It's Worth It????

Send Barbara and Jenna

"It is worth it" for other families, not mine
by Joe in DC - 6/28/2005 06:57:00 PM

Excerpt of the speech from AP:
"Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is horrifying and the suffering is real," Bush said, according to excerpts released ahead of time by the White House. "It is worth it."

If it's so worth it, send Jenna and Barbara.

Top 25 Depressing Tunes

Tell Laura I Love Her

I can't believe that Tom Reynolds, author of I Hate Myself and Want to Die, rates Tell Laura I Love Her at only #21 on his top 25 Depressing Tunes. At the tender age of 9 I used to cry when it was played (frequently) on the radio - hey, I was just a kid. But there was a certain frisson of pleasure associated with the song. After my parents split up we lived with my grandmother, a couple of uncles and my aunt Sheila, all of whom loved us dearly. Every Friday my aunt Sheila came home from her job as a traffic manager for Canadian National Railways singing (not too tunefully) "Tell Laura I Love Her" and bearing treats from the Laura Secord chocolate store. I have one of those funny switchy pictures (move them one way/one picture, move them another way/picture changes) in my brain of a burning car wreck with a bloodied half-dead corpse/delicious chocolate bar.

Glad To Be Canadian

I heard an interview about this issue on CBC Radio 1 the other day. This is incredibly scary to say nothing of an assault on personal privacy. I'm grateful that my children are not the target market. I am not a Liberal but I must say,"Thank you, Jean Chretien, for keeping us out of this whole sordid mess."

The system also gives the Pentagon the right, without notifying citizens, to share the data for several uses outside the military, including with law enforcement, state tax authorities and Congress.

Attack of the Killer Snapple

To paraphrase that horrible windbag, Dr. Phil, "What were they thinking???" I guess it wouldn't be so bad if strawberry-kiwi was your favourite flavour.

Angst Reduction

Live Fast Die Young
They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? is a great resource and takes the risk out of renting DVDs. I experience angst every time I go to the Video Gallery. I agonize over my choices. Why? I don't know - it's only 5 bucks, after all. Last time, after a full half hour of deliberation I chose Enduring Love over Vera Drake (can't watch two in one evening any more as I pass out around 10pm). This site recommends a whole whack of films and lists them chronologically.

The 35 top movie quotations from the American Film Institute

Every one of these is familiar. I can think of a few others:

It's not the men in my life that counts - it's the life in my men.

I'm No Angel-Mae West

I have nipples, Greg, would you milk me?

Meet the Parents - Robert de Niro

My momma always said life was like a box of chocolates…you never know what you're gonna get.

Forrest Gump - Tom Hanks

Brand New Plants

Before photo
When the Oriental poppies die down I have to plant annuals in that bed. This is what it looks like today. I'm hoping it will look fantastic in a couple of weeks. I planted pink cosmos, tall white snapdragons, medium pink snapgragons and bright blue lobelia.

How To Do Some Idiotic Things

The Road to Turducken

Learn how to make Jesus toast, spinach cigarettes, guest soaps from bacon, even pruno (prison wine that will win over even the most hardened prison bitch). I had no idea that making turducken was so complicated. Add it to the list of things my dinner guests have learned to do without: witty repartee, charming ambiance and hosts who can still speak and stand at the end of the evening.

Remember this guy?

He Likes Squirrels
He's a squirrel loving vegetarian who shot up a couple of black kids about twenty years ago- Bernard Goetz, the Subway Vigilante and now he's running for office. Weird!

You Can Get Anything You Want

Alice Waters
A good article on Alice Waters and Chez Panisse. I aspire to eating there.

rose

Reif Estate Hall Dedication

Grand Opening

We had a very successful event last night. Our lecture hall was named for Reif Winery which donated a substantial amount to its restoration. Claus Reif and his partner, Eva, are young, attractive, have boundless energy and, most importantly, are two of the nicest people I know. The room looked beautiful but I'm getting tired of surviving on hors d'oeuvres, desserts and wine, no matter how tasty. Big cleanup today and thank you's to all who contributed to our Spring Soiree, maybe even a day off in the foreseeable future.

Liberty University Dress Code For Women

Standard of Dress for WOMEN
Hair and clothing styles related to counterculture (as determined by the Deans’ Review Committee) are not acceptable. Dresses and skirts should be no shorter than the top of the knee (sitting or standing). Skirt slits should be modest; open slits should be no higher than the top of the knee, closed slits should be no higher than two inches from the top of the knee. Shoulder straps should be no less than two inches wide. Anything tight, scant, backless, see-through, low in the neckline or revealing the midriff (in any position) is immodest and unacceptable. Slips should be worn under thin material. Earrings and plugs are permitted in ears only. No other facial piercings or plugs are allowed, including tongue.

J-Walk brings us this material that takes me back to my youth - this is just the sort of irrelevant rulemaking I abhored then.

RIP Mrs. Robinson

Anna Maria Louise Italiano dead at 73. Born in the Bronx to Italian immigrant parents, she became a respected actress with a pile of academy award nominations to her credit. Always remembered as that consumate adulteress, Mrs. Robinson.

peony
Great big flowers every day...

Peony and Poppy

poppy

Today's flower

Tree peony

My garden has new surprises each day - loads of new weeds and sometimes a great flower or two. My tree peony has about twenty of these beautiful but foul smelling blooms.