Article on Farenheit 9/11

Interesting.

http://slate.msn.com/id/2102723/

Interesting bits...

From a CBS news article -

Despite concerns about his handling of Iraq, and an overall approval rating of 42%, George W. Bush is still running neck and neck with Democrat John Kerry as the choice of registered voters. Growing public optimism about the nation’s economy has helped lift support for the President.

Kerry is the choice of 45% of registered voters, Bush the choice of 44%. This is a sharp turnaround for the Bush campaign in the span of just one month; in May, Kerry had opened up a wide 8-point lead over Bush. The race has been close since April.

KERRY VS. BUSH: CHOICE IN NOVEMBER
(Registered voters)

Now
John Kerry
45%
George Bush
44%

5/2004
John Kerry
49%
George Bush
41%

4/2004
John Kerry
46%
George Bush
44%

As has been the case throughout the campaign, Bush’s backers are best described by their fervor for the President, while Kerry’s supporters are driven more by their dislike of the opposition than by Kerry himself. 56% of Bush’s supporters say they strongly favor Bush, while 32% back him with reservations. Kerry, meanwhile, inspires the strong support of less than one-third of his voters, while 37% are with the Democrat mainly because they dislike George W. Bush.

Recent commercials for both candidates have sought to portray them each as optimistic about the future, and voters have been receptive. 78% say Bush is optimistic, and 70% say this about Kerry. Both are also trusted to keep their word as president.

Bush continues to have an advantage over Kerry on saying what he believes: 58% of voters think Bush says what he believes, compared to just 34% who say the same about Kerry. 55% of voters think Kerry says what people want to hear.

Yet as the campaigns struggle to define themselves and their opponents, neither candidate is seen by voters as sharing their priorities. Only 41% of voters think Bush shares their priorities, and just 42% think Kerry shares their priorities for the country.

Freedom

A note given to President Bush...with his comment..



I was thinking..
The only reason the US is a free country and generally has peace is because of war (War for Independence, Civil War, etc.).
Interesting.

I just had a flashback of being in the kitchen at NLA and drinking coffee.

I don't normally drink coffee unless it's cold, but this morning at work, coffee sounded good.
So I get a cup and fill it and found some of those little flavored creamer things in the refrigerator.
I put those in my coffee when we used to make it while we were doing hot lunches.

That was five years ago.
People, I'm getting old.
I just turned 22.
*sigh*

Travels

Mother and I went to San Francisco yesterday to the Palace of the Legion of Honor Museum. They have an Art Deco exhibit right now that is very nifty. I wouldn't advise taking children to see it. They have a video playing of Josephine Baker. 'Nuff said.
My favorite thing in the exhibit was probably the big architectural model of Rockefeller Center. There was a video of old footage of New York City playing on the wall behind it.
I cried.
I need help.

*sigh*

Every Saturday and Sunday, they have concerts with the symphonic organ in the great hall by the Rodin gallery.
That thing is soooo cool. The guy played some Sousa marches and a medley from The Music Man and some other stuff. I displayed marvelous self-control in not bursting out into song during the medley. *pats self on back*

I'm not feeling so hot today.
Had dreams last night which included being held hostage and having a guy after me with a large knife.
*sigh*

I had some Top Ramen for lunch.
Amazing how something which is actually kind of nasty can be so comforting.
:)

I approve

This test brought to you by Blakeney Manor.

Find out:Which Scarlet Pimpernel character are you?

I have never been a fan of this song...

You're... "Stars"
Stars in your multitudes, Scarce to be counted, filling the darkness With order and light-- You're an anthem to obsession and old-fashioned family values. Eek. Yet you're deeply poetic. What's Your Les Miz Themesong?

It's Friday

So I'm feeling a little loopy today.

I was just cracking up because the guy in the office next to me was trying to say hypoglycemic.
*giggle*
He wasn't having much success.

***The story you are about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.***

Mother and I were going through the time sheets and contracts and I noticed that "Joe Smith" had signed "Bill Jones'" contract. So I thought "Hhmm..I wonder who singed "Joe Smith's" contract?
I checked.
"Bill Jones" signed it.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!!!!!!!

Boy did I get a laugh out of that.

AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!

I GOT AN A IN SPANISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!

I am officially embarrassed for the American public

...from a news article...

Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell is close to signing a deal with Provident Music Group that would instantly make him one of Christian music's highest-profile singers.

''It intrigues me,'' Littrell said yesterday in Franklin, where he was playing host to a charity golf tournament. ''When the Backstreet Boys were riding high, my mom said, 'The Backstreet Boys are a mere steppingstone for you.' I didn't know what she meant then, but now I think I do. We've sold 68 million albums, and I would never have imagined selling that many. Why not use that as a tool?''


