Forward:
My sense of humor and writing abilities are off tonight. I want to write a post about the significance of the fight brewing between McCain and Donohue, but I just don't have it in me right now. I'm worn out from worry and the various battles I have had to fight in the past few weeks.
Meet Pastor John Hagee. Pastor Hagee, an evangelical and pastor of a Texas “mega-church” recently endorsed John McCain as his Presidential candidate of choice. Pastor Hagee's pastimes include suggesting that natural disasters are the demonstrable wrath of God (ala Hurricane Katrina) and that Harry Potter will turn adolescents towards the occult.
And Hagee is an anti-Catholic in a vocal, the-Catholic-church-is-the-anti-Christ-and-caused-the-holocaust, way.
Equally vocal in protesting McCain's acceptance of Hagee's endorsement is professional victim, whiner* and head of the Catholic League, Bill Donohue. Bill Donohue enjoys spending his time seeking out anti-Catholic bigotry, leaving no straw un-grasped. Recent victories included a protest against the display of a chocolate crucifix titled "My Sweet Lord", a boycott of all forms of The Golden Compass and complaining about Kathy Griffin's 2007 Emmy acceptance speech.
A politician caught out for playing both sides of the field? Time to get out the popcorn toppings. Butter, salt, cinnamon or hot pepper?
*Writing a series of novels using the organizational structure of the Catholic church as a model is not anti-Catholicism. It is whining. Contrast this with having half your relatives disown you because of your religious tradition or a co-worker offer to marry you “so you'll be saved”.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
A Little Bit of Spam Zen
Caught by the Google spam filter earlier this week:
The header:
“hockey games by 2009. The Penguins will sign a temporaryPakistan's capital to express their solidarity asknown as, "Kiwi 1960", suggests that the man's first”.
The footer:
“In the wake of Jacques Chirac's announcement that hehelp.New York based Human Rights Watch has issued a statementNHL: Penguins to remain in Pittsburgh”.
Who knew that Jacques Chirac and Human Rights Watch were instrumental in keeping the Penguins in Pittsburgh? It certainly explains all those mysterious midnight meetings held in New Jersey between Ed Rendell and the NHL.
Query: is there something wrong with me giggling every time I receive a pitch for a male enhancement product? And for scratching my head over the eHarmony ads?
The header:
“hockey games by 2009. The Penguins will sign a temporaryPakistan's capital to express their solidarity asknown as, "Kiwi 1960", suggests that the man's first”.
The footer:
“In the wake of Jacques Chirac's announcement that hehelp.New York based Human Rights Watch has issued a statementNHL: Penguins to remain in Pittsburgh”.
Who knew that Jacques Chirac and Human Rights Watch were instrumental in keeping the Penguins in Pittsburgh? It certainly explains all those mysterious midnight meetings held in New Jersey between Ed Rendell and the NHL.
Query: is there something wrong with me giggling every time I receive a pitch for a male enhancement product? And for scratching my head over the eHarmony ads?
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Rage
This is not about me. This is not my story. This story belongs to J and J's family. My only role is to stand on the periphery and be silent. Listen, but not speak. Keep whatever little wisdom and counsel I think I can impart to myself.
There was a tragedy this past week. A member of J's family died, by his own hand. He was mentally ill for almost 30 years. So deeply ill that he refused to believe it, refused to acknowledge it. So deep in denial that all attempts to get him help were rebuffed. So bad that in the end, at the end, his own children did not feel safe.
His illness was a secret from almost everyone until almost the end. Until first his children, then his wife, decided they had enough. Thinking that he had nothing left he killed himself.
Now J's family questions everything. They say that he was a stranger, that they never knew him. They wavier between thankfulness that he did not hurt anyone else and rage at the cruelty of his act.
And they cry. Even the men, they cry.
There was a tragedy this past week. A member of J's family died, by his own hand. He was mentally ill for almost 30 years. So deeply ill that he refused to believe it, refused to acknowledge it. So deep in denial that all attempts to get him help were rebuffed. So bad that in the end, at the end, his own children did not feel safe.
His illness was a secret from almost everyone until almost the end. Until first his children, then his wife, decided they had enough. Thinking that he had nothing left he killed himself.
Now J's family questions everything. They say that he was a stranger, that they never knew him. They wavier between thankfulness that he did not hurt anyone else and rage at the cruelty of his act.
