Wolfen Song

Thank you, Mr. Hopefully-Soon-to-Be-Ex-Governor!

2008-12-24T13:51:00.004-06:00

It has been quite a while since my last regular post. I am hoping to remedy that, as Real Life seems to be kind today. I have been pondering what to write in this blog, especially now that the election is over. I never intended for this to become a political blog; there are more informed and better writers out there to do that, ones with much more clout and better sources. But, in covering things that interest me, I find my thoughts and words turning towards politics and government frequently. Anyway, I digress.

Actually, I digress quite a lot, or else I would not be writing this in the first place.

So, there I was, in the beginning of December, not having written in a long time due to various things, including holidays, houseguests, psychotic cats, Real Life , an excess of turkey, one psychotic dog, bad weather, snow, frigid cold, the fact that the CTA sucks, occasional bouts of writers' block, talking to friends, various other writing projects... There was a purpose to this at some point, right?

Oh, yes. Early December. Into the void came a political issue that was a writer's gift: Rod Blagojevich. A humorist's or comic's gift, certainly, a cartoonist's gift with that odd Ken-doll hair. I suppose I should send him a "thank you" card at some point.

I have heard a lot of people from places other than Illinois referring to what Blago has done (...Yes, yes, I know, innocent until proven guilty. However, that applies to the legal system, a system which, I might add, many Illinois politicians have flouted for decades. Unless I get called to serve on a jury, I am quite free to declare Blago guilty guilty, guilty.) as "Chicago politics". This proves that these people don't actually know much about Chicago, or Chicago politics.

First of all, we don't all sound like we came out of the "Superfans" sketch (Da Bears!) or the "Cheeseboogie" sketch (Billy Goat Tavern). Do you hear me, SNL? We don't all sound the same! Secondly, all the real Chicago politicians are looking at Blagojevich and thinking "amateur". Chicago politicians don't get caught like that. They get caught 10 or more years after they have left office, or, if their name is Daley, after they have died. They make powerful, powerful friends first, secure money and loyalty, and then do whatever illegal things they want to. Or, if their name is Daley, they just do whatever they want, period. They don't piss off 2/3 of the state (very very inexact, imprecise estimate), alienate just about every other politician, put their name on toll-road tolling signs (because you really want people to associate your name with payin g money and road construction, brilliant move), and then try to sell a Senate seat. I mean... a Senate seat? While he was already under investigation and knew it? Oh yes, this is one smart cookie, all right.

Would you like a Senate seat? I can sell one to you...

Holiday Wishes

2008-12-24T13:41:00.002-06:00

Just in time for several holidays (or during, or close to...) I have decided to try this new mobile blogging thing. I am not entirely certain it will work, but it is worth a try. Here is a holiday photo of my ferret. If I turn up missing, please note the homicidal glare in her eyes. Moments like this just can't be bought. Happy holidays, whichever you might celebrate.

The Obama Rally

2008-11-08T20:40:00.005-06:00

I was at the rally on Election Night, as I said in my last post.. (I got tickets, woooo!) I am still trying to put it all into words, and it is hard. It was a very emotional night, and I am so very glad I was there. There with hundreds of thousands of people, all together for one purpose. It was incredible. But you know, when I try to capture it in words, it is so very difficult. They float away, leaving images and feelings that words seem inadequate to describe. Is this what it is, to be part of history, to see it right before you?

The crowd was huge, so that you could not take it in with one glance, not if you were on the ground. Maybe from the air, but seeing from there isn't quite like being there. A sea of people, it was kind of like being on a canoe in the lake, and the waves bob you up and down, so that you can't much see save for brief, awe-inspiring flashes. There were no seats, and my friend Becka and I found a place on a hill to sit. She kept her little Fig Newton crisps; our subs we ate while waiting in line, because you weren't supposed to bring food or drink in. Hooray for cookie leniency! So we sat, and we made "hill buddies" of some of the people around us, talking with them throughout the night. There was a Jumbo-tron where CNN was being broadcast, and so we got those results. I also have web access on my phone, and was calling out election results courtesy of the New York Times.

Every time a new state was called we would roar, cheer, applaud. It was like the tide changing,k rushing, growing. Each state was like a wave, more water, a bigger roar. Then California. Just a little after 10pm, Central Time. And when the race was called, a prelude. Then, the announcement: McCain had conceded, and Obama would become the 44th President.

It was a wall of sound you could feel as much as hear. It shook through you.

We danced, we cheered. People hugged total strangers, screamed, sobbed. There was so much emotion that it was overwhelming. It was like the wall of sound, the rushing of it.

