28 Paws and 2 Feet

The Mourner's Kaddish

2010-11-10T00:49:00.000-08:00

Another wonderful BBC program is called "Heart and Soul" - where it explores different religions and spiritual traditions across the world. They originally aired this program a while back, but aired it again tonight so I decided to share. I am not Jewish, but the lore behind the Kaddish prayer is very interesting, and not only that, it also appears to be a wonderful tool for people to cope with grief. Anyway - the program is worth listening to if you are into spiritual things, to better understand other faiths and practices. It's about 25 minutes, and you can listen online. Anyway - enjoy!

BBC Heart and Soul - The Mourner's Kaddish

My Ode to Coffee

2010-11-09T20:25:00.000-08:00

To say that I am addicted to Coffee would be an understatement. In my house, I always have at least 4 different types of coffees, along with an espresso machine, a french press and of course a Senseo. Even with all of that, I still manage to spend over $200 a month at Starbucks on lattes. Yes I know - many people say that Starbucks coffee is not real gourmet coffee, but to be perfectly honest, gourmet or not, it tastes a lot better than most other coffees.

I have tried Seattle's best coffee, and it was too acidic. How do I know this? Because after I drank it, I was almost ill and had heartburn (which I rarely ever have). Caribou coffee is ok, but their decaf is terrible - it tastes like Seattle's Best. Locally here we have Dilworth Coffee, and while their local house blend and decaf is delicious, their espresso leaves MUCH to be desired - too acidic and not strong enough. I have also tried Gevalia, which is decent but not very flavorful and let's be frank, if I wanted to drink coffee flavored water, I would use a coffee maker (yuk).

So - with all of that, Starbucks remains number one for me - be it a sin or not, I love their stuff. Although with all of the love I feel for Starbucks (and believe me when I tell you that it is a lot of love), I can safely say that I was very disappointed on their new "Via" product. It was launched a few months back, and they had all this hype online and at the store. Every time I went in, they offered it to me, with a smile and the endorsement of "it's the best thing ever". So - since I love Starbucks so much, I decided to try it. I can safely say that It is not the best thing ever - perhaps it is slightly better than a shot to the forehead or an eye-punch but definitely nowhere near the vicinity of best thing. It tastes like instant coffee, because - wait for it - it actually is instant coffee! DUH!

So with all the love I have for Starbucks, I have to say that I would much rather them just play down the hype and continue to serve good Fair Trade Coffee. I also wanted to share a hilarious video my friend Jo Anne posted on Facebook about Starbucks sizes - if you want a good laugh, its worth watching. Although I have to say my problem is generally opposite of this chick - I walk into non-Starbucks stores trying to order Starbucks sizes only to be greeted by unhappy people who tell me, "this is not Starbucks."

I love NPR

2010-11-05T04:35:00.000-07:00

There are too many reasons to list here why it is that I love NPR. Not just the newsy part of it, but also all of the programs as well as the BBC. One of my favorite programs is StoryCorps - I cannot count the number of times it has either had me laughing my butt off on something really quirky, crying at something sad or even just glowing at hearing uplifting stories from others. Well this morning, the story was about a daughter remembering growing up with a mother with schizophrenia - it was wonderful and made me smile. I wanted to pass it along, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did:

Growing Up With A Schizophrenic Mom

Onwards

2010-11-05T00:29:00.000-07:00

As promised I will shush about politics - although it does annoy me that you can't turn on the radio for 2 seconds without hearing election crap. I am already disgusted - why can't I sit alone in the dark with my disgust without being poked every 2 minutes with a dissection of what happened? All I can say is thank the gods for the BBC!!

Anyway - I will now talk about TV. Mainly I will post on the latest show I caught up with - The Vampire Diaries. I bought the DVD set mainly for 3 reasons - one it's about vampires and I love the topic, two it has Ian Somerhalder in it and you just can't go wrong with eye candy, and three several friends really like the show. I will say that until Episode 8 in Season 1 this show blows. I know that they are trying to establish a baseline for a "timeless love" that Stefan and Elena will share, but the narration from the diaries just come of whinny (with lots of "oh I am so sad and I want him" and "Oh I am so broody and I want her" back and forth - it seemed to go on forever at times).

However, I do have to say that once you get past that, around episode 9 (162 Candles), the show starts to get good. The storyline stars to unravel and the relationship between Damon and Stefan gets really interesting. It amazes me that a guy like Ian who is basically eye candy, can actually still act fairly well. Stefan's character is basically "Angel 2" and he is all broody and depressed all the time, but the Damon character is well written and well acted. So all in all - I finished season 1 and found myself going to the CW website to catch up on some Season 2 Episodes. So, if you can sit through the first 8 episodes, I think the rest of the show is worth watching - that is my vote =)

I do have to say that the fans are a bit annoying - I went to check out some fan sites last night. Every time I turn around I see "Oh but its nothing like the book - or - Oh it doesn't match this from the book", which is essentially more whining. For people who love to read - that is awesome. Read the books and enjoy them - however, understand that a film/tv medium is not the same thing as the book. To keep comparing it to the books is just stupid and makes you sound like an elitist prick. No, you don't sound smart and well read which I believe is the reason for the soap box whine-a-thon - you sound like someone who is incapable of understanding and appreciating anything other than books. If you love your books so much, well then - read and stop watching movies and TV. And this goes not just for this show - but for everything else. If you can't enjoy it because its not as close to the books as you would like, then go read more books and stop ruining it for the rest of us with a shallow brain who can appreciate pretty pictures!

Wow - I didn't mean to rant - but considering how close we still are to the election I am going to blame my bad mood on that. Yeah - that's it - its the Tea Party's fault! Yeah that's it...

Stupid Politics

2010-11-04T04:53:00.000-07:00

I have often stayed away from politics - for the simple reason that I believe that every person's beliefs are their own. Politics and religion are dangerous topics, because arguments can ensue, feelings can be hurt and there are generally no winners. As I said before many times, you cannot win an argument of opinion - this is a fact. Why is this? For the simple reason that everyone has an opinion, and no matter how much each of us think our opinions are based on facts, they remain still an opinion. Opinions can never be wrong - therefore arguments over opinions and beliefs are pointless.

With that said, I would like to dive into my own opinion of politics. I warn all of you - that I am 100% right. And why is that? Because it is my opinion - and its based on facts as I interpret them - so I cannot be wrong. If you disagree with me - then goody for you - look at that you have an opinion too! So if you don't care about politics or if you think your opinion is totally right and everyone who disagrees with you should die a horrible fiery death, then stop reading right now. This is probably my first and last political post - so feel free to skip it.

I registered to vote in my early 20's. Politics then was so unimportant to me, that I basically selected a party by closing my eyes and seeing where in the paper my pen landed. There we go - republican. Like many young people, I felt that voting was "stupid" and "uncool". Mainly in all honesty, I lacked the motivation to do any research in politics. All politicians are corrupt and so it does not matter who we elect to office. This was a comforting belief.

