Friday bugs

Long-time favorite

Spider Tests

What's Opera, Doc?

To Have A Spear and Magic Helmet

Thanksgiving Leftovers

One major holiday down, one to go. The attached photo of Sophie sums up how we spent a portion of our down-time.

Off to New Orleans tomorrow for work--am going with mixed feelings as it is the first time I've been since Katrina.

Somehow.....this summer

Because It Isn't Enough Just HAVING Breast Cancer...

Ford Motor Company, in concert with the Susan B. Komen foundation (natch) is "powering" the "Warrors in Pink" campaign, featuring American Idol Kelly Clarkson. So while you are receiving chemo infusions, pulling chunks of your hair out and otherwise just feeling like shit, you can "rock the cause" like the true pink warrior you're supposed to be. Like Kelly, you can wear your rockin' Warrior gear, and imagine the day that your hair will grow out think and full again and blow seductively like Kelly's--all while rockin' the cure, baby! You can "wear it straight up or rock it. Either way, you can rock the world!"

This is a campaign for Breast Cancer awareness. Which means that the money dumped for all this pink crap goes toward manufacturing more pink crap, including those annoying giant pink ribbons that adorn buildings during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The website states that 100% of proceeds goes to the Susan B. Komen foundation. What I'd like to know is what percentage of that actually goes to research. Greater awareness, the story goes, increases the rates of early detection--but I wonder if there has been a randomized controlled trial that shows that wearing a Warrior Hoody or sending Yoplait stick pink yogurt lids has actually been a statistically significant factor in higher rates of early detection.

I think of the breast cancer patients who have come through our program--like the 42 year-old whose main goal was to have her pain managed without becoming too sedated so that she can still communicate with her 10 year-old daughter. When I think of patients like her, and see this Warrior Rockin The Cure shit--it makes me a bit crazy. When Barbara Ehrenreich wrote her piece for Harper's--"Welcome to Cancerland", I wonder if she had any idea things would get to Warriors in Pink--Powered by Ford. Because Ford Cares. If you have never read Barbara's piece, you can do so here.

Have a great day everyone. I'm off to test-drive a new Warrior Mustang.

The End Is Near (Again)

Last night my brother, sister-in-law and mother (along with several hundred others) attended a lecture by someone named Joel Rosenberg, a Messianic Jew, best-selling author (Tom Clancy meets Tim LaHaye) and celebrity eschatological swami beloved by the likes of Rush Limbag and Sean Hannity. Afterwards, I inquired about the lecture (e.g. was there any rubbing of a crystal ball involved, etc.) and the summing up involved the following: "of course there is no claim that anyone truly knows the exact time when the Lord will come back." My response of "but why not sell a few hundred thousand books off a gullible public in the meantime" was met with a disgusted harrumphing, a "you're so cynical" with a side order of glare for good measure.

Normally, and for good reason, that would've been the end of my curiosity about Joel Rosenberg. This isn't a blog-rant about why smart people like my aforementioned family members would find this sort of thing worth their time. I'm more than adequately accustomed to their exasperation with my unabating cynicism and my tendency to be pretty pissed off a good deal of the time (although I'm not like that at work or with other people in my life--I wonder why that is?). Many Christians have been curious about/obsessed with "the end times" for a very long time, and modest fortunes have been made by those deluded and ego-centric enough to suggest that he or she had discovered the eschatalogical equivalent of the Rosetta Stone. My pastor-ex-husband used to avoid asking parishoners what they'd like to hear from him about as inevitably someone would request an indepth exegesis on Revelation. Cue yawn.

I won't be able to contain my sudden interest in this topic with one post, so I'll end this one with the following questions that are on my mind today:

1) Why doesn't anyone ever suggest that the Anti-Christ could be an American? In my mind--there are some pretty strong contenders:

2) Apparently Mr. Rosenberg's primary sage advice for those worried that the world will end before the Rockies have a few more chances to win the World Series is this: pray for peace and prepare for war ("oh Lord please help the US kick some Islamic ass). My reponse to this is "whaaa?"

3) Rosenberg mentions that conspiciously absent in the cast of characters involved in the War of Gog and Magog is Iraq and Egypt. I wonder how he would classify the absence of......China?

Next time: The Geography of Gog and Magog.

And So It Begins...

No Genius Here

Another year has gone by........without being chosen for a MacArthur Genius Grant.

Too Much Time On His Hands, Or Clever and Creative? You Decide.

Someone by the name of Reverend Brendan Powell Smith has taken the time to recreate stories from the Bible completely in Legos. So far, my favorites are how Moses and the Hebrews escape from Egypt, Paul's exhortations about marriage and proper deportment for Christian women, and the desert trial and temptation of Jesus.

Shorter John Eldridge: Nice Guys Not Only Finish Last, But They're Less-Than-Godly Pansies Too.

Regular readers here have not likely heard of John Eldridge, best-selling Christian author and genius behind revolutionary new theory of human (and by human, he mainly means men) development. Normally I remain out of the loop about stuff like this, but several important men in my life have either embraced and/or opened their minds to this misogynistic and paternalistic view of the world--repackaged as a way for men to reassert their "wild hearts" (as the heart of God himself is "wild") while asserting all the benefits of male privilege and the more natural submissive position of women.

You see, the modern church has turned Christian men into a punch of overly sensitive, pussy-whipped sensitivoes like Mr. Rogers, where the true model of a Christian manly man is William Wallace (as portrayed by Mr. Manly himself, Mel Gibson, in Braveheart). Bitchy hairy-legged and overly independent feminists have spoiled everyone's fun---what with their pesky tendency to demand things like control of their own bodies and equal protection under the law. So here are the developmental differences:

Men pass through several bibically based stages in life: 1) boyhood; 2) cowboy; 3) warrior; 4) king; and 5) sage. Women, not surprisingly, want and need to know they are desired. While men want to paint their faces, grunt and tear other men from limb to limb, women want to be pursued and fought for. Men watch "Lord of the Rings" and "Gladiator." Women bond while watching "Sense and Sensibilities" and "Sleepless in Seattle." Women are the ballroom dancer who enjoys following the man's lead, and becomes more beautiful in the process! Like magic! Women are the responder to the man's sexual prowess. A woman's need for control is born out of....you guessed it....fear.

