Monday, July 31, 2006
paradoxical running
Update. I found that seeing the running fella was driving me nuts nuts nuts so I moved him to the bottom of the page, under the news. I couldn't deep six him because now he seems alive and that would be, well, killing....

Please join me in welcoming a new addition to jmbm, the energetic cheetah up there, running toward my flickr photos links quasi-buttons. (With thanks to The Yarnpath, a knitting blog/site I just discovered.) It reminds me of Xeno's paradox, that nice little piece of logic about how you have to go halfway from here to there before you can get there. And then you have to go halfway from halfway to the end. And then halfway of what's left. And so on and so on and so on. All of which is true except that you just infinitely keep reducing the distance to ever smaller amounts, and never arrive. Except, of course, that you do! Ah, Plato. . . .

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 12:54 PM

Sunday, July 30, 2006
what a mess
The Lebanese prime minister asserted that "this is unbearable" and "we just want peace", sounding regretful just before adding that "blood calls for blood", which sure belies the first two remarks. And Simon Perez waxed melancholy about dead children. But how ridiculous of both of them. Do they seriously think anyone believes they don't know what will happen as they barrage each other with thousands of missiles? Between the endless and intense anger, lies or almost-lies, and so much disingenuousness, one wonders how this can ever be resolved.

My basic feeling is that Israel was justified in retaliating against Lebanon because, basically, how long do you try to work things out without just doing it full speed ahead. You can't have diplomatic chit-chats with people vowing to wipe you off the face of the earth. Somehow the hatred and utter determination to obliterate all jews must be changed. Until that happens, there will always be profound danger of a match getting too near the powderkeg.

Added to that, however, it is nuts to go on blowing up people. Why can't they dislike or even detest each other without it resulting in death? Perhaps someone should consider my friend's only partly jocular idea: give them all a whole lot of weapons and tell them that when the weapons are used up, whoever is left standing will be declared the winner. That, or stop shouting and shooting, and figure out how to play nicely. If not together, at least on the same planet.

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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:33 AM

Saturday, July 29, 2006
saturday notes
-ht Betsy : new editor for Time online. All I can say is, well, there's really nothing I can say.
-also vis Betsy : report on Juan Williams' talk and book. Provocative and interesting.
-No special reason I like this, but it made me laugh - from Sam Levenson : "Somewhere on this globe, every ten seconds, there is a woman giving birth to a child. She must be found and stopped." He also said this, "It was on my fifth birthday that Papa put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'Remember, my son, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm'." Which turns out to be from a poem of sorts that he wrote and that Audrey Hepburn quoted so often it was sometimes attributed to her:
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone.
People, even more than things, have to be restored,renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; never throw anybody out.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.
As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:02 AM

me
Not me. ME. Read this disturbing piece in London's Daily Mail on what we call chronic fatigue syndrome (ht Small Town Scribbles). I read Joseph Heller on the subject but didn't know it could fell a person so thoroughly. I do feel a tiny bit of sympathy for the doctors since they're accustomed to having answers, so something that completely flummoxes them must be distressing in the extreme. That bit of sympathy aside, it's astonishing and baffling that no one has figured out how to recover from it, let alone what causes it. I wonder if its sufferers have anything in common that might suggest how it's contracted and/or caused? I know how yukky I feel on the very rare (thank goodness) days when I feel completely exhausted and need to do nothing all day; it sounds as if ME is that feeling but logarithmically worse. Sure hope it's examined and learned more about. And let's hope doctors learn how to be helpful even when it feels threatening.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:41 AM

Friday, July 28, 2006
wows
-Thanks to Lynn : amazing and beautiful photos and observations well worth seeing and reading (Present Simple)
-Thanks to Laura : thoughtful, absorbing writing (Treppenwitz (terrific word that refers to that brilliant retort or idea you have just after you leave - boyoboy haven't we all had those!))
-Via a comment at Laura's : a gorgeous (many kudos to Pannasmontata designs) and interesting blog (The Dust Will Wait (a sentiment with which I heartily agree))

All great reminders of how full the world is of people I want to spend time with over a nice long leisurely dinner.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 11:42 AM

notice of official concern
OK, I'm now officially concerned about Devradowrite who, most uncommonly, hasn't posted in 10 days.

Update: Everything's okay. Well, power outages and other glitches aside. . . .

