Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton, Layla, Royal Albert Hall live, 1997.
And from the same concert, there is also a fantastic version of Mark Knopfler performing Brothers In Arms live. Achingly played to perfection, but then I’m a fan of Knopfler’s guitar style. And I love this song: “We have just one world, but we live in different ones.”
More and more lately, I find the news to be incredibly depressing or infuriating or just ridiculously irritating, not necessarily in that order. Finding good news to report can be difficult, at best, and next to impossible on the worst of days. And every afternoon, The Peanut comes home from preschool, and I have to switch my mental gears from political strategery and legal analysis to something a little more fun for the not-yet-five set. It can be really tough, especially when I’m juggling conference calls, research for my next piece, and any number of other things all the while trying to keep my walls from being glue sticked, crayoned and stickered to death or keeping the dachshund from being trampled.
I know on the overpacked days, it can be all that I can do not to get snappish or crabby while juggling a Congressional hearing, making dinner, talking with Mr. ReddHedd, responding to e-mail, and working on the latest craft project with our wee one. And I’ve noticed of late that a lot of other folks seem to be feeling that way as well, if the comments and my overflowing e-mail are any real indication. So, this morning I thought we could consider this thread a comfort thread.
Because, frankly, we all seem to need it a bit these days.
I’ve been trying to take care of myself a little more. When I was off over my birthday, I realized just how long it had been since I really took the time and space to exhale. Funny how you don’t realize just how packed in your days have gotten until you unpack them a little bit, isn’t it? So I’ve been trying to consciously do a little less: bubble baths, turning off the computer in the evenings to watch a movie with Mr. ReddHedd, reading for fun, having a life outside of what I do with the blog.
Something that I have found to be really helpful is to try and eat more healthfully, and to attempt (and I do mean attempt most days at this point) to get some exercise. In taking care of myself, I find that I’m much better at taking care of the folks around me…and at balancing my stress levels. But I’m still trying to find a real sense of balance.
It’s a work in progress, I suppose, but the trying is the important part of this. How about you? What have you been doing lately for yourself? For the folks you care about? For your community? What is it that gives you that “exhale” sort of feeling? Any good movies or music or books lately? Got a great new recipe to share? What are you doing for fun? Let’s talk comfort and joy. Pull up a chair…
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Whatever happened to Guitar Playing Bastard?
Good morning Christy!
Christy,
Thanks for the link, one can never get enough Knopfler.
Morning everyone! Fresh pot of coffee on and tasty this morning. How is everyone?
some boca dude — There are several more excellent Knopfler vids there as well, if you look at the string of other YouTubes that pull up on the right-hand side. The “Sultans of Swing” one is particularly good as well. I found the Layla video last night and I swear I got lost in Knopfler music for over an hour. LOL
Good Morning Christy
starting out this morning with a cup of hot chocolate.
and hanging around here Saturday mornings is a great stress buster for me.
It also helps that I can go walking again after healing a twisted ankle!
Three cheers for drawing on the wall! :D
Not much to be hopeful about. I’m heading out to the end of Long Island to mess about on boats on this gray autumn day. My dogs seems to not notice how depressing things are out there.
i’ll be lurking, looking for some good suggestions. ‘cuz frankly, right now, i don’t know how to get past yesterday’s news.
hope it’s just me and that everyone else is doing well.
I got a compilation DVD of Bugs Bunny cartoons yesterday for The Peanut. We are watching them this morning. It’s the Saturday morning cartoons of my childhood today: “Hassan chop!” “I’m a wealthy miser. I’m thocially thecure!” Mwahahahahahaha…
tw3k — Three cheers for the genius at Crayola who came up with the easily cleaned “washable” crayons!
speaking of Knopfler, I like the way this song feels:
Your Own Sweet Way
Notting Hillbillies
Zed!!!!!
Things I’ve been doing to take care of myself hmm? Walk to a Chinatown restaurant or to a Mexican Restaurant rather than drive the food tastes better and I feel less guilty about eating out.
Trying a Birkam or Hot Yoga class meaning yoga done in real hot tempertures sweating and stretching sure it hurts but you feel much better when your done.
Good morning Christy and egregious and retirin’ and the rest of the wounded warriors.
I wish I had time for comfort and joy. The new job has been filling my days and nights and I still have a sea of boxes in my bedroom/office. Things will ease up in a week or so—I hope. Haven’t read much lately other than some of the books on our list here, none of which give either comfort or joy. Even chocolate isn’t compensating right now.
But then I have my cats who don’t know anything about what’s going on outside of this house and our laps. They do bring some warm fuzzies in a cold world.
And there is this community. If I didn’t have it wherein I could deposit my anger and frustration at the state of the nation, I don’t know where I could take it. I can’t get up in the pulpit every week and rant, they need me to give them hope. Not feeling a lot of that right now.
So for pure fantasy, (I have recommended this book before but) there is a novel I found quite a few years ago now called The Fourth Procedure by Stanley Pottinger. I’m sure abebooks has lots of cheep copies. For those of us women who in our dreams would like to see the chief justice of the SCOTUS be forced to “get it” on reproductive choice, this is a fabulous page turner. It gives a certain sense of satisfaction that we are not likely to experience in real life, but one can dream . . . .
Christy Hardin Smith @ 11
Good idea! I usually use charcoal. ;)
Good Morning Christy. Let me just say that since I’ve been working on a client site and I can’t access your full posts during the day I’ve been a night bit cranky.
I ve been reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. Here’s a blurb from his Web site about it.
Eckhart Tolle [Link repaired by moderator, h/t tw3k]
In A New Earth Eckhart shows how transcending our ego-based state of consciousness is not only essential to personal happiness, but also the key to ending conflict and suffering throughout the world.
It’s a nice blend of philosophy, spirituality and psychology.
It is not fair that you put up a video link (Brothers in Arms).
If you can watch this and not shed a tear when you think of the suffering most Iraqis face on a daily basis
*sob*
I had the fortunate experienece of seeing Dire Straits on the Money for Nothing tour. I was in the 9th row in very small theater, the Mann Music Center in Philly.
At the end of the third encore Mark apologized for not having any more music prepared for them to play. It was one of the all time great shows that I have ever seen.
I think before he was anybody real famous and was still just a studio guy mostly, Knopfler played guitar on one of Dylan’s Jesus albums.
I explained to my boys once that WHEN I WAS A KID we didn’t have cable and the only time we could watch cartoons was on Saturday morning. They were stunned. No cartoon network? No Nick? No Disney channel? They thought I was so deprived like I used to think about my parents growing up in the depression in an inner city. Except they were. And the amazement. “They had Underdog when you were a kid dad?” “They had the Flintstones when you were a kid dad?” Rocky & Bullwinkle were my favorite and I had no idea of all the cold war stuff-Boris and Natasha and all that. I just liked it. Especially Mr. Peabody and Sherman.
