The Soap Box
A place for me to dump my brain and you to pick thru it

Ouch
5:18pm

Why do paper cuts hurt so bad? I have one on the very tip of my finger and it's not healing :(

I have to go to a family funeral this weekend so have fun without me.

Farewell February. I won't miss you.

Fred
6:27pm

Growing up, I LOVED Mr. Rogers. He was more important to me than just about everyone else other than family. I even had is records! (For those of you who don't know, a record is a large black disk thing that was around before CDs.) I actually thought my pediatrician, Dr. Brazelton, was Mr. Rogers. I thought a doctor was his day job then he'd go home, put on his sweater and do his show. I never mentioned it to my doctor. I figured it was a secret and I didn't want to give him away. The up-side of this delusion was that I loved going to the doctor as a kid and would do just about anything the doctor said. I went through a period where I swore I never slept at night and refused to go to school. My mom broke down at the doctor's saying she was at her wit's end and so Dr. Brazelton sat me down and told me I had to go to school and I was there the next day. (What a snot I was! Poor mom!) Anyway, it's a sad day now that Mr. Rogers is gone. RIP my friend.

Jokes
12:06am

I went to a local eatery the other day which I frequent enough that most of the staff knows me. The General Manager was ringing up my order when for some odd reason, she decided to tell me a VERY racist joke that contained the "N" word. I was in shock and told her clearly that that was a BAD joke. I couldn't believe my ears. You know, I don't think anyone in my entire life has told me a joke with the "N" word in it. I'll tell ya, my opinion of her dropped to lower than white trailer trash. I'm seriously considering reporting this incident to the district manager. What would you do?

What?
11:01am

Did you know that the father of Norah Jones, winner of 8 Grammys last night, is Ravi Shankar? (Ravi Shankar, for those of you who don't know is a world famous sitar player who lives in India.) Mr. Shankar was about 59 years old when Norah was conceived. That guy still gets around!

I'm Appalled
1:00pm

Click here or here for stories.

Just Stuff
11:51am

OK, no more Full Metal Challenge, no more Escape from Experiment Island (Or Excape from Spearmint Island, as it's called in our house) and only repeats of Junkyard Wars. I can't find any info about if there will another season of the first 2 and if so when it would start. Please don't make me watch dramas on TV! What? There's an OFF button on the TV? Huh. Who knew?

That poor girl who got the wrong organs during a transplant! Can you say lawsuit? It just makes me want to cry. Interestingly, her parents will not donate her organs.

Mike Tyson: Freak Extraordinaire. Nice tattoo, bud. I can't believe he got $5 mill for a 49 second fight. This was no fluke. They purposely looked for someone he would be able to beat easily. What did Etienne get for being a human punching bag? A cool million smackers. Sheesh, I'd let him punch me in the jaw for a million! Where do I sign up? BTW, Tyson owes his ex-wife $6.5 million in a divorce settlement so he actually won't see any of his payday.

I'm procrastinating. Can you tell? OK, my Psych text book is calling me. Too bad I can't hear it. Heh.

Donuts
7:56pm

I have never had a Krispy Kreme donut. I have had plenty of opportunities but have passed every time. The main reason is that I don't want to eat anything called Krispy Kreme. If that cream is crispy, something is seriously wrong! It should have been thrown out weeks ago!

OK, so I got curious after Jerry mentioned getting donuts with his son the other morning. I followed his link to Krispy Kreme's web site only to discover that they don't even make my favorite donuts anyway (chocolate coconut) so now I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. I grew up on Dunkin Donuts in Massachusetts and I'm still quite happy with them, thankyouverymuch. Luckily, I have some (very little) self control and only eat donuts a couple times a year. Otherwise I'd be Blimpo McFatty.

Urban Myth Proves True
1:28pm

Apparently there is an urban myth that US currency (bills) have traces of cocaine on them. To check this out, MTV withdrew 5 $20 bills from an ATM than brought them to a lab for analysis. 4 of the 5 bills had traces of cocaine and one of those bills had a lot of cocaine on it! For those of you slow at math, that's a whopping 80% of the bills with drugs on them! I'm amazed! For those of you concerned about being busted for possession, the amount found on the bils is too small to be measured with anything the police may use and way too small to get high. Sorry to disappoint.