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:19 AM

Thursday, July 27, 2006
project runway
I feel as if I've become a pop culture maven this year, watching American Idol, My Fair Brady and other things VH1, The Closer, etc., eagerly watching reruns of Seinfeld and Sex in the City, etc... and now I've discovered Project Runway. It's eye candy, of course (the 'star' is Heidi Flum, need I say more), but the surprise for me is that it's completely engrossing, lots of fun, and quite a study of human nature and creativity. Last night's 48-hour assignment was to (1) dream up a story about what's going on with some woman and her dog, (2) make a dress for the woman and (3) make something complementary for the dog. Hilarious dogs, by the way. The results were amazing. Catch a repeat if you possibly can.

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Permalink | 3 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:46 AM

Wednesday, July 26, 2006
things I do like
I've been enjoying VH1's reality show about Adrianne Curry and Christopher Knight - My Fair Brady. Have you seen it? If you're a child of the 80s and/or watched the Brady Bunch as much as most of us have, it's fun to see Peter all grown up. Wweeellll, not mature or anything, mind you, but older anyway. It's one of those things that makes no sense to like and yet I do. The night before the wedding - the dinner with the two fathers - is absolutely priceless. If you get a chance, check it out. I can't wait for the next season. If this was what it was like getting to the altar, I can't wait to see what happens once real life (whatever that'll be for them) settles in.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:17 AM

things I don't like
I don't like it when I can't think of something I want to write about (like now - can you tell?). I don't like it when my favorite bloggers aren't prolific and don't write something every single day (just for my reading and intellectual enjoyment, if nothing else) (like Devradowrite, about whom I about to be concerned since she's been silent for a week now). I don't like shopping for clothes and finding everything too big or too small or too house-frau-y or too scratchy or too long or too short or . . . well, you probably know what I mean. I don't like it when a book I've been enjoying veers off into an ending that is silly or unsatisfying; there were two - count 'em: two - like that last week so I did what I always do and grabbed a mystery (Dark Tort, one of the Goldy Baer catering mysteries) because they are reliably engrossing and fun. I don't like it when Blogger's loading times are vvveeeerrrryyyy slow and/or don't work at all (but I also feel a little guilty mentioning that since it's free). Hey, I'm enjoying talking about things I don't like so I'll write more later on.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:04 AM

Tuesday, July 25, 2006
disputatiousness
Why do some people argue and act offensive and then maintain that they mean to be amusing? Kidding "on the square" just isn't funny to some people and it would be nice if others were more sensitive to that. For example, my father's sister, the speed-demon knitter, was extremely sensitive about her upper arms. No, it isn't a serious issue and the political balance of the world will neither fall nor rise on it. But if one joked with her about sleeveless blouses, she was not happy, so why not simply refrain? Similarly, if people in one's family, or one's friends, hold political or other points of view that differ from others of one's family or friends, why not leave it alone? It wouldn't even be interesting if everyone had the same points of view, would it? Why do some people need to criticize and ridicule, and then pretend it's teasing?

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Permalink | 2 comment(s) | posted by jau at 4:20 PM

photos
The NY Times doesn't have any dead bodies on the front page this morning, but there are drawings and photos of huge ugly rats - real ones - on the front page of the science section. A few months ago, they had huge ugly bugs splayed on the same page. It's not fun to be reading your morning paper and feel utter revulsion, to the point of throwing the paper in the trash rather than risking more photos as the story continues. Are they trying to turn readers away?

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:15 AM

Sunday, July 23, 2006
lucky me!
How lucky can one person feel!? The weather is nice today - breezes and low(er) humidity - and I'll have spent three days of the current four with both of ttcgitw. I visited one on Friday and the other will be here this evening and tomorrow. It's one of those times you wish you could keep the days just a little longer than the allotted twenty-four hours. And don't you wish there was a way to at least double the adorable, curious, funny, charming toddler years?!

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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 2:34 PM

couple of things
--Dustbury has an intriguing post, and the comments are worth reading, too (from The Glittering Eye, Vaspers the Grate, Frank Porretto, and Nobody Asked).
--Neat new kid on the block, the non-designer. Nice look, interesting to read so far.
--Check out the startling tv commercial called Thank you, America.

