It's Always Too Good To Be True

Back a long, long time ago I fell in love with a Masterpiece Theater series called "Lillie". Here is a description about it from Amazon:

If ever there was an unofficial queen of England, it was Lillie Langtry (1852-1929), a woman of such dazzling beauty and charm that no man could resist her. And if ever there was a definitive film of her life, it is this TV series. The 1979 production follows her on her rise from obscurity on the Isle of Jersey to worldwide celebrity in London high society and later in America...

It starred Francesca Annis who played the part so masterfully that even I was in love with her. Recently I have been thinking about DVDs I would like to own and Googled this. I really, really heart this series.

Imagine my great joy today when I found "Lillie" in a bin of previously viewed DVDs marked $4.99! A future rainy day treat! The fact that there was only one DVD did not faze me. Maybe the whole series fits on one DVD! I got it for $4.99!

It wasn't until I looked it up again on Amazon tonight that I see (glaring, screaming at me) it is an eleven hour series. The 13 episodes come on 4 discs. I own (for only $4.99!) episode 13 with bonus segments.

Yes, I know I have frequent (continuous?) bouts of total stupidity.

I Miss Abbie Hoffman

"The police are not here to create disorder. The police are here to preserve disorder."
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley

I heard Fresh Air today. Terry Gross was interviewing Brett Morgen about his film "Chicago 10"*. The animated movie tells the story of the trial of Abbie and 6 others for conspiracy and inciting to riot during the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago. Mayor Daley's statement about the riots is cited above.

I stole Abbie's book "Steal This Book" from my brother who, I'm sure, stole it from someone. Someone later stole the book from me, so it all evened out.

No one could mix it up quite like Abbie. And here we are again -- another stupid war, another stupid president. I think we are due for another character like Abbie.


*#8 was Bobby Seale, whose trial was separated from the others. He was bound and gagged during his trial. No shit.
#9 & #10 are the lawyers that defended them.

Looking for Boring

Get Yourself Some Boring -- I miss your blog. I miss your take on American Idol. I cannot slog through this without you. It is killing me.

Why do the judges heap praises on people that make me want to reach for my earplugs? Are the contestants really that good? Or are the judge's ears dead from week after week of listening to this?

You are the only one I trust. Plus you were very funny, too. Please come back.

Look At My New Rabbit!

Rabbit has a new look! I'm pretty pleased with myself even if I am too stupid to rewrite the code. I am, however, clever enough to redo the graphics and make them work. Woot!

Why?

People who have been tuning in for the current weather report in central Iowa may wonder why I continue to hang in here when I have been so miserable. Gwen was right, on Crab's island I would not have my nuthatch, who so graciously allowed me to photograph him this morning.

My personal nuthatch.

And I would miss my favorite tree that I planted when it was just a little stick.

My favorite tree.

And I would miss a day like today. Brilliant and dazzling with diamond dust sprinkling down.

Dazzling.

Diamond Dust.

Riches.

Global Warming

The wind chill was -35 when I got up. Four hours later it was -27. I am holding out for -20.

When my blood thins maybe I will find something else to talk about.

Whether the Weather...

...will overtake this blog or not.

I hate to beat this dead horse but damn, it is cold!

Time Capsule

I cleaned out my frig today. 'Nuf said.

Thar She Blows!

It has been windy all day. This morning it snowed / rained slush. The good news is that it was a balmy 30 degrees above zero.

The precipitation has stopped but the wind has not. The forecast is for "bitterly cold" temps tomorrow (wind chills in the negative range).

In Iowa we always have something to talk about. And what we always talk about is the weather. And I am sick of it. I would love weather so benign that it would never come up in conversation. (See here and donate if you can.)

We need to change the term "global warming" to "f%@!ed up weather that everyone is f#!$ing sick of".

