Happy New Year!

Here's to the people with fresh ideas....who will it be in 2011??

Boxing Day....

Under the inspiration of the NYT's essay in yesterday's Sunday Magazine, XE honors Mary Daly, who thought and lived way beyond the confines of the box.

Merry Christmas!!

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse

This gem arrived today from http://www.openculture.com/, whom I thank for the new-fangled imbed code, which will work on an iPhone. The last time the world experienced a total lunar eclipse, it was the year 1638  (some say 1544).  In other words, we won't be around when it happens again.


Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse from William Castleman on Vimeo

Soul Searching on the Solstice....

Hi, Santa....Snowed in again?  That's ok....I found something interesting to read in Newsweek--the "Interview Edition" was in the newsstand, so I bought a copy to read on the way home.  It has this wonderful exchange in Jessica Bennett's interview with Dan Savage and Jane Lynch:

Q: How long until there's an openly gay president or Supreme Court justice?

SAVAGE: Scalia isn't gay?!? I always think the biggest homophobe in the room is clearly a c--ksucker!
LYNCH: Totally! The next religious person who tells you there's something wrong with being a homosexual, start the countdown. It's psychology 101--the people who are the loudest and hate it the most hate something in themselves.

I know, I know. I hate Republicans. I have to search my soul for traces of serfs & goose-steppers.*

* see "Tips from Xtreme English" in the RH column....

Sherwood Harrington's Pummelvision!!

Oboyoboyoboy!!!  Sherwood Harrington, who blogs at SherWords, is a grandfather, a community college professor of astronomy in the South Bay area of San Francisco, a nature (dogs, cats, chickens, butterflies, flowers, woods & castles) lover, and a descendant of the man who invented the flush toilet. He has created a Pummelvision of his photos, and it's everything you'd imagine from such a lively mind.  Have fun!!



Now you do your own!  Check it out at http://pummelvision.com

Go!

Whee! and Yippee!!!! Ding Dong, DADT Is Dead!

And XE has found two librul elite blogs with the funniest comments on John McCain's reaction.  A few samples:

First,  Pam's House Blend...Always Steamin':

"Q of the day: What do you think Sen. John McCain is doing to "celebrate" tonight?"

Having...

....a crying session with Boehner?

The sweet and poetic irony?

Cindy and Meghan are celebrating with high fives in HIS living room tonight!

 

 and, of all places that I haven't read for a while, Wonkette!!

 Permission to serve fabulously, Sir.
... Permission granted.

Can we haz atheists in the foxhole now too? 

Claude Covo's Pummelvision!!

Claude, who blogs as Photoblogging in Paris, takes spectacular photos, and she's created a fabulous Pummelvision:



You do one, too!!!

I Don't Know What This Is, But.....

TEXTING ABBREVIATIONS FOR SENIORS

THANKS TO DARLENE FOR THESE.....

FWIW: Forgot Where I Was

BTW: Bring The Wheelchair

ROFLACGU: Rolling On The Floor Laughing And Can't Get Up

DWI: Driving While Incontinent

LOL: Living On Lipitor

OMG: Oy, My Grandchildren!

IMHO: Is My Hearing-Aid On?

WTF: What's Today's Fish?

RULKM: Are You Leaving Kids Money?

BYOT: Bring Your Own Teeth

GTG: Got to Groan

TGIF: Thank Goodness It's Four (Four O'Clock Early Bird Special)

FWB: Friend With Betablockers

FYI: For Your Indigestion

JK: Just Kvetching

TTYL: Talk To You Louder

MILF: Meal I'd Like To Forget

LMDO: Laughing My Dentures Out

LWO: Lawrence Welk's On

MGAD: My Grandson's A Doctor

SUS: Speak Up, Sonny

WIWYA: When I Was Your Age

GOML: Get Off My Lawn

Doggone Wind!!!

Eating the Christmas Tree

Well, no....Nobody should eat their Christmas tree--unless it's one of those cute cookies or (please Santa) at least 60% dark chocolate!  My post today IS partly about eating lots of veggies and fruits every day.  Major disclaimer: I could lie and say I do that--eat lots of veggies and fruits daily--but I don't.  I'm an unreconstructed carnivore and lover of junk food, especially popcorn, which some say is one of the junkiest and, horror of horrors--microwaved baked potatoes! I also drink hot chocolate, tea, wine, gin, vodka, Irish whiskey, and Grand Marnier, though not all at same time--I do have my rules.

Be that as it may, one of the blogs I love is Robyn's Blog.  Robyn's Green Smoothie Girl website, of which her blog is only part, is another great resource. And these marvelous video clips arrived today in Robyn's free e-mail newsletter (available to those who visit her website and sign up). As I said, I am nowhere near as disciplined as Robyn, though I can be--in spurts.  But Robyn's talk about how her grandmother beat stage 3 cancer reminds me of my dear friend Mary.

