October 22, 2006
Nip and Tuck
By TONI BENTLEY

By Alex Kuczynski.

October 15, 2006
Editorial
Guilty Until Confirmed Guilty

When President Bush rammed the bill on military commissions through Congress, the Republicans crowed about creating a process that would be tough on terrorists but preserve essential principles of justice. "America can be proud," said Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the bill's architects.

October 15, 2006
To Be Married Means to Be Outnumbered
By SAM ROBERTS

Married couples, whose numbers have been declining for decades as a proportion of American households, have finally slipped into a minority, according to an analysis of new census figures by The New York Times.

A year ago 1 October I joined one of my local gyms (the closest one to me that provides childcare) and started exercising on a regular basis.

Well, actually, I went and joined, then I went over to the sporting goods store and bought myself a pair of sneakers (I did not have *any* -- how's THAT for a lifestyle indicator?!) and THEN I started working out regularly.

October 1, 2006
Thoughtless
Hitting a Self-Destruct Button
By MARK LEIBOVICH

WASHINGTON

POLITICS incubates all manner of gaffe, scandal and humiliation, and then there are those rarified doozies that become classics at I.M. speed.

...Bethanie?

Indeed, the hills of NE Georgia are alive with the sound of "music."

I attended my first ukulele band practice session today -- and BOY was it FUN!!

I had bought a baritone uke a week ago Friday, but hadn't gotten around to practicing with it at all, so I went into this gathering COMPLETELY clueless as to what I was doing.

Inspired by Fun Guy's mention of his dog Fezzig (which is SUCH a totally awesome name for a dog!!) I thought I'd put the question out there: What are (or were, if deceased) your animals' names?

I'm sure that among this group we'll have some awesome ones. :-)

Or at least I cut my lawn like one.*

But wait... Would a hippie even *have* a lawn? I'd think that letting things just grow wild and natural, maybe with a big ole human-waste-composted garden and a nice, lush stand of pot off to the side somewhere would be more of the "true" hippie style. A nice, green, sodded lawn would be just too... suburban.

...But I know what I like when I hear it.

So I usually don't write much about music. I think that it's one of those things like politics or religion... everyone has their own beliefs and their own opinions, and while they might make for an interesting exercise in comparison and contrast, it's not as if the discussion is going to be productive or anything.

These are the songs that I'm burning for my students. Just thought it might be fun to share with a bit of annotation.

Track 1: Livin' La Vida Loca (from Shrek 2)
Artist: Eddie Murphy / Antonio Banderas
Starting off with something I expect them to at least be familiar with. Personally, I think this version rocks WAY more than the original -- and there's just a touch of Spanish for fun.

So guess what.

I got a job.

Yeah. That's right. I'm not a desperately attention-starved nympho housewife anymore.

I'm a desperately attention-starved nympho teacher of English as a Second Language instead!

For a variety of reasons, I decided that it was time to get back into the job market, to refresh my skills, to do something that would actually be recognized by society as *productive* for a change.

Yes indeedy doodly, I DID go see Snakes on a Plane! last night, 'cause, well, it was an opportunity that presented itself and I was prepared to take it and make the most of it.

I looooooves you!!!

Can I have your babies (in the sense of, "I really don't want to have any more kids, but for you, I would")?

So maybe some of you uber special geeks can give me an idea of what the fuck is going wrong with the touchpad on my laptop now.

All of a sudden, it's not as responsive as it's supposed to be. It'll work OK, and then hang up for one to three seconds or so. And to wake it up again, I have to move it either to the left or up or down -- can't go directly to the right from its narcoleptic state.

Voila:

Neutral Good Half-Elf Druid Mage
Follower Of Mielikki

Alignment:
Neutral Good characters believe in the power of good above all else. They will work to make the world a better place, and will do whatever is necessary to bring that about, whether it goes for or against whatever is considered 'normal'.