The 'Net or "a lttle knowledge is a dangerous thing"

I love the Internet.  Who doesn't?  All the information in the world , right at your fingertips.  Want to plan a trip?  All there?  Look up information on an obscure author or see who played a bit part in a movie you saw when you were a teen?  Done.  Social networking is great too.  Want to reconnect with old loves, lost friends and in some cases  lost family? yup.  But there is a disturbing trend these days.  Anyone can post anything they want and they do.  The problem with that is the number of people who believe the stuff as truth without bothering to look it up.  Am I the only one TOTALLY SICKENED by the conspiracy theorists latest bit about how the Sandy Hook killings were FAKED in order to push through tougher gun laws?  What basement dwelling troll came up with that little chestnut?  Yeah, Obama ( and it 's always him isn't it) persuaded an entire town to FAKE the deaths of their children  to help him with gun control laws.  Outrageous.

I did love the kids whose dad joked that if they got a million likes on Facebook, they could have a puppy.  Some people thought that was faked, but turns out it wasn't .  Those girls were just too cute.  I hope they get a nice puppy and post photos of it so everyone can see.  Want to bet that dad never dares his kids again?

I try my very best to check things out before I post them, but sometimes my heartstrings get the better of me and I post stuff that is simply not true.  Sorry about that.  I usually say something later or delete the post if I can.   I hate getting into political arguments with my FB friends.  Sometimes the arguments get so heated I just ask to agree to disagree for sake of peace.  We are all entitled to a difference of opinion.  My father used to say that being American meant "I  may not agree with what you say, but I defend to the death your right to say it"  Many people believe that you are not a "patriot' or "true American" if you don't believe a certain way.  I think being a patriot means that I keep informed, that I vote, that I pay my taxes without trying to cheat the system, that I keep an open mind.   I just wish people would look up some of the things they post before they go off on a rant about how "our freedoms are being taken away", which is a hot button issue wherever you turn.  If you oppose a law, talk to your representatives about it,let your voice be heard, but for GOODNESS SAKE,  CHECK before you go off half -cocked about something.  Make sure it isn't some faux news story, intended only to rile things up and liven up Facebook.  Make sure THEN let your voice be heard.

I have ranted enough.  Tomorrow I promise to talk about what I am reading- some GOOD stuff out there!

Manners

Whatever happened to common courtesy?  Good manners seem to be a thing of the past.  People no longer say "Please" or "thank you" or God forbid "excuse me"     I ride the subway every day and you would think this was a race or the roller derby where bumping people out of the way to get in and get a seat is the only goal.  I have seen able bodied young people brush past elderly people to get to a seat.  Offer to give UP your precious seat?  Almost never!  Yesterday some guy with a bike threw himself into the handicapped seat next to me and fell asleep across the bike which he had blocking most of the aisle.  I said a loud "excuse me" to wake him up so we could get by him to get off at our stop.  He glared at me and edged the bike a fraction of an inch out of the way so we had to squeeze by the dirty bike.  YUCK.  I glared back, but he was already asleep again.

I was in my favorite burrito shop last week and another customers bumped me going AND coming.  Did she say "excuse me" or "pardon me" or ANYTHING?  Nope.  She had to know she had made contact and the polite thing to do it to murmur an apology.  People don't seem to do that anymore.   Is it too old fashioned?  In this ME ME ME world, have we forgotten that there are other people around us?  I recently had someone tell me that my saying "thank you" irritated him.  HUH?  My mother raised me to be polite, and even when I don't want to be, I still am.  I can hear her in the back of my head saying "Manners the butler"  I have NO idea what she meant, but when she said it I knew I was out of line.  I looked up Manners the Butler.  He was apparently spokes-character for paper napkins.  He was a tiny man ( about 5 inches tall) who  "helped " the lady of the house get ready for whatever event by reminding her that the new paper napkins would save her time.  That's what I found anyway.  I guess my mom thought he was also a model for propriety.

So, May I say "Thank you" for reading this and "please" comment if you care to! 

