Current Events (For lack of a better title)

I think I'm too old to be this clueless.

It was just a few days ago that I learned about what was going on in Burma Myanmar. Who pays attention to Burma, right?
I mean, we have enough going on here in the US. Britney Spears performed a little hit and run and is being charged, Nicole Richie is pregnant and you just never know when Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are going to adopt another kid so you gotta keep watching that.
How could we possibly be expected to know what's going on in other countries?

The news in Burma caught my attention because it involves the protest and demonstration of Buddhist Monks.
Buddhists, especially the monks and nuns, are peace-loving people but these monks and nuns are the ones standing up to an unjust regime. They are the ones that are demonstrating incredible bravery and risking their lives to bring democracy to their country.

In reading about them, I kept hearing the name Suu Kyi. I didn't know who this was, so I started some research.
Aung San Suu Kyi, a woman, is a pro-democracy activist who has been under house arrest in Burma. In 1990, the National League for Democracy won the general election which would have made Suu Kyi Prime Minister. The problem was the military junta refused to relinquish power and she has been in and out of detention ever since.
She hasn't seen her children in years and she didn't even get to be with her husband when he died from cancer in 1999....all because she stands for democracy.

Amazingly, she's still alive and made a very shocking appearance at the gate of her home prison to give her blessing to the demonstrating monks.
Today, the military struck and it is reported that 5 monks were killed.

Surprisingly, CNN reports that the monks are leading a violent protest.

Monks have vandalized shops of those supporting the dictatorship in Myanmar, briefly taken local officials hostage and are now threatening to launch a boycott as early as Tuesday against the military leaders and their families.

This is going on virtually under our noses. Just like the Lost Boys of the Sudan in the 80s. Just like the mass genocide in Darfur. Just like the brutal regime of the Taliban in the 90s.

I'm not saying that I'll stop reading about the delicious mess that is Britney Spears but maybe I need to spend a little more time on the real world.

Aung San Suu Kyi info via wikipedia.org

Somewhat of an update:
I just read this at Time's website.

A man on a motorcycle rode up. Motorcycles have been banned in Rangoon for years, ever since — the story goes — the paranoid generals fear being shot by assassins riding one of them. Most people on motorcycles are therefore assumed to be spies.

Thus sensing an enemy, the mob pounced. The man was pulled off his bike and set upon by students and people armed with wooden sticks. "Beat him!" they cried. "Kill him!" Quickly, the monks intervened and ushered him away to the safety of a nearby monastery. The mob, however, set upon his motorbike with clubs and rocks, smashing it to bits.

Short Attention Span Blogging

• I discovered this today and it's such a great idea. If you want to stay organized without a bulky planner or just need a few lines to jot down ideas on the go, this could work for you. PocketModYou can customize your pocket planner, print it out and carry it with you. It's completely disposable so when you're done, in the trash it goes! Go play with it...it's fun.
• Speaking of playing...I played with the iPhone for a while yesterday. It's pretty cool. I'm not dying to have it and I'm definitely not dying to spend $300 or more on a "phone".
• As I typed that last one, I just saw a young girl with her very own iPhone. I'm talking at the oldest, she's 12. Wow. I wanted a $50 pair of Gloria Vanderbilt jeans when I was her age and my parents wouldn't even consider getting them for me!
• I started reading Sex With Kings over the weekend and although it sounds like I'm reading porn, it's really a series of engrossing snapshots of monarchs and their mistresses. Lord...the hell these people went through for a little extra-marital fun!

Cyber Jihad

Over the weekend, some fucktards thought it would be fun to hijack a bunch of munu blogs, mine being one of them.

Thankfully, Tinyhands was paying attention. He text messaged me to clue me in.

The ever-vigilant Pixy, righted things very quickly for us all so it just an inconvenience for us but a big pain in the ass for poor Pixy.

I guess hijacking websites and shit like that is fun for people with minuscule manhoods.

One of those annoying memes

I know...but this one was different

1. Open your library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing
5. New question– press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool

***************

Here is the soundtrack to my life:

Opening Credits:

Seasons Change - Corinne Bailey Rae

Waking Up:

Earth to Bella - Incubus

First Day At School:

So Com Voce - Thievery Corporation

Falling in Love:

To Me You Are A Work of Art – Morrissey how perfect!