In my early 30's, with the age of responsibility setting in, I felt a twinge or a need to maybe make sure that I wasn't siding with a party that was voting in Hitler or something. Mind you - I was a REGISTERED Republican, but I had never actually voted - well because I was holding on to the belief of stupid it all was. When guilt hit, I did a little bit of research - and by that, I read a 4 line article. What I got from that, is that Republicans were for governments not interfering with people's lives and Democrats were somehow donkeys. Yes - I had definitely made the right choice - I didn't want to be a donkey.

So when the whole Clinton fiasco happened, I was first of all proud myself for never having voted, being totally reaffirmed in my belief that politics was stupid (that followed by "why the hell would that chick have sex with that man - ewww!"). After Clinton's 8 years, I paid little attention to the Presidential election - whoever got in there had to be better than Clinton, right? Right.

So then, somewhere along the line, George W. Bush got elected. My first thought was "I thought a president needed to be capable of at least uttering complete sentences," followed by "he is so ugly I doubt an intern will sleep with him". All was well in my world. Then 9/11 happened, and along with the rest of the country, I was saddened, shocked and horrified at the same time. Like the rest of the country, I looked to the President for comfort, protection or what have you. Not that he would personally come to my house and chase terrorists away, but that he would be capable of doing something to prevent this stuff from happening again. I am not sure when I lost faith in GW - but somewhere along the line, I came to the realization that not only would this guy not be able to protect me, but due to his huge arrogance and stupidity (a deadly combo), he would probably lead the terrorists to my door mistaking it for the bathroom or something. And then people I knew got shipped overseas for war, and then we found no WMD's and he refused to even acknowledge his mistakes, and then and then and then and then and then and then. No more and then.

So then all the crap started, the war was a big issue, the economy tanking another big issue - so he here we go - presidential elections again and GW is up against John Kerry. Some twinge of guilt hit me, and I felt that I couldn't bitch about GW if I had not cast my vote or even done research on candidates. So I did a tiny little bit of research - and in my view, if John Kerry had just a tiny bit more brains than GW, he would be worthy of my vote. And try as I might - and trust me, I did try - I could not tolerate the man even enough to vote for him. I really hated GW, but I didn't feel that Kerry was any kind of an alternative. So GW won, and although I felt a "great 4 more years of pure crap" feeling, I couldn't completely say that I would have felt any better if Kerry had won. So I quit watching politics - I decided my initial evaluation was correct, it was stupid and not worth my time.

Still being nagged by guilt I decide to at least make sure the party I was registered with was in line with my beliefs - some would argue I should have done this first. Well, hush - this is my story, dammit! So I read up on the Republican view of things and was startled. Yes they believe that government should not mettle in people's lives unless its to tell them who can serve in the military, who can marry who and that you can't have an abortion. I found an overwhelming number of them believed in some stupidity called "intelligent design" which basically means "I choose to ignore science so I can shove my bible down you kid's throat". The more I read, the more disgusted I was. This was the party I was registered to all these years? This is the party that believes in "small government"? Where the hell did these people get their definition of small government - I think to them it must mean don't help people in your country - just sit back and pass judgement on them.

So in about 2007 or early 2008, I can't remember - I went in and changed my party affiliation from Republican to Independent. I made the mistake one time of sitting on the corner of a political party I knew nothing about - I wasn't about to make that mistake again. So the election race in 2008 takes off and its Obama and McCain. Considering the total crap the country was in - I decided to vote- and to vote, I would have to at the very least read a little bit about the candidates. At first I really disliked Obama - the whole rock star approach for politics was a huge turn off. I looked at McCain and I didn't see anything completely wrong with him either - so I think you could say I was on the fence.

Then, the VP runners get announced. I knew nothing about either of them - but the republicans picked a woman and my original thought was "hell yeah!". Then I started to look at Sarah Palin. Honestly, I really had nothing against her until she opened her mouth to speak and I thought, "dear lord, we get a chance to put a woman in office maybe and THIS is who we pick?". Needless to say, this just served to cement my idea that the republicans have no clue what they were doing. The more she spoke, the worse it got, I mean honestly, I have nothing against cheerleaders and soccer moms, but I really don't think I want one in office. I looked closer at Obama, and although I wasn't all that sold on him, when election day came, I gave him my vote. Yes I voted, for the first time EVER - for Obama - and I have no regrets there (insert mandatory eye-rolling of republican party).

So within the first year in office, the whole health care issue comes out. This is a HUGE issue for me - mainly because I am what the insurance companies call "Uninsurable" and I am a small business owner who is not large enough to qualify for a group plan that can override these things - therefore, I was officially "screwed". Then the whole republican thing starts bitching about the health care reform about how its going to make us socialists because its going to force us to have health insurance. I mean its not like we are currently forced to pay for things we don't like, like home owner's insurance, car insurance, property taxes, mortgage insurance... wait..

So yes - the fact that we pay for all kinds of crap that the government forces us to pay for already doesn't make us a socialist country - but all of a sudden the health care reform is magical that by itself, it will make us a bunch of socialists. To quote Inigo Montoya, "You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means." And to make things worse, now we have some new thing called the "Tea Party". I honestly think that they had a census within the Republican party and they picked the most ignorant people at the bottom of their barrel and said "here you go - you're bringing us down - we're gonna give you your own party".

So now one year into Obama's stint in the white house, and he is getting blamed for all kinds of crap. Basically we gave GW about 8 years to run the country into the ground and we expect that Obama will wave his magic wand and fix the problem within months of taking office. So when that doesn't happen, we blame him for everything - the bail outs - although that was mainly done during the GW time, we will pin it on Obama. We blame him for jobs going overseas even though its been happening for the better part of a decade (and yes we have had enough time for Hollywood to put out a good number of movies on the topic as well). I even heard blame being thrown his way on the oil spill and global warming. Let me tell you this - if he invented Global Warming, he is much more than just a mere president - if he did that - then I will convert to his religion and sign up for his newsletter.

So yeah - the economy sucks right now. Is that Obama's fault? No - its a combination of world events and in my humble opinion, the GW years. So the Tea Party (which is endorsed by Sarah Palin - THAT should tell you something right there) has taken a page from Obama's book and decided that they can be rock stars too. After all they don't need all that education crap - all they need are bright lights, Sarah Palin and words like "socialist", "american" and "patriot". They are holding rallies and "grass roots" efforts mainly scaring the crap out of people with their ignorance trying to get them to vote democrats out. I am not a huge fan of either party at this point, but I DO have a brain and I CAN do math and I do know that you CANNOT CUT TAXES AND REDUCE THE NATIONAL DEFICIT AT THE SAME TIME!! Why do these people believe they can do this? Once again - bottom of the barrel republicans - led by Sarah Palin (who is going to apparently stand on her porch and just look at the deficit with "pit bull" eyes to make it go away).

So now - out of fear and panic, people vote into office people that shouldn't even be allowed in public without a bib or a security escort. They vote in self-righteous, ignorant people, who want to kill homosexuals, teach kids that Adam and Eve were real and science is wrong, give everyone lots of guns, take women's rights away, and give money to rich people. All of you unemployed people collecting benefits who voted for "tea party" - what do you think "less government" means? It means no unemployment benefits for you - DUH!! They are apparently going magically give you a job by --- wait for it --- giving huge tax breaks to rich people thinking that these people will then turn around and feel sorry for the US and create jobs here. Yes, rich companies will say "wow, I can make this product in China for $0.25 but since the US gave me such a huge tax break, I will start making it in the US where it costs me $20 so I can have less money overall". Yeah if you believe that, I got a bridge in Alaska to sell you - oh wait - Sarah Palin already bought it!

