Iraq voting...YES!!!

Read on the internet today that MORE than 57% of Iraqis appear to have voted today, in the first election in more than 50 years. If any Iraqis are reading this, even though I'm a million miles away, I'm proud of you! You are awesome! I don't know if I'd have the cajones to do what you did today, risking life & limb for democracy, to have a voice in your future. You have given me hope for peace in the Middle East. I wish & pray for peace in Iraq. You have set a wonderful example for people around the world.

Million Dollar Baby & Sideways

Saw Million Dollar Baby yesterday & Sideways today, as part of my annual see-all-the-oscar-nominees-effort before awards time. Not so easy out here in suburbia where we get all the blockbusters in all the theaters but no film diversity, few independent films, no foreign films. Million Dollar Baby was great in so many ways. Acting was superb, especially Hillary Swank. She surpassed even her brilliant performance in Boys Don't Cry, which is no small feat. Clint was good as an actor but better as director. Morgan Freeman was wonderful as always. His whole manner reminded me a lot of his character in Shawshank Redemption. Appealing, understated, maybe he got a raw deal kind of guy. But I have to tell you, this is one heavy movie. Bloody boxing scenes made me feel nauseated. No happy endings here. Be prepared when you see it but do see it. Loved Sideways! But as an Oscar contender? I don't know about that. Paul Giamatti is so good, as always. I loved him in American Splendor & Private Parts. Thomas Hayden Church was also very good but an oscar? I don't think so, not to minimize his performance. Maybe people were shocked that a sit-com guy could actually act. I was impressed. There was lots of laughing out loud at the showing I attended. See this one too. I'll probably rent it when it comes out even though I've already seen it. Next I'll see Ray, then Neverland. Aviator doesn't really interest me, not a big Leo fan (although he was good in Gilbert Grape & This Boy's Life...not so good in Titanic or Catch Me If You Can). Without having seen anything else yet, I'm guessing Jamie Foxx for best actor, Annette Benning for Being Julia, Million Dollar Baby for Movie & Director. Annette should have won for American Beauty so she'll probably get it this time. Why am I so interested in this stuff? I don't know.

What else? Sam is sick today, some stomach thing. He doesn't complain, just throws up every so often & gets back into bed. So he'll be home from school tomorrow, eating jello & drinking ginger ale. I could never get my kids to drink tea when they're sick. Whenever I was sick growing up, my mom always brought me tea & toast in bed. It was the best.

Bush, Napoleon Dynamite & other random thoughts...

