Dru Blood - I believe in the inherent goodness of all beings: February 2008 Archives

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Random links from random places v. 022708

February 27, 2008

In spite of the fact that I still think people aren't fully understanding the notion of re-training (a post I will have to get to later...and it's not that I disagree that it's a Bad Thing for people to be forced to learn new skills for new jobs due to globalization...but rather I think people who have not had any amount of training on new technologies and have established careers might need to have training available to them at low cost JUST IN CASE they want or need to change careers and find that the harsh reality is that they will have to learn to deal with new technology in a way they aren't currently being asked to) this article [via Crooks and Liars]goes a long way towards explaining why I miss Edwards and fervently hope Obama (uh, if he's the nominee) chooses him as his running mate:

Edwards took a huge swing at corporate lobbyists by singling out the NAFTA-like Chapter 11 rights. As I explained (and Public Citizen has a much more detailed explanation): Let's say a company doing business in a country that has a party to one of these so-called "free trade" agreements believes a law violates rights or protections the company has under the trade deal. The company can take its case before a trade tribunal, which can, then, rule that a law--say an environmental law or labor--is illegal under the so-called "free trade" regime and award tax-payer dollars to corporations. And this tribunal operates behind closed doors, with no public input or scrutiny and none of the basic due process or transparency one would expect in open courts.
Edwards' position was really important. These Chapter 11 rights are one of the most odious provisions of so-called "free trade" deals. They allow companies to undercut our democracy--laws that are passed by the people we elect can be overridden by an unaccountable, unelected tribunal. Edwards stood up and, effectively, said he would not sign trade deals with these undemocratic provisions.

Neither Sen. Clinton or Obama have made that specific pledge. Too many people think that globalization is just a slogan to mouth without looking at the rules that are governing trade. The fact is: globalization is nothing new. We've traded ever since humans walked on the earth. We need to stop being enthralled by the slogan "globalization" and think about how we set up rules that govern those trading relationships.

My friend Harold sent me this link about evolutionary "propaganda." Although, I don't know...after reading these bios, I kind of feel like the ministry is a hoax...what do you think?

"Diamond" Jack Holgroth is a Game Theoretician who currently teaches a course in Advanced Game Theory for Theologians at Fellowship University. He served our country during the Cold War as a Game Theory Tactician for the Department of Defense and single-handedly developed an elegant solution to the "Fisherman's Quandary", a game theory problem that was crucial to the winning of the arms race and that was famously intractable - until Diamond Jack came along. Jack also enjoys vexillology and can signal Bible passages from memory in fluent semaphore.

(although, secretly, I would like to see Bible passages recited in semaphore. hahahaha. That's freaking BRILLIANT.)

ACK! there is all sorts of brilliance on this site. My friend Chris just messaged me and encouraged me to mouse over the baby on this page. EEEEK! If you click on him a lot, he cries! I made baby Jesus cry!

Anyway, on to more serious items...or item, as I am running out of time...this Alternet article about how well Obama plays the media game is interesting to me:

The media can also veto candidates, as in the case of John Edwards. He was not by definition a "marginal" candidate: a U.S. senator and vice-presidential candidate in the last election, at various junctures he polled better against potential Republican contenders than the other Democratic candidates. He led his rivals in introducing a serious health care plan, and arguably transformed the contest in his appeal to the Democratic base on that and other issues.
But the media rejected Edwards, by a combination of ignoring him and subjecting him to much more negative reporting than the other major contenders. The same was true in 2004 for Howard Dean, who rallied the Democratic base but found himself with five or six times as many negative articles in the media than his major democratic primary opponents.

[...]

On the other hand, Obama knew how to define his candidacy within the limits of the media's constraints and still have a mass appeal. From the beginning of his campaign he mostly avoided challenging powerful interests, and talked about "getting all sides to the table" and overcoming "decades of bitter partisanship." The media and punditocracy lap this stuff up like honey. At the same time he was able to tap into the voters' deep desire for change, with inspirational speeches, transcendental narratives, and celebrity-studded videos.

Posted at 10:06 AM • Comments (0) • TrackBack

Warning Lights and Short Circuits.

February 26, 2008

I had been driving the car for about 2 months like this. The brake light would come on and glow steady red whenever I would make a hard left, or brake suddenly, or go up an incline...and then it would go out.

At first I thought it was the brake fluid. Perhaps it was running out. But when I asked for them to check it when I brought it in for an oil change, all fluid levels were fine. That had been a month ago, and the light was still going on. As the days passed, I felt more and more anxious that something seriously and unaffordably wrong was going on. And the more time passed, the more symptoms of big problems seemed evident to me. Wait! I think the Brake Light just came on when I TAPPED the brake! What was that noise? Did I hear GRINDING? Maybe there won't be a warning...maybe this IS my warning that the brakes are going to go.

