Thursday, September 30, 2004
"W" is for Wannabe
Here's a really nice piece by Erik Baard in The Village Voice that explains why you should respect the image of the true American cowboy as our version of the chivalrous knight (I'd add honorable Samurai) and why George W. Bush isn't one of them.
One of the most poignant points of his argument is this:
I wonder just how many Americans are included in that "all."
One of the most poignant points of his argument is this:
8. He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits. In Bush's 2000 campaign, he said to running mate Cheney, "There's Adam Clymer, major-league asshole from The New York Times." More recently, it was rumored that after Cheney's infamous "Go fuck yourself" to Senator Pat Leahy, the born-again Christian Bush joked at a cabinet meeting, "Fuck 'em all!"
I wonder just how many Americans are included in that "all."
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Let There Be Light
Ah, yes, we have electricity again. Back to the daily grind. I must run, literally, but I will write more on our latest weather woes soon.
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Double Vision Addendum
Saturday, September 25, 2004
Double Vision
Gainesville is in the center of the projected path of a major hurricane yet again. We've put away all our yard art, furniture, potted plants, and outdoor toys for the third time this season. The rain has already begun--lightly--and the wind is starting to gust. We shouldn't get as much rain as we did with Frances since Jeanne is moving much faster, but since the ground is so saturated, we're still worried about more trees being uprooted.
I keep thinking every Floridian should go outside at the same time, face east, and blow! Maybe we'll change Jeanne's path. Okay, so that's not a real solution. Maybe we should pray; maybe you should pray for us. It might not help, but it sure can't hurt.
I keep thinking every Floridian should go outside at the same time, face east, and blow! Maybe we'll change Jeanne's path. Okay, so that's not a real solution. Maybe we should pray; maybe you should pray for us. It might not help, but it sure can't hurt.
Friday, September 24, 2004
Was It Just a Trap?
Listening to Air America Radio online this afternoon, I heard a clip of the President from September 19, 2002, when he was lobbying for Congress to grant him the authority to take the country to war with Iraq:
As discussed briefly on the Al Franken Show, this quote presents the following questions:
Was Bush lying to Congress about his reasons for needing the authority?
Did he ever intend to "keep the peace?"
Was the vote to "support the administration's ability to keep the peace" the same as a vote "for the war," as the pundits now phrase it?
Was it wrong for Kerry to support the President?
Was it all just a trap for any Democratic presidential challenger?
The trap is that either you vote against the authority and not support the President's ability to "keep the peace," or you vote to support the President and, apparently, for a war that you could later look like an ass for criticizing its shoddy execution.
No matter what the Republican spinsters say, in reality, Kerry has not flip-flopped on the war. He stands by his vote to give the President the stick to back up his words. He just disagrees with how and when Bush swung it.
By the way my friends in Atlanta, you can now listen to Air America on WWAA 1690 AM--lucky bastards!
A fuller version of the quote is:"If you want to keep the peace, you've got to have the authorization to use force," Bush told reporters after a meeting with his war council in the Oval Office. Source
"If you want to keep the peace," he aid [sic], "you have got to have the authorisation to use force. This is a chance for Congress to indicate support, a chance for Congress to say we support the administration's ability to keep the peace; that is what this is all about." Source
As discussed briefly on the Al Franken Show, this quote presents the following questions:
Was Bush lying to Congress about his reasons for needing the authority?
Did he ever intend to "keep the peace?"
Was the vote to "support the administration's ability to keep the peace" the same as a vote "for the war," as the pundits now phrase it?
Was it wrong for Kerry to support the President?
Was it all just a trap for any Democratic presidential challenger?
The trap is that either you vote against the authority and not support the President's ability to "keep the peace," or you vote to support the President and, apparently, for a war that you could later look like an ass for criticizing its shoddy execution.
No matter what the Republican spinsters say, in reality, Kerry has not flip-flopped on the war. He stands by his vote to give the President the stick to back up his words. He just disagrees with how and when Bush swung it.
By the way my friends in Atlanta, you can now listen to Air America on WWAA 1690 AM--lucky bastards!