Whine Whine Whine
12:00pm

The pharmacist found guilty of watering down chemotherapy drugs, ending in the deaths of some patients, is appealing his 30 year sentence, stating the judge overstepped his bounds by giving him a longer sentence than was allowed. Well Boo-fuckin-hoo. His crime was so incredibly unethical it just blows my mind. He preyed on gravely sick patients whose only hope for living were these drugs so that he could make a monetary profit. His crime seems even more grievous to me now that my brother has stage 4 cancer and will be looking for the same treatment to keep him alive. I'm sorry, but when you choose to endanger the lives of dozens of people for your own financial gain, you have NO right to bitch about your punishment. What about how the patients and their families were unfairly punished by his actions? If I were the appeals judge, I'd add 10 more years to the sentence just for his arrogance.

It Finally Happened…
1:11pm

…one of the cats jumped into the fish tank. I was adding some new fish so the glass top was up and she didn't know the top was wide open. I needed a good laugh today. The only surprise was that it wasn't my big evil Damien but my petite Calliope. Poor thing is mortified, of course, but maybe that will teach her not to sit on the top of the fish tank.

T-Shirts and the ACLU
10:05pm

A 16 year old Michigan boy was sent home from school for wearing a t-shirt with Dubya's picture on it with the slogan "International Terrorist." Apparently, that shirt made the school an unsafe learning environment. The ACLU is looking into the case to see if the student's freedom of speech was violated (which is was according to a Supreme Court case decided during the Vietnam War).

So, it's OK to have bumper stickers that say "Don't like my driving? Call 1-800-EAT SHIT" or show Calvin peeing on everything under the sun but a young boy can't show his opposition to war on his shirt without profanity or urine. Fair enough.

Fairness
4:33am

Mounir el Motassadeq, 28, was found guilty on 3,066 counts of accessory to murder for the events of 9/11. What did he get for a sentence? 15 years in jail. That breaks down to 1.78 days of jail for each charge. Is it just me or does that seem rather lenient? If someone was found guilty of a single count of accessory to murder what would be the sentence? I honestly don't know but I would assume it would be at least a year, not 1.78 days. Truth be told, this trial took place in Germany where 15 years was the maximum sentence allowed by law.

I am often disgusted by our litigious society but I do think this sentence was a bit out of line with the crime. Anyone who willingly helps plan the murder of thousands of people, regardless of ethnicity, has no place in society. Think about it. This guy will be back out in the world in 15 years, maximum. Does anyone really think he will be rehabilitated in jail? More likely he'll recruit more members for Al Qaeda.

Odds and Ends
11:16pm

Comments are working again! Yay!

I got a 94 on my Psych test! Yay!

I get to teach for all of 10 minutes next week in front of a class of 600 students! That's a little scary.

My brother is in the ICU with stage 4 laryngeal cancer which was diagnosed only yesterday. That's very bad. If you smoke, think about lying in an ICU with a trach tube coming out of your throat so you can breathe and a feeding tube that goes right in your stomach, bypassing the throat completely so you don't starve to death. My sister took one look at that trach tube and quit smoking on the spot. Oh yeah, he was at the doctor's in December after being sick for a month and was told he had a cold and sent home! Scott, now you know why I hate doctors. (Suzie excluded.)

I have a stomach bug. Hubby had it last week, Mom had it this weekend and now it's my turn. Ergo, I'm going to bed. Night!

Could Someone Do Me A Favor?
5:10pm

I don't think I can stand to watch Joe MIllionaire but I'm soooo curious! If you watch it, can you give me a report of when the girls find out he makes $19K a year? Thanks!

Update: Never mind. I watched it myself.

The Devil You Say!
8:43pm

Matthew Broderick is 40 years old? Get outta town! He still looks about 25 to me. Surely he's made a deal with the devil!

Googily
12:31pm

Google has bought the parent company of Blogger. Hmmm...

