A Rapture Sign I'd Like To See

Casualties From the War on Terror, 9/11, and the Invasion of Iraq

Interesting graphic from http://www.prosebeforehos.com/government_employee/09/11/perspective-on-911-and-the-invasions-of-iraq-afghanistan/

My Maternal Grandparents

Here are pictures of my maternal grandparents taken on their wedding day in 1908 and then 50 years later in 1958 for their 50th wedding anniversary. My grandmother's name was Mollie Ora Magee Wells and my grandfather's name was James Daniel Wells.
I have wonderful memories of the time I spent with them in the summer in their home in Robstown, Texas. My grandfather and I spent many hours playing checkers and dominos. He also let me come to court with him one time. He was the city judge and I sat behind the judge's bench with him while he presided over the court.

Another picture of my dad, this time with my daughter, probably taken on his boat dock on Lake Livingston.

Family picture

I don't have many pictures of my whole family but here is one I did manage to find.

Happy Birthday Dad!

My dad would have been 95 on May 5th (Cinco de Mayo). This picture was taken on a trip a few years before he died when we went to Huatulco, Mexico. He loved water, especially the beautiful beaches in Mexico. Over the years we went on many trips together but I believe this was the last one.

Another Beatrice Hat

OK. This one I kind of get. Monarch butterflies...the Monarchy.

Commoners vs. Royalty

Score 1 for the commoners.

William's Chocolate Biscuit Cake

To celebrate the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate, our own William, aka Mr. Bill or The Decider, made a delicious Chocolate Biscuit Cake. This is the same cake that is being served at the wedding today and was Prince William's favorite cake as a child. If you love dark chocolate you will love this cake. Here are some pictures and the official recipe.



CHOCOLATE BISCUIT CAKE
The royal family prefers McVitie's brand Rich Tea Biscuits for their chocolate biscuit cakes, but any firm butter cookie can be used in this intensely rich and chocolatey no-bake treat. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers; the cake gets better with time.
Start to finish: 3 1/2 hours (30 minutes active)
Servings: 12
For the cake:
7-ounce package butter tea biscuits (sold in the cookie aisle)
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
16 ounces (about 2 1/2 cups) bittersweet chocolate bits
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the glaze:
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
6 ounces (about 1 cup) bittersweet chocolate
Coat a 7- or 8-inch round springform pan with cooking spray.
To make the cake, with your hands break up the biscuits into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces; you want chunks, not crumbs.
In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine the cream, honey and butter. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes, or until bubbling. Add the chocolate and stir until melted and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the vanilla, then the crumbled biscuits. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan, using the back of the spoon to smooth the top. Gently tap the pan on the counter to eliminate any air pockets.
Refrigerate for 3 hours or until thoroughly chilled.
Once the cake is chilled, prepare the glaze. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and cream. When the mixture reaches a boil, remove it from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until completely melted and smooth.
Carefully remove the sides from the springform pan (you may need to slide a paring knife around the inside upper edge to ensure the sides come away cleanly from the cake). Invert the cake onto a wire rack, then remove the bottom of the pan from the cake. Set the rack over parchment paper to catch drips.
Pour the glaze evenly over the cake, allowing it to drip down and completely cover the top and sides. Allow to firm up, then transfer to a serving plate. Refrigerate leftovers.

My Mother's Birthday

Here is a picture of my mother who was born on April 17, 1918. She died on March 1, 1965. Today the dogs and I got up early and drove to Bryan to visit her grave. When J and I would go to Anderson every weekend I would visit the cemetery more often but now just go once or twice a year. To see more pictures or read more about her you can click on her name in the labels area.

The Library Card as a Pop-Culture Fiend's Ticket to Geek Paradise

This essay by Linda Holmes is from NPR:

