I was a bit shocked that Thia went home with Naima. I really expected it would be Hailey or Jacob. I think Thia deserved to stick around. In fact, I thought her performance last night was amazing. However, voting has come down to "Who would I want to buy?" (CD wise, perverts)
So, I think the most incredible thing of the night, IN ALL OF AI HISTORY, was the performance by James, Casey, Paul, and Stephano. That is what I wish American Idol could always be like. True musicians. True performers. People who just want to make music. LOVED IT!!
Can't find it yet on YouTube yet....
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Fuk U & Me... (or something like that) Radiation
I've held off talking about this because I don't want to seem paranoid.... but come on, really!
First, I don't necessarily think that the government will lie just for the sake of lying, but I do think they'll try to prevent panic, to the point of not being forthcoming with prudent information.
Radiation levels are now 4300 times the "legal" limit in the ocean waters around this area of Japan. And I think I heard that this level was detected for 20 miles.What does this mean? I mean, I know what it means... but what does this really mean? Will this kill ocean life in that 20 mile radius? How long will this take to dissipate? What about ocean currents? How long do we have to worry about buying a can of tuna?
And, the experts are saying... "We don't know where it's coming from.." .......? Really? Turn on CNN dipshit. I'm not a nuclear physicist, but I'm fairly certain I know where the radiation is coming from.
Dangerous radiation levels have been found in a town 12 miles outside of the evacuation zone... Why haven't they increased the evacuation zone?
Ocean water is corrosive. As soon as they pumped ocean water into reactors 1, 2, and 3... It was pretty much guaranteed that those reactors would never go one line again. When the incident at Chernobyl happened, they dumped fuck-tons of sand and cement, and "corked" the problem. WHY IS JAPAN NOT DOING THIS? You cannot save those reactors. Exposing them to ocean water compromised them INDEFINITELY... I don't understand why they are acting like they can save them. Cut our losses... please... ?
From what I've read, and I realize you can't necessarily trust everything you read, but.... it appears to me, that the majority of incidents of cancer ensuing from the Chernobyl accident were cases of thyroid cancer, from radioactive iodine... that seems to have come from drinking affected milk....
California and Washington are now detecting increased radiation in their milk. The FDA says these are minimal and that the milk is still safe to drink.. I hate to sound like this.. but I can't help it... If the FDA came out and said, "Well, this could be a concern..." Dairy farmers in the western US would be going out of business left and right.
Assuming that the FDA is being honest at this point, what does this mean long term? Cuz, I'm not sure if you people noticed, the situation in Japan hasn't changed. Everyone keeps talking about how American's are being paranoid and that there is no reason for concern, but what I'm taking into consideration is that this situation is not over. I get that the amount of radiation in the milk is equal to less radiation that you're exposed to during a 5 hour plane ride... but they aren't talking about long term.. Can we handle a continued exposure to this... cuz as I pointed out, they haven't "corked" the problem yet. What is the long term affect if my son drinks a gallon or two of radiated milk for the next year? I mean, I have friends who are radiology techs, and you reach a certain level of exposure, and you have to change careers. There is a "lifetime" exposure limit... I just don't know the realities of those limits.
And, god forbid.... what if it gets worse? What if somehow the damn plant blows up?
Am I ridiculous for thinking about going and getting some powdered milk? (ugggg) I don't want to be over-the-top paranoid, but I don't want to kick myself in the ass later for being too naive.
First, I don't necessarily think that the government will lie just for the sake of lying, but I do think they'll try to prevent panic, to the point of not being forthcoming with prudent information.
Radiation levels are now 4300 times the "legal" limit in the ocean waters around this area of Japan. And I think I heard that this level was detected for 20 miles.What does this mean? I mean, I know what it means... but what does this really mean? Will this kill ocean life in that 20 mile radius? How long will this take to dissipate? What about ocean currents? How long do we have to worry about buying a can of tuna?
And, the experts are saying... "We don't know where it's coming from.." .......? Really? Turn on CNN dipshit. I'm not a nuclear physicist, but I'm fairly certain I know where the radiation is coming from.
Dangerous radiation levels have been found in a town 12 miles outside of the evacuation zone... Why haven't they increased the evacuation zone?
Ocean water is corrosive. As soon as they pumped ocean water into reactors 1, 2, and 3... It was pretty much guaranteed that those reactors would never go one line again. When the incident at Chernobyl happened, they dumped fuck-tons of sand and cement, and "corked" the problem. WHY IS JAPAN NOT DOING THIS? You cannot save those reactors. Exposing them to ocean water compromised them INDEFINITELY... I don't understand why they are acting like they can save them. Cut our losses... please... ?
From what I've read, and I realize you can't necessarily trust everything you read, but.... it appears to me, that the majority of incidents of cancer ensuing from the Chernobyl accident were cases of thyroid cancer, from radioactive iodine... that seems to have come from drinking affected milk....
California and Washington are now detecting increased radiation in their milk. The FDA says these are minimal and that the milk is still safe to drink.. I hate to sound like this.. but I can't help it... If the FDA came out and said, "Well, this could be a concern..." Dairy farmers in the western US would be going out of business left and right.
Assuming that the FDA is being honest at this point, what does this mean long term? Cuz, I'm not sure if you people noticed, the situation in Japan hasn't changed. Everyone keeps talking about how American's are being paranoid and that there is no reason for concern, but what I'm taking into consideration is that this situation is not over. I get that the amount of radiation in the milk is equal to less radiation that you're exposed to during a 5 hour plane ride... but they aren't talking about long term.. Can we handle a continued exposure to this... cuz as I pointed out, they haven't "corked" the problem yet. What is the long term affect if my son drinks a gallon or two of radiated milk for the next year? I mean, I have friends who are radiology techs, and you reach a certain level of exposure, and you have to change careers. There is a "lifetime" exposure limit... I just don't know the realities of those limits.
And, god forbid.... what if it gets worse? What if somehow the damn plant blows up?
Am I ridiculous for thinking about going and getting some powdered milk? (ugggg) I don't want to be over-the-top paranoid, but I don't want to kick myself in the ass later for being too naive.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Talk Thursday: "Who, Me? Already?"
Pink socks make me a feel special.
I like my popcorn slightly burned.
Flashmobs make me cry.
That's weird, and I've absolutely no idea why.
I can watch reruns of House and NCIS all day, and be upset if I have to miss some.
I could eat teriyaki every day for the rest of my life.
Chocolate makes me crave cheese which makes me crave BBQ sauce...odd, I know.
This song always makes me want to dance....
I hate folding laundry, but I'm worse at getting folded laundry put away... still.
I hate washing silverware, and I swear I use my dishwasher primarily because of this.
I hate hate more than anything and hate that hate inspires me to hate.
I hate Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas,
But find myself bobbing with Miley.
My son knows the quickest way to annoy me is to "Rah, Rha" or "Boom, Boom",
I sure hope he never chooses to be a cheerleader. (Is there a different name for boy cheerleaders?)
Or to stick his finger between my toes.... That makes me want to vomit.
SpongeBob makes me want to claw my eyes out and drive nails through my ears.
But I find myself watching iCarly long after he's gone to bed.
I am rather impressed that I got so far before using my child to define myself.
Some might criticize that it too long for me to get to him, but this was an exercise of sorts.
An exercise to see how much of an individual I am..
Apart from my child... sad to say it mostly involved music and food.
*sigh*
I like my popcorn slightly burned.
Flashmobs make me cry.
That's weird, and I've absolutely no idea why.
I can watch reruns of House and NCIS all day, and be upset if I have to miss some.
I could eat teriyaki every day for the rest of my life.
Chocolate makes me crave cheese which makes me crave BBQ sauce...odd, I know.
This song always makes me want to dance....
I hate folding laundry, but I'm worse at getting folded laundry put away... still.
I hate washing silverware, and I swear I use my dishwasher primarily because of this.
I hate hate more than anything and hate that hate inspires me to hate.
I hate Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas,
But find myself bobbing with Miley.
My son knows the quickest way to annoy me is to "Rah, Rha" or "Boom, Boom",
I sure hope he never chooses to be a cheerleader. (Is there a different name for boy cheerleaders?)
Or to stick his finger between my toes.... That makes me want to vomit.
SpongeBob makes me want to claw my eyes out and drive nails through my ears.
But I find myself watching iCarly long after he's gone to bed.
I am rather impressed that I got so far before using my child to define myself.
Some might criticize that it too long for me to get to him, but this was an exercise of sorts.
An exercise to see how much of an individual I am..
Apart from my child... sad to say it mostly involved music and food.
*sigh*
The Extinction of Religion
So I read this article last week and hadn't gotten to commenting on it yet.
