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The Right to Choose
(image found here) So there’s all of this fuss right now about Todd Akin’s asinine comment about how if a woman were ‘legitimately raped’ (vs. what, date raped? Raped by her husband? Asshat.), her body would put up its defenses, making pregnancy impossible, and thus, no need to feel badly for the poor woman who might be coming in for an abortion, because, clearly, she is a slut and needs to honor the life of the unborn child before her own. She was not raped. At least, not legitimately. This is a strawman that covers the main issue. The main issue is, can I get an abortion if I want…
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Celeste and Jesse Forever
Celeste and Jesse are best friends, and have been for decades. They adore each other, and want to spend every waking moment in each other’s company. Their time is full of inside jokes and laughter. They took the advice to marry your best friend, which it turns out, isn’t always the best idea. So now, they’re getting a divorce. But they’re clinging mightily to their friendship, unwilling to spend time apart or admit to anyone that they shouldn’t be together every minute of every day. Of course, they need to figure some things out. They need to figure out how to be friends and not be married anymore. Or actually,…
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2 Days in New York
We went to see 2 Days in New York in Berkeley on Saturday, on our way home from Santa Cruz (which was lovely, by the way). If you’re a fan of Julie Delpy, then you should see (first) 2 Days in Paris, and (now) 2 Days in New York. I adore Delpy in the “Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset” films, where she talks talks talks and is charming and French and lovely. In “2 Days in Paris” and “2 Days in New York”, she is more wacky and insane…or, more accurately, somewhat, almost sane, in a family of insanity. In “2 Days in Paris”, she is a Parisian (Marion) living…
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Blogthings Saturday
This is a “just-in-case” type of post. I vowed to post every day this week, and such stupid vows sometimes produce stupid posts. It’s a fact of life. I’m writing this on Friday morning, and the plan is to go to Santa Cruz today, see The Fixx perform on the beach tonight, stay the night, and see where Saturday takes us. So I’m sure I can post something on Sunday, but I’m just not sure that I’ll be on a computer Saturday, and I kind of think that’s a good thing. I was trolling my own blog, and found a post from ‘blogthings’ from back in 2007, which I had…
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In Defense of Average
When did ‘average’ become a bad word? To call your child average is an insult, as would be to call yourself average, your marriage average, your dinner average. From Merriam-Webster, “a level (as of intelligence) typical of a group, class, or series <above the average>” Even the dictionary can’t settle for average, they have to say, “above average”. If average is what most people are, then at some point, we have to admit that most of us are average, and to deny that is to set yourself up for disappointment and failure. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that it’s best to settle in and get totally comfortable and…
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Thursday 13
Trying to think of a quick blog post for today, before I run out the door. 🙂 So here it is, 13 Things I did (or shall do) on my Summer Vacation. Graphic from the ‘official’ Thursday 13 page. Getting my hair done today. Took Maya to the airport yesterday for her first solo flight…to L.A. to visit her cousin. I hope she has a GREAT time. Went to visit Cherry and her new baby, Jacob, and her old baby (2 year old) Elizabeth. They live near the airport, so that was a two-fer. Mailed some packages I didn’t have time to mail before now. Did some work. Not much,…
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Provencal Tuna Melt
I saw this recipe on Yahoo Shine a few weeks ago, and I was compelled to try it. (They got the recipe here, which is also where I got the drool worthy photo.) It just seemed like the perfect meal for a hot summer day, when you don’t want anything too heavy, and you don’t want to heat up your house. You do use the broiler, but for such a short time, it doesn’t heat the kitchen up very much. Provençal Tuna Melt Serves 2 1 6-ounce can tuna packed in olive oil* 1/4 of a red bell pepper, 1/4″ dice Green parts of 2 scallions, 1/4″ dice 2 teaspoons…
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Canada
