Me: I really do need to start working out. I'm going to put on some music and dance around the house for awhile.
[Cue up song, start dancing]
Bishop: Ooh, she's dancing! I think I'll jump up on her!
Me: OW! Down!
Sebastian: Hey, dance over here so I can climb on your head! Actually, I just want to crawl up and cuddle under your chin. Sit down with a book so I can do that, OK?
Inanna: Oops, what just happened? Oh, I stepped on the keyboard of the laptop and killed the iTunes. Sorry!
Puck: HellOOO! I am supposed to be HBIC! Stop dancing and pet me.
Bishop: Now I am REALLY gonna jump up on her, because she's holding Sebastian too!
Me: OK, fine. Bishop, let's see how well I can dance holding a 30-lb weight.
Bishop: What the heck is she doing?! ...OK, she finally put me down. I'm going to jump up again.
Me: OWWW! OK, I know the vet said he'd clip the toenails next time, but screw that. Sit, Bishop. I'm getting the nail clippers.
[The rest of my workout devolves into a wrestling match with Bishop, who is NOT keen on having his nails clipped.]
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Inconvenient truths and convenient oversights
First off, thanks to Stowe for my new design and very cool new header (happy Christmas to me)!
*******
Having never seen the film An Inconvenient Truth, I decided to buy the book when I saw it on a bargain shelf a few weeks ago. And I've had (perhaps not surprisingly) a very mixed reaction to it.
First off, there is no doubt in my mind that people in general and Americans in particular need to seriously curtail our polluting/ trashing everything with chemicals/ clear-cutting forests/ strip-mining for jewelry/ raping the earth in myriad other ways. On the one hand, I'm appalled by how much crap I produce or use in the course of my daily life (chemical shampoo, gasoline, disposable food packaging, cell phone, chemical cleaning products, cranking up the heat, etc., etc., and I don't even want to know how many rain forests have been destroyed to make all the books I own), and on the other hand, I'm amazed that the earth has managed to straggle on without falling to pieces long ago.
Al Gore gave me some good ideas. As mentioned in the previous post, I bought reusable tote bags at Kroger, and I have been using them at other stores as well. If I only buy a few items, I have been asking not to have them bagged. I am sorting my recycling. (My Denver friends tell me they have curbside recycling; they toss everything into a bin and it gets picked up with the trash and they don't even have to sort it themselves! In Savannah, you have to not only sort it, but drive way the hell out to the ghetto to find the one place where you can recycle everything. So that's gonna be the real challenge for me.) I got biodegradable bags for dog poop (provided, of course, that the puppy, whose name is now Bishop, ever decides to poop somewhere outside my house). I've been using post-consumer, non-bleached recycled paper towels and non-chemical cleaners (the problem is many of them are ammonia-based, which isn't so good with cats). I even bought recycled cotton wrapping paper for Christmas gifts.
Surprisingly to me, I already was doing more stuff right than I realized, which is kind of cool.
Gore advocates CFLs (compact fluorescent lightbulbs), but I heard from another reliable source that although CFLs last far longer, they also contain dangerous levels of mercury that we should not be tossing away in landfills. I need to do more research to find out whether this is true. If it is, it's hugely disturbing.
A lot of Gore's suggestions either 1) cost far, far more disposable income than I have (you know, getting new appliances, re-insulating your house, buying a hybrid car), and/or 2) involve taking political action. And while I know laws need to change, I'm very distrustful of politicians and lawmakers. I guess I am more of an advocate of grassroots, personal decisions, so that's where I am right now.
The whole politician problem plays into Gore's book, too. Even though he claims he has retired from public office, he's still a politician. He devotes a disproportionate amount of text to talking about himself, his time in office, all the wonderful things he did, and how he has always been a forward-thinking advocate for the environment. All of that might be true, and some of it is useful background, but it became cloying after awhile. It's definitely overkill.
He's also disgustingly disingenuous about certain things--the most offensive, to me, being his handling of Hurricane Katrina. Katrina may have been caused by global warming, and New Orleans would not have flooded without Katrina. But I think it's a virtual certainty that the worst of the devastation wasn't caused directly by the hurricane; it was because the levees had not been built to standard and broke. And the storm could well have lost a lot of velocity if the wetlands hadn't been constantly eroded for the past century, and had been able to absorb more of the water. Multiple administrations--including Clinton/Gore--lied about the levees and did nothing to stop destruction of the wetlands. So it's a little hard to stomach the way he manipulates images of people on cots in the Superdome and the flooded city to underscore his argument about global warming. He conveniently ignores the role he and his administration played in failing to prevent the crisis.
