NaNoWriMo

A friend at work told me about NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, so I decided to give it a try. I have no idea if I'll get to the 50,000 word limit, but I figure it's a good way to get that "one day, I'll write a novel" thought out of my head and onto paper (or rather my computer screen, but ya know what I mean). If anything, it will get my creativity flowing again, since I seem to get a little caught up in the logistics of writing rather than the craft itself. And the best part is that this is all about quantity over quality, and no one ever has to see what you've written!

Anyhoo, this means that I probably won't be posting on my blog or commenting on my friend's blog entries as frequently during November, but I'll try not to fall off the face of the earth entirely. Wish me luck!

Hell House

Thanks A. Your blog entry, Hell House . . . sincerity that freaks me out, got me thinking (and inevitably writing) about how crazy religion can be, and how it affects public policy.

I grew up a religious person, but I no longer consider myself so. I still believe in a higher power, but I don't think that God (or whatever you choose to call him/her) gets too caught up on the logistics. And more often than not, I find that people use religion as a veil to avoid things that they don't understand, and to foster an environment of discrimination and hatred based on their beliefs. It enables them to dismiss personal responsibility for their thoughts and actions, instead attributing everything to God.

Here's my God infomercial:
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Are you tired of having to think for yourself? Do you want a book that provides all of the answers you just don't have, but you're dying to know?

Do you need a reason to...
...discriminate against people with different beliefs?
...have another child conceived through incest, rape, or from an unhealthy relationship?
...start a war?
...blow up buildings that house businesses, such as Planned Parenthood?
...hate gay people?
...refuse to do parts of your job, such as dispense prescribed medications?

Then, the bible and religion are for you! Join this flock of sheep! Whenever you feel the need to think, just point to a sentence in the bible, and all of your fears will just fade away. You're not personally responsible for anything, anyway.

After all, God didn't write the bible himself, but instead left that important task up to a completely objective group of individuals (who I'm sure had no interest in spicing things up to further a religious cause). And, YOU (out of the other bazillion people on the planet) are most certainly right in all of your beliefs! Don't even consider that there may be another view point that you should at least respect even if you think it's a bunch of hooey. March onward, making your religious beliefs the tenets of public policy to rule over them all! Who cares if your beliefs restrict the beliefs and abilities of others - remember, you're right!
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
I wrote a blog entry a long time ago about how ridiculous it is to believe that you can read the bible literally: http://ar-kay-tee.blogspot.com/2005/07/why-reading-bible-literally-is.html. And I think that the problem is getting worse, because people don't want to spend the money on education. The end result is that their kids grow up without the ability to analyze, so instead we have this nation of idiots who will point to a couple of sentences in the bible to "prove" their point instead of looking at the whole meaning of something and using a little brain power.

I keep wondering how much worse this can get. And unfortunately, I think we still have a long distance to go. Why can't people understand that their personal beliefs are fine for them but should not dictate law for everyone else? I had an interesting conversation with a conservative friend awhile back. The one thing that we could both agree on is that laws at the federal level shouldn't dictate policy for moral issues. Such policy should be made at a local level, where like-minded people can get together, discuss the issues, and make policies that make sense for their lives. Now, if only we could get everyone on board with that.

A Photographer's Life

Last night, L. and I went to the UW to hear Annie Liebowitz read the introduction from her new book, A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005. The reading was very moving, not only because the introduction itself was moving, but because she was in a very emotional place having come back to rainy Seattle - the place where her partner, Susan Sontag, was treated at Fred Hutchinson's before her death. Annie apologized a few times as she was unable to hold back tears, but none of us in the audience could blame her. As photographs came and went on the screen, she shared some insight into her life, her family, and her work. The whole experience was very moving, and I was honored to have her sign my book.

After the reading, L. and I walked around campus a bit. It was the first time that I've been back to campus in a long time. And it was the first time that I've been back without C. As we walked through Suzzalo and the Quad, I had an interesting sense of emotions from the past and the present. The fact is, that C. was a half of my college life. I have a lot of memories of campus being with my sorority sisters and other girl and guy friends, and a few memories with guys I dated briefly. But C. was a significant part of college years, whether I like it or not. And since C. worked at the UW for most of our married life, the only times I was back on campus were for things having to do with him - his thesis presentation, graduation, etc. So, some of those places on campus hold ghosts for me, but by walking around and facing them, they start to lose power. Now I have a new memory to think about the next time I'm on campus, and it has to do with sharing a lovely evening with my boyfriend, hearing a world-renowned photographer share a piece of her life.

Jon Stewart's commentary on shenanigans before the elections

This is one of the best ones I've seen in a long time: Something's Fishy.

I especially love how he talks about the names from a tragic typewriter accident. Hilarious.

Hasn't New York had enough?

Geez - this must have been an unwelcome flashback: Yankees pitcher dies as plane hits NYC building.