The future of America is not big business - the future of it is in our creativity and ability to stay ahead of the game - back in the 40's and 50's maybe the "game" was manufacturing - but unless you just woke up from a Coma, you are painfully aware that this is no longer our path. Those jobs that went to India, China, Mexico and wherever else - are GONE. They are not coming back and I don't care what people promise you - they cannot make them come back. Companies and rich people are not going to cut their profits in half just to help out our economy. How the hell do you think those people got rich to begin with? The future of this country is in our smarts. Guess what - you can't have smarts without EDUCATION - which is part of what people call "big government". You can't open up new avenues and businesses without sparking that entrepreneurial spirit. We can't compete in the new intellectual race when we are closing schools and teaching them to read the bible. We can't do it when we judge people by who they love instead of what they know, when we teach people to listen to sound-bytes instead of learning to read - when we teach our kids that its ok to hate anyone that is not like us or believes like us (btw - that is Bin Laden's idea - so STOP STEALING FROM HIM!). In this day and age, new markets are created not discovered and that won't happen under the watch of this so called "Tea Party".

So all I can say is that this past election has made me sick to my stomach. Some of the promises of these new people elected made are simply NOT POSSIBLE TO DELIVER! They are playing on people's fears and guess what - it worked. We are trading our fears for our future - its like we are all sitting under the table in an air-raid drill with our hands over our ears and eyes hoping that if we say "there's no place like home" three times it will all go away. I am not ready to move my registration from the independent column to the democrat column, but I do know that the republicans are big part of why we are in this mess - and now we are voting in their half-retarded second cousins to finish the job. Good job America - who needs terrorists when we have the Tea Party?

So with all of that said - I will leave you with my favorite quote of the Presidential Debate in the TV Show the West Wing in Season 7 (which was amazingly written by the way and I highly recommend everyone to watch it). I think it pretty much sums up how I feel right now about republicans and the new "moral majority":

Santos: It's true, Republicans have tried to turn 'liberal' into a bad word. Well, liberals ended slavery in this country.

Vinick: A Republican president ended slavery.

Santos: Yes, a liberal Republican. What happened to them? They got run out of your party. What did liberals do that was so offensive to the Republican party, Senator? I'll tell you what they did. Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created social security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act. What did Conservatives do? They opposed every one of those programs. Every one. So when you try to hurl the word 'liberal' at my feet, as if it were dirty, something to run away from, something that I should be ashamed of, it won't work, Senator, because I will pick up that label and wear it as a badge of honor.

Foamy Goodness!

2010-10-21T01:42:00.000-07:00

Crappy day all around. Unfortunately for the people around me, when I have a crappy day, they have a crappy day, so I guess in advance I am both sorry and thankful to all of you around me who absorbed my anger this week. Your efforts are appreciated!

Finished WK1 homework and went through my degree plan - one good thing is that I am lucky and do my work, I will graduate in Summer of 2013 with both my BS and MS degrees completed =)

The battle with my Fish tank continues. Unfortunately the Ammonia is STILL completely out of control and the PH keeps dropping - which I guess is better than the PH raising... Anyway, I had the bright idea of buying a Proper PH 7.0 to at least try to control the PH problem. I am not sure exactly how this product is supposed to work but I know what it actually did. I changed the water on Friday and added this product in. When I woke up Saturday, the tank was white - it looks like a white cloud washed over it and it was so thick you could barely see through it. The product said that this may happen and this was still ok and safe for the fish, so did a PH test- 6.2. It had dropped 0.4 since the water change. I continued to monitor.

Well last night, the water was still totally white with zero visibility plus I had a nice foam effect going on. Foam was forming at the top of the tank and it got so bad that it was toppling down the sides making a huge mess in the living room. I tested the PH to see if the product had at least fixed that problem - 6.0 - so a big fat NO!! I had to do an emergency water change and try to get as much of the foam out as I could. After 2 hours of cleaning and a 50% water change, I can see more the tank now, the water visibility is about 30% improved and PH went up to 6.5.

As much as I love the API line of Aquarium products, I have to say that the Proper PH 7.0 is big fat looser and needs to die in a fire. So whatever you do - don't buy it =)

Taking the house back - the war is not over ...

2010-10-19T23:57:00.000-07:00

So last night, I had a revelation. For the last 5+ years or so, my dogs and my PC have shared the same room. This has led to all kinds of PC issues ranging from chewed cords, to pee'd on cases to getting splashed with "oh god I really don't want to know what that is". So after due consideration last night and Martha's advice from a 2006 summer or fall issue, I decided to finally raise the white flag and move my PC out of the dog room. One poor PC against 28 paws simply does not stand a chance. Sooo... the next question is where to put it? My house (for those of you that have not been here) is literally packed, floor to ceiling with store stuff. People have actually told me that at times it looks like a warehouse exploded and my house is ground zero.

So roll the cameras back to a flashback moment, this past April, I decided that it was time to stop living out of one room of my 4-bedroom house. I decided that maybe it would be nice if I could fit one person through the front door without having to give them a good push and hope they landed on something soft on the other side. Yes, this past April, I declared WAR on my inventory, and decided to take my house back.

The firs task tackled was the foyer - since opening the door was a plus, I thought it prudent to start there. After 3 weeks of working on it, the foyer was reclaimed as living space and it is no longer covered floor to ceiling in boxes. As a bonus, I have re-discovered the coat closet - a small set back was to also discover all the crap in it, but I tackled it with enthusiasm and Voila - the foyer is mine again.

Score: Me-3 (3 rooms in the house as mine - Master Bedroom and bath, altar room Foyer - and yes, the Foyer is a room for this count), Dogs 1 (I call it my PC room but who am I kidding?) and Inventory 6 (living room, dining room, kitchen, bonus room, upstairs bath, hallway/downstairs bath).

The hallway and downstairs bath went next - they were easy - barely a challenge. Once I was done, like a 5-year-old child, I kept opening the front door and running giggling through the hall until I was assaulted by the kitchen, turning around and doing it all again - but hey, at least I was able to walk or even run into the house. This was progress!

Score: Me-4, Dogs 1, Inventory 5

Although I had always hated taking pictures of my house (since it was in such a mess) I do wish I had taken a before picture of my living room. Ignoring the fact that there was only one path through the living room, that I had a 100 gallon fish tank which was half filled with moldy green water (I kind of got depressed when my fish died and just turned it off and left it...) and the walls had many many scuffs that you would expect to find in a warehouse wall, the fact is you could not really see any furniture in the living room. It took me over 2 months to find a new place for every box and product that was in the living room. This was by far one of the worst battles fought in my house to date. But - the task was complete finally, and thank to 2 very good friends, I was also able to clean and reclaim my fish tank (which actually has fish in it now - which is a whole another blog entry for later on in the week), find my lost furniture and re-paint the walls.

Score: Me-5, Dogs-1, Inventory-4 - The tide has turned! I am winning the war now!