None of this claptrap is new, nor is it limited to a the world view of this particular flavor of Christianity. but I wonder if Mr. Eldridge has actually read the New Testament, in particular the teachings of Jesus?

Free Bryce!

I realize that this writer occasionally opines on the subject of children--and usually not that positively. This post is no exception--so you have been warned. Although, this really speaks more those challenged adults who felt confident enough in their parenting skills to inflict the products of such misguided thinking on the rest of us.

Saturday morning, after having a relaxing morning I headed out for some power shopping with two primary goals in mind: 1) floor lamp, and; 2) new bed for the guest room. I'm in Lamps Plus five minutes or so when I hear a thump, then a crash, then a shrill voice that I'm sure Sophie can hear back at home imploring an obstreperous delinquent by the name of "Bryce" to pull it together, shut up, and act his age. I'm always struck by what many parents today are willing to put up with. One thump, much less a crash, and my happy ass would've been ordered outside to sit and wait. But no. All of us in the store were regaled alternately by pleading ("I'm just trying to pick out some cool lighting for your room" ) to shaming ("I'm so embarassed for you--a boy your age acting like this"). Now, by this time, my allegiance had switched to Bryce. I wondered if his acting this way was a cry for help--a deliberate attempt to push his mother over the edge so that he could be rescued by a relative whose voice didn't cause coyotes to weep. This woman clearly had lost any sense that there were other people in the store who could hear her futile screeching. Now, I know people who know the challenges inherent in taking children out in public and would' ve tsked disapprovingly in Bryce's direction--understanding the frustration that Bryce's mother was feeling. However, why is it I have a strong hunch that Bryce's behavior in Lamps Plus that day is part of a giant chicken coming home to roost in a nest built by Medusa?

Later same day....I'm loading Sophie in the truck when I look across the parking lot and see a lone toddler--maybe 3-4 years old, standing on a curb only inches from being in a busy parking lot. Parking lot is relatively quiet, but I start to walk across in case I need to snatch her out of harm's way. Suddenly a voice from somewhere yells "TAMRA--don't you dare step off that curb--don't make me come out there!" Tamra promptly steps into the street and at any minute I expect to see a panicked parent come running. Instead, The Voice tells someone to "go get your sister out of the street." Mere moments later an older boy comes out, picks up Tamra and disappears back into some apartment.

And still later the same day... I'm leaving my mother's house and I pass a man riding a bicycle. He has all the required accessories, including a helmet. But, he also has a small child riding on his shoulders--with no helmet. So, the one who is clearly already brain damaged wears the helmet and leaves the child open to serious injury should he lose control of the bike and drop her. What the hell???

And yes, still later...I get in the drive-thru queue at Wendy's to get a Diet Coke and in front of me is a mini-van with a licence plate frame that informed disterested people that someone associated with said van is an alumni of Brigham Young University. I'll admit my brain fetched the most easily accessible stereotype and I muttered to myself that that van was probably full of more children. A fatherly head sticks out from said van and yells into the drive-thru ordering-thing: "We need 5 junior cheeseburgers, 3 orders 99 cent chicken nuggets, 6 orders of fries, 1 grilled chicken sandwich, 5 small Sprites, 2 large diet Cokes and 2 large Frostys." At this point, no one had misbehaved and I'd heard only the sound of a father ordering dinner, but I couldn't fathom a scenario in which my quest for a simple diet Coke might be thwarted by a missing order of nuggets or a burger that had an unwelcome addition of mustard. So, as no one was behind me, I backed up and out of the line, and drove straight home.

Culture and a Dog's Life

Because I am a football fan as well as a dog lover, I've followed the Michael Vick/dogfighting story beyond my usual news sources of NPR, etc. There are some fellow athletes as well as sports fans who have come out in support of Vick--some asserting that there is unfair attention paid to a rich black athlete who is only one of thousands of people who participate in dogfighting, and others crying foul because dogfighting is actually a "sport" that is rooted in cultural traditions. Well, slavery was rooted in cultural tradition too.

The Atlanta chapter of the NAACP has urged the NFL to not abandon Vick, but to allow him to return to his job as Falcon's quarterback after he serves his prison sentence. I personally think his NFL career is likely over, but whether or not he has a job after he does his time is really not an issue. What I want to know is what possesses any person to participate in such an activity? Even if someone were not to gain pleasure from watching two dogs wound and sometimes kill each other, what kind of person can look on such a thing and not be repulsed? There is something fundamentally flawed in the soul of such a person.

Addendum:

I should clarify that Michael Vick's employment status post-pokey isn't an issue for me. He'll be a millionaire many times over even if he has to give back his 20+ million signing bonus and part of his salary. I'll admit that my initial reaction to his particular story is a wish that he would be publicly humiliated, shamed and stripped of any football past or future glory. The humiliation part is well on its way and as I said before, his football career is likely over, especially as it appears that the players union is not doing to to defend him. I hope he does jail time, and I hope he receives mental health care to address that warped part of his spirit that found it acceptable to burn and hang dogs who didn't successfully rip another dog from limb to limb. But should he be denied the opportunity to return to work...to life...after doing his time? Some team owners wouldn't touch him with a 10-foot pole (it doesn't help that the brillance of his college play didn't exactly translate to the NFL anyway), but he shouldn't completely dispair. If it helped Jerry Jones get another Superbowl ring, Jerry would probably hire him if he'd killed his own mother.

Speaking of feeling sick...

I'm not sure I've ever met anyone who better personifies over-privilege (spoiled), a sense of entitlement, and obeisance to American consumer culture. You have the balls to lecture my sister about the perils (to my 4-year old nephew) of dating a man who is not a Christian--this after having the gall to refer to certain people as trash. Did I really, truly, hear you laughingly (jokingly, I'm sure you'd say) suggest that the US "trade" with Mexico by this country accepting with open arms all of the hard-working Mexicans while sending Mexico all of the "white and black trash" who "do not like to work."

I'm embarassed for you--for your pseudo-intellectual preening and for your assumption that the world exists to help maintain your privileged status. You need to know that no one is really that impressed. You need to know that the attitude you and your wife project is one of disdain for those who do not fit neatly w/in the realm of what is hip, cool, and $$$. If this projection is not truly a reflection of what you think--then you need to check it.

I'm just still really pissed about your "trash" comment and it is making me mad about everything else. Grow up, please.