Somebody New

I don't have very exciting birds at my feeder. Mostly I have just blue jays, sparrows and juncos (plus the pheasants taking refuge in the trees). The pesky squirrels do not count as birds but do count for entertainment value. This year has been exceptional for birds with a pair of downy woodpeckers and one hairy woodpecker who have been around all winter.

But today I saw a nuthatch! He's so cute I want him to live here forever.

You know I didn't take this picture because if I had the background would be white from the damn snow. The little bugger wouldn't let me picture him.

My mom called today and I was thrilled to give my new bird report. While I was talking to her a wild turkey walked up into her yard.

This Is Getting Old

For the second morning in a row I woke up to this:

More snow.

More snow.

It is 10 degrees right now. I guess I should be happy that it is above zero.

Are Stigmas All Bad?

Back in the olden days when I was in high school, there was a stigma against unwed mothers. Not that it didn't happen, it did.

These days (around here at least) there seems to be an epidemic of young, unwed women (and girls) becoming pregnant and flaunting it. They have baby showers that are announced in the local paper. They share Title 19 tips. And some continue to procreate without the benefit of a partner to help them nurture their children.

Am I nuts, or are stigmas sometimes a good thing?

Much Ado About Nothing

Because I am supposedly "good with computers", I got drafted into this part time job setting up and testing voting machines. On Super Tuesday when the rest of the country was selecting nominees for president, our county had a vote on a 1 ¢ sales tax.

This one cent tax is to be split up among the towns according to their size. A big hunk of it is to go to the county itself. There were 2 ballots at each poll -- one ballot for people living inside an incorporated area and one ballot for all of us unincorporated, disenfranchised people. Each poll had its own set of specially printed ballots.

I was asked to go to the poll and sit for the last three hours of voting. I don't know why. My job was to remove the computer card from the machine and take it to the courthouse as soon as the polls closed at eight. One of the ladies in charge of the poll was suppose to take all the materials and the paper trail back to the courthouse when they were done. I thought this was stupid and told them as long as I was risking my life on snowy roads for a computer card, I might as well take the rest of the junk, too.

The three polling ladies were there for the duration -- one hour set up and 8 hours of the polls being open. In the three hours I was there, three people came in to vote.

The ladies played a dice game and I did Sudokus. Around 7 p.m. the auditor called my cell and told me to wait until the roads cleared in the morning to haul everything in. I was relieved that I did not have to drive through blowing snow in the dark.

We closed up shop at 8 and I phoned the courthouse with the results. It was very important to let the courthouse know immediately what had happened so they could post it on the website. The ladies signed their names in 20 different places and everything was locked securely and loaded into the trunk of my car.

This morning I checked the website and no results had been posted. It made me so happy to know I had stood outside in a snow storm trying to get a decent signal on my phone last night. I drove to the courthouse and at 8 a.m. hauled a tote box, a big portfolio and 2 bags of ballots up the stairs to the auditor's office.

And the auditor's office wasn't open.

CLOSED.

Yes, that is my thumb in the picture. I can barely use my cell phone as it is. I thought I was doing good to get the picture on my computer since I don't have a plan that pays for picture phones.

I wandered into the recorder's office and found out that the auditor doesn't open until 8:30. So I drug the stuff in there, went to the coffee shop across the street and filled my mug and came back to wait. And take more pictures.

Inside the courthouse.

The auditor came at 8:25 and I handed over all the stuff and signed some more papers and verified that yes, indeed, out of the 185 ballots that had been printed for our precinct, nineteen had been used by voters.

A Solid Foundation For Marriage

There was some twittering going on at the bowling alley last night. A diamond ring was being flashed by a certain young woman.

I had to ask who gave it to her.

The guy she calls and idiot and an asshole? Who she's said she hates? The guy she kicks out at least once a month?

Yep, that guy.

I wonder if her little sister's recent engagement has something to do with her suddenly sporting a diamond from that guy.

It is too late to hope they will not spawn and continue this cycle of stupidity. They already have 2 kids.