Sunday Stealing: The Cannon Fodder Questions
1. Is there someone you'd like to be kissing right now?
A. I have a sinus infection. I don't think anyone wants to be kissing me right now.
2. When you're being extremely quiet, what does it mean?
A. I am generally quiet anyway, being an introvert, so I am not sure how to answer this. I suppose if I am thinking hard about something, or trying to write, I am "extremely quiet."
3. What are you listening to right now?
A. The wind. She is whistling as she wraps herself around my house and moves on.
4. Are you a big fan of thunderstorms?
A. I rather like them, yes. I have never been able to capture a good lightning bolt on camera, though I have on video. It's on my "do it" list.
5. Do you believe in perfect?
A. It is a goal, but I don't think achievable. It is one of those things that exists in the eye of the beholder, so therefore something one cannot define.
6. Are you a jealous person?
A. I hope not.
7. What was the first thing you thought this morning?
A. "I slept for seven hours straight! I can't remember when I last did that."
8. What do you think about when you are falling asleep?
A. Usually I run through my day, think about whatever I want to do the next day, then try to picture something lovely, like a meadow, and if I'm not in dreamland by then I start focusing on my breathing and counting until I do fall asleep.
9. Are you satisfied with what you have in life?
A. I am sure there are few pieces of the puzzle that are warped or waterlogged, but all in all it is good.
10. Do people ever think that you're either older or younger than you actually are?
A. I don't know. I don't ask people how old they think I am.
11. Do you think men truly understand women?
A. It depends on the man.
12. How about women understanding men?
A. It depends on the woman.
13. Did anybody ever call you handsome or beautiful?
A. My husband does. He needs glasses.
14. What is one fact about the last person that called you?
A. He is a gentle soul.
15. Other than your current one, tell us about the longest relationship you have had either a romance or a particular good friend.
A. I have been friends with Leslie for 33 years, just a few months less than I have known my husband. We worked at the same law office for two years before I stupidly left. We stayed in touch, though, by phone, mostly, and having an occasional lunch. Leslie is incredibly smart. She reads constantly, loves dogs, and takes care of her mother. She has been a good friend to me, listening to me whine and encouraging me as I have careened like a pinball from one life event to another.
Sunday, April 02, 2017
Saturday, April 01, 2017
Saturday 9: Polka
Too Fat Polka (1947)
Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.
1) Have you ever danced the polka?
A. Can't say that I have. I wouldn't even know where to start.
2) The centerpiece of a traditional Polish polka band is the accordion. The accordion is a substantial instrument. Have you ever tried to play it?
A. I confess I used to play one, a very long time ago. I never played it very well, but I could manage a tune or two. (At one time I could play almost any instrument I picked up, back in the day.) They are heavy and require a bit of coordination to get the wind in and out properly so the sound flows.
3) The plump lady of this song cannot fit into the singer's car. How many passengers does your car comfortably seat?
A. Four comfortably. But you could do five in the front and probably stuff a couple in the trunk. It has a big trunk.
4) Would you like to lose a few pounds?
A. Yes.
5) In the long ago 1940s, this song was considered amusing. Do you think it's still funny today?
A. No.
6) Arthur Godfrey, who recorded this song, was a popular radio and TV host from the 1930s to the 1970s. Before this week's Saturday 9, had you ever heard of him?
A. Yes.
7) One of his more popular radio shows was Talent Scouts. A 1940s-50s version of American Idol, this show gave previously unknown singers their first national exposure. Godfrey could point with pride to having helped discover Tony Bennett and Patsy Cline, but he made a mistake by rejecting Elvis Presley. Tell us about something you'd do differently if you could get a "do over."
A. Go to college right out of high school.
8) In 1953, Godfrey made news by having one of the nation's very first hip replacements. Have you ever been/would you be part of a clinical trial, either for a new drug or a new medical procedure?
A. I was part of a clinical trial back in the 1990s. I was in the "control group" in a test that had to do with testing urine for pregnancy and certain types of pregnancy issues that could show up that way. I'd had a hysterectomy at the age of 29, so I wasn't going to have a baby and couldn't mess up the control numbers. I think I was paid $5 per pee bottle or something like that.
9) RANDOM QUESTION: You and a friend are shopping. She tries on an expensive sweater and enthusiastically asks what you think. You think it looks awful. Do you tell her the truth?
A. I would say, "Well, you could go with that, but what about this one here? It has this blue/green/orange that really flatters your hair/eyes/whatever. And feel how soft/warm/cozy it is." :::holding it up::: "Why don't you try this one on too, before you decide?"
And if pushed for more of an answer, I would say, "It's really not my style, but you know yourself best." Or something.
