Dream Segment.....

I am at a party, and it's time to go...i round up my friend Maxie, who is going to get a ride home with me...i check to make sure i have my car keys, we go to the parking lot...(it's like an apartment complex parking lot, but with grass) I put the key to the door of a white VW Bug's driver side, and as i turn the key, the car collapses...i realize that this is my '72 that got totalled, i laugh tell Maxie...parked next to it is my '66, so we go and get into it, i start it up, and off we go...the driving is a little bit weird, but we go on...we stop somewhere and get out, Maxie & i are walking down an alley-sized walkway, he's a bit ahead of me...i am aware of large quantities of snakes on the walkway, some are writhing about...i become fearful, one; a cobra, bites me on my face...i am really scared and concerned, on the verge of freaking out about being bitten by a poisonous snake, i have it's head in my hand, and show it to someone, voicing my worry...they tell me not to worry as it hasn't bitten me in a fatal manner...i'm still upset, and trying to tell people...i finally find Maxie, and tell him, and we leave, walking back up the walkway past these snakes, but i notice that some of them are dead...

Precipitational perambulations.....

I absolutely adore my home when it snows. Everything inside is so cozy. It's wonderful to look outside and see the snow. Eveything outside is so beautiful. It's wonderful to stand outside and look all around, see the accumulation on the ground and trees; and the happy vision of the house, smoke puffing out the chimney, cats sitting at the kitchen window wondering what i'm doing just standing there, looking around. A deeply snowy day gives a deeper meaning to all that i do. I remember one time as a teenager (the '70s) having a snowy day by myself here, and listening to Carole King's album "Rhymes & Reasons", filling me with an emotional depth that i carry to this day.

Breakfast & Lunch...

1. huge apple-fritter donut & 22 oz. Guinness
2. The Station Agent directed by Thomas McCarthy
Ratchet up my personal rating for The Hedonist's Club, baby...

Dream segment...

I am traveling with a companion in the arid southwest...in an arroyo, he comes upon a large reptilian beast; huge, sleeping, we know it for an omniscient being...soon we are at the being's temple and taking turns at audience...i am second, so i wait my turn at the gift shop...Becky Logan is behind the counter, working there...i look around the shop, i see many things: jewelry and all that...i come across CDs, and put on some jazz...alto saxophone music to be exact, the musician's name is Max something (sort of a cross between Miles Davis and Dexter Gordon), and the music pleases the being...when it is my turn to talk with him, we discuss this music and more philosophy...then i awake

Support who?...

To those who purchase these magnetic "Support Our Troops" car stickers: did you check where this item was made when you bought it? Have you noticed that most all of them are now made in China? How does this support our troops? Who is it supporting? Do you realize that many of our military families are buying important supplies for their family members who are overseas fighting because our government isn't outfitting them properly? Washington puts up big numbers for military spending, but the money goes to the big weapons-makers, it goes to corporate.

Audio-Visual Aids...

Two must-see movies: "Real Women Have Curves" and "Rabbit-Proof Fence"....i just viewed them this week, and was quite impressed with both.
Am now reading The Lies of George W. Bush by David Corn...

Trigeminal Grumpiness...

I just had one of the weirdest lunar Leo transits in recent memory. Three days of bad mood. Self-loathing. Inertia. No yoga, no walk, no weightlifting, no housework. But lots of angry eating. And the negative thing about that was i wasn't even enjoying what i was narfing down. And no PMS as the reason, i'd ended my monthly cycle last week. The kicker to all this being the fact that there was a Leo Full Moon Tuesday! I usually really rock out at such a time. On a positive note, i did read...but i didn't write.

more Bushwhacked...

I was going to launch a vituperative harangue about Dubya's "education" policy (public education being something i believe in), but after finishing Ms. Ivin's book, it's altogether too difficult to focus right now on just that one issue as a subject of personal outrage. I'd be here writing a book-length posting. While that might not be that bad of an idea, i'll just say for the time being that i want everybody to read this book!

Bushwhacked...

Thank you, John Dean, for recommending Molly Ivins & Lou DuBose's book. I began reading it this afternoon, and it's the bomb.

Dream segment...

My daughter and i are reclining together on a couch in the living room of our house...i notice a medium-sized mirror hanging over the computer desk, which is inclined toward us...suddenly, my daughter vanishes...i hear a grinding noise coming from the mirror, and feel it trying to pull me into it... at this point i awaken with an outcry

Reading...

Just finished John Dean's Worse Than Watergate...wow, very highly recommended...well written from a man who knows how the presidency works...

We feel safer?

Yesterday's Washington Post brought us the news that CIA director Goss is eliminating the daily 5p.m. counterterrorism meetings which Tenet initiated after 9/11. These meetings involved CIA , FBI, Pentagon and Homeland Security officials. Goss will be replacing these with smaller meetings three mornings a week. Here's my favorite quote: (from an administration official), "If something exploded, [Goss] would get briefed right away." Gee, that's great! The article features a photo of Goss and Bush standing together. Then today's Post gives us front page news about the inauguration: the Bush administration has refused to pay D.C. for inaugural expenses. They told D.C. to use money allocated for homeland security instead. Again, that's just great. I for one do not see the need for millions of dollars being spent on this inauguration whatever the source. I think that Bush is once again showing a total disregard for reality. It's tactless. This is not the time for a big glitzy high dollar extravaganza. He had that $40 million party last time. Think of all that could be done with $40 mil right now, elsewhere.