At this point, I had come to the sad realization that although I was victorious in the living room, the dining room was not going to be able to be reclaimed. With four shelf units packed from floor to ceiling with product, I just gave up, and moved into the kitchen - I had accepted that the dining room would be a casualty of this war.

The kitchen, which once housed large cases of oils and containers on one side, bottles, beeswax, labels, wooden stirrers and more, was much easier to claim than originally though possible. All it took really was to move the Island back to where it should me, and move the larger boxes out to the apothecary and carve out a corner for the oils. I was even able to bring my kitchen gadgets out of hiding so that I could start cooking again. However, this led to a new problem - the problem that the kitchen has a pass through to the dining room, and now, with the kitchen looking so open and nice, and the dining room looking like the back of a bookstore, something had to be done.

Score - Me-6 (MUAHAHA!), Dogs-1, Inventory-3

So now - out of flashback mode and back to why I originally started this post, last night basking in glow of my accomplishment, sitting on the living room couch, feeling the fire of my reclaimed fireplace, I decided that the dining room will also have to be reclaimed. The problem becomes, where to put all of the product - and let me tell you - there is A LOT of product there. This is when Martha spoke to me - she whispered to me in her evil ways... "reclaim the dining room, move the PC down here and section off a part of it for an office, let the dogs have their room!"

Now considering that my poor Apothecary has basically been assaulted with a lot of product from downstairs, I think I can safely say that it is slowly becoming the new disaster area. However, for one shining moment, Martha gave me a glimpse of all that can be achieved if the entire Apothecary is taken apart, re-organized and many of the boxes removed or consolidated. And I thought the living room was hard - the Apothecary (aka my bonus room) is HUGE - easily twice the size of the living room. As I turned away from it, having definitively decided that it is too big of a task to tackle, I saw 5 pairs of sad eyes looking back at me from the dog/PC room. Those eyes said "mommy please, we really want to have this room for us to play in, for us to stretch out without having to worry about hurting that box we pee on that makes you so mad..."

And as guilt washed over me, I made a list of the initial battle plan for taking back the dining room, re-organizing the Apothecary and moving my office downstairs to a sectioned off part of the dining room. As I looked up from the huge, time consuming and very complex plan of attack, I saw Martha once again - cackling this time - her beady little eyes glinting in delight at the pages and pages of to-dos and tasks to needed to finish this... and people say I'm the witch!?

Score - Me-6, Dogs-1, Inventory-4 (yes, the Apothecary is now considered 2 rooms due to its sheer size and mass - take that Martha!)

Blogging - take 2

2010-10-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

Well so I am not sure if because I just saw the movie Julie&Julia or what - but I decided that maybe I should blog more often. First let me just say that the movie was excellent - and not just because Amy Adams, Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci are awesome. The movie was well written, and well directed - the cinematography was top notch. If you have not yet seen this - you should see it. I don't think you need to be cook or enjoy cooking to really enjoy the movie.

Anyway with that said I will try to blog at least every other day - not that my life is all that interesting - but mainly because I think I really need an outlet to get some of this stuff out. Considering I live with 7 dogs - lately I find myself carrying entire conversations with them - and well - that just can't be good.

So - this week started like crap already. Capella called me the week before class started and asked me to swap classes so they would have more students in this class. Well - I agreed and thanks to the last minute change, books were ordered at the last minute and I did not have my book for the first week of class. I hate starting out late on crap already =/

On a positive note, half my living room is done now - ahh what a relief! I forgot how nice it is to sit in front of the fireplace, sipping my latte while I read about ethics in psychology. Next I tackle the dining room - although I am having a radical idea to move my office downstairs, section off a piece of the dining room and just let the dogs have the entire room upstairs. I know crazy - this is what happens when I get together with Martha - the woman fills my head with ideas!!

Star Trek Original Series on Blu-ray Review

2010-04-22T01:47:00.000-07:00

I have recently purchased the Star Trek Original Series on Blu-ray. For those curious - it is this one here:

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Original-Seasons-Blu-ray/dp/B002PQ7JQK/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1271926114&sr=8-5

First of all let me just say that I love this set. It is so wonderful to see these old episodes again! I love how overacted everything is. I had not seen this show for probably about 20 years and re-watching it again is completely awesome!

Some notes about this set. First - the nice thing about it is that it includes both the original version of each episode and the remastered version. You can choose before each episode how you want to view it - so you can easily swap back and forth if you want to. If you watch it in the original format, there are not issues - but there are some issues with the remastered format.

One of the problems with the remastered format is the sound. I have gone online and checked and this has happened to several people - so I know its not just me. The sound appears to be very inconsistent throughout the remastered version - most of it is very low - which causes you to turn it way up in which case on some scenes it ends up being VERY loud.

The remastered effects themselves are nice - I saw many die-hard ST fans complaining about the effects but I honestly don't think that they take anything away from the show. They have mainly redone some of the ship scenes in space, and some of the background scenes when the crew beams down in a planet. The sound has also been changed in the remastered version which is why I think there are problems. I was really afraid that they would have changed the original ship and instrument sounds but thankfully they did not. The sound changes are small but noticeable - mainly when the captain broadcasts to the ship, when they receive transmissions from other ships etc. None of the original sound effects were changed in the remastered version.

One of the disappointing things is that season one does not include the original Pilot "The Cage" - with Capitan Pike - which was actually not aired until 1988 - but it would have been nice to have it as part of this package. There are some extras in this set but nothing really all that impressive.

I own a lot of older shows on DVD and Blu-ray and one of the problems I generally have with them is that normally they do not include subtitles. Yes I am turning into an old person having to watch TV with subtitles - so bite me =p! I was expecting the same with this set and it was a very nice surprise to find subtitles throughout the entire thing.

I am still watching season 1 - and I am very excited to watch the entire thing. I find myself going back and forth between the two versions to watch the original and then the remastered one to see the differences between the two. If you are a die hard Star Trek fan, this is DEFINITELY a series worth forking out the cash for! From everything I read - this is better than the 2007 release which only included the remastered version and the 2004 release which only included the original version.

Reviews

2010-04-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

Well so since I am a lunatic DVD watcher - I decided to maybe review Blu-ray releases once a month - maybe pick the best or worst and put my own spin on it.

Since I myself love the behind-the-scenes stuff much more than the actual movie - the actual DVD content outside of just the main film will probably weight pretty heavily on my reviews. Whether you end up agreeing with me or not it doesn't matter. Either way I think it may make for some fairly good discussion!

Anyway - I will only post one a month and pick the best or the worst of what I have bought for that particular month. I hope many of you will post your thoughts and feelings about it as well - I would love to get a good discussion going!

Tolerance

2010-04-02T01:51:00.001-07:00

Ok - so I was on my way to go to bed this morning and once again I get a PM on Facebook from someone I know complaining about something I posted this week. This makes for 4 total messages this week. So now I am in full pissed-off mode and can't sleep. So here is my rant!!

We all speak of tolerance - how we need to be nice and good to each other. Yes we do. But in reality - are we? As much as we try - we are often judgmental and at times, hypocritical. Why is that? I can tell you why - because none of us are perfect! Guess what - if you were indeed as perfect as you think you wouldn't be living in this world - and wouldn't be human. So as long as you are stuck with this whole humanity gig, take a big whiff of imperfection - because its part of who you are.