Scouts are upposed to be having a thing today where tey go around the neighborhood and give out bags to people to fill up with food then we pick them up, I think, and they go to food banks. that starts at 9 and my guys are not getting out of bed (aided and abetted in their sloth by the lovely wife.)
My Left Foot, feeling crummy? watch that movie!
Millineryman @ 17
link fixed
I’ve been eating so much candy and just plain eating so much, period, lately. Wonder what that’s about? Had lost a few but those are back now I’m working on losing them back. I’m “attempting”, too, christy. Key is, I think, to do the exercise stuff at a regular time but with 4 cherubs, I just have an irregular life. So i do what I can when I can which isn’t often enough. Need some excercise equipment for the house. My old NordicTrack should be comming soon. That’ll help. But today’s a birthday party here for my youngest. I hope I never have to do this again.
Thanks for the Brothers link – I like to walk in the crisp AM while most are still quiet – later maybe go to the local “farm” and buy some fresh apple cider. I have a 5 yr old and I got him (yeah right) lots of Loony Tunes. There is no hidden deceit in him – he’s a pure being – and hugs everyone.
For those of you with younger children the Jane Addams Peace Awards were announced. Take some time to read them with a child or by yourself. I cried my way through Counting on Grace, a longer book but well worth the read.
On a very uplifting note: our middle school is having a huge canned good drive to help save the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen in New Haven.
D.E.S.K. has been an integral part of New Haven’s support system for needy families since 1987. It provides bag lunches for needy school children, hot evening meals five nights a week, and emergency food supplies from its pantry. But they are experiencing a drastic shortage of canned and non-perishable food items.
Poverty is alive and well in the good ‘ole US of A. The good news is that the response was so resounding they will be able to keep their doors open.
yesyesyes @ 24
There’s no hidden deceit in my kids either. Nothing hidden about it. They just tell bold-faced lies right to my face.
Hey tw3K! How have you been? And thanks for fixing that link.
For me, I’ve sought solace in two wonderful new cds:
Bo Bice – See The Light
Stephen Cochran – self titled
Both cds fill my heart, in very different ways.
Hugs,
Heather
bookwoman @ 25
That’s great news.
Oh, I should have added:
Stephen’s cd is country.
Bo is southern rock, with some funk.
Hugs,
Heather
Is Bo Bice that American Idol guy with the long hair who grabs hold of the microphone stand?
He sure was :)
Beerfart Liberal @ 29
Clerification: I meant the soup kitchen staying open is great news. Not that poverty (not to mention homelessness) being alive and well is great news. ’snot.
Knopfler is a wonderful guitarist. I first started listening to him when I heard he was one of Jeff Beck’s favorite guitarists.
Beck’s always been my favorite, by far. I’ve been playing electric blues guitar for 44 years now (I’m 56).
Good Morning Christy and all the crowd. I have been on client site all week for what seems like weeks and weeks and only have the weekends to unwind. I still turn to the one thing that always makes me mellow and that is baking bread. More than can be eaten by the two of us so the birds are nice and fat. Kneading the dough and making the loaves are real therapy with the added bonus of fresh hot bread when you are through.
My other new “self helper” is relearning the guitar and especially the blues guitar but it is not as relaxing as the bread because it is not progressing very quickly which sometimes frustrates.
Things have been hectic and crazy, so my only real “down time” has been spent sitting in the bleachers at my son’s football games. Three hours to do nothing but hoot and holler and stomp the bleachers. LOL
When I get the chance, my favorite way to relax is a hot bubble bath and a good book.
Hey, I got some time here and might as well do that facepage thing I’ve been putting off. How do you do that again?
Good morning from L.A. After a wretched week news-wise, this Sat. morning post is a great detoxifier, CHS.
The perfect weekend antidote to black moods for me is working @ Covenant House down on Western Ave. Puts my at times depressed world view into perspective. Great people, great kids.
If you love Knofler, an essential cd is Knopfler/Chet Akins’ Neck and Neck.
Got several new cds as gifts this past week that are real mood lifters, also:
Etta James- Love Songs
Miles Davis- Birth of the Cool
Johnnie Johnson- Johnnie B. Bad
Sound track to Robert Altman’s Kansas City (some amazing comtemporary jazz musicians recreate jam sessions @ KC’s Hey Hey Club from the 30s, among them Joshua Redman & Cyrus Chestnut).
fallenmonk @ 35
there’s is nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread mmMMmmm
I was lucky to have bread bakers in the family!
Good morning all, and thanks for the Mark Knopfler Christy, he is one of my all-time favorites.The music from The movie “Princess Bride” brings me to tears every time.
I’ve been losing myself in Bruce’s ‘Magic’ to keep my head up with all the depressing news coming out, both personally and politically. “Girls in their Summer Clothes” could get a dead man singing.
We all need to keep moving forward no matter how much our “leaders” let us down, and know there will be better days ahead.
Go Blue, Beat State!
Millineryman @ 27
Good! Thanks, how is the new job cool?
Twisted Martini @ 40
Twisted ! but sorry, the green and white will prevail in an upset today.
PA_Lady @ 36
After spending the enitre month of October on the road the Georgia Bulldogs are at home today. High of 70, 92,000 knuckle heads. . . it’s my idea of a good time!
Chacounne @ 30
Didn’t know Bo had a new album. thanks for the tip. Downloading from iTunes right now.
We’ve had a raft of big decisions lately, so it looks like I will live here until the son heads to college next year and then pull up the Kansas stakes and head to another section of this country. So I’m practicing loving the place I am while I can, which I was doing last year this time in New Zealand.
Paying attention helps me breathe slowly. Last November was a stunning spring on NZ’s North Island. This is a stunning autumn in Kansas.
Last night’s walk on a trail through the dam’s emergency spillway area gave me eight deer grazing in the low sunlight and a small plane practicing skywriting, with the angle of the sun making his imperfect letters glow like some ancient and rapidly fading manuscript. For a moment, I forgot that I am 100 essays behind in my grading…..
This is the year of the 30th Wedding Anniversary. I, and 2 of my friends all got married in 1977. September, October and November. Tonight we celebrate the November couple. The 6 of us are heading out for a dinner at one of our favorite restaurants about an hour from home. Other than that, I’m glued to my computer. It’s interfering with work and ‘home’ time. It is so frightening out there that the computer is always on and I’m checking it constantly.
tw3k @ 41
It’s fine. I’m grateful that I have it. It’s allowing me the space to get some things in order such as applying to Master’s program in Brittish Columbia.
I try to get a little perspective on things. I haven’t liked a lot of the news lately, but it’s far better than a short while back, when we still had Tom Delay and Bill Frist in power and the majority of the public supporting Bush and the Iraq War. So, there is some reason for renewed hope in democracy, although we have many subversions to overcome.