So I guess no, I wouldn't tell her the truth. Everyone has her own taste.
_____________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.
Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.
1) Have you ever danced the polka?
A. Can't say that I have. I wouldn't even know where to start.
2) The centerpiece of a traditional Polish polka band is the accordion. The accordion is a substantial instrument. Have you ever tried to play it?
A. I confess I used to play one, a very long time ago. I never played it very well, but I could manage a tune or two. (At one time I could play almost any instrument I picked up, back in the day.) They are heavy and require a bit of coordination to get the wind in and out properly so the sound flows.
3) The plump lady of this song cannot fit into the singer's car. How many passengers does your car comfortably seat?
A. Four comfortably. But you could do five in the front and probably stuff a couple in the trunk. It has a big trunk.
4) Would you like to lose a few pounds?
A. Yes.
5) In the long ago 1940s, this song was considered amusing. Do you think it's still funny today?
A. No.
6) Arthur Godfrey, who recorded this song, was a popular radio and TV host from the 1930s to the 1970s. Before this week's Saturday 9, had you ever heard of him?
A. Yes.
7) One of his more popular radio shows was Talent Scouts. A 1940s-50s version of American Idol, this show gave previously unknown singers their first national exposure. Godfrey could point with pride to having helped discover Tony Bennett and Patsy Cline, but he made a mistake by rejecting Elvis Presley. Tell us about something you'd do differently if you could get a "do over."
A. Go to college right out of high school.
8) In 1953, Godfrey made news by having one of the nation's very first hip replacements. Have you ever been/would you be part of a clinical trial, either for a new drug or a new medical procedure?
A. I was part of a clinical trial back in the 1990s. I was in the "control group" in a test that had to do with testing urine for pregnancy and certain types of pregnancy issues that could show up that way. I'd had a hysterectomy at the age of 29, so I wasn't going to have a baby and couldn't mess up the control numbers. I think I was paid $5 per pee bottle or something like that.
9) RANDOM QUESTION: You and a friend are shopping. She tries on an expensive sweater and enthusiastically asks what you think. You think it looks awful. Do you tell her the truth?
A. I would say, "Well, you could go with that, but what about this one here? It has this blue/green/orange that really flatters your hair/eyes/whatever. And feel how soft/warm/cozy it is." :::holding it up::: "Why don't you try this one on too, before you decide?"
And if pushed for more of an answer, I would say, "It's really not my style, but you know yourself best." Or something.
So I guess no, I wouldn't tell her the truth. Everyone has her own taste.
_____________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.
Friday, March 31, 2017
Can't We Look At the Big Picture?
The front page of the Virginia Department of Health's web page says:
You can find information there about how this issue has been declared a public health crisis (November 2016). New rules are in place that now keep primary care physicians from managing their patients' chronic pain and instead they will have to send them to a pain specialist.
I feel for anyone who loses a loved one for any reason. But opioids are not the only reason people die. People die from gun shots, too. More people die from gunshots, actually, than from opioid overdose.
Many stories I am reading indicate that people with chronic pain issues are being caught up in this government effort to crack down on opioid drug use. However, from what I have read much of the problem is coming from heroin addicts and people using synthetic opioids brought illegally into the state, not people who are receiving prescription medication from their doctors.
Apparently the government is not making this distinction even though their own reports indicate this to be so:
“As we see the nature of drug addiction shift, from prescription opioids to heroin and synthetic fentanyl, we must be vigilant and ready to respond quickly,” said Secretary of Health and Human Resources Dr. Bill Hazel in a news release from the Virginia Governor's Office.
Even the White House thinks the problem is not with prescription drugs - "In a Wednesday press briefing . . . the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, blamed the crisis on "cheap heroin" flooding the market . . ."
So the opioid drug addiction and overdose problem is really . . . what? Prescription drugs or not?
This article from the People's Pharmacy explains how chronic pain sufferers have been caught up in this opioid crack down. "Many patients suffering long-term severe pain are having a hard time getting relief. We have heard from hundreds of people who never abused opioids or increased their dose," The Peoples' Pharmacy writes. The article then lists numerous stories from folks who feel they are now suffering because the actions of others have made it harder for them to receive the medication they need to live a better life.
Here is a chart from the Virginia Department of Health on Opioid Deaths. According to this information, 801 people died in the state in 2015 from opioid overdose.
Here is a chart that lists the number of gun deaths in the state of Virginia, current as of 2014. According to this information, there were 889 gun deaths here compared to 733 opioid deaths that same year.
As you can see, more people die from gun shot wounds than from overdosing on opioids.
However, there is little discussion (practically nothing) on the Virginia Department of Health's website about guns at all.