It reports on a study that finds that over the last 100 years, affiliation with an organized religion has decreased significantly, and the trends show that it will continue doing so. Trends show that for 9 western democratic nations, the numbers will dwindle until they near extinction. Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland and Switzerland are all seeing this decline. Where does the US fit in? Well, we don't know. The US does not include denominational questions in it's census, therefore this statistic can't be traced the same way. I have a guess though.
The big question is, what does this mean? Are people losing their faith in God, or just the churches? One fascinating aspect of this study is that it isn't affiliation with a single religion, it's spread pretty equally amongst all religions, Christian or otherwise.
Historically, we've seen religions decline or become extinct, same as language, BUT there has always been something that replaced it. WE AREN'T SEEING THAT THIS TIME! There is no great upsurge of membership to another religion. The numbers do not reflect that these people are going somewhere else.
A paper published by Walter Sundberg in 2000 stated that in the US the numbers are drastically declining as well.
Some of these numbers are quite dramatic, others less so. But it must be remembered that during this same period, the population of the United States grew by nearly thirty percent.
An interesting twist is that Evangelical churches have seen an increase in membership over that same time period. The chief examples of evangelical denominations that have enjoyed membership growth in the period from 1965 to 1994 are:
I think that the evangelical numbers can be deceiving. Notice one of those numbers are for a single city. I could start my own religion, convert my own family, and show the same numbers.
It would seem that world-wide, there is a slight increase in the number of people who consider themselves atheist, but these numbers still do not explain the decreases in organized religion. You also have to take into consideration that it is becoming more acceptable to "come out" as an atheist... Once upon a time, you were putting your life at risk.... and even more recently, faced social suicide if you admitted atheism.
So what does this mean? Do people still have their faith, but feel their government doesn't need to know about it? Do they still believe in God but, like me, feel that no single religion has the "whole picture"? Or are more people becoming atheist?
You also have to consider the rediscovery of "pagan-based" belief structures which were revived and thrived in secret since the Renaissance. Witchcraft had a "coming out" of sorts about 100 years ago or so, and neopaganism, in general, has gained acceptance and popularity since the 60's and 70's.
Perhaps, we are reaching a point where the majority of the world not only has freedom of religion, but truly trust in that freedom. Maybe the numbers should have always looked like this... I, of course, don't want to see the religions disappear. Though I don't personally believe in an organized religion, I do feel that they add wonderful aspects to our cultural individualities. Religion is our history, it's where we come from. Religion shaped this world for so long, and yes, often through ugly, brutal means.... but I am fearful that if we loose our religious identity, it will be "re-invented" somewhere down the road.... And then, will we repeat our prior atrocities?
I hope, pray, that this study only indicates a new open-mindedness.
It reports on a study that finds that over the last 100 years, affiliation with an organized religion has decreased significantly, and the trends show that it will continue doing so. Trends show that for 9 western democratic nations, the numbers will dwindle until they near extinction. Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland and Switzerland are all seeing this decline. Where does the US fit in? Well, we don't know. The US does not include denominational questions in it's census, therefore this statistic can't be traced the same way. I have a guess though.
The big question is, what does this mean? Are people losing their faith in God, or just the churches? One fascinating aspect of this study is that it isn't affiliation with a single religion, it's spread pretty equally amongst all religions, Christian or otherwise.
Historically, we've seen religions decline or become extinct, same as language, BUT there has always been something that replaced it. WE AREN'T SEEING THAT THIS TIME! There is no great upsurge of membership to another religion. The numbers do not reflect that these people are going somewhere else.
A paper published by Walter Sundberg in 2000 stated that in the US the numbers are drastically declining as well.
The figures for the period from 1965 to 1994 are:
American Baptist Churches in the USA -3.3%
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) -51.1%
Episcopal Church -27.0%
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America -8.5%
Presbyterian Church (USA) -13.1%
Reformed Church in America -19.8%
United Church of Christ -27.5%
United Methodist Church -22.4%
American Baptist Churches in the USA -3.3%
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) -51.1%
Episcopal Church -27.0%
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America -8.5%
Presbyterian Church (USA) -13.1%
Reformed Church in America -19.8%
United Church of Christ -27.5%
United Methodist Church -22.4%
Some of these numbers are quite dramatic, others less so. But it must be remembered that during this same period, the population of the United States grew by nearly thirty percent.
An interesting twist is that Evangelical churches have seen an increase in membership over that same time period. The chief examples of evangelical denominations that have enjoyed membership growth in the period from 1965 to 1994 are:
Assemblies of God +306%
Church of God (Cleveland, TN) +252%
Church of God in Christ +1,232%
Church of the Nazarene +74%
Southern Baptist Convention +45%
I think that the evangelical numbers can be deceiving. Notice one of those numbers are for a single city. I could start my own religion, convert my own family, and show the same numbers.
It would seem that world-wide, there is a slight increase in the number of people who consider themselves atheist, but these numbers still do not explain the decreases in organized religion. You also have to take into consideration that it is becoming more acceptable to "come out" as an atheist... Once upon a time, you were putting your life at risk.... and even more recently, faced social suicide if you admitted atheism.
So what does this mean? Do people still have their faith, but feel their government doesn't need to know about it? Do they still believe in God but, like me, feel that no single religion has the "whole picture"? Or are more people becoming atheist?
You also have to consider the rediscovery of "pagan-based" belief structures which were revived and thrived in secret since the Renaissance. Witchcraft had a "coming out" of sorts about 100 years ago or so, and neopaganism, in general, has gained acceptance and popularity since the 60's and 70's.
Perhaps, we are reaching a point where the majority of the world not only has freedom of religion, but truly trust in that freedom. Maybe the numbers should have always looked like this... I, of course, don't want to see the religions disappear. Though I don't personally believe in an organized religion, I do feel that they add wonderful aspects to our cultural individualities. Religion is our history, it's where we come from. Religion shaped this world for so long, and yes, often through ugly, brutal means.... but I am fearful that if we loose our religious identity, it will be "re-invented" somewhere down the road.... And then, will we repeat our prior atrocities?
I hope, pray, that this study only indicates a new open-mindedness.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
DANGER!! DANGER!! PC POWER SOURCE FAILING!! CAN'T COMMUNICATE.. MELTDOWN ENSUING!!
can't take this...cellphone internet blows... might just whither and die...
help
help
I Make Pretty.. YAY!
I made myself a little lovely with the pretty beads mom gave me... LOVE IT!!!
Still not really great at photographing my pieces... I'll have to upload some more though... Thank you for going to the bead shops mom... Ohhh and what is that stone again?? The pretty big blue one?
Friday, March 25, 2011
Who's The Aspie?
So I have this friend. He's a very high functioning Aspie... kinda hard to get sometimes. Incredibly frustrating most of the time, but I love him to death.
So, most of our communication has been via text lately, which can be very dumbfounding as he's not always good at precisely stating his thoughts and it leaves me with a lot of guess work.
Tonight, I emailed him a link to a news story and texted him to tell him to look at it.
Me: "OMG HEY!!!!" (you have to say something to get his attention... THEN explain yourself once you've got his attention... cuz if he thinks he might not be interested, he won't answer... not that he admits it) sooooo....
Me: "OMG HEY!!"
Several minutes later.....
Him: is 4 horses!!
Used to his broken messages, I assume he's talking horseMEN...
Me: Like Apocalypse?(You know... The Four Horsemen.......)
Several minutes later....
Him: No....... as in Hay is for Horses... doofus!"
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...... ??? I thought he was supposed to be the literal one! ?! ?!
So, most of our communication has been via text lately, which can be very dumbfounding as he's not always good at precisely stating his thoughts and it leaves me with a lot of guess work.
Tonight, I emailed him a link to a news story and texted him to tell him to look at it.
Me: "OMG HEY!!!!" (you have to say something to get his attention... THEN explain yourself once you've got his attention... cuz if he thinks he might not be interested, he won't answer... not that he admits it) sooooo....
Me: "OMG HEY!!"
Several minutes later.....
Him: is 4 horses!!
Used to his broken messages, I assume he's talking horseMEN...
Me: Like Apocalypse?(You know... The Four Horsemen.......)
Several minutes later....
Him: No....... as in Hay is for Horses... doofus!"
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...... ??? I thought he was supposed to be the literal one! ?! ?!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
American Idol..... Akkk!
OMG Casey!!! by the skin of your teeth! I thought J-Lo was gonna cry!
Having missed the majority of the show, I walked in and got it to the right channel about 15 seconds before they said Casey was going home...
Casey!! I love you! You deserve to be there... I really expected it to be Naima or Haley or Lauren or even Stephano... but he's such a cutie.... He'll go far on looks, and don't forget he can actually sing.
They totally made the right call in using the save...
Yay Casey!!