Reading the news ( and it sure looks bad)

Why is it so hard to find news about good things happening in the world?  Is it because tragedy and pathos play better than something that might be viewed as fluff?  The Sandy Hook story continues to dominate the airwaves.  I wonder how long it will be a lead story.  It's not as if there is a trial or any real justice to be handed down.  The person responsible is dead.  Trying to find someone else to "pay" for the crime is pointless.  I am sure the slimy bottom-feeders in the legal profession will try to convince those suffering in the aftermath that there is money to be gained.  Will money change anything?  No, sadly it will not and the only lives that will be improved at all will probably be the lawyers who will collect a fat fee on the misery. 

I have been thinking lately about the cult of personality that seems to pervade the media these days.  We know far too much about the love lives of certain people.  I for one am sick of seeing Taylor Swift's face trying to be sad as she dumps yet another piece of arm candy so she can write that "tragic breakup song" that is sure to propel her to the top of the charts.  I wonder if she chooses boyfriends based on their dump-ability.  She is fast becoming not the sweet innocent that her media machine would have us believe.  One or two dinners or media events does not a relationship make,but the media and possibly her handlers has her walking down the aisle with anyone she even says hello to.  That's got to be a real drag.  What kind of life it that, always in the fishbowl?  I know far more about her and Kim Kardashian than I care to.  What is it about the K sisters anyway?  They are the modern day equivalent of the Gabor sisters.  No discernible talent, just famous for being arm candy.  What kind of life must you have when you are the most famous for  whom you have as your sex partners?  The Gabor sisters married often enough and Eva did have that stint, woefully stunt-cast as Lisa in "Green Acres"  I feel sorry for the younger crop of K sisters who are not even Kardashians but get lumped and marketed along with them.  Not much of a life, I think.

The whole gun control debate is getting a little crazy.  The arguments on both sides are coming from passionate reactions to the shootings of children and how to prevent such tragedies.  I personally don't believe gun control to be the answer.  Timothy McVey blew up that building in Oklahoma City using fertilizer.  Do we outlaw fertilizer? ( I could make a joke about what the outcome of outlawing Bull crap would have on Congress, insert your own joke here)

I used to read the comics every day for a laugh, but I stopped subscribing to the local paper when I was hit with a ten percent pay cut in the guise of a furlough and the Editor of Said Paper CROWED about it and talked about all the things that we could do with that time off.  Many of her suggestions involved spending more money- which we no longer had.  I took a look at my budget and decided to make ten-percent worth of cuts to it STARTING with my subscription to the Daily News.  I had been a subscriber since it was a throw-away called the Valley News and Green Sheet, but I could no longer afford the luxury of a newspaper.  They are scrambling for subscribers, I hear and they often contact me but I am not going back.  They have bought into the age-old idea that City Employees are lazy at best and corrupt at worst.  I don't need to pay good money to be insulted.  Now I get my news and my comics online.  There is a whole subculture of people who "Meet" and complain about what the writer/artist is doing with the strip.  Most are grousing about the character development or plot line.  Seldom do you see someone say something constructive.  I often wonder why people continue to read them if it bothers them so much?  Like my parting of the ways with the Daily News, it was a hard habit to break but I have done it.

Long overdue cd review Winter People "A Year at Sea

Several months ago, I got an email from a friend in Australia telling me about this band and suggesting I check them out, as she thought I might enjoy them.  As usual, my friend was right.   I was delighted in October to not only get a copy of the CD, but to see the band on their very small US Tour.  I have been listening to the CD a lot, but as of yet have not had a spare moment to write down my thoughts.  Here goes!

This is an amazing band.  It is hard to pinpoint an actual style here.  I suppose the best would be folk classic rock.  OK forgive me but here is what I am hearing in the CD

The lead singer has a gritty voice but pleasant and interesting. The band has had some favorable comparisons to Dylan, but unlike Bob, this guy can actually sing.  He doesn't have a great range, but that is made up by the two women in the band who play violins.   It adds an extra component. They also have wonderful , sometimes  ethereal voices which add a sweetness to the mix.   I love how the rock portions suddenly become symphonic in songs like "Gallons" which has a HUGE drum sound that is terrific.  It is becoming my current favorite.  Had I written this last week, it would have been "Top of the World" which has quite a nice hook to it and it completely stuck in my head..The song also reminds me of Cagney in White Heat where he's at the top of the water tower yelling "Top of the World, Ma" before they shoot him.  I think it's White Heat.  Better look it up.  