In fact, in their list of "health concerns" from A-Z, there isn't a mention of firearm safety or guns.
There is stuff on nuclear power plant accidents, fish consumption, and radon. I wonder how much any of us worries about nuclear power plant accidents. I know they don't cross my mind at all.
In the search box, I finally pulled up a .pdf on firearms, apparently last updated 11/10.
It says this on the .pdf -
I don't know if overdose and poisonings are the same thing in the eyes of the VDH.
Here's the whole .pdf, which I snagged as .jpg before it disappears -
I know there is a second amendment argument in the U.S. Constitution about gun right ownership, but I don't see how we can look at one thing that kills people when a similar amount of people - more, even - are dying from something else.
Isn't that like pointing to a pigeon while denying that blue jays exist?
Personally, I do not know anyone who has died from an opioid overdose, or at least I am not aware of it. My husband who is in emergency services sees it and he says overdoses do seem to be occurring more frequently but he says it is due to heroin, not prescription pain killers. Perhaps if there was not a drug available to "bring back" those who overdose, the number of deaths would be significantly higher.
But his squads also run many gunshot wound calls, most of which never make the news. Those folks are also saved by medical intervention, so feasibly gun death numbers would be higher, too, if our medical heroes didn't have so much expertise at fixing up holes in people.
While I know no overdose victims, I know people who have been affected by gun violence. My friend's son was dating one of the victims killed at Virginia Tech in April 2007. He was shaken to the core. One of my husband's firefighters, long ago, killed himself - he was a nice guy and his wife and I had a lot in common. That shook me to the core.
A very long time ago, one of my father's friends accidentally shot himself in the leg during a poker game. I had nightmares about it for years. I sometimes still do.
About 18 months ago, I was watching TV when two local news reporters were shot live on the air. I am friends with some of the staff of that TV station, and they will never be the same. I'm not sure I will be, either. As a print news reporter myself, it certainly has left me thinking twice about whether or not I want to be out in the public, open and available, a target to anyone.
Why are we emphasizing one cause of death and ignoring another? Shouldn't we try to combat all of them in some fashion (including vehicle deaths, which I know someone will bring up, and heart attacks, etc.)
Let's follow the money to see who gains from this particular war on drugs, because in the USA it's always about the money. Pharmaceutical companies. Here's an article dated 3/29/17 that says Big Pharma is really behind this problem, the result of a concentrated marketing program.
An article in the same publication notes that the remedy to an overdose, introduced in 2002, "has generated $1-2 billion a year in revenues, first for its initial British manufacturer, Reckitt Benckiser, and the Richmond, Virginia-based company that it spun off two years ago, Indivior."
That sounds like a good reason to sell one drug so you can sell another drug to fix the first drug, doesn't it? Billions of dollars.
The article also claims the remedy is as addictive as the drug it is saving the person from. So more sales.
The pain doctors will have more patients. They are specialists so many patients' co-pays for insurance will increase. (In my case, my co-pay would increase from $30 to see my primary care physician to $50 to see a specialist of any kind, as an example.)
Fighting drug wars in America has always been a losing proposition. From LSD to marijuana to cocaine, efforts to remove drugs from communities have only enriched drug smugglers and criminal organizations.
Wars on drugs don't work.
With Republicans in control of the federal government and many states, gun laws are off the table. The Republicans don't even mind if you're mentally ill and you own a gun.
These are not separate issues. These are one and the same. Both of these issues are about people dying and they are about money. Neither is about your right to live or my right to live, because the people who make the rules really don't give a crap about that.
They just care about their big donors, and unless your name is Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, that isn't you.
We already have gun laws. You can't legally own an automatic rifle, or a Sherman tank. You can't legally own a rocket launcher. I don't want you to not have a gun if you want one. I am a crackerjack shot with a .22 rifle.
But stiffer background checks might save a life, just as making it hard for Grandma to get her pain killers might save a life. So why is Grandma suffering while Joe Gunslinger isn't even having to wait more than 20 minutes to pick up his new firearm?
I could not find a chart that compared opioid overdoses to firearms for Virginia. I did find one for Colorado that I want to share with you. It is from the Colorado Department of Health (apparently they do keep track of gun deaths there.)
OPIOID ADDICTION IN VIRGINIA
Learn More
You can find information there about how this issue has been declared a public health crisis (November 2016). New rules are in place that now keep primary care physicians from managing their patients' chronic pain and instead they will have to send them to a pain specialist.
I feel for anyone who loses a loved one for any reason. But opioids are not the only reason people die. People die from gun shots, too. More people die from gunshots, actually, than from opioid overdose.