The other side of my mind would respond by reassuring me that I just had the brakes fixed 8 months ago, and they were still under warranty...and anyway, that light doesn't stay on for long. It'll all be ok.

Of course, neither side of my mind wanted me to bring the car in to the shop. The panicky side was sure there would be a million other issues that would be discovered and haven't I had to pay for enough car repairs over the past year? The calm side could never prioritize the trip over my other millions of daily responsibilities.

And so it went on until the brake light very definitely WAS coming on more frequently, and I happened to have a semi-unbusy day with plenty of time to bring the car in. Also, my tax return hit my bank account the same day as my paycheck, making me feel extra-super rich in spite of the fact that the majority of the money is actually spoken for. So I did it. I brought it in.

The problem? It was a loose wire on the sensor in the brake fluid tank. It cost me nothing to repair, and the courtesy vehicle dropped me back at home and then picked me right back up again.

I spent the remainder of the day laughing at my tendency to fret over warning lights, when all that's wrong is a short circuit.

Posted at 12:17 AM • Comments (0) • TrackBack

Old Fashioned Play...

February 24, 2008

LOVED this article:

"Because of the testing, and the emphasis now that you have to really pass these tests, teachers are starting earlier and earlier to drill the kids in their basic fundamentals. Play is viewed as unnecessary, a waste of time," Singer says. "I have so many articles that have documented the shortening of free play for children, where the teachers in these schools are using the time for cognitive skills."
It seems that in the rush to give children every advantage — to protect them, to stimulate them, to enrich them — our culture has unwittingly compromised one of the activities that helped children most. All that wasted time was not such a waste after all.

Posted at 9:53 AM • Comments (0) • TrackBack

Random links from random places...

February 19, 2008

The Luscious Librarian demyths sex. My favorite is:

5. It’s better when it’s all night long. What? Don’t work harder, work smarter. If both of you can get done in 20 minutes, instead of 2 hours good for you. Crossing the finish line feels just as good for the sprinter as it does for the cross country runner, and I bet you the sprinter still has energy to run another race or wash a load of laundry in the same day.

Perhaps it's the ADD side of me, or maybe it's just because I am supermom...but unless you are super awesome and change things up an awful lot, after an hour or so of sex, I'll be totally checking my watch and thinking about what ELSE I should be doing.

***

Seemingly on a totally different note (but perhaps indicative of how my brain works and WHY I am so distractable) re-nest provides step-by-step instructions for creating an indoor one-pot herb garden. [via lifehacker, which I am sure if it was a person would have my full attention for as long as he needed.]

***

And if you are feeling stupid today, at least you know you are never as stupid as the man who is allegedly in charge of our country (but kind of after 8 years of stupid, these jokes about how stupid he is are getting really sad...and he's only getting more stupid.)

You see, it's not the war. The war is HELPFUL to the economy. The economy is actually fucked because we built too many houses...

Bush: Yeah, because we’re buying equipment, and people are working. I think this economy is down because we built too many houses (Curry: hmmmmm) and the economy is adjusting. On the other hand we’re just about to kick out 157 billion dollars to our taxpayers……what would have been had we abandoned Iraq when times were tough and let those soldiers die in vain..

You see...it's not that he's DUMB. It's that he has TOO MANY brain cells. Who can get anything done with all those brain cells running around thinking things?

And I still think all republicans are probably DREADFUL in bed.

***

What the fuck is going on in Kosovo?

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Another weird seque...Foodsel is a site that gives you nutritional analysis of the foods you are consuming, as well as providing information about how much you will need to sweat to work it off. [via lifehacker again]

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Treehugger tracks the semiotics of greenwashing.

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Oh, and this looks totally yummy...and will be in my soup pot this weekend.

And that...is that.

Posted at 9:39 AM • Comments (1) • TrackBack

Is it just me...?

February 17, 2008

Or has everyone/anyone else noticed a distinct shift towards hopelessness?

It seems like in the past year, all of the various doomsday indicators have been sounding out voluminously. It'd be a death toll except it's more of a peel. Like the squeal of brakes as they are quickly applied before an unexpected precipice.

I've even noticed the gloom in my children, who talk openly about the fact that the adults have fucked up the world for them. I don't know if my children are just extraordinarily jaded, but I just don't remember being eleven and even thinking about the future, much less mulling over having none and grouching about the fact that the planet might be "nothing more than an empty shell" by the time I was old enough to eat all of the candy I wanted whenever I wanted to. Because that's what I viewed as the main benefit of adulthood.