Having missed the majority of the show, I walked in and got it to the right channel about 15 seconds before they said Casey was going home...
Casey!! I love you! You deserve to be there... I really expected it to be Naima or Haley or Lauren or even Stephano... but he's such a cutie.... He'll go far on looks, and don't forget he can actually sing.
They totally made the right call in using the save...
Yay Casey!!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
American Idol... and Showing Your Penis
I think everyone was great tonight! I really wish they would change the voting to who do you think SHOULDN'T make it. It would make things so much easier.
I finally got Jacob!
I have to say, though everyone had a good performance, there are still people that I "don't get"(as Randy would say..) Thia, Pia, Stephano... Great voices....In truth, they just bore me. I thought Naima was going to be one of my favs in the beginning. Her style excited me.. and to be honest, I've been a bit let down up until the last 30 seconds of her performance. In the end, she turned it up.. but the beginning was a snoozer.
This week's votes go to Casey, Paul, and JAMES! These guys never let me down. I know some people don't get Paul.. but I just dig his funky vibe.
If I had to make critiques...
Jen.... WTF is up with your make-up artist? I have it on EXCELLENT authority that only hookers and disco singers wear that shade.
Scotty-baby.... Someone needs to show you how to hold a mic... You're driving me NUTS!
Haley... You were one of my favs.... You have that great growl... but here's the secret. Your growl is your massive, beautiful penis. If you show your penis all the time, no one will appreciate it anymore. You just need to whip it out on occasion, give us a little peek. Tease us. Make us want your penis... Dangle it. But don't walk around with it always hanging out because it quickly loses it's "WOW" factor.
But that's just the way I see it.
I finally got Jacob!
I have to say, though everyone had a good performance, there are still people that I "don't get"(as Randy would say..) Thia, Pia, Stephano... Great voices....In truth, they just bore me. I thought Naima was going to be one of my favs in the beginning. Her style excited me.. and to be honest, I've been a bit let down up until the last 30 seconds of her performance. In the end, she turned it up.. but the beginning was a snoozer.
This week's votes go to Casey, Paul, and JAMES! These guys never let me down. I know some people don't get Paul.. but I just dig his funky vibe.
If I had to make critiques...
Jen.... WTF is up with your make-up artist? I have it on EXCELLENT authority that only hookers and disco singers wear that shade.
Scotty-baby.... Someone needs to show you how to hold a mic... You're driving me NUTS!
Haley... You were one of my favs.... You have that great growl... but here's the secret. Your growl is your massive, beautiful penis. If you show your penis all the time, no one will appreciate it anymore. You just need to whip it out on occasion, give us a little peek. Tease us. Make us want your penis... Dangle it. But don't walk around with it always hanging out because it quickly loses it's "WOW" factor.
But that's just the way I see it.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Oregon ASD rate 1-in-98
So, I was talking with a friend about the fact that Oregon has one of the highest ASD rates in the nation. I did a little online research... and found some very interesting information...
Since 1992, schools have been able to assess children for autism as provided by a federal law called Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This assessment, though labeled the same as a medical diagnosis, is not a diagnosis. Apparently, the criteria for eligibility under this law is pretty flimsy and not as stringent as the DSM-IV's medical diagnostic criteria. Which, in itself is not a problem... The idea behind the IDEA is to identify children in trouble and address the situation (hahahaha, right). (For a better understanding, check out this article by Autism Watch)
Where this causes an issue is that for some reason when gathering state-wide statistics on autism, Oregon's school assessments are counted right in with the medical diagnoses, from what I gather, making it appear that Oregon has double or triple the average amount of ASD cases than other states. According to the Oregon Dept of Edu, 1 in 98 students suffer from ASD.(not a link to the ODE, but an article I got the info from.)
My question is, why are they gathering this information from the schools, shouldn't they be getting it from the physicians who SHOULD be doing the diagnosing?
Since 1992, schools have been able to assess children for autism as provided by a federal law called Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This assessment, though labeled the same as a medical diagnosis, is not a diagnosis. Apparently, the criteria for eligibility under this law is pretty flimsy and not as stringent as the DSM-IV's medical diagnostic criteria. Which, in itself is not a problem... The idea behind the IDEA is to identify children in trouble and address the situation (hahahaha, right). (For a better understanding, check out this article by Autism Watch)
Where this causes an issue is that for some reason when gathering state-wide statistics on autism, Oregon's school assessments are counted right in with the medical diagnoses, from what I gather, making it appear that Oregon has double or triple the average amount of ASD cases than other states. According to the Oregon Dept of Edu, 1 in 98 students suffer from ASD.(not a link to the ODE, but an article I got the info from.)
My question is, why are they gathering this information from the schools, shouldn't they be getting it from the physicians who SHOULD be doing the diagnosing?
Today is a Good Day!
Several days ago I ordered Burp some coloring books online from Amazon. I know.... Online? But I was able to get some in his "special" interest areas, and that is exciting. I got Knights and Armor, Knights and Dragons, Vincent Van Gogh, George Washington, and two regular-can-buy-in-the-store books. He's known since Friday that these were coming and we've been tracking them across the country. Nevada to California to Kentucky, finally to Oregon, Portland to Roseburg then back up to Springfield. It was rather amazing... and frustrating to watch. Burp got an extra surprise as I had also ordered a new book on knights for him...
Then... today is March 22nd.... wait, I'm sorry.... MARCH 22ND!!!!!! And how could you NOT know what that means? It's release day... I'm sorry, RELEASE DAY!!! for the new Lego Star Wars: The Clone Wars game. Burp got decked out in his Darth costume and dug into his Christmas/Birthday stash for $50 and I drove his happy-ass to Walmart. Ok, I did try first to go to a gamer store, thinking they might more understand of his over-excited dorkiness, but they were sold out.... damn! In like 3 hours, sold out. (And yes, for those of you who will point out, he probably gets it from me as I HAVE dressed up for Harry Potter movies....) So we went to Walmart, he found it in the case and made his purchase... (I know, I used the word purchase for an item that doesn't exceed $150... breaking my own pet peeves.)
Any way, he is in 7th heaven and I've already had to copy down like a million cheat codes....
The next big date? May 10th... oops.... I'm sorry, MAY 10TH!!!!! Lego Pirates of the Caribbean comes out.
And yes... he has that costume too! LOL
Then... today is March 22nd.... wait, I'm sorry.... MARCH 22ND!!!!!! And how could you NOT know what that means? It's release day... I'm sorry, RELEASE DAY!!! for the new Lego Star Wars: The Clone Wars game. Burp got decked out in his Darth costume and dug into his Christmas/Birthday stash for $50 and I drove his happy-ass to Walmart. Ok, I did try first to go to a gamer store, thinking they might more understand of his over-excited dorkiness, but they were sold out.... damn! In like 3 hours, sold out. (And yes, for those of you who will point out, he probably gets it from me as I HAVE dressed up for Harry Potter movies....) So we went to Walmart, he found it in the case and made his purchase... (I know, I used the word purchase for an item that doesn't exceed $150... breaking my own pet peeves.)
Any way, he is in 7th heaven and I've already had to copy down like a million cheat codes....
The next big date? May 10th... oops.... I'm sorry, MAY 10TH!!!!! Lego Pirates of the Caribbean comes out.
And yes... he has that costume too! LOL
My Letter to the First Lady....
In my life, I have written hundreds of letters to various government officials, none of which I've ever sent. That's one of my weird quirks.. I will get super involved in researching, writing, and rewriting my letter.. and fail greatly at the buying a stamp and putting it in the post.
Yay modern times and email! So here is my letter that I sent to Mrs. Obama. Click here to send your own email.
Yay modern times and email! So here is my letter that I sent to Mrs. Obama. Click here to send your own email.
Dear Mrs Obama,
I am writing to you as I appreciate that you have used your position to directly address some of the issues impacting the youth of our nation. I know you’re busy, but I hope you have a moment for this.
My concern is our education system. I am troubled by the fact that my son, who is in the 4th grade, has never had a text book. I am sure that you are aware that there are several methods by which people learn best; some by hearing, or seeing, or doing, or a combination those processes. By eliminating text books, one of those systems is being completely eradicated. There is no copying and solving, the current system is a photocopy in which the child just fills in the blanks. This doesn’t work for all kids. Sure, most get by… but is just getting by really enough?
My son has learning disabilities. He has Asperger’s Syndrome, ADHD, and Anxiety Disorder. While the school is great in addressing his social issues, they are failing him academically. With 1 in 150 children being autistic, it seems to me that the education system would address that autistic children learn differently because their brains process information differently, therefore they must be taught differently. I am not educated as a teacher. I know this about my son, but I am not trained to address it. Without a textbook to assist in homework, I have great difficulty addressing his homework in a way that ensures continuity of information. I am amazed at the new terms and procedures that they have created to teach simple mathematical practices.