I Threw Up A Little In My Mouth This Morning When I Read This...

Even back in the days when the ex and I were in Ft. Worth and he was attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, the joke was that many of the women enrolled there in order to earn their MRS. It wasn't completely unfounded--I knew more than a handful of women who met their husbands there and then dropped out themselves to marry and become an incubator. However, here is the latest from the mind of someone born from the shallow end of the intellectual gene pool.

Not surprisingly, this new degree program is a bachelor's degree--let's get those young women in here fresh out of their home schooling/Christian private school programs before they have a chance to go to college and be corrupted by more learnin'!

This makes me physically ill. Pardon me while I go puke. AAAUUUUUUUGHGGHHHHHH!

Freedom's Just Another Word for Childlessness

Last night on "60 Minutes" Morley Schaefer interviewed Dame Helen Mirren. I've always found her pretty fabulous, but I wanted to cheer at the following (not necessarily verbatim--I wasn't taking notes) exchange:

MS: "Do you ever regret not having children?"

HM: "No, never"

MS: (faintly surprised facial expression) "Really? Why?"

HM: "Because it has given me freedom".

I suspect it is safe to say that most women either become, or want to become, mothers. But it is so refreshing to hear a famous woman talk about the real reason for childlessness that so may are afraid to admit out loud (and perhaps even to themselves).

Moving Day

I worked 4-10 hour days this week so that I can take off tomorrow and move my junk from my hated Hooterville abode to my new place that while in one of those generic, soulless, cookie-cutter apartment complexes (uh, sorry, apartment homes), it appears to be quite the step-up from whence I came. However, I have this unwelcome feeling of dread that the sword of Damocles is hanging over my head and it could be that unbeknownst to me a noisy family of 6 will be my upstairs neighbors or that the water is so hard it will turn my dishes and clothes orange. I mean, what does it mean when the leasing agent conveniently told me after I'd signed the lease that some residents run some orange kool-aid through their machines now and then? I may be repeating this exercise sooner rather than later.

Nonetheless, I look forward to no longer seeing my neighbor who drives around in his giant Ford with giant confederate flags flapping in the breeze whilst his horn blares out "Dixie." I will not miss the totally clueless perenially out-of-work guy who likes to race his very loud toy cars out in the parking lot at 2 am. I will not miss my downstairs neighbor who yells obscenities at his wife and I will not miss the 4 barely out of adolescence men-children who live across the hall and play Metallica a stadium-level sound. And, I will not miss dealing with an apartment office staff that can most diplomatically be described as "charm-free."

I will however, miss the trees and my view of downtown from my balcony. I hope the change will do me good.

Lady Bird

If you will allow me a deviation from my tendency to avoid sentimentality.........

When people ask me where I'm from--originally--I truthfully answer "Dallas, Texas." However, the majority of my tender formative years were spent in the Texas Hill Country in a town that I couldn't wait to get out of. The recent flooding, and now the death of Lady Bird Johnson has brought back many memories. I was told that two of the fatalities from flooding were the parents of a boy I went to school with. I hadn't thought about him in many, many years. In many ways he and I were typical band geeks, although I was less reviled by the "popular" kids for some reason. In our town, if you were male, not particularly good-looking, and especially if you weren't athletic, you were at high risk of being labeled "fag" or "fairy." I don't know whatever happened to him--he graduated a year before me and got the hell outta Dodge. But hearing about his parents, and thinking about him brought back memories of why I hated small-town living.

However, I must confess that I have more pleasant memories when I think of Lady Bird Johnson. Whatever anyone would say about LBJ and his legacy as President, and whatever the reality is, I will forever associate Lady Bird Johnson with the things I love about Texas, and happier times growing up. The Johnson ranch was less than 20 miles from my town and very close by, if not actually part of the ranch that became a state park, was a large public swimming pool. My mother would pack my brother, sister and I in the Ford station wagon and go--often spending an entire afternoon. It was always blistering hot and there was a very intimidating diving board--off of which I experienced my first "belly-buster." I also remember hearing my grandmother talk about how "gracious" Lady Bird was, how she was a model of what was accepted as true Texas feminity--keep your chin up, your liptstick fresh and a scarf to keep your hairdo intact. All while standing by your man, and especially if you're watching your man take the Presidential oath of office while the recently widowed Jackie Kennedy stands nearby in shock in her blood-soaked pink suit. However, for many people like me, Lady Bird is most remembered for her love of flowers and her work to beautify Texas highways. I always associate the Bluebonnet and Indian Paintbrush with her and remember certain times of the year that you could drive and see fields and fields of these flowers. There is a famous photograph of Lady Bird, taken by Dennis Fagan, that makes me very sentimental for the Texas I prefer to remember. I'll not post it here, but will provide a link.

When I heard she'd died, I suddenly craved the sound of my own grandmother's voice.

For My Friend Who Has Never Seen The Simpsons!

Catholic and Protestant Heaven

Scooter Libby And Others Thankful For Not Being Chinese

So China is executing corrupt government officials now? Yan Jiangying, deputy policy director of the State Food and Drug Administration referred to the "shame" that Zheng Xiaoyu and other corrupt officials had brought on their country.

There is no shame in being corrupt in this country anymore. Inconvenience, yes, and sometimes expensive and a career-ender, but shame? Not so much. In fact, sometimes it is downright profitable and can be a ticket to high office.

Are Children an Oppressed Class?

For those of you who have heard me complain about unpleasant encounters with ill-mannered children and parents who believe the world owes them a favor for procreating, I provide a link to an interesting discussion about feminism and children over at I Blame The Patriarchy. I'm particularly pondering one commenter's suggestion that my annoyance about such children and parents is itself a product of the patriarchy. Thoughts?

On a side note, I provide photos of one of my favorite recent Hawaii moments. This was taken at the Panalu'u Black Sand Beach on the southern coast of the Big Island. The black sand here results from the collision of hot lava with the cooler ocean, and the lava shatters into tiny bits. These bits are futher weathered by the ocean into the black sand. Absolutely beautiful.

Big Island

Fin

Today I attended my final class, presented my research and turned in my final paper, and thus my days as a carefree graduate student come to an end. For this degree at least.

Only a couple of weeks before I once again join the working class.

