Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Time Flies

I know that time seems to pass more quickly the older you get, but I still find an interval of only 11 weeks between my 40th birthday and today's "Senior Citizen Offer" from Sunset Publishing a bit rushed...

Monday, June 29, 2009

Letter of the Day: C

When I was an undergraduate, I worked for a private investigation firm doing filing, data entry, document delivery, etc. One of my tasks - fortunately not too often - was to take a box of manila file folders and write

OPENED:
CLOSED:

on the tab so all the investigators had to do was write the date. After 30 or 40 folders, the words started to look wrong; they stopped looking like words and I would have to take a break. I knew I was still spelling them correctly, but only because I could compare them to the first one I had written.

Okay, maybe it's just me...

Anyway, I don't have that problem today. Today the word CLOSED looks just fine. Because I just CLOSED the deal on my house. Coincidentally, by signing my name so many times that it failed to look like my name.

But the bank guy seemed fine with my scribbles, so maybe it's just me...

It's not officially official and finalized until it gets filed or some such, but it's really happening.

I'm a homeowner! Go me!


Added later: I do promise pictures as soon as I can officially get in to the house - the only pix I have now show the previous owner's furniture. I'll post when it's empty and then when I get all my stuff settled in.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Music Notes, Part Two

Toby Keith just keeps getting better and better. Every album since Shock'n Y'All (2003) I've said "This is my favorite. This is his best album." Until the next one is released. Each album has a greater number of songs that go on my I-could-listen-to-this-song-every-single-day list. Now I know that artists are supposed to improve their craft but for every album to surpass the last is extraordinary. It seems more likely that there would be at least one album that I would say "whatever" about - which has happened with both Kenny Chesney and Dierks Bentley.

Contrasting all that TK fantastic-ness are two of the worst albums I've ever heard, Zac Brown Band's Foundation and Darius Rucker's Learn to Live. I liked both first singles, Chicken Fried and Don't Think I Don't Think About It (respectively); however, neither album is worth listening to even once. A friend loaned these to me, and she's even more disappointed in them than I am, 'cause she paid money for them!

Monday, June 22, 2009

"News" Dumbness

Remember, I don't have access to network or cable, so everything I know about Jon and Kate comes from the teeny snippets I see on news websites and blogs:
  • they have eight children
  • they have a reality TV show
  • they are talking about getting a divorce
Here's a thought: Try living without the cameras before contemplating life-altering decisions. Or maybe that's just me.

Updated June 23: Why, yes, I do fairly well predicting fiction. I often know what the next line is going to be - it comes from watching, reading, and writing too much...

In other "news": Scalzi reports that people are dissing President Obama because he isn't having to deal with the same staggering issues as Presidents Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Truman. Seriously, people? You may want to live in interesting times, but I'll settle for peace and tranquility, thanks.

Monday, June 15, 2009

My Profession

Do you support your local library? It's there for you...

Today Show: Libraries Lend a Hand in Tough Times (4-minute video clip)

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Summer Session

I am showing an English class how to blog.

Monday, June 01, 2009

Curiosity

Out of the mouths of babes...

The next Mars rover has been named Curiosity.

In hindsight, it's blindingly obvious. Way to go, Clara!

Beliefs

The Babylon 5 episode, "Parliament of Dreams" is about showcasing different alien culture's belief systems and ends with a display of "Earth's dominant belief system." Unlike all the other ceremonies which feature stories, chants, drums, and bells, the Earth celebration introduces, one by one, a loooooong line of at least 40 people, each representing a different belief system:

Atheist (I love that this is first!)
Roman Catholic
Zen Buddhist
Moslem / Muslim
Orthodox Jew
Sioux Indian
Greek Orthodox
Yupik Eskimo
Jivaro
Bantu
Taoist
Aborgini
Shinto
Maori
Hindu
Quaker

Not all are named, and of the ones that were only shown I, sadly, recognized only a few.

I leave it to the reader to take away the appropriate lesson.