I am extremely judgmental. I will be the first to admit. There are things that annoy the ever-living-shit out of me. Yes - ever-living-shit is my word - it may not be accurate in the dictionary but I am using - I'm human - I can do that. So what are some of these annoying things? Hate for one - I think it ridiculously stupid. Anyone with half a brain would realize that hating someone is a complete waste of time and energy. Hating someone for life choices or for something they were born into - like skin color, sexuality, religion, political views - etc - well if you manage to hate someone because of that you get the extra super special moron star in my book. Now if you hate someone because they did something horrible to you - then go ahead and hate away. But hating someone for something has absolutely nothing to do with you is just plain stupid.

What else do I judge? People with kids who live on my street. Ok you have kids and live on my street - good for you. You chose to have kids - wonderful - I respect that choice. I too live here and I did not chose to have any kids - that's right - I don't have them so I don't need to have your brats running about in my front yard screaming at the top of their little lungs. And if you are my neighbor and reading this - great! Have your kids play in YOUR yard - not mine. Its a simple request - I honestly don't think it would take a lot of effort on your part to make that little change for me. I sleep in the daytime - if your kids are playing in your yard and wake me up - that's problem - sucks to be me. If they are playing in MY yard and wake me up - I reserve the right to break their little legs or to shoot them in the face with my paintball gun. So yes -you with the red van - I know you are reading this - get your kids off my dammed yard during the day! And just a side note - why the hell are your kids playing in my yard before 2PM when its the middle of the week and they should be in SCHOOL, eh? Answer me that there genius!!

I also dislike a whole other range of things. Couples that love to do the whole "kissy-kissy-I-love-you" to each other in baby talk in public - please get a room - most of you are 30-some years old and you look absolutely ridiculously stupid doing that - yes I get to call you a moron for that too. What else? Oh - people who drive past injured animals on the street - I would run your ass off the road if I hadn't stopped to help the poor animal you just drove over. People who dump their pets when they move because they are too lazy to find pet-friendly housing - there is not a word in the English language to describe the pile of scum you must have crawled out from. And those of you who abuse animals or profit from animal suffering in any way just need to have a blunt rusty spoon driven slowly through your eyeballs and your fingernails pulled out several times a day.

So you see - I am no better or no worse than anyone else. I am human - I judge - I have things I like and dislike. They don't make me better or worse than anyone else - they make me human. So all of this is building up to one big thing. In the previous few weeks, I have suffered through many and many posts of many people I know and am friends with on Facebook who are very right wing conservatives about how wrong and bad healthcare reform is. I made NOT ONE comment - either on their posts or to them. Why is that? Because they are *entitled* to their opinions - they are each entitled to their views - whether I agree with them or not. That is the beauty of free speech and this great little place I like to call America. An opinion by its very nature is not right or wrong - its an opinion and every living person in this country is entitled to have one and I don't have to agree with it or even like it - all I have to do is respect it and I do. Completely.

So, on this very same principle, last week I made a post on my facebook making fun of republicans because of this whole health care debate - it was a hilarious video a friend sent to me from Bill Maher - well I thought it was funny - that was my OPINION. Since then - I have gotten hate mail after hate mail from right wing people I know about how inappropriate it is for me to post said link! Whatever happened to free speech? Whatever happened to tolerance of opinion? Yes - I support the healthcare reform. Why? Because I am self-employed, and I am sick and tired of getting royally screwed by healthcare in general (without even getting dinner first, mind you). I am not lazy - I work - but I don't work for a large company. I have some existing medical problems so my options are almost non-existent. So yes - I support healthcare reform - I am entitled to my opinion just as you are entitled to yours. I respect your opinion and the least I ask for is for you to respect mine.

We are all entitled to our own opinions on all issues - why? Because we live in AMERICA - yes - the good old US of A. So we can be neighbors, friends, colleagues, acquaintances or complete strangers and each completely disagree or agree and have both sides be right. Because when it comes to opinions - there are no facts - its all valid and all right. Science has facts. The sky is blue - unless you are colorblind - it is a fact that the sky is blue. The earth is round - that is a fact and it cannot be disputed - if you still think its flat then you need to get your dumb ass back to school. The healthcare reform is good - that is an opinion. The healthcare reform is bad - that is another opinion. Neither are fact - therefore both are valid points of views and each of us entitled to pick one as our own.

So - respect each other's opinions if you expect yours to be respected. We are entitled to them. Well, except for you who messaged me last night - you who are still on your daddy's insurance plan and don't have to pay for healthcare - you don't get an opinion until you start wearing your big boy pants and paying your own way in the world - YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!! So yes - almost all of us should have a right to our own opinions and those opinions should be respected by all.

Ok - end of rant!

Happiness

2010-03-17T01:42:00.000-07:00

I figured I would create an emo post about happiness today. I am so tired of hearing from people about how unahappy they are and how horrible their life is. How some of them hate their lives and the best one so far - today - someone told me "I don't know how to be happy!" - How the hell can you not know? It's not brain surgery people!

I think the problem arises when people start to think that happiness comes in this big chunk - where music plays and the sky turns purple with little pink butterflies and dancers spring out from shops - twirling about with their dry cleaning like in some old 1950's musical. Yeah - if you are in hollywood maybe - but here - in this little place I like to call REALITY - it don't work like that!

Life is life - its not good and its not bad - it is what it is. But mostly - its full of happy, angry, explosive, sad, frustrating, giddy, catatonic, tired, adequate, capable, incompetent, hopeful, annoying, joyful, disgusted, relieved, confused, lonely, delighted, scared, playful, humorous, good, bad, jealous, indifferent, lustful, inspired, relaxed, stressed, energetic, shameful, playful, disappointed, surprised, guilty, uneasy, grateful and hated moments. Actually the list goes on - but you get the picture. So - to assume that you can be happy - all of the time - well that's pretty arrogant and presumptuous, don't you think? After all - you're only human like the rest of us poor slobs!

And it boggles my mind, how people think that they can actually be happy all the time. That there is this mythical place of happiness that you can reach where life is just good and you love everyone, and everyone loves you and flower petals fall before you feet as you walk down a gold inlaid road with swans waving at you. Sorry to break it to ya - but if you are one of those people - I gotta tell ya - it don't work that way.

So how does it work? Happiness - like sadness or any other human emotion - comes in small spurts. There are a thousand things that happen to you everyday that make you happy - just as there are a thousand others that can piss you off. In my case - two thousand - but you get the idea. So - here is the big revelation - its really up to you - to find those moments. Some people say to me "but I don't have those moments" - and I say - you are full of crap! You are either a) just being emo to get attention to yourself or b) wallowing too much in your own self pity to see anything but what you want.

So - where does this elusive happiness await? Can you wait for it and pounce on it when it least expects it so that you can be sure you have it? Well - that would also be too easy - wouldn't it?