(link feefed from AddlePated)

Conundrum
10:11pm

What do you do with a prisoner who is found guilty of a crime, placed on death row but then serves so much time there that he becomes insane? Can you force him to take medication long enough to be considered sane then kill him? Is drug induced sanity the same as being sane in the first place? These questions are being asked in Arkansas where Charles Singleton sits on death row, where he's been for 23 years, with diagnosed schizophrenia. With medication is is usually lucid, but still has bouts of dementia. Arkansas is finding out they have another problem on their hands. Most doctors find it unethical to prescribe the medication knowing that it could lead to Charles's death.

The federal appeals court decided 5-4 that it was legal to place Charles on medication long enough for him to be found sane and finally executed. Needless to say it looks like this case will go to the Supreme Court before any further action is taken.

Mooshy Stuff
4:32pm

On this day of love, I am risking grossing out most of my audience to tell you an important reason (and only one of a million) why I love my husband so much. It's because he encourages me in whatever I want to do. He encourages me in school (even though my exact path and goal is not, how shall we say…concrete). He encourages me in my hobbies such as pottery and quilting and whatever other crafty thing I stumble onto and even my stupid money-making schemes that usually involve eBay. And, bless his heart, when something doesn't work, he never says "well that was a stupid idea" or "I knew that was going to work." He just consoles me and encourages me to try something new. It's a real comfort to live with someone who I know will always stand by me, no matter what half baked project I'm about to dive into next.

Oh Crap!
11:10pm

I got called for jury duty! I hope they don't pick me. I really can't afford to be out of school for 3 weeks. That would MAJORLY suck ass!

Stuff
12:01am

I fixed my GuestMap so if you haven't signed it yet, look for it on the right side (scroll down a bit) and sign it please!

I have a big Abnormal Psych test today. Wish me luck!

What tha…
7:38pm

I just paid $1.58/gallon of gas! WTF is up with that? That's crazy! I hate to say it but I remember when gas was $0.60/gallon! Acourse, that's when I was in diapers. I have an amazing memory. ;)

In Praise Of…
9:51pm

…John C. Reilly. If you are like most people, you are thinking, "who"? John C. Reilly is an actor who happens to be in 3 of the 5 movies nominated for Best Picture this year; Chicago, The Hours, and Gangs of New York. As far as I know this is an unheard of feat. I certainly cannot think of another actor who has been in so many fine movies in one year. Tome Cruise? Ahhh…no. Mel Gibson? Nope. Tom Hanks? No, not even Tom Hanks can boast such a record. So, what else has he been in? Well the 37 year old actor has 30 credits to his name, (which includes the upcoming Anger Management, starring Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson) that range from Days of Thunder, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The Thin Red Line, Magnolia, Never Been Kissed to the three aforementioned films.

That he has been in so many high profile movies and you don't know who he is is in some ways a credit to his amazing acting ability. He so thoroughly becomes his characters that you lose the actor behind the role. However, if you did see Magnolia, you cannot forget the hapless cop who loses his gun while on a call. In Boogie Nights, he was the sidekick to Dirk Diggler. This year, his turn as Renee Zellweger's clueless husband in Chicago even got him a much deserved Oscar nomination.

In an interesting bit of trivia, John has been in 5 movies with Julianne Moore, one of my favorite actresses who, herself, was nominated for 2 Oscars today! Yay Julianne! I hope she wins for The Hours (where John played her husband).

Count Me Out of This Study
8:54pm

Apparently, the bacteria that causes traveler's diarrhea also fights colorectal cancer. How the hell did they figure that out? So, the next time I have Montezuma's Revenge, I supposed I should be grateful.

Why Why Why…
7:29pm

…do I attempt to eat dinner while watcing Fear Factor?

Poetry in Motion
3:40pm

"Dell Dude" Arrested for Marijuana in NY

UGH!
9:22pm

I just found out they are shooting Die Hard 4: Die Hardest for a 2004 release. This time McClure and his daughter are vacationing in the Carribean and fight crime or something. Somehow, they have also written in Samuel Jackson's character from Die Hard With a Vengence and worst of all, Britney Spears plays the daughter! Someone pass me a barf bag please.