And they cry. Even the men, they cry.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Another Reason for Healthcare Reform
My GP has admission privileges to multiple hospitals in the Pittsburgh area.
She retired from one of those hospitals recently. She still retains privileges at several other hospitals and is still practicing.
The hospital [thoughtfully] notified all insurance providers in the area that she had retired.
The insurance companies, in turn, removed from the preferred/approved provider lists.
Because she is no longer on the lists (even though she is still practicing), my insurance will not authorize the CT scans she ordered.
Her office assures me that they are working diligently to have the situation rectified.
Gods forbid this happen to someone with serious medical issues.
She retired from one of those hospitals recently. She still retains privileges at several other hospitals and is still practicing.
The hospital [thoughtfully] notified all insurance providers in the area that she had retired.
The insurance companies, in turn, removed from the preferred/approved provider lists.
Because she is no longer on the lists (even though she is still practicing), my insurance will not authorize the CT scans she ordered.
Her office assures me that they are working diligently to have the situation rectified.
Gods forbid this happen to someone with serious medical issues.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Health - the Sequel
Today I had my shoulder examined by an orthopedic surgeon at UPMC Sports Medicine. According to the scheduler I spoke with last week, my doctor is an authority on shoulders, that is almost all he does and he is very good at it. According to several of his biographies, this particular doctor is also an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School and one of the Penguins' team physicians. According to one of our friends, who works as a sales representative for a company that produces joint replacement parts (seriously), he is highly respected and has his interns do a lot of the work.
I liked him. He was very clinical and extremely professional, almost to the point of coldness. Yet he managed to come across as a nice man, possibly due to the fact that he had to tie the back of my gown closed.* Which he did, in a very professional, business-like manner and surprisingly gentle manner.
He had an intern with him, also a man, whose primary function seem to be to observe and neatly print out the doctor's scripts.** I found the interaction between the two highly entertaining, as I sensed that the intern was restraining a large part of his personality in deference to the authority in the room.
The diagnosis was a torn rotator cuff, severity to be determined upon the completion of the MRI. Fraying will mean physical therapy, a hole or significant tearing will surgery. I was instructed to call and leave a message with his secretary after I had the MRI, as he suspected that the damage was minor and would only require physical therapy, which meant I would not have to see him again.
The MRI is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
And insurance continues to be a headache. As my first round of blood tests was (tragically) normal, my GP has decided to send me for a set of CT scans, just to be thorough. My attempt to schedule the scans was thwarted when I was informed that my insurance required pre-authorization. No magic number, no appointment.
*Moment Number One: I was instructed before the exam to tie the gown halter style around my neck, so my shoulders would remain bare. Somewhere between the telling and my brain's translation, the idea that I also needed to tie the back of the gown was lost.
**Moment Number Two: The script for my MRI was made out to my GP. I politely pointed out to the intern that my GP would probably disagree with the need to have an MRI and perhaps he could correct the name. Which he, highly embarrassed, did immediately.
I liked him. He was very clinical and extremely professional, almost to the point of coldness. Yet he managed to come across as a nice man, possibly due to the fact that he had to tie the back of my gown closed.* Which he did, in a very professional, business-like manner and surprisingly gentle manner.
He had an intern with him, also a man, whose primary function seem to be to observe and neatly print out the doctor's scripts.** I found the interaction between the two highly entertaining, as I sensed that the intern was restraining a large part of his personality in deference to the authority in the room.
The diagnosis was a torn rotator cuff, severity to be determined upon the completion of the MRI. Fraying will mean physical therapy, a hole or significant tearing will surgery. I was instructed to call and leave a message with his secretary after I had the MRI, as he suspected that the damage was minor and would only require physical therapy, which meant I would not have to see him again.
The MRI is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
And insurance continues to be a headache. As my first round of blood tests was (tragically) normal, my GP has decided to send me for a set of CT scans, just to be thorough. My attempt to schedule the scans was thwarted when I was informed that my insurance required pre-authorization. No magic number, no appointment.
*Moment Number One: I was instructed before the exam to tie the gown halter style around my neck, so my shoulders would remain bare. Somewhere between the telling and my brain's translation, the idea that I also needed to tie the back of the gown was lost.