There's a big public library literally across the street from my bank and the supermarket where I most frequently pick up stuff like milk and paper towels. Across the street. As in: first I buy Diet Coke, then I dodge one SUV careening around the corner, and I'm there. And yet, until this weekend, I'd never been in it and I had no library card. I know. I've talked a bunch of times about the economics of e-book purchasing and paper book purchasing, about my love of paperback romance novels, and about how unattached I am to book ownership and the growth of my personal library, and somehow, I never crossed the street. After finally heading over to get signed up and then leaving on Saturday with the odd sense I tweeted about that they had let me walk out with six books and three DVDs for nothing and I felt like I'd committed a heist, I gave this some thought. Why, when there's such bitter frustration over pricing of all the things people actually buy, is library borrowing often only faintly heard about in noisy, angry discussions you can so often hear about "How do I stop getting broken on the rack by publishers of various kinds?" What kinds of hesitations stop this from happening? (Note: I know that for some of you, you've always been library hounds; I salute you. Don't feel marginalized. I'm speaking of those — whose numbers are strangely large — who, like me, just kinda ... stopped thinking about public libraries at some point.) Do they have what I want? Obviously, one of the issues is always going to be selection. I think when I envision libraries, I think about ... encyclopedias? Children's books? History? It's not that I don't know that they have new books and popular fiction, though you often don't see that stuff on display because it's out with lengthy waiting lists. But somehow, I don't think of the library as possessing the same books I buy for myself. I see it the way I saw it when I was a kid. I see it the way I saw it when I assumed that all books that didn't have pictures in them were dry and important. I have always associated the library with school and homework and (the horror) being quiet, not necessarily with fun. But on Saturday, I grabbed David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, which I checked out because (1) I've never read it; (2) I may not talk myself into it or be able to finish it and I definitely don't want it in my house staring judgmentally at me if I don't; (3) I want to give it a try; and (4) it wouldn't work as a Kindle book anyway because of the footnotes. Taking it out of the library is basically the only model under which I'm likely to try that particular book. I also found the last three books in a highly frivolous Nora Roberts romance series (oh, settle down) from which I'd already read the first. They'd cost $12.99 each if I bought them electronically. That's forty bucks to read three more books that are ... all very much the same book as the first book, but I kind of wanted to read them, because ... whatever, it was the weekend. It's relaxing. It's a series. Don't judge. Anyway, borrowing them long enough to read them (which takes, in total, maybe twelve hours for all three) cost me ... nothing out of pocket. So let's review: E-book pricing versus paperback pricing versus zero dollars (beyond what I pay in taxes to support the library, which I'm paying anyway) — for the rest of the set. It was not a very difficult question. I also picked up the Tom Shales history of Saturday Night Live, which I'm pretty sure I've read, or at least looked over, but there it was, and why not? I also love the gigantic tomes about etiquette that Judith Martin (that's Miss Manners to you) writes — she's hilarious and smart — and they had one of those, so I picked it up. That's six books that I genuinely wanted to read, at least three of which I probably would have blown money buying and then felt bad about. What condition is the stuff in? The same romance about physical books that leads some people to inhale of the pages as if they're breathing in knowledge itself leads some of those same people not to like books that are beat-up. And make no mistake: In my public library, I found many beat-up books. In particular, I found that all those cheap romance paperbacks were beaten, mangled, shaken and stirred. Not so that you couldn't read them, but just so you knew they'd been read a lot. Oddly, I found this ... comforting. I picked up some of those horribly abused books and felt like I was putting my hands on tangible populism. Those books are there because they're read, and it actually made kind of a good reminder that the library was trying to help, that the idea was to serve readers. Whether you like genre fiction or not, the people who read it read books and support libraries and bookstores, and the proof is right there in all those spines that are half-unreadable because they're creased in so many places. (Oh, and one other thing: If you read romance novels from the library, you will learn that while you might not fold down the pages to mark the ... well, the more risque sections, some people do. I found this, again, delightful. You naughty people who live in my county.) In short, you are indeed dealing with shared books, and they feel like shared books. It's not the same feeling as owning a book yourself and filling it exclusively with your own marginalia and placing your bookplate in it, but it has its own charms. What do I do if the selection doesn't turn out to be so great locally? Consider for a moment our new I Will If You Will Book Club selection, Neil Gaiman's The Sandman: Dream Country, which we'll get started on this week. As it happens, when I look it up in the online catalog, there are no copies at my branch. (Four copies across my library system are checked out; I dearly hope they are all to IWIYW readers.) But there are other copies at other branches, and right from my desk, I can ask my branch to get me one, and I can pick it up there. In other words "Dear Building Near Me: I want to read this book, and they have it at Building Not Near Me. Could you ask them to send it over, and then I'll pick it up on this particular day? Sincerely, Lazy N. Frugal." To which my library will say, electronically, "Dear Lazy: No problem! We look forward to seeing you." So in other words, depending on your system, there's an excellent chance that the selection is bigger than you think it is. Do I have to run back and forth all the time? The lending period at my library, for most stuff, is three weeks. And most things can be renewed online, up to a point. I mean ... they're trying to make it easy on you, they really are. Were you embarrassed when they saw you checking out romance novels? If it's been a while since you visited your library, you may be surprised to learn that many of them have automatic checkout with scanners, just like at the grocery store, so you don't have to show your books to anyone if you don't want to. Nora Roberts was my little secret. Well, not so much now, but you know. Do they have anything for me if I'm not so much a reader? I know you probably know that your library has DVDs. But somehow, in my mind, I envisioned a measly little table, like at a garage sale in the late '90s, with a few scattered, beat-up DVDs on it, all of which would be selected from the great list of ... things I don't care about. To my surprise, they have a nice fat shelf of movies. I was recently reading Wil Wheaton's beautiful piece about reuniting with the cast of Stand By Me and remembering River Phoenix, so when I saw Stand By Me on the shelf, I took that. I then realized that the documentaries (I love documentaries) were shelved with the books (weird, but understandable), so I went into the stacks again. There, I found Ken Burns' Baseball and — oh, joy — the fantastic King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters, a movie that I recently discovered, to my dismay, is not streaming on Netflix anymore, and which I hadn't seen in a couple of years. So there you have it: three movies and six books, all very much from the universe of stuff we talk about here on the blog anyway. No research papers, no homework, no garage-sale cast-offs. I was really surprised, at some level, when the detectors at the door didn't go off, even though I intellectually knew they wouldn't. What say you to e-readers and audiobook lovers? I'm glad you asked. I may have misspoken when I said on Saturday that my library had e-books I could read on my phone. It's not clear to me yet (watch the drama unfold in the comments!) whether I can actually do that. BUT! Some other readers can read them, and I can read on a PC, which isn't as bad a way to read as I used to think it was. (This is actually how I first discovered e-books, was reading on my PC before I owned a Kindle.) The e-book situation with libraries is in flux, you could say, as Lynn Neary recently reported. But it's not because your local library isn't trying. As for audiobooks, my library has those, too, and as with e-books, you can download them from your computer without even going to the library. You could actually be a thriving, happy library user without ever setting foot in my particular public library. The library is hermit-friendly! Is that it? It's ... not remotely. They had magazines, they did have encyclopedias and research materials, obviously, and basically, if you have a small child, they will do everything short of holding your kid by his feet and dipping him in fonts of wisdom. There's story time, there are tutoring rooms (which were in use when I was there), there's a book club (they're reading As I Lay Dying at the moment), and OH RIGHT, it's staffed with people who clearly would really like it if you came up and asked them questions about books or anything else. The point I'm trying to make is that as a pop-culture-adjacent person, you may think that public libraries are not particularly relevant to you. But I felt like since we've talked about movie pricing, e-book pricing, and a lot of other business models, it was only fair to bring to your attention my experience with this bizarre business model that's so crazy it just might work. [Note: It is a complete coincidence, you have my word, that I just figured out it's National Library Week. My finger purely accidentally landed on the pulse of library news.] [Copyright 2011 National Public Radio]