Eddie Saturday

Historical Disbelief

I am admittedly out of the loop in many arenas right now, but I hadn't heard of the series "A Brief History of Disbelief", that originally aired on the BBC in 2005. Evidently it has had a bit of trouble making its way across the pond, and you'll be shocked to hear that opposition to the program is being voiced by the usual suspects--Family Research Council, and People for the American Way.

I have no idea if the program is even worth my time (although Bill Moyers interviewed the series creator), but when the pearl-clutchers start frettting, then it is at least worth checking out. I read about this here. I've e-mailed my local PBS station to find out if/when the program would be aired, and was told that it is currently not on the schedule, but that doesn't mean it will not air in the future.

In other and completely unrelated news..... a Ted Haggard follow-up.

My Kind of Parkour

Check it out.

Map Story

I'd never heard of the Waldseemüller map--a 1507 map by cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, that is supposedly the earliest map that refers to "America." The Library of Congress purchased the map several years ago, but Angela Merkl is set to officially "hand over" the map to the LOC, while she's in D.C. (and probably hoping she won't get felt up by GW).

Anyway, NPR had a piece about the map on All Things Considered today, but here is also a link to more background about the map.

Interesting.

Happy Ending in 30 Minutes or Less.....or Pizza is Free!

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Randall Tobias, in the media frenzy accompanying the revelation that *gasp* a powerful White guy paid for sex apparently thinking he'd be able to do so without anyone ever finding out, didn't take time to think about how his reaction would reveal his misogyny. Apparently, he equates his careless fondness for take-out sex with "ordering a pizza".

This is particularly curious as Dear Leader appointed Tobias to oversee administration AIDS policy and demanded that any group that received government "anti-AIDS" funds (what exactly does that mean, I wonder?) also take a "anti-prostitution loyalty oath"--that prostitution is "inherently harmful and dehumanizing". Tobias has also defended himself by pointing to his oversight of programs designed to help "men and boys develop healthy relationships with women." Nice. How about programs designed to help women realize just how much men truly hate them?

T.S. Eliot (1922)

The Waste Land


I. THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD

April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.
Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee
With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade
And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten,
And drank coffee, and talked for an hour.
Bin gar keine Russin, stamm' aus Litauen, echt deutsch.
And when we were children, staying at the arch-duke's,
My cousin's, he took me out on a sled,
And I was frightened. He said, Marie,
Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
In the mountains, there you feel free.
I read, much of the night, and go south in winter.

What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.
Frisch weht der Wind
Der heimat zu
Mein Irisch kind,
Wo weilest du?
"You gave me hyacinths first a year ago;"
"They called me the hyacinth girl."
--Yet when we came back, late, from the hyacinth garden,
Your arms full, and your hair wet, I could not
Speak, and my eyes failed, I was neither
Living nor dead, and I knew nothing,
Looking into the heart of light, the silence.
Öd' und leer das Meer.

Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante,
Has a bad cold, nevertheless
Is known to be the wisest woman in Europe,
With a wicked pack of cards. Here, said she,
Is your card, the drowned Phoenician Sailor.
(Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!)
Here is Belladonna, the Lady of the Rocks,
The lady of situations.
Here is the man with three staves, and here the Wheel,
And here is the one-eyed merchant, and this card,
Which is blank, is something that he carries on his back,
Which I am forbidden to see. I do not find
The Hanged Man. Fear death by water.
I see crowds of people, walking round in a ring.
Thank you. If you see dear Mrs. Equitone,
Tell her I bring the horoscope myself;
One must be so careful these days.

Unreal City
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn,
A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,
I had not thought death had undone so many.
Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled,
And each man fixed his eyes before his feet,
Flowed up the hill and down King William Street
To where Saint Mary Woolnoth kept the hours
With a dead sound on the final stroke of nine.
There I saw one I knew, and stopped him, crying, "Stetson!
You who were with me in the ships at Mylae!
That corpse you planted last year in your garden,
Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year?
Or has the sudden frost disturbed its bed?
Oh keep the Dog far hence, that's friend to men,
Or with his nails he'll dig it up again!
You! hypocrite lecteur!--mon semblable!--mon frère!"

2007 Pulitzer--Feature Photography

This year's Pulitzer Prize winner for Feature Photography was won by Renee C. Byer of the Sacramento Bee for her series of photographs featuring a 10-year old boy dying of cancer, and his mother. Here is a link to the series, but I would urge that if you look at them, you do so when you are in a place to cry, if you need to. I frequently rage about senseless loss of life, but I am humbled when I am reminded about the magnitude of suffering that many, many people experience and then must absorb as part of continuing life.

I realize my more recent posts have been from an angry and very sad side--and it is with some reluctance that I provide a link to these photographs. However, I found them to be very moving, and for me, they provided a link back to that part of me that still belives human beings have a real capacity for compassion, devotion, and pure love.

Overpowering Gun-Wielding Madmen for Dummies

I'd been ignoring reports of certain pundits publicly speculating as to why no one at Virginia Tech made the decision to recreate the heroics of Flight 93 ("Let's Roll!) and rush to disarm the gunman. One such pundit wondered why there was no apparent "spirit of self-defense".

I had dinner with my folks a couple of nights ago, and we started talking about this. I was rather surprised to hear that apparently he and my brother had wondered about the same thing, and before I knew it I was hearing their assertion that perhaps letting everyone carry a gun anywhere is indeed a good idea. I grew up, to some extent, around guns. My father owned more than a few and he even gave me a few shooting lessons. He would hunt now and then, but his guns were always kept in a locked storeroom and other than when he'd go hunting (which wasn't often), we'd never see them. I never heard my parents talk about the need to have a gun around for self-defense. They chuckled when their liberal daughter reacted in the expected way to Dad's suggestion that he teach my two nephews (but not my niece, interestingly enough) how to shoot.

I'm accustomed to feeling odd-woman out when it comes to certain discussions in my family, but I was actually a bit surprised to hear them affirming the NRA party line. So, am I just completely out of touch with this? Colorado, like my home state of Texas, is big on guns, and so God only knows how many people I come in contact with at the grocery store, the post office, etc., who are packing heat. Would this really make me safer in case some deranged person decides to shoot up the produce section at Safeway while I'm picking out tomatoes? I'm wondering also--if the armed forces of the United States, with their sophisticated war machines cannot prevent our soldiers from being killed from "friendly fire", how on earth is the average citizen going to be protected from a Dirty Harry wannabee standing in line at the post office?