Otherwise, there is fall foliage and delightful weather, good books to read, music, and hobbies.
Millineryman @ 47
Hey, excellent! Design program or something?
Correction: Iraq war
I’m taking my time for a number of things that weren’t important yesterday and I still go.
Today I’m fixing a hole where the rain gets in.
Tomorrow I’m painting my room in a colorful way.
Wow thanks for the Knopfler Brothers in Arms video, hadn’t seen it and he is a favorite of mine.
Am delighted by the insights of Daniel Gilbert’s Stumbling on Happiness who talks about the relationship between what we do now and the person we are becoming, all with a wry sense of humor.
For de-stressing I am trying to be more conscious of physical motion. It’s one of the goals of yoga, pilates, tai chi, karate, et al to attain more awareness of what your body is doing thruout the day. I try to slow down one half of one degree and just enjoy the motion itself. If we are in a big hurry all the time we are missing out.
This isnt exactly stop and smell the roses, more like go 75 instead of 80 and admire the scenery.
Retirin’, help me understand how you are going to stop Mike Hart when you couldn’t stop Northwestern at home?
christy, i never had you lanced for a knopfler fan! you’re right — he and his music both comfort and uplift. i have listened heavily to some great stuff available on youtube, including a “telegraph road” from 1992, i think, a “speedway at nazareth” from 2005 and a “going home” from 1996.
when my world was falling apart, i actually sat down and wrote a list of things that made me happy, and vowed to partake of them as much as i could — the kids of course, and our dog; several sports that i had gotten away from, including ultimate; travel, though that doesn’t happen a lot these days.
i live not so far from water — i find tha a calming presence.
certain museums feel like temples of quiet inspiration, so i go to them when possible.
foreign films are good, reading some fiction is better.
and then, of course, there’s fdl and posts like yours.
I have a kindergartner. She’s finally getting a bit more independent in the morning that I can get 20 minutes of meditation in, something I did before she entered my life. Also trying to cultivate a practice of mindfulness. Sometimes the most exercise I get is taking the pooch for a 2 block walk. No wonder he’s grumpy too.
A good read on everyday practice: A Not So Big Life by Sarah Susanka , architect and author of THe Not So Big House.
As RevDeb mentioned, having a feline companion sitting in your lap and purring goes a long way to relaxation.
tw3k @ 49
Interactive Art an Technology
Beerfart Liberal @ 37
Assuming you are meaning the Facebook icon:
Go to the “Meta” box at the bottom of the far right column
Register with FDL
Wait for an e-mail from FDL with a password
Go to your Facebook Profile and copy the URL. Make sure you get the actual Profile with the long number at the end rather than just the layout.
After you get the FDL password, come back here and click on the Login link. Login to your FDL Profile, fill in the appropriate information including pasting the Facebook link info in to the appropriate box in your FDL profile.
Save profile.
You should then have the facebook icon showing when you comment.
You may have to re-log in each time you restart your machine or browser.
Can’t kick enough ass in these old boots…
Restless – Blackberry Smoke
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0QrAY2ohWI
Aside from music, you tube provides another good escape mechanism in the form of old TV and movie clips which I thought were gone forever. I recommend some of Sid Caesar’s Show of Show clips and some of W.C. Fields.
SuburbanGirl — One of these days, maybe I can get back to that as well. I used to get up every morning and do three journal pages (”morning pages” in the Julia Cameron parlance). Not so much these days. But someday again…and she’ll be grown up and gone before I know it, so I’m trying to savor the lack of meditation and journaling while it lasts. *g*
Being a very left-brained, analytical type person, I have to remind myself to “feed my soul” every once in awhile…exercise the greatly underused right side of my brain. I’m not very creative or artistic, but doing something creative (even badly), like making a new holiday wreath, creating a haunted house in the garage for the kids, etc., even while my practical side is telling me “you really don’t have time for this”, really re-centers me and brings me a renewed sense of calm…it reminds me of the other important things in life.
Totally get the trying to work at home with little ones…Yesterday, I tried to sneak in a little computer work while my 2 year old practiced sitting on the potty. I peeked around the corner a few minutes later to find her at the sink sipping water out of the potty bucket (fortunately, she hadn’t used it first, but still…ewwww).
eap at 62 — That’s one of those “write it down in the baby book” moments to embarrass her with later. *g*
Twisted Martini @ 53
Crowd noise will give him a case of the stone hands.
Speakin’ of missing pups – anybody heard from John Casper?
I also miss this guy:
Warren Zevon (and Jackson Browne on this one):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-Qe_c-Y7Hw
Shakespeare
a student of reality
brings knowing comfort from the 16th century
Life is bloody
Some things are worse than death
The Religious are not often the Best
Spirits abound
Humor is insight
Madness often prevails
Seeing
Knowing
Understanding
are curses as well as blessings
He portrays Truth creatively
Humor at the ready
Knowing that tragedies are common
His gifts live on
for you
Christy Hardin Smith @ 63
Christy,
After my folks had died, my sister and I were cleaning out their place when I found my baby book. Interesting reading to say the least. Turns out that I discovered at least two truths about my life that were evident from the very beginning; I fought my first haircut and have always disliked haircuts AND I hate liver (first solid food I was given).
As winter comes down the pike, I gotta get myself ready – several things to do:
1) Exercise – a lot
2) get plenty of light (SAD can crunch me like a bug)(I’ve got a special light, but I like tanning beds)(I know they’re unhealthy, but so is being constantly depressed)
3) begin to actually pay attention to what I eat – start megadosing vitamins, and today
a) call Number 1 son – wish him a happy birthday, and
b) make sure Monday’s schedule is full, so that I can fully and properly ignore my own birthday.
Boston1775 @ 66
Thanks for reminding me how wonderful King Lear was @ Royce Hall last Friday, and why.
You know what I have been doing, and it feels like playing hooky?
On nights when I have Physical Therapy (and come home all strecthed out and with my back relaxed)–I don’t trun my computer back on.
Yep, I turn off the laptop when I leave the office, bring it home and let it sit there in it’s case all night long. No email, No FDL, no “breaking news alerts”
I often don’t answer the phone either and let the machine take the message.
BTW
Don’t give us none of your aggravation, we’ve had it with your ‘discipline’
Saturday Night – Nickelback
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efgxeiHhwyg
For those with crayon, stickers or sticky marks on the wall, try “Googone”. A marvelous product–takes it right off.
For the peanut’s pleasure and Mom’s amusement, from Wicked, Popular; ’splain why Bush is pres, that has nothing to do with aptitude;D
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2dPuKNECBmQ
And here’s to Christy, Jane, and Emptywheel in their pursuit of the rogue ‘fall-in-line-with-Bush Dems’ and teaching them in Defying Gravity
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kvnBCOrXY50
Today I have to admit summer is gone and pick the rest of the tomatoes still hanging on the vine.