Rescue Chocolate

I just found this really great organization, Rescue Chocolate http://www.rescuechocolate.com/ that makes vegan chocolate and donates 100% of their profits to animal rescue organizations. This month, because of Easter, all of their proceeds will go to the House Rescue Society http://rabbit.org/ HRS rescues rabbits from shelters and educates people about the care and behavior of rabbits. They have launched a campaign called "Make Mine Chocolate" to encourage people to buy chocolate rabbits instead of live rabbits for Easter.

The chocolate rabbit pictured is one of the many vegan chocolate items for sale through Rescue Chocolate.

Song of Peace

Song of Peace
by George Bernard Shaw

Slaughtered to satisfy our appetites,
We never pause to wonder at our feasts,
If animals, like men, can possibly have rights.
We pray on Sundays that we may have light,
To guide our footsteps on the paths we tread.
We're sick of war, we do not want to fight,
The thought of it now fills our hearts with dread
And yet we gorge ourselves upon the dead.
Like carrion crows, we live and feed on meat,
Regardless of the suffering and pain
We cause by doing so. If thus we treat
Defenceless animals for sport and gain,
How can we hope in this world to attain
The PEACE we say we are so anxious for?
We pray for it, o'er hetacombs of slain,
To God, while outraging the moral law,
Thus cruelty begets its offspring - War.