Then Obama gave his speech, and the crowd grew quiet. "Yes we can" was a chanted refrain, like a holy benediction. Tears flowed like quiet brooks. Maybe it's cliche, but it is the image that comes to my mind. And then, when Obama was done speaking, we went our ways, a reverent hush over us, that led only to cheers when we had begun to absorb what had happened.

I was there. Yes we did.

If you would like to see the pictures I took at the rally, with my cell phone, here is the link.

Obama Rally Photos

Getting the Tickets to the Rally

2008-11-08T20:10:00.002-06:00

Last week... (hold on while I check, yes, still last week)... last week I got an invitation to sign up for tickets to Barack Obama's Election Night rally down in Grant Park. I've never been to an election night rally, but then, the candidates I normally support never make it past the primaries. I decided that I would go ahead and sign up, and I got a message confirming I would get tickets. I was admittedly excited, moreso when I heard about how many people signed up and were on the waiting list. Wow.

Monday, 3 November rolled around. I had received an email stating that my ticket would be emailed on the 3rd, between 5pm and 6pm. I hoped they meant Eastern Time, but no such luck. So I went home, and there was the email, but right now my home printer wasn't working. I forwarded the email to my work address, and to my gmail account too. I figured I could print from work.

Wow. The Democratic Party was serious in not copying the ticket. Somehow it never got through to my work email, and the image was stripped from my gmail account. Also, as I use Thunderbird and not web mail, I could not access the original email except through my home computer. It seemed like any attempt to forward the email would not work. So I emailed the sender to let them know about my problem.

I got an email back saying I could pick up tickets downtown at the Hyatt, which is, alas, a 2-hour round trip from where I work using public transportation. As I could only pick them up between 10am and 3pm, and no one else could get them for me, and I only have an hour for lunch, this would not work. I was rather upset, as I really wanted to go to the rally.

Then I thought about maybe saving the email as a file, and printing it at the UPS store, as there is no Kinko's near me. No luck, they do not have the program to open emails. Now I was even more upset.

I called my friend Becka, who I was going to take to the rally, and she suggested I bring the file to her at work, and print it there. Then I thought, maybe I can email the file and that will work...

I rushed home as much as you can on the CTA, and sent her the file, and waited, chanting, "Please work, please work, please work..." It worked. The file printed, there was a ticket; we were good to go. So I told Becka I would meet her outside the Harold Washington Library, and we were on our way!

Cabbage Patch Dolls....

2008-10-30T05:06:00.003-05:00

Someone mentioned these on a forum I am on, and I figured I ought to share. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. And sometimes it is worth taking an eraser to your memory...

So wrong in... so many, many ways....

Haunted Houses and Other Things

2008-10-28T15:23:00.003-05:00

On Saturday the 25th, I went to a haunted house. Only, it wasn't a haunted house, it was a haunted trail, in which there were some houselike structures. Actually, there was one structure that was done up like a house, and there were people in it who apparently wanted to eat me. Somehow a haunted place that looks like it was once normal is creepier than something that never should have looked normal. There were clowns, too, and demonic Oompa-Loompas... the 70s film version, not the 2000-whatever one. There were these furry things or tree-y things walking alonmg the trail too, and you couldn't always tell where the real people had gotten to. It was most excellent.

Sometimes I feel sorry for clowns. Well, the people playing clowns. Because I don't know anyone who likes clowns. Most people I know think clowns are creepy. I think clowns are creepy. Well, I think clowns who are normal and not evil cannibalistic soul-sucking night-lurking clowns are creepy. The evil clowns are just downright scary. But, anyway, so, the non-evil clowns, I mean, those are real people, and probably really nice people, under all that makeup. But they're creepy anyway. Poor clowns.

I noticed something about carrots on Saturday, too. Carrots taste different, depending on the end you bite. One is sweet, the other a bit more earthy. It was quite surprising, and very tasty. I bit into one end, then the other, to mix the flavors together. I don't think I've ever really so intently noticed the taste of carrots before.

I'll post more when I think of it.

How to Have a Presidential Debate

2008-10-16T16:46:00.002-05:00

Moderator: So, the first question is, "Can you answer a simple question with a direct answer?" This one goes first to you, Senator McCain.

Senator McCain: Well, first of all, let me than you for moderating, and thank you to the school who is allowing us to be here, oh, and hi, Senator Obama. And speaking of Senator Obama, I want you to understand that, in his eloquence, he never does manage to answer a question. No. His non-answers will raise your taxes, but he still does not answer. In fact, he has associations with some of the most unrepentant non-answerers of questions the USA has seen, and we need to know about the full extent of these affiliations.