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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 11:00 AM

electricity
One wonders what's going on with electric companies and the public service commissions that regulate them (or don't). Laura muses about a recent hike in California, retroactive for the last seven months. Yikes. She wonders (as do I) whether the retroactive charge is legal on account of the service and product are already paid for. Meanwhile, on my side of the country, there's the ConEd mess in Queens where 25-50,000 people have been without power for almost a week with no light (ha ha) visible at the end of the tunnel. And where I live, the electric company just received approval for a 30% rate hike this year and each of two years after that, which borders on insane not to mention prohibitive. My favorite trick of our G&E company, with charges among the highest in the country, is when they tack on a cute little non-specific charge they call an "access fee". Last summer (any significance there?), the access fee was 3x the bill. Many voiced strenuous objections, both to the company itself and to the PSC. Imagine our surprise (not) when, two months later, we were issued credits for the exact amounts of the access fees. But something is very much amiss with electricity providing. Who to turn to when the public service commissions go along with the con?

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:39 AM

Saturday, July 22, 2006
pbs
Often PBS annoys me, especially during the too-frequent attempts to stir up guilt while asking for money. I thoroughly dislike the hypocrisy of saying they are non-commercial and then showing obvious commercials in sheep's advertising clothing. On the other hand, I relish some of its programming (Daniel Deronda, Miss Marple, the Andrea Bocelli concert, As Time Goes By and Foyle's War, for recent examples). Not sure what to conclude about that, but there it is.

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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 11:48 PM

Thursday, July 20, 2006
good grammar
Not that any of us is perfect. (See, right away, depending on where you live, "any" is a singular subject taking "is" for the verb or it's a plural subject taking "are".) And not that I'm lying in wait to pounce on the NY Times. But mistakenly-referenced dependent clauses are always fodder for such jollity, aren't they? This morning's quick-take review of Kate Muir's Left Bank begins with the phrase "In this first novel by a columnist for The Times of London, . . . " which is fine except, of course, I am fairly sure it is not the first novel by a columnist for The Times of London. I imagine that there have been many others, considering how old The Times is and how many fabulous writers have appeared in its pages, but if I'm wrong, I'll be glad to eat my words (mmm, yum). The correct wording would be, "In this first novel by Kate Muir, a columnist for The Times of London," or "In London Times columnist Kate Muir's first foray into fiction," or something like that. (Should we assume that every story is wrong about something? Why is accuracy so hard?)

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:23 AM

Wednesday, July 19, 2006
the ny times
Much has been written about the NY Times, here and elsewhere, and now one learns that West Point cadets must read it every morning and be able to answer questions at any moment about the day's events and stories. A friend of mine pointed out that this is consistent with the Point's emphasis on intellectual prowess and therefore being able to defend your views and counter challenges in a very articulate and practiced manner. One does hope, however, that attempts are made to balance the negative and politically positioned points of view of the Times. And what's with the photos of dead bodies, usually on the front page above the fold but never farther back than page 10 or 11? I made a passing joke one day and then discovered I wasn't kidding. What do you suppose is the rationale for that?

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:37 AM

Tuesday, July 18, 2006
@#$%^&*
When novelists put characters into the mouth of a person (as in: he said, "get out of the way, you @#$%^!"), it means the person is supposed to have used whatever language the reader hears as horribly vulgar and shocking. When I was a child, people thought 'darn' was a swear word. When I was in college, people thought 'damn' was appalling to say in polite company. This Spring, eight or nine weeks ago, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences gave the award for best song to a ditty that had been sung earlier that evening on network television without being bleeped at all even though its title is "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp". While it might be something you wouldn't say to your mother or your boss, who can look me in the eye and honestly assert that they find the word 'shit' vulgar and beyond the pale?

Another thought on this. Suppose Bush had declared simply and unemotionally that he thought Syria was acting appallingly. You'd better believe that the fuss would have been just as loud (or louder) and just as derogatory as it is about the supposedly-overheard remarks to Tony Blair. The press will denigrate Bush even if he starts curing people by laying on hands or invents a magnificent widget. Besides, it is difficult if not impossible for any politician to say straightforwardly what he or she thinks because there is always someone ready to pounce. But keep Dante's words in mind that "the darkest place in hell is reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis." I am grateful to have a president with the conviction, even if he doesn't express it Soronsen-esque prettily, that there should be no compromise of moral disgust until and unless violent and murderous people are willing to stop being violent and murderous.

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Permalink | 2 comment(s) | posted by jau at 12:02 PM

Monday, July 17, 2006
another apt remark
Another germane thought, this one from Vilaine fille:
In every generation, humanity has its share of "meshuganosis," a social condition that makes pious fools of otherwise intelligent people. These people take the loudest voices in their heads to be the word of G-d and then inflict horrific damage on themselves and others in G-d's name....