My Diet

I've been on my new vegan/plant-based diet for a few weeks now and it's going pretty well. Here is what I eat on a typical day:
Breakfast: A smoothie with fresh orange juice, blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, a banana, and a scoop of Spirutein protein powder. Everything is organic, if available. I got the idea for doing a smoothie for breakfast from my favorite ex-president, Bill Clinton, who is also on a plant-based diet.
Lunch: A soy ham or turkey sandwich on Rudi's 7 grain bread with some greenery. Today I had Whole Foods vegan mock chicken salad with sprouts. Their mock chicken salad is to die for delicious and I would eat it everyday if I could. I also have a low sugar white or green tea, usually Honest Tea mango acai tea. Today I'm having Steaz lime pomegranate white tea.
Snacks: I allow myself 10 raw almonds a day as a snack and also fresh fruit. If I don't put a banana in the smoothie I will usually eat one around 10 am. I don't really love bananas but if they are not too ripe (a little on the green side) I am ok with one. If they are a little brown I put one in the smoothie.
Dinner: This is the meal I need to work on. I am content eating an Amy's frozen dinner every night but realize this is probably not the healthiest thing to do. This summer when I have Sunday's off I'm hoping to do a little experimenting in the kitchen, maybe even freezing a few things for dinner.
The thing I miss most on this diet is SALT. I'm really trying to eat less salt and I miss it. When I do buy Amy's dinners I try to buy the low-sodium ones but then I want to add salt (I don't). I also miss my Annie's Honey Wheat pretzels. I have no idea if I've lost any weight. I don't own a scale anymore. I probably haven't but I'm giving myself a year. I'm also planning to do more juice fasts. Last Friday I went out to eat with a friend. We went to Fendee's Mediterranean Grill on Westheimer and I had the very best falafel I've ever had. Good hummus too.
OOPS: Forgot to mention that I also have 1 cup of instant organic coffee in the morning with almond milk. I've tried giving up coffee before but I always go back. Sigh.

Juice Fast

I'm on the 4th day of my juice fast. One more day to go then I'm going to start my healthier plant-based vegan diet. I really hope I can stick to it this time.

UPDATE: It's 9:00 pm Friday night and my 5 day juice fast is over! I won't eat anything until morning but I made it.

IMDB to MARC Converter

Here's an interesting cataloging tool I found today that only a cataloging nerd would appreciate. You can find it here: http://amazon.libcat.org/cgi-bin/imdb2marc.pl? Just type in the name of a movie and it takes the information from the IMDB and converts it into a MARC record. I love the IMDB and have used it for years when cataloging DVDs and this tool makes it even more useful and fun.

Tomorrow I'm going to try and start my vegan, or plant-based diet (again). Plant-based is so much nicer sounding than vegan. I just finished listening to the audio book Veganist by Kathy Freston and it convinced me this is the way to go. I don't expect to be 100% but will do my best. I'm also going to try and start this week with a juice fast. I used to do this all the time but haven't tried in awhile. I would like to make it through 5 days. It was a lot easier when my SO would get me a juice every night. Now I have to make my own. Luckily I have citrus juicer and a vegetable juicer.

UPDATE: It's almost 8 pm Monday and I've made it through the first day of my fast! I honestly didn't think I would make it yesterday when I was planning the fast so this is great. The first day is always the hardest for me. I also took the pups on 2 walks. One was at 6 this morning. The weather is totally awesome. I have all the windows open.

UPDATE: It's 8:20 pm Tuesday and I made it through another day. Spent 4 hours at the dentist too.

Wednesday Update: I made it through another day! Don't know how I used to stay on these fasts for more than 5 days though. I'll feel really good if I make it through tomorrow.

Helping animals in Japan

After seeing the video on Yahoo today about the dog who wouldn't leave his canine companion I decided to send a contribution to World Vets, a non-government organization that provides veterinary assistance in 25 countries and is currently helping out with animal rescue in Japan. Here is a link to their website if you would like to help: http://worldvets.org/



The good news is that these 2 dogs have been rescued.

Jane Goodall

Last Wednesday I went to hear Jane Goodall speak at an event sponsored by the Progressive Forum and the Houston Zoo. It's been 50 years since JG first started observing and working with chimpanzies in what is now Tanzania's Gombe National Park. She spoke about all of the changes in the world in the last 50 years and how these chances have impacted animals, people, and the environment. My favorite part of the speech was when she talked about how she first became interested in animals and what a key role her mother played by encourgaging and supporting her. She also discussed her organization for young people, Roots and Shoots. The mission of Roots and Shoots is to "foster respect and compassion for all living things, to promote understanding of all cultures and beliefs and to inspire each individual to take action to make the world a better place for people, animals and the environment."