[Note to friends, this is not "Mary from Iowa." This is "Mary from Indiana," whom I also met at Gallaudet when I worked there.]

Mary is deaf, a fluent communicator in both ASL and English, and one of the most talented painters--and now writers--I know. I met her first when I signed up for her class in oil painting, and now we ride bikes together when she has time in her busy life as a tutor and graduate student at the Big Famous Jesuit University here.  A number of years ago, Mary learned she had cancer, and without any health insurance (tutors at the Big Famous Deaf University here do not get benefits, despite the fact that many of the students who enroll there need help from the tutoring center to pass the requisite basic English class, produce written assignments, etc.), she started looking for other ways to heal herself that did not involve Western medicine and its surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and the whole expensive lot.

Always a serious, interested student of life, she started reading and talking with alternative healers here. She began her healing journey by changing her own diet.  Basically, she daily consumes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables that she juices herself, eats gorgeously inventive salads with more of the same, and stays away from not only meat & dairy but also cooked foods, caffeine, and alcohol entirely.  And she is now free of cancer.

According to Robyn's interview (both parts here), Robyn's grandmother beat stage 3 cancer, too.  So here's a holiday present for my dear readers.  (If you know me well, you'll know I'm chuckling here.  If anyone dances on the razor's edge nutritionally, it's me.)  But, as my dear departed father-in-law, Murray, used to say, "If you done it, it ain't bragging"--a quote, btw, from Walt Whitman.
Robyn's grandma and my friend Mary from Indiana have done it, too--and it's up to Robyn and me to brag about them: 

Part 1: Food is Medicine


Part 2: Getting Started

From the Fine Print....Comments on WikiLeaks and Assange

[XE says: These comments come from an astute reader who is also one of the bright lights at DemocracyforCalifornia. They are too good to let sit on the shelves. All emphasis is mine.]

The first is about Wikileaks and also about Assange's so-called "rape" charge.  The second is on an article in the Guardian.  Both were sent in reply to other comments on "Best Reads on Wikileaks"

#1:  I appreciate your concerns about the future of diplomacy, but I don't think any particular harm, other than embarrassment, is being done with the publication of these cables. Diplomats will continue to do their work with the U.S., not because they like us, but because it is in the best interest of their country to do so. They might not be able to use digital pipelines of communication, as they have, but I for one think there is some poetic justice in that. If nations operate with an old-century mindset, then they can go back to using old-century tools. The Internet is for freedom of information. It belongs to all citizens of the world.

As far as the "rape" charges against Julian Assange. Keep in mind, there have been no charges. In fact, I read somewhere that the reason for this is that there are no actual laws on the books in Sweden concerning "not using a condom," but that they had intended to write some laws. Perhaps that explains why Swedish prosecutors have been going back and forth on the issue. Basically, he's been called in for "questioning" since they don't actually have a law to charge him with. But there are concerns that Sweden (which is known to have worked with the CIA on extraordinary renditions) could extradite Julian to the U.S., and that would be very bad for him. I guess we'll know tomorrow (Tuesday) if Great Britain will extradite him to Sweden for "questioning."

I would not venture an opinion about the two women who made these charges. I don't know how legitimate they are. It's possible, Julian has a weakness with women, perhaps he's been a geek too long, and is easily seduced? Or perhaps the charges are bogus? I don't know, I don't think anybody else does at this point. But isn't the timing a tad too coincidental?

Regardless, whatever Assange did or did not do, it does not alter my opinion of the importance of wikileaks.

#2:  An interesting article from the Guardian...

WikiLeaks may make the powerful howl, but we are learning the truth

WikiLeaks has offered us glimpses of how the world works. And in most cases nothing but good can come of it

Here's a snippet:

The world has changed, not simply because governments find they are just as vulnerable to the acquisition, copying and distribution of huge amounts of data as the music, publishing and film businesses were, but because we are unlikely to return to the happy ignorance of the past. Knowing Saudi Arabia has urged the bombing of Iran, that Shell maintains an iron grip on the government of Nigeria, that Pfizer hired investigators to disrupt investigations into drugs trials on children, also in Nigeria, that the Pakistan intelligence service, the ISI, is swinging both ways on the Taliban, that China launched a cyber attack on Google, that North Korean has provided nuclear scientists to Burma, that Russia is a virtual mafia state in which security services and gangsters are joined at the hip – and knowing all this in some detail – means we are far more likely to treat the accounts of events we are given in the future with much greater scepticism.