So here's a interesting piece from The Explainer at Slate.com. If you're already up on just what to do when facing the possibility of being attacked by a grizzly bear or a mountain lion, then make sure you'd be prepared to know when to fight or fly from a crazy person with a gun.

Prettiness

I regret to say that I wasn't shocked when I heard about the mass murder at Virginia Tech. Grieved, yes, but when in class today and yesterday, I noticed that other people expressed sadness, but everyone seems rather inured to this kind of violence. The flags to go half-mast, the 24 hour news cycle minions go into hyperdrive, George Bush goes on television to express the grief of a nation (but no pondering of why this never happens in say....France, or U.K.), and the requisite parading of testimonials from people who, in the midst of their trauma, are able to spare a few minutes for Good Morning, America. I predict that eventually Oprah will have survivors and parents of victims on her show, that there will be a moment of silence on "Dancing With The Stars", and that there will be an episode of "Law and Order" eerily reminiscent of the VT massacre. This senseless tragedy is made more wretched by media's scripted tragi-tainment that now inevitably follows such an event.

I heard that at today's memorial service, one of the speakers repeated "We will prevail" numerous times which was followed by chanting of "Let's go, Hokies!" If that actually comforted people, then who am I to argue--but I can't help but wonder when people will tire of finding comfort from platitudes delivered by a disingenuous President who serves the gun lobby and admit the outrageous reality that had this young man not had such easy access to a firearm, most or all of his victims would still be alive today.

*****

Well, I'd intended to only mention a few thoughts re the VT tragedy and point out that while people are mourning these losses, the media has taken the time to point out that John Edwards is sort of a girly-man when it comes to his hair. CNN pointed out that "looking pretty" is helping to deplete Edwards' campaign bank account. Not "handsome", but "pretty". Would other male candidate's grooming proclivities ever be described by the more feminine-sounding "pretty?" Did Ann Coulter contribute to this piece?

Connecticut Residents Testify Against Human-Dolphin Marriage

Just in time for them to testify against proposed legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage in Connecticut, certain Mensa member residents mounted these intellectually rigorous objections to sex, particularly sex between women and dolphins. For the destruction of American society and the institution of marriage, you can blame abortion, homosexuality, contraception, fornication, defiance of natural law, and a little somethin' called cultural warming. Hi-larious.

I swear, if I'm ever called upon to testify before any legislative body, I'm going to wear a bag over my head in case I say something stupid and it gets posted on YouTube.

Giant Muffins

I've never really understood the appeal of muffins the size of my head, but this postcard I found over at PostSecret made me laugh remembering the crazy-ass stuff my ex-mother-in-law used to buy me.

Everyone's Favorite Xenophobe

...has just announced his candidate for the presidency.

He has to be from somewhere I guess, but unfortunately he was awarded a congressional salary and benefits by a group of voters in Colorado's 6th Congressional District.

He's all for building the giant wall between the U.S. and Mexico (but not Canada?), and the two biggest threats to the U.S. are"the act of immigration combined with the cult of multiculturalism." "We will never be able to win in the clash of civilizations if we don't know who we are. If Western civilization succumbs to the siren song of multiculturalism, I believe we are finished.”

Colorado is so proud.

Speaking of Assaults to Sensibilities....

How can anyone think a chocolate jesus is any more offensive than this:

Wailing and Ganach-ing of Teeth

Naturally, when I hear the words "chocolate Jesus" and "Christian sensibilities" together, I just have to check it out. Turns out while I've been toiling away in school and internship, some blasphemous creative type carved a nekkid Jesus out of chocolate. Not since a former office-mate cried foul when Baby Jesus was replaced with a Tootsie Roll in her desktop nativity set has such sacrilege been perpetrated. Hailed as "one of the greatest assults on Christian sensibilities EVER (emphasis mine)" by Bill Donohue, himself one of the greatest assaults on rational sensibilities ever, the chocolate work was scheduled to be on display in a Manhattan gallery. It was scheduled, but has now been canceled following a religious candy fatwa issued by Donohue and Cardinal Egan. I guess I just wish that Christian sensibilities were offended to greater degree by assaults on human dignity such as war, poverty, and GW having the gall to salute the Tuskegee Airmen.

I couldn't help but think of Tom Waits' Chocolate Jesus:

When the weather gets rough
And its whiskey in the shade
Its best to wrap your savior
Up in cellophane
He flows like the big muddy
But thats ok
Pour him over ice cream
For a nice parfait

Well its got to be a chocolate jesus
Good enough for me
Got to be a chocolate jesus
Good enough for me

Well its got to be a chocolate jesus
Make me feel good inside
Got to be a chocolate jesus
Keep me satisfied

Politics and Breast Cancer

I was saddened to hear that Elizabeth Edwards is dealing with news that her breast cancer has returned and has metastasized. However, I have mixed feelings about how public discussion is currently centered around how her Stage IV metastatic breast cancer may be regarded as controllable. The article linked above offers potential medical interventions that may help control her disease and hopefully extend her life. This of course would be a wonderful thing--but let's not forget that they enjoy a privilege that millions of middle-class and poor Americans do not--comprehensive health insurance coverage and access to excellent medical care. Women with no insurance or inadequate insurance who present with stage 4 breast cancer with mets will likely be referred to hospice--not to an oncologist who can supervise a regimen of cutting-edge and expensive chemotherapies.

Does anyone else find it positively stunning to hear this type of cancer likened to living with a chronic disease like diabetes? How many women with any type of serious and potentially life-limiting diagnosis can say, "I don't expect my life to be significantly different"? Is she putting on a brave front for her children, her family, her husband's campaign, or is she speaking confidently and without artifice from a place of jaw-dropping but normative privilege and advantage? The truth is that I too have excellent health insurance and would likely have access to treatment for a similiar, if not identical diagnosis (although possibly not the same level of care). It is a reminder of my own privilege.

As much as I wish Elizabeth Edwards well--I think this must be politicized. How this country elects officials who create room in the budget for marriage and other "faith-based initiatives" but see no moral laxity in enormous disparities when it comes to access to health care, education, housing, etc, is beyond me. I'll be greatly disappointed if Mr. and Mrs. Edwards do not "take advantage" of this situation to raise these and other questions in their bid for the White House.

