They're All Together Ooky...The Adams Family

Happy Halloween...blah, blah, blah.

Two things happened this week that make me wonder if I'm living in some backwoods, one stoplight town and not one that I pay outrageous property tax for (seriously, you'd weep). I'm going to try to keep things as anonymous as is possible since I have to live near these people, but suffice it to say there is one house on this street that is quickly becoming "those neighbors". First, they've taken to parking on their lawn. At first I thought maybe it was a mistake or that they just had to run in the house really fast to retrieve some item that they had to have so badly that they just didn't have the wherewithal to park in their actual driveway. In fact, it looked like one of them had driven home under the influence and crashed into the tree, except the car was unscathed. Alas, no. They came and went several times over the course of as many days, parking the car in their new, albeit strange, spot. These are also the neighbors that have no less than 6 different cars at any given time parked hither and yon amongst the street, so it goes without saying that there is precious little space in their actual driveway. They finally stopped parking on the lawn, so I guess that's good.

"What about their garage", you ask?

"It's full of crap", I reply.

"What kind of crap", you inquire?

"All the shit they couldn't bear to part with from their old house, the one that was so much badasser and bigger than this current one that they often remind us how they had to downsize to live in our neighborhood; the poor dears", I say absolutely dripping with sarcasm complete with great big eye rolling.

When they decided to clear out the scraggly rose bushes and other unidentifiable overgrown brush that they call a garden, I figured "Hey! Finally!". So what if they did it not with a shovel and shears, but a strong rope and a pick up truck with a really kick ass bumper (who wants to be bothered with gardening tools anyway?); at least it was finally getting some attention. Imagine my surprise when it was discovered that they had done so, not to enhance curbside appeal, but to set up their Halloween graveyard. Sigh.

If this wasn't enough to just gal the hell out of me, what really chaps my hide is that their immediate next door neighbors have been trying to sell their house since midsummer. Now I don't know about you, but if I were a prospective home buyer and pulled up in front of this dilly, spotting the lawn parking and their questionable shrub removal tactics; I'd seriously reconsider plopping down my life savings to live next door to such a spectacle.

The Post Dawn Cacaphony of Leaf Blowers in E Minor

Just how long DOES it take to blow the leaves out of a Southern California yard the size of a postage stamp? Apparently just as long as it takes to rake that of it's acre and a half, tree infested east coast counterpart. Like countless others, my weekdays start at the crack of dawn; in some cases pre-dawn. I look forward to the weekend. I like to sleep in even if "sleeping in" means 8:30am. Not today my friends. Not today. This lovely, peaceful Saturday morning was interrupted by the grinding, whining hum (screech) of the ever popular, and equally annoying gardening tool...the leaf blower.

Stay out of my way today. I'll be at Costco and I'm bitchy. You've been warned.

You Don't Want to Know Where I Was Keeping That Plane Ticket

Sweet molasses on a cracker! I swear to freakin' God that it will not be too far off in the future that if you wish to travel by plane, you will have to do it naked as a jay-fuckin'-bird! Sans shoes, no carry-on luggage whatsoever, body cavity searches all around and infants will have to ride in the baggage compartment. It was reported in the news today that security at 3 of the nation's airports (LAX amongst them) failed miserably at detecting bomb making materials. Please stand by for security to kick it up a notch. This just HAD to come out right before the holiday season, didn't it.

And doesn't this tid-bit just scream bullshit to you?

Terrorists bringing a homemade bomb on an airplane, or bringing on bomb parts and assembling them in the cabin, is the top threat against aviation. "Their focus is on using items easily available off grocery and hardware store shelves," Hawley said.

Really? That is the top threat against aviation? Funny how a moderate Google search turns up quite a different statistic. It would seem that human error, pilot error, design flaw, fuel starvation, and yes, BIRDS are a greater threat to aviation than terrorists and their bomb making materials. And didn't the security for air travel reach hysterical levels AFTER September 11th? It would appear, at least to me, that people hijacking a plane and flying it into a building with their own two hands would be a greater threat. Will we have to start leaving our hands at home?

There are horrid people in the world and they're going to do despicable things, it cannot be obliterated. You just have to live life and be aware. I expect the airline that I'm paying for service from to provide a safe plane and a capable crew...and not send my luggage to an alternate destination. I don't expect to be kept safe from another person's actions totally unrelated to the airline. I feel more threatened by the woman driving beside me who is chatting on her cell phone while she simultaneously applies her lipstick and mascara, drinking her latte at mock 5 on the freeway. If I choose to pay for and use public transportation then I am taking the risk that I just may be flying along side someone who is not playing with a full deck.

Please don't make it so that we all have to fly in the nude. It is way too cold on that plane.

USA TODAY

Mama Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys...