 The variety in the music shows quite a range of talent here.  There are some VERY folk-y songs and there are some real rockers with that stirring symphonic sound that I mentioned.  Intense.  Some of the lyrical content gives me mental pictures of the US, but I wonder when they talk about Dust Bowl cities, if they aren't talking about places in Australia.  No matter, the beauty in art is that it makes you see what YOU see, not always what the artist meant, exactly, especially when someone is painting you a word picture.  Check them out.  I am hoping they come back to visit the US soon.  I think they would gather a pretty good following.

Riverside National Cemetery

Monday  would have been my Mom's 87th birthday.  It got me to thinking how much I still miss her and I was shocked to realize that although I had meant to do it earlier, I had not been to the cemetery since the funeral service over a year ago.  I needed to go, to make certain the headstone had been placed and just to visit the grave.  I also wanted to visit the grave of my friend, Kaye Thomas who is buried there. 

I wanted to buy three roses to take to place on both graves, one for each of them.  I went to my local Albertson's in Tujunga/La Canada and they didn't have any individual roses.  I asked the woman working the floral counter and she said she didn't have any and suggested I buy these UGLY rose bush clipping she had.  Nope.  Not gonna do it.  It wasn't what I had in mind.  I figured I could buy flowers at the cemetery, as I remembered a kiosk in the lobby.  So, after consulting the GPS- which wouldn't find the place -AND calling to get directions via the Reference desk at Los Feliz branch ( thanks!)  we were off.

It was a beautiful day and it warmed up quite a bit so I didn't need the over sized sweater I was wearing when we got to Riverside.  We went to the office to use the grave locator, which gives you a map and to buy flowers.  To my dismay, there were scant flowers in the auto-mat-like floral dispenser AND the ones that were there were, to use my mother's expression, sad.  I started laughing.  My dad used to change song lyrics all the time and I could hear him singing HIS version of "Red Roses for a blue Lady".  If you don't know the song, it begins "Wrap up some red roses for a blue lady"  My Dad's version went "Wrap up some dead roses for my Old Lady"  I just cracked up.  I think the soldier who was visiting his grandfather's grave before shipping out thought I was crazy until I explained it to him. "Is he here? " he asked.  I said yes. He asked a bit about my dad.  We chatted for a bit and he left to join his family.

We wandered around the cemetery until we were able to find the marker for my parents.  Initially, I thought they might  be in the wall that rings the grounds so we walked along , trying to find the marker; the map didn't quite jive with the guideposts.  We read some of the inscriptions on the headstones that were affixed to the wall.  My favorites were "Keep on Trucking" and "Rest in Peace Until We Meet Again."  Now, I KNOW it was meant to be two separate thoughts, but it struck me as funny nonetheless.

We found the grave-site and took a picture of the headstone, which I posted on Facebook for anyone who knew either or both of my parents to see.  The inscription "Dancing in the Clouds" is for both of them, for that is how we imagine them; together again and happy.  My father missed my mother every single day they were apart and he often said to me  "I am just waiting until she comes to get me"  I tried not to cry, but you know me- I did.  I miss them both terribly and probably always will.  The grounds are well kept- it IS a National Cemetery- and there were lots of people and many of the graves had flowers or other tokens.  As we walked over to find the grave for my friend Kaye, I noticed someone had placed an unopened Guinness on one nearby grave.  Sweet.

I had worked with Kaye Thomas and when he died and no one claimed his body I fought with the Coroner's Office to get him the burial he deserved as a veteran of the Korean War.  I pestered them so much they declared me "Friend of the Deceased" and I was able to get an inscription placed on his marker.  His marker says "dear Friend Semper Fi"  I think the old Marine would approve.  He was a good friend and a good man.  Getting him his final honor was nothing less than he deserved.  I am glad to have fought for it.  I had help from a few of my friends who helped me navigate the tricky bureaucracy of the VA, something that prepared me for the red tape and nonsense when I made the final arrangements for my parents.   My father always told me that his rule for dealing with the Military was to "Do what you are doing until they tell you to stop"  I operate more under the "It's easier to get forgiveness than permission" rule and I MAY have broken one or two of their guidelines in honoring my parents final wishes, but I am not sure so I am not saying anymore about it!

We left and had lunch at a nearby Coco's where the food was ok, but the people were super-nice.  Nice was what I needed after being in the cemetery.  I hate when they don't ask you before they nuke your pie.  It just makes a gummy mess when they do that.  I didn't finish it.