I was fairly disgusted to learn that $300 million is being allocated to restructure the standardized testing system. I understand the need for standardized testing, but the sad truth is that schools stream their curriculum to the tests, and the other things are being forgotten.
In a time of such huge financial crisis, is this the best way to spend that $300 million? How many textbooks could that money buy? How much would it cost to buy every child in America a math book? To me, this seems a much more critical issue.
I used to dream of owning my own home and getting my son a dog.
Now, I long for textbooks.
Thank you for your time,
***Psam***
OMG---- I found a typo after sending... instead of eradicated... I used irradiated. hmmmmmmm oops, no way of even pretending I meant that... infact, the absolute opposite of everything I was trying to say... damn it.
OMG---- I found a typo after sending... instead of eradicated... I used irradiated. hmmmmmmm oops, no way of even pretending I meant that... infact, the absolute opposite of everything I was trying to say... damn it.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Wrong Planet
So in combing the internet looking for some clue to help my son get a grasp on his math issues, I came across an autism web-community called wrongplanet.net
They offer a forum, articles, chatting, blogging... all sorts of stuff.
Anyone who knows me well, probably knows that I'm not much for support groups, self-help, or even just talking much about my problems. I have to say, I've been part of this community for maybe a week, and already seeing changes in myself and the way I deal with Burp.
I cannot even begin to explain how much of a relief it is to hear that other people have gone through the struggles I've been, or am going, through, how they dealt with it, and, THANK GOD, that they came out on the other side. It's nice to have it stressed that NO ASD kids are alike, and therefore what works with one, won't work for another.. And though I've known there is no cure, I've always been looking for the "fix".... and there is none. I'm beginning to accept that. There are ways to help some symptoms.. but some things are just the way they are, and that's all there is to it.
It's also taught me some important truths. My son does not get social interaction. He never will really. He can be given tools to understand social cues, but he can never be made to blend socially 100%. At this point, he wants to be social. But now, he is socially oblivious, and that will change.. As he grows up, he will learn more social cues. He will pick up on the fact that other kids know he's different. He will pick up better on when kids are being mean to him and when they don't really like him. More likely than not, this will cause him stress and make him more anxious about social interactions. He will probably become antisocial to some degree. The most important thing I've learned is that this is okay.
On this forum, there are adult ASD people who give advice. It is so great to get stuff from their perspective as most ASD kids don't have the tools to explain why they do the things they do, or how they think, or anything to let the parent understand better. It's interesting to learn that really, just about every little quirk my son has is directly related to stress.
For the longest time, I could never understand how Burp could do so well at my mom's house, often not even requiring meds, yet home without meds is CHAOS. I understand it now. Everything there is pretty routine. Most deviations to that routine have their own routine. There are certain things that differ there from here... and somehow, the way those differ make it so that it's not an issue.. Burp knows he will NEVER get the tv from Papa, so he watches tv in his room.. At home, Burp will never watch tv in his room because he can usually get the tv from me. At grandma's, he has free reign when it comes to snacks and treats. Here, there are certain times that he's allowed certain treats. USUALLY, he doesn't have to do homework at grandma's, can't avoid it at home. Grandma lives in a place where he can, to a certain extent, roam free. Here he's limited spacially and has a limited number of kids to play with on an every day basis.It makes sense.
One thing that I've felt really helpful is "Congratulations! Your Child Is Strange", written by a member of the forum who has Aperger's and for several years has been offering advice to parents through the forum, and finally decided to compile some of his most commonly given advice into a book. It's a free download, check it out. Not everything applies to my son and I don't agree that all of the advice is right for us.. but it has helped immeasurably.
Anyway, I feel that I'm taking a step in the right direction and decided to share it. I hope it helps someone else out there.
They offer a forum, articles, chatting, blogging... all sorts of stuff.
Anyone who knows me well, probably knows that I'm not much for support groups, self-help, or even just talking much about my problems. I have to say, I've been part of this community for maybe a week, and already seeing changes in myself and the way I deal with Burp.
I cannot even begin to explain how much of a relief it is to hear that other people have gone through the struggles I've been, or am going, through, how they dealt with it, and, THANK GOD, that they came out on the other side. It's nice to have it stressed that NO ASD kids are alike, and therefore what works with one, won't work for another.. And though I've known there is no cure, I've always been looking for the "fix".... and there is none. I'm beginning to accept that. There are ways to help some symptoms.. but some things are just the way they are, and that's all there is to it.
It's also taught me some important truths. My son does not get social interaction. He never will really. He can be given tools to understand social cues, but he can never be made to blend socially 100%. At this point, he wants to be social. But now, he is socially oblivious, and that will change.. As he grows up, he will learn more social cues. He will pick up on the fact that other kids know he's different. He will pick up better on when kids are being mean to him and when they don't really like him. More likely than not, this will cause him stress and make him more anxious about social interactions. He will probably become antisocial to some degree. The most important thing I've learned is that this is okay.
On this forum, there are adult ASD people who give advice. It is so great to get stuff from their perspective as most ASD kids don't have the tools to explain why they do the things they do, or how they think, or anything to let the parent understand better. It's interesting to learn that really, just about every little quirk my son has is directly related to stress.
For the longest time, I could never understand how Burp could do so well at my mom's house, often not even requiring meds, yet home without meds is CHAOS. I understand it now. Everything there is pretty routine. Most deviations to that routine have their own routine. There are certain things that differ there from here... and somehow, the way those differ make it so that it's not an issue.. Burp knows he will NEVER get the tv from Papa, so he watches tv in his room.. At home, Burp will never watch tv in his room because he can usually get the tv from me. At grandma's, he has free reign when it comes to snacks and treats. Here, there are certain times that he's allowed certain treats. USUALLY, he doesn't have to do homework at grandma's, can't avoid it at home. Grandma lives in a place where he can, to a certain extent, roam free. Here he's limited spacially and has a limited number of kids to play with on an every day basis.It makes sense.
One thing that I've felt really helpful is "Congratulations! Your Child Is Strange", written by a member of the forum who has Aperger's and for several years has been offering advice to parents through the forum, and finally decided to compile some of his most commonly given advice into a book. It's a free download, check it out. Not everything applies to my son and I don't agree that all of the advice is right for us.. but it has helped immeasurably.
Anyway, I feel that I'm taking a step in the right direction and decided to share it. I hope it helps someone else out there.
Talk Thursday: Take The Long Way Home....
Seriously, I think I started crying when the first chords played.
When I was 5ish, my mom had an ancient old VW Bug that smelled of rotting vinyl and burning oil. We lived in a small town.. You could get anywhere in less than 5 minutes.. Much longer than that, and I'd start to feel nauseous. I had the horrible bad luck that I swear to Buddha, this song played any goddamned time we went anywhere. And when it came on, my mom would get excited and be like "OOhhhh Psam, Lets do it! Let's take the long way home..." And it didn't matter if we were 3 blocks from home.. she'd turn that rust bucket around and "Take the fucking long way home", which in truth... couldn't have been that much longer.. but it seemed like eons. Years later, I was digging through an old box of cassettes.. and you guessed it, Supertramp. All those years I thought I just had horrible luck.. Nope, dear old mom was plotting against me. I think she was hoping that one of those long ways would be my last and I'd keel over from carbon monoxide poisoning..
Tonight's American Idol topic made me thing of the Talk Thursday assignment.. but no, I'm a 3 whole years older than this song. I looked up the top 100 songs from 1976, and damn.. I was born in a year of shitty music. "Play That Funky Music", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "That's The Way (I Like It)", "Still The One", and "Slow Ride" are the only good songs on that list.. and I sure as hell couldn't sing them.. You think that's why they put the age limit they do on AI?? To screen out shitty music?
I've finally decided what my hypothetical audition song would be.. (Hypothetical cuz, I can't sing that well, and I'm from the shitty music year of '76)
Sex and Candy by Marcy Playground..
But sung like a confused girl who becomes a little more certain as the song goes on!
Put on your imagination cap...
It would be awesome!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
..................................Casey??
When I heard the lead in that Casey was singing Nirvana, I was so excited. I didn't check dates... but I thought Casey would do awesome with Come As You Are. And he probably would have, if he'd been born the next year...
I thought of all these great songs Casey could have done.. and was like a year off... 1992 was a great year! You were born the right day.... a year too early... DAMN!
or AND OMG THIS SONG MAKES ME HAPPY!
or
or though it was never originally released as a single... This song actually came out on "Ten" in 1991 but hit the charts in 93 by demand of the people. There has never been a video release by the band and they still refuse to commercially release the song as a single. So any way, I'm a stick it in the middle and call it 1992! And truth be told.. James would do this song even better!
ohhh that song makes me think of Soundgarden's Spoonman... Casey would rock that... but that was '94.
