imkittymyers at hotmail dot com
Saturday, October 15, 2005
SUN? DO I SEE SOME SUN?
I was all set to post another dreary picture, which I had to grap inbetween bouts of rain. I had the picture cropped, labeled and loaded into blogger. All I had to do was click the "publish" button, and then I looked out the window and saw sunlight! Actual sunlight! So I dashed out the back door, with my Olympus in hand, and I got what may be the best shot I've had all week.Click here to view all the October pictures.
Click here for more autumn pictures.
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Friday, October 14, 2005
I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW (kinda)
Maybe that wasn't fog we've been having; maybe it was all those smokers forced to smoke outdoors :) Leaf by leaf, the hillside is gradually turning.Click here for more autumn pictures I've taken of the area.
Click here to view all the October pictures.
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TABOO TO YOU TOO
I don't smoke. I tried it once when I was 15. I'd swipe a few smokes from my grandmother's pack of Salems. Then well past dark, I'd sit in the dark recess of a doorway of the school across the street and puff away. I thought I was so cool, even though I knew no one could see me. I tried to inhale once, and to this day I do not understand how anyone can inhale enough times to become addicted. But that's just me.My father smoked but my mother didn't; my father died at age 49 from cancer related to his smoking, and my mother is still going at age 87.
I swore I'd never marry a smoker, and yet I did. He gave up smoking indoors for the kids' health, both of whom were severely asthmatic. I tried to get DogMan to switch to cigars, which was when I took that photo (click to enlarge), but that phase was short-lived.
I have always been against laws which force bars and restaurants to go smoke free, because these are privately owned businesses and I think the government should butt out. Not to mention that tobacco is a legal substance. On the other hand, I do enjoy the smoke free atmospheres, at least inside these establishments. The irony is that rightoutsidethedoors is where the smokers congregate to smoke.
Smoking is even taboo in movies. Yet imagine all those great noir films without the requisite smoke. Imagine Bogie with a cigarette. gasp! For all this taboo-ness of smoking in movies, a helluva lot of actors smoke in real life.I was reminded of smoking reading the NYC lit agent, Miss Snark. As she points out, NY City has stiff laws governing smoking. She brings up the subject in the context of her business:
Do you smoke? Sometimes we're not aware of why we react negatively to something. It's just "a feeling". One of the things that can produce that "feeling" is scent. Avoid shooting yourself in the foot subliminally. Store your paper in a smoke free room. If you smoke, you can't tell if your paper smells. I can.
Read it for the comments, which are great reading!
Elsewhere ...
8 If you ever read one of Jennifer Weiner's books -- Good In Bed, In Her Shoes, Goodnight Nobody -- or if you've seen the just-released movie In Her Shoes, you may be interested in this video of an interview with her.
8 Why I love The Superficial: Katie Holmes' aunt is a terrible liar.
8 Here’s a plain brown wrapper book for your weak-end reading. I'm bad :)
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Thursday, October 13, 2005
RAINY DAY
Here's today picture. This is as good as it gets on a day like today. According to The Man, I can blame the rain on Karl Rove :)Click here for October pictures.
Click for Autumn pictures, past & present.
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PERSPECTIVE
A bit of perspective from PowerLine:Who's Cracking Up?
But are Bush's numbers really that bad? His current Real Clear Politics average stands at 41.7% approval. That is at or about the low point in nearly five years in office. How does it compare to other presidents' lowest poll ratings? Actually, it's not bad. Here are the low approval ratings for the last seven presidents:
*Johnson: 35%
*Nixon: 24%
*Ford: 37%
*Carter: 28%
*Reagan: 35%
*Bush I: 29%
*Clinton: 37%
Yes, that's right: Every president since 1963 has had approval ratings, at one time or another during his administration, at least five points lower than Bush's current nadir.
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INTERBLOGATORY MUSINGS
I took this picture years ago in one of the vineyards in Naples, NY. This year's crop has been picked by now. If you ever get the chance, visit the Finger Lakes region, "God's handprint," in autumn. It's not only the best part of NY State, it's its lovliest in the fall. Click here for more autumn pictures. I'll be posting today's October picture later, when the fog lifts.
In the meantime...
8 Y’gotta check out Josephine Gillis’s new blog 10086 Sunset Boulevard: You never dream that one day your big knickers will be your worst nightmare. Not until you go on a trip and your husband invites another woman into your home, where your big knickers still reside. Trust me, it’s much worse than you might think.
She's posted more since then. Bookmark this one as it should be fun!
8 Harry Potter is a naughty boy. Child-on-Child Crime: But vindictiveness is far from Harry's only character defect; he is, to put it bluntly, a liar. As previously, in the latest book he tells so many lies that if he were Pinocchio, his nose would be longer than his Firebolt broomstick (Half-Blood Prince, e.g., pp. 231, 241, 286, 293, 318, 321, 357, 489, 524, 527, 547, 572). And Rowling dutifully labels most of his lies so that even her youngest readers can't miss it that their hero is a habitual liar. Thus, Hogwarts resembles nothing so much as the Clinton White House. Truth telling is simply not a virtue to be expected of the hero. Instead of a "Book of Virtues," then, the Potter books are a veritable Manual of Prevarication.
8 Michael Fumento pulls no punches in Award Inflation: The Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has just announced it's giving its highest honor to Los Angeles paralegal Erin Brockovich, best known for her virtual beatification in the allegedly "based on a true story" film of the same name. Julia Roberts portrayed her as having the mouth of a hooker but a heart of gold. Yet the Hollywood Brockovich is bunk, and this is not Harvard's finest hour.
