I just had the oddest argument that wasn't an argument this week with one of my more alternate-culture friends. It boils down to a dark view of the world (mine) and a light, or positive view (hers). 

I say that it might be a good thing to let Wall Street bottom… Read full post »

When I woke up today I came to the computer as usual, not expecting that I would have a "break in belonging" moment that would cause me to feel like throwing up and lashing out at the same time. I managed to pound out a post, which started with… Read full post »

Yet another move has been made by the radical Christian Right to flaunt the law and claim the legal right to make political endorsements from the pulpit. The Alliance Defense Fund is going to force the issue with the IRS and push it to the Supreme Court. 

From the Washington Post… Read full post »

This started as a comment, but I guess it was off-topic for that post. But, I want to bring this point up again.

The Palin/Bristol pregnancy meme has been blogged over from all directions, including a mysterious confluence of facts that point to Palin having covered for Bristol and… Read full post »

This just in - Palin was a member of the pro-secession Alaska Independence Party, which challenges the legality of statehood and favors becoming a sovereign nation. Further, they advocate taking Federal lands and returning them to the state and residents. Here's the link to ABC news, who broke the st… Read full post »

I am not a power-blogger. I write lots of letters and comments, joining in conversations that others initiated. Each of my own blog entries are usually posted days or weeks apart. Every time I visit, the sheer profusion of posts and comments rushing by on the activity feed makes me think… Read full post »

I grew up with hurricanes in Florida, and remember them fondly. No school, defacing our picture window with tape patterns, candlelight, generators and big pools of water in the streets to splash in after the storm was gone. I don’t remember them as catastrophe, but probably many people did. No,… Read full post »

I am spending my Labor Day in front of the TV, watching the Weather Channel report on Gustav. Here in WNC, we are getting the far-flung tail of the hurricane with some badly needed rain, so it’s a good reason to stay inside and hold vigil for New Orleans.

So far, the… Read full post »

Are we really going to sit by and allow the RNC, the FBI and the Minneapolis Police Dept. to AGAIN bully, beat and arrest convention protesters to prevent them from exercising their right to free speech. I am not thrilled at the Democrats’ solution (concrete paddocks, blocks away from the conve… Read full post »

Disclaimers first, I think.

I did 12 years of public high school, in a school district that lost it's accreditation while I was still in school. I still got into a top private university. My mom typed my papers for me while I was in high… Read full post »

Infidelity is a huge element in my family history. My dad, being one of those god-men of medicine, a surgeon, took free advantage of the adoring nurses. Even the older nurses fawned on him, and probably would have jumped into bed with him too. So he took it as his due… Read full post »

My work tools have changed frequently in the last twenty years. The first big change came in the late 80’s when desktop publishing began to emerge in the graphic design field. Wielding an exacto blade with style and precision no longer mattered; the keyboard was the thing. Consequently, I was g… Read full post »

I never much liked my father. He was remote, mean, inarticulate and an alcoholic. He partied hard, played around on my mother, terrorized my younger sisters and flew into unexplained rages. He was also a celebrated heart surgeon, once head of his state’s Heart Association, lauded by senators a… Read full post »

With all of the ways to "save the environment" thrust at us from all directions, I have never seen the suggestion to stop using drive-through lanes. Yes, yes, we are a car culture and I was certainly in love with the idea when they started offering them, but really,… Read full post »

When I was a kid, I was always designing something - clothes, houses, anything that I thought could be made better. I was especially inspired by an exhibit of Paolo Soleri's futuristic city models, and after college, I went to RISD for architecture. 

Eventually I shifted into other… Read full post »