It's Not All About Gun Regulation

This week, Philip and I watched an episode of Hawaii Five-O where a bad guy who was shot fell face-first into the water of a shallow creek. McGarrett cavalierly steps over the bad guy's body to saunter off, joking with Danny, having once again narrowly escaped death on what was supposed to be a social outing. Now, these two characters often exhibit unseemly behavior for men who are supposed to be the creme de la creme of police officers, observing protocol, following the letter of the law. Fat chance of a change of heart! Makes for boring television.

This year's touch-and-go, now hit NBC show Revolution glorifies post-technological civil war. There is a distinct plot of good guys versus bad guys, rebels versus new world order. However, the murders on all sides seem very random.

Ask yourself this age old question ... is Die Hard really a Christmas movie?

Don't get me started on video games because I wouldn't begin to know what I was talking about. But, a quick internet search for the hottest games of 2012 reveals this Forbes article, which exemplifies my horror at finding highly-evolved weaponry and shooting in EVERY SINGLE GAME (this is Forbes mind you, F-O-R-B-E-S): http://www.forbes.com/sites/games/2012/12/11/the-best-video-games-of-2012/.

Long story short ... it's not all about gun regulation, People! We have become so inured to, and desirous of, violence in our media viewing that we fail to realize we find entertainment in militaristic, vigilante, highly-weaponized civil disobedience, even under the guise of justice.

A sick mind will use whatever means necessary to justify violence toward innocents, but does not have to look much farther than the current fodder grown in today's media. WE HAVE ALL GOT TO STOP REWARDING FILM STUDIOS, AUTHORS, GAME DESIGN COMPANIES AND TELEVISION NETWORKS WITH OUR VIEWERSHIP OF PROGRAMMING THAT DEVALUES HUMAN LIFE AND PROMOTES WEAPONS VIOLENCE AS A MEANS TO RESOLVE CONFLICT.

 

Swimming In the Creative Process

As the band XTC said, "I've got one, two, three, four, five senses working overtime."




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Organized Joy?

It strikes me that the truly joyous moments of my life are rarely, if ever, planned.

Why I'm Hysterical

Am I embarrassed to talk about any of this stuff, 'hysterical' female stuff? No. Why should I be? Our bodies are a finely balanced array of parts on parts that sometimes get out of whack. And, all middle-aged females will have to hit menopause sometime. However, I am interested in defining what this recent surgical event has done to my attitude as a rather peppy, literate 41-year-old.

Etymologically, I could choose to define my somewhat changed worldview as neurotic brought about by the dysfunction of my uterus, pining on for relief from hot flashes and crabbing at my husband,

OR

I could continue to spend my post-op recovery time endeavoring to learn skills such as how to play the ukulele, so that I may demonstrate my willingness to make an ass of myself over a grating rendition of "Mele Kalikimaka: The Hawaiian Christmas Song" at my next book club's holiday get together.

Oh, which shall I choose? Which ... shall ... I ... choose?

What's So Funny About Peas, Lard and Undone Canning

Some domestic tasks just never get done. The effects of my negligence have most acutely affected the household budget ... specifically, the grocery bill. Why do I reproach myself on St. Valentine's Day, the most masochistic, disingenuous, frightful day of the year? Because, I can.

Summer and Autumn of 2011, saw me in the garden loving tending to produce intended to feed two adults and two dogs. Object - grow enough to feed us through the season by blanching and freezing, drying or canning. The actual state of affairs - I prepared nothing, save a few jars of homemade pesto and a scattering of dried herbs. Pathetic. Though, I will cut myself a little slack in that I personally grew several pounds of fresh produce for our local food pantry in a half-sized community garden plot.

Now, here in Wisconsin, this household has been shucking out ducats left and right for organic diced tomatoes and soybeans. Keeping the dogs in carrots and radishes requires a full-time job's pay. There is little relief from my guilt when suppertime rolls around. I suck in my breath and reflect back to those early sugar snap peas that never made it into the house; they were that delicious.

Wondering about the reference to lard and how that all fits in? Well, I did somehow find the time to collect all the Sunday breakfasts' bacon drippings in a Twinings tea tin in order to fatten up the cornbread (which never gets made), slather the green beans (which I never froze) and liven up the Bolognese sauce (but, I canned no tomatoes). Again, pathetic.