Happiness comes in small things - that you learn to appreciate in your life - small things that bring you joy. Some would say "well nothing brings me joy" - and to that I say stop the emo crap! I dare anyone to make a list of 10 things - only 10 out of the thousand that I mentioned - that bring you happiness - or make you feel better or bring a smile to your face. Ten things that happen to you everyday. You ready for the list? I will start with mine - keep in mind this is a short list of just a few things that happened to me today:

1) Willow kisses in the morning - dog breath and all

2) Drinking a latte full of Caffeine when making a new friend

3) A hot shower - where I get to stand under the water just because I can.

4) Red candles burning down perfectly

5) Putting in fresh contacts

6) Choosing paint for my next project

7) A new story idea that popped into my head

8) The smell of Lavender

9) The Cure video End of the World - Because Robert Smith is just so yummy

10) Ron Perlman on TV as Vincent - he really rocks

I could go on - there are a thousand other things that I could add to this list. There are also a thousand other things that pissed me off, angered me, made me giggly and several that made me sad. So was this a happy day or a sad day? Honestly - its up to you - I chose to catch the happy moments in the day. Sure I could chose to focus on the same and pissed off moments - but honestly, today - overall - I chose the happy.

Will all my days be happy? Hell no - but happiness is there - everyday - whether I choose to see it or not. The question is - can you see it for yourself? And if I hear one more person tell me about how they cannot find happiness I will slap you silly until you find something!

Useless Info of the Day: Iron Supplements

2010-01-02T06:08:00.000-08:00

So - I have been doing some research on this since it affects me. This post is really more for my reference than anything else - but if anyone can use this info - then more power to ya!

I have severe anemia for which I have been prescribed Iron Supplements. I have had to take Iron supplements before and have had a bad reaction to them - so the new one my doctor prescribed is Ferrous Fumarate. This has not upset my stomach at all - but its expensive - and being that I am broke most of the time I am trying to find something else that I can take that costs less and has the same effect.

Sooo... what I have found is that there are many Iron Supplements out there. Each formulation has a certain amount of Elemental Iron in it - which is the actual Iron in the formula. Here is what I found:

Chart from the Poison Control Center:

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* Ferrous sulfate - 20% elemental iron

* Ferrous gluconate- 12% elemental iron

* Ferrous fumarate - 33% elemental iron

* Ferrous lactate - 19% elemental iron

* Ferrous chloride - 28% elemental iron

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Another chart - from WebMD that I found:

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* A 325-mg tablet of ferrous sulfate has 65 mg (20%) of elemental iron

* A 325-mg tablet of ferrous gluconate has 39 mg (12%) of elemental iron

* A 325-mg tablet of ferrous fumarate has 107.25 mg (33%) of elemental iron

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Currently I take one 325mg tablet of the Fumarate version. This costs me $16 for a 30-day supply (30-325mg pills). I found a bottle of the Sulfate version that costs me $2 for a 30-day supply (60-325mg pills)

According to the research I did - the one I am on - the Fumarate - apparently has the highest risk of someone having a reaction to it - which is weird because I have had no reaction to it at all.

I am allergic to Sulfa drugs so naturally I was scared to take the Sulfate. So I went looking to see if the Sulfate is a Sulfa drug. I found a LARGE number of boards and posts from stupid people who obviously have no clue what they are saying - giving advice to others saying that if you are allergic to Sulfa drugs you ABSOLUTELY cannot take the Sulfate pill. So I got scared and went looking for posts from actual doctors and pharmacists and found a few. Here is what I found out:

Taken from a medical board post I found:

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"Sulfa drugs are a class of antibiotics such as Septrum-DS and Bactrim. Ferrous sulfate is a form of iron as opposed to ferrous gluconate. Both forms of iron are used to treat anemia. Of the two, ferrous gluconate is less constipating than ferrous sulfate. "

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Taken from WebMD:
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"Becoming allergic to sulfonamide antibiotics is rather common, often causing an itchy rash which can cover the entire body. The next time a sulfa drug is given (usually by accident), a more severe anaphylactic reaction can occur. You can download for free a recent review of the topic from a family practice journal:http://www.cfp.ca/cgi/reprint/52/11/1434

On the other hand, sulfates are very common chemical compounds, also found naturally in the human body. For example, magnesium sulfate is sometimes given intravenously to treat asthma attacks. Some people are allergic to a sulfate compound, such as nickel sulfate causing a rash where the metal touches the skin. However, I could find no mention in the medical literature regarding an increased likelihood of a person allergic to sulfonamide antibiotics to also be allergic to any type of sulfate compounds.

Sulfites (yet another type of sulfur-containing chemical) are sometimes used to preserve fruits and vegetables. Sulfites can be found in beer and wine. A few people with asthma have become sensitized to sulfites, but they are not also allergic to sulfonamide antibiotics. "
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Taken from UoI Medical School RX Peer Review:
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Confusion sometimes arises when a patient is labeled as having a "sulfa" allergy. "Sulfa" usually refers to agents in the class of drugs known as sulfonamides. Almost all sulfonamides are anti-infectives: however sulfasalazine which is used to treat ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, is also included.

Some patients who have experienced a hypersensitivity reaction to a sulfonamide drug may also experience the reactions with carbonic anhydrous inhibitors (acetazolamide), thiazide diuretics, furosemide, and the sulfonylurea antidiabetic agents. Therapy with these agents should be initiated with caution, if at all, in patients with a documented history of sulfanomide hypersensitivity.
Sulfones (Dapsone[R]) do not appear to exhibit cross-sensitivity with sulfonamides.
Sulfur (S) is a chemical element that is ubiquitous. It has fungicidal activity and is used in some topical preparations. There is no cross-sensitivity with sulfonamides.
Sulfites (SO3) are used as antioxidants and stabilizers. Derivatives of sulfites include bisulfites, metabisulfites, and sulfur dioxide. They are found in injectable drugs, wine, and food (e.g., restaurants use sulfites to keep lettuce from turning brown). Sulfite allergies are common, but these compounds do not appear to exhibit cross-sensitivity to sulfonamides.
Sulfates (SO4) are used as salts to solubilize drugs (e.g., gentamicin sulfate, morphine sulfate, ferrous sulfate). Sulfate allergies are extremely rare and do not exhibit cross-sensitivity with sulfonamides.
When discussing allergies with patients and documenting them on the patient's chart, care must be taken to identify the actual cause of the allergy, as well as the type of adverse reaction experienced by the patient.
-------------------------------------------------

So, short answer - if you have a Sulfa allergy like I do - you can still take supplements that are Sulfides because they are not the same thing. Taking my Iron in the Sulfide form - one extra pill a day which is not bad, saves me about $14 a month and is worth the savings!
So tip of the day - if you have no medical background or knowledge - please refrain from giving people advice online!

The Horrors

2009-12-31T02:42:00.000-08:00

Well on my way home tonight, as usual I was listening to the BBC - just about the only thing worth listening to in the wee hours of the morning. I came across a documentary on their show "One Planet" called "Animals & Us". This was a show about the living conditions are animal farms - complete with sound effects - that made me not cry - but completely lose it in the car and bawl my eyes out the entire way home.

In the past, I have steered away from programs like that - telling myself that I just "can't see things like that" and yet continuing on doing the same things I do - because I fall into that out-of-sight, out-of-mind trap. Well, I was caught in a trap with this program - as I didn't want to listen to it, but at the same time, I couldn't bring myself to change the dial. I will not go into the details of what was said and reported on, but I can say that after listening to that, I have decided to to stay away from animal products which are produced in this inhumane manner completely. The excuse I have been able to use in the past, just doesn't seem to fly anymore - the whole story of "I am just one person, what kind of impact can I have?" now feels completely hollow and fills me with remorse.