I thought of all these great songs Casey could have done.. and was like a year off... 1992 was a great year! You were born the right day.... a year too early... DAMN!
or AND OMG THIS SONG MAKES ME HAPPY!
or
or though it was never originally released as a single... This song actually came out on "Ten" in 1991 but hit the charts in 93 by demand of the people. There has never been a video release by the band and they still refuse to commercially release the song as a single. So any way, I'm a stick it in the middle and call it 1992! And truth be told.. James would do this song even better!
ohhh that song makes me think of Soundgarden's Spoonman... Casey would rock that... but that was '94.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
End Of Days?
Japan, Churchchrist, Chile, Haiti, New Orleans. Earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, disaster. Unrest in the Middle East. The global financial crisis. The list goes on...
I have a friend who is certain this is the End of Days foretold in the Bible.
My view point differs... but how much?
I believe in global warming. I believe in the Gaia Principle. (Briefly stated, this is the theory that nature likes balance and finds a way to create and maintain a certain amount of homeostasis.) I believe that while we tamper with the delicate balance of our ecosystem, Gaia finds a way to fight back.
Is this the End of Days? More properly asked, is God doing this?
............ I find that thought incredibly moronic.
The best way for me to explain my thought is with Jonah. I don't believe God made a bet with Lucifer and decided to torment the shit out of some poor guy just to prove that his love and faith were strong and pure. Once again, God is not a child on a bright summer day with a magnifying glass and an ant hill. Shitty stuff happens to good people. That's just life. How we persevere and deal with our problems??... THAT comes from within. Where do we get our strength, peace of mind, and the faith that gets us through??... well, I believe that those are the gifts that God gave us. Whether we choose to use them, that's up to us. It has nothing to do with whether you prayed enough, went to the right church often enough, tithed enough, or said enough Hail Mary's.
I've never understood how people can on one hand believe that God created man in 'Perfect Love', then on the other, placed them, with their 2-year-old's naivete, in their perfect home and said, "Oh, by the by, don't eat from THAT tree", thus setting up the 'Downfall Of Man' and necessitating the need for a 'Divine Son Of God' to live and die and live again to save us from 'Eternal Damnation'. There are only two possibilities: God had a 'Plan' (which seems a bit retarded) or God made one big forehead-slapping fuck up.... but this can't happen because God is 'Infallible'.
So, again the question, Is this the End of Days? ......... Do I believe that we've failed some crucial test of God's making and the result is the end of this existence? Not at all.
Do I believe that, within my lifetime, life as I know it will come to an end? Yes, I do.
We are running full-speed down a road of self-destruction, and I don't think that mankind as a whole has the wherewith-all to pull their collective head out of their collective ass in time to stop it. We pollute, over populate, and deplete natural resources. This isn't God's doing. This isn't any 'test' except in that in the area of "life in general", humanity is failing. F A I L I N G ! !
Look at the rest of the animal kingdom. When population threatens their resources, they quit breeding. They migrate. Disease and starvation regulate numbers. They find a way to reconcile their place in the system. Humans just try to find a way around the system. We fight disease and starvation because the process is ugly and painful, both physically to the people affected and emotionally to those who witness it. But the truth is that these processes are Nature's Way. We have decreased infant mortality rates and increased average lifespans. Don't get me wrong. As a member of the human community, these are wonderful advancements. But the effect to our existence as a whole is devastating. However, to not attempt to preserve life has become an "inhuman" stance.
I'm not a tree-hugging hippy. I'm not an over-the-top environmentalist. I recycle. I try to buy "green" products when I can. But I believe in ecological homeostasis. I believe that nature tries to correct imbalances. And I do believe that humans are a parasitic plague to this planet. We are nutrient guzzling worms with the persistence of head lice.
And Gaia, not God, will deal with us appropriately.
I have a friend who is certain this is the End of Days foretold in the Bible.
My view point differs... but how much?
I believe in global warming. I believe in the Gaia Principle. (Briefly stated, this is the theory that nature likes balance and finds a way to create and maintain a certain amount of homeostasis.) I believe that while we tamper with the delicate balance of our ecosystem, Gaia finds a way to fight back.
Is this the End of Days? More properly asked, is God doing this?
............ I find that thought incredibly moronic.
The best way for me to explain my thought is with Jonah. I don't believe God made a bet with Lucifer and decided to torment the shit out of some poor guy just to prove that his love and faith were strong and pure. Once again, God is not a child on a bright summer day with a magnifying glass and an ant hill. Shitty stuff happens to good people. That's just life. How we persevere and deal with our problems??... THAT comes from within. Where do we get our strength, peace of mind, and the faith that gets us through??... well, I believe that those are the gifts that God gave us. Whether we choose to use them, that's up to us. It has nothing to do with whether you prayed enough, went to the right church often enough, tithed enough, or said enough Hail Mary's.
I've never understood how people can on one hand believe that God created man in 'Perfect Love', then on the other, placed them, with their 2-year-old's naivete, in their perfect home and said, "Oh, by the by, don't eat from THAT tree", thus setting up the 'Downfall Of Man' and necessitating the need for a 'Divine Son Of God' to live and die and live again to save us from 'Eternal Damnation'. There are only two possibilities: God had a 'Plan' (which seems a bit retarded) or God made one big forehead-slapping fuck up.... but this can't happen because God is 'Infallible'.
So, again the question, Is this the End of Days? ......... Do I believe that we've failed some crucial test of God's making and the result is the end of this existence? Not at all.
Do I believe that, within my lifetime, life as I know it will come to an end? Yes, I do.
We are running full-speed down a road of self-destruction, and I don't think that mankind as a whole has the wherewith-all to pull their collective head out of their collective ass in time to stop it. We pollute, over populate, and deplete natural resources. This isn't God's doing. This isn't any 'test' except in that in the area of "life in general", humanity is failing. F A I L I N G ! !
Look at the rest of the animal kingdom. When population threatens their resources, they quit breeding. They migrate. Disease and starvation regulate numbers. They find a way to reconcile their place in the system. Humans just try to find a way around the system. We fight disease and starvation because the process is ugly and painful, both physically to the people affected and emotionally to those who witness it. But the truth is that these processes are Nature's Way. We have decreased infant mortality rates and increased average lifespans. Don't get me wrong. As a member of the human community, these are wonderful advancements. But the effect to our existence as a whole is devastating. However, to not attempt to preserve life has become an "inhuman" stance.
I'm not a tree-hugging hippy. I'm not an over-the-top environmentalist. I recycle. I try to buy "green" products when I can. But I believe in ecological homeostasis. I believe that nature tries to correct imbalances. And I do believe that humans are a parasitic plague to this planet. We are nutrient guzzling worms with the persistence of head lice.
And Gaia, not God, will deal with us appropriately.
Talk Thursday: Winning.....
As far as Charlie is concerned... I am somewhere between WTF? and pity.
I don't keep up on celebrities. Some how this ties into a 5-year-old little girl's deep fascination and love for the newly married Princess Diana and the disgust that grew from watching the press and public feed on the miseries of her life. I refuse to support it. I whole-heartedly refrain from being informed on their pitfalls, missteps, and self-degradation. I sure as hell don't want people shadowing me and my bad choices.
So, winning....
Burp wanted to vote for the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards (Yup! cuz we're just THAT dorky!)... and the category was Best Female Vocalist. Out of 4 choices, the last two were Katy Perry and Taylor Swift.
Burp: "Ahhhhhh it's too hard!"
Me: "Well, who do you like more?"
Burp: "I don't know!"
So I have a great idea... I go to YouTube and pull up videos. I start playing my favorite Katy Perry/3OH!3 song "Starstruck", which we've watched too many times to count. And we get to the good part, Katy in the fountain in the tight pink and black dress, soaking wet... and I'm sure, I mean absolutely positive, that Burp is 2 seconds from SOLD!
Burp: "Uhhhh, OK.. That solves it. Taylor Swift!"
ZzzzzzzzzzzzzWWwwwwuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrkK! (you know.. needle scratching record sound)
Me(slightly dumbfounded): HUH?
Burp: "MOM! Katy Perry is HIGHLY inappropriate! This is the KIDS Choice Awards. FOR KIDS!! SHE HAS NIPPLES, MOM! She's way too sexy!. It's inappropriate! Taylor Swift for sure!"
Me: "Uhhhhhhh.....ok....."
..................... I'm still like.... w t f ?... but then I feel good too. Like "YAY, wholesomeness won!", "I must be doing something right!" .... but then the other part of me is like.... really?
So, winning.....