Millineryman @ 57
That sounds like a lot fun, good for you!
I often don’t answer the phone either and let the machine take the message.
Ah – that explains why I can never get through. *g*
Marie Roget – gotta pull out the big guns for times like these.
Morning Christy, comfort…
Oddly enough, reading this place brings me comfort. Knowing that I’m not alone looking at these sociopaths ruining this planet. Comfort and hope go hand in hand, in this format.
Been writing and working on a business plan to become my own photographer… The whole white page thing can be mighty stressful. I was lucky enough to catch my favorite break last week in Burlington, Vermont. I drove from Montreal to the Recital Hall at UVM. A great two hour drive with fall colors popping from the roadside. My friends from the California Guitar Trio were playing a concert. I had permission from the band and the venue to take shots of the evening. The place was spectacular, the music was uplifting, the crowd was attentive and respectful. After the show, I drove back home, content, energised, and grateful for the friendships these three guys and their sound engineer share with this francophone.
Here are a few of those pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/pi…..lof7WBpwWc
Natalia Zukerman was opening, what a great joy it was to meet her.
(((((( christy )))))))
thanks for all you do!
Tonight my husband and I will be attending a screening of Honk for Peace in Greenwich, CT. Ned Lamont will be there and will then participate in a Q&A afterward.
“Footage from events such as Lieberman’s staffers attacking and shouting down Ned Lamont’s appearance at a senior citizen housing complex will enrage you, and show just how nasty the Lieberman campaign got towards the end. But later in the film, Ned’s hopeful optimism for the future if we all take part in the process is very encouraging.” – Bob Adams (A.K.A. Connecticut Bob).
You have to love the persistance and optimism of Ned and so many others who refuse to give up!
great choice, christy. “layla” is such a remarkable song. the chord progressions are just about unique in R&R/R&B. i was hoping they would do that section that’s played on piano in the original but they stopped before it happened…..
food, music, some exercise (i’ve been getting into a jogging routine of 5 days out of 7, which i haven’t done for some years) and meeting up with a good friend now and then.
this week has been a bummer. changing the world is hard work and, like has been said many times, many ways, we’ve gotta be in this for the long run. this ain’t no disco, so having a method to be healed and sustained is really important. reading the right book is really important too. right now mine is “Riding the Iron Rooster” by Paul Theroux. i don’t always agree with him but he has a great eye for detail and anecdote.
peace, brothers and sisters.
be good to yourselves and each other …..
karen allen @ 72
Try pigment sticks! My favorite :D
Boston1775 @ 77
This is an online version of a book of poetry that I keep at my bedside and read sometimes to relax. Palgrave’s “The Golden Treasury” includes some of the classic poems of all time, with lines that everyone knows but has no idea where they originated.
Example:
“I could not love thee so much, loved I not Honour more”
Boston1775 @ 77
Oh yeah.
As I wrote in a thread last Sat. just about this time of the morning- “Magnificent, moving Lear from Sir Ian McKellen & the Royal Shakespeare Company. Lear’s themes of usurpation of power & power’s corrupting effects, culminating in madness & a cascade of tragic consequences more timely now than ever.”
For me, singing is the best relief. We are singing a new opera, Elmer Gantry, written by Robert Aldridge, libretto by Herschel Garfein. You can get a taste of it here. It is based on the Sinclair Lewis novel, and has traces of the movie, which starred Burt Lancaster and Jean Simmons, and features Shirley Jones, which is in rotation on TCM.
The opera has everything we love in operas: sex, death, joy, reverence and even a bit of violence. It is difficult to sing, but the music is so American and pleasing to the ear. It has enough complexity to appeal to the classical listener and enough just singing to please even casual music lovers.
I look forward to rehearsals as decompression from work and the troubles of the day. You can’t think about those things when you are trying to find your pitch out of thin air.
What’s wrong with Our Dems?
Good Lovin’ Gone Bad – Bad Company
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-tjDr9IEA4
retirin’ in five @ 64
That sounds like some of the “magical thinking” that Republicans engage in-Hart hasn’t fumbled in over 1000 carries.
tw3k @ 82
i was just going to say, drawing on the wall is good for the soul. do more of it, and oil sticks are really rich in color. better give up on the Googone though …..
We had a “Quote Wall” in our house when we were in college. We had people sign in when they came over and had them write a quote or a saying, or we recorded some funny conversation that happended.
We only used pencil, no pen, ink or marker It was a lot fun.
Millineryman @ 89
I love that idea! neat
Millineryman @ 89
reminds me of the time i walked into City Lights Book Store in San Francisco. talk about amazing writing on the wall. just go in the loo. you have to be pretty literate to understand half the stuff in there …..
Morning, all.
When I become frustrated and pissed off with BushCo’s reality,I create my own, just like they do!
I play “Civilisation”, a computer game where you start off in 4000 BC and try to become the dominant force in the world. It’s totally engrossing; a game can take several days, and best of all, nobody gets hurt. Someone should send a copy to Cheney; he could work out all his “World Leader Pretend” fantasies without screwing up everyone else’s lives.
Learn more.
fahrender @ 91
you still have to know a lot to understand bathroom graffiti elsewhere
Just spent some time watching two loons swimming in front of my house. Stopped for a rest and a snack on the way south from Canada.
dakine01 @ 83
dakine, thank you so much for this. Now I know why I haven’t used that gift card for Barnes and Nobles.
OT to Twisted — ya gotta believe !
By the way — in the fall of ‘93 my daughter was a freshman in East Lansing. Since that first September, every month since I have been paying on tuition loans. Fifteen long years — much akin to a second mortgage. I have six payments remaining so until then I see my allegiance with the Spartans. (And though we may lose in football to the mighty M & B, we invariably kick your butts in hoops)
‘Layla’ was inspired by Pattie Boyd. She was George Harrison’s wife at the time. She later married Eric Clapton. In addition to ‘Layla’ she is credited with inspiring Harrison’s ‘Something’ and Clapton’s ‘Wonderful Tonight.’
What a muse she was.
fahrender @ 88
I have no idea how Googone would work with oil paint.
But drawing on the wall is one of me favorite things to do. I usually put paper between the crayon and wall, tho not always.
Drawing/painting, for me, is very much like meditation. It is a mental shift that I know no other way to produce.
Very relaxing.