I noticed in at least one case, too, that his "before" and "after" photos of a vanishing glacier weren't shot at quite the same distance. There's no doubt the glacier had noticeably and significantly shrunk in the second photo, but the lens covered a broader area, too. Barren slopes on the side of the glacier added to the look of desolation. The slopes weren't in the first photo, so you couldn't tell how much had melted and how much hadn't been there in the first place. That subtle manipulation of the perspective wasn't even necessary; the images clearly made the point they were supposed to make, so why manipulate it at all?
In the end, I am glad I read the book, but I'm a little disappointed too.
*******
Having never seen the film An Inconvenient Truth, I decided to buy the book when I saw it on a bargain shelf a few weeks ago. And I've had (perhaps not surprisingly) a very mixed reaction to it.
First off, there is no doubt in my mind that people in general and Americans in particular need to seriously curtail our polluting/ trashing everything with chemicals/ clear-cutting forests/ strip-mining for jewelry/ raping the earth in myriad other ways. On the one hand, I'm appalled by how much crap I produce or use in the course of my daily life (chemical shampoo, gasoline, disposable food packaging, cell phone, chemical cleaning products, cranking up the heat, etc., etc., and I don't even want to know how many rain forests have been destroyed to make all the books I own), and on the other hand, I'm amazed that the earth has managed to straggle on without falling to pieces long ago.
Al Gore gave me some good ideas. As mentioned in the previous post, I bought reusable tote bags at Kroger, and I have been using them at other stores as well. If I only buy a few items, I have been asking not to have them bagged. I am sorting my recycling. (My Denver friends tell me they have curbside recycling; they toss everything into a bin and it gets picked up with the trash and they don't even have to sort it themselves! In Savannah, you have to not only sort it, but drive way the hell out to the ghetto to find the one place where you can recycle everything. So that's gonna be the real challenge for me.) I got biodegradable bags for dog poop (provided, of course, that the puppy, whose name is now Bishop, ever decides to poop somewhere outside my house). I've been using post-consumer, non-bleached recycled paper towels and non-chemical cleaners (the problem is many of them are ammonia-based, which isn't so good with cats). I even bought recycled cotton wrapping paper for Christmas gifts.
Surprisingly to me, I already was doing more stuff right than I realized, which is kind of cool.
Gore advocates CFLs (compact fluorescent lightbulbs), but I heard from another reliable source that although CFLs last far longer, they also contain dangerous levels of mercury that we should not be tossing away in landfills. I need to do more research to find out whether this is true. If it is, it's hugely disturbing.
A lot of Gore's suggestions either 1) cost far, far more disposable income than I have (you know, getting new appliances, re-insulating your house, buying a hybrid car), and/or 2) involve taking political action. And while I know laws need to change, I'm very distrustful of politicians and lawmakers. I guess I am more of an advocate of grassroots, personal decisions, so that's where I am right now.
The whole politician problem plays into Gore's book, too. Even though he claims he has retired from public office, he's still a politician. He devotes a disproportionate amount of text to talking about himself, his time in office, all the wonderful things he did, and how he has always been a forward-thinking advocate for the environment. All of that might be true, and some of it is useful background, but it became cloying after awhile. It's definitely overkill.
He's also disgustingly disingenuous about certain things--the most offensive, to me, being his handling of Hurricane Katrina. Katrina may have been caused by global warming, and New Orleans would not have flooded without Katrina. But I think it's a virtual certainty that the worst of the devastation wasn't caused directly by the hurricane; it was because the levees had not been built to standard and broke. And the storm could well have lost a lot of velocity if the wetlands hadn't been constantly eroded for the past century, and had been able to absorb more of the water. Multiple administrations--including Clinton/Gore--lied about the levees and did nothing to stop destruction of the wetlands. So it's a little hard to stomach the way he manipulates images of people on cots in the Superdome and the flooded city to underscore his argument about global warming. He conveniently ignores the role he and his administration played in failing to prevent the crisis.
I noticed in at least one case, too, that his "before" and "after" photos of a vanishing glacier weren't shot at quite the same distance. There's no doubt the glacier had noticeably and significantly shrunk in the second photo, but the lens covered a broader area, too. Barren slopes on the side of the glacier added to the look of desolation. The slopes weren't in the first photo, so you couldn't tell how much had melted and how much hadn't been there in the first place. That subtle manipulation of the perspective wasn't even necessary; the images clearly made the point they were supposed to make, so why manipulate it at all?
In the end, I am glad I read the book, but I'm a little disappointed too.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Saving the planet in the S.A.V.