How to know when someone thinks you're Evil

They hold a cleansing ceremony to rid their space of your pernicious self.

Proof that Anyone Can Just Make Shit Up and Market It

Not that we needed any further proof, but I unwittingly came across this idea by someone even less likely than I to win a MacArthur Genius Grant. Don't miss the warning to sinners.

Happy Blog Against Sexism Day

Who knew? So yeah, I'm a'gin it.

first class struggle

I read Firestone's The Dialectic of Sex: The Case for Feminist Revolution when I was a freshman at Baylor University (truly a hotbed of radical feminism) and finished it not really understanding what I'd read, but nonetheless feeling intellectually superior to my peers more interested in sorority teas and identifying which males were more likely to become prominent Texas attorneys. Now, 25 years later all of it still sorta just pisses me off. I do not presently have time to give Firestone another go, but Twisty over at I Blame the Patriarchy is hosting an ongoing Firestone Theater. The discussion threads over there are sometimes hit and miss, but the host offers a provoking jumping-off place. Which is just GREAT for me--what with 5 papers due next week. Check it out.

Part-time postmodern

I am blessed with very smart friends who help elevate the level of discourse that is constantly running in my own head. As prompted by their recent posts, thinking about writing, reading and speaking as betrayal has been putting quite the drain on the electrical currents in my brain. Despite the likely non-existence of a meta-minerva-narrative (no matter what my mother says), I love the idea that with every word I write, read or utter I may be exfoliating my being. But what does it say that I still find myself wondering about Truth? Perhaps it says that my frontal cortex is still recovering from years of Sunday School indoctrination, but I should hope I'm beyond that by now. I once asked a reasonable theologian I know about postmodern hermeneutics, who laughed dismissively and responded that they are inherently contradictory terms. Funny how working with people who are processing what "end-of-life" means brings all this stuff to the fore. Is being a thoroughgoing postmodern a luxury?

Recloseted Homosexuals and the Heterosexuals Who Love Them

So, while CHFOT (Concerned Hetero Friends of Ted) work to mentally and emotionally flagellate Ted Haggard back into the closet, Focus on The Family sponsored a conference in Phoenix in which to heap shame upon a larger group of people at one time and pray away the gay. One young man was dragged there by his parents and commented: "Don't tell my parents but no; I know I'm gay, and like, their stories are really inspiring but I know this is me and I don't really want to change." He evidently resisted despite the compelling speeches by the main plenary speaker (pictured at left), and Robert Chambers, President of Exodus International.

The next conference is being held at as yet undisclosed location in Central Texas:

Ahhhhhhh...the Firmament

How gorgeous is this? The Helix Nebula was photographed by one of NASA's handy-dandy space telescopes. You can view a space-geek heavenly slide show here.

And the Oscar for Most Unrelenting Insipidity Goes To....

The E! Network. Ta-da!

Is it just me, or are the Academy Awards becoming more and more a spectacularly soporofic exercise in boring? Good God--where the hell is Cher? If you couldn't find self-tanner on the shelves this week--you know now where it all went. And Ellen DeGeneres completely disappointed. Miss Nicey-Nice held the Britney Spears jokes and just yapped on about diversity and global warming. Whatever. But don't you know the wingnuts were wailing and gnashing their teeth at the sight of Al Gore on stage more than the host and Melissa Ethridge thanking her wife? And who knew that Dirty Harry speaks I-talian?

Oh Gawd Our Help in Ages Past

If the previous post/link was too much a reminder of the swift nature with which life passes, then here I share something that truly made me laugh today. I do enjoy Eddie Izzard.

Life ......

Is Short

On the Brain

Just an FYI--the Alzheimer's Association has a nifty little online interactive tour about the human brain that is worth a looksee. It also presents how Alzheimer's Disease affects the brain--which is sobering. I'm doing a short internship stint with the Colorado chapter of the Alzheimer's Assocation. If anyone close to you has ever suffered from dementia, you are well acquainted with not only the accompanying stress and grief, but also with broader and deeper philosophical questions about the relationship, integration of, the mind and body. (By the by,there's an interesting piece in a recent New Yorker about a couple who teach philosophy at UC San Diego and focus specifically on mind/body conundrums.)

I had posted back in December about a man in Italy who fought for his own right to die. His story is illustrative of how a sick person who still has mental acuity may have to fight for rights against people with different agendas. How much more so difficulty is it then for a person suffering from dementia and is no longer considered "competent?" I say again to those I love: if you haven't already, execute an advanced directive outlining your wishes!! Do it! Five Wishes is legal in most states (but not in Texas!), but in any case it may be used as a resource. Does your partner or spouse have an advanced directive?Your parents? Your siblings? As someone who works with clients who have dementia--it can be heartbreaking to try to determine what someone may want or not want based upon recollections from family members (who may have contrary agendas of their own) because the person had not put anything in writing.

Stinky Weeds

I had read about this show "Weeds" (on Showtime, I think) about a newly widowed single mom who lives in the California 'burbs, and sells pot to maintain her standard of living. I'd heard it was edgy, hip, irreverant, envelope-pushing, and creative. It is all those things--as long as all of those things add up to a big pile of crap. I wasted two slots in my Netflix queue on this trash. I understand the whole concept of satire, willful suspension of disbelief, etc., but this is a perfect example of why "edgy" doesn't always equal "smart."

Overheard........

Because most everyone is now concerned about their health, the Catholic Church has developed a low-carb, low-fat communion wafer. It is called "I Can't Believe It's Not Jesus"

Jesus was speaking to a crowd and admonished them saying "He who is without sin can cast the first stone." When a rock flew past his ear, he turned his head and said, "Mother, really....."

Warm

Yesterday it was in the 50's and the high today is going to be maybe close to 60! And it isn't supposed to snow again until the weekend! Sophie has grass to pee on again and I can turn the heat off and open the windows. Life is currently on an upswing.