I was working at a crisis center (Sunflower House in Corvallis, OR) when I first heard Dire Straits. We hadn’t heard a guitarist like Mark Knopfler since…. But my favourite has always been the amazing slide guitar of Ellen McIlwaine. After 20 years of working in mental health one would think I’d know how to deal with stress without even thinking about it. Not. Had to do something different in life to get away from the stress of coping with other peoples problems. Low stress job (with the accompanying low money) but life’s stressors don’t go away. I’ve found that grief is one of the biggest stress producers going. The loss of a loved one, human or otherwise, is a fact that can’t be changed and can’t be made all better with a kiss on the boo-boo. It stays, haunting every waking moment. Only time lessens the pain but it’s always there, lurking in the background, waiting for something to trigger it. A sound, a visual, a smell, a memory. And we survive. We continue with our lives, looking for that little bit of happiness that says not all things are painful. Even though I haven’t worked in mental health for 10 years I still find it rewarding to help someone in need. And they’re out there. At work and in our social contacts. It can take as little as a hug or become a series of conversations to get that person back on track where their coping mechanisms are functioning normally again. We don’t take as much down time as we used to for whatever reason(s). Whatever it is we’re chasing seems to consume all our energy, leaving little time for taking care of ourselves. I use books and cats to keep me grounded, particularly cats. They taught me the real meaning of love and to have a purring lap lump is the best everyday stress reliever I know of. Not to take anything away from the puppers because they do the same thing. Bottom line – if we don’t take care of ourselves mentally our middle and later years will be turmoil and that can’t be any fun.
For the life of me I can’t figure out what drives Feinstein and Schumer. So what if Bush does a recess appointment? It couldn’t be any worse than confirming this clown. Bunch of frightened old white people. Problem is they’re frightened of the wrong people. It should be us they’re afraid of and we need to make it so. I’ll be at the protest at BayWalk again tonight and that always makes me feel better.
You are right about hoops, in Ann Arbor it is something to keep you occupied until football starts again!
Last weekend I was in New Orleans on the excuse of a college runion. But spending time with some other long time friends and finally seeing the city were the real activities. Laughing with them and reflecting on the complexity of the city where I spent much of my college and adult professional life. The Smithsonian was sponsoring a Culture Fest, and we heard some insightful authors talking about the city, govt., and future. The Quarter and several other places “are back”. Much is not, and on the plaza around City Hall there is a tent-city of many of the homeless. Yet, on Sunday afternoon, on a weekend of perfect weather, a group, Rainbow Praise Chorus, I think, sang out beautiful praise and Gospel music in the Cathedral. It is “rainbow” because the singers are “mixed” and formed after the storm to demonstrate people getting along, is what I was told. New Orleans is a work in progress, and no one knows what will evolve. But there are some very positive signs among the tragedy and crime. I guess life is like that; in New Orleans that daring, edgy spirit is always writ large. But somewhere there are always people having a lot of fun. Both my mother and my sister died last year. I still almost cannot write that sentence. But I think my trip was a kind of life review, new start, to help me move on. Maybe.
Hey Twisted, Hi!
What are you other must see games for today? haven’t had a chance to look at the tv guide yet.
I’ll be rooting for you, can’t really root much for my team.
We’ll have to get together and share a couple of your “martinis” one of these days. And, yes, I did, and will, inhale.
OT – Musharraf imposes emergency rule
Troops have been deployed inside state-run TV and radio stations, while independent channels have gone off air.
Gen Musharraf is awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on whether he was eligible to run for re-election last month while remaining army chief.
Boston1775 @ 95
My great-aunt gave it to me on my tenth birthday. It took a long time for me to appreciate that gift believe me. Besides the poems it also includes the Fitzgerald translation of The Rubiyat.
Good morning,
Looseheadprop mentioned it as well — I shut the computer off all last weekend. It felt so great I wondered if I even wanted to come back.
I’m doing http://www.nanowrimo.org this month as well. Getting lost in a story brings comfort, at least to me.
-S
A little encouragement from the 60’s. And get aload of Mary Travers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0bFTq0Ivgk
Good morning christy. Thanks for all you do.
I have just returned, with my wonderful wife, from a long walk by the ocean, waves pounding wind blowing up a nor’ easter. There is nothing so refreshing as the ocean, With every tide the water birds change, the winds change direction and one’s mood brightens. Of course a breakfast of left over brioche , organic eggs and the last few tommies (fried) from the garden helps the brain cells settle.
Reading some of the FDLers comments is relaxing as well…… hang in there selise. it will get better sometime.
Oh and by the way the good news from the Jane front is a boost for all of us.
Sorry OT Missle hits Pakastani town locals say an unmaned plane did it, America of course denies it but.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7075026.stm
Pakistan has just declared Emergency Rule, Coincidence?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..00270.html
Funny, but even though I am Twisted Martini, I have never had one. The name was coined by a friend of mine. I smoked cigarettes for a long time and was afraid I would get addicted to that too so I never tried it.
You can roll your own and I’ll have a Sapphire martini with bleu cheese stuffed olives. Cheers!
The sole reason I voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and again in 2004 is that he is not Adolf Hitler.
Millineryman @ 17
Tolle’s New Earth is also a very easy read, IMO. Put it on my MP3 right after it came out, listened to it over and over for about a year, while walking the beach. Even though a lot of it is basic stuff, it’s entirely another thing to actually implement it into your daily living……..it is worth the effort. If only every living being could understand what the Pain Body is, and how to difuse it!!
Another amazing CD that can put you into another dimension of total peace is Nada Himilaya…….it uses the Tibetan Singing Bowls, and although it’s been around for a long time, it is timeless. I’ve shared this with people who haven’t a spiritual bone in their body, and they all end up using it as if it were an auditory blankee. It soothes the sould that much.
Twisted Martini @ 110
Deal. Now off to work on the wife’s list.
Christy,
I always love the PAC posts and particularly love the vision of the Peanut and your pooch on a Saturday AM.
About what we do for others — I am at my elderly mother’s preparing her home for our Thanksgiving soiree. She’s the family matriarch and this is the one time a year that the entire extended clan assembles.
Now that her strength has declined, I’m taking this opportunity to clean and rearrange her kitchen. (We’ve bought her a new stove so that’s the “excuse” for my efforts.) It’s a collaborative effort where I’m consulting her about what she uses and how. Am put everything in places where she can easily access/lift them. Anything to help her maintain her independence.
It’s a great way to spend time here and not go crazy with boredom and/or concern. She’s so happy to have me around and to have me do things for her that she can’t do for herself. It also allows me to “clean out” while getting her explicit permission what to donate/toss.
My favorite part is hearing the stories that go along with certain pieces of china/furniture. I found a small white bowl yesterday that I remember my grandmother cracking/scrambling eggs in. Can’t wait to show that to Grammy’s only great-granddaughter who has assumed the mantle of being a great cook.
Enough rambling — off to Lowe’s for supplies so I can rebuild the kitchen faucet (while college football is on). Life is good…despite Dubya et al. *g*
This is John Dean’s assessment of the Mukasey debacle.