8 I'm not a fan, but check this out anyway. Madonna, Madonna, Madonna: [S]ome very exciting news about our favorite 47 year old.
Whatever.
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Wednesday, October 12, 2005
IT'S A CURL-UP-WITH-A-GOOD-BOOK DAY
I'm caring for a sick little boy these days. Poor Little H's cold developed into something worse. I've been couch-bound with him watching Shark Tale over and over. And sometimes Elf. So far I haven't tired of either. Besides, it could be worse; he could have insisted upon Bob the Builder and Dora videos. Talk about a living hell!Click here to view the October pictures.
Click pictures to enlarge.
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Tuesday, October 11, 2005
ANY DAY NOW ...
Obviously a watched leaf doesn't turn colors. siiigh
Click here to view the October pictures.
If you need a reason to check out TheSuperficial, here are two:
8 THEY DON'T CALL HER DR. SUNKEN TITS BECAUSE SHE'S A DOCTOR
8 SCIENTOLOGY FINALLY COMES IN HANDY
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Monday, October 10, 2005
PATIENTLY WAITING
I have little interest in politics right now. It's October, my favorite time of the year, and I want to enjoy it without the intrusion of politics and all its nastiness. Last year, I was engrossed in the election at this time and never enjoyed the autumn.*
Today's picture doesn't look that much different from yesterday's. So, I decided to take another shot to give you a wider view. Click the pictures to enlarge.
Click here to view the October pictures.
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ALL IN THE FAMILY
Sopranos is a BIG reason I keep HBO. I don't want to think about the time when, y'know ... sniff sniff. Soanyways ... Instead of regurgitating the news on the left, I decided it was easier to scan and post it, especially since it's small. Don't Tony and Carm make a nice couple? Then I read the following in Rush & Molloy today.Reading between 'Sopranos' lines: We hear the creator of the HBO series has teed off his faithful actors by releasing only small sections of the script to them at a time … "[The actors are] going to the Teamsters so they can see the whole story," our spy says. The union, which is responsible for all the set changes and handiwork on the show, requires a full copy of the script. So as long as the stars make nice with the Teamsters, they have no problem getting a complete copy of the lines.
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Sunday, October 09, 2005
HOME COOKIN' WEATHER
I am putting off turning on the furnace for as long as possible, because of the high cost of utilities. The nights have been in the 40s and the days don't feel that much better since it's been rainy. So I baked pumpkin pies today and made beef barley soup. It does add a bit of warmth to the house and it smells good, too. (I add molasses to the pie filling for a richer flavor.) The temperatures are supposed to rise into the high 60s by week's end. In the meantime, however, I'm enjoying this weather.*
LAZY SNUGGLE-UP WEEKEND
As the excitement of leaf peeping continues unabated ... zzzzzzClick here to see all of the October pictures.
Yes, it's one of those lazy, snuggle-up weekends. It's rainy and raw outside, so I snuggled up with Janet Evanovich's Eleven On Top, which is the latest in the Stephanie Plum series. I began reading it late yesterday afternoon, and read straight through 'til 4:00 in the morning when I finished it. I know some series tend to wane after a while, but I thought that this one was the absolute best. Can't tell you why exactly -- I suck at book reviews -- but a lot has to do with the fact that I love the characters, and this is a character driven series. I actually laughed out loud often while reading this one. Like Stephanie, I am seriously caught between the high octane testosterone of Morelli and Ranger. In the past I have favored Ranger, but this book put them on even keel. I love Grandma Mazur; what a hoot she is! In fact, there isn't a dud character in the series. If you haven't read any of these, I strongly recommend you begin at the beginning with One For The Money.
While I've been tucked away in bed with Ranger and Morelli (and my cat Princess on top), nearby Cohocton got its Fall Foliage Festival underway with their annual tree sitting contest. "Folks have been doing that since 1967 when tree-sitting became a key event of the annual three-day Fall Foliage Festival in Cohocton. The contest began at 5 p.m. Friday and will end at 5 p.m. today."
Elsewhere around the blogosphere ...
This is the first time Lorie read this media bias joke, and in this post she wants to know What Were They Thinking?
Sissy writes: We never go to the movies at home but were all set to go to George Clooney's "Good Night, and Good Luck" until we realized it wasn't playing at the Revere Showcase Cinemas. Their loss.
For her viewing pleasure, maybe Sissy should consider seeing Inside The Bubble, if for no other reason than to find out what purpose an inflatable sheep served in Kerry's campaign. Documentary Dooms Kerry's 2008 Hopes: It may surprise you, but both John Kerry and Ted Kennedy believe Kerry is the frontrunner for the Democratic nod in 2008. If the pair had any prayer of this, their hopes have been dashed with the release of a new documentary film made during John Kerry's presidential campaign. Pundits say it has torpedoed any remaining chance he has of running for the White House again.
And from the lefty UK paper: Fly on the wall film dims last hope for Kerry: But perhaps most painful [moment in the film] of all is the hubris that seemed to overwhelm the Kerry camp on election day after early leaks of exit polls appeared to suggest he had won. As top Kerry aide Jim Loftus hands over the data he remarks gleefully: 'They have a word for that, and they usually write it in big black print on the front of newspapers and they call it a fucking landslide.' Meanwhile another aide remarks: 'I hear they are crying in the White House.'
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