Texas Governor Kicks Cervical Cancer's Ass

Huh. I'm still a bit nonplussed by the news that the governor of Texas, Rick "GoodHair" Perry (the appellation assigned him by the previously eulogized Molly Ivins) has signed an executive order which makes mandatory the vaccination against HPV for all girls in Texas before they enter the 6th grade. I mean...really? Other than the idea of Rick Perry giving two figs about wimmen's health--what is causing the spot on my brain to itch is this:

What would motivate Ricker to go against a large portion of his political base--specifically conservatives who are concerned that a vaccination that might give girls and women one less thing to worry about (cervical cancer) in their patriarchy burdened lives might indeed cause them to get all freaky-deaky and start having sex and stuff. (Thankfully for these concerned folk--there still isn't a vaccine for syphilis, gonorrhea or HIV. God help the youth of America if we don't have the potential acquisition of particularly virulent diseases due to fornication to hold over their heads.)

Well, here's a possible motivation: according to the article linked above, Perry "Perry has ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company's three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry's former chief of staff. His current chief of staff's mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government.
The governor also received $6,000 from Merck's political action committee during his re-election campaign." The vaccine ain't cheap--the three shot series costs about $360. Hey--don't get me wrong--I'm grateful that a vaccine has been developed that truly may benefit women--but just think of the windfall to Merck (and others) if receiving it is made mandatory! How big of a coinkydink is it then that Texas is the first state to have this policy put in place? Am I the only one who smells somethin' funky?

I'm still working out in my own brain what I think about this as mandated policy--but the cynic and skeptic part of me is suspicious of the motivations of a person who is normally a champion of policies that limit womankind's autonomy. Call me crazy.

Adieu, Molly Ivins

Molly Ivins died yesterday. She referred to her love of our home state of Texas as a "harmless perversion," and I've always felt a kinship with her just for that. She was a reminder that people like Rick Perry and George W. Bush do not represent all of Texas, but as time went on Ms. Ivins become more and more the proverbial voice crying out in the desert.

This is a woman who suggested Bill Moyers be tagged to run for President, and in what I believe was her final column, she called for an end to the war and repeated one of her most common themes--that the American people are the true seat of power--and we're not exercising that power nearly enough.

Her columns projected the outrage felt by liberals and progressives in Texas and beyond--whether it be about George Bush, the plight of the poor in our militantly agressive capitalist society or the freak show that is Texas politics--and she did it without resorting to meanness. She didn't fit, nor did she ever attempt to conform to Texas big-hair beauty queen standards of beauty and was openly and flagrantly a woman with an intellectual life in a state that deplores intellectualism in general and finds it especially repugnant in women.

I will miss her voice.

I Chant the Body Electric....all the Way to Hell

In the ever-lengthening list of things that godduggery wails and gnashes its teeth about, add teaching children yoga in public schools. Perhaps not as earth-shattering as finding out that Tinky-Winky is a big 'ol purse-toting homo, it seems though that all that mandatory chanting while stretching the body into sexually suggestive positions is tantamount to teaching Hindu in public schools and thereby violating constitutionally mandated separation of church and state. Of course, we all know how the religious right cherishes the establishment clause.

I wonder if it is really about promoting the religious beliefs of those hell-bound Hindus and not the focus that is placed on the human body (so prone to sin as it is). Just the names given to different yoga poses might cause some twitterpation in the heart and body of the chaste: Downward-facing Dog, Standing Straddle Forward Bend, Goddess Pose, Four-Limbed Staff Pose.

The benefits of introducing yoga into a public school phys-ed program include: reducing childhood obesity, calming students who suffer from ADD or ADHD, increasing flexibility and strength. Downside? Even "yoga lite" (stripped of pose names, chanting, referring to yogic breathing as "bunny breathing" etc) "goads young people into exploring other religions and mysticism."

However, fear not! Check out this Christian alternative to yoga.

The Beneficence of Baby Banning

I've long been of the opinion that in particular situations, children should be seen and not heard (and in some instances being out of sight is preferable as well), but in my book, the top three are: 1) movie theatres; 2) restaurants; and 3) airplanes. I still have flashbacks to an execrable flight in which a small child shrieked like a howler monkey for an unacceptably long portion of a 10-hour flight. If there was ever justification for some sort of juvenile sedative, that was it.

However, recently a small child obligingly tormented her parents and fellow passengers while the the plane was still parked at the gate, refusing to get in her seat and thereby delaying take-off. After a 15 minute delay, the airline removed the offending toddler and her parents. I tip my hat to AirTrans, who took action despite the realization that that they'd quite possibly get some negative push-back from those who believe that the world revolves around their ill-mannered progeny. True, the child might've been frightened, and I'm not completely devoid of compassion (don't laugh) for parents in that situation. Nonetheless, mini-vans exist for a reason.

Tortillas vs. WalMart and Ethanol

I don't recall if I knew that Wal-Mart was the largest employer in Mexico or not, but according to a story on NPR yesterday, the soulless succubus retailer may also be a lot, or at least partially, responsible for the increasing cost of tortillas in Mexico. Other possible explanations include the high demand for yellow corn for ethanol production in the US, NAFTA-created unfair conditions in which Mexican growers have difficulty competing with US subsidized corn producers, and price gouging that may have resulted from monopolistic practices by large Mexican growers. According to the story, the average Mexican eats 10 tortillas a day, and with price increases at times as high as 50%, there's little doubt as to who will reap a windfall, and who will have to dig a bit deeper.

This sort of story just makes me nash my teeth in anger and frustration.

Why Don't They Just Brand Women With A Hot Iron And Get It Over With?

I remember all too well how easy it was for me to take my ex-husband's last name when we married--and what a nightmare it was to change it back when we split. It turns out the groom open to acknowledging that the woman taking her man's name is an outmoded patriarchal remnant has similiar difficulty if he wants to take his wife's last name.

Only a handful of states have made the process equal. When I married in Texas a lifetime ago, all I had to do was check a little box indicating I was allowing myself to be branded as my husband's property and that was that! Check out the requirements for a man in California who wants to take his wife's last name. Among other things, he must appear before a judge who will than likely question is manhood and caution him against the dangers of being "whipped."

NEVER AGAIN!!!

Please Contact Blog Author for Permission to Cite

I began a new academic term a week ago, and one instructor went to great pains to impress upon us the importance of proper (and in our case, APA) citation in our written work. Suffice it to say, she stopped short of suggesting that we would likely have no original thought, and should cite accordingly. I didn't give it much further thought after class as this is an area in which I'm quite diligent.

