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Friday, 27 March 2009

  • Pressed for Time


    Hi Interested Readers:

    I've been rather busy here.   We're really into some intense schooling,  which takes up a lot of time.

    Today was our last co-op and our last ice skating session.

    Although the kids loved them, I'll be happy to round out the remainder of the school year with assorted field trips.

    Spending my extra time writing. 

    It will soon be time for a serious spring clean,  you know, the wash all curtains type of clean. 

    Some snippets of life:

    **I'm having a difficult time with a situation, when my 16 year old son walks in to talk to me and give me St. Augustine's -philosopher and saint- views on the subject.

    **I see my five year old sitting quietly.  I ask her what she's thinking about.  Her reply, "In the sun, my hair is gold; in the dark, it's brown; and in the deep dark, it's black."

    **Baby sings in her carseat - as we pass all the houses in our suburban neighborhood - "That house is yucky, that house is yucky, that house is yucky" as we pass all the houses.   We come to an intersection - gas station and car garage on the corner.   She pauses, then belts out, "That town is yucky, That town is yucky"  only to return to "that house is yucky" as we pass more houses.

    **Eight year old has the foresight to fix me a salad while I'm cooking tacos for everyone else, so I can stay on my diet.

    **Thirteen year old vows he will do all he can to help me go to the YMCA, when he discovers he can do more push-ups than I.

    Si vis amari, ama.
    If you wish to be loved, love. (Seneca)

    ~ME


Friday, 20 March 2009

  • Witness My Discomposure


    Hi Interested Readers:

    A funny - in that self deprecating kind of way - thing happened to me the other day.
    I figured I'd share it here, but in an interesting medium.

    The challenge is to give the reader a feel for the situation and the feelings involved
    in precisely 100 words - no more, no less.

    The following is, unfortunately, a true story.

    ---------------------------------------------

    I had a meeting, Chris had a meeting, we had two errands to run, and no dinner. 

    One word: McDonald’s.   

    Being notoriously messy, I refused to eat while driving.

    I could eat while Chris was running his errand. 

    Logical, right?

    Feeling hurried, I ate said burger in record time. 

    As I was stuffing the last bite into my mouth, I noticed I was being avidly watched by two college-age guys.

    My first thought was – shock – They’re laughing at me!

    Disbelief turned to deliberation.

    Worst case scenario?  

    Damn,  I’m going to be on YouTube – Lady Eats a Cheeseburger in 30 Seconds!


    --------------------------------------------------


    Well, there you have it.   Is it not a commentary on our times?   In the era of cel phones it is dubious as to whether or not you are free to have a publicly embarrassing moment that remains confined to the immediate public. 



    Sighs in resignation,
    ~ME


Wednesday, 11 March 2009

Thursday, 05 March 2009

  • Glorious Find

    Hi Interested Readers:

    While I was waltzing into my local YMCA the other day, I came upon a wonderful sight.  A Book Sale.

    A beautiful montage of paperbacks and hardcovers; textbooks, classics, trashy novels – the works.  

    After skimming through the rows, I came upon a copy  OVID the Metamorphoses  and then – glorious! - one in the Latin translation with notes and vocabulary! 

    What a find!    This will provide me with hours upon hours of awesome reading.   Sister Eligia would be proud to know I’ve maintained such an interest in her subject.   She taught that it was not only the language, but the Roman history and mythology that gave us the complete picture of the Roman’s contributions throughout time. 

     While exalting my glorious find with the pupils in my charge (the kids) we gravitated  to the discussion of “who would you be?”  subject: Greco-Roman Mythology.

     Here are our ruminations.  It’s kind of funny, and gives you a glimpse of how we each see ourselves:

    Myself:  Artemis – not to toot my own horn (pun!)

    DH:  Cronus  (the titan,  not to be confused with Kronos “father time”)

    C:  Apollo – he says, patricidical issues aside

    N:  Bacchus – who drinks his beverage from a brandy snifter (at every meal)

    JP:  Mercury – winged feet and all!

    O:  Nyx – anyone who knows her nocturnal habits would not doubt

    F:  Athena -  you know it!

    So, now you can frequently find me - avoiding my life - and reading Selections from OVID!

    ----------------------------------------

    On a side note, the following are some emails I've shared with my "Latin Cronies" (or Crones, your choice, lol) Just a little humor to lighten the load:

    A:  M, your title was submitted in the Nominative case when it should be in the ablative case for the tense it is in.   So the minor tweak is a different ending on Intempestivus.  It needs to change to Intempestivo to make it grammatically correct.

    C:  You know, when I read the title, my first thought was why on earth is she using the Nominative case when she should be using the Ablative case?!?!   Doesn't everyone use the ablative case these days?   For crying out loud, Nominitive case is sooo Caesar-Augustan!

    M:  LOL  you Ladies are too good!    Mea Culpa!   Mea Maxima Culpa!

    --------------------------------------

    Yours,

    ~ME

Saturday, 21 February 2009

  • The Capitalist Manifesto


    Hi Interested Readers:

    I have just one question, fellow bloggers, "How can you do this to me?" 

    I believe the answer, simply, is that I have a lot to say.  That in itself is not newsworthy, but the blog as a medium is just too tempting for me.  In what other forum can you expound upon any given topic, for as long as you like, and then send it out immediately to be read, digested, and hopefully discussed?  It's the perfect venue for sharing ideas. 

    I started out reading one of your entries, and once again, my comments were quickly rivalling the length of the author's original post.  Sorry, I decided to continue the post here.  SO,  go read EagleNestDad's entry "Socialism versus Graduated Tax Increase" dated Wednesday, October 29, 2008.  Go read it.  My comments are below:

    Nice condensation of ideas.
    I wholeheartedly agree with you.  It will be interesting to see what the future holds.  I cannot say for sure, but a small study in micro and macro economics would show the country heading for a depression.  sigh.  Stimulus package, indeed.  But that is another subject altogether. 

    On the points you made regarding Marx, I agree. The same can be said for Mao Tse-tung.  If a society, as a whole, can be held to an altruistic ideal, maybe communism would truly flourish.  I do not believe, as a governmental ideal, this is possible.

    I believe it is possible that these types of societies can and do flourish all around us.  They are made up of people committed to the same morals, principles, and ideals.  "Covenant Christian" communities are a prime example of this. 

    Unfortunately, humans are dreadfully fallible.  Political Philosophy is some heady stuff.  If you want an interesting, thought provoking read on the subject, I'd recommend "The Irony of American History" by Reinhold Niebuhr. 

    History inevitably leads us back to capitalism.  It's the survival of the fittest in economic terms.   It cannot be ignored that currently Moscow can boast more billionaires than New York City.   It is telling that all these billionaires are self-made and their average age is 46.  Do I hear Berlin Wall, anyone?

    People say, "Bad blood will out..."   I say, "Capitalism will out....."   It's in the human spirit.

    In terms of our own government, I'm not sure who has been worse.  Was it the president who sold military secrets to the Chinese Communist gov't - Clinton?   Was it the Texan, swaggering along, willy-nilly, floating on milk flowing from the republican's deep pockets, summing up the entire eight year debacle with a smirk and a, "my bad...." - Bush?  Or is our current Commander-in-Chief?

    I have a plan:  Get a copy of the book, "Whatever Happened to Penny Candy" (an Uncle Eric book, by Richard J. Maybury) and put it in the hands of every American voter.   The time for idiotic complacency is over. 

    OK,  stepping off soap box,

    ~ME

    P.S.    Points to your house if you picked up on the title of this post, and it's pun on the work, "The Communist Manifesto"

    Please leave a comment.


StrugglingNovelist

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