I'm a Dancing With the Stars fan. Since I have a Tivo I get to fast forward through all the dancers I don't like, and all the commentary by the hosts, and get right to the decent dancing. Some seasons that means I watch most performances - this season I pretty much only watch Mya and Donnie Osmond, but that's one of the hazards of an unscreened talent base on a show like this. Anyway, one of the female professionals on the show - Julianne Hough - took some time off to record a country album. It's okay. I mean, it's not horrible, and it's not amazing, but she was popular enough on the show to pull of decent sales and there is one at least moderately interesting tune on the album. I still wish she had stuck to dancing, but, there it is.
Last night I was subjected to one of the most horrid travesties in all of DWTS history (and remember, this is the show that gave us SEAN HANNITY limping his way across the floor). Derek and Mark, two of the male professionals, have apparently decided to form a FREAKING BOY BAND. And it's AWFUL. They are amazing, amazing dancers. Really. If I could dance like that I wouldn't WANT to do anything else.
WHY ARE THEY TRYING TO SING!??!
I mean, let's face it, artistic disciplines can take a lifetime to perfect, why focus on two instead of one? You DON"T HAVE TWO LIFETIMES, and, let's face it, NOT EVERYONE IS FREAKING LEONARDO DAVINCI! It's okay to just be amazing at ONE thing. Why embarrass yourself by being great at one thing and sucking at another?
And while we're at it, Christian Slater, give up the band. Just give it up man.
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooOOOOOOOOO
I wrote that bit above a while ago. Then I didn't write anything for a while because we're sick. I'm not using the royal we, I mean, everyone in my tiny little family is sick. I'm sick, Waxor's sick, Elliot's sick, hell, I bet even the fetus is sick. This weekend Kay came riding to the rescue, which was awesome, but she had to go back to work, so now Elliot and I are at home, together, trying to muddle through this very long day. At the moment it's 10:35 am, which means three hours down, nine more to go.
I'm not sure I'm gonna make it.
Don't get me wrong, Elliot has been about as cheerful and sweet through this whole thing as anyone could expect him to be. It's just - he's not as sick as Waxor and I, and he still has tons of energy. And he doesn't understand why I don't want to play chase with him in the yard.
Pardon me, I need to go remove my face or something...
Well again! Well, kind of. I have a wicked cough (courtesy of the cold, which I am now over but you know how coughs linger). I'm only hoping it's completely gone before we fly to Nicaragua this year. If it isn't I'm going to go to my Doctor's office and ask them to give me a letter that says I do NOT have swine flu. I don't want to deal with customs hassles all the way through the airport. I definitely don't want them to make me wear a mask. Sigh.
I got an email today from a friend of mine requesting that I pass on a prayer for the troops in the military. It also had, at the header, a bit of a rant about how there's a bill going through congress, powered by the ACLU, to get all headstones with crosses on them removed from military graveyards, and how prayer is no longer being allowed in the military, and that military chaplains aren't allowed to say "Jesus" anymore.
Well, that seemed a little far fetched to me, so I went a-googling. Turns out that the ACLU is trying to get one, very specific, cross monument removed. There's apparently a cross shaped memorial to the Veterans of WWI in the Mojave National Preserve, and someone got mad about it. The ACLU took up the cause, their point being that there are a bunch of non-Christians who fight and die for the country, and a memorial should be a memorial for all of them, not just the Christian ones. Whatever you think about this specific case (I myself am inclined to agree with the ACLU, but also am inclined to think it isn't really worth anyone getting their knickers in a bunch over a small memorial in the middle of nowhere) the ACLU has come out specifically to say that they are NOT interested in removing all crosses from graveyards and memorials everywhere.
As for the issue of prayer in the military, and whether or not Chaplains are allowed to say "Jesus" - that is taken from a controversy back in 2006 (incidentally, the email claimed that our "current administration" was behind these nefarious schemes to remove god from the military. I'm sure we all remember that 2006 was a very different administration then the current one, and not at all an administration likely to try to remove god from anything, at least on the face of it.) What happened in 2006 is that a military chaplain wore his uniform to a press conference outside the white house and prayed "in the name of Jesus." This got people's backs up because it looked like a government representative was not adhering to the mandated separation of church and state. Now, in this case I understand why people got irritated, but come on, people, he's a preacher. The real question is not, what did this chaplain say, but rather, do we also have military Rabbis, Mullahs, etc? If we do, and if we also have secular councilors for the atheists and agnostic members of the military, then it seems like we're covered. And if a preacher wants to pray in the name of Jesus then so be it.
But, and here's the significant part (all that was just my take on the controversy) no one is trying to keep chaplains from saying whatever and praying however they want when in their official capacity as a religious authority figure. So, again, WHY THE BUNCHY KNICKERS, PEOPLE!?
I don't mind getting emails that ask me to pray for the troops. I think anyone in a hostile situation can use all the prayer, good wishes, and crossed fingers they can get, so it's fine with me if someone asks me to pray for them. But why are these two other issues getting tacked onto this email and blown totally out of proportion? Anyone? Bueller?
On to other topics.
Today it is raining in spurts. Meaning that one minute you're like "oh, the sun is coming out" and the next minute you're like "gee, the sky has opened up and is raining whole oceans on top of my head." Elliot and I headed for the library in one of the clear patches, but, tragically before we got there the torrential downpour started back up again. So we park, and I look back at Elliot:
"Ready to run for it little man?"
"Wrun! Wrun!"
"Okay then"
I flip up my hood, pop out the door, snatch the baby out of that car seat and the bag of books from the floor board, and head for the library door by the straightest path possible. Elliot (just to give you an idea of how hard it is raining) tucks his head into my shoulder and tries to cover his neck with his hands. This is adorable, but I do not have time to appreciate it. I am sprinting like an Olympic athlete for the library door.
Now, thanks to my lovely in-laws I have WONDERFUL winter shoes. There were bought for me back when I was pregnant with Elliot. They're comfortable, they slip on, they're water proof, and they fit when I'm pregnant (with thin socks) and when I'm not (with thick socks). They're the epitome of winter time shoe greatness. It is thanks to these shoes that I am heading straight for the library door, because, even though the parking lot has some mondo puddles in it, I fear them not, for my shoes are water proof.
Of course, no matter how water proof your shoes are, if you kick up a giant wave of water in just the right direction you'll still get a foot soaking as the water pours in over the top of your shoe.
Sigh.
On the plus side, it wasn't cold today.
Let's say, hypothetically, that you had a clogged bathtub drain. Let's say that this clog was an overnight occurrence, and let's say that your significant other was convinced that a small baby wash cloth had been sucked down the drain, causing the clog.
What would you do about it? I mean, other then call a plumber? Is there some way of fishing the theoretical wash cloth out?
Feel free to discuss.
Alrighty folks, that's it for this go round. Until next time.
Hasta la pasta!
--
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
But unless life gives you sugar and water, your lemonade is gonna suck.
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