Sunday Ramblings
6:36pm

I got a big test this week in my Abnormal Psych class so I might not post much...or I might post a lot in procrastination.

The Hip Hop community is calling for a Pepsi boycott over the Ozzy Osbourne commercial. OMG, don't they have anything else to do?

Is it my imagination or is there always a pregnant woman on the Weather Channel?

I called our favorite restaurant to get reservations for Valentine's Day. They informed me that it's a fixed menu that night at the cost of $75 per PERSON! That's $150 a couple! Jeebus! This isn't New York or LA! This is Albuquerque where an expensive meal for a couple including alcohol never tops $50! Needless to say, I'm now looking for another restaurant.

Why do people care who Britney Spears is or is not dating? Is it because in the face of war, people want to think of mundane things?

Who is crying over the "unfair" treatment of Wacko Jacko in that recent "documentary"? Poor Jacko. I'd call it "when two worlds collide": one real, one in Michael's head.

In other news meant to distract you from thinking about war, the nominations for the Oscars are announced Tuesday morning! Yay! I have my fingers crossed for Julianne Moore in "The Hours" and for "Chicago".

Yay!
10:40pm

It's snowing and it's beautiful!

Old Lady
9:11pm

Nothing makes you feel older than your chiropractor telling you that you strained your back getting out of bed to go pee! Ugh!

TGIF
12:22pm

It was a tough week. My cold is still lingering and I had to put on a Flash Film Festival on Wednesday night. By putting on I mean get sponsors, get entries, find a place to hold it, pay out of pocket for pizza and soda, create ballots, etc. You get the idea. All of this on top of working and going to school with my cold. My hubby won second place! Yay him! I have to admit though, after it was over it was such a relief! I hadn't realized how stress-creating it was until it was all done. Last night hubby and I went out to dinner and he said, "You know what I want to do for next year's Festival?" I just looked at him like " You have GOT to be kidding!" I said, "what makes you think there will BE a festival next year?" Then I said, "Go ahead and tell me your idea. I'm not going to be listening. Don't take it personal." That kind of explains my mood right now. If you email me any time soon don't expect a prompt response.

I'm Not Sure What to Make of This…
10:45pm

…but it cost the same amount to make Jackass:The Movie and My Big Fat Greek Wedding -- $5 million. I'd say one movie company wasted a crapload of money and one got a real bargain.

Words of Wisdom
12:51am

Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace.
Better than a thousand hollow verses is one verse that brings peace.
Better than a hundred hollow lines is one line of the dharma, bringing peace.
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles.
Then the victory is yours.
It cannot be taken away from you, not by angels or by demons, Heaven or hell.

from the Dhammapada

Answer to Word or Not
8:27pm

Bawd is a real word.

Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English bawde
Date: 14th century
a: one who keeps a house of prostitution : MADAM b : PROSTITUTE

The best fake definition prize goes to mike for his definition of:
the speed of a modem used to down load bawdy material

Thanks to all for playing!

Questions from mike
1:42pm

1. did al gore get a bum deal?
yes

2. what is your favorite blog to read (i'll disqualify mine from the running to avoid the charge of fishing for a compliment)?
hahaha, I can't answer that. I read about a dozen blogs daily and sometimes I prefer one over the other. Sometimes one blog talks about something that is not of interest to me but the next day may have something very relevant. (No this is not a cop-out answer)

3. do you personally know anyone whose blog you read/who reads your blog?
no

4. what is the one thing you believe that you are the most sure about?
That I love my husband with every fiber of my being.

5. do you watch movies/read books etc... more than once? if so, what is a book/movie of which you never tire...
Without having you read anything into my level of intelligence, I will tell you there are several movies I can watch over and over again (and some I have to watch each time I come across it on cable). They include Galaxy Quest, The Professional, The Hunt For Red October, The Madness of King George, Sense and Sensibility, and Mansfield Park. (Care to comment on that weird collection of movies?) I am less likely to re-read books but have read The Firebrand by Marian Zimmer Bradley multiple times.