*rests head on keyboard and commences sobbing*

Disgusting

Folks, this whole business of Mr.Bill Clinton's new book is just ridiculous.
People are falling all over themselves and him.
He called his affair an extreme moral dilemma or something like that.

Huh.
Right.

Someone should come up with a new slogan...
Commit adultery in the Oval Office and make MILLIONS!!!

My fellow Americans, we need help.
And that need of help has nothing to do with Mr.George Bush.
*sigh*

My little Baby :)

Isn't he cute.
He's being very lovey dovey today.
I think he must have done something...

The Dance

Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared 'neath the stars alone
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance

Holding you I held everything
For a moment wasn't I a king
But if I'd only known how the king would fall
Hey who's to say you know I might have chanced it all

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance

Yes my life is better left to chance
I could have missed the pain but I'd of had to miss the dance

Tony Arata

Well how about that!

Mother got the cd of Tim Smith's message from a couple of Sundays ago and I put it in the computer to listen to it.
Windows Media Player lists it as a Pink Floyd album.
LOL

Those Brontes...

MY COMFORTER

by: Emily Brontë (1818-1848)

ELL hast thou spoken, and yet not taught
A feeling strange or new;
Thou hast but roused a latent thought,
A cloud-closed beam of sunshine brought
To gleam in open view.

Deep down, concealed within my soul,
That light lies hid from men;
Yet glows unquenched--though shadows roll,
Its gentle ray cannot control--
About the sullen den.

Was I not vexed, in these gloomy ways
To walk alone so long?
Around me, wretches uttering praise,
Or howling o'er their hopeless days,
And each with Frenzy's tongue;--

A brotherhood of misery,
Their smiles as sad as sighs;
Whose madness daily maddened me,
Distorting into agony
The bliss before my eyes!

So stood I, in Heaven's glorious sun,
And in the glare of Hell;
My spirit drank a mingled tone,
Of seraph's song, and demon's moan;
What my soul bore, my soul alone
Within itself may tell!

Like a soft, air above a sea,
Tossed by the tempest's stir;
A thaw-wind, melting quietly
The snow-drift on some wintry lea;
No: what sweet thing resembles thee,
My thoughtful Comforter?

And yet a little longer speak,
Calm this resentful mood;
And while the savage heart grows meek,
For other token do not seek,
But let the tear upon my cheek
Evince my gratitude!

Picky vs. Particular

So Joyce sent me some stuff from the Belgian cast album of Romeo et Juliette.

Boy did I get a laugh out of that.
One of the guys, I think it's Benvolio, sounds like a munchkin. It's that recently sucked helium sound.
*giggle*

Looking back..

I hereby offer my most sincere apologies to anyone who was asked to read my poems from a few years ago.

I re-read some of them.

Painful. Just painful.

And embarrassing.

*sigh*

However, there are two or three that aren't bad.
I'll post some of them tomorrow.

Bro.Morgan was in fine form last night. Has us all rolling in the pew at certain points. He's a fireball, that one.
I remember when he first came to Napa and he stayed in a trailor on the grounds. He would come out in the morning to be with us kids and he would complain about how cold it was. Complaining about the cold...in Napa. He would play quarterback for both teams in football. Now there's talent.
lol
But he was quite a guy. There was one girl in particular who took tons of pictures of him. Andrea and Shannon used to slip notes under the door of his trailor.
lol
Most of the girls had a crush on him. I must say he is still one fine looking man. Sort of gives a girl hope, ya know?
I was thinking about all the evangelists that came through Napa...Claiborn, Griffin, Grayson, Morgan, Martin, McKee, McKemmy...
G's and M's seem to work well for us.
lol
Last but not least, there was that evangelist named Timothy Whiseant. He married my best friend, but I forgive him. It's a good thing we get along splendidly or I might have a preacher on my hit list.
*wink*

I have the best pastor in the whole wide world.
I think what I admire the most about him is how much he loves people.
That's often hard for me.
I realize that I tend to be rather critical about people and I think of myself as the ultimate judge of character.
But Bro.Brown loves people and I never doubt that he loves his church.