I have decided to wage a major battle on Burp's math issues. He is in the 4th grade and somewhere around the 25th percentile, but the school doesn't get concerned until they drop into the teens. (The TEENS, are you fucking kidding me????) He can't count his 3's beyond, maybe, 21 and from there it just goes downhill. He does not understand that "countby's" directly correlate to multiplication, and doesn't get that division is just multiplication backwards. They never really had the kids learn times tables. He has only vaguely learned and retained any of these processes. Now, they're starting fractions and percentages.
Maybe you're wondering why I haven't addressed this sooner... I've tried... I've tried to explain to the teachers over the years that if I know what the curriculum is, then I can work on it at home. I've requested EXTRA homework. Most of the time, he only has math homework 1 day a week.. and that's a one page photocopy with no explanation of what's expected to be done. My mom helped Burp with fractions last weekend and was like "WTF is this?"
Well, I'm calling bullshit on the process and taking matters into my own hands... We're starting at the beginning and learning it all over again. I bought a big magnetic white board and rolls of magnetic tape and I've made "math magnets".
We're starting with 2's and the first thing he has to do is write and say his 2's. (2,4,6,8, etc.. to 100)
Then, with the magnets he has to put the "answer" magnets with the correct problem magnet, show me that his answer is right with "grouping" and pair that problem with the corresponding division problem and answer, again proving his answer with grouping. Then we go through and read them all out loud. (2 x 2 = 4, 4 / 2 = 2)
Then, I let him have 20 minutes or so off to play a multiplication based video game.
Then, back to the whiteboard. I put up a problem and he tells me the answer. (I do this because he always does them in order... I mix them up) He has a small whiteboard that he can work the problem on using grouping. Then he has to tell me what division problem goes with the multiplication problem.
We will do this the same way everyday until he seems to know it. Then move on to 3's.
I'm hoping that the repetition will help some with memorization, but some Aspie kids just can't memorize... Most Aspie kids suck at math unless math is their "THING". I just know that if something isn't done now... then either it never will, or right about middle school, they'll put him in special ed... and really, I have to say that would be a matter of the system failing him. It's obvious that he has a problem.. but at this point, it isn't severe enough for them to intervene. I don't understand this mentality. Instead of trying to catch it before it gets too bad (which I think it already is), they'll just pass it along until they can't ignore it anymore. BULLSHIT!
I will win this one.
There's no other choice.
I don't keep up on celebrities. Some how this ties into a 5-year-old little girl's deep fascination and love for the newly married Princess Diana and the disgust that grew from watching the press and public feed on the miseries of her life. I refuse to support it. I whole-heartedly refrain from being informed on their pitfalls, missteps, and self-degradation. I sure as hell don't want people shadowing me and my bad choices.
So, winning....
Burp wanted to vote for the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards (Yup! cuz we're just THAT dorky!)... and the category was Best Female Vocalist. Out of 4 choices, the last two were Katy Perry and Taylor Swift.
Burp: "Ahhhhhh it's too hard!"
Me: "Well, who do you like more?"
Burp: "I don't know!"
So I have a great idea... I go to YouTube and pull up videos. I start playing my favorite Katy Perry/3OH!3 song "Starstruck", which we've watched too many times to count. And we get to the good part, Katy in the fountain in the tight pink and black dress, soaking wet... and I'm sure, I mean absolutely positive, that Burp is 2 seconds from SOLD!
Burp: "Uhhhh, OK.. That solves it. Taylor Swift!"
ZzzzzzzzzzzzzWWwwwwuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrkK! (you know.. needle scratching record sound)
Me(slightly dumbfounded): HUH?
Burp: "MOM! Katy Perry is HIGHLY inappropriate! This is the KIDS Choice Awards. FOR KIDS!! SHE HAS NIPPLES, MOM! She's way too sexy!. It's inappropriate! Taylor Swift for sure!"
Me: "Uhhhhhhh.....ok....."
..................... I'm still like.... w t f ?... but then I feel good too. Like "YAY, wholesomeness won!", "I must be doing something right!" .... but then the other part of me is like.... really?
So, winning.....
I have decided to wage a major battle on Burp's math issues. He is in the 4th grade and somewhere around the 25th percentile, but the school doesn't get concerned until they drop into the teens. (The TEENS, are you fucking kidding me????) He can't count his 3's beyond, maybe, 21 and from there it just goes downhill. He does not understand that "countby's" directly correlate to multiplication, and doesn't get that division is just multiplication backwards. They never really had the kids learn times tables. He has only vaguely learned and retained any of these processes. Now, they're starting fractions and percentages.
Maybe you're wondering why I haven't addressed this sooner... I've tried... I've tried to explain to the teachers over the years that if I know what the curriculum is, then I can work on it at home. I've requested EXTRA homework. Most of the time, he only has math homework 1 day a week.. and that's a one page photocopy with no explanation of what's expected to be done. My mom helped Burp with fractions last weekend and was like "WTF is this?"
Well, I'm calling bullshit on the process and taking matters into my own hands... We're starting at the beginning and learning it all over again. I bought a big magnetic white board and rolls of magnetic tape and I've made "math magnets".
We're starting with 2's and the first thing he has to do is write and say his 2's. (2,4,6,8, etc.. to 100)
Then, with the magnets he has to put the "answer" magnets with the correct problem magnet, show me that his answer is right with "grouping" and pair that problem with the corresponding division problem and answer, again proving his answer with grouping. Then we go through and read them all out loud. (2 x 2 = 4, 4 / 2 = 2)
Then, I let him have 20 minutes or so off to play a multiplication based video game.
Then, back to the whiteboard. I put up a problem and he tells me the answer. (I do this because he always does them in order... I mix them up) He has a small whiteboard that he can work the problem on using grouping. Then he has to tell me what division problem goes with the multiplication problem.
We will do this the same way everyday until he seems to know it. Then move on to 3's.
I'm hoping that the repetition will help some with memorization, but some Aspie kids just can't memorize... Most Aspie kids suck at math unless math is their "THING". I just know that if something isn't done now... then either it never will, or right about middle school, they'll put him in special ed... and really, I have to say that would be a matter of the system failing him. It's obvious that he has a problem.. but at this point, it isn't severe enough for them to intervene. I don't understand this mentality. Instead of trying to catch it before it gets too bad (which I think it already is), they'll just pass it along until they can't ignore it anymore. BULLSHIT!
I will win this one.
There's no other choice.
Monday, March 7, 2011
My Beloved Burp...
I recently had my pc restored, mended, brought back to life by a friend of mine.. His reason for it's glorious death... probable attack by some sort of magnet-type weapon.
I've been going through it to see what's survived and what hasn't... and I've suddenly realized that my baby-boy, isn't a baby anymore...
*SIGH*
But I thought I'd share some of my favorite pics...
First, it must be said... My Burp has no real sense of style... If something is cool, or was cool at one point in time.. Well, then surely all you're cool stuff at once must be better!
I've been going through it to see what's survived and what hasn't... and I've suddenly realized that my baby-boy, isn't a baby anymore...
*SIGH*
But I thought I'd share some of my favorite pics...
First, it must be said... My Burp has no real sense of style... If something is cool, or was cool at one point in time.. Well, then surely all you're cool stuff at once must be better!
I finally had to throw away that damned sweatband when he was at grandma's for the weekend.
He doesn't believe that an item becomes "uncool" if it no longer fits.
Thank god he hasn't learned the term "vintage".
While my son is absolutely adorable.... he is a bit crazy.
And somewhat mischievous.
He'll swear he didn't do it,
But he is adorable.
But he is adorable.
Loves his DUCKS,
And his best buddy Arlo.
Oh the days when he didn't know what the toilet was for....
But when he had to go, he had to go!
Good times with friends
And bonds that last forever.
My boy's growing up
At least his style is getting better...
He'll always be a prankster.
But it just makes me love him more.
Did I mention he's sometimes the ZombieBoy??
But he's my baby.
I love you Burp!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs
I come from a long line of people proud to serve their country.
My father served in the Army, my mother worked in the mess hall. One uncle did a stint in the Army, the other retired from the Air Force. Their father served in the Army during the Korean War. Their grandmother was a warden during WWII. My father's father served in the Army, as well. I have a cousin who was also in the Army.
I am so proud to know that my family has given years of dedication to this nation, protected the interests and rights of people who are legally allowed to go to their funerals and protest the roles that they played and brandish signs with ugly, hateful words like "FAGOT".
I am so angry right now that I'm shaking, crying, and really want to go find me a baptist and beat the holy living fuck out of them. I know that's not ok. I know it's not all baptists... But those fucktards in Westboro disgust me.
Freedom of speech is one thing. Freedom to harass mourners and demean the farewell of a loved one is DISGUSTING.