The Republican War on Women

I'm received this email from MoveOn today and thought it worth passing on:

Dear MoveOn member,

It might seem hyperbolic to say that Republicans have declared a war on women.

Sadly, it's not.

Just take a look at the top 10 shocking, crazy things Republicans have proposed in recent weeks. If you think this constitutes a war on women, please share this email far and wide—forward it, and post it on Facebook and Twitter.


I wish I could say these were the only examples of the Republican war on women. But it's just a sampling, and more is sure to come—unless we raise a ruckus and call them out. So please, share this email today.

Thanks,

Kat

Top 10 Shocking Attacks from the GOP War on Women

1) Republicans not only want to reduce women's access to abortion care, they're actually trying to redefine rape. After a major backlash, they promised to stop. But they haven't.

2) A state legislator in Georgia wants to change the legal term for victims of rape, stalking, and domestic violence to "accuser." But victims of other less gendered crimes, like burglary, would remain "victims."

3) In South Dakota, Republicans proposed a bill that could make it legal to murder a doctor who provides abortion care. (Yep, for real.)

4) Republicans want to cut nearly a billion dollars of food and other aid to low-income pregnant women, mothers, babies, and kids.

5) In Congress, Republicans have proposed a bill that would let hospitals allow a woman to die rather than perform an abortion necessary to save her life.


6) Maryland Republicans ended all county money for a low-income kids' preschool program. Why? No need, they said. Women should really be home with the kids, not out working.


7) And at the federal level, Republicans want to cut that same program, Head Start, by $1 billion. That means over 200,000 kids could lose their spots in preschool.

8) Two-thirds of the elderly poor are women, and Republicans are taking aim at them too. A spending bill would cut funding for employment services, meals, and housing for senior citizens.

9) Congress voted yesterday on a Republican amendment to cut all federal funding from Planned Parenthood health centers, one of the most trusted providers of basic health care and family planning in our country.


10) And if that wasn't enough, Republicans are pushing to eliminate all funds for the only federal family planning program. (For humans. But Republican Dan Burton has a bill to provide contraception for wild horses. You can't make this stuff up).

Please share this email today. Just click the links to post on Facebook and Twitter.

Sources:

1. "'Forcible Rape' Language Remains In Bill To Restrict Abortion Funding," The Huffington Post, February 9, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=206084&id=26177-2318427-orN_Xax&t=6

"Extreme Abortion Coverage Ban Introduced," Center for American Progress, January 20, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205961&id=26177-2318427-orN_Xax&t=7

2. "Georgia State Lawmaker Seeks To Redefine Rape Victims As 'Accusers,'" The Huffington Post, February 4, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=206007&id=26177-2318427-orN_Xax&t=8

3. "South Dakota bill would legalize killing abortion doctors," Salon, February 15, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=206102&id=26177-2318427-orN_Xax&t=9

4. "House GOP Proposes Cuts to Scores of Sacred Cows," National Journal, February 9, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=206103&id=26177-2318427-orN_Xax&t=10

5. "New GOP Bill Would Allow Hospitals To Let Women Die Instead Of Having An Abortion," Talking Points Memo, February 4, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205974&id=26177-2318427-orN_Xax&t=11

6. "Republican Officials Cut Head Start Funding, Saying Women Should be Married and Home with Kids," Think Progress, February 16, 2011
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/02/16/gop-women-kids/

7. "Bye Bye, Big Bird. Hello, E. Coli," The New Republic, Feburary 12, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=206104&id=26177-2318427-orN_Xax&t=12

8. "House GOP spending cuts will devastate women, families and economy," The Hill, February 16, 2011
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-a-budget/144585-house-gop-spending-cuts-will-devastate-women-families-and-economy-

9. "House passes measure stripping Planned Parenthood funding," MSNBC, February 18,2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=206122&id=26177-2318427-orN_Xax&t=13

"GOP Spending Plan: X-ing Out Title X Family Planning Funds," Wall Street Journal, February 9, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=206105&id=26177-2318427-orN_Xax&t=14

10. Ibid.


Birth Control for Horses, Not for Women," Blog for Choice, February 17, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=206106&id=26177-2318427-orN_Xax&t=15

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 5 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to Kathleen Knox on February 19, 2011. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here. About Yahoo! Shortcuts
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I read yesterday on the Huffington Post that bush has cancelled a trip to Switzerland after several groups threatened to protest his visit. Several human rights groups were also demanding his arrest because he has admitted to ordering torture. According to Reuters, Dominique Baettig, a right-wing member of the Swiss Parliament was also demanding his arrest. Of course bush denied that the criminal complaints had anything to do with the cancellation. I wish they hadn't warned him but just arrested him as soon as his plane landed. He should have been arrested and tried here but wasn't even though we are one of the 147 countries to have ratified the 1987 treaty banning torture.