Never mind the self-serving politicians who waffle on about the need for diplomatic confidentiality when they themselves order the bugging of diplomats and hacking of diplomatic communications. What is astonishing is the number of journalists out there who argue that it is better not to know these things, that the world is safer if the public is kept in ignorance. In their swooning infatuation with practically any power elite that comes to hand, some writers for the Murdoch press and Telegraph titles argue in essence for the Chinese or Russian models of deceit and obscurantism. They advocate the continued infantilising of the public.

Why I Do Not Live in Minnesota....

I repeat this post about every year, and since Minneapolis got 20" of snow over the weekend, and the heavy snow tore a hole in the dome of the football/baseball stadium, I think we're back to snow time.

Diary Of A Snow Shoveler

December 8: 6:00 PM. It started to snow. The first snow of the season and the wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma Moses print. So romantic we felt like newlyweds again. I love snow!

December 9: We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow covering every inch of the landscape. What a fantastic sight! Can there be a more lovely place in the Whole World? Moving here was the best idea I've ever had. Shoveled snow for the first time in years and felt like a boy again. I did both our driveway and the sidewalks. This afternoon the snowplow came along and covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again. What a perfect life.

December 12: The sun has melted all our lovely snow. Such a disappointment. My neighbor tells me not to worry, we'll definitely have a white Christmas. No snow on Christmas would be awful! Bob says we'll have so much snow by the end of winter, that I'll never want to see snow again. l don't think that's possible. Bob is such a nice man I'm glad he's our neighbor.

December 14: Snow lovely snow! 8" last night. The temperature dropped to -20. The cold makes everything sparkle so. The wind took my breath away, but I warmed up by shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. This is the life! The snowplow came back this afternoon and buried everything again. l didn't realize I would have to do quite this much shoveling, but I'll certainly get back in shape this way. I wish l wouldn't huff and puff so.

December 15: 20 inches forecast. Sold my van and bought a 4x4 Blazer. Bought snow tires for the wife's car and 2 extra shovels. Stocked the freezer. The wife wants a wood stove in case the electricity goes out. I think that's silly. We aren't in Alaska, after all.

December 16: Ice storm this morning. Fell on my ass on the ice in the driveway putting down salt. Hurt like hell. The wife laughed for an hour, which I think was very cruel.

December 17: Still way below freezing. Roads are too icy to go anywhere. Electricity was off for 5 hours. I had to pile the blankets on to stay warm. Nothing to do but stare at the wife and try not to irritate her. Guess I should've bought a wood stove, but won't admit it to her. God I hate it when she's right. I can't believe I'm freezing to death in my own living room.

December 20: Electricity's back on, but had another 14" of damn snow last night. More shoveling. Took all day. Goddamn snowplow came by twice. Tried to find a neighbor kid to shovel, but they said they're too busy playing hockey. I think they're lying. Called the only hardware store around to see about buying a snow blower and they're out. Might have another shipment in March. I think they're lying. Bob says I have to shovel or the city will have it done and bill me. I think he's lying.

December 22: Bob was right about a white Christmas because 13 more inches of the white sh*t fell today, and it's so cold it probably won't melt till August. Took me 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel and then I had to piss. By the time I got undressed, pissed and dressed again. I was too tired to shovel. Tried to hire Bob who has a plow on his truck for the rest of the winter; but he says he's too busy. I think the asshole is lying.

December 23: Only 2" of snow today. And it warmed up to 0. The wife wanted me to decorate the front of the house this morning. What is she nuts!!! Why didn't she tell me to do that a month ago? She says she did but I think she's lying.

December 24: 6". Snow packed so hard by snowplow, l broke the shovel. Thought I was having a heart attack. I know the son of a bitch who drives that snowplow hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling and then he comes down the street at a 100 miles an hour and throws snow all over where I've just been! Tonight the wife wanted me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our presents, but I was busy watching for that goddamn snowplow.

December 25: Merry Christmas. 20 more inches of the !=3D@x@!x!x1 slop tonight. Snowed in. The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil. God I hate the snow! Then the snowplow driver came by asking for a donation and I hit him over the head with my shovel. The wife says I have a bad attitude. I think she's an idiot. If I have to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" one more time, I'm going to smack her big ass with the shovel.

December 26: Still snowed in. Why the hell did I ever move here? It was all HER idea. She's really getting on my nerves.

December 27: Temperature dropped to -30 and the pipes froze.

December 28: Warmed up to above -20. Still snowed in. THE B***H is driving me crazy!!!!!

December 29: 10 more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the roof or it could cave in. That's the silliest thing I ever heard. How dumb does he think I am?

December 30: Roof caved in. The snow plow driver is suing me for a million dollars. The wife went home to her mother. 9" predicted.