**Moment Number Two: The script for my MRI was made out to my GP. I politely pointed out to the intern that my GP would probably disagree with the need to have an MRI and perhaps he could correct the name. Which he, highly embarrassed, did immediately.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Soup with Nuts
The New York Times is running a blog on migraines this month, with several well known authors (and a famous musician) each taking a turn discussing the different ways they learned to cope with migraines and other headache disorders. The comments have been fascinating and aggravating.
In an anti-harmonic convergence, I woke up last night with my first full blown migraine in almost a year. The intense pain coupled with extreme nausea made it difficult for me to get up. Since the only available remedy at the intense pain/nausea stage is to sleep the rest of the headache off, I went back to sleep, first on the downstairs couch, then back to the bed. In between the transfer J bought me a glass of warm water and some ibuprofen as a barrier against more pain.
The headache made us late in our search of local entertainment today. We started with two stops in the Strip District. Our first stop was at The Enrico Biscotti Café for a late breakfast of pizza topped with blue cheese and cranberries, biscotti and goat cheese canolli. The smells in the cafe were amazing and I wished (not for the first time today) I had grabbed my camera to take some photographs of the reclaimed warehouse interior.
Next was a stop at Pennsylvania Macaroni Company for some cheese. Penn Mac and Trader Joe's are the two places in which J and I have to establish a set spending amount beforehand, less we go into debt buying out the cheese counter. The best part about Penn Mac (and Trader's Joe) is that all the people in the store are happy because they are purchasing good food.
On our way back we passed a table full green Pittsburgh wear, in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day. My favorite was a kelly green t-shirt with the logo “It's good to be a Penguins fan”.
Next up was a stop at O'Bannon's Oriental Carpets, to show J the “School of Fish” carpet that inspired me to give him a small fish rug for Christmas. We had a good time looking at the other carpets in the store, all of them insanely expensive, handwoven woolen wonders.
Our final stop was a walk down Carson Street as participants in the Fourth Annual South Side Mid-Winter Soup Contest. Armed with a spoon and an appetite, for five dollars and the donation of a canned good, we were able to sample the soups from twenty of the South Side's restaurants and vote for our favorite. The most unusual combination came from the 17th Street Café, a Bacon bleu cheese and apple soup that was surprisingly good. We thought we were hard core toting our own spoons until we saw a woman carrying her own spoon and mug.
In an anti-harmonic convergence, I woke up last night with my first full blown migraine in almost a year. The intense pain coupled with extreme nausea made it difficult for me to get up. Since the only available remedy at the intense pain/nausea stage is to sleep the rest of the headache off, I went back to sleep, first on the downstairs couch, then back to the bed. In between the transfer J bought me a glass of warm water and some ibuprofen as a barrier against more pain.
The headache made us late in our search of local entertainment today. We started with two stops in the Strip District. Our first stop was at The Enrico Biscotti Café for a late breakfast of pizza topped with blue cheese and cranberries, biscotti and goat cheese canolli. The smells in the cafe were amazing and I wished (not for the first time today) I had grabbed my camera to take some photographs of the reclaimed warehouse interior.
Next was a stop at Pennsylvania Macaroni Company for some cheese. Penn Mac and Trader Joe's are the two places in which J and I have to establish a set spending amount beforehand, less we go into debt buying out the cheese counter. The best part about Penn Mac (and Trader's Joe) is that all the people in the store are happy because they are purchasing good food.
On our way back we passed a table full green Pittsburgh wear, in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day. My favorite was a kelly green t-shirt with the logo “It's good to be a Penguins fan”.
Next up was a stop at O'Bannon's Oriental Carpets, to show J the “School of Fish” carpet that inspired me to give him a small fish rug for Christmas. We had a good time looking at the other carpets in the store, all of them insanely expensive, handwoven woolen wonders.
Our final stop was a walk down Carson Street as participants in the Fourth Annual South Side Mid-Winter Soup Contest. Armed with a spoon and an appetite, for five dollars and the donation of a canned good, we were able to sample the soups from twenty of the South Side's restaurants and vote for our favorite. The most unusual combination came from the 17th Street Café, a Bacon bleu cheese and apple soup that was surprisingly good. We thought we were hard core toting our own spoons until we saw a woman carrying her own spoon and mug.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Dear Media,
Especially Maureen Dowd...