I feel a Bronte mood coming on.
Might have to read some of their poetry.
I think Emily is my favorite of the three, as far as poetry goes.
Then there is Byron.
Dear Byron.
Sal pointed out that in poetry, I prefer the Romantics, but that period of music bugs me. Have I mentioned that I recently sat through an entire Dvorak symphony? Can't I get a Badge of Courage or something for that? I had to call Bec and we yelled together about how blech that music is. It just makes no sense. It starts out with this big whopping climax and then calms down into practically a waltz and then it slaps you over the head again. Bah. *shakes fist*
It's funny how many times I turn on the classical station and think "Oh, I really like this piece!" and it turns out to be Bach or Vivaldi.
lol
Of course, I do like a good adagio now and then and I like some of the later stuff, like Prokofiev...
But Mozart doesn't do much for me. Or Beethoven. Give me my Baroque dudes and I'm happy.

Well I've rambled on long enough.
I should be heading to bed.

I leave you with this...

Music, when soft voices die,
vibrates in the memory;
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within the sense they quicken.

Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heap'd for the beloved's bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,
Love itself shall slumber on.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

So where is Darcy?

You are Lizzy Bennett. You are beautiful,
intelligent, and have particularly fine eyes.
Your scathing wit is envied by everyone, male
and female alike. Even better, you seem to
have caught the attention of one broodingly
beautiful Mr. Darcy!


Which Pride and Prejudice Character Are You?
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Another lesson on keeping your mouth shut

I am completely tooting my own horn here, but hey, that's what blogs are for...

I want to congratulate myself on my self-control in not yelling at some people on the Jane board who actually had the nerve to refer to James' portrayal of Rochester as sometimes, and I quote, passionless.



I like to think of myself as a person who has the ability to see all sides of an issue. I do try to investigate the varying opinions on a subject and then make a judgement for myself.
But my friends, there are some things that are just....they are just beyond....well, you know what I'm trying to say here!!!
I mean really!!!

PASSIONLESS????????



PASSIONLESS!!!!!!!!

GOOD GRIEF, PEOPLE!!!!
That's like saying that George Bush's accent sounds like he's from the Bronx!!!
Or that Bach and Mozart couldn't compose music!!!
Or that Vermeer didn't understand color and light!!!
Or that David didn't kill Goliath!!!

Am I making my point?

Someone in the discussion said that they feel that James holds back sometimes.
I totally agree, if we are talking about the cast recording.
That's one thing that is very annoying. You put the guy in a studio and it's like tying up a wild horse and expecting him to run a mile in 30 seconds. It just doesn't work.
Now in a live situation, the man practically blows off your eyebrows with the power in his voice. Michael is kind of the same way.
This is something that I can only chalk up to the fact that some people are merely singers and others are performers who sing.
Steven Curtis Chapman, for example, basically sounds the same live as he does on a recording.

So, I didn't say anything.
Aren't your proud of me?
Because I know he is great and he definitely knows he is great.
So that's that.
*grin*
And if we agreed on everything all the time, we could be living in a world with only one kind of cookie, and that would be the real tragedy.

Rochester Ramblings

Well my friends, I found the folder that has my old poems and other mishmash in it. I took some of the stuff I wrote as Rochester and mixed it together into the following.
If only we could get inside his head.
:)
FYI - We enter the story shortly after the attempted wedding and Jane has left Thornfield...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I cannot leave Thornfield. My prison has become the only balm for my wound. Jane’s spirit still lingers in this accursed place, giving it some redemptive value.
My mind knows that she has fled, but my heart still believes her to be near. There are times when I sit at my desk and I hear her light step advancing toward me in the hall. For one fleeting instant, I expect to see her shining face peer around the door. My heart leaps in my breast and I rise to greet her, my arms open to receive her in an embrace. But she does not appear.
I thought I knew what it was to suffer. I thought I had experienced pain beyond endurance. But what I fool I was then. I realize now that the suffering of self is nothing when compared to the knowledge that I have brought such pain upon the one person that I truly love. I think of her suffering and I fear for her with such intensity that I cannot draw a breath. My thoughts torment me every waking moment and even the night does not afford me any rest. I fall into restless sleep and wake several times before dawn, my pulse racing, my body drenched with sweat, as horrible dreams of her fate drive me into despair.
Last night this restlessness was stronger than ever and I gave up all hope of sleep. I roamed through the Hall, trying to find some peace for my mind through exertion of my body. I came to Adele’s room and saw that the door was ajar. An unseen force compelled me to step silently across the threshold. I made my way to the sleeping child and saw that Mrs.Fairfax had left a chair next to the small chest drawers beside the bed. I looked down and my eyes feel upon a slender volume of fairy tales, a bedtime storybook. It was well worn, a gift from Jane to Adele on her birthday. I recalled the many times I had seen them reading by the fire in the drawing room. No doubt this token of Jane’s affection was to be treasured as though it were made of gold.
I came to rest in the chair and observed Adele’s face for a few moments. It was immediately apparent to me that she had cried herself to sleep. Her little pink cheeks were tearstained and her pillow bore the evidence of those tears. A wave of sympathy came over me without warning. I suddenly felt as if Adele was Jane as a little girl with no father or mother and the person who had shown her some kindness had left her behind. I reached over to the bed and took her small hand in mine. Something inside me seemed to break lose. Tears flooded my eyes and a sob escaped my lips. I tried to force it down, but my resistance was no match for the emptiness in my soul. As my memories of Jane rushed forth, the emotions that I had kept locked inside for so long spilled over and I began to weep harshly and brokenly. My heart ached more with every beat.
I grasped Adele’s hand tightly and for some minutes I continued in this state until I felt her stir. She blinked a few times and looked at me. I was surprised to find that I was not ashamed, nor did I try to stop the tears. I looked in her eyes and saw instant comprehension and empathy. She drew herself from under the bed cover and without saying a word, climbed into my lap. She wiped my cheeks with the sleeve of her nightdress and I knew she was trying to be brave, but the quivering of her bottom lip did not escape my notice.
“I miss her, too,” came out in barely a whisper.
Her little arms went up and wrapped around my neck. I held onto her like a man drowning in a relentless stormy sea. Our tears flowed freely and mingled as one. We wept together, sharing the same grief