Quiet...

Fiction in between the political tome onslaught; began Daemonomania by John Crowley on Saturday. Immediately pulled into this world both magical and erotic and, what? Only a third of the way into it, so the potential is looming so enticingly before me.
Yes, today was a "me" day. Reading, staring out the window, wandering around the yard, chili for lunch! Ah...writing too, a little bit. Content...

catching up...

Ah, the holidays...lots of quality time being spent with loved ones, then WHAM-MO...i'm sick, serious smack-down sick. In bed for four days, don't eat, little sleep, drifting around in dreams, "lots of fluids", some reading when i could get past the headache. Oh yeah. Melian was a real trooper, feeding herself and the critters. My sense of smell was really heightened during and after. That was cool. I gradually re-introduced myself to the joys of food on the fifth day. Went into a different room of the house! Wow! Look at me, i'm standing up! Crazy stuff. Doing some yoga stretches to regain muscle tone. AND, trying to catch up with all of our friends this week that we wanted to visit with last week. Happy new year & pass me a beer.
Read Exporting America by Lou Dobbs. Short & to the point. Scary. Our government is removing our ablility to make a living. To be self-reliant as a country. Crushing any pride we might have left at a job well-done, "look! we made that"...goodbye middle-class! Yes, all for the sake of that bottom line ($$$$$). And the proponents of offshore outsourcing try to obscure the issue by saying that we (Americans workers) don't want to work, aren't productive, and lack education. When it's really alot about money. Outsourcing is cheaper. Why pay us $17 an hour plus benefits when you can pay someone in India/China/insert country here 62 cents and hour and no benefits? In my opinion this is one of the most horrific trends that have come along this decade. Lou gives a list of companies that have outsourced, it's quite lengthy and depressing. Count how many of the companies that you deal with on a regular basis that are on this list...
On the fiction end i am reading Stephen King's The Dark Tower. Noticed quite a bit of sloppy writing in the first third of the book. It's getting better here in the last third. But i still just don't like his having himself as a character, for some reason it's really grated on my nerves. I really dig the Darktower series, and hope it ends well. It's down to Roland, Oy and Susannah now...

Raptor sightings...

Between yesterday and today, Melian & i counted 8 hawks and 1 kestrel. Very good!!! That total would look fabulous on our Great Backyard Birdcount totals, but that's not until February. Be sure and check out www.birdsource.org everybody, and get in on that action.
Twice today Melian said something that brought back a dream segment recollection. One had to do with kittens, and one was about baking. Oh, the awareness of the dreamstate. Recently i have had the melding of awake-memory and dreamstate occur quite often. That is always fun. You stop and think...and try to put the memory in it's "proper" slot, but you're just not sure, did i dream that?
Who saw "A Series of Unfortunate Events" ? Melian and i went Friday evening, and we really liked the movie. She has read the books (she's on #6 right now, actually), but i have not. I loved hearing her say, "that's not how it went in the book". But she enjoyed the movie anyway. After all, she is a budding director/photographer. Good cast & cinematography. Then we came home and watched the latest Harry Potter movie on DVD. What a great time.

oddly enough...

I began keeping diaries back when i was in first grade. Kept doing so over the years, but of course at some point (high school) they turned into "journals", ahem. Anyway, periodically i've gotten disgusted and just burned them all. I'd been thinking of doing that recently. Then all of a sudden i'm bitten by the Blog Bug. Go figure! Is the appeal the feedback/interaction aspect? Or just the fact that this is a fresh way to journal-ize?
There is a hawk sounding outside, i adore that sound. I've a deep fascination with raptors altogether. Beautiful.
Speaking of beauty: last night's Singing Sunrays concert at the school was really good. 121 chorus members! Chuck & i were so proud of Melian, it was one of those defining parental moments. We wanted more songs, encore, encore...
Small amount of stress in the back of my mind today: work-related. My last day selling evergreens. Will be back at the Farm in March. That's a bit of an open space with no weekly paycheck. I've sent out a couple of app's...i'll just have to trust my procrastinator's luck to bring it all together...

Random beginnings...

Tuesday morning as i drove away from the school after dropping Melian off for "Singing Sunrays", i had the sudden desire to do something "great". Great, hmmmm... Did anyone else look for the Geminids Monday night? Out here on the mountain the night sky was clear and the stars were bright, so the meteor show was all-the-way-great. I didn't stay outside for long though, because i was ready to get back to reading Imperial Hubris, which i finished Tuesday afternoon. O.k., if i haven't yet told you: this is one of those "got to read NOW" books. I loaned it to Jess at the bus stop that same afternoon so she can get into it over Winter break. Alarming, maddening, enlightening, thought-provoking; all those words come to mind. Scheuer knows his subject matter. Now i'm on chapter 3 of Veering Right by Charles Tiefer. The subtitle says it all: "How the Bush Administration Subverts the Law for Conservative Causes". The political reading rampage i've been on since 8/2004 has been the only way i know to deal with the campaign & then, election results. A glut of information. Think of how many voters knew nothing of the hidden issues & agendas at all. But also, think of the high voter turn-out! Drat, i must sign off and head out to the Farm to sell those dead pine trees to people!!! Commerce!