Many stories I am reading indicate that people with chronic pain issues are being caught up in this government effort to crack down on opioid drug use. However, from what I have read much of the problem is coming from heroin addicts and people using synthetic opioids brought illegally into the state, not people who are receiving prescription medication from their doctors.
Apparently the government is not making this distinction even though their own reports indicate this to be so:
“As we see the nature of drug addiction shift, from prescription opioids to heroin and synthetic fentanyl, we must be vigilant and ready to respond quickly,” said Secretary of Health and Human Resources Dr. Bill Hazel in a news release from the Virginia Governor's Office.
Even the White House thinks the problem is not with prescription drugs - "In a Wednesday press briefing . . . the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, blamed the crisis on "cheap heroin" flooding the market . . ."
So the opioid drug addiction and overdose problem is really . . . what? Prescription drugs or not?
This article from the People's Pharmacy explains how chronic pain sufferers have been caught up in this opioid crack down. "Many patients suffering long-term severe pain are having a hard time getting relief. We have heard from hundreds of people who never abused opioids or increased their dose," The Peoples' Pharmacy writes. The article then lists numerous stories from folks who feel they are now suffering because the actions of others have made it harder for them to receive the medication they need to live a better life.
Here is a chart from the Virginia Department of Health on Opioid Deaths. According to this information, 801 people died in the state in 2015 from opioid overdose.
Here is a chart that lists the number of gun deaths in the state of Virginia, current as of 2014. According to this information, there were 889 gun deaths here compared to 733 opioid deaths that same year.
As you can see, more people die from gun shot wounds than from overdosing on opioids.
However, there is little discussion (practically nothing) on the Virginia Department of Health's website about guns at all.
In fact, in their list of "health concerns" from A-Z, there isn't a mention of firearm safety or guns.
There is stuff on nuclear power plant accidents, fish consumption, and radon. I wonder how much any of us worries about nuclear power plant accidents. I know they don't cross my mind at all.
In the search box, I finally pulled up a .pdf on firearms, apparently last updated 11/10.
It says this on the .pdf -
I don't know if overdose and poisonings are the same thing in the eyes of the VDH.
Here's the whole .pdf, which I snagged as .jpg before it disappears -
I know there is a second amendment argument in the U.S. Constitution about gun right ownership, but I don't see how we can look at one thing that kills people when a similar amount of people - more, even - are dying from something else.
Isn't that like pointing to a pigeon while denying that blue jays exist?
Personally, I do not know anyone who has died from an opioid overdose, or at least I am not aware of it. My husband who is in emergency services sees it and he says overdoses do seem to be occurring more frequently but he says it is due to heroin, not prescription pain killers. Perhaps if there was not a drug available to "bring back" those who overdose, the number of deaths would be significantly higher.
But his squads also run many gunshot wound calls, most of which never make the news. Those folks are also saved by medical intervention, so feasibly gun death numbers would be higher, too, if our medical heroes didn't have so much expertise at fixing up holes in people.
While I know no overdose victims, I know people who have been affected by gun violence. My friend's son was dating one of the victims killed at Virginia Tech in April 2007. He was shaken to the core. One of my husband's firefighters, long ago, killed himself - he was a nice guy and his wife and I had a lot in common. That shook me to the core.
A very long time ago, one of my father's friends accidentally shot himself in the leg during a poker game. I had nightmares about it for years. I sometimes still do.
About 18 months ago, I was watching TV when two local news reporters were shot live on the air. I am friends with some of the staff of that TV station, and they will never be the same. I'm not sure I will be, either. As a print news reporter myself, it certainly has left me thinking twice about whether or not I want to be out in the public, open and available, a target to anyone.
Why are we emphasizing one cause of death and ignoring another? Shouldn't we try to combat all of them in some fashion (including vehicle deaths, which I know someone will bring up, and heart attacks, etc.)
Let's follow the money to see who gains from this particular war on drugs, because in the USA it's always about the money. Pharmaceutical companies. Here's an article dated 3/29/17 that says Big Pharma is really behind this problem, the result of a concentrated marketing program.
An article in the same publication notes that the remedy to an overdose, introduced in 2002, "has generated $1-2 billion a year in revenues, first for its initial British manufacturer, Reckitt Benckiser, and the Richmond, Virginia-based company that it spun off two years ago, Indivior."
That sounds like a good reason to sell one drug so you can sell another drug to fix the first drug, doesn't it? Billions of dollars.
The article also claims the remedy is as addictive as the drug it is saving the person from. So more sales.
The pain doctors will have more patients. They are specialists so many patients' co-pays for insurance will increase. (In my case, my co-pay would increase from $30 to see my primary care physician to $50 to see a specialist of any kind, as an example.)