Uh-oh...

Silly Yahoo changed their email set-up.
Bethany is probably unhappy with them.

This morning I went shopping with Andrea and I actually bought something.
*gasp*
I know, I know.
But it was only 10 bucks and I don't have anything like it, so hey...what could I say.
:)

Goodness, it's hot today.
93.
Ouch.

I need some food.

News flash

Ladies and gentleman, when I'm fit to be read in public, I will resume blogging.
Until then, find a way to live without me.

I'm alive!

Ah, mes amis, it's been a long time, no?
:)

So, this last week, Sal and I had a lovely visit which included the following:

-a day in San Francisco consisting of a performance at Davies Symphony Hall and tea at the Ritz with Gretchen
*sticks nose up in the air*

-a day in Stockton with Lissa

-a trip to Colorado

-a trip to Yorkshire

And we did all of that while staying in California!!!

I am now the proud owner of a program called Nero, which allows me to change mpeg files to vcds.
*insert big cheesy grin*
I would just like to add here that walking is an art which most men do not understand.
I would also like to add that the very idea of Melanie Hamilton appearing at a public ball while she is great with child is absolutely ridiculous.
And while I'm at it, I'll mention that Rhett Butler is a great character, almost on par with Rochester.
Oh, and Vinnie is lovely.
:)

Has anyone noticed that I'm growing fond of the word "which?"
I'm not sure why.
It just seems very satisfactory at the moment.

I was thinking...someone needs to write a musical version of Ruth or Esther and I don't mean Veggietales here, folks...I mean a real musical. Hhhmmm.....

One of the greatest things I have learned in life is that keeping one's mouth shut is often a very smart thing to do, especially if the person addressing you does not know what they are talking about in the first place and you are vastly more informed on a subject that they. Because some things just aren't worth arguing over.

My mother is so cute.
She saw a new Barbie, Titania from A Midsummer Night's Dream and when she told me about it, she pronounced Titania like titanium, rather than employing the short form of the first "i" in the name.
Shakespeare isn't her thing.

Sal brought up a very interesting point about Louis Lamour's heroes - they always described as "broad of shoulder and lean of hip."
LOL

Yesterday everyone was all prepared for a big hail storm and the silly thing moved into Solano County, so we were let down.
*sigh*
I was rather looking forward to it.
I remember one time when I was with Becca and there was a big storm at about 1am. Harry was sitting by the window and a streak of lighting got a little close. She vacated that window rather quickly.
:)

Well, I seem to be typing like my fingers are hyperactive so I better get going before the keyboard starts smoking.

Au revoir chickies!

Well duh!

You are Jane Eyre. You were orphaned as a baby and
given over to the care of your harsh Aunt Reed.
Shunned and disliked by the Reeds of Gateshead
Hall, you worked to earn your respect and
recognition at Lowood Charitable Institution,
where you lived for nine years before becoming
a governess at Thornfield Hall for Mr.
Rochester's young ward, Adele Varens. You are a
quiet, kind, stubborn, deep person who makes a
good listener and witty person to converse
with. You have a big heart and moral
conscience. I salute you.


Which character from Jane Eyre are you?
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