Groundhog Day (aka my Mother's Birthday)
11:54am

That damn groundhog saw his shadow so 6 more weeks of winter for us. Of course, here in NM, we haven't had hardly any winter. It might make for a nice change of pace!

Happy birthday Mom! :)

eBay Pulls Shuttle Debris Offerings From Site
11:35am

Whether the items were real or just a hoax, this is in really poor taste. Anyone who tries to make money off of someone else's personal loss is going to the lowest levels of hell.

Initial Findings
7:58pm

Feb. 1 —  The first sign of trouble came about 25 minutes before the space shuttle Columbia was scheduled to land on Saturday morning. At about 8:53 a.m. ET, the crew reported a loss of temperature sensors on the left wing hydraulic system. That was followed by reports of a series of other problems over the next few minutes. Still, the shuttle appeared to be proceeding as planned—and then everything went silent at Mission Control.

Read more, including an interview with a member of the NASA Advisory Council, here.

Columbia Ramblings
12:00pm

Another shuttle disaster. Almost 16 years to the day of the Challenger accident. Among those lost is the first Israeli astronaut. The first accident ever in the space program upon re-entry. Apparently part of a heat shield tile fell off on launch. Makes you wonder.

Sixteen years ago, I was a college student working at Raytheon when I was told about the Challenger. My first response was "don't be ridiculous. That's so not funny" but it was true. Then there was the constant reptition of the footage of the Challenger braking up. Each time I saw it I found it morbid, watching those astronauts die again and again. How cruel and heartless to the families of those astronauts to keep showing the accident that took their loved one's life. I remember driving home that day listening to WBCN, a Boston radio station, who was playing A Space Oddity by David Bowie. That song made me cry every time I heard it over the course of the next year. (Yes, I'm an incredible wus.)

I wish to say I'm sorry this happened to the families and friends of the astronauts. My heart goes out to you. I hope you can find some comfort within your family.

Un-funny Entry
5:34am

You know, for the past two years I've been struggling with the Western emphasis of "he who dies with the most toys wins" philosophy. Obviously, I am part of this culture, and have been brought up believing that the more money I make, the more important I am. I played the rat race game. I kissed a fair amount of ass. I clawed my way to the top of the heap. I wrote books, taught at international conferences in the US and Europe, consulted to some of the biggest companies in this country.

After ten years of the game, I felt empty and burned out. In a single word, I was unfulfilled. After some soul-searching I knew I had to do something that would contribute back to the world at large. I now feel if I can make a difference in one person's life, my own life will be complete. In August of 2001, I started back at school for psychology and after 9/11 I felt even more sure I was doing the right thing. Presently, I make in a month as a teaching assistant what I used to make in a single day and I'm amazingly content. It's funny, now that I earn less, the "toys" (CDs, DVDs, new software and hardware, etc) aren't as important. My husband even offered to buy me a new Titanium Powerbook last year and at another time in my life I would have jumped at that but it seemed so trivial and unnecessary when he offered. I told him I was happy with my old laptop, purchased when I was still in the rat race.

While doing my typical surfing through various blogs the other day, I stumbled across I Wish, You Wish on someone's site. At first, I thought it might be a place like "Make a Wish" foundation, a place where needy kids/people might have listed things they want or need but actually, what it is is a place for bloggers to put links to their Amazon wish lists. My first response was, "How odd." I realize that at another time I would have thought "how cool!" and I do have an Amazon wish list and I even have a link to it on this web site. However, now that I'm out of the rat race and trying very hard to change my thinking from the Western "gimme gimme" mind set, I know more "stuff" isn't going to make my happy. I therefore will be removing the link to my wish list off my web site and remind myself how lucky I am to have everything I've got. Don't get me wrong. I'm no saint and I still would like to own a couple hundred more books. (They are my downfall.) But the collection of things over the course of 35 years left me unsatisfied, a fact that I need to remind myself of every Tuesday when the new DVDs are released for sale, and in some small way, removing that link is a triumph for me and reminds me what is really important in my life.

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