Well, guess what...the grown-ups have cleaned out the candy dish and broken it to pieces.

And those of us who have been paying attention all along have kind of known there would be a point of no return, but it's so easy to be lulled into tranquil security to the hum of the shift in targeted advertising. Lately, I am hearing strains of tune-changing as commercials on TV tout the benefits of NOT spending money (seeing as so many of us have so little to spend). I am wondering when reality TV will shift to pure fantasy TV, or perhaps...as actually my 11 year old so astutely pointed out after watching Nanny 911 with me..."I think the point of those reality shows is that when you are done watching them you are thankful for your own life because by comparison it looks pretty good."

And, you know, I don't want to lose hope. And I will actively set my mind and soul against losing hope...but I can't deny that the shift is palpable. I was watching the PBS show Now this morning, and a woman said (about something totally off this topic, but still somehow applicable) "There is right...there is wrong...and then there is reality." It's like the opposite of being given a choice between a and b and choosing C. And for the life of me, I can't figure out how to explain it better than that.

Posted at 5:12 PM • Comments (2) • TrackBack

An Update.

February 13, 2008

So here is what is up in my little corner of the world. In between reading headlines about the end of the world being nigh and all of the political infighting on the part of two politicians who pretty much have the same agenda (come to think of it, don't they all?) and economic and environmental collapse I am parenting. I am being a mom. I am being a boss. I am being a daughter. I am somebody's lover. I am somebody's friend. And I am trying to remember to breathe and stay focused on my little world, even though it feels smaller and smaller and less impactful all the time.

The kids are doing great. M, after a few weeks of trying his hand at being an obstinate, rebellious pre-teen is now testing what it's like to be cooperative and sweet. I, of course, prefer the latter, although the former is in interesting challenge for me. C is still zippy and bouncy and the sayer of weird stuff like "What happens when you try to take a zombie's pulse?" They are both learning and growing and failing and trying again, as am I.

My job is going well, but it's stressful. And there are some potentially stressful changes coming up that I don't want to have to deal with right now, but I will have to whether I like it or not. Damn the timing! But I have an awesome group of kids I am working with...and a great organization...and a wonderful slew of clients...and it is a rare day that I don't thank whoever is in charge of this weird, disordered universe that I somehow ended up in just the right place at just the right time with just the right skills to land this job.

My love life? Meh. hahaha. Not so much. But I'm getting by. A dear old friend asked me, a few months ago, "Lainie...how's your love life?" I responded that if he knew any men who would appreciate a 38 year old woman who spent two hours on her day off from work and children staring at, taking pictures of, and filming a lizard as it slithered around her window...and then spent the next 2 weeks talking about it excitedly...and pretty much spends all her free time staring at trees and birds and the sky...they need to call me. Until then, it just seems like most men really don't get me, or want me to be someone I am not, or want me to give them an inordinate amount of attention in exchange for very little...or are just plain tragically impossible.

Yesterday I told M that his mamaw has cancer. I haven't found a way to tell C yet. C is so sensitive. M is, too, but he's more able to handle news like this. C gets really emotionally affected by the news on the radio. He will cry when he hears a story about a kid who drowned in a flood. It's ironic that we started reading Ida B right before I found out about my mom. That was two months and two chapter books ago. Now we are reading On The Banks Of Plum Creek and I am only just now admitting to myself that the children need to know. That it probably wouldn't be fair for me to Just Not Tell Them. Well, also...that it's not something that will Quietly Go Away.

About my mom's cancer...I just don't even know where to begin. I am overwhelmed by a flood of self-examination...and not just of the boobie kind. Odd how cancer is so metaphorical. There are so many nodes and so many cells to evaluate. I am stuck wondering which are benign and which need to be excised. What to rid myself of and what to keep. What my options are and what is just not even within my control.

It's strange that I never have given a thought to my mom's mortality. Really, I haven't given much thought to my own mortality for quite some time...if ever. For awhile there, it seemed like people around me were dying young all over the place, so I guess I just thought I was lucky to hang in for as long as I have. Now, I'm like "Crap...you mean my time is limited here? Shit!" And then I busy myself with all of my goings-on until I am too distracted by living to focus too much on death.

But it's still there. And lately it is a little too close for comfort, like an old cat perched on the arm of the sofa, silent and still so that I hardly notice it. I forget it's there until it opens its slitted eyes, stretches, and meows loudly for attention.

Posted at 8:57 AM • Comments (1) • TrackBack