I know it's wrong to wish ill on another person, but if one of those protesters were to die... I will be one of the first to buy a ticket to Westboro with my sign, "GOD HATES HATERS!"
What would your sign say?
Wow, I'm coming up with lots... I might have to hire people to hold my signs for me...
"Sorry if the people I slept with made you die!"
"Thank you for fighting for my right to be here today!"
"Hard to hold a sign in a box" (otherside)" I'm here in your place!"
"GOD says, "Can you hear me now?"
My father served in the Army, my mother worked in the mess hall. One uncle did a stint in the Army, the other retired from the Air Force. Their father served in the Army during the Korean War. Their grandmother was a warden during WWII. My father's father served in the Army, as well. I have a cousin who was also in the Army.
I am so proud to know that my family has given years of dedication to this nation, protected the interests and rights of people who are legally allowed to go to their funerals and protest the roles that they played and brandish signs with ugly, hateful words like "FAGOT".
I am so angry right now that I'm shaking, crying, and really want to go find me a baptist and beat the holy living fuck out of them. I know that's not ok. I know it's not all baptists... But those fucktards in Westboro disgust me.
Freedom of speech is one thing. Freedom to harass mourners and demean the farewell of a loved one is DISGUSTING.
I know it's wrong to wish ill on another person, but if one of those protesters were to die... I will be one of the first to buy a ticket to Westboro with my sign, "GOD HATES HATERS!"
What would your sign say?
Wow, I'm coming up with lots... I might have to hire people to hold my signs for me...
"Sorry if the people I slept with made you die!"
"Thank you for fighting for my right to be here today!"
"Hard to hold a sign in a box" (otherside)" I'm here in your place!"
"GOD says, "Can you hear me now?"
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Top 24, Part 2
The women didn't blow me away... actually, I was mostly unimpressed.
Keeping this short... I voted for Karen, Haley, and the second Lauren..... and *GULP* Burp made me vote for Julie..... yes, my son is tone deaf. (and, between you and me, I only voted for her 3 times... )
I don't understand why they have to start with an even amount of boys and girls... I think more boys deserve to go on than girls..
graaaaah!
Keeping this short... I voted for Karen, Haley, and the second Lauren..... and *GULP* Burp made me vote for Julie..... yes, my son is tone deaf. (and, between you and me, I only voted for her 3 times... )
I don't understand why they have to start with an even amount of boys and girls... I think more boys deserve to go on than girls..
graaaaah!
Get Out Your Map and Darts
Let's go to war!
Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, Egypt, and Israel... Oh-man!
Perhaps this is what we need.. I mean, the Great Depression was finally put behind us when WWII started, right?
Personally, I think this is scary bullshit. Everyone is talking about horrible, crazy Gadhafi killing his own people.. and maybe he isn't a nice guy, maybe innocent people are being killed, but put it into perspective. If we armed ourselves with AK-47s and such and rioted in the streets, calling for an end to our current administration... Maybe we wouldn't be bombed exactly, but we wouldn't just be asked to quiet down and please take our guns home. There would be serious repercussions and people would die. Why don't they say THAT on CNN?
We don't need to get involved in the mess in the Middle East. The United States is NOT the U.N. We need to stop policing and trying "save" the world. Sure, I am all for playing an active roll in the United Nations. I don't even mind if our forces make up the majority of the U.N. "peace-keeping" forces. Maybe this is just a political view point. The rest of the world seems so quick to judge whether we did or didn't get involved in some foreign drama. If we don't, we should have... If we do, we're just overstepping and getting involved in things we don't belong in. At least under the cloak of the U.N. it isn't a matter of the busybody Americans sticking their noses in other people's business.
Personally, I think that if we go in somewhere and spend money and lives trying to fix another country's problems, we should just take them over. I'm sure that's not a popular opinion, but to me it seems more realistic. We're always worried about the Middle East, either terrorists or oil prices. In both instances, they have us by the short hairs. We will step in to one of these crises in the Middle East, this has been going on for just a couple of weeks and gas prices are already at or near $4.00 a gallon. The American people can't handle much more and the government can't just magic up a few million electric cars for us. I'm not saying this is a "GOOD" reason to get involved... and I'm sure if and when we do, we won't admit that is why we're doing it, but the truth is... they have what we need and we've forgotten how to survive without it.
I have to say, I am proud to be an American. I feel fortunate that I was born in a country that has granted me rights just because I breathe. I'm not viewed as less simply because I'm a woman. I don't have to fear for my life because the current government has a different religion than I do. As a child, education was REQUIRED. I have clean water and access to safe food. It was expected that, as a child, my parents would provide for me and treat me a certain way. It is expected that I will do the same for my child.. and if I don't, there are agencies to help me or ensure that my child gets what he deserves. The government can't control who I can sleep with or when I can do so.. never mind public stonings or whippings for doing what I choose in that matter. I have these rights because my predecessors fought, protested, and spoke out for them. Other countries didn't step in to help silence our collective voices. My country has it's problems, as every country does.. but I am thankful that I wasn't born in the Middle East, or Africa, or Indonesia, or a hundred different places where those securities aren't an everyday fact of life.
Revolution and civil war are ugly, but it's a natural progression in the development and maturation of a nation. These are the tools that have won democracy to those around the world lucky enough to have it. Who are we to interfere with a nation's natural progression, but if we do.... call it for what is. Be honest about the motives, don't just hide under the cloak of "peace-keeping" missions.
Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, Egypt, and Israel... Oh-man!
Perhaps this is what we need.. I mean, the Great Depression was finally put behind us when WWII started, right?
Personally, I think this is scary bullshit. Everyone is talking about horrible, crazy Gadhafi killing his own people.. and maybe he isn't a nice guy, maybe innocent people are being killed, but put it into perspective. If we armed ourselves with AK-47s and such and rioted in the streets, calling for an end to our current administration... Maybe we wouldn't be bombed exactly, but we wouldn't just be asked to quiet down and please take our guns home. There would be serious repercussions and people would die. Why don't they say THAT on CNN?
We don't need to get involved in the mess in the Middle East. The United States is NOT the U.N. We need to stop policing and trying "save" the world. Sure, I am all for playing an active roll in the United Nations. I don't even mind if our forces make up the majority of the U.N. "peace-keeping" forces. Maybe this is just a political view point. The rest of the world seems so quick to judge whether we did or didn't get involved in some foreign drama. If we don't, we should have... If we do, we're just overstepping and getting involved in things we don't belong in. At least under the cloak of the U.N. it isn't a matter of the busybody Americans sticking their noses in other people's business.
Personally, I think that if we go in somewhere and spend money and lives trying to fix another country's problems, we should just take them over. I'm sure that's not a popular opinion, but to me it seems more realistic. We're always worried about the Middle East, either terrorists or oil prices. In both instances, they have us by the short hairs. We will step in to one of these crises in the Middle East, this has been going on for just a couple of weeks and gas prices are already at or near $4.00 a gallon. The American people can't handle much more and the government can't just magic up a few million electric cars for us. I'm not saying this is a "GOOD" reason to get involved... and I'm sure if and when we do, we won't admit that is why we're doing it, but the truth is... they have what we need and we've forgotten how to survive without it.
I have to say, I am proud to be an American. I feel fortunate that I was born in a country that has granted me rights just because I breathe. I'm not viewed as less simply because I'm a woman. I don't have to fear for my life because the current government has a different religion than I do. As a child, education was REQUIRED. I have clean water and access to safe food. It was expected that, as a child, my parents would provide for me and treat me a certain way. It is expected that I will do the same for my child.. and if I don't, there are agencies to help me or ensure that my child gets what he deserves. The government can't control who I can sleep with or when I can do so.. never mind public stonings or whippings for doing what I choose in that matter. I have these rights because my predecessors fought, protested, and spoke out for them. Other countries didn't step in to help silence our collective voices. My country has it's problems, as every country does.. but I am thankful that I wasn't born in the Middle East, or Africa, or Indonesia, or a hundred different places where those securities aren't an everyday fact of life.
Revolution and civil war are ugly, but it's a natural progression in the development and maturation of a nation. These are the tools that have won democracy to those around the world lucky enough to have it. Who are we to interfere with a nation's natural progression, but if we do.... call it for what is. Be honest about the motives, don't just hide under the cloak of "peace-keeping" missions.
Talk Thursday: Guilty Pleasures
1. COFFEE with just the right amount of the right creamer. (and yes, I try to give myself this EVERY day)
2. Slamming TimTams! (If you don't know what this is, or have never done it.. Wiki it! but use coffee)
3. Just shaved legs on fresh, high-count Egyptian cotton sheets. (Duh! This is the only reason I wash my sheets or shave my legs!)lol
4. Warm spring rains.
5. Wind storms. (Both of these make me retarded giddy)
6. Singing at the top of my lungs, alone on long car rides. (I will lie,cheat, and steal to get this alone time!)
7. The music of my youth; Bread, James Taylor, 3 Dog Night, The Grass Roots, The Monkees. (I think this was originally the music of my mother's youth... but I love it sooooo!)