Moderator: Senator Obama?

Senator Obama: It is a pleasure to be here thanks to you and to the generosity of the school, and it is wonderful seeing you again, Senator McCain. Now, I could talk about the non-answering of questions, but that is not what the American people want to know about. Their questions haven't been answered for years, and this mean-spirited campaigning isn't answering them. Now, my plan calls for a full answering of questions, with a tax break for the smaller companies, while Senator McCain only carries on President Bush's failed policy of non-answering.

Moderator: (Blinking.) So... uh...

Senator Obama: In a debate? While campaigning? No, don't count on it.

Returning from hiatus...

2008-10-11T17:47:00.006-05:00

Sorry I've been gone a while. First, my Cubbies lost three games straight in the playoffs to get knocked out... after their first three games. I had been all prepared to blog the playoffs, and the World Series, but no. No, they got knocked out dismally, and I decided to take a few days off, because my blog would have contained a lot of Naughty Words which, while I do use them in my vocabulary on occassion, I am trying to keep out of the blog, in case anyone of a younger age ever decides to read my ramblings. So, I took a few days off. Then I got this horrid cold, which I still have, and it really made me uninterested in much of anything but sleep.

In consequence, I have a lot of ramblings going through my head. The trick is knowing where to begin.

Oh, I think I'll start with politics. Or, sort of politics. I've decided that I want Tina Fey to play ME on Saturday Night Live. Granted, I don't know WHY she would play me, not yet, as I'm not famous, and not likely to become famous for any reason that I can think of. However, I am open to suggestion, so please feel free to make any. Maybe she could do a sketch playing me as the Ferret Lady, which is better than being the Crazy Cat Lady, which is just creepy, even though I adore cats. (I adore dogs, too, but that's for later in the post.) All I have to do as the Ferret Lady is to walk my ferret outside on a leash and let people (especially children) pet her. Now I'm the Ferret Lady, which is cool. I also kind of thought it would be cool to be the person everyone said not to go near her house, in case she turned you into anything. That would be cool. I could combine the two, and then I could just turn people into ... ferrets. And then Tina Fey could play me on SNL. See, mom? I DO have goals and ambitions!!

I don't think my mom is reading this blog anyway.

I took my ferret for a walk today, and again was just amazed by the wonder that the world seems to hold for her. She loves life and loves to relish in it. She looks so happy rolling in a patch of clover that it makes me want to join her. She looks so happy scampering down the street that I just have to chase her, letting her catch me sometimes. That little, scarcely-audible chuckle-grunt of hers, the little "dook-dook-dook", just sounds like she's laughing to herself. Yes, even half-hour baths that she decides I must have while cuddling up under my chin are so irresistible. I have to say, it is so NICE being the Ferret Lady.

I had a dog for thirteen and a half years. His name was Stormy, and he was a wonderful dog. He was half-malamute and half-lab, and he knew how to pull a sled and how to tackle me into a snowbank and sit on me. He was terrified of thunder and phobic about garden hoses. He guarded me diligently, and his favorite pastime was snuggling with me. I have his ashes sitting on my fireplace mantel and it is kind of nice to think that in some way he is still watching over me. I just was reminded of him quite forcibly when someone shared this video with me. I will pass it on to you. Whatever your politics, whatever you feel about the Iraq War or war in general, I think that this video will still touch your heart.

Dogs Greet Soldier After 14 Months In Iraq

Tuna and the Economy Returns

2008-09-26T16:53:00.004-05:00

So, Lemon Pepper Tuna Medley. It has "vegetable broth" in it. What, exactly, IS vegetable broth? I mean, that's like saying "fish", or "meat". So, my tuna medley contains some sort of liquid made of unidentified (unidentifiable??) vegetables whose purpose might be to overthrow the world or kill all vegetarians or something freaky-weird, who knows, all we know is that they are VEGETABLES! Isn't that enough knowledge, by the gods??? Hrmmm?

It was good tuna.

And now, I present my Rescue Plan for the Economy. I note it is probably more bi-partisan than any politician will ever admit to. This is why I make the cough cough big bucks. And that, children, is sarcasm. Especially in THIS economy...

Why can't we do something like this? Why can't we give say $150B or so right off to buy off the worst mortgages, set up an emergency mortgage restructure program, then set up any balance of money "needed" by Wall Street as loans or "insurance" as needed, with proper caps on executive compensation, legislative oversight, repayment schedules, possible stock options and the like, and after the first payment and observation, have legislators meet with economists to re-evaluate and re-work effective regulation of the industry to help prevent this in the future?
Why can't we combine the best of plans? For that matter, what alternative plans might be out there? And why can't WE have a say in the matter?

