Games Of Chance

The plinky question for today is what would you do with the money if you won a thousand dollars. I didn't answer the question because I'm not allowed to win a thousand dollars. The church considers lottery tickets an unfair tax on the poor and the vulnerable. When I've bought 50/50 tickets to support some cause, I have always given back my half of the winnings to the organization. There's no possibility that I will ever be shouting with joy because my ship came in.

Sometimes I have mixed feelings about the lottery rule. Would the world have ended if I had a day in my life where I did something crazy with a windfall? Is it really so noble to plod along with neither highs nor lows? Was it so necessary to always be saving for the next expense - the next move, the next car repair, the next loss? Was it really virtue to be so different - so set apart - so repressed?

If I were a superhero, I would certainly wear tights

Big Grammy. I'd wear tights to counteract the media image of what a woman looks like and I'd express myself by communicating in song lyrics, film quotes, any quote of value from any source. My power would be to inspire hope and vision and compassion in those who have lost their hope, their vision and their compassion.

Inaugural Address

http://fish.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/barack-obamas-prose-style/?em

Stanley Fish did an interesting analysis of Obama's Inaugural Address and concluded that it is "more power in the reading than in the hearing".
And here's his English lesson for the day which expanded my vocabulary which is always a good thing:

"There is a technical term for this kind of writing – parataxis, defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “the placing of propositions or clauses one after the other without indicating . . . the relation of co-ordination or subordination between them.”

The opposite of parataxis is hypotaxis, the marking of relations between propositions and clause by connectives that point backward or forward. One kind of prose is additive – here’s this and now here’s that; the other asks the reader or hearer to hold in suspension the components of an argument that will not fully emerge until the final word. It is the difference between walking through a museum and stopping as long as you like at each picture, and being hurried along by a guide who wants you to see what you’re looking at as a stage in a developmental arc she is eager to trace for you."

I read through the reader's comments and was stopped in my tracts by Dario Nunez-Ameni: "Who looks for spelling mistakes in a a love letter?"

Is the speech a love letter? I don't know. From their educational backgrounds, I would think the Obamas are motivated by a sense of justice and a vision of a rainbow world. When they step out on stage I can hardly breathe. Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu are old men so maybe it's possible for a dreamer to die in his bed of old age.

Chief Justice John Roberts

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/21/obama.oath/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
Be gratious and move on. Part of being in the public eye is that you're going to flub some days. This was a historic day and a world event so there's no where to hide on this one. If I were President Obama and Chief Justice John Roberts I would do exactly what they are doing - taking this as an opportunity to role model how to not let a mistake get in the way of getting down to business and moving on with the work that needs doing. People make way too much over public humiliation. If you are going to do anything in this world, it's going to happen to you too. The world didn't end. The oath has been re-taken. The great oratory of the day and the flub of the day should in combination inspire all of us to take a second look at all those great opportunities out there to prepare ourself for the 2 minutes of glory and the 2 minutes of shame that will come our way. Think of all the offers you've received and give a second look at an opportunity to build your confidence and self-assurance in speaking in high pressure situations.

Blip.fm

Thanks to my facebook friends I found out about Blip.fm. When the kids were little, I probably couldn't have listened to a song if I wanted to. The house was noisy, chaotic and I was a highly distractable person. Then as the kids grew older, they were buying cds on a weekly basis and what I heard was their new purchase. When they left, I decided to go into a music store and buy my own cds but I had no idea of what I liked. I had the money in my pocket and was standing in a store full of music but I wasn't going to randomly grab something and plunk down that kind of money.
Blip.fm is a great idea. People become their own djs posting their favourite music. I'm starting to put names to songs and am beginning to sort out what I like from what I'm not so fond of. This has to be good for the music industry. I like music with meaningful words but I'm not into being shouted at.
This is the dj I randomly picked tonight http://blip.fm/GR8FL

Low Rise Jeans

The NY Times quote of the day regarding U.S. President George W. Bush's last press conference is the inspiration for this post" "It all felt strangely intimate and, occasionally, uncomfortable, in the manner of seeing a plumber wearing jeans that ride too low." - Ted Anthony, of the Associated Press

I didn't watch Bush's press conference because I'm waiting for the youtube version. Why watch the whole thing when there are people out there willing to edit out the unessential, not-so-entertaining or enlightening bits. Even the best of the best have difficulty transitioning into being yesterday's man so I can't imagine it's going to go well for George W. Bush.

What I do have an opinion about is people exposing their butt cracks. With men, it comes across as a protest. I may have to fix your plumbing but I don't have to like it so kiss my a__. There's something disrespectful about it - the opposite of polishing oneself up like James Bond in his tux. That said, it doesn't particularly bother me. I lived through the 60s. I get protest.

Girls showing their butt cracks is a whole different story. I interpret it as a lack of self-respect. A woman of dignity covers her nether regions. A lady is discret and selective when it comes to flashing flesh. I get protest but I don't get self-degregation. The guy is supposed to go on a quest, slay a dragon, scale a mountain, grab the rose through the ring of flame all for a flash of your smile. Your mama read you a million stories telling you that you were a princess. Listen to your mama and not the MTV music videos.

Treadmill Dance

I never really got the point of treadmills. It looked like a lot of money for an even more boring way of walking than going outside. And then I saw the treadmill desk and thought maybe. I could see that walking on a treadmill while surfing the web was healthier than sitting in my grandma's easy chair and surfing the web. But it still wasn't a strong enough selling point. Then I went for a stress test and really wished I had treadmill experience. I was walking for 3 minutes before they finally were happy about the length of my stride and my heart stopped racing because it felt too much like stepping on the down escalator when your mind was prepared to go up.
And then I typed treadmill dance into youtube and finally released that a treadmill had potential. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI
So kids, if you'd really like to get your inheritance early, chip in for a treadmill for mom to dance on. I'm sure by the end of "Here We Go Again", I won't be able to go anywhere again.

Merecedes Benz

This is the song. Just insert my name and join in
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKNq-A-OqNs
I've done more praying that vehicles would live to reach their destination than any reasonable North American should. My vehicle is coming out of the auto body shop today. Stephen's vehicle is in the garage hopefully getting a new starter but we're already in the process of comparing vehicles on the web to replace it. We were one of those randomly chosen households to get a government visitor to survey what comes in and where the money disappears. We were politely told that it always amazes her that idiots like us who argue about all the numbers end up being accurate within 3 percentage points. The error - we forgot the gas for Peter to get to school. I figure a miracle is our best bet at a new car because I've had quite a few little miracles during this lifetime. I was thinking maybe a KIA hatchback was a reasonable request but I then I heard this song and thought why not.

Good Parenting

Kids want your attention more than your money.
Squash, beans, oranges, apples - cheap, nutritious food is healthiest.
The best exercise - walking.
The best toy - a cardboard box
God loves the poor. If it's essential for child development, a little thought will produce an inexpensive, superior alternative.

New Years Blog Resolution

Concise. That's the new motto.