BUT. But, but, but...
With the election of Obama my hopes for the government actually accomplishing something worthwhile are, shall we say, minutely better. And it has also occurred to me that there are other media outlets that, while not as convenient as the six o'clock news, would likely provide me with more realistic and balanced information. But you want to know the real reason I'm seriously contemplating actually keeping informed again?
It's this article, by Fareed Zakaria.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/
It's not about leadership, or the status of the world, or poverty levels, or anything like that. It's a relatively short article about achieving energy independence through smart planning, as opposed to new development.
And, oddly, after reading it I felt more hopeful than I have in a long time.
On the other hand, I was watching Sesame Street with Elliot and they had a segment in which kids did the Veggie Dance. I'm sorry, I just don't approve. It made me sad. It's fine to dance for veggies, but it felt so... contrived. When you see Cookie Monster going nuts over cookies you are DOWN with that. You say "yeah, cookies are GREAT" and you don't have any problems with the verisimilitude of his desires. The veggie dance, though... I mean, I like vegetables, I'm actually somewhat of a vegetable fan, but it's not like they make me get up and DANCE. So, in a surprising twist of fate, Newsweek improved my outlook and Sesame Street dampened it.
Grrrrrrrrrr... so I'm on a diet. Now, you know me, you know that my self restraint is not, well, shall we say, EPIC, but I am just soooo tired of feeling like I just gave birth, instead of that I have a one year old. So I'm on a diet. It's not a very restrictive diet, mostly it's a "Yknow, Eating Cheesecake For Breakfast Will Not Actually Help You Face Your Day Any Better" diet. So far this diet has mostly made me lose only a tiny bit of weight and gain a whole bunch of crazy. I never realized before how much I actually counted on the cookies to help me get through the days when Elliot hadn't slept the night before and now wanted to run marathons. Those shots of sugar really DID help, even if it was only psychosomatic. Of course, they also helped me hold on to almost all the weight I gained during pregnancy, so I guess I have to decide which I want more.
Grumblegrumblegrumble...
Waxor and I are in Maine for the weekend, and today we left Elliot home with his Yaya and we went out to lunch and to wander around Portland. It was great. Then we came home and packed up the baby and were going to go to the pet store and let him stare at the dogs (operation "Get Baby Out Of the House") but we got derailed by both Home Depot and the grocery store. While those errands were happening I went first into Marshall's and then in TJ Maxx, and was rewarded with a new swimsuit. The best I can say is swimsuit shopping was not as hideous as I thought it was going to be. The end.
But my new suit is purple.
Go ahead, be jealous.
All of Larry and Kay's neighbors have been bringing toys over for Elliot to play with. So far the clear winners are (a) a little box with circular holes that you put little balls on and then hit the balls with a hammer to make them fall into the box and out the little ramp, and (b) a dump truck that sings a little dump truck song, which Elliot loves and is making the rest of us crazy.
"I'm a little dump truck hear me roar, just dump... me over and watch me pour."
So I read the last book in the Twilight Saga. For those of you who care, spoilers are to follow. Of course, reading a Stephanie Meyer book and not seeing how the plot is going to go is a bit like driving down a long, straight, desolate highway and NOT SEEING the giant pink elephant parade just a mile further down, but I like to be courteous.
I'd have to say that my predominate thought concerning this final book in the Twilight Saga is "OMFG! You have GOT to be KIDDING ME!"
We open with Bella, our blushing mortal heroine, preparing for her wedding to Edward, the cold blooded superhuman stud of her dreams. The plan for them is simple, they're going to get married, go away on a honeymoon, and then Bella is going to be turned. That's the order of events because Bella fears she won't enjoy ordinary mortal desires anymore once she's all fang-ey. So, wedding, check. Honeymoon, check. Stupid scene in which Edward acts like an ass because Bella is suffering from some post coital bruising, check. Then we get several pages of honeymoon activities going on, in which it's constantly emphasized (a) how tired Bella is (b) how hungry she is and (c) how weird she is acting.
I imagine the only person who is surprised when it's discovered that Bella is pregnant is Bella herself.
So, Bella. Pregnant. Yeah. No shock, as often happens in the case of paranormal pregnancy, the baby grows at an abnormally rapid rate. Bella is determined to bear the child, with the full knowledge that this is likely to bring her close to death, but assuming that Edward will be able to turn her at the last minute and then she and her newborn can be newborns together! Yay, happy family bonding time. Assuming she doesn't eat the sprout in the throes of her first bloodlust.
Sigh.
Of course everything goes according to plan. And Bella gets turned and it turns out she's just the MOST AMAZING VAMPIRE EVER! Big shock. But the evil head honchos of the vampire world are coming to kill her and her baby. Of course. Because she's only been dreaming about it since the VERY BEGINNING OF THE BOOK. Someone needs to explain to Meyer that there's foreshadowing and then there's telling everyone EXACTLY what's going to happen REPETITIVELY.
But because she's just this amazing vampire she's saves everyone's ass, and they're all gonna live happily ever after.
I gotta say, the quality of this book, compared to the first one, is not great. And I'm not entirely sure I'm happy with how Meyer winds everything up, it seems like a hokey Disney-fied ending.
Still and all - it's a fascinating read. I found it hard to put down, just like the others. As a series I guess I rate it like I rate the Die Hard movies. Not really quality, but damn, you wouldn't want to miss them.
Alrighty folken, time for me to go to bed, I think. Goodnight, and, Goodluck.
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