There’s more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/
Jane (nyc) — I have a few of my Granny’s dishes and assorted kitchen bits, and every time I use one, I think of cooking with her as I was growing up. Some day The Peanut will have them, and will be able to tell the stories that I inevitably tell every time I pick one up to use.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 116
I inherited my grandmother’s cookie cutters and aprons. Now you’ve got me thinking ahead to holiday baking :)
Mornin’ all,
Delurking to meet my monthly delurk quota –
Thanks Christy, for this reminder. Two weeks ago, exactly, I awoke with a non-specific devastation in my heart. The tears would not stop.
I found myself wondering in my garden, one tentative step at a time, forcing myself forward.
As always, though I forget from time to time, I was thoroughly and deeply comforted and replenished by nature’s infinite beauty. A flock of Crescent Patch butterflies had finally hatched on the flame acanthus and another flock of Zebra Helaconions were darting around the firebush and a couple of Giant Sulphurs dropped in to visit and a Long-tailed White Stripe Skipper was skipping over the salvia… and gratefulness replaced all angst and sadness.
I have a priest-friend who notes that humans, for all times, have been faced with same challenge – tending the many and varied gardens of our lives. Work, play, love, family, friends, food, exercise, spirit, community, and on and on. I struggle to provide sufficient attention to all my gardens and I don’t have kids. Can’t imagine how you parents do it – which is why I consider parenting the most difficult work of all :-)
Now, speaking of gardens, I’m off to dance class. The garden of my physical body is overdue a nod or two.
Here’s to a wonderful day for all!
brokenarrow_112
Yes it’s an easy read, and it’s not preachy at all. I like how he presents his information in a rational voice. I like the challenge it presents, and I look forward to applying it my life.
Thank you for the info about Nada Himilaya. I’ll have to look for that CD.
Christy/Jane(nyc) I have my Mom’s measuring spoons on my kitchen wall and metal picture frame around them in honor of all the great things she taught to me make, and the all the great meals she cooked for friends and family.
solai @ 115
Yeah, like that’s going to happen.
Morning Christy.
Yes, I agree. Everywhere I go, there seems to be an undercurrent of anger, discontent, resentment, feeling isolated in one’s own gloomy bubble… FDL helps me a lot, to stay on a relatively even keel. But I still can’t shake off my own deep anger. A lot of my feeling of helplessness and frustration comes, I believe, from the utter disgust I feel for the current administration, and downright horror that the other branches of government, while whining about it, nevertheless enable these power-drunk monsters to have their way.
I want this administration and the worst of their enablers (yes, that means you, McConnell, Hatch, Huckleberry, Lott, Stevens, & the rest of your wretched gang) held accountable.
Of course we in this house write and write and write, sign petitions, contribute to causes we hope will stem the damage. And we look forward to election days. Our kids vote. Their friends come to us for info. and advice. So FDL’s wisdom has a growing, second-hand presence among folks who don’t even have time to read it on their own.
For the sake of protecting my own sanity, and curbing the tide of misdirected anger around me, I continue a practice I started some years ago. I try to go a little out of my way to say a kind word, hold the door & let the other guy go first, etc. as I go thru each day. I admit I’m being selfish doing that, because it helps ME feel better. A two-fer, as it were.
Yes, Christy. Me too. I’m trying to get more exercise. I have an aversion to malls, so whenever it’s nice out, I do my walking at a local wildlife center. Right now, it’s a glorious picker-upper with our technicolor sugar maple leaves.
And I’m happy for Jane, finished with her last surgery. (((((Jane))))), you’re an inspiration. ;->
earlobe @ 111
your children will be so proud…
A simple request. I would like to know the Demo front runners thoughts on the Feinstein-Schumer vote of confidence on Mukasey.
Good morning Christy, and all.
Soothing music? Try this:
Loreena McKinnett-The Mummer’s Dance
Morning, Christy!
Well…lets see what I’ve got for today (already running behind since I let myself sleep in…ahhh…):
Digging ditches in the backyard. No, really. I’ve a damp spot back there (oh get your minds out of the gutters, you) that’s not from a sprinkler head (hey!), but in the middle of the lawn, meaning leaky pipes. Either that, or I’m the luckiest person in southern California and I’ll be able to install my own private well which will supply all my water needs. No, I didn’t think so either.
But then the first thing to do is assemble the wheelbarrel in order to remove the piles of dirt this will create. And of course shutting off the water in order to splice new pipe in, and I have a suspicion this will involve shutting off the water to the house, the way the pipes are routed. Oh, joy.
BUT!!
Today is the FDL meetup in Costa Mesa at noon! So I will be taking a break then and trundling down to meet sundry and various f2f!
o/
So, that’s what I’m doing. Might not work for everyone ;-)
And then tomorrow there’s that deck roof…
One book for kids I’ve never allowed in my house is “Harold and the Purple Crayon” and I’m here to tell you why.
My dad was a journalist. Promotions are seldom vertical moves for them; progress is lateral and we were always moving for one job or another.
My dad usually went ahead of us a couple of months to scope out our new living situation. This particular move was the one that made me hate Reagan. My dad said “We will not live in a fascist state” (how prescient was he!?) when Reagan beat my dad’s boss to the governor’s mansion and so off he went to DC, to the National Journal. Leaving us behind to sell the house, pack up and move. Tsk, men.
So, the night before the first showing my mom and dad were on the phone, I was reading in my room and my sister, 3, was in the bathroom, playing with mom’s makeup.
The next thing I know, my mom is standing at the end of the hall, shrieking, with this crazy look on her face. “You were supposed to be watching her!” she shrieked at me. i looked around.
At 3 year-old-face level was a line of fire engine red lipstick, from the edge of the bathroom door, up the hall, around the entry, across the piano, dining room, living room, white drapes, sofa and TV, then back down the other side of the hall to the opposite edge of the bathroom door.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to remove lipstick from a wall, let alone white drapes, in less than 24 hours?
Her defense? “Hawold did it! Waaaaah.”
solai @ 115
hey. i like that!
Hi, I haven’t been around much as my own life is a whirlwind. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, just a busy thing: my job is rewarding as I teach sick and wayward kids, raising my own child is as exhilarating as anything I’ve ever done, my wife is awesome, and we are planning for the experience of our lives. Bonus, it keeps me from paying too close attention to all the bad news that is out there. When I get swallowed up into the blogosphere my wife notices a change in my demeanor. Pulling back can be healthy in and of itself.
Well at least I now know what I am. According to the Master Decider, since I strongly oppose the Iraq war I am a Communist or Nazi. Is George a great man or what?
earlobe @ 111
Actually, I don’t think this has quite been decided yet.
k, check this out
and why does anyone think this isn’t going to happen here in the states?
the president is definately laying the groundwork, claiming to be the soul provider in a case of national emergency, and emergency where he gets to decide what is or isn’t an emergency
and he has his aids go before congress and tell them the president cannot break the law, any order he gives makes that order the law
I think we are being set up, now the president has pakistan as a trial run
Oh. My major stress buster? Exercise & meditation (though I don’t do as much of the latter as I should). I do Aikido, which is quite possibly the most stress relieving activity I’ve ever found in my life. Tied up with that is zazen, meditation. That’s kept me on an even keel for years. That’s my motto: find some kind of exercise you really enjoy — it’s different for everyone — and indulge in it. You have to enjoy it, or it really won’t hold up over time. (As an ex gym rat, I can attest to that :-P )
It is nice to have a little down time this morning after Halloween (with a 7 year old) and my wife’s birthday yesterday. Looking forward to Oregon/ASU later.