...Or soldiers, or rock stars. Okay, the rock star part I can get on board with; it just ain't that easy to achieve. In March of 2003, when this war in Iraq began, I remember voicing my concerns about my oldest son who was six at the time, at some point having to go off and fight. People laughed at me, belittled me and verbally pat me on the head..."He's six!" they scoffed. "You're being ridiculous" they're eyes read. Yet, here we are over four years later, and my son is now eleven; and no end in sight when it comes to the war in Iraq. President Bush won't be calling it quits; he's already admitted to leaving that to future administrations. Why should he clean up the mess he started? Seven years from now my son will be eighteen. Is there anyone out there who can say with absolute certainty that my fears are unfounded?

The recruitment commercials to join the armed forces that air on my television illustrate quite a rosy picture of what it means to be a soldier. They're dressed in their finest, travel to exotic lands, go to college, and apply their learned skills to their military branch of choice. Yeah, sure, that all goes on during a time of peace. They should also affirm the reality (one that I took upon myself to explain to my son) that you will have to kill someone at some point and is that something you are willing to do? You may be killed yourself, are you cool with that?

My thoughts are often about the mothers of our soldiers. The wives too, but there is a love and bond that is unique to the parent/child relationship. If my husband were a soldier and were to die, I would be devastated, yes but eventually I'd be able to pick up the shattered pieces of my life and persevere. There isn't enough Prozac in Beverly Hills to get me through seeing my son(s) off to war. If a child of mine were to die in that war, it would completely and utterly destroy me; I would spiral into an abyss and never return. I think of these mothers that are currently sinking further into this abyss and how torturous the pain must be.

It's easy to be a cheerleader for this war when it isn't your children that are sacrificed. And you need to be "rah-rah-rah" when it IS your child on the front line because you NEED them to LIVE.

It's 4 1/2 years later; am I still being a hand-wringing hysterical ninny?

Bring their children home.

Now.

Which Way the Political Wind Leans

Was June really the last time I posted anything to this blog? Egads! That's shameful. I have to admit that my lack of attention to my space here has more to do with my complete and utter frustration with the status quo with regards to politics than it does with what might be perceived as laziness or disinterest. Let's touch on a couple of things here before I get to the meat of my entry...
My choice for the Democrat Presidential candidate:
~ The jury is mostly out on this but I lean towards Senator Obama
~ This would change in an instant if Al Gore were to toss his hat into the ring

With that said, my mind has been hard at work trying to make sense of the hypocrisy that spews forth from the mouths of republicans whenever a celebrity (aka "Liberal Hollywood") voices their political opinion...unless of course said celebrity is a republican. With the emergence of Fred Thompson into the Republican presidential side of the race, I was all set to update my blog with a well researched "article" (for lack of a better word) about the aforementioned hypocrisy surrounding Democrats v. Republicans and politics. While compiling my list of celebrities turned politician whose opinions were/are considered acceptable by the right wing media machine (because they're republicans) I came across an article at TMZ (of all places) that sums it up quite nicely.

Obviously, celebrities aren't limited to disagreements with the right wing. Some see eye to eye on many issues. Charlton Heston and Ted Nugent (despite being the author of such "family friendly" lyrics as "Wang Dang Sweet Poon Tang") are darlings of the right for their stance on guns. And, it is interesting to note that over the years movie actor Ronald Reagan, singer/tv star Sonny Bono, and sports stars: Steve Largent, JC Watts, Jim Bunning and Tom Osborne all used their fame to win office as Republicans. These people actually made official government policy so you would think that those who say celebrities aren't qualified to speak out on issues would be outraged, right? But, consistency has never been a hallmark of the right wing's chattering class.

The article does go on to say (and I disagree with):

So, even though there is little substance or logical consistency behind the "celebrities aren't qualified to speak out" argument, I do agree with the general notion that they should stay out of politics. However, as I alluded above, it's for different reasons. After all, I hope these same celeb bashers wouldn't tell a plumber to stick to plumbing and stay away from political discourse. Indeed, by their logic, everyone but politicians and the self-appointed political elite would be disqualified from having a "valid opinion." You only need to flip through the Sunday political talk shows for the briefest of glimpses to see the irony and absurdity of that proposition. No, I think musicians and other celebs should shut up for a different reason. When these stars speak out, via some crafty public relations work, the stars themselves become the debate instead of the issues. All we hear is" the Dixie Chicks hate America" or "Hollywood wants the terrorists to win." The real issues get swept under the rug and the focus is on bashing the celeb for speaking out.

I don't agree that celebrities should quit speaking out. I believe everyone has the right too and shouldn't be silenced because issues get swept under the rug BECAUSE they're celebrities. The issue isn't the celebrities but rather, what's under that rug...don't let the pundits wield such a hefty broom.
TMZ