So I'm at Kroger the other day and I decide to buy a couple of the reusable blue totes in which you can bag your groceries, rather than using paper or plastic. Conscientiously, I put the totes on the conveyer belt before the rest of my groceries, to facilitate ease in bagging. Then, as the cashier begins to ring up my food, I notice the bagger* calmly placing my totes into a plastic bag, along with my other groceries.
"No!" I say. "I don't want plastic. Please just put my groceries in the blue bags."
I have to repeat this because he looks very confused, but then he shrugs and obliges. After the cashier is finished ringing me up, she puts my last item in a plastic bag.
"No, Miz Pat, she wants her groceries in the blue bags!" says the bagger, who then proceeds to take the item from her and place it, STILL in the plastic bag, into the tote. So, feeling like a bitch, I ask him to please take it out of the plastic bag and explain again that I don't want ANY plastic bags. He looks at me like I'm on crack, and the cashier rolls her eyes, but I finally make it out of Kroger sans plastic bags.
And people wonder why recycling is so difficult in Savannah.
* In defense of the bagger, whom I see all the time at Kroger, I have to say that he's a very nice guy, obviously has a strong work ethic, and is all about customer service--invariably he asks if you'll need help loading your groceries into your vehicle. But mentally, he doesn't seem to have the capacity to advance much beyond bagging groceries. So I don't blame him for not getting the recycling bit; I just think the store management should have explained the point of the blue tote bags better. It's great that they have them, but less great if no one knows how to use them. And the cashier has no excuse.
"No!" I say. "I don't want plastic. Please just put my groceries in the blue bags."
I have to repeat this because he looks very confused, but then he shrugs and obliges. After the cashier is finished ringing me up, she puts my last item in a plastic bag.
"No, Miz Pat, she wants her groceries in the blue bags!" says the bagger, who then proceeds to take the item from her and place it, STILL in the plastic bag, into the tote. So, feeling like a bitch, I ask him to please take it out of the plastic bag and explain again that I don't want ANY plastic bags. He looks at me like I'm on crack, and the cashier rolls her eyes, but I finally make it out of Kroger sans plastic bags.
And people wonder why recycling is so difficult in Savannah.
* In defense of the bagger, whom I see all the time at Kroger, I have to say that he's a very nice guy, obviously has a strong work ethic, and is all about customer service--invariably he asks if you'll need help loading your groceries into your vehicle. But mentally, he doesn't seem to have the capacity to advance much beyond bagging groceries. So I don't blame him for not getting the recycling bit; I just think the store management should have explained the point of the blue tote bags better. It's great that they have them, but less great if no one knows how to use them. And the cashier has no excuse.
Quote of the week
Aaron on my ex*:
"That guy is like a walking anti-drug commercial. He's all the reasons America needs to stay away from drugs."
Thanks to Aaron and Lisa for driving up to spend the afternoon with me, hit the Crab Shack, watch the Broncos blow a 14-point lead to lose in overtime, etc.
"That guy is like a walking anti-drug commercial. He's all the reasons America needs to stay away from drugs."
Thanks to Aaron and Lisa for driving up to spend the afternoon with me, hit the Crab Shack, watch the Broncos blow a 14-point lead to lose in overtime, etc.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Every day is Halloween
This year I didn't even dress up for Halloween. Having to go to work at 1:30 a.m. that morning and stay until 3 a.m. contributed, because I was seriously exhausted (and seriously annoyed--long story). I also discovered that kids in costume and their parents would walk down the middle of the street, and if you were outside (fortuitous discovery I made thanks to taking Finn out) with candy, they'd trick or treat, but they weren't going up to doors. I heard from one mother that they were on their way to a carnival at the Methodist church nearby, so maybe that was the deal. Anyway, I sat outside on the step until it got dark, wearing all black, reading Stephen King and playing with my black puppy, and waylaid every single child who passed by with my bucket-o-candy. Then I went inside to nap, and of course that's when people started ringing the bell.
Speaking of Finn...everyone who said puppies are a challenge was right. Sunday night he curled up next to Fender on the couch, resting his head against her side, and it was so cute that I went for the camera. Which of course made him jump up to check out this cool new object. Cat breakthrough! I think. Then yesterday morning, I'm in the shower and I hear Sebastian's distinctive squeak. I peek out in time to see his head and front paws, planted on the slippy linoleum behind the toilet but moving rapidly backwards, like a horror film character being dragged away by the evil villain, with Finn on the other end of the toilet tugging at him. Yeah, we're working on "gentle with the cats!" It's hard to tell how much Skittin is okay with the rough play; I don't want him to get hurt, but often when I pry Finn away from him, he stays where he is until I let Finn go, or he gets to a high place and then instigates more chaos by swatting at Finn's tail.