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 7:13 AM

Sunday, July 16, 2006
i have a question
Does anyone else think, as I do, that Pajamas Media members are sounding, acting and feeling like regular old media? They write about what they're doing and/or each other in "in" group terms and tones, all self-referential and self-reverential. It's really unpleasant. Is it a corrollary of nature abhoring a vacuum? Do all people or groups that get a bunch of attention, praise and/or authority instinctively begin to act like hotshots?

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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 11:13 AM

apt remark
Memo to the puffed-up pontificating people who proclaim their so-called wisdom whenever they get a chance (Sheehan, Jolie, Bono, Sarandon, Gere, etc., etc.):
Consider Edward R. Murrow's comment -
"Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar."

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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 8:34 AM

Saturday, July 15, 2006
once more, onto the brink
I'm trying to keep in mind that the media often seem to relish striking fear into listeners' and viewers' hearts. (Example: I was in China on business when La Scandale Monica broke and I saw Bernie Shaw look right into the camera and somberly, very slowly and seriously, say, "it's not clear whether the U.S. government will last the night". It seemed ridiculous, being a mere sex scandal and all (shows what I knew), and it seemed even more ridiculous that CNN writers understood so little about the U.S. government, namely that bringing it down, coup-like, would be pretty much impossible.) Yet here we are yet again. This time it's a(nother) Middle East crisis. How many of those in my lifetime so far? The Middle East sure does more than its share of striking fear in our hearts, doesn't it? Do you suppose all their mothers and fathers didn't pay enough attention when they were toddlers? That's an awful lot of absent-minded inattentive parents, but maybe that's it. So now all those people demand our attention and will keep on demanding it even if it kills every last one of all of us.
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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 8:55 AM

Friday, July 14, 2006
gentle riposte
On Prairie Home Companion's website, this:
Q: How many mediators does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: So what I hear you saying is that you want more light.

Update: After I posted the above, I found this, Yarn Harlot's apropos favorite joke:
Q: How many fruit flies does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A. Two. Same number it takes to screw anywhere else.

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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 12:58 PM

yippee tay yay
Update: Had a great time reuniting with my friend/hairdresser. She gave me a nice haircut although my expectations were probably too high, as usual. I wanted something exciting and different, maybe even dramatic. One of those "wow, cool haircut" things. It certainly looks okay but it's not very different, for one thing, and not at all dramatic, for another. I guess I need to look at pictures and try that route next time. // Once upon a time I was happily going to a hairdresser that I loved at a salon that was quite nice. It had taken me about three hundred years to find someone who understood my quirks and wanting to hide behind my hair and yet be adorable too. But then came the day when the evil stepowner had an argument with my friend, the result of which was that she went to a different salon. She kindly sent me at least two notices about the new place but I promptly put them into that place where things go when you're sure you know where you put them but they never see the light of day again. When I'd read the address change, I'd had a mental image of where she moved and yesterday my hair was at that point where cute barrettes and swanky clips are the only things between me and utter hideousness (on my head, anyway) so I did an online-yellow-book search for businesses on the street I thought she moved to and . . . voila: tomorrow afternoon I will see her and get better hair in the bargain. Yeah!

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 11:04 AM

Thursday, July 13, 2006
hastily written note
Busy hot humid day. Not to mention crazy day. It must be a full moon everywhere (Indian train bombings, Gaza murders and kidnappings, British memos, Val and Joe's lawsuit, Putin's 'wit', Westchester's tornadoes, thought-control devices on the NYT front page, etc., etc., and Red Buttons died the day after June Allyson). God may be in his heaven but all is definitely not right with the world. Maybe tomorrow.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 6:44 PM

Wednesday, July 12, 2006
the deed is done today
Clearly anything really is possible with enough chutzpah and conviction. From one red paperclip to one beige house, no money changing hands, nothing more extraordinary than his wits. Imagination and ingenuity are wonderful things. Good for him.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:41 AM

Tuesday, July 11, 2006
more juxtaposing
If astrology means anything, same-birthday people should have something in common. Today's birthdays include folk singer Suzanne Vega; nimble dancer Bill Irwin; actors Peter Riegert, Yul Brynner, Joel Gray and Anna Magnani; boxer Leon Spinks; former U.S. poet laureat Mark Strand; and Charlotte's webmaster E.B. White. What is one to make of this combination?
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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 1:30 PM

