The quest continues

So, I called on an used Panasonic camera, but apparently I was 1 hour late! Yikes! So I am still looking for a suitable camera, but I am also prepared to rent a camera at this point in the project and simply store the film in a hard drive when needed for future editing.

Meanwhile, am gearing up for Wordstock 2009!

Boyfriend with Benefits

I know y'all is bored with my politics and such, but sorry, this is funny:

Strange Things About The Gym

So, I have been going to the gym since the beginning of the year, mostly to relieve stress. It has turned out that I have strengthened my body and lost about 20 pounds gained after Eric's death, which is good. But what is strange about the gym, so noteworthy and yet so ordinary, are the little rituals and sounds and sights that comprise a visit:

1) The sounds of agony. I workout partly in the weight room, and I always try to do a little ladylike huff when I am doing some work with weights. But there is always someone- usually a man- who sounds like he is being put to the question by the Inquisition. When it sounds like the person is being disemboweled, I put on some music from the iPod.

2) Japanese Sauna Hour. The Japanese community in Beaverton seem to all belong to the 24 hour Fitness, and when you want to do a sauna or a steam, thee seems to be an entire family of Japanese, catching up on the day and having a chat. I always feel as if there should be tea served. Konnichiwa!

3) The not so deep pool. I am very comfortable in the pool because it is not very deep- only 5 feet at it's deepest. So it's perfect for doing water exercises with old people, who like the fact that the pool is not too deep, either, honey.

Of course, I could talk about the basketball players, the fried tan worshippers, and the guys on the lookout for a hookup, but that has so stereotypical that I don't need to talk about them.

The Banana God.

Just wow.

Evolution explains how life on Earth developed. It is a theory that has been tested both in the lab and the field. Yet, there are still doubters:




Wow. Just wow.

September 11

Yes, it is September 11, 2009. I remember September 11, 2001. It was dawn, and I was just came off work as a nurse staffer. I ran a shower and turned on the tv. When I got back, Good Morning America was on live feed (it is usually on tape delay for the West Coast) and they were talking about a crash.

Then I saw what had happened.

And then I saw what had happened next.

Afterwards, I was in shock. I could not get through to my family in Brooklyn. Peole showed up to give blood down at the Red Cross.

But a lot of people died.

The economy, already teetering, crashed resoundly, and Oregon went into a deep recession until 2005. We started a war, then another war, and blame Muslim and dark skinned Arab citizens for the crimes, and took perverse pride in our newfound racism against a people who had nothing to do with it. People talked about the unity of the country.

And I also remember Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the whole country, thinking itself rich on cheap credit from overseas investors and paper inflation on property, basically told the New Orleans to go and drown, and if they drowned, it was their own fault for doing so.

So much for unity.

No memorials, no speeches from over-sterioded men. We had a President fly over the damage and reward no bid contracts to acquaintances. We saw the simpering horror of newscasters used to air conditioned offices.

But no help from the government, and only contempt from those same people who talked about the unity of the country.

Don't talk to a native New Yorker about September 11. The city recovered. New Orleans, however, is still waiting.

What Birthers Believe