Fighting drug wars in America has always been a losing proposition. From LSD to marijuana to cocaine, efforts to remove drugs from communities have only enriched drug smugglers and criminal organizations.
Wars on drugs don't work.
With Republicans in control of the federal government and many states, gun laws are off the table. The Republicans don't even mind if you're mentally ill and you own a gun.
These are not separate issues. These are one and the same. Both of these issues are about people dying and they are about money. Neither is about your right to live or my right to live, because the people who make the rules really don't give a crap about that.
They just care about their big donors, and unless your name is Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, that isn't you.
We already have gun laws. You can't legally own an automatic rifle, or a Sherman tank. You can't legally own a rocket launcher. I don't want you to not have a gun if you want one. I am a crackerjack shot with a .22 rifle.
But stiffer background checks might save a life, just as making it hard for Grandma to get her pain killers might save a life. So why is Grandma suffering while Joe Gunslinger isn't even having to wait more than 20 minutes to pick up his new firearm?
I could not find a chart that compared opioid overdoses to firearms for Virginia. I did find one for Colorado that I want to share with you. It is from the Colorado Department of Health (apparently they do keep track of gun deaths there.)
Personally, I think this chart really says all that needs to be said. We're chasing after farts and rainbows, people.
Somebody, please, stop and think about what is really going on here. FOLLOW THE MONEY. And always remember that your life really doesn't matter to anyone but you, no matter how smooth the huckster talks. Your life sure as hell doesn't matter to anybody in Washington DC or to anyone who runs a drug company. They just want whatever money you have left.
This issue matters to me. It is personal. I know people who are affected by this new "war on drug" episode. They are hurting and will hurt more.
Maybe the government is hoping grandmas and grandpas will shoot themselves when the pain becomes more than they can stand.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Thursday Thirteen
In the year 2018
what was good was now ugly, not clean
with the rules all sent out the door
the middle class all became poor.
In the year 2019
All was brown, nothing was green.
The streams ran brown with dirt and slime.
And no one called it a crime.
In the year 2020
America was no longer the land o' plenty
Nothing there unless you were the 1 percent
Most folks couldn't pay their rent.
In the year 2021
No more elections, Democracy was done.
They tore down the Statue of Liberty
Because the copper was worth money.
In the year 2022
The people cried out, what can we do?
No one heard their simple pleas
So they turned to anarchy.
In the year 2023
While the rest of the world feel to its knees
American bombs made the sky sing
The guy in charge named himself king.
In the year 2024
Europe decided it wouldn't take any more.
Their forces gathered one by one
To teach America that it was done.
In the year 2025
The old king fell over and died.
His sons and his daughter too
Took over so they could rule.
In the year 2027
All the religions preached about heaven
said this time was the judgement day
so we should all fall on our knees and pray.
In the year 2028
Spite and malice, and lots of hate
were the things that people felt
as all the ice caps were lost to melt.
In the year 2030
With the streams and air both too dirty
people dying in the streets in pain
their skin burned up by acid rain.
Now it has been 13 years
In that time humanity disappeared
We sat and watched while the world was destroyed
by the corporate good ol' boys.
They died too with their money in hand
It couldn't save them from a polluted land.
But now the Earth, free of humanity
Will make herself green and clean.
Woe woe.
With much apologies to "In the Year 2525" is a 1969 hit song by the American pop-rock duo of Dennis Zager and Rick Evans. I wrote this in 10 minutes (this morning!) whilst under the spell of a mild fever because I have some kind of respiratory thing and this is part of my feverish visions.
_______
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 493rd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
what was good was now ugly, not clean
with the rules all sent out the door
the middle class all became poor.
In the year 2019
All was brown, nothing was green.
The streams ran brown with dirt and slime.
And no one called it a crime.
In the year 2020
America was no longer the land o' plenty
Nothing there unless you were the 1 percent
Most folks couldn't pay their rent.
In the year 2021
No more elections, Democracy was done.
They tore down the Statue of Liberty
Because the copper was worth money.
In the year 2022
The people cried out, what can we do?
No one heard their simple pleas
So they turned to anarchy.
In the year 2023
While the rest of the world feel to its knees
American bombs made the sky sing
The guy in charge named himself king.
In the year 2024
Europe decided it wouldn't take any more.
Their forces gathered one by one
To teach America that it was done.
In the year 2025
The old king fell over and died.
His sons and his daughter too
Took over so they could rule.
In the year 2027
All the religions preached about heaven
said this time was the judgement day
so we should all fall on our knees and pray.
In the year 2028
Spite and malice, and lots of hate
were the things that people felt
as all the ice caps were lost to melt.
In the year 2030
With the streams and air both too dirty
people dying in the streets in pain
their skin burned up by acid rain.
