spacellama

I'd ask him to please take me for a ride in the Millennium Falcon. And maybe let me use his blaster.

When my dad was sick, I loaded up my iPod shuffle with all the oldies and Merle Haggard I had (lots of the former; only two songs of the latter) and took it to him in the hospital, so he wouldn't be so bored. He was too dizzy at the time to watch TV. After he died, Mom asked to keep the shuffle, so she could listen to the songs that he liked. A lot of those oldies were songs they'd danced to in their younger days.

I've never wanted to ask for the iPod back; I want Mom to keep it. But I have been jonesing for a portable music solution. I bought a Zen, but it won't play any of my purchased-at-iTunes songs. Pfft. Just on the off chance that it would work, I just loaded up my BlackBerry's data card with songs and plugged it in. It works like a champ.

My phone is now indispensable in a whole 'nother way.

Also, no you aren't hallucinating: I really am posting here on el-jay. Good to see you again, too.

Easter, for me, isn't much about bunnies or peeps. It's about God and how freakin awesome it is that she (or he; whatever, it's not as if God is petty about gender) bothered to understand the human condition first-hand, every stinking, nasty part of it, including excruciating death.

And I'm sure the folks at church have a lot to say about this. That's what they do, after all.

Except lately, I'm a little weirded out by religion. See, I'm Catholic. I'm almost ashamed to admit that the abuse scandal (I really hate that term, by the way: a "scandal" is somebody sleeping with a co-worker or cheating on taxes; this is more like a massacre of innocence) has dimmed my enthusiasm for church. Not my church in particular; things there seem to be aboveboard. But any church organization that would ignore the cries of victims and instead, in a very zero sum way, seek to further itself just doesn't seem to be what Jesus would have had in mind. Jesus, after all, was all about taking care of folks who were very young, very old, sick, and poor.

I feel that my church has betrayed him.

On this day when Christians celebrate the most fundamental tenet of our religion -- the notion that Jesus Christ was, and is, divine -- I'm not going to church.

So, this morning at around 8 am, it was sleeting and very cold. The roads were interesting but passable. However, every weather reporting entity was giving us upwards of 90% chance of snow starting in late morning and continuing to about 3 inches accumulation. This in an area where nobody has snow tires or has a half clue how to drive in wintery weather.

All local ISDs decided to keep school open.

Just now, they decided to dismiss students early. Right in the middle of the snow coming down and about an inch of it already on the ground. The half-foot puddle of water in our backyard has a veneer of ice along the top, which tells me that overpasses probabably do, too. It's not like we have municipal snow plows or even a good fleet of sanding vehicles in Austin, Texas. You couldn't pay me to get in my car and take it out for a whirl right now.

So, the brilliant minds heading our local school districts kept school in session, despite very clear warnings, as long as it was safe, but now that it is very much NOT safe to be driving out there, they're releasing the students.

Brilliant.

The only explanation for this irresponsible decision-making is that they wanted the students in the classrooms at 11 am, when they take attendance for purposes of getting their Federal funding for the day. Screw safety; it's all about money.

There's a word for these people. It starts with A.

When CNN.com tries to be serious, it unintentionally sets the following two lines one right after another on its front page:

President Obama will sign an executive order Thursday setting up a bipartisan commission aimed at reining in the federal debt, a White House official said. FULL STORY

CNNMoney: Stimulus spending picks up


*giggles*

You know those people who slow down as they pass highway accidents not because they're trying to be safe but because they want a gander at the gore? Or the people who watch NASCAR races just in hopes of seeing a really awful crash?

Those people, apparently, work for CNN et al.

No one likely to read or watch or hear news is ignorant of what happened in Haiti. Everyone who will donate likely already has, or will do so without any more prodding. So, further stories and photos of how bad it is in Haiti amount to nothing more than voyeurism of the grisly. Stop it, already.

Bill Clinton's foundation has a nifty, easy way to donate to the efforts to help Haiti after the earthquake:

"Text HAITI to 20222 and $10 will be given to the Clinton Foundation's Haiti Relief Fund, charged to your cell phone bill."

(from the Clinton Foundation web site)

edit: 

The Red Cross is also offering this donation method: 

"Text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 to the [Red Cross] International Response Fund."

Haiti? Oh, no. Another case of bad things happening to those who can least endure it. My prayers are there tonight.

The Red Cross.

Sen. Harry Reid said something he regrets. Whatever. The thing that stinks my socks is all the political ya-hoos and talking heads who are now expressing "outrage." Yes, outrage. It's always outrage, even if the offense is minor. In this case... *shrug*. I'd say it's fairly minor. But then, I'd count lots of other "outrageous" crap as pretty minor, too.

I wish the politicos spent more time reading bills and less time grandstanding their outrage.

All righty, I just got our Christmas cards in the mail and will be sending them out in the next few days (late, of course; all the ones going to non-U.S. addresses will likely arrive after the fact, but you expect different from me?).

I have a pretty decent list of addresses, but there are a few people whose info I'm sure has changed. Specifically, Shannen, Sara T, Brianna (I'm not sure if your addy has changed or not; I have a Pittsburgh one), Emerald and Nobody and Family, Colleen (I still have your Scotland one), Sanna (UMEA still correct?), Jae (did you move?), Michelle R (I have a NJ addy, but I think you might have moved), Emma W (I know you're globetrotting, but where would you like mail to go?), Sarah and Jack and Family (I have the Neans one). And Una, did I ever get an addy for you? Would love to send a card your way, too, so you could see pics of the family I've been telling you about all these years. :)

I'm screening comments on this post, so your info is private.

Thanks much!