actually PLAYED for the first time this week. It was a big deal. She was so traumatized before that playing just wasn't something that interested her. But she is getting better, and happier everyday.

On the Couch

As a huge fan of the Sopranos, I couldn't wait to dive into this book. I wasn't disappointed. First, let me say what this book is NOT. It is not a gossipy, name dropping tell-all of her glamorous, movie star life. Instead it is a memoir that is refreshingly candid, revealing intimate details of her family life, her career, her loves, and her bout with depression.

As it read it, I kept thinking, wow, if I wrote a memoir of my own life could I even go that deep? Reveal that much? At times I feel like a voyeur reading her journal. Reading about her custody battle over her daughter Stella was gut-wrenching. I felt like I was on a seesaw with her... one day up...next day down, wondering how could it get worse? And then seeing it happen.

And through it all, she seeks to work through her mistakes and keep going.

Yes, there are a few good "Sopranos" stories and insights. Like how she was first offered the part of Carmela, and why she turned it down. What it was like to be Tony's psychiatrist, and other little tidbits that fans will like.

It is one of those books where, when you turn the last page, you feel sad because you lost a friend. There is a consolation prize. In the back she serves up a list six "lessons from the couch." The list offers sound advice for anyone--- not just those suffering depression.

You can hear an archived interview with Lorraine Bracco about the book at NPR.

H.H. Munro Said...

"The young have aspirations that never come to pass, the old have reminiscences of what never happened."

-H.H. Munro

It's Too Late to be Drinking Coffee

Save Me From Ugly Christmas Clothes

I can pretty much guarantee you will never see me in one of these tacky Christmas sweaters. It doesn't really entice men to kiss you under the mistle toe, does it?

This sweater was on Ebay when I searched ugly Christmas Sweaters. They have a whole bunch of them.

Though I hate to admit it, I wore one at Christmas a long time ago that I got as a gift. Mine was black, and it was that itchy "rabbit" fur that was popular in the 1980s.... complete with shoulder pads.... yikes... and had MERRY CHRISTMAS in big bright red and gold sequins across my chest. It least it didn't light up.

Let X = X

This video of Laurie Anderson's song is well done.Someone put a great deal of thought and talent into making it. It suits the song, and it is just trippy enough to be compelling to watch. Especially full screen while in the dark. Laurie Anderson's music takes me back to college when I was taking a painting class, and the professor would play an eclectic mix of music while we painted.