A little Halloween fun: http://www.dailytidings.com/ga…..emId=41960
Oklahoma kiddo @ 123
Second. And I’d like to pin Fein-schu up against a wall and ask them WHY?! When is it enough? When will it be too much? Why don’t you resign in abject shame, the way you ought?
Hi OKK. If I stay sane thru all this, you’ll be one of the reasons. Please give Lahoma a hug from us here. ;->
earlobe @ 111
Yeah, it’s quite a conundrum when the other candidate IS (as bad as) Hitler, I suppose…?!
Obviously Iran is in possession of WMD’s. We must invade.
Elliott @ 12
Ellie, that’s beautiful and I’d never heard it. Thanks.
Morning, all! Here’s a really easy recipe to make everyone feel better (if you like beef, anyway):
3 pound round roast
1 bottle decent beer
1 jar pepperoncinis (they’re in the same place as the pickles)
1 packet Italian dressing mix
Trim the fat piece from the roast. Pour the beer, pepperoncinis, and dressing packet in a crock pot. Stir it around a bit, add the roast, spoon some of the liquid onto the roast, put the lid on the crock pot, turn it on low, and WALK AWAY.
Let it cook for at least ten hours (good for doing before work). It makes the house smell incredible.
After ten hours, put the roast into a big bowl and tear it apart with two forks. Serve on buns with lots of juice.
Mommybrain @ 126
AAhhhHAHAHA, That’s great! :)
earlobe @ 111
But if Hitler had been running…..?
merciless @ 138
Does this include the liquid from the pepperoncini jar?
tw3k @ 98
Elder egrDaughter has coloring parties where her friends come over and they all draw things with crayons [not on the wall…just the once when she was 3]. It sounded just crazy enough that I tried it. Spectacularly therapeutic.
Christy, I love your Saturday morning posts.
This Mark Knophler-EmmyLou Harris song is so catchy and feel-good, “This is Us”. It’s hard to get out of your head though, and I always end up hitting the replay button a few times on the iPod when it comes on.
As for comfort and reducing stress, I’m trying to fly less. It’s become such an ordeal between the planning, the packing and the airport stuff.
I’m also trying to turn off the computer earlier at night. To make my mind wind down, I go to Facebook and play the traveler’s challenge (a geography game with a world map where a city or place flashes and you have to click on it — fast. It’s completely addictive but it’s mindless so my head is empty after a few rounds and I am able to shut everything down.
After the game you get ranked among your facebook friends who have also played. So it’s a fun way to keep in touch.
I suppose a fair statement would be to say that “Layla” is one of my favorite all time songs.
Valerie Wilson is on “Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me!” NPR
Were you around in the seventies? Here are two web sites that will make you laugh (or shudder) regardless of your age. And, yes, people actually wore the clothes and the furniture was considered verrry cool!
http://tinyurl.com/325osb
http://www.aperfectworld.org/page_sixty.htm
Today, for fun, I’m off to hassle my greedy relatives. My 2 aunts shared a home in their later years. One has passed on, the other moved into a small apartment leaving everything behind. By everything, I mean every purchase ever made in their 80something years. There’s a 3rd living sister (now 89) that somehow has become my responsibility. She has asked twice for a memento from her sisters’ home, to no avail. One thing she asked for is a stucco planter made by their father. Worthless and priceless at the same time. Well, today, they’re having a garage sale. I’m off to see if I can get that planter.
testing 1,2,3,4
Does this include the liquid from the pepperoncini jar?
Yup. The vinegar adds a sharpness that is wonderful.
hey van gogh. is it pierced? whut happened to t’other’n?
I refuse to have a battle of wits with someone who’s only half prepared.
egregious @ 142
That sounds like a lot of fun. It is fun working creatively with a group. Another thing I enjoy, not as messy as painting, is collage.
ss
Beerfart Liberal @ 148
You’ve got a little high-end feedback and you need to scoop the mids a little, but otherwise, sounds great!
Beerfart Liberal @ 148
That’s not enough, you have to count to 100 before you yell Allee Allee In Free.
I knew I was gonna fuck that up. I registered but i don’t have an F next to me.
We’ve shut off the national ABC and local evening TV news here—because they are so damned dumb—and have discovered conversation at the dinner table! It’s delightful.
I don’t read much of newspaper either. It’s too depressing. I talk to the cat instead. She’s a good listener, purrs and rubs against my legs.
Pakistan shows that democracy can work well in a moslem nation.
Beerfart Liberal @ 155
hey who’s callin’ [F]owl! cluck cluck baCAWK?
Does anyone here know Morton Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna?
No Youtube to share, but it’s wonderfully soothing. I had it on this week. My poor frawed nerves.
susan @ 146
In the1975-76 Sears catalog, the one that got recalled, in the mens underwear section there was a very hot dude in briefs (or was it boxers?) – with the tip of his wanker sticking out! Right there in the catalog! I actually had one!! Don’t anymore, dang it.
solai @ 115
That’s the best idea I’ve run across in a month. Bar none. Richardson was a profile in courage.
jayt @ 68
Happy Birthday Jayt!
Beerfart Liberal @ 155
Click your name above the comment box and the address for your profile page in the Facebook field.
Unlike Iraq- Pakistan HAS nukes and has already put the technology in the hands of unfriendly nations. Now it looks as if the government which had incomplete control to begin with- is goin down the sewer pipe…
President Clusterfuck watches with rapt attention.
PW is upstairs.
rwcole @ 164
PhoenixWoman is upstairs with a bag….
New thread: Come Saturday Morning: Lying Sacks of… Well, You Know
I have to say that I found this latest betrayal by the Democratic Party really disheartening. If it isn’t Reid and Pelosi, it’s Feinstein and Schumer. A President with job approval ratings in the 20s and they can’t stand up to him or for us on anything. It is like they frame issues to make themselves look as weak as possible.
Take the Mukasey nomination. Leahy said he wouldn’t bring up any nomination until the Administration coughed up the documents it had been holding back. He caved. Then without proper vetting of Mukasey, they go all gushy over him. In hearings, he doesn’t answer any of their questions but makes it plain that he believes as much in Presidential dictatorship as George Bush and Dick Cheney do. He can’t even answer a simple question about torture. So they ask him in writing and threaten not to approve his nomination unless he answers what should be for any decent person, let alone an Attorney General nominee, a nobrainer on torture. He doesn’t and their response is for Schumer and Feinstein representing the pro-torture wing of the Democratic Party to say they will vote for him anyway.