So I haven't been writing every day but I have written a few things (not posted here) that came out sort of good. I'd like to do a column for the local paper, at least get something published to give me momentum. I wrote a few good things this week but nothing good enough to share.
What's in the news? This Bush plan on social security as a way to move us toward an ownership society is brilliant. If there is no ownership there's no motivation. The first pilgrims in this country proved that. They tried to set up a utopian society where everyone worked for the common good. They starved. Some resorted to cannibalism. Once they changed the original model to one of ownership...a you keep what you kill sort of model, they thrived. Why work if you can't enjoy the fruits of your labor? Especially if the guy next to you, who does nothing, gets the same as you. What I don't understand is why Bush & Co. don't characterize social security for what it is...just a pyramid, a Ponzi scheme, which is illegal everywhere but in the government. The reason it's illegal is that the people who put money in later get fleeced. It can't sustain itself. So let's shift to a system where social security taxes are put into private accounts for the later use of those who put it there. And by the way, why is there a cap on earnings that can be taxed for social security? There should be NO social security tax until you make, say $25,000/year, then you keep paying as long as you're earning above that. The first year I practiced law, I couldn't believe when I suddenly got a bigger paycheck about 2/3 into the year and someone explained it was because I hit the cap for making social security payments. It defies logic. The people who can most afford to pay get the big break. The people at the bottom of the income ladder are taxed on their first dollar. Who put this dumb system together anyway (and don't say FDR...it was someone who worked for him.)
The upcoming inauguration. What sour grapes I keep reading about the "insensitivity" of holding a lavish party. We're celebrating democracy that works. It's paid for by private donations. Bush won. Get over it. I can't see Kerry the aristocrat & his annoying wife having a subdued inauguration, had they won (thank God they didn't).
Napoleon Dynamite...watched it yesterday, it sucked. It was really bad. Someone told me they loved it, they bought it, yada yada yada....really, it was barely watchable. Also watched Bourne Supremacy, which was OK...decent rental. Not as good as Bourne Identity. Wish they hadn't killed off "marie"...love that actress, Franka whatever her name is. She was so great in Run Lola Run & also in the first Bourne movie. Matt Damon is OK but he's not in her class.
Want to see Sideways, Being Julia, Ray, Hotel Rwanda, Million Dollar Baby, but of course they're not playing here in the Burbs. They'll get here eventually, hopefully before the oscars so I can see them.
Tested the snow thrower today. A little complicated but Sam got it working & the driveway is nice & clear now. Hope it warms up before we go skiing next week.
Went to the RV show on Friday.....like the pop-ups, some sleep 6 & even have a bathroom. That would be an adventure, camping with the boys. Maybe next summer. I'm afraid to spend too much, with college for Sam just 2 plus years off.
Talked to Matilda today. She's mentally paralyzed. She hasn't been outside in weeks. .She can't get anything accomplished, even phone calls. It's like she's waiting to die. If she has to do one thing, like take her husband to the doctor (which is on location), that's it for the week. She can't do anything else. I told her I'd like to take her to Phipps to see the orchids & she seemed to like that idea. Maybe in a week or 2 if the weather warms up a bit.
That's all for now.......this counts as writing for the day, even if it's random & not usable in any other context.

Ebay Blues

Disturbing experience on ebay. I've been carefully cultivating my ebay rep, paying instantly on auctions I've won and packaging & mailing stuff I've sold like a true professional. Excellent 100% positive feedback. Recently I bought some software on ebay at a great "buy it now" price, listed as "New full retail version in box" with a picture of just what I needed (software purchase necessitated due to computer crash & reinstallation of XP...it was a nightmare but that's a whole other story.) Anyway, Hooray! I found what I needed on ebay, as usual. But the software the seller sent was SIMILAR to what was listed, not THE SAME AS what was listed. After some glitches I got the thing to work so no harm no foul. BUT in good conscience I felt like I could not leave positive feedback for the seller, nor could I leave NO feedback because some other unsuspecting buyer might have the same experience I did. So I left neutral feedback, no shouting, just the facts ma'am. And the seller in response gave me negative feedback, shouting about what a terrible customer I am!! This when I paid the buy it now price & got something other than what was listed!! It's so annoying. Now I'm at 96% instead of 100%...but there's nothing I can do about it (apparently.) So I'm venting here. Now I have to go sell and/or buy a bunch of stuff to get my rating back up. So if any ebayers are reading this, what do you do if you get a bad deal from a seller? Do you just swallow it & not leave any feedback so they won't destroy your reputation, or do you always leave feedback & be honest about it???

I'm Baaaaackkkkk

I'm back. Trying to write something every day so here I am. That's a start. Thinking about characters for a story. Writing notes in my car when I see something weird or compelling. A lemon yellow sports car with license plate that says "MSRBLE". Worms on the sidewalk in January. Doing lunges in body pump reminds me of genuflecting in catholic school. Photos of tsunami victims everywhere. Kids ripped from their mothers' arms by the wave. Iraq. Democrats and demagogues. 40ish Women with perfect abs and pierced belly buttons on the phone in SUVs . Enormously fat people shopping at Costco & scarfing down the free samples. Cigarette smokers. Breast cancer. Live strong bracelets. Matilda. Kurt Cobain. That giant woodpecker on Jon's feeder. Skiing but it's 60 degrees out. Write a poem. Hurt feelings. Ken is recovering. This is going nowhere. I'll come back later.

Keep on Writing....