Sure - I am just one person - I am sure that my daily choices will not affect the bottom line of what goes on for these animals - but at least I know I am not contributing to the problem. I got home and did some research and there are plenty of animal byproducts - such as milk and eggs - that are created in a humane way - such as Pastured Eggs (which are actually better for you) and Milk raised by cows who are treated in a certified Humane manner. Of course most of these are probably only going to be found in specialty stores - but I am willing to drive a little to get them.

So starting today, I am giving up meat and only buying animal by-products from Humane Growers. This article made such an impact on me that I felt I needed to do something. Will I still be doing this in a year? I have no idea - I am like most people - the further away from an issue, the easier it is to rationalize it. But hopefully, if I get to that point, I will be able to come back here and read this and remember all of the reasons why I made this decision.

I wanted to post the link to the BBC program - but since it aired just now it wasn't up yet. I will look for it tomorrow and see if I can add it to this blog entry as well.

Edit: Here is the link to the program I heard on the BBC - you can listen to the program online if you want:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p005k2zy

Labels

2009-10-12T03:03:00.000-07:00

People love labels - specially in the South where I live. You are not your own person - you are always someone's friend, sister, brother, husband, daughter, enemy, neighbor, etc. When I first moved to Charlotte, I got asked 3 questions over and over again:

1) Are you married?
2) How many kids do you have?
3) Which church do you go to?

From those 3 questions many labels were formed - none of them particularly nice. Over the last 10 years that I have lived here, they have not gotten any better. So today I ponder why do we make labels? Why do people have to fit into little pretty boxes in our mind?

This is a human thing I suppose. It seems that as we get older, those boxes become more and more important to us and more and more rigid. I wonder what would happen to us if all labels were removed. Sometimes I worry that the labels define us too much - to the point of where if someone is labeled a "bitch" so to speak, are they really a bitch or do they become a bitch because everyone else expects them to be like that? I don't know the answer to that question. I would like to think that I am my own person and my actions are independent of all labels, but I think it would be naive to believe that.

Wouldn't it be nice if we all woke up one day and somehow misplaced all of our labels? If we weren't able to remember who fits in which box and just treated everyone the same? I know it won't ever happen - but it would be a nice thought =)

In Willow's eyes

2009-10-02T00:21:00.000-07:00

Laying on the bed, comfy and warm, I look into the eyes of my dog Willow - one blue and one brown, and see things that bring joy, happiness and a feeling of absolute contentment.

In Willow's eyes, I see how important meaningless things really are...

How a warm bed can feel so good when its raining outside,
how important it is to be able to scratch an itch no matter where it is,
how absolute contentment is not related to money,
how happiness is measured in small seconds spent in silence instead of hours celebrating,
how no matter how slobbery kisses are, they are still kisses
how friendship should last a lifetime,
how no matter how bad your life has been what matters is how it is now,
how I can be invincible when someone believes in me,
how a full belly can make you glow,
how to always see the best in people no matter what you have seen in life,
how touch can comfort more than words,
how it doesn't matter how much of the bed you take, what matters is that you are there to take it,
how eye contact can say things you simply cannot bring yourseld to say,
how you never have to say you are sorry to the people who love you,
how we can still be friends no matter what material things have been destroyed,
how its ok to fart in bed,
how all living creatures have a soul,
how love transcends gender, color, and species,
how it doesn't matter if your ears are inside out, so long as you are still listening,
how important you are is relative to who is looking at you,
how the small things you do really matter,
how those old shoes were old and should have been tossed a long time ago,
how best friends love you no matter how bad your breath is,
But most of all, I see how I already am the person I wanted to be.

And who says dog's can't talk?

Out

2009-09-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

I am a homebody - I stay home - all the time. I work via the internet - I teach via the internet - I basically socialize over the internet. Other than my daily jaunt to Starbucks, I rarely even leave the house. When I do, its generally around 3AM to go get dog food and the such - and there is rarely anyone out at 3AM - and the few that are out at the grocery store are generally either too drunk or drugged to even make sense - well let's just say you don't really want to talk to them. I keep wondering - I cannot possibly be the only semi-normal person that prefers to sleep during the day and work at night! If not, where are all those other people - are they sitting at home too like me or are they moving about? If so - are they gathering at some secret place where a strange handshake is needed to get in the door?

So today I got up at the crack of 4PM - hey that's early for me! I got dressed and went to the mall. I mainly just walked around for about an hour. I guess I have come to realize that I miss people - seeing people of all kinds - face to face - is nice. Even if you don't talk to anyone, just being around people and not realizing you are alone in the world is nice. I met a girl at a shoe store that made me laugh, another at Spencers where we somehow managed to pull an entire rack of handbags on our heads. It was embarassing but fun.

Boy - I really need to get out more =/

In my cauldron

2009-09-24T02:18:00.001-07:00

Its midnight and the moon shines brightly in the autumn sky. I look down upon my altar and the small cauldron in the center of it and think about what it is I want during this Sabbat. I prop the cauldron up so that I can place a tea light under it - after all - fire is good.

First in goes water, the source of most life on our planet - some have called it the very blood of the planet. I let the water warm a bit, and gaze into it, seeing the reflection of the full moon which shines in from the window behind me. Water is the possibility of all - it overcomes all barriers, even against rock, given enough time, water will always win. Water is good.

I close my eyes and think of what I wish - I wish for health first and foremost. For without health, nothing else is really all that important. Even the richest man in the world, dying from a deadly disease is still dying. Without health, we have no energy to enjoy the pleasure of life, to go outside and run in a field on a sunny day. Without health, we do not have the will to get up and to experience the world around us. I know this - I speak from experience. I pickup a small bit of Rosemary and toss it into my cauldron and it ripples the water as it goes in. Rosemary is an all healing herb, it attracts health and pushes away illness. It protects, it purifies, it makes things whole - in essence, it brings health. Health is good.

With health and life, what more could I want? I want love, friendship, companionship. Life is not worth living without caring, loving, feeling. Love cares not which medium it chooses, a mother, a father, a child, a lover - even an animal. Love is love, it is powerful and warm and strong. Love lifts you up when life beats you down, love makes you feel empowered and glowy. Love brings more riches to you than any monetary reward could compare to. I pick up a handful of Rose Petals and toss them into my cauldron. Today I wish for companionship - for love given and returned. For someone to share happy times with, to cry at sad movies, to make fun of people that annoy us and to warm us at night. Love is good.

I look into my cauldron and see a swirl of rosemary and rose petals. I see an image of happiness and the bright lights of sun and fire which bring its power of healing to the earth. I take out my wooden spoon and mix my herbs with the water. The scent of roses and rosemary rise up from my now warm cauldron and envelop me. Something is missing. The swirl in my cauldron is just that - a swirl. It has no personality, no power. It has no individual signature, no creative spark. It is missing me. I bend down towards my bubbling cauldron and gently blow on it. Air is the breath of life - it is inherently mine. My breath is like no other's- it is unique individual and only I can provide it. It blends the water, the herbs, the fire. My breath is pure air, that spark of creativity and possibility. Air is good.