What is so frustrating is that the Democrats’ cowardice is not a single event but one stacked on top of another.
We may have to stay with them until the November election but after that we should give serious consideration in the following 4 years to breaking away and the establishment of a progressive party because let’s face it even with Democrats in control corporatists and yahoos like Schumer and Feinstein are going to be calling the shots and they clearly don’t represent us at all.
Politics just pisses me off lately. I’m going to try to spend less time thinking about it. We’ve got a year left of this Bozo- and then we’ll see what happens.
Wake me when the long nightmare is over!
solai @ 115
Does anyone seriously think they’ll make the same mistake? Not that they need to, with Chuck & Di enabling them every step of the way.
Here’s a share-able for satidie.
A lovely duet. Yes. It’s for real. If this doesn’t swing your mood, you’re beyond help.
Black-capped Donacobius, probably in Amazon basin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mlJBG72rp8
The sole reason I voted for George W. Bush in 2000 and again in 2004 is that he is not Adolf Hitler.Yeah, it’s quite a conundrum when the other candidate IS (as bad as) Hitler, I suppose…?
Thanks for the reply. Conundrum: one of my favorite words. And I had no idea what the original statement meant. Not AH: maybe, but darned near. Are we to infer that Gore of Kerry may have been AH? The point made no sense to me; conundrum. Perfect.
Thanks Christie for the Brothers In Arms link – how timely could that song be.Being with good friends, going out in the woods with good friends, getting a weasel ball,getting some sunlight before it dwindles to winter,looking for fall mushrooms -Dave
Twisted Martini @ 40
Super late for this thread, but I saw Bruce in St. Paul last night.. 10 ‘rows’ back on the floor :-)
pma @ 48
I agree. We really need to thank “W” for his aberrant behavior that has led to the greatest liberal come back in history. Eight years of George Bush = twenty years for the rule of the Democratic Party!!
Phyllis
Good afternoon, all.
It’s getting cold in Massachusetts. I was shopping for a snowblower this morning, but held off buying for now due to the high prices (and bulky designs).
Then I happened across this wheeled shovel (the ‘wovel’) website just now and wondered if any of you have any experience with one?
http://www.wovel.com
Per the website claims, this human-powered (no motor noise or air pollution is a plus), wheeled snowshovel is 3x faster than a traditional snow shovel in clearing a driveway, and it is safer for the back.
An eco-friendly, quiet shovel that quickly clears driveways of 2 feet of snow and at the same time provides safe exercise?
Hoping this is true.
Went to a special screening of Into the Wild last night, which is already in release and whose regular press previews I missed. Glad I waited cause this was truly special. It was at Paramount in the big room and there was a performance of the songs afterwards by Eddie Vedder. (Favorite Neo-Fascist Punching-Bag) Sean Penn presided over the evening with his star, the indescribably delicious Emile Hirsch. Oh how I’d love to adopt Emile! He’s so beautiful I couldn’t imagine having sex with him at all — just kissing, cuddling and running my fingers through his hair He’s a great actors and a very smart and polite young man. Got a chance to talk with Sean Penn for just a moment. I asked him how he came to choose Eric Gauthier as DP and he said it was because of The Motorcycle Diaries AND the fact that Gauthier was his own camera operator. I am a Gautheir Fanatic as a result of his work — almost entirely hand-held — on The Greatest Motion Picture Ever Made (Y’all should know the title by now.) I SHOULD have asked him about Gus’ plan to star him as Harvey Milk but I was distracted by the presence of someone else at the screening and reception —
RINGO
He was there with Barbara Bach, sitting a few rows behind me. The sound of his voice was like hearing a very, very old childhood friend who I hadn’t seen in eons. It was like a dream. I was too overwhelmed to go near him. He watched Eddie Vedder — who sang “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away” at one point — with great enthusiasm.
Anyhoo, Into the Wild is not to be missed.
CHS
I read to understand what is going on in the world and the more I learn, the more upset I get. Still, I’ve become a far more sophisticated consumer of news, better informed and more active communicating with my federal reps in the house and senate. I go to the Y daily to exercise and “play” basketball thursdays night. PLAY is so important. That reminds me, I should go to the gym today. It closes at 6.
Millineryman @ 119
Hugh @ 169
Hugh–well said. Good point with the juxtaposition of Police State Bush with a record low job approval and the backbone of a jelly fish Dems who are his complete slaves talking tough once in a while but voting with him every time like the complete hypocritical unprincipled pansy asses they are.
That tired old argument that they don’t have the votes to override a veto doesn’t hold up with their complete capitulation on Mukasey and Telco Immunity and warantless wiretapping for all calls and emails all the time not to mention the countless data bases of your personal information matrixed out the wazoo and leaked out the wazoo by incompetent bureaucrats.
A couple of decent books:
Richard North Patternson’s Exile
a fun page turner with courtroom drama by a lawyer with a very well researched account of the Middle East tinderbox woven in
Also
Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror
pdaly @ 177
Haven’t seen that one! I like the lifting action but my drive is quite an slope so it looks like it take many trips to flick the snow. I use a scoop, throw, salt, step technology on the slope…. but I confess I now just pay the neighborhood kids when they come a knockin’with their shovels. Last year they had this slidey-scoop and were done in 10 minutes of about 15 inches of snow. Little smarties!!! :D
http://www.amazon.com/Suncast-…..B000A1CENK
Now I have these “Get-A-Grip”s for my shoes. LOVE them. No more surprise smoochin’ the driveway for me!
http://cozywinters.com/shop/gag-ultra.html
Interesting design on the wovel though! I’ll keep an eye out for those this year. :-)
Christy, I notice you mention Julia Cameron and Morning Pages. Yes, mine almost immediatly became “Night Pages”. Just worked better for me. Now, its sort of “Musical Night Pages” as I play around with a guitar or other instrument now days.
I found this book of hers fit into my mindfullness practice. I just grab it, wherever I am, open it to a page, and amazingly it provides some centering quality to the day… every time, even if just for a moment.
http://www.amazon.com/Transiti…..87-5012033
My “fun” mainly centers around music. Guitar right now. I highly recommend playing a musical instrument as a high comfort and joy factor activity. It requires your full attention, in the moment, and has a “pay off” over time. Its a personal private time activity, plus a community gathering activity.
Great ‘tube, btw. :-)
PeteCO @ 140
He was the kind of guy who liked to spend an evening at a beer hall!
I hate this version of Layla. If it weren’t for the original, this version wouldn’t have gotten any play at all. That sing-songy beat? It goes nowhere. The only thing it has going for it is that it evokes the original.
I say: Listen to the original.