Pug Attack

The best of the SuperBowl commercials

The Winnipeg Humane Society Kitty Midnight Madness

This has got to be the funniest ad for a rescue group I've ever seen.

Where's the snow?

We were promised snow but all we got was lots of ice and 800 wrecks (stupid Houston drivers)
Thankfully it's warming up to 60 today. I know the outdoor cats will be glad too.

Little Wolf

I am now the official guardian angel of this precious little puppy who was rescued by Chris of http://lingyang.org/ His name is Little Wolf and Chris found him when he ran into a restaurant where Chris was eating. He was pretty scared from all the noise and celebration of the Chinese New Year but Chris managed to get a leash on him and take him to a vet. He is now hoping to find a foster or a forever home for him.

I did an earlier post about this organization here:

http://fourdogmom.blogspot.com/2011/01/helping-dogs-in-china.html

BRRRRR

Yesterday morning when I got up it was 70. Today it was in the low 20's. The good thing is we may get some snow later in the week. Another good thing is living in an apartment that doesn't get below 60 even when it gets this cold. My old pier and beam house was always cold. I seldom used the heater and one morning I woke up and the house was 40 degrees and the pipes in the attic frozen. Thankfully they didn't burst.

I tried unsuccessfully to trap the little gray kitten again last night. She will go in the trap but won't step on the plate that closes the door. I'll keep trying.

Happy Groundhog's Day!

Punxsutawney Phil predicts an early Spring!

Leave the libraries alone. You don’t understand their value. | Blog | False Economy

I found a link to this speech by Philip Pullman in the Guardian.
Leave the libraries alone. You don’t understand their value. Blog False Economy

Kitty

Here is another one of the stray kitties I'm feeding. I noticed she was sleeping on my Amish rocker so I put a little blanket on it to make her more comfortable. As you can see, she is a beautiful slate gray with yellow eyes. She needs a name. I'm thinking of calling her Cinza which is Portuguese for gray or silver.

Why I support PETA

This was copied from an email I received from PETA listing some of their accomplishments in 2010.

NASA halted its plans to use dozens of monkeys in painful and deadly radiation experiments. The decision followed more than a year of intense campaigning by tens of thousands of PETA supporters, including Sir Paul McCartney, Bob Barker, and Alicia Silverstone.

Two large chicken suppliers agreed to switch to a less cruel chicken slaughter method called "controlled-atmosphere killing." The move will potentially spare millions of individual birds the pain of being scalded and having their throats cut while they're still conscious. Thanks to years of pressure from PETA, more restaurants and grocery stores than ever have started to demand that their suppliers use this method.

In the largest seizure of exotic animals in history, authorities confiscated more than 26,000 animals from international animal dealer U.S. Global Exotics, Inc., after a seven-month PETA investigation produced evidence of horrific conditions.

As a result of public outrage generated by a PETA investigation at the University of Utah, legislators in that state voted overwhelmingly to overturn an archaic law that required animal shelters to sell animals to laboratories for use in painful and invasive experiments. Utah was one of only three states that still required "pound seizure."

The world's largest shoe manufacturer, Nike, and its upscale brand Cole Haan announced that they will no longer use exotic-animal skins in their lines. The move came after PETA presented video footage to Nike executives documenting the suffering inflicted on animals used in the exotic-skins trade.

High-end women's fashion retailer Cache agreed to pull all real fur clothing from its stores after PETA showed company representatives footage of abominable conditions on fur farms.

Animal-testing facility Professional Laboratory and Research Services surrendered more than 250 dogs and cats and shut its doors after a nine-month PETA investigation revealed that animals were routinely denied veterinary care and subjected to painful procedures without being given proper anesthesia.

And who could forget 2010's massive oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico? Many shelters in the area were flooded with animals during this tragedy. Pamela Anderson and PETA were able to help by paying for veterinary care for 50 dogs and 30 cats and transporting them to PETA headquarters, where they were all adopted.

This video was created by the Finnish Library Association to celebrate their 100th anniversary. Be sure to turn up the volume.