That's my rational (and semi-rational) thought for the day. Not bad for a Friday. Ciao!

Wherever I may ramble...

2008-09-25T08:10:00.003-05:00

First off, here are my daily observations.:

Given an entire apartment in which to run amok, Holly my ferret chooses to contain herself to causing trouble in the room that I am in, or one she knows I will look into. Apparently, it is much more fun to have me watch her drag things down onto the floor, get into things, toss stuff about, and run around like a lunatic than it is to do these things without an audience. It is nice to be loved.

If the sun is shining through the trees, you can see shapes in the shadow/sun patterns just like you can do with clouds. I saw a rooster this morning.

I notice I seem to talk about the sun a lot. I don't know if I have always been attuned to the sunlight, or if it is just a lingering aftereffect of 48 hours straight of rain, and not seeing the sun from the morning of 12 September until the morning of 15 September. It is something to ponder.

My thoughts are a little scattered this morning, I must admit. I've been thinking about the Bush bailout plan, and realized after hearing him speak last night that I finally had a use for the word "cockamamie". My goodness. I want to know, if I make a bunch of really boneheaded, stupid, risky, insert-your-expletive-here financial moves, do I get a government bailout? I'll only need $700,000 or so. A bargain, compared to Wall Street.

The President running about crying "don't panic!" and "we must hurry!"... seems to me to be panicking quite a bit. Fools rush in... and the rest of us are left to rescue their sorry behinds. You know, I understand that something has to be done. But I don't see that throwing money at it alone is going to solve things. And I am not sure that Wall Street is the end that the money needs to be thrown at. I want to see reform. I want to see where -- well, no, in the end, I know it is coming from my pocket. I want to know if I am going to have to pay this all in one fell swoop, or if I get to have an extended pay system. I want to know if I will get my money back. I want to know if infrastructure, schools, transportation, energy research, science, and heathcare are going to be funded. I want to see the profiteers suffer, and suffer vastly for this. More than anything, though, I want to know what other options there are and why the $700 billion bailout is the only option.

I don't have stocks. I don't drive. I don't own a home. I don't have a credit card. Yet I will have to pay. Will the Wall Street "fat cats"? I want heads to roll, and recompense to be paid. And I want all those involved to be held accountable. Right now, the only ones on the hook are the people who cannot make their mortgage payments, or who have already been foreclosed upon. Yes, many of them made bad decisions, but some of them were outright lied to, or tricked, or just too confused and/or ignorant of financing to realize the true nature of the situation. I would rather offer them a hand, offer them the money, with the stipulation of future repayment, than bailing out Wall Street directly. Offer them refinancing plans. Buy up the already-foreclosed homes, and offer them as rent-to-own. Tear some of them down and make parks. I don't have all the answers. But I know there has to be something better than lining the pockets of the suddenly less-rich with my money.

Today is one of those days when Thomas Jefferson makes a whole heck of a lot of sense.

Of water and snow and traffic

2008-09-24T07:58:00.000-05:00

I was riding the bus this morning and we stopped on the bridge over the expressway. (It was the Edens, for anyone who really must know.) The cars' lights were on, and they glittered and sparkled. It looked a lot like a stream flowing slowly over rocks. I wondered to myself, would traffic flow better if we better understood fluid dynamics? Would we be able to find a way to make it flow free of obstructions?

I also happened to notice that the street (Addison) in front of work is a Chicago Snow Route. What this means is that, when there is too much snow on the ground (like, say, 54 inches), cars cannot park on the street (or that side of the street). It also means that people cannot put out really ugly lawn furniture or other parking-spot-saving hideous-items in order to keep other people from parking in the spot they took hours (days) to shovel clear. I didn't notice the snow route sign before. I wonder if I am usually that half-asleep when I walk by it, or if they just put them up.

Observations on the World

2008-09-23T09:21:00.000-05:00

I taught a class this past Saturday on how a bard (poet, skald, scop) needs to look at the world in order to be able to create songs from what they experience. I charged my students with the task of going out and coming back to me with something they had noticed about some everyday thing that they had never noticed before. I thought, today, that maybe I should go ahead and do the same thing consciously, to write down what I have done unconsciously for so long. I did so on the way to work this morning, and here are two things I observed. I cannot say if they are profound, but they move me all the same.

--In the early morning, shadows against sunlit grass are the color of lime peel.
--Sunlight sparkling on morning dew looks like fireflies flitting in the grass when you turn your head.