Finn loves most people, but the other night he went to the door and whined. I made the mistake of letting him out off-leash, because I thought he had to pee. Nope, there were two gangbangers walking down the street, and he barked, raced up to them, and started jumping on them. Unlike everyone else Finn has encountered, they did not think this was cute and understandable puppy behavior. We had a little chat about gangbangers when we were back inside, and now Finn always wears the retractable leash when we go outside, even if it's just to carry out the trash.
I am stocking up on dog training manuals. How to get him to be gentle with the cats? How to get him to stop chewing on inappropriate things like my pillows and books (especially when he has rope toys, squeaky balls, a kong, old shoes of mine, old gardening gloves of mine, bones, carrots, etc., etc., to chew on)? How to stop him from playing tug-of-war with my pants every time I use the toilet? How to get him to stop biting me? One sign of progress in that area, though, is that it's been awhile (knock on wood) since he's actually broken the skin.
Speaking of Finn...everyone who said puppies are a challenge was right. Sunday night he curled up next to Fender on the couch, resting his head against her side, and it was so cute that I went for the camera. Which of course made him jump up to check out this cool new object. Cat breakthrough! I think. Then yesterday morning, I'm in the shower and I hear Sebastian's distinctive squeak. I peek out in time to see his head and front paws, planted on the slippy linoleum behind the toilet but moving rapidly backwards, like a horror film character being dragged away by the evil villain, with Finn on the other end of the toilet tugging at him. Yeah, we're working on "gentle with the cats!" It's hard to tell how much Skittin is okay with the rough play; I don't want him to get hurt, but often when I pry Finn away from him, he stays where he is until I let Finn go, or he gets to a high place and then instigates more chaos by swatting at Finn's tail.
Finn loves most people, but the other night he went to the door and whined. I made the mistake of letting him out off-leash, because I thought he had to pee. Nope, there were two gangbangers walking down the street, and he barked, raced up to them, and started jumping on them. Unlike everyone else Finn has encountered, they did not think this was cute and understandable puppy behavior. We had a little chat about gangbangers when we were back inside, and now Finn always wears the retractable leash when we go outside, even if it's just to carry out the trash.
I am stocking up on dog training manuals. How to get him to be gentle with the cats? How to get him to stop chewing on inappropriate things like my pillows and books (especially when he has rope toys, squeaky balls, a kong, old shoes of mine, old gardening gloves of mine, bones, carrots, etc., etc., to chew on)? How to stop him from playing tug-of-war with my pants every time I use the toilet? How to get him to stop biting me? One sign of progress in that area, though, is that it's been awhile (knock on wood) since he's actually broken the skin.
Ghetto turn signal
Instead of putting on your blinker, just stick your arm out the driver's window and point in the direction you want to go, then change lanes a split second later without checking to see if the coast is clear.
But hey, at least this one tried to signal, right?
But hey, at least this one tried to signal, right?
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Old gray van
(Actually, the title of this post sounds like the name of a not-very-good college band.)
The other day when I came back from lunch, an old gray van was idling, driverless, in the gravel parking lot across the street from my office. I saw it again yesterday as I turned onto the street where I work. Across the back of the van was lettered, "Church of the P.A.W., Savannah, Ga." There obviously had been writing on the driver's door and three lines of writing along the side of the van, but gray paint of a slightly darker (but no less industrially dingy) shade than the rest of the vehicle obscured all but this one line: "Come join us in the house of love."
Doesn't that sound like some creepy backwoods cult whose leader sets himself up as the father figure and makes all the hot young girls have sex with him?
(The creepiness factor is likely increased because I'm reading The Regulators by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman this week, and gray vans and similar vehicles play a decidedly macabre role.)
The other day when I came back from lunch, an old gray van was idling, driverless, in the gravel parking lot across the street from my office. I saw it again yesterday as I turned onto the street where I work. Across the back of the van was lettered, "Church of the P.A.W., Savannah, Ga." There obviously had been writing on the driver's door and three lines of writing along the side of the van, but gray paint of a slightly darker (but no less industrially dingy) shade than the rest of the vehicle obscured all but this one line: "Come join us in the house of love."
Doesn't that sound like some creepy backwoods cult whose leader sets himself up as the father figure and makes all the hot young girls have sex with him?
(The creepiness factor is likely increased because I'm reading The Regulators by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman this week, and gray vans and similar vehicles play a decidedly macabre role.)
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