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Back on the Trail
The Washington Post has an interesting article by Jonathan Weisman today regarding Kerry's take on the Bush proposal to privatize some of our Social Security funds. Basically, Wall Street, one of Bush's largest contribution sectors, would see a huge benefit from this restructuring of our safety net. Investment firms would earn "$940 billion [over 75 years], more than a quarter of the $3.7 trillion deficit the Social Security system will run over that time period."
Another problem with the plan that Bush leaves out is the major hole that it rips in the net. (The Post article does not address this, but this Newsweek article by Allan Sloan does.) Bush never addresses the question of where the money to pay benefits to retirees, widows, orphans, and the disabled would come from if workers divert their individual Social Security funds somewhere else.
Do you hear that, Mom? Screw your retirement plans, I'm putting your benefits in tech stocks!
Another problem with the plan that Bush leaves out is the major hole that it rips in the net. (The Post article does not address this, but this Newsweek article by Allan Sloan does.) Bush never addresses the question of where the money to pay benefits to retirees, widows, orphans, and the disabled would come from if workers divert their individual Social Security funds somewhere else.
Do you hear that, Mom? Screw your retirement plans, I'm putting your benefits in tech stocks!
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Psychophysiology
So I guess it's a good thing that my office just happens to be located in a UF anxiety clinic. I've learned much about my own disorder(s?) just through keeping my ears open while I work my little 2-hour-a-day job, walking manuscripts submitted to our journal through the peer-review process. Such as, medication doesn't necessarily work as well as talk therapy, positive thinking, and breathing exercises for my particular disorder, GAD (something I had an inkling of from test driving a Buspar prescription and finding the side-effect stomach aches were worse than the ones caused by the anxiety).
The brain storms in my head have produced many questions regarding the symbiotic relationship between the body and mind, although I've not had the courage to bring up my questions with the PhDs and graduate students I see everyday. Two of the biggest questions I have are:
A) Have they considered doing studies to find out which physical exercises reduce anxiety the best?
B) If the mind and the body had a wrestling match, which one would get the pile driver?
Regarding question A, my anxiety attacks were especially strong during and immediately after hurricane Frances. I suppose that this could have been due to the prolonged traumatic incident of the hurricane in and of itself, but I'm convinced that the inability to attend my circuit breaker class at the Y magnified the intensity and frequency of my attacks. Recently, I happened to catch a segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation: Science Friday about how stress affects your health. The guest talked about our bodies' evolutionary response to stress, "fight or flight," and stated that since we're not on the savannah any more, we often don't get to physically run away from conflicts, thus the stress does not get released and the chemicals our bodies produce in response can adversely affect our health. He indicated that more research needed to be done, but that use of the lower-body muscle groups tended to help reduce stress. I'd be willing to be a guinea pig for any study that would help me curb my anxiety attacks while simultaneously ridding my belly of stubbornly residual pregnancy flab.
Regarding question B, I often wonder which is more powerful--the mind or the body? I find that I'm not quite sure whether the anxious thoughts or the physical symptoms appear first. It seems to me they act in a vicious cycle: I feel jittery, so I try to figure out why I'm distressed, which gives me more reasons to be worried, which feeds the anxiety, building it up until I feel like crying, raging, or both. Recently though, as I've eluded to above, I've found that I have far fewer anxious episodes when I get regular exercise. My general mood is also much improved from physical activity. Belting out tunes in the car also seems to help--perhaps it's a modern-day primal scream.
In any event, it seems to me that I have no choice but to exercise in order to avoid the often crippling effects of anxiety. Wouldn't it be nice if our membership to the Y were tax deductible, since it so helps me be a productive member of society, not to mention a more stable wife and mother?
The brain storms in my head have produced many questions regarding the symbiotic relationship between the body and mind, although I've not had the courage to bring up my questions with the PhDs and graduate students I see everyday. Two of the biggest questions I have are:
A) Have they considered doing studies to find out which physical exercises reduce anxiety the best?
B) If the mind and the body had a wrestling match, which one would get the pile driver?