Castile Soap

I switched from using regular shampoo to liquid Castile soap a few years ago. It's so much cheaper and leaves my hair feeling much nicer than regular shampoo. I also tried it out on the dogs and it left their hair soft and silky without any perfume. Perfume is a real problem for my sensitive little Ginger.
Today I found this recipe for a nice green automatic dishwasher detergent made with Castille soap.

1/2 cup liquid castile soap
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3 drops tea tree oil
1/2 cup white vinegar

Stir all ingredients together until blended. Store in a squirt top bottle. Use 2 tablespoons per load of dishes, shake well before use.

Jon Stewart takes down Sarah Palin

I've been taking a break from watching my favorite news shows (Olbermann and Maddow) Watching them leaves me angry, and scared for our country because of the hateful rhetoric from the right wing crazies. I know that they are all not crazy but the ones who seem to make the news are. Now I watch HGTV. I love House Hunters, Property Virgins, and Holmes on Homes. I also love watching Cupcake Wars (so much better than real wars) and some of the other cake baking competitions on TLC. I can watch TLC again now that Sarah Palin's Alaska is over.
Anyway, I can still watch Jon Stewart's take on the news because he always make me laugh and that's a good thing. Here is a clip from his show:

In the Crosshairs

As you can see from this graphic, Rep. Gabrielle Gifford is on Sarah Palin's target list along with 20 other members of congress who supported reform. When she was criticized for releasing the list Palin said: "Don't retreat, instead reload." Now it looks like someone has. Fortunately, Rep. Gifford survived the attack. Unfortunately, 6 other people were killed and 14 were wounded.

To be fair, we don't know yet why the shooter targeted Gifford, but the hate and bigotry in this country, thanks to people like Sarah Palin, is sure to inspire this type of violence. I also wonder what would happen if a Muslim put out a hit list and one of the people on the hit list was targeted. I doubt if he/she would be walking around free today.

Here is a little bit about the youngest victim of yesterday's attack, 9 year old Christina Taylor Greene. She was born on September 11, 2001 and was featured in a book called Faces of Hope about babies born on 9/11. She was interested in politics and went to the event to learn more about the political process.

Spicy Crisp-Roasted Chickpeas

I found this really easy recipe on Salon.

1 can garbanzo beans, drained, rinsed and thoroughly dried
¼ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (more to taste)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil

1.Toss everything together and spread on a baking sheet. Roast at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until completely crunchy.

Helping Dogs in China

My niece Erin, who is in China told me about a dog (maybe a few cats too) rescue organization that was started by an American living in Beijing. One reason I haven't wanted to go to China or any other Asian country is because of the animal abuse. I see enough of that here. That's why it was so nice to see what is being done there to help homeless dogs. Here is a link to this great organization (which gladly accepts donations) http://lingyang.org/ . I sent a small donation in this morning and got a personal reply back within a few minutes. This cute little guy is looking for a forever home. If I was there I would probably provide one for him.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid / Decision Points

Interesting placement of books at Borders. Found on Huffington Post.

New Kitties

Here are 2 of the 4 kitties I've "adopted. " There is another orange kitty and a grey/orange/white kitty who I think is their mother. She is the only one who isn't completely feral so in the next week or so I'm planning to catch her and have her fixed. These kitties provide lots of entertainment for Ginger.

Owl Gourds

I bought these adorable owl gourd ornaments at Whole Foods.

Christmas 2010

Tom Delay is GUILTY

Found this on Texas Kaos:

A few things I'm thankful for

1. Tom Delay was convicted. I'll be even happier if he actually goes to prison.
2. DWTS is over. (Please can we have a break from the Palin family for awhile).
3. Puri, a Pakastani fried bread that I had with my ex-neighbor Sheema and her lovely parents for Thanksgiving. I had more than Puri but that's what I'll remember.

John Paul Stevens

Last week I went to hear Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens speak at an event sponsored by The Progressive Forum. Justice Stevens retired from the court in June after being nominated by Gerald Ford in 1975, and was considered one of the more liberal justices. The hall at Wortham Center was completely sold out and the audience was very enthusiastic...lots of cheering, clapping, and standing ovations. It was so nice to be in a room with intelligent progressive people and the Q&A with JPS was informative and inspiring. It is hard to believe he is 90 years old when you hear him speak.
GWB was in Houston the following day signing his book. If JPS had prevailed in Bush v. Gore we might not have had to endure 8 years of his disastrous presidency. Here is Stevens quote about Bush v. Gore:
"One thing, however, is certain. Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law."