December 31: Set fire to what's left of the house. No more shoveling.

January 8: I feel so good. I just love those little white pills they keep giving me. Why am I tied to the bed?

-Author Unknown

12 Shopping Days Til Christmas (including Christmas Day itself)

OK, shoppers.....get out there and blow it all!  Especially with THIS!!!

Want something totally yummy and handmade that's not made overseas? Check out the St. Croix Chocolate Company. (Owner & presiding genius is Robyn Dochterman, a high-school classmate of my kids).  Marine-on-the-St. Croix (river) is in Minnesota, right by the big state park where some friends and I went winter camping one year. Gorgeous!!

It's Sunday Night! Time for fun!

Sally just said, "I am soooo OVER Christmas!"  Me, too.  I still like Charlie Brown's Christmas dance, though....

Snoozeville Speaks! "Aux barricades!!!"

Got this email today from an indignant fellow resident, who shall remain anonymous, of Snoozeville:

Dear friends and neighbors,

I recently received a letter from one of the benevolent  institutions to whom we entrust our health and well being, known (in some circles) as CareLast Blue(No)Choice. This letter informed me, in the spirit of holiday cheer, that my health insurance premium, as of 1/1/11, would be "changed." It would now be 25% higher. The letter did assure me that the company seeks to provide coverage “at the lowest possible cost and with the least profit margin.” That made me feel much better!

I called up and was informed that everyone’s premium would be “changed” by the same percentage. When I asked the employee why the huge increase, she mumbled a list of items whose costs had risen. And she said she sympathized with me, since they’d raised her premium too! 

Since I happen to suffer from a pre-existing condition known as chronic mistrust of large corporations, I couldn't help doing a big of digging. I learned that Carefirst Blue Choice is owned by WellPoint, whose CEO’s 2009 salary was over $13 million dollars! The company’s net income (profit) last year was $4.75 billion, nearly double its ’08 net income of $2.5 billion (the CEO's salary was also double the '08 figure). (WellPoint annual report  http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/13/130104/wellpoint2009/index.html. CEO salary info from http://www.fiercehealthcare.com.

In some states, like California, they’ve raised rates by 39% or more. "Oh, but those costs," the company complains. Must be due to that onerous 1.17 percent inflation rate. (Of course, when it comes to Social Security, inflation is deemed so low there’s no need to give cost-of-living increases….)

Are you willing to pay 25% more so this company and its directors can rake in these huge amounts? (I, personally, cannot even afford my current rate...) If not, let’s do something about it! Please reply if interested in discussing what to do. And if you are already involved in fighting this, or know people who are, please give that info. CareLast Blue(No)Choice “serves” Maryland, DC, Northern VA and Delaware, so there are a lot of us!

At the very least, anybody who gets these rate hikes should be asking their public officials and the commission or whatever it is that approves rate hikes (I couldn't find it) what they plan to do about this....

Taking action is healthy!

Cheers!

Emphasis mine, all mine.

You can watch the Edinburgh Zoo Penguin Webcam.....

...But there's no night vision capability (and it looks like it's POURING RAIN right now, no surprise if it's stopped snowing).



No matter, here's a link to the video of the penguin chicks weigh-in from this past spring...

I found this delightful stuff on Belgian Waffle ("Death, Despair and Biscuits"), one of my favorite blogs.  The blogger calls herself "Ex-Eurodrone, unfit mother, slattern."  My kind of people, clearly.  She's incredibly witty and an ace writer.  She also has a link to the actual, not just the promo, Penguin Webcam, which I can't figure out how to install here.  If I weren't so old, I'd say I hope to grow up to be as good as she is.

Anyway, watching penguins stuck in a zoo in Scotland sure as hell beats watching American TV.  For one thing, there's NO NEWS!! and NO PUNDITS!!  There IS the Head Keeper of the Penguins, Roslin Talbot, who explains in her lovely soft Scottish voice what we're seeing.  Very restful.

Then there's FireDogLake and Jane Hamsher....

Here's what Jane Hamsher thinks of the political maneuvering and posturing going on over the Bush tax cuts (let expire?? keep??) and the pending loss soon of unemployment insurance for millions of U.S. citizens.



You tell 'em, Jane!!

Attention: 42 Republican Senators and those who elected them.....

My grandnephew Steve says,

If I showed up to work and said that I have no intention of doing anything for the next 2 months and would prevent everyone else from doing anything as well, then I would be fired in a heartbeat. Why should senators be treated differently?

More good reads on Wikileaks

DemocracyforCalifornia hits another home run.   The post "Cablegate and the Little Website that Roared" is another treasure trove for people looking for information you can trust. 

 If you have time for just one of DfC's resources, check this out:

An invaluable resource: http://wlcentral.org/