Enough commentary on the Clinton's marriage. Enough "conversation" about what Senator Clinton should or should not have done to deal with her husband's multiple extramarital affairs. Enough snark about how a vote for HRC will only put her husband back in the White House. Enough discussion over her inability to "control" him. And God forbid that even one of you admit that maybe, just maybe, Senator Clinton accomplished something using her own considerable talents.
Marriage is difficult enough to negotiate on the private stage in which J and myself conduct our relationship. I can't imagine what it must be like to try maintain a relationship on such a public stage, for so many years.
So you who decries the divorce rate, you who complains that we live in a society that does not value marriage or family, you who cannot conceive of the myriad of ways in which a marriage can thrive, it is time for you to shut, the fuck, up.
Really.
Enough.
Enough commentary on the Clinton's marriage. Enough "conversation" about what Senator Clinton should or should not have done to deal with her husband's multiple extramarital affairs. Enough snark about how a vote for HRC will only put her husband back in the White House. Enough discussion over her inability to "control" him. And God forbid that even one of you admit that maybe, just maybe, Senator Clinton accomplished something using her own considerable talents.
Marriage is difficult enough to negotiate on the private stage in which J and myself conduct our relationship. I can't imagine what it must be like to try maintain a relationship on such a public stage, for so many years.
So you who decries the divorce rate, you who complains that we live in a society that does not value marriage or family, you who cannot conceive of the myriad of ways in which a marriage can thrive, it is time for you to shut, the fuck, up.
Really.
Enough.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Stumbling Across Odds and Ends
I've got nothing right now. The most exciting things currently happening in Pittsburgh are a winter storm warning and the sudden, surprise deterioration of the Birmingham Bridge.
Oh yes, and the demolition of St. Francis Central Hospital (future home of the Penguins) is not going well. At all. As in the company is having a bit of trouble bringing the building down without the use of explosives. All that Pittsburgh steel is turning out to be a challenge to the demolition experts
There have been small pleasures. Last night's subplot of the Simpson's included the voices of graphic novelists Art Spiegelman (Maus), Daniel Clowes (Ghost World) and Alan Moore (Lost Girls). The highlight was a cartoon promotion poster of Lost Girls hanging behind the novelists.
I think next year I want to spend my vacation in a tree house. Or how about a night in the Icehotel?
Oh yes, and the demolition of St. Francis Central Hospital (future home of the Penguins) is not going well. At all. As in the company is having a bit of trouble bringing the building down without the use of explosives. All that Pittsburgh steel is turning out to be a challenge to the demolition experts
There have been small pleasures. Last night's subplot of the Simpson's included the voices of graphic novelists Art Spiegelman (Maus), Daniel Clowes (Ghost World) and Alan Moore (Lost Girls). The highlight was a cartoon promotion poster of Lost Girls hanging behind the novelists.
I think next year I want to spend my vacation in a tree house. Or how about a night in the Icehotel?
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Flickr
When I started this blog I was using Picasa (now owned by Google). Then I switched to a Macintosh and was no longer able to access my account from a Macintosh. So I switched to Flickr.
I don't use it very often, now that Picasa has been integrated into the rest of Google's applications. I still have an account at Flickr, which I use primarily when I need access to digital images for work. The most popular photograph is also one of the worst I have ever taken - a candid shot of Sidney Crosby on the ice after the last home game of his rookie season.
I don't use it very often, now that Picasa has been integrated into the rest of Google's applications. I still have an account at Flickr, which I use primarily when I need access to digital images for work. The most popular photograph is also one of the worst I have ever taken - a candid shot of Sidney Crosby on the ice after the last home game of his rookie season.
As has been well publicized in the past several weeks, Microsoft is planning a hostile take over of Yahoo and all of it's holdings, including Flickr. Reluctantly, I have decided to take down the majority of the photographs in the upcoming weeks, including the Sidney Crosby photo.
Some would see this as a premature reaction to Microsoft's bid and that Yahoo will prevail. I'm not so sure. While the Federal Government has expended an enormous amount of time and resources in anti-trust lawsuits against Microsoft, there is absolutely no reason for me to believe that they are anything other than pro-business - the larger the business the better. Recent court decisions (Supreme and otherwise) do little to reassure me that the little people; whether that be a woman suing under EEOC or a small business, can prevail.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
I Thought I Would Let you Know...
That I am beginning to despise Maureen Dowd as much as I despise Ann Coulter.
And Stanley Fish rocks.
That is all.
And Stanley Fish rocks.
That is all.
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