Regarding question A, my anxiety attacks were especially strong during and immediately after hurricane Frances. I suppose that this could have been due to the prolonged traumatic incident of the hurricane in and of itself, but I'm convinced that the inability to attend my circuit breaker class at the Y magnified the intensity and frequency of my attacks. Recently, I happened to catch a segment on NPR's Talk of the Nation: Science Friday about how stress affects your health. The guest talked about our bodies' evolutionary response to stress, "fight or flight," and stated that since we're not on the savannah any more, we often don't get to physically run away from conflicts, thus the stress does not get released and the chemicals our bodies produce in response can adversely affect our health. He indicated that more research needed to be done, but that use of the lower-body muscle groups tended to help reduce stress. I'd be willing to be a guinea pig for any study that would help me curb my anxiety attacks while simultaneously ridding my belly of stubbornly residual pregnancy flab.
Regarding question B, I often wonder which is more powerful--the mind or the body? I find that I'm not quite sure whether the anxious thoughts or the physical symptoms appear first. It seems to me they act in a vicious cycle: I feel jittery, so I try to figure out why I'm distressed, which gives me more reasons to be worried, which feeds the anxiety, building it up until I feel like crying, raging, or both. Recently though, as I've eluded to above, I've found that I have far fewer anxious episodes when I get regular exercise. My general mood is also much improved from physical activity. Belting out tunes in the car also seems to help--perhaps it's a modern-day primal scream.
In any event, it seems to me that I have no choice but to exercise in order to avoid the often crippling effects of anxiety. Wouldn't it be nice if our membership to the Y were tax deductible, since it so helps me be a productive member of society, not to mention a more stable wife and mother?
Friday, September 17, 2004
Sew What's New?
I've begun Joe's Halloween costume, at last! It's my first of many, many "mommy" sewing projects to come. Joe decided he wanted to be a monkey this year, and since we wanted to dress up as a family, I'm creating a Curious George costume for him. Bill will be the man with the yellow hat, of course, and I will be Nurse Carol from Curious George Goes to the Hospital.
I'm using just the hood and tail/bottom half of a Simplicity monkey jumpsuit pattern (#4910) because it's usually still pretty darn hot here in Florida in late October. Joe will sport his Curious George T-shirt instead of long sleeves to keep him cool, which will also hopefully clue people into our family theme. (Are we lame or adorable?)
We still have to figure out Bill's yellow hat--we're thinking spray paint on a cheap cowboy hat. My nurse's outfit is also still up in the air. You'd think a plain white dress would be easy to find at a thrift store, but I've had no such luck yet. I'd go the nurse-fetish route, but I think that might be a bit too racy for the Fellowship's Halloween Party, which I somehow accidentally volunteered to organize this year.
I'm using just the hood and tail/bottom half of a Simplicity monkey jumpsuit pattern (#4910) because it's usually still pretty darn hot here in Florida in late October. Joe will sport his Curious George T-shirt instead of long sleeves to keep him cool, which will also hopefully clue people into our family theme. (Are we lame or adorable?)
We still have to figure out Bill's yellow hat--we're thinking spray paint on a cheap cowboy hat. My nurse's outfit is also still up in the air. You'd think a plain white dress would be easy to find at a thrift store, but I've had no such luck yet. I'd go the nurse-fetish route, but I think that might be a bit too racy for the Fellowship's Halloween Party, which I somehow accidentally volunteered to organize this year.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Frances Stole Our Electricity, but Not Our Power
O sweet, sweet Electricity, what a beguiling mistress you are!
We are finally up and running at normal speed in the Morris-Martino home. GRU restored our access to light and air conditioning around 5:00 pm Sunday, which means we were without service for almost exactly a week.
Thanks to our very generous neighbors, Bill was able to stay afloat with work by running a cord from their generator to his home office.
Joe is ecstatic to finally have his cartoons back--a week without his usual schedule led to many tantrums. The "terrible twos" weren't named so just for sake of alliteration after all.
Being without electricity for a week may have been a blessing in disguise, though, as we decided to discontinue our satellite service after realizing just how much free/cheap entertainment we have in our own home. Even so, we are quite happy about the prospect of only occasional nights of sweaty sleep on moist sheets.