homeschooling redux
There's been an interesting thread at Spunky, begun by a question (John's) and carried forward by 54 commenters as of this writing. Some comments have been rude (how unusual for blog commenters - not), some have been informative. What I realized midway through reading them is that homeschoolers make some fundamental assumptions, some of which I share and agree with and some I'm not so sure about:
1. "Brainwashing" is a term loosely used to mean inculcating children with the viewpoints and/or ideologies of those who instruct. Private and public schools have their own sets of viewpoints and ideologies so they are also "brainwashing" children. In a sense, then, one of the decisions involved in where one educates children is which brainwashing one disagrees with least. (I pretty much agree with this. Every school and every teacher comes with a set of predispositions and values. Sometimes these are religious, sometimes political, sometimes cultural. It would be nice to think that children could be taught those things that are factual, as facts, and those that are evaluative, as opinions. But it's not gonna happen, I think. Besides, one man's ceiling fact may be another man's floor opinion.)
2. Parents are ideal teachers of their children because they (a) know their children and (b) are knowledgeable enough to teach because they were taught, once, themselves. (I have to say "huh?" about this one. It's one thing to know someting and quite another to teach it, let alone teach it well. There's an adage that parents should never teach their own children to drive, right? Not because parents don't know how to drive but because children usually learn best from someone who has no emotional interest or investment in the outcome. Which I would think also applies to academic subjects.)
More to come but must do some other things for a while. Meantime, would love to know readers' thoughts.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 12:13 PM

Monday, July 10, 2006
halleluja, devra
An important ten-year anniversary is at hand for DevraDoWrite - luckiest for her but for us, too. Today's post is particularly touching. I can just imagine how marvelous the studio visit must have been.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 12:37 PM

juxtapositioning
Somehow it seems amusing that today is the 21st anniversary of both the resumption of regular Coke and Greenpeace's sinking by French agents. Plus, it's Proust's 135th birthday. (Madeleines, anyone?)
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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 11:03 AM

Sunday, July 9, 2006
crocheting / knitting
Do you prefer knitting or crocheting? I'm debating which I prefer. I think it depends on what it's for, but I think I slightly prefer the process of knitting because it uses both hands. And I'm not crazy about that 'marching soldiers' look that some crochet pieces get. I wonder what other people think.

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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 6:56 PM

more bdays
Today is the birthday of someone who was, for a while, a good friend. I am sorry we parted in anger and with hurt feelings. I hope she is doing well, enjoying her work and her life as much as she deserves.

It also is my next-door neighbor's birthday, an active and energetic man who admits to 39 but is, I believe, about twice that. He is thoughtful and helpful and good to be getting to know.

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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 6:54 PM

Saturday, July 8, 2006
getting older
I hate getting older as much as anyone. Well, maybe not as much as someone close to 95 or a hundred, but I really hate the idea that there's less time left than there's already been. Especially now that there are two fabulous babies on hand (the oft-referenced 2cgitw). But I sure hate to see women I admire abusing their faces with plastic surgery that actually makes them look worse and, by the way, older. Apparently there actually are surgeons who can do good work (Rachel Welch, Florence Henderson. . .) but some don't seem to know what they're doing (Mary Tyler Moore, Melanie Griffith, Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow. . .). I mean, Judi Dench is really beautiful even if obviously over 50. Age could be a matter of respect and distinction, just like for men, if we'd let it.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 3:22 PM

:)
Sun is out, humidity is down and it's a weekend. A gardening and outdoors day, at last.
Update - surprise, surprise, I spoke too soon. Now it's cloudy and humid. WHO can we talk to about this?! A colleague at work said she figures the weather guy must've quit and God is having a hard time filling the job, and recent applicants are clearly not working out. Maybe that's it.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:32 AM

Friday, July 7, 2006
disagreeable people
Driving along the other day - where I often do my best musing - I had one of those "aha!" moments. I'd realized that the disagreeable, judgmental people of oh-so-long-ago seemed to have vanished into thin air. You know who I mean? The people who criticized everyone's hairdos and clothing, who told you you'd never have real friends unless you sat up straight and kept your knees together and dressed properly, who disparaged women over 30 who wore sleeveless dresses, who disapproved of short men dating tall women, who disapproved of practically everything unique and interesting, who totally disapproved of people of different races spending time together (let along dating or marrying), who thought gay people were beyond anathema, who had rules about how to speak, when to speak, what to say, what to wear, etc., etc., etc.? I was thinking that those people were pretty pathetic and probably leftovers from the first part of the (last) century and gone with the proverbial and blessed wind of change that flower children and love-ins wrought. I was feeling happy that human beings had become nicer and more tolerant. I was wondering what had become of my parents' friend who went to mass all the time and wore a rosary around her neck but talked hatefully about absolutely everyone.