I sit back and watch my cauldron bubble - my wishes for the new season bubbling in front of me. I feel its energy rise, from the cauldron, which represents the womb of the mother, through the warm water, the herbs and through my breath it releases up to the world around me. Weather the gods hear my wishes or not, it does not matter. I feel the energy around me, comforting me and using my will to affect change. I feel strong and powerful, I feel connected to the earth, and the world that exists all around me. I feel alive. Life is good.

Life is good.

I's just a dog

2009-09-23T13:45:00.000-07:00

I wanted to repost this here - from a friend (Brandy) who posted this on Myspace a few years back. I am not sure if she wrote it or she got it from somewhere else, but I just wanted to make clear that I did not write it. It is very cool!

It's Just a Dog

If you read the title and are still reading this, I hope it is out of anger or morbid curiosity, wondering, "How could anyone say such a thing?" If not, this piece is for you.

To anyone who says, "It's just a dog:"

You are the reason rescues exist, why thousands of dogs die everyday in shelters, homeless and unwanted.

You are the backyard breeder or puppy miller, who looks at a dog and sees dollar signs, who cares nothing for the inevitable decline in the dog's health after having litter upon litter of puppies, nor for the countless dogs who will now die in shelters because the puppies you breed have taken up their homes.

You are the supporter of these backyard breeders and puppy mills, willing to pay $500 or more for a puppy rather than $90 for a rescued dog, because having a pedigree to show off to friends is more important than saving the life of a true and loyal companion.

You are the one who trains dogs to fight, whether for sport or protection, thus abusing your dog and bringing the call for the extermination of an entire breed of perfectly wonderful dogs.
You are the one who thinks nothing of putting your dog to sleep because it doesn't go with the furniture, or it urinates on the carpet, while at the same time balking at the thought of spanking an unruly child.

You are the one who dumps your dog at the shelter when you move, because you're too lazy to find pet-friendly housing.

You are the one who keeps your dog tied up outside, only bothering to provide the occasional bowls of food and water and possibly a tree for shade, because after all, it is just a dog, right?
To the 90 year old woman in the nursing home, abandoned by her family, yearning for companionship, stroking the fur of a new friend with the words "Therapy Dog" on its side, it's not just a dog.

To the young child who has become literate by reading aloud to a dog in the classroom, it's not just a dog.

To the person with skin cancer who had it detected by a dog when the doctors couldn't, it's not just a dog.

To the blind man who now can see through his companion, it's not just a dog.

To anyone who has been in bed, sick with the flu, and has felt the warmth of that cold nose as he curls up between your legs to give you comfort, it's not just a dog.

To anyone who comes home from a hard day of work to be greeted by someone who's so happy to see you they can't stop wiggling, it's not just a dog.

To anyone who has cried at Old Yeller, because they know what it's like to lose their best friend, to know that their friend is suffering and though it may be hard, the best thing to do is to help them go peacefully, it's not just a dog.

When you say, "It's just a dog," you really mean, "Why should I care about it? Dogs aren't important. They're useless. They don't give anything to us, so why should I give them anything in return? Why do I have to care about their feelings? They don't matter in the grand scheme of things. It's just a dog."

To everyone who says, "It's just a dog," I just have this to say to you:
You're just a human.

Copyright 2006 Brandy Henderson

Good for the soul

2009-09-23T02:28:00.001-07:00

Screaming is good for the soul. You don't have to scream at anyone in specific, just scream out loud to the world. Why the screaming? Because there are things in life that cannot be helped, things and people that cannot be changed and no amount of reason or logic will change that. There are times when effort is meaningless and turning the other cheek becomes an act that takes an amount of willpower that you simply cannot seem to muster. Sometimes you feel helpless and no matter how much ammo you have in your guns and how big your arsenal is, you just cannot bring yourself to use any of it. Keeping all that energy bottled up inside... well lets just say it's not good. Energy has to flow somewhere - it cannot be stopped and eventually you end up blowing up at the cat, dog, husband, child, sister or even a poor defenseless PC.

So reach deep down in your gut, in that place where the bile flows in rivers of hot molten lava, and let it erupt! One loud long burst is all you need - let that toxic gass flow - in more ways than one if you feel the need for it - but don't bottle it in! And if your neighbors complain - well tell them they are lucky you are only screaming out loud and not at them. If they insist, take that for what it is - an act of volunteering kindness in helping you in your hour of need by painting a big red bullseye on their forehead and getting ready for a verbal beating from hell. Energy always flows better when it has a target anyway - be sure to thank them later.

Trust me, afterwards everything will be better!

What I wish for today...

2009-09-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

I wish it were raining so I could run outside and dance naked
I wish that people were not judged by the music they listen to or the way they choose to dress
I wish the same rights were given to all regardless of how many legs each one has
I wish that rain would fall in purple puddles
I wish that summer was done and the coldness was winter was upon us
I wish that women had the courage to say no
I wish that men had the courage to stop demanding
I wish that self-righteousness burned its wielder like a fire explosion of pain
I wish that everyone who went to sleep last night had enough to eat
I wish that for just one day no one in the world were in pain
I wish that religion really did set people free
I wish we could all fire our representatives
I wish we all remembered the things we chose to forget
I wish I could find a person to treasure the love I give them
I wish that I were exactly the same age as I am
I wish that my youth stays safely tucked in my past
I wish that Mother Nature would pay a visit and kick some ass
I wish that I could fly away in the night sky
I wish that my dogs could talk
I wish people not to judge those that chose not to have children
I wish those with children would learn to raise them
I wish that politicians had to live their decisions
I wish that my path were always lit with paper lights
I wish that oceans were clean and we lived under them
I wish that we were more fascinated with each other than with things that go boom
I wish that the night didn’t help to hide so many things
I wish that daylight wasn’t so bright
I wish I were in London
I wish to go to sleep in Seattle and wake up in San Francisco
I wish the Bible belt had no bible in it
I wish small children could make grown ups see the wonderful world they live in
I wish cats and dogs would play chess
I wish we really did listen to our elders
I wish the government cared
I wish that people didn’t need a government
I wish that people continued to rock on regardless of their age
I wish the stars would float to earth so I could say hello to one of them
I wish I could hear the whispers of ants
I wish that people saw others as people and not as assets
I wish that companies didn’t make any money
I wish that everyone would let their inner artist off their leash
I wish that people in all countries were friends
I wish that bigots would accidentally shoot themselves in their quest for a perfect world
I wish that God didn’t speak to anyone so no one could misquote her
I wish that animals could fight back
I wish that scientists discovered their hearts
I wish that religious addicts learned a little science
I wish for some rain
I wish for some snow
I wish for some music
I wish there really was a starbucks in every corner
I wish money were no object
I wish distance were flexible
I wish I knew my neighbors
I wish there wasn’t anything left to wish for…

Something new

2009-09-22T03:15:00.000-07:00

Ok so I am not that big into blogging - well I like to write - mainly fiction - but lately I feel that if I dont put some thoughts on paper I may actually explode so here goes =p