As promised, here are some photos of the damage to our immediate surroundings.
On a happy note, two nights after Frances blew through, the tremendous showmanship of Reverend Horton Heat blessed our town with some spirited rockin', and I had the best seat in the house--the woofer! Jimbo even caught my eye above the crowd and sent me that cool-guy-backward nod in addition to some good vibrations. The band rocked the Market Street Pub with a sound greater than the three of them, a synergy of power in an otherwise un-electrified week.
We are finally up and running at normal speed in the Morris-Martino home. GRU restored our access to light and air conditioning around 5:00 pm Sunday, which means we were without service for almost exactly a week.
Thanks to our very generous neighbors, Bill was able to stay afloat with work by running a cord from their generator to his home office.
Joe is ecstatic to finally have his cartoons back--a week without his usual schedule led to many tantrums. The "terrible twos" weren't named so just for sake of alliteration after all.
Being without electricity for a week may have been a blessing in disguise, though, as we decided to discontinue our satellite service after realizing just how much free/cheap entertainment we have in our own home. Even so, we are quite happy about the prospect of only occasional nights of sweaty sleep on moist sheets.
As promised, here are some photos of the damage to our immediate surroundings.
On a happy note, two nights after Frances blew through, the tremendous showmanship of Reverend Horton Heat blessed our town with some spirited rockin', and I had the best seat in the house--the woofer! Jimbo even caught my eye above the crowd and sent me that cool-guy-backward nod in addition to some good vibrations. The band rocked the Market Street Pub with a sound greater than the three of them, a synergy of power in an otherwise un-electrified week.
Monday, September 06, 2004
Unnerved, but Fortunate
Saturday evening brought a sprinkle, but it's now been raining almost non-stop since around 4:00 pm Sunday. We lost electricity right after Oswald on Noggin--sometime around 5:30 last evening--but thankfully, Bill has an awesome desknote with a 4-hour battery. We've been calling relatives and using our dial-up sparingly to check the satellite/radar to see when we'll be hit by another band of storms.
We've had a huge amount of wind, which uprooted three trees around our house--two of which landed ever-so-gently on top of our western neighbor's carport and porch. But the first to fall, also surprisingly quietly, was our eastern neighbor's live oak, which fell on what we call the Buddha garden outside our kitchen and bedroom. It smashed our privacy fence and part of his house while also scaring the crap out of Joe and I, who were looking out the bedroom window when it started to fall.
We have no injuries to report, save Bill's bum ankle, which he sprained in preparation for Frances Friday evening. Thank goodness for Michelob, Yeungling, Red Stripe, and our Chinese purple dynamo crank/battery/solar-powered radio/flashlight/siren.
Our power is still out, but we have lots of food, water, and one another.
Photos of damage are forthcoming.
We've had a huge amount of wind, which uprooted three trees around our house--two of which landed ever-so-gently on top of our western neighbor's carport and porch. But the first to fall, also surprisingly quietly, was our eastern neighbor's live oak, which fell on what we call the Buddha garden outside our kitchen and bedroom. It smashed our privacy fence and part of his house while also scaring the crap out of Joe and I, who were looking out the bedroom window when it started to fall.
We have no injuries to report, save Bill's bum ankle, which he sprained in preparation for Frances Friday evening. Thank goodness for Michelob, Yeungling, Red Stripe, and our Chinese purple dynamo crank/battery/solar-powered radio/flashlight/siren.
Our power is still out, but we have lots of food, water, and one another.
Photos of damage are forthcoming.
Friday, September 03, 2004
Those Pesky Hurricanes
On top of my two jobs and the demands of running a household and raising a toddler, we have a hurricane coming. Needless to say, I'm busier than a whore during shore leave. We may be without power for the next few days, so I beg your forgiveness in advance for not updating this blog. If you need a fix of researched opinions, please take a look at the links listed to the left.
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Since I'm too damn busy...
Go read Ben Hellmann's Tuesday, August 31 blog posting "here is the is not" for some really good links and intelligent political commentary, reviews of music you've never heard of, and plenty of references you probably won't get.