Hedgehog

The isadora Duncan Maneuver

roscoe@drizzle.com — Mon, 6 Oct 08 15:26:00 UT

Last week, I scared the shit out of myself. I already know how stupid I was, so please donât reinforce things by telling me to be careful. Iâm so aware of what I did, I just want lots of caramel, and a fair amount of âthere, thereâ pats on my head. (You probably know better than to offer dumb advice, but I donât.)

Iâm STILL getting used to the wheelchair and learning the space around me when Iâm in it. Friday was the first time I went out when it was threatening rain. Over the years Iâve learned, using the scooter, that coats and jackets are pretty useless while you are sitting down. Jackets donât reach, coats fall open (âyou might as well live"*,) wait, sorry, no no NO, wrong reference. (letâs not always see the same hands**).

*See Dorothy Paker.)

(**thank you Mr. Lehrer).

It wasnât raining when I left the house but it was clearly planning on it. Leaving the Monkey Grind on my way to the bank/volunteer gig, I threw my rain poncho on and headed out the door. Halfway down the block, the poncho caught on the wheels and ripped. It took only, what, five seconds? But I could not think and it took over five seconds, Iâm sure for my brain to engage and say âtake your goddam hand OFF the controls. Stop.â

By which time I was almost off the chair on the ground. A person walking toward me walked right past me, never seeing if she could help. Maybe it didnât look like I was in trouble.

I was. It could have been lots worse as I think I was three or so seconds of flying out of the chair, the power of which was still on. Now that I think back, I wonder what the terminology is for catching a crab in a wheelchair (those of you who know a little bit about rowing/crew might get that very feeble joke.) (been there done that too â well, close) But I am okay. I am bruised and you canât see it but it will be some days probably before I can touch that area of my neck without wincing and making that âbreathe in through your teeth ouchieâ noise.

What bothers me so much is, well itâs two-fold. I keep skittering away from thinking about it, in part because it scared me and in part because I feel so hugely hugely stupid for letting it happen. And the other is that I keep getting weepy about it. Iâm not quite sure if Iâm crying because I scared myself, because I felt so stupid or because I still feel so moronic when it comes to learning about the wheelchair. I wrote this in draft before realizing I hadnât actually said what happened. Havenât been able to say âthe left side of poncho got caught in my right front wheelâ.

I also have no fucking idea what to do about the rain. I cannot simply canât only go out in rain-free weather. This is goddam Seattle. I have books to mail, errands to run and part of the reason for having the goddam chair is to have a life, which impending rainy season or no, goes the hell on. I do not, will not deal with an umbrella. Yes, the chair only requires me to use one hand to control it. I donât care. The risks of wind grabbing the thing, the fact that I just want my hands down and not to tax my back and shoulders which are increasingly whiny, itâs just a no.

Iâve now trashed/tossed three ponchos in 15 years. The first ripped and I donât remember how. The second was a piece of cheap junk I got just to have something and it was so lightweight that it flew up into my face every day and it blocked my vision. Tucking it under me seldom worked and I just never found it useful. This one, which took a while to find was a $30 REI masterpiece. Itâs not salvageable, having ripped pretty much diagonally and I just canât deal. In fact, Iâve been in âcanât dealâ mode for days. I went on to my volunteer job in part because I had stuff to donate and what the hell, I was out and had stuff to do. Happily, the office was very dry and my clothes (my fabulous red silk âtrack suitâ dried fast and by the time I left, the rain had let up (though tit began in earnest after a few hours and I was oh so happy to be home. And thanks to Doneta for even trying to tape me back together. As I said, that was so not in her job description.

I then had a meltdown all over Stu when he got home and I tried to articulate what I needed and couldnât. I stuttered a lot and just flailed around trying to be practical. He took that over for me and has been patting me as much as I will alow, but Iâm still having little crying jags out of sheer frustration and anger. I HATE HATE HATE HATE feeling fucking STOOPID. And this was stupid. Scary, but stupid.

Years ago, I thought about getting foul weather gear for the days when I was volunteering at the hospital and the van managed not to show again, or was delayed an hour or more (one reason I quit that volunteer job, though not the main one.) I often ended up going home on surface streets from 30 some blocks away. I figured it would be too warm, but it now appears that it might be the solution since I cannot seem to manage to safely get myself into the chair and keep stuff away from the wheels (she says with humongous grumpiness since it happened twice so far today, one with a bathrobe tie, once with the sleeves from the sweatshirt I was about to don. I guess Iâm impatient. I canât quite figure things out. I canât learn the space around me, the wheels or whatâs behind me to the degree that I still whack into stuff. Iâm shaky and feeling far too stupid. Getting something to wear will probably be the easier thing â Stu did find some rain suit type stuff that is way lighter than foul weather gear and will serve the very important purpose of keeping my legs dry â that thing that jackets and coats canât do. But Iâ not sure what anyone can do for my impatience and my ongoing feeling like âIâll never get thisâ. And I'm still having little cringy crying jags.

Oh yeah, and Bouchercon is next weekend and I wonât be there. This promises to be a real fun week. Shit.

Pass the squishies.

(***you donât know this one? Look it up â itâs over on wikipedia among others.)

Smoot, Smoot, Smoot, let's hear it for the Smoot!

roscoe@drizzle.com — Sun, 5 Oct 08 14:41:00 UT

Weâre taking a break here from politics and teeth-gritting, which will return momentarily (Iâve got to tell you about a totally freaky scary thingy that happened but thatâs for later.)

Todayâs newspaper brought this story and Iâm so very happy about it. According to the Seattle Times, MIT has honored The Smoot. Finally.