That is, until a few days later brought the arrival of the new Harper's. Two pieces in the Februrary issue are worth a read. The first, On The Rights of Molotov Man: Appropriation and the Art of Context (Joy Garnett and Susan Meiselas) concerns contextualization and decontextualization of an image (in this case a photograph) and how at times the subject of a certain image and context may be lost in the midst of lawyers arguing over intellectual property and copyright laws. The second, The Ecstasy of Influence (by Jonathan Lethem) discusses the conflicts within art, culture and the marketplace--what he describes as a "gift economy" and the "market economy." He states that "Contemporary copyright, trademark, and patent law is presently corrupted. The case for perpetual copyright is a denial of the essential gift-aspect of the creative act. Arguments in its favor are as un-American as those for the repeal of the estate tax." Now, my instructor mentioned earlier would no doubt caution me to not apply any notions I have regarding art, the public doman and the public good to social science research. And, she'd have a point. Nonetheless, all of this has me all in a tither and I'm interested in the thoughts of others on these subjects.

I recently spent about $30 for a DVD box set of old Looney Tunes cartoons just so I could share a piece of what I consider one of the most brilliant moments in American culture (tongue only partly in cheek here): Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny in "What's Opera, Doc?" Of course I will now at some point have to drag them to Siegfried, if not the entire Ring cycle at some point, so they will have a greater appreciation of Elmer Fudd's sword and magic helmet, and Bugs Bunny as Brunhilde. I look at Bugs, Yosemite Sam, Sylvester, et al, as cultural gifts, dammit, and people shouldn't have to fork over $$ for an entire box set to have access. However, Mr. Lethem reports that ASCAP is still receiving royalties for Happy Birthday to You, 114 years after it was written. So, I suspect Bugs will not be entering the public domain any time soon.

I don't know exactly why I find the subject so fascinating--but I've just picked up Richard Posner's book, The Little Book of Plagiarism, so it isn't a subject I'm ready to let go of just yet. Posner is a judge on the 7th Circuit known for his pragmatism. I'll attempt to summarize his take on all of this at a later time.

Junk Mail

Not even a week into the New Year, and I've already received an e-mail from a friend urging me to sign a petition in support of bringing prayer back into public schools and that a posse of godless liberals are lobbying the FCC to prohibit religious programming of any kind over our airwaves. Did the State take control of public airwaves in the country while I was on break, or isn't it still the case that any wingnut can buy airtime and proclaim his or her godduggery to any and all that has the stomach to listen? Oh, and evidently some show called "Touched by and Angel" was cancelled because it was about God--not because it was a cringe-inducing, treacly and platitudinous steaming pile of crap.

Now, this friend who sent me the e-mail is as lovely and well-meaning as a person can be, but I fear that she may be like many lovely and well-meaning Christians who hear claptrap like "the Constitution was based on the 10 Commandments" and believe it to be true. So, I couldn't just delete the thing and let it go. Instead, I spent 15 minutes of my life that I'll never get back crafting a delicately worded rebuttal to the following e-mail bilge--the godless liberal that I am.

For your reading pleasure: the unedited text of the afore mentioned bilge:

Subject: Fw: Prayer in Schools.....!!!!!
Subject: Dr. Dobson and CBS ResponseDr. Dobson & CBS Response

Apparently we are to be allowed to watch TV programs that use every foul word in the English language, but not the word "God." It will only take a minute to read this and see if you think you should send it out DR. DOBSON'S PLEA FOR ACTION CBS discontinued "Touched by an Angel" for using the word God in every program. Madeline Murray O'Hare, an atheist, successfully managed to eliminate the use of Bible reading from public schools a few years ago. Now her organization has been granted a federal hearing on the same subject by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Washington, DC. Their petition, Number 2493, would ultimately pave the way to stop the reading of the gospel, our Lord and Savior, on the airwaves of America. They got 287,000 signatures to back their stand! If this attempt is successful, all Sunday worship services being broadcast on the radio or by television will be stopped. This group is also campaigning to remove all Christmas programs and Christmas carols from public schools! You as a Christian can help! We are praying for at least 1 million signatures. This would defeat their effort and show that there are many Christians alive, well and concerned about our country. As Christians we must unite on this. Please don't take this lightly. We ignored this lady once and lost prayer in our school and in offices across the nation Please stand up for your religious freedom and let your voice be heard. Together we can make a difference in our country while creating a way for the lost to know the Lord. Please press "forward", and forward this to everyone that you think should read this. Now, please sign your name at the bottom ( you can only add your name after you have pressed the "Forward"). Don't delete any other names, just go to the next number and type your name and state. Please defeat this organization and keep the right of our freedom of religion. REMEMBER: Our country was founded on freedom of religion and our Constitution is based on the 10 Commandments. Agree or Delete: Instructions to sign are at the bottom. PETITION FOR PRESIDENT BUSH PETITION TO REINSTATE PRAYER IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS:

(I f you don't forward the petition and just stop it, we will lose all these names. If you do not want to sign it, please forward it to everyoneyou know. Thank you!!! To add your name, click on "forward". You will be able to add your name atthe bottom of the list and then forward it to your friends. Or copy & paste. TO THE 3,000TH PERSON: SEND IT ON TO THE FOLLOWING E-MAIL ADDRESS: President@WhiteHouse.gov

It Is About How You Live

I've spent the last several months in a palliative care setting--as a social work intern--not as a patient--and it provides more than frequent opportunities to think about living, dying, grieving, how illness affects the body and spirit, not to mention the "well" people who care for the dying, exactly how broad the term "quality of life" really is, and the different ways people express feelings of fear, hope, anticipation, sadness, pain,etc., when faced with death.

I have been very moved and affected by the life and death of Piergiorgio Welby, an Italian man who lived with muscular dystrophy all of his adult life and then fought for his right to die. In a letter to Italy's President, he wrote that "Life is the woman who loves you, the wind through your hair, the sun on your face, an evening stroll with a friend. Life is also a woman who leaves you, a rainy day, a friend who deceives you. " Read the letter in full here. Welby died on December 20th, 2006, after receiving assistance from a physician who agreed to turn off the machines keeping Welby alive. This physician may face a criminal charge because of this. Never forget that there are those who seek to impose their own values and agendas upon people in death as well as life.

Working with dying people has prompted me to think more daily about how I live. This will be a year of change for me--hopefully it will also be about personal growth, increased insight, and opportunities to be an effective advocate for myself and others.