Wednesday Morning musings

No real thoughts here,as I wait for the coffee to do it magic.  My sleep patterns have been of, assisted by the medication I am taking which gives me vivid nightmares.  More than once in the past few days, I have woken up screaming.  I wonder what sleep without dreams is like.  I wonder if people who say they don't dream just don't remember that they do, or if it is really possible NOT to dream.  I used to like dreaming, sometimes I dreamed these amazing stories, I called them Movies.  I was in them, me but not me; like an actor playing a role.  Those were fun.  Lately my dreams are terrible events that are SO real I have to touch Chris when I wake up to know they are not true.  Definitely NOT fun nor are they restful.  I wake up more tired than if I had not slept.  Going to be another fun day at work unless the coffee really does it's magic.  I need to talk to my doctor about the side effects of the meds and see if there is something else I can take that won't give me nightmares. UGH.

So I see they avoided the "Fiscal Cliff"  I see people are grumbling about Obama in this.  Let's take a close look at who really put the brakes to all of this; The House and the Senate.  GOP leaders saying they were NOT even going to try to vote, to work out a compromise?  I am sick to death of the lot of them.  As I have said before, this whole budget disaster is NOT a shocker, we have know about it for a long time.  So they are moaning that their holidays were ruined by it?  How about the American people?  OUR lives are being ruined by it.  Elected officials who don't do the job they were elected to do should be sacked.  I think they should ALL be voted out.  I know that leaves us with all new people , untried politicians, but I wonder if that might NOT be a good thing?  Is experience in the job a necessary thing, or should brains be the deciding factor.  I am not convinced that all the leaders here are not sitting on their brains, as my Dad used to say.  I am not blaming Obama here, and I know some of my friends are.  I believe the failure lies squarely in the laps of the Congress.

I promised myself I would be more positive this year , so here it is for today.  It looks like another beautiful day is dawning out there, one when anything is possible.  I am going to try to do my best to get MY job done today; at least some of the more pressing pending items.  I am happy to say I actually was able to address all my unread messages before leaving work on Monday, which is quite an accomplishment given I had over 60 messages when I got to work on Monday.  I have ONE project I am going to focus on- well maybe two!  I hope the Fates cooperate!

All is quiet on New Year's Day

Happy New Year.  2013 came in quietly here in Tujunga with a minimum of fireworks and gunfire.  Dull people that we are, we just sipped a bit of champagne and went to bed.  Got up early, but did not watch the parade.  Maybe in re-runs, which should be going on all day.  We were talking about going to see the floats, but I don't know if I am  up for masses of people, jockeying for position to see them.  They are amazing to see up close.

I see Congress is trying to avoid going over "the fiscal cliff"   Whatever.  They had all year to do this and they wait until the last minute?  A lot of people are going to blame Obama for this, but I am going to lay the blame SQUARELY on the Congress.  BOTH  parties can share the blame for this mess.  The House decided late yesterday they weren't going to vote on it?  WHAT? THAT'S YOUR MAIN JOB!  Not all the stupid little things they agreed on like renaming Post Offices and other small things that may have needed looking after but AFTER balancing the budget, coming up with a plan to keep this country solvent.  This should not be a surprise to them.  They seem to act as if they didn't know this was looming- for the past YEAR!  NO raise for ANY of them and dare I say it, vote them OUT of office-all of them- the next time they are up for reelection.  Seriously, the budget is Job One. 

There is a list of word that should no longer be used.  May I add  a few.  Baby Bump.  Baby Mama and Baby Daddy.  Seriously.  If the Duchess of Cornwall ate a pea they were screaming about her "baby bump"  I am sick of it.  Bump-watch 2013 anyone?  Poor thing.  It's bad enough tho have to live in that goldfish bowl without everyone staring at your midsection all the time.  Baby Mama and Baby Daddy just means ( to me) that you don't care enough about the other person to actually marry them. Maybe that's not right, but it just seems disrespectful.  I do refer to my ex-husband as "my daughter's father".  He's not my Baby Daddy.  Never was.

My resolution for this year is to try to focus on the positive things in my life.  So today, I am happy to be home with my sweet husband. I have a day off work where I can just relax and watch bad TV if I want.  As the song says "I've got no deeds to do, no promises to keep.  I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep"  A nap sounds good ;)