Now it has been 13 years
In that time humanity disappeared
We sat and watched while the world was destroyed
by the corporate good ol' boys.
They died too with their money in hand
It couldn't save them from a polluted land.
But now the Earth, free of humanity
Will make herself green and clean.
Woe woe.
With much apologies to "In the Year 2525" is a 1969 hit song by the American pop-rock duo of Dennis Zager and Rick Evans. I wrote this in 10 minutes (this morning!) whilst under the spell of a mild fever because I have some kind of respiratory thing and this is part of my feverish visions.
_______
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 493rd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Monday, March 27, 2017
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Sunday Stealing: The Kathy Aay Questions
Sunday Stealing: The Kathy Aay Questions
1. What is the meaning of your blog’s name?
A. Blue - my favorite color. Country - where I live. Magic - I love the idea of magic and believe that life can be magical. If you look out of the corner of your eye you will sometimes see that a leprechaun in watching you.
2. Why did you start your blogging?
A. I initially started blogging in 2003 as a reaction to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which I opposed on the grounds that the terrorists came from Saudi Arabia. As a news reporter in a very red area I couldn't speak out about it and maintain my objectivity, so I needed some other way to express my frustration. I got it out of my system and then switched over to AOl Journals. I turned that into a creative outlet because writing stories about local government was making me weary. After AOL decided to close its journal product, this blog came about.
3. What’s your usual bedtime?
A. Anywhere from 9:30 to midnight.
4. Are you lazy?
A. I don't think so, but I do think that being unwell has made me less enthusiastic about doing things than I once was. I don't think it's laziness so much as being zapped of energy by pain and medication.
5. Do you miss anyone right now?
A. Not at the moment, no.
6. How would you describe your fashion sense?
A. Terrible.
7. What are your nicknames?
A. My husband calls me Baby, Pookie, and Sweetie Pie. I also answer to "Hey, you!"
8. Are you a patient person?
A. Generally speaking. It depends on the situation and who is involved.
9. Are you tight-fisted or frivolous?
A. Tight-fisted.
10. What magazines do you read?
A. Reader's Digest and O! in print form. I sometimes pick up Progressive Farmer and Beef Today flip through them. I read the New York Times online and the local daily in print form every day, and the weekly paper in print form when it comes out. I also read articles from The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Slate, Salon, Vox, and whatever else of interest crosses my path.
11. Are you stubborn?
A. I can be. But not as stubborn as my husband.
12. When is your birthday?
A. I am a Gemini girl.
13. What book are you currently reading?
A. Hold Still, by Sally Mann. It's an autobiography of a famous photographer who went to same college I did.
14. What phone do you have?
A. I have a flip phone. It's a Nokia. I have had it for about five years, maybe longer.
15. Do you have any pets?
A. We have about 45 cows (most have calves) and two bulls. They are not exactly pets but they come running when they hear the tractor start up.
16. Do you have siblings?
A. I have a brother who is three years younger than I am.
17. Any children or grandchildren?
A. None of the above. I have a niece and four nephews, though.
18. What do you order at Starbucks?
A. I don't go to Starbucks. There isn't one nearby.
19. What did you do for your last birthday?
A. I was sick last year on my birthday. I spent the morning at the doctor's office and the rest of the day in bed.
20. What’s your occupation?
A. I am currently the bookkeeper and chief bottle washer for our farm and my husband's septic tank installation business. I am a freelance writer by trade. I did that for 30 years, mostly writing for newspapers and local magazines, and made a decent living at it until the recession. After that the jobs dwindled - our area had a glut of laid-off newspaper people - and then I became ill. I might go back to writing someday. Or not. I have also worked at other jobs, including for lawyers, in retail, and in industry. I had planned to become an adjunct instructor at the community college and had just been hired to do that when I became sick. I taught two classes and then was waylaid by illness.
I consider myself a jack-of-all-trades (master of none) because I have many interests, although lately I have heard people like me called "scanners" or "curiousity seekers" or "multipotentialite."
21. Do you live in the country or the city?
A. Thank God, I'm a country girl.
1. What is the meaning of your blog’s name?
A. Blue - my favorite color. Country - where I live. Magic - I love the idea of magic and believe that life can be magical. If you look out of the corner of your eye you will sometimes see that a leprechaun in watching you.
2. Why did you start your blogging?
A. I initially started blogging in 2003 as a reaction to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which I opposed on the grounds that the terrorists came from Saudi Arabia. As a news reporter in a very red area I couldn't speak out about it and maintain my objectivity, so I needed some other way to express my frustration. I got it out of my system and then switched over to AOl Journals. I turned that into a creative outlet because writing stories about local government was making me weary. After AOL decided to close its journal product, this blog came about.