First, I’ll tell about the robbery our parents committed. Then about the murders, which happened later. The robbery is the more important part, since it served to set my and my sister’s lives on the courses they eventually followed. Nothing would make complete sense without that being told first. Our parents were the least likely two people in the world to rob a bank. They weren’t strange people, not obviously criminals. No one would’ve though they were destined to end up the way they did. They were just regular – although, of course, that kind of thinking became null and void the moment they did rob a bank. Richard Ford…
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Monday Meme
As you know, I’m trying to blog every day this week, while I’m on vacation, to see how it feels to be more active in the blogging community again. I’m also trying to spend a bit more time reading blogs, and seeing how that feels again. Thus far, I’m enjoying it. It’s kind of like the first time you jump in a swimming pool after a long cold winter, and you think, “Oh yeah, I KNEW I liked this…I wonder why I stopped?” This is a meme I saw over at Simon Says. Simon is another blogger that I’ve met in person…he and his lovely wife Paola and their three…
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My Hometown
Whilst dining with Heidi yesterday, she asked me about Walnut Creek, where I live now. I said, “Well, it’s bland (aka, mostly white), and if you want to live in the suburbs, you have to choose between the yuppies and the rednecks…so we chose the yuppies.” Driving home afterward, I started thinking that maybe I wasn’t being quite fair. I don’t think of Walnut Creek as my home town, because I came here as an adult, when I was 30. But I moved a lot as a child, and really, I’ve lived here longer than anywhere else. I lived in Fairbanks for 5 years. I lived in Stockton for 11…
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Bloggy Friendships
There are different relationships in blogging. There are people whose goal it is to get as many comments as they can get (and there’s a hint of that desire in all of us, I suspect), so they go out and leave tons of comments everywhere. They do Wordless Wednesday and Book Reviews and all sorts of things where you leave your link so others can find you, and hopefully leave a comment. There is nothing wrong with this kind of blogging. I’ve participated in Wordless Wednesday and Book Review blogs myself, and really enjoyed it. But for me, that’s not where the lasting relationships, the real online friendships, are born.…
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Friday Randomness
Wow, it’s been a month since my last post. That’s crazy. Life hasn’t been that crazy lately, so I don’t know what to tell you. Anyway, no one cares why I’m NOT writing, so instead we’ll try a little Friday Randomness instead, and see if I can come up with something. I’m reading a really good book right now, which I’ll tell you about when I finish it. How’s that for unsatisfying? I have a stupid sinus headache right now that tortured me all night. Why the heck didn’t I get up and take something for it? Why try to sleep through it and hope it will go away? I…
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Monday Randomness
Last week was Ted and my 19th wedding anniversary (link is to Ted’s blog, where you can see a slideshow if you’re interested….we look so YOUNG to me). It seems so strange that so many years have gone by, and yet I still sometimes feel 27. But then I look at my pictures, at my face in the mirror, and I think, oh yeah, I’m not 27 anymore. Oh well. We had a lovely day. We started off by driving to Muir Woods for a hike, with a pit-stop in Sausalito for sandwiches. We saw a segment on Check, Please, Bay Area about a deli counter in a little market,…
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Ray of Sunshine meme
I haven’t done a meme in a long time. Perhaps years. I found this one at The Spectacled Bean. 🙂 The rules are as follows: 1. Thank the person who gave me this award; 2. Answer the questions below – its all about favorite things; 3. Pass on the award to other sunshine-y bloggers and tell them about it. 1. The Thank You Thank you Ally Bean for this one. I’ve been following her blogs for years now. She has a lot of common sense, combined with a whimsical and caring heart. A wonderful combination in a person…I wish we could meet in real life, over iced tea or a…
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Moonrise Kingdom
Sam Shakusky (Jared Gilman) and Suzy Bishop (Kara Hayward), are in love, and will move heaven and earth to be together. The fact that they’re only 12 makes the logistics a little difficult, but not horribly. Suzy lives on a fictional New England island, with her parents (Frances McDormand and Bill Murray) and siblings. Sam comes to the island every summer with his scout troop. They fell in love at first sight, and planned a getaway via mail, so they could get to know each other better. I don’t want to tell you more than that about the plot of the film, because I really liked not knowing anything going…