Breaking Up:

You Know I'm No Good - Amy Winehouse that's usually why we break up

Prom:

Camouflage – Coheed & Cambria if camouflage is gold lame and black lace

Life’s Okay:

Falling Apart – Lagwagon obviously, life is NOT okay

Mental Breakdown:

Blood Red Summer – Coheed & Cambria sounds about right

Driving:

Still They Ride - Journey

Flashback:

O Mio Babbino Caro – Puccini

Getting Back Together:

Satisfaction – Benny Benassi Uhh...

Wedding:

The Mirror Conspiracy – Thievery Corporation

Birth of a Child:

Gateway – Constance Demby you can guess what the "gateway" is a metaphor...for(?)

Final Battle :

You Really Got Me - Van Halen

Death Scene:

Enough Cryin - Mary J. Blige there won't be enough cryin when I die

Funeral Song:

You Should Be Dancing – Bee Gees Not at MY funeral!!!

End Credits:

Wandering Star - Portishead

A day at the ballpark doesn't suck

I'm still an Astros fan, even when they're losing.
It was still fun watching them Saturday because since they're next to last in the standings, the young prospects are out there playing and they are exciting to watch. AND they actually won while we were there on Saturday! Of course it was against the Pirates so that's not saying much.

It was a good day, though.
We had a good late lunch/early dinner at Empire Cafe. The pasta was perfect, the sauce a light marinara.
I don't normally order pasta in marinara sauce at restaurants because I'm so picky.
Tomato based sauces are usually too tomatoey and sweet but this was perfect. Light on the tomatoes, just a hint of garlic, basil and oregano.
There was fresh spinach and artichoke hearts and spicy italian sausage. It was the perfect pasta dish.

At the ballpark, we got the last remaining free parking spot.
While inside, walking to our section, we ran into Drayton McLane, the owner of the Astros and we ended up shaking his hand and having a conversation with him.
Say what you want about him but he was an extremely friendly, gracious man.
After he left us, he walked around shaking hands with the employees selling tshirts and hotdogs.
I was impressed.

We were also lucky enough to get a Carlos Lee bobblehead doll when we came in.
I wasn't expecting it because we didn't show up super early. It was a nice surprise.
It was also a nice surprise when after the game, some man walked past me and offered me $20 for my bobblehead doll.
Sold!
Carlos Lee just bought me dinner!

To Someone Special

Not sure if you're reading this anymore but I was thinking of you....
Happy Birthday!

The Bastard Weatherman

A few weeks ago, my goddaughter told me that she found the local channel 13 weather guy smug.
"He's smug...about the WEATHER???", I asked her.
"Yes, he's just so SMUG!", she said.

I laughed. She's a funny kid.

Yesterday, the news stations started screaming, "We're all gonna die! Humberto is coming for us!!! Run for your lives!"

It was going to make landfall at 1am they said. We better start hoarding water and supplies, they said.

At 11:30 pm they said, "Nevermind."
There was no "My Bad" or "Mea Culpa".

And you know what? That weather bastard WAS smug!

September 11, 2007

Madeleine L'Engle

I can't remember how old I was when I first read A Wrinkle in Time but something about that book changed me. It might have been the 5th grade but I can still conjure up the feeling I got when I read it. I can still picture in my head the scenes from the book and it's been 10 years since I read it last.

Madeleine L'Engle, author of "A Wrinkle in Time" and other tales woven with themes of science, religion, and love and read by millions of children and adults, has died in Connecticut. She was 88.

And once again the world loses a very special person.

At dawn I will be victorious

Today, I was going to blog about how much I hate myself. I was going to tell you that I hate myself so much that even blogging is impossible because to take the time to type a blog post requires that you like what you're writing (and yourself) even a little.

Then I read about Luciano Pavarotti's death. I knew he was sick and I knew he would die soon but it doesn't make it less sad.

I can put Nessun Dorma on repeat and listen to it a thousand times and STILL get chills when I hear his voice.

So, I'm bummed today.