Back in 1958, the shortest guy to pledge a particular fraternity (Iâm so not a fan of the Greek system, but this is a big exception) was Oliver Smoot. Back in â58, Mr. Smoot and his fraternity brothers went to the Mass Ave Bridge and (there are no reports here about levels of alcohol) decided to measure the bridge by using the 5 feet 7 inch student. I had been told and it apparently was true, that in order to measure the bridge, Smoot got up and laid back down for every measurement. As it turns out, the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge is 364.4 Smoots long (plus, apparently, one ear). Over the years, the marks have been freshened by each class with (according to Wikipedia) frat members painting the marks on the bridge twice a year. (MIT folks take their traditions seriously, nu?)

The 50th anniversary of the Smoot was recently celebrated at MIT. Mr Smoot (who apparently has a famous Nobel Laureate cousin) was given a plaque to celebrate âSmoot Celebration Dayâ. Said plaque will be installed on the bridge later this year.

The second best thing about this story is that the Smoot is a standard of measurement used by Google in both Google Earth and their calculator.

The best part? Oliver Smoot was chair of the American National Standards Institute.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REGISTER TO VOTE!

roscoe@drizzle.com — Thu, 2 Oct 08 11:45:00 UT

if you haven't ever registered, or if you've moved, changed your name, let your registration lapse (in some states that used to take you off the rolls), you need to register to vote. In Washington state, you have TWO MORE DAYS to do this, though you can walk in and register in person before october 20. some states let you register AT THE POLLS.

There are 32 days before the election. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REGISTER TO VOTE. If you have any concerns that your registration is not current, PLEASE check. in my county, you can type in your name and date of birth and they will get back a page that says you are registered, where you vote, and offers a sample ballot with all the candidates and issues that will be up for vote on November 4. It even noted that i was a "permanent absentee" vote - I mail in all my ballots. (see http://your.kingcounty.gov/elections/voterlookup.aspx) I registered absentee years ago when I was still walking (but not well) and it was a hassle getting to the school where I voted and unlike when I was a kid, no one called to offer me a ride to the polls. I remember I even called a campaign noce to ask.

When we moved to Seattle in October, 1990, our friend Amy showed up with voter registration forms the first night or second night we were here, as we were at dinner at a friend's house. She came personally to make sure we would not miss the opportunity to vote and to get us registered before the deadline. That's a first for me - a voter registration before my library card! We've never had such service!

PLEASE REGISTER TO VOTE. i have added a link to VOTE411.org, a great resource where you can register. You can also register to vote if you are overseas, if you are not at a permanent address (in some states). Tell your friend to REGISTER TO VOTE please. If anyone is worried about confidentiality because they are fleeing domestic violence, your address can be kept confidential and not put on the lists. If you know someone homeless, there are ways to register. Don't forget folks in the hospital.

Rockthevote.com/ is a great resource. they remind us that there are 32 DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION.

The vice presidential candidates debate tonight. Last night as I was cruising through the living room a clip of Sara Palin was on "the Daily show with Jon Stewart".. Palin, who believes by the way that homosexuality is a "choice" was asked by Katie Couric what her views would be in the situation were a 15 year old girl was made pregnant by her father. Palin replied that she would "counsel to choose life". if you don't know it - Palin is anti-abortion and in this answer which she reiterated to Couric, she was saying that the 15 year old should have the baby, despite the "horrific horrific circumstances that this person would find themselves in" (assuming she meant the horrific circumstances applied to the girl. (sorry but this answer went beyond acceptable for me) She made it clear, by the way, that she opposes jailing someone for having an abortion - in all fairness I want that made clear since that is important - but Palin made it very clear that she believes "life begins at conception" and that this fictional teenager should be made to carry this child." "Choosing life" apparently does not apply to the mother of the child, the quality of life, or the choice that such a person might want to make. (To see this, go to http://smurl.name/h9g8)

The debate is tonight. PLEASE REGISTER TO VOTE if that concerns you at all. if you are concerned about the war, the way the Supreme Court votes, Gitmo. If you wonder if any child has been left behind, if you worry that the effects of hurricane Katrina still linger, that deregulation hasn't helped the airlines, Wall Street or food safety and production. Fill in your own blank.

If you haven't every voted because you think it doesn't matter, please know that it does matter. Every time. This time more than ever, I believe. But please, even if you're tired, cynical about the process and the system (I've been that way for decades!)

Please i>(wheedle wheedle) please register! If you need help, email me and i will find you a form andi will not say anything to bug you, but i want you registered please! if you're out today or tomorrow, go to a library (the forms are supposed to be in our branches, maybe yours too?). My wonderful local coffee joint had a stack at the front door the other day (goooooo, Monkey Grind! http://www.monkeygrind.com/Home.html)

Haul out your wallet and make sure your registration info is up to date in case you moved or something's changed that would cause a complication when you go to your polling place.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REGISTER TO VOTE. This one is really important.

http://www.vote411.org/

Go.

Nothing to Add

roscoe@drizzle.com — Sun, 28 Sep 08 13:56:00 UT

The Verdict
Hud
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Harper
Cars
Exodus
Nobody's Fool
Cool Hand Luke
The Sting
Fat Man and Little Boy
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
Twilight
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Newman's Own

The Hole in the Wall Gang Camps

Banned and Forgotten - Forgotten Books Friday

roscoe@drizzle.com — Fri, 26 Sep 08 12:06:00 UT

BANNED BOOKS WEEK 2008 runs from September 27 through October 4. Next Friday, Patti