Runaway bride is insane

You've got to be kidding. Jennifer Wilbanks, the woman who ran away right before her $500,000 wedding and got the whole nation looking for her, is suing her ex-fiance. What does she want? Aside from a few typical things like furniture, etc., she wants WEDDING SHOWER GIFTS and what she considers her share of the money that her ex-fiance made from selling the story. HUH?

OK, first off, the wedding shower gifts should have been returned to the people who gave them. That's just proper etiquette when the marriage isn't fulfilled. It's kind of like returning the engagement ring to the guy if the girl calls off the wedding.

Second, was she the one who was ultimately wronged in all of this? I don't think so. Her poor ex-fiance, family, and friends were worried sick when she took off, and she wasted a ton of people's time. Additionally, she wasted valuable resources by taking important people, such as police, away from things that matter to search for her sorry butt. If anything, she should be paying THEM.

Someone needs to take her and lock her up in the loony bin where she belongs. And then lose the key.

Eat your leafy greens

So, we're supposed to be eating at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, but we keep getting hit by the E. coli bug. First spinach, and now lettuce. L. and I spent almost an hour last night trying to figure out if the lettuce that I'd bought the night before was part of the recall of the Foxy brand of lettuce. Of course, when you buy the lettuce and put it in it's own bag, the only identification on it is the little band around the lettuce, and all that read was the Safeway logo. Not too helpful. And a quick check on the Safeway Web site didn't lead to any information about the recall, so we still don't know whether Safeway sells that brand of lettuce. Also not very helpful. At the very least, stores could post something on the Web sites when there are recalls to address whether or not they sell that product.

I definitely think there needs to be more work put into the safety of the food that we eat. I had two friends who got sick from the Jack In the Box outbreak in 1993. They shared a hamburger and ended up getting sick. One of them was in the hospital for awhile. I definitely don't want to end up in a similar situation because of something I ate.

Sunburn update

Well, my upper back has gotten to the ever-so-attractive peeling stage, but my butt and legs are still on the tender side. I avoid sitting at all costs, and apply a very mild lotion with oatmeal (to help with the itching) every couple of hours. I'm really looking forward to having this over with. It's definitely an inconvenient place to be burned... Ugh.

Back from Kauai

Well, my Hawaiian vacation is now officially over :( Tomorrow, it's back to work and the real world. But, I must say that the vacation did me some real good and I'm looking forward to going back to Hawaii again to see another island.

Kauai is the island best known for it's tropical plant life and beauty, and it really was amazing. We went on a tour of the Allerton Garden, of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens. Our tour guide, Phil, was enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and we had a great time despite the morning rains. In fact, the rain likely made the tour a bit nicer since it kept the hot sun at bay for the beginning of the tour.

L. and I also went to see Waimea Canyon, which is the grand canyon of the pacific. It was nothing less than incredible. I've never seen the actual grand canyon, so I have no basis for comparison, but I was blown away by the view at Waimea.

Aside from that, L., his parents, and I all drove around the island and saw so many different things and ate at some of the best restaurants. The luau we went to was a blast, and I even tried Poi, although I can honestly say that I have no idea what the big deal is about. It doesn't taste like anything and it has a strange texture. But, I highly recommend the Smith Family Luau if you go to Kuaui because they have beautiful gardens and performances that honor all of the cultures that have contributed to the rich island life.

On the last day, L. and I went snorkeling at Poipu beach, and saw the most incredible fish. It was so cool to put your face under the water and see a whole different world below. And to my relief, we didn't see any sharks! But, the unfortunate thing was that between the two times I went out, I didn't cover my back and legs well enough with sunscreen, so I burnt on my back and the back of my legs and butt. I can tell you that it made for a very uncomfortable journey home, and I still can't lay on my back. I dread putting clothes on tomorrow to go to work b/c it's going to be an interesting mixture of pain (in the places where I burned really badly) and itchiness (where I'm starting to heal). I haven't had a sunburn in over five years, and I tried so hard to avoid it on this trip by wearing SPF 50. But, I just didn't cover myself well enough after getting out of the water the first time, so I'm suffering for it now. Thankfully, L. has been taking good care of me and I am starting to heal now, but I still have a ways to go.

The weird thing is that I can't remember my password at work, so I can't check my email. Tomorrow I'll have to deal with the fallout from that, but I couldn't care less tonight! I checked my personal email, but haven't read everything or responded to anything yet. I got a lot of email while I was gone, but I'm trying to extend my vacation as long as possible, and part of that is being without technology. For the first time in a long time, I didn't have any access to email and I didn't even mind! Usually I'm so connected to everything online, that I get jumpy when I haven't had Internet access for one day, but this vacation forced me to disconnect and enjoy my surroundings. It was a welcome change for once. I know that everyone is wanting to know how the trip was, so I figured I'd at least write a blog entry about it tonight. But, I promise to get caught up on email throughout the week, so if I haven't responded to you yet, I will get to it as I have time. Just be patient with me :) I've got a lot of stuff to do this week!