OK I've been lazy again. I swear it's the weather. Dark & dismal & damp. All I want to do is sleep under a nice comfy down blanket. But I promised I'd write something every day so I'm writing this. Doesn't matter what it is as long as I write, right? Travel plans on my mind. Big trip to Utah avec la famille in August. Made plane reservations on a soon-likely-to-be-defunct airline, using frequent flier miles for 5 of 6 tickets, so I'm doing my part to ensure its demise. I did buy 1 ticket so that's my contribution ($298) toward its survival. Will also see Las Vegas, a dream come true for the kiddies. They'll be disappointed when they discover they're too young to gamble but we can do wholesome things....Hoover dam, Lake Meade, Zion & Bryce. Never been to the desert in August but who cares. We'll stay someplace with a pool. We'll work our way up to Salt Lake City for a family reunion. (Read Under the Banner of Heaven & glad I don't have daughters that could be abducted by some crazy mormon polygamist psycho.) Also planning trips to Fla, NYC & NC, plus Philly in Nov. I should go back to work so I can pay for this stuff but if I keep writing maybe I'll sell something and thus contribute to the family coffers. Must keep in mind the prospect of college for son#1 in 3 years...last college fair we attended was rude awakening. $40k plus for good private schools these days. Will the youngster get any scholarships? One hopes, or one may end up in bankruptcy. Speaking of son#1, he must go face a magistrate next month for allegedly disorderly conduct at the mall. HAH! Here's a young man, honors student, never been in trouble for one minute in his whole life, shopping with his parents and younger sibs, and he gets cited by a mall cop for defending himself against some punk who was pushing him around in the food court! So now he & his dad (the lawyer) are going to plead not guilty but he has to miss school & go thru the whole mess. The other party (the one that started the scuffle) will be there too so I'm sure son#1's dad will be asking a few questions. The whole thing is annoying but I told son#1 that I'm proud of him for defending himself. He's not a big guy & not athletic. He's cerebral. He's on the debate team. He's in the latin club. Does this sound like someone who'd start a fight, especially when he's shopping with his parents? Makes me feel for the kids out there with no lawyer for a dad, or no dad at all, or no $$ to defend themselves. We had to pay $50 just to plead not guilty! There are court costs too but hopefully the magistrate will be a man of reason & throw the whole stupid situation out. And that's all for today folks.

Writing in the new year

My big new year's resolution is to write every day. Everything I read about writing says you must write every day, even if it's only a few paragraphs, and you should try to write at the same time/place every day to make it a habit. I've become very good at doing everything BUT writing. I have lots of ideas and I take no action. But I have a goal, which is probably a lifetime goal, to write a book about my grandparents who came here from Italy in the early 1900's. Lots of good stuff there...illegitimate births, death in the copper mines, nobility, romance, war....but first I have to work on my stories & get some stuff published. I've gotten good at writing the first few pages of stories, then I get stymied. I need to learn how to craft a plot. There's a writing class locally that maybe I'll take, for 8 weeks. I need someone to put a fire under my butt so I start producing. A friend from college used to say that you have to suffer to be a good writer. I don't suffer. I got an email from someone yesterday that said if I sent the email on to a certain number of people within 6 minutes, something good would happen to me. But something good happens to me every single day already! My kids bring me constant joy. They come home from school & are glad to see me, even my teenagers. My husband is pretty much as good as they get. I want for nothing! I used to look at the tiffany's catalogue and pine for jewelry, or read the NY Times & long to travel to exotic places, or shop for clothes and yearn for designer suits I couldn't afford. Now all I want is a good pair of jeans and good health for my family and wish that my parents would live forever. Honestly. I live in the greatest country in the world, where I can do what I want and live where I want and say what I want. I see in the news people devastated by poverty, war, disease, and think if I've been reincarnated, I must have been very good in a prior life. Maybe it's having kids that changes your outlook. So I guess the only problem I have, writing-wise, is complacency. I have to form some good writing habits. Still reading John Updike, still amazed by his talent with words.