3. What’s your usual bedtime?
A. Anywhere from 9:30 to midnight.
4. Are you lazy?
A. I don't think so, but I do think that being unwell has made me less enthusiastic about doing things than I once was. I don't think it's laziness so much as being zapped of energy by pain and medication.
5. Do you miss anyone right now?
A. Not at the moment, no.
6. How would you describe your fashion sense?
A. Terrible.
7. What are your nicknames?
A. My husband calls me Baby, Pookie, and Sweetie Pie. I also answer to "Hey, you!"
8. Are you a patient person?
A. Generally speaking. It depends on the situation and who is involved.
9. Are you tight-fisted or frivolous?
A. Tight-fisted.
10. What magazines do you read?
A. Reader's Digest and O! in print form. I sometimes pick up Progressive Farmer and Beef Today flip through them. I read the New York Times online and the local daily in print form every day, and the weekly paper in print form when it comes out. I also read articles from The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Slate, Salon, Vox, and whatever else of interest crosses my path.
11. Are you stubborn?
A. I can be. But not as stubborn as my husband.
12. When is your birthday?
A. I am a Gemini girl.
13. What book are you currently reading?
A. Hold Still, by Sally Mann. It's an autobiography of a famous photographer who went to same college I did.
14. What phone do you have?
A. I have a flip phone. It's a Nokia. I have had it for about five years, maybe longer.
15. Do you have any pets?
A. We have about 45 cows (most have calves) and two bulls. They are not exactly pets but they come running when they hear the tractor start up.
16. Do you have siblings?
A. I have a brother who is three years younger than I am.
17. Any children or grandchildren?
A. None of the above. I have a niece and four nephews, though.
18. What do you order at Starbucks?
A. I don't go to Starbucks. There isn't one nearby.
19. What did you do for your last birthday?
A. I was sick last year on my birthday. I spent the morning at the doctor's office and the rest of the day in bed.
20. What’s your occupation?
A. I am currently the bookkeeper and chief bottle washer for our farm and my husband's septic tank installation business. I am a freelance writer by trade. I did that for 30 years, mostly writing for newspapers and local magazines, and made a decent living at it until the recession. After that the jobs dwindled - our area had a glut of laid-off newspaper people - and then I became ill. I might go back to writing someday. Or not. I have also worked at other jobs, including for lawyers, in retail, and in industry. I had planned to become an adjunct instructor at the community college and had just been hired to do that when I became sick. I taught two classes and then was waylaid by illness.
I consider myself a jack-of-all-trades (master of none) because I have many interests, although lately I have heard people like me called "scanners" or "curiousity seekers" or "multipotentialite."
21. Do you live in the country or the city?
A. Thank God, I'm a country girl.
Saturday, March 25, 2017
Saturday 9: Heat of the Moment
Saturday 9: The Heat of the Moment (1982)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) What's something you did or said "in the heat of the moment?"
A. Quit a job. Actually, I stood up for myself and that led to my loss of a job. I was working for a two-lawyer firm, with another woman as a second (and senior) secretary. When I first went to work there, the drinks in the fridge were free. Then I was told I had to pay $0.50 for drinks (which were Sam's Club brand). So I started bringing in my own Diet Cokes. They kept disappearing. I knew one of the lawyers was drinking them because I saw the cans in his trash. Finally I marked one of the cans and when he came into my office with it in his hand, I pointed it out and asked for my $0.50 for the drink. He got very angry (though he handed me two quarters) and about two weeks later he "let me go" but gave no reason. He fought me on my unemployment but the state said he owed it to me since he had no real reasons for asking me to leave, so I collected it. Later, I found out that he and the other woman were having an affair; I am fairly sure that is the *real* reason I was asked to leave, because I was on the verge of figuring that out.
I'm not sure that's "heat of the moment" although I remember being angry when I saw for sure that he had my soda and was the one stealing from me. Jerk.
2) Asia's founder and bass player, John Wetton, passed away in January. One of his bandmates remembered him as a reliable performer who made everyone around him look better. Do you enjoy being the center of attention? Or would you, like Mr. Wetton, prefer to play a supporting role?
A. I would prefer the supporting role. The great thing about being a news reporter was I was there but invisible, participating but not. Seems like that would be a supporting role kind of thing.
3) Asia is a British band who played their first US concert at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York. The nearest major city -- Ottawa, Canada -- is a 90-minute drive from Pottsdam. When you were last in the car for an hour or more? Where were you going?