8. Lemon verbena goat's milk soap. (not that I need a reason to bathe!)
9. Baking. (I hate when people "help"... )
10. Cajun shrimp boil. (OMG.... forget table manners, forget feeding your kid, forget your freaking name, just stuff your face!)
11. Adam Sandler. (.................................. I love him!)
12. House, NCIS, You're Cut Off!, American Idol, and House Hunter's International. (SOOOOO many hours thrown away here)
13. Reading. (I think I was grounded from books for most of the 4th and 5th grade. I would rather read than do anything..... well, except sex.... possibly. It would depend on who it was with.)
Wow, after that one, I re-evaluated my list.
1. I can't live without coffee, but nothing goes better with coffee than a book. I can live without sex.
2. I have slammed while reading. .... during sex.......... wow, ummmm NEXT!
3. Reading in bed is awesome! Shaved legs and nice sheets make sex good too.
4&5. I can read during a storm, can sex during a storm too.. both good.
6. Reading while driving and singing is not to be recommended. Sexing while driving...bad... and, for some reason, singing is not often appreciated during sex.
7. Music is good while reading or sexing.
8. Here we go, I will not stop reading to bathe, unless I have too... I prefer a bath in the vicinity of sexing and put off the sexing until the bathing has occurred.
9. You can bake while reading, but not to be recommended during sexing.
10. You can eat Cajun shrimp while reading, tho your book will get messy, again... not to be recommended during sexing..... there are places that don't ever want to meet that spice.
11. You can read during Sandler, you can sex Sandler. You can't read while sexing Sandler.
12. Can't really do either while watching Guilty Pleasure shows.. well you can, but you're certainly robbing a pleasure.
I don't know which wins. I think the bathing is the key to the answer. I just don't know how to decipher it. I will postpone bathing for reading, but I'll squeeze in an extra bath if sex is a possibility. What does that mean? Except that hygiene is important?
2. Slamming TimTams! (If you don't know what this is, or have never done it.. Wiki it! but use coffee)
3. Just shaved legs on fresh, high-count Egyptian cotton sheets. (Duh! This is the only reason I wash my sheets or shave my legs!)lol
4. Warm spring rains.
5. Wind storms. (Both of these make me retarded giddy)
6. Singing at the top of my lungs, alone on long car rides. (I will lie,cheat, and steal to get this alone time!)
7. The music of my youth; Bread, James Taylor, 3 Dog Night, The Grass Roots, The Monkees. (I think this was originally the music of my mother's youth... but I love it sooooo!)
8. Lemon verbena goat's milk soap. (not that I need a reason to bathe!)
9. Baking. (I hate when people "help"... )
10. Cajun shrimp boil. (OMG.... forget table manners, forget feeding your kid, forget your freaking name, just stuff your face!)
11. Adam Sandler. (.................................. I love him!)
12. House, NCIS, You're Cut Off!, American Idol, and House Hunter's International. (SOOOOO many hours thrown away here)
13. Reading. (I think I was grounded from books for most of the 4th and 5th grade. I would rather read than do anything..... well, except sex.... possibly. It would depend on who it was with.)
Wow, after that one, I re-evaluated my list.
1. I can't live without coffee, but nothing goes better with coffee than a book. I can live without sex.
2. I have slammed while reading. .... during sex.......... wow, ummmm NEXT!
3. Reading in bed is awesome! Shaved legs and nice sheets make sex good too.
4&5. I can read during a storm, can sex during a storm too.. both good.
6. Reading while driving and singing is not to be recommended. Sexing while driving...bad... and, for some reason, singing is not often appreciated during sex.
7. Music is good while reading or sexing.
8. Here we go, I will not stop reading to bathe, unless I have too... I prefer a bath in the vicinity of sexing and put off the sexing until the bathing has occurred.
9. You can bake while reading, but not to be recommended during sexing.
10. You can eat Cajun shrimp while reading, tho your book will get messy, again... not to be recommended during sexing..... there are places that don't ever want to meet that spice.
11. You can read during Sandler, you can sex Sandler. You can't read while sexing Sandler.
12. Can't really do either while watching Guilty Pleasure shows.. well you can, but you're certainly robbing a pleasure.
I don't know which wins. I think the bathing is the key to the answer. I just don't know how to decipher it. I will postpone bathing for reading, but I'll squeeze in an extra bath if sex is a possibility. What does that mean? Except that hygiene is important?
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The Top 24..
This is going to be a tough season on American Idol. Tonight was the men and I have to say they're all good.. ish.
The judges seem to love Brett. Actually, from what I see online, most people seem to love him. Randy says, "you're definitely fun and definitely bold and you're going to do what you want to do, when you want to do it.".............. I would say brave. If there has ever been a contestant on AI who did not seem comfortable in their own skin, it's Brett. My point is that I don't think that Brett is really at the American Idol level, I don't care for his voice, and I really feel that maybe the reason that he's made it this far is because he needs it more than any of the others. This experience will either destroy him, or strengthen him for life.
I think Jordan slit his throat tonight. He hasn't been one of my favorites, but when he sang "Over the Rainbow", Jennifer wasn't the only one who got goosebumps. I don't know why any American Idol contestant would ever touch an Usher song. That would be like doing Micheal Jackson in his prime. Usher is the best of the best. You might be able to sing. You might be able to dance. But you can't do both the way he does. Stupid, stupid, stupid...
I'd missed a couple of the audition episodes, so this was really the first time I saw Tim and Paul, and I was fairly impressed by both. Paul's praises included "character of voice", "uniqueness" , and "fun and quirky style". ..... Now I'm not a HUGE Rod Stewart fan (tho I do really like Maggie May) ... but (and perhaps it's because I haven't heard the song in years) if I closed my eyes, I would have thought that it was Rod Stewart. That said, he did a great job.
Burp's fav of the season seems to be Scotty McCreary. I didn't know my boy liked country. He did a good job, and Burp made me vote for him.
My favs of the season (so far) are James and Casey. They both did awesome.
Everyone is really talented. It's going to be tough. At this point, I don't know that I can even come close to guessing who will be going home. Jordan didn't shine. I don't think that Brett did, but that seems to not be the popular opinion. Everyone else did really well. 7 men go home Thursday, which means that we're getting to the top 10 quicker than previous years... I hope that doesn't mean a shorter season. *pout*
Anyway, I just meant for this to be a quick little blurb... On to the ladies tomorrow night, no one really excites me yet... we'll see after tomorrow.
The judges seem to love Brett. Actually, from what I see online, most people seem to love him. Randy says, "you're definitely fun and definitely bold and you're going to do what you want to do, when you want to do it.".............. I would say brave. If there has ever been a contestant on AI who did not seem comfortable in their own skin, it's Brett. My point is that I don't think that Brett is really at the American Idol level, I don't care for his voice, and I really feel that maybe the reason that he's made it this far is because he needs it more than any of the others. This experience will either destroy him, or strengthen him for life.
I think Jordan slit his throat tonight. He hasn't been one of my favorites, but when he sang "Over the Rainbow", Jennifer wasn't the only one who got goosebumps. I don't know why any American Idol contestant would ever touch an Usher song. That would be like doing Micheal Jackson in his prime. Usher is the best of the best. You might be able to sing. You might be able to dance. But you can't do both the way he does. Stupid, stupid, stupid...
I'd missed a couple of the audition episodes, so this was really the first time I saw Tim and Paul, and I was fairly impressed by both. Paul's praises included "character of voice", "uniqueness" , and "fun and quirky style". ..... Now I'm not a HUGE Rod Stewart fan (tho I do really like Maggie May) ... but (and perhaps it's because I haven't heard the song in years) if I closed my eyes, I would have thought that it was Rod Stewart. That said, he did a great job.
Burp's fav of the season seems to be Scotty McCreary. I didn't know my boy liked country. He did a good job, and Burp made me vote for him.
My favs of the season (so far) are James and Casey. They both did awesome.
Everyone is really talented. It's going to be tough. At this point, I don't know that I can even come close to guessing who will be going home. Jordan didn't shine. I don't think that Brett did, but that seems to not be the popular opinion. Everyone else did really well. 7 men go home Thursday, which means that we're getting to the top 10 quicker than previous years... I hope that doesn't mean a shorter season. *pout*
Anyway, I just meant for this to be a quick little blurb... On to the ladies tomorrow night, no one really excites me yet... we'll see after tomorrow.
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