So, a post on someone else’s blog got me thinking about change.
Look, liberals, we got it all wrong. We’re making movies that preach to the choir. People interested in seeing this movie are already people who know racism is bad. The people who need their opinions updated are going to read about this movie, scoff and not go see it. We’re protesting in the streets. Do you think a slightly unwashed college dude in flannel tossing a garbage can around is going to effect a change? He might change the riot police guy’s mind about just how hard to crack that baton when he gets the chance. The sum total effect of a candlelight vigil is that at the end of the night, a lot of candles were burned, tears were shed and far too many people hugged. Do the people in Washington say “hey, you know, these people sat quietly with candles and hugged…I bet they mean business”.
We’re not doing the right things. This happy feel good, unfocused energy is being wasted. Certainly there are grassroots efforts that do help. Get The Vote Out helped to make a difference, voting numbers were good. Educating the populace and voting into office people who will effect the changes you want to see will help. But it’s not enough.
There’s a lesson to be learned. Who holds sway in DC? How much does change the Sierra Club affect? Naral? Planned Parenthood? The Humane Society? Some but not much. Now think about big oil, tobacco, the beef industry! They control public policy and they do it well. Why? Straight up cash money. You don’t see the guys at Exxon throwing their trash cans around to get their way with congress. Philip Morris would not be where they are today if the execs stood outside the White House wasting candles.
Beef would NOT be what’s for dinner if they made movies that only really appealed to cattle ranchers.
It’s the way of the world, people and the world revolves around cash. Patchouli and flannel is fine on the weekends, but it’s not really going to work in the real world.
Monthly Archives: December 2005
I want too much
As I mentioned earlier, Alex gave me the first season of Lost for Christmas and I have been watching religiously this weekend. Man, it really draws you in, but I have to say, it’s a good thing I have this on DVD. I’m far too impatient to watch it on tv. I’d only get irritated if I was made to wait every week for answers. Screw that. I have no patience.
DVD is the way to go.
I love Hurley, I totally do. I want to love Sayid, but you know, the whole torture thing. I don’t care if you feel bad. You shook the devil’s hand. Period.
My thoughts on Intelligent Design? “Life is too complex to have just evolved” = “I am uneducated and things seem too complicated for me to understand so obviously it had to be god and not the science I never bothered to learn”. Asspipes. Just because you never managed to learn things doesn’t mean our children should be subjected to your made up theories.
I need to wrap presents and maybe clean some stuff and put out some holiday cheer. I’m not much for decoration, so you wouldn’t even know the holidays were coming except for all the Target bags and Amazon.com wrapping paper from the gifts I got from people. I have not yet mailed my christmas cards because Stamps.com hasn’t sent my stamps yet. I’ll send them late if I have to. I’m not sending them with boring stamps when I can send them with Ghengis stamps. Hurry up, Stamps.com!
I got nothing else. Today was one of those slow thought days. I’m desperately tired, I need sleep in the worst way. My whole body is dragging. Tonight to bed earlier.
dirty
Yesterday, at the grocery store I was buying the required yogurts which I am supposed to add to my diet as the doctor freaked at how little calcium I ingested compared to how much acidic stuff I took in (lots of strong coffee and tea and usually one diet coke a day). Eventually, my bones will turn rubbery and my heart will beat erratically and I will die.
So I am on a strict regiment of calcium pills (okay I only take one a day, not the 2 she recommended) and I am to add yogurt to my daily diet to start adding calcium. I am supposed to also be adding cheese, but then we start getting into very expensive territory for me.
So, as I said, I was getting my yogurts for the week, most of them being the Blue Bunny Light 85 fat free/sugar free varieties to keep my caloric intake down. Of course, explaining to David was immediately followed with a query to him, “DO YOU LIKE EGG NOG?????”. So obviously I am not all that serious about the calorie thing.
Down the aisle they had the special, organic, hippie, moon yogurts. The Stonyfield Farms Fat Free Chocolate Underground yogurt was there! Wooo. This is good stuff, it’s like ‘fruit on the bottom’ yogurt except it’s more like ‘pudding on the bottom’, chocolate pudding!
But here’s the problem. Whenever I read the name “Chocolate Underground” I imagine the marketing dude in charge of naming the products. He did a great job with Banilla, that’s a great name for something, but chocolate underground? I’m pretty sure this guy and his assistant did…something… the night before, made a joke, “dude, we tunneled the chocolate underground” laughed really hard and then went to work the next day. As an inside joke and a gift to his assistant, he slapped the name on the yogurt and the rest is cooler case history.
It’s what I imagine happened. I could be wrong.
jackass evolved
Ghengis was a rambunctious puppy, an energetic bundle too muscular for his size, too compact for his output. Of course, all puppies have more energy than you can deal with, but Ghengis’ energy combined with his smaller size and concentrated muscles made him a force to be reckoned with. He was 9 months old when I first started dating David, he was at the height of his ‘pain in the assedness’ and that combined with his jealousy at this new person taking over his position as my special little guy.
It took some months, but he calmed down.
Now he’s a chill little fella who cuddles with me when I crochet, allows his stuffed toys to exist longer than 32 minutes, sometimes they live up to 8 or 12 days! Sometimes he naps with them. I suspect he does this just because he knows it will cause me to squeal with delight and shower him with little puppy kisses.
I spend too much time analyzing my dogs. I wish you could see them now, full bellied on Purina One, curled up together on the sofa next to me as I prepare to embark on another baby blanket to scarf conversion adventure.
ring ring ring
god I hate my phone.
I’m about 3/4 done with my christmas shopping, the only stuff left is internet purchases (which should have been done first) and exchanging some stuff. Dinner is on the 23rd, bouillabaisse. I’m trying to keep the season under control, dinners on these days, quiet these days, etc. David leaves the 26th for New Orleans and I fly out after him on the 28th. Last year he left almost a week before I did and I missed him terribly, but then when I saw him at the airport it was like I’d explode with happy. Nice that.
I’m crocheting like mad, making scarves. I’ve learned a few new stitches and I’m happily making cables on one scarf! I’ve been modifying baby blanket patterns into scarves. Crazy? maybe. But it’s working.
Got lots of presents so far! YAY! Watching the first season of Lost courtesy of Alex. Now I can be up on the conversations of my friends and coworkers. Of course it might not be the best thing to watch when you have a plane crash phobia and your anxiety levels are getting high! Funny thing is, I fly all the time, fly all over the country, generally I am not so afraid anymore when I am on the plane, but even now, seeing a plane crash on tv or the aftermath of one, I can feel my chest tighten and my stomach roll and my heart race. When planes crash they fall and I despise the sensation of falling more than just about anything. Of course also there is the impact and the crashing and tearing and burning and death and all.
But, all that considered, it’s good so far.
I don’t have much else. there’s a small brown dog curled up against me, another brown dog sleeping on her bed, and a boy playing a zombie game.