A. We went to Rocky Mount, VA to hear Tommy Emmanuel play guitar at the Harvester Performance Center.
4) The song refers to disco hot spots, which apparently, by 1982, no one wanted to go to anymore. Let's make that negative into a positive. Describe your perfect night out with friends. Where would you go?
A. To see a fantasy movie and to the book store.
5) In 1982, the year this song was popular, someone laced bottles of Tylenol with cyanide. That's why we now have tamper-proof caps on many products. Have you used anything in a tamper-proof bottle yet today?
A. No. I have asked the pharmacist to remove the child-proof caps from my drug prescriptions. We have no children around here.
6) In 1982, Time Magazine's Person of the Year wasn't a person at all, it was "the computer." What do you use your computer for most often?
A. Writing, video games, reading (including Facebook, blogs, etc.), looking stuff up, and watching a live stream of a giraffe that refuses to have her baby, apparently.
7) 1982 also saw the premiere of The Weather Channel. Where do you learn the day's weather forecast? (Watching the local news on TV, checking your phone, looking out the window . . .)
A. I look out the window and check the local news station on the Internet.
8) In 1982, Arnold Schwarzenegger's movie, Conan the Barbarian, was a hit in theaters. When you settle down to watch a movie, is it usually a fantasy, like Conan? Or do you prefer another genre (action, comedy, adventure, romance, drama, classic . . .)
A. I like fantasies but will watch most anything except for those comedies that are full of poop jokes, farts, and young men objectifying women.
9) Random question: What is something you try to avoid?
A. Being uncomfortable.
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) What's something you did or said "in the heat of the moment?"
A. Quit a job. Actually, I stood up for myself and that led to my loss of a job. I was working for a two-lawyer firm, with another woman as a second (and senior) secretary. When I first went to work there, the drinks in the fridge were free. Then I was told I had to pay $0.50 for drinks (which were Sam's Club brand). So I started bringing in my own Diet Cokes. They kept disappearing. I knew one of the lawyers was drinking them because I saw the cans in his trash. Finally I marked one of the cans and when he came into my office with it in his hand, I pointed it out and asked for my $0.50 for the drink. He got very angry (though he handed me two quarters) and about two weeks later he "let me go" but gave no reason. He fought me on my unemployment but the state said he owed it to me since he had no real reasons for asking me to leave, so I collected it. Later, I found out that he and the other woman were having an affair; I am fairly sure that is the *real* reason I was asked to leave, because I was on the verge of figuring that out.
I'm not sure that's "heat of the moment" although I remember being angry when I saw for sure that he had my soda and was the one stealing from me. Jerk.
2) Asia's founder and bass player, John Wetton, passed away in January. One of his bandmates remembered him as a reliable performer who made everyone around him look better. Do you enjoy being the center of attention? Or would you, like Mr. Wetton, prefer to play a supporting role?
A. I would prefer the supporting role. The great thing about being a news reporter was I was there but invisible, participating but not. Seems like that would be a supporting role kind of thing.
3) Asia is a British band who played their first US concert at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York. The nearest major city -- Ottawa, Canada -- is a 90-minute drive from Pottsdam. When you were last in the car for an hour or more? Where were you going?
A. We went to Rocky Mount, VA to hear Tommy Emmanuel play guitar at the Harvester Performance Center.
4) The song refers to disco hot spots, which apparently, by 1982, no one wanted to go to anymore. Let's make that negative into a positive. Describe your perfect night out with friends. Where would you go?
A. To see a fantasy movie and to the book store.
5) In 1982, the year this song was popular, someone laced bottles of Tylenol with cyanide. That's why we now have tamper-proof caps on many products. Have you used anything in a tamper-proof bottle yet today?
A. No. I have asked the pharmacist to remove the child-proof caps from my drug prescriptions. We have no children around here.
6) In 1982, Time Magazine's Person of the Year wasn't a person at all, it was "the computer." What do you use your computer for most often?
A. Writing, video games, reading (including Facebook, blogs, etc.), looking stuff up, and watching a live stream of a giraffe that refuses to have her baby, apparently.
7) 1982 also saw the premiere of The Weather Channel. Where do you learn the day's weather forecast? (Watching the local news on TV, checking your phone, looking out the window . . .)
A. I look out the window and check the local news station on the Internet.
8) In 1982, Arnold Schwarzenegger's movie, Conan the Barbarian, was a hit in theaters. When you settle down to watch a movie, is it usually a fantasy, like Conan? Or do you prefer another genre (action, comedy, adventure, romance, drama, classic . . .)
A. I like fantasies but will watch most anything except for those comedies that are full of poop jokes, farts, and young men objectifying women.
9) Random question: What is something you try to avoid?
A. Being uncomfortable.
_____________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.
I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.
Friday, March 24, 2017
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