Stuff in My Head

Thanks to Peter Bromberg (via Twitter) for link to George Carlin's Last Interview in Psychology Today, of all places.

I'd say Rest in Peace, George, but I'm personally hoping you're giving 'em hell in the afterlife

We're going to Hell...and all our handbaskets are imported from China.

So I just found this funny t-shirt I want to get for a friend and her daughter, who will appreciate its wittiness. But I can't tell you about it, cuz she reads my blog, and it's a surprise (the contents of the shirt, not the shirt's existence, per se).

Hmmm.

I've recently found out that there are two (2!) quite good reviews of my latest book either out or coming out in the next few weeks in professional publications in print or online (links when I have them).

I find myself freakishly pleased. "They like me, they really like me!"

I’m listening to the Dixie Chicks extraordinary new album, and it brings to mind a few questions that keep percolating up when I observe our current political and social discourse. Since when have we started again to buy into the idea that women should ‘make nice’ when they see injustice or idiocy? I thought Gloria and Betty and Bella showed us a different way. I thought we’d learned to speak our minds instead of apologizing for having them.

But I see young women today accepting the subjugation of their minds and bodies not only without a fight, but in defense of those who would oppress. Every time I hear some 20-something bimbette brag about how she didn’t vote in the last few elections because she couldn’t be bothered and it ‘doesn’t matter anyway’ I want genuinely to strangle her skinny neck. When she then enthuses about who she DID vote for on American Idol, I literally want to vomit. Even more frustrating are women who claim to be pro-choice, but don’t see ‘the point’ of organizations like Planned Parenthood and NARAL. If you disagree with their tactics (as I occasionally do), that’s one thing, but that’s a matter for debate and discussion, not disdain and passivity. Have we so quickly forgotten what our foremothers fought and occasionally died for? I want no man, and particularly no woman, legislating what I should think and feel, and I’m tired of being told to sit down and shut up. I’m hearing this again more often, especially from women (what IS your problem, Ann Coulter?!), and this needs to be nipped in the bud. I will stand, I will speak. Get over it. And try listening for a change.

Which is why I love the Dixie Chicks. Not only are they extraordinarily talented women, but they have something to say. And they’ve chosen not to apologize for saying it, which it would be tempting to do in the face of death threats and narrow-minded bans on their music from Clear Channel’s radio monopoly. I mean, they don’t pretend to be Bella Abzug or Alice Paul (look ‘em up, ladies!), but they choose to speak, or rather sing, their minds. Last I heard, they had the right to do so. And their detractors have the right to not buy their albums—but not to threaten their lives.

Keep it up, ladies. You speak for the silent—and increasingly silenced—majority. And you pick a hell of a fiddle. Brava!

Maurice: "I suppose there isn't a Big Cat in the Sky, is there?"

Death: "I'm surprised at you, Maurice. Of course there are no cat gods. That would be too much like...work."

Maurice nodded. One good thing about being a cat, apart from the extra lives, was that the theology was a lot simpler.

--From The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett.

I got the following email today, from my friend D*:

I have told a number of you about this, but there are a still some I haven't told yet that M* and I are adopting a baby. We were approached by a friend who found herself pregnant and did not feel she could take care of the baby as well as she would want to. She knew we were planning to adopt and asked if we would adopt the baby. We said yes.

Why am I mentioning this? Because I'm so very proud of my friends for doing this--they are exactly the sort of people who should be parents (as opposed to so many I see in my work) as they are grounded, moral, funny, intelligent and kind.

My family has a long tradition of adoption (incl. my mother and her mother), and I think it is a very great kindness, even a blessing, to bestow on a child (and the birth mother). I told D* and M* so, and wished them every happiness. I shall also be sending my traditional Hippo book. Cuz every baby needs hippos!

I feel no great need to breed, but I'm always pleased when good, capable people decide to raise a child. When they choose to welcome into their hearts someone else's child who truly needs them, I'm even more pleased. Not everyone has the courage to make that choice.

A little brightness for the new year, in my world.

Happy New Year!

Okay, so were were having a discussion about whether it was actually illegal to drive while barefoot in all 50 states. See, I was told when I was young that it was illegal, but my brother and I have both driven barefoot for years (with our sandals handy to slip back on in case we were pulled over, of course). It's possible it was illegal at one time. The truth is, if I don't drive barefoot for at least part of a long drive, my feet cramp up, which I think is far more dangerous than my bare feet on the pedals. So someone (Laura C.) found this examination from the AFU Urban Legend archive.

Hah! I'm legal!

Research is good.

...Arthur Miller has died. A great playwright. The Crucible has been (once again) of remarkable relevance in recent years.

It would seem that modern Renaissance man Ossie Davis is dead. Poor Ruby.

Laurince sent me this one. I've been sick for a couple of days, so am still playing catch-up. For now, loyal readers, a little holiday humor:

Three men died on Christmas Eve and were met by Saint Peter at the pearly gates.

"In honor of this holy season," Saint Peter said, "you must each possess something that symbolizes Christmas to get into heaven."

The first man fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it on. "It represents a candle," he said.

"You may pass through the pearly gates," Saint Peter said.

The second man reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He shook them and said, "They're bells".

Saint Peter said, "You may pass through the pearly gates."

The third man started searching desperately through his pockets and finally pulled out a pair of women's panties.

St. Peter looked at the man with a raised eyebrow and asked, "And just what do those symbolize?"

The man replied, "They're Carol's."

Seems Dan Rather is stepping down as anchor at CBS Evening News. He's not exactly going out on top, considering the Guard papers mess from the election. Perhaps he was just waiting for Tom Brokaw to go first (he announced back in April)? I've thought Rather was past his prime since Bush Sr. was in office, so don't color me surprised.

My friend Todd is right. Celebrities die in threes.

1) Janet Leigh
2) Rodney Dangerfield
3) Christopher Reeve

I went to see Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow with some friends last week. A visually yummy film. Plot? Well, I think there was one. Did it matter? Not at all!

A little virtual tour of our evening:

Louise: "Dude! No way! Giant robots! With laser beam eyes!"
Ayanna: "Dude! Jet Packs!"
Katie: "Dude! Robot birds!"
Brian: "mmmm...Angelina Jolie in an eyepatch!"
Tom: "Ninja! Dudes! No, wait, ninja robots!!"
Ayanna: "Dirigibles! Honey, can we get a dirigible?!"
Louise: "Godzilla?!"
Katie: "Dinosaurs! And isn't that Dumbledore?!"
Ayanna: "I want my jet pack!"

It was a nearly perfect movie experience. A movie designed with me (and my friends) in mind.

Sadly, Johnny Ramone is dead. Didn't much like his politics, but he could play a mean guitar.