And that's when my epiphany struck.

What I realized is that the naysayers and doom-and-gloom enjoyers and attackers of all political and social kinds . . . are the direct descendants (or even the same people) as the horrible people from fifty years ago. I guess the good news is that time marches on and things do change, but the bad news is that nasty people are still here and not much improved. Perhaps one of the benefits of the population explosion is that there are so many people of so many colors and personalities and shapes and sizes that conformists and those who hate eccentricity have simply lost physical ground. Yes, Virginia, good (greater acceptance) does come out of not-so-good (over population).

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Permalink | 1 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:51 AM

Thursday, July 6, 2006
thought/question ~ good news/bad news
I've read a few posts recently about what they deem an oddly short supply of protesters against the Iraq war and/or the President. They sound genuinely puzzled and pick their way in bafflement among several explanations. One wonders whether the most obvious explanation is the one that fails to make their lists. To wit: perhaps fewer people oppose the war and the President than they realize and, in fact, perhaps many people actually support both. Even World War II had opponents, after all. The good news is that it may be that in some ways our country has become, at 230, what it was founded to be: a place of many and wildly divergent and passionately held ideas and beliefs.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 11:38 AM

more happy bdays
Check it out. Today is the Dalai Lama's, Nancy Reagan's, Sylvester Stallone's, George W. Bush's, and my friend's sister-in-law's birthday. Quite a day! Hard to know what to make of that combination.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 10:45 AM

Wednesday, July 5, 2006
happy birthday!
Happy happy second birthday to the younger of the tcgitw! It's astonishing that she's been here for two entire years. Like her first cousin, she is simply a sweetheart and I hope she has a wonderful day and year. Aren't hearts amazing things? Apparently they're endlessly expandable when it comes to holding all the special people we love.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 12:02 AM

Sunday, July 2, 2006
happy 230th
It's a hazard benefit of friends and family being away that I browse blogs more than usual. Hence many links to many things. I must add that the blogging world is a grand place in which, agree with them or not (sometimes especially when not), one finds musings, dialogues, ideas, philosophical treatises, quirky vents, observations, and points of view spanning every color, size, political side, etc. It's interesting, thought-provoking and downright encouraging about the human race. (Feel free to point out others.)
-Mark Steyn on Ann Coulter (ht Spiced Sass)
-Mathematical Imagery - wild! (ht the ever-awesome Sweet Familiar Dissonance)
-Life Nut - interesting observations (ht --Amy's Humble Musings)
-Would you believe a pacifiers web site including a diamond one for $17,000?! (ht Life Nut)
-No smoking in a car with children?! (ht several blogs)
-Quizzes and facts about the government and the First Family
-Mark Steyn on the recent Supreme Court decision
-Now and Then by Sophie Hannah - terrific poem (ht Spiced Sass)
-Cell Phone Complaints by Lynn - funny and wishful thinking that I yearn for!
-The Eternal Meaning of Independence Day
-Calvin Coolidge's Speech on the 150th anniversary of July 4, 1776 - a knockout
-Time Slip - apt short short story for today (ht Spiced Sass)
-What's so great about America? by Dinesh D'Souza (ht Seablogger)

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 11:51 AM

two thumbs up
Good movies can be like good books, wriggling their way into your head and heart, and sort of snuggling down for a while. You walk around with the people and images for days or even weeks. For several years, my neighbor and good friend has celebrated her birthday with an annual "film festival". I always look forward to her birthday partly because it gives me another chance to honor her, but also because of our movie day. She's seen around four hundred thousand movies (well, that might be an exaggeration) and studied film fairly seriously so watching movies with her is always great. It's also just sheer fun since we share many tastes about types of movies, storylines and actors. Every year we look forward to the movies but sometimes find ourselves disappointed by one or another. But not this year. They were all wonderful, even the ones we'd been a bit wary about. This year's screenings were Junebug, A Very Long Engagement, Being Julia, The Squid and the Whale, and Mrs Hendersen Presents. Actors were terrific, characters interesting, camera work eye-catching without being overbearing, stories intriguing and absorbing. Witness the fact that neither of us dozed off for even five minutes during any of them.

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 9:35 AM

happy indie day
It seems that the resolution of independence was voted for, and the Declaration of Independence actually signed, on July 2nd. A case can even be made for July 19th since that's when the states' approvals were all in. Read the scoop in The Summer of '76. So have a great July 2nd!

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Permalink | 0 comment(s) | posted by jau at 6:55 AM