I hope she'll stay there

Barbara Bush on Sarah Palin:
"I sat next to her once, thought she was beautiful, and I think she's very happy in Alaska," Bush said, before adding, "and I hope she'll stay there."
For once BB and I agree on something.

Ginger (or why I work 2 jobs)

I took Ginger to the vet a few weeks ago for a urinary infection. While examining her they discovered a rather large tumor on her rectum which was probably causing her a lot of pain. The vet told me there was only a 25% chance it was malignant so I decided to have the surgery done even though she is almost 13. Today I found out that it is benign so I made the right decision. She is feeling great and is back to being the happy active puppy she has always been. I've spent almost 2,000 in vet bills in the last 2 weeks but it's easy to see why it was worth it when you look at that precious face.

Happy Birthday Neil Young

I found this wonderful post, with several videos on Salon about one of my favorite singers, Neil Young, who is 65 years old today.
http://open.salon.com/blog/lschmoopie/2010/11/07/man_with_a_heart_of_gold_neil_young

Claude Howard Jones

I just finished listening to John Grisham's new book The Confession. It tells the story of a young African American high school football player unjustly accused and convicted of the murder of his white female classmate in a small Texas town. The governor in the book sounds a lot like W. It was hard to read because of the subject matter and the incompetence of the judicial system but if you are interested in reading about how things really work in Texas or if you are on the fence about capital punishment I would suggest reading this book or listening to it on audio like I did.

I found this true story in the Houston Chronicle today. I'm sure this isn't the only innocent person put to death by Bush. Just one more person to add to the list of innocent people killed by him here and in Iraq.

Hair casts doubt on executed man's guilt

by Allan Turner

In 1989, the robbery-murder case against Claude Howard Jones relied largely on a strand of hair recovered from the Point Blank crime scene. Microscopic tests identified the hair as Jones', and a San Jacinto County jury sent the career criminal to his execution.
On Thursday, however, a DNA test on the same hair revealed that it likely belonged to the robbery victim, liquor store owner Allen Hilzendager.
Jones, 60, was executed for the November 1989 crime on Dec. 7, 2000 — protesting his innocence to the last.
One day before his execution, Jones' lawyer, James A. DeLee of Port Arthur, petitioned then-Gov. George Bush for a 30-day reprieve so that the hair could be subjected to DNA testing.
Bush, who earlier had endorsed DNA testing in life-and-death cases, denied the reprieve. He apparently made his decision on the recommendation of his staff lawyer, Claudia Nadig, who, in reporting the bid for the reprieve, made no mention of the request for DNA testing.
Nadig, now a government lawyer in the nation's capital, could not be reached for comment.
The new test, performed by Mitotyping Technologies, a private Pennsylvania laboratory, was requested by the Texas Observer, an Austin-based political journal, and the New York-based Innocence Project.
The testing found that hair DNA was consistent with that of the victim and his maternal relatives; it was not consistent with Jones' or that of his accomplice, Danny Dixon.
"We can't say for certain that he's innocent, because the DNA tests don't implicate another shooter," said the Observer's Dave Mann. "But it certainly raises troubling questions about the case. The strand of hair was the piece of evidence that tied him to this crime and put him in the liquor store doing the shooting."
Other than the hair evidence, prosecutors relied on witnesses who testified they saw a man resembling Jones enter the liquor store.
Jones' second alleged accomplice, Timothy Jordan, who testified Jones had confessed the crime to him, later admitted that he had lied to jurors. Jordan was sentenced to prison for aggravated perjury after he told differing stories to grand and trial jurors.
In addition to DNA testing, the hair also was subjected to additional microscopic examination.
Nicholas Petraco, an associate professor of chemistry and forensic science at City University of New York, reported that the hair in evidence was not suitable for "meaningful microscopic comparison" because it merely was a fragment.
"A meaningful forensic hair comparison requires that suitable questioned and unknown hair specimens be compared from root end to tip end while being observed side-by-side on a transmitted light comparison microscope," he wrote.
Comments from the San Jacinto County District Attorney's office were not immediately available.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROSIE!

Rosie is 11 years old today. We celebrated with cupcakes from Crave. They just opened up a store on Kirby and have the best cupcakes in Houston, possibly the world.

The U.S. searches for war criminals

Interesting article in Salon. I would like to report Bush and Cheney before going after anyone else.
The U.S. searches for war criminals