Thursday, October 02, 2003
Hello, fellow cyber-travelers. I thought I'd check in with praise and cynicalness (is that a word?) today, so fasten your seatbelts for some interesting prose.
First the praise for a wonderful evening last Saturday, with four of my closest friends (and two happen to be married to each other.) Who could forsee how strong friendships last in the absence of physical or communicative touch; it is demonstrated in the hearts of my dearest friends. We had a lot of fun, and it wasn't all remembering how dumb we looked (with that shoulder-length 70s hair,) or things which some of us remembered and no one else did. For those who couldn't attend, you are in my heart too, for how much you meant to me thirty years ago, and for those who came, the core of our friends, I pledge that not a fraction of time will go by without seeing each other as the new milestones come into our lives. I regretted not being there for the marriages and the celebration of children, but we have a new connection. And, incidentially, boy did we look good for our ages!
Over on Classmates.com, a thread about 'sharing memories" has brought back a flood to me, and it is interesting talking to others who may have graduated earlier or later but share the same thoughts. Thank you, Michael for starting the thread, and Jim, Ellen, Barbara, Caroljean, David and Carolyn for furthering the memory jogger.
Now, the cynical. Remember how science discovered that Kansas is indeed, flatter than a pancake? Well now some researchers in England have devoted time and money to discovering why some cookies break after they are baked. So, in effect, they know why the cookie crumbles.
In the "we need this guy" department, an unidentified man in London, dressed in a cape, superhero costume and armed with a metal cutting circular saw would send himself out to cut the "wheel-clamps" of cars immobilized by police (the term here in the states is commonly "Denver-boot.") Mr. "Angle Grinder Man" has a web site and a phone number when you need the services he offers, and he says he has freed twelve cars so immobilized. Oh, he says he doesn't mind breaking the law, and "he likes wearing the costume." Maybe we don't need this guy. (News from CNN-Reuters, 9-18-2003)
According to the Sydney Morning Herald of the 3rd of September, Derrick and Patricia Cogan of Devon, England, still managed to enjoy a scheduled September holiday in their mobile home, despite the fact that just days before, it sustained about US$3,400 in damage after being hit by a flying cow that fell off of a 30-foot cliff. No further comment, please.
Is this sexist? The Washington Post online leads with an article called "Puzzling Out The Logic Of A Leak," which, if you've had your head in a bucket for the past week refers to the "outing" of a CIA operative who happens to be the wife of former Envoy Joseph Wilson, who is embarrasing the Administration of the lack of WMD in Iraq. The regrettable quote: "NOW THE Justice Department has a criminal investigation going into allegations that Bush administration officials leaked the fact that Wilson’s wife is a covert CIA operative. Is it a bad thing to have a wife who works? A wife who works for the CIA? A wife who works undercover, instead of at a Hecht’s makeup counter selling cover-up? " C'mon now, women work at far more than makeup counters. But come to think of it, when is the last time you saw a man selling cosmetics? Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm.
And finally, the reason I haven't looked for work in California; according to a forecast by the California Board of Realtors, fewer than one in five Californians will be able to buy a house there this year. Housing costs are expected to rise 14% in 2004. What does this say about the Californians; and how do they calculate who will be able to afford? Are the illegal aliens and migrant farmworkers included in the estimate of annual income? Just curious.
Thanks for reading! Good evening, everybody.
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First the praise for a wonderful evening last Saturday, with four of my closest friends (and two happen to be married to each other.) Who could forsee how strong friendships last in the absence of physical or communicative touch; it is demonstrated in the hearts of my dearest friends. We had a lot of fun, and it wasn't all remembering how dumb we looked (with that shoulder-length 70s hair,) or things which some of us remembered and no one else did. For those who couldn't attend, you are in my heart too, for how much you meant to me thirty years ago, and for those who came, the core of our friends, I pledge that not a fraction of time will go by without seeing each other as the new milestones come into our lives. I regretted not being there for the marriages and the celebration of children, but we have a new connection. And, incidentially, boy did we look good for our ages!
Over on Classmates.com, a thread about 'sharing memories" has brought back a flood to me, and it is interesting talking to others who may have graduated earlier or later but share the same thoughts. Thank you, Michael for starting the thread, and Jim, Ellen, Barbara, Caroljean, David and Carolyn for furthering the memory jogger.
Now, the cynical. Remember how science discovered that Kansas is indeed, flatter than a pancake? Well now some researchers in England have devoted time and money to discovering why some cookies break after they are baked. So, in effect, they know why the cookie crumbles.
In the "we need this guy" department, an unidentified man in London, dressed in a cape, superhero costume and armed with a metal cutting circular saw would send himself out to cut the "wheel-clamps" of cars immobilized by police (the term here in the states is commonly "Denver-boot.") Mr. "Angle Grinder Man" has a web site and a phone number when you need the services he offers, and he says he has freed twelve cars so immobilized. Oh, he says he doesn't mind breaking the law, and "he likes wearing the costume." Maybe we don't need this guy. (News from CNN-Reuters, 9-18-2003)
According to the Sydney Morning Herald of the 3rd of September, Derrick and Patricia Cogan of Devon, England, still managed to enjoy a scheduled September holiday in their mobile home, despite the fact that just days before, it sustained about US$3,400 in damage after being hit by a flying cow that fell off of a 30-foot cliff. No further comment, please.
Is this sexist? The Washington Post online leads with an article called "Puzzling Out The Logic Of A Leak," which, if you've had your head in a bucket for the past week refers to the "outing" of a CIA operative who happens to be the wife of former Envoy Joseph Wilson, who is embarrasing the Administration of the lack of WMD in Iraq. The regrettable quote: "NOW THE Justice Department has a criminal investigation going into allegations that Bush administration officials leaked the fact that Wilson’s wife is a covert CIA operative. Is it a bad thing to have a wife who works? A wife who works for the CIA? A wife who works undercover, instead of at a Hecht’s makeup counter selling cover-up? " C'mon now, women work at far more than makeup counters. But come to think of it, when is the last time you saw a man selling cosmetics? Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm.
And finally, the reason I haven't looked for work in California; according to a forecast by the California Board of Realtors, fewer than one in five Californians will be able to buy a house there this year. Housing costs are expected to rise 14% in 2004. What does this say about the Californians; and how do they calculate who will be able to afford? Are the illegal aliens and migrant farmworkers included in the estimate of annual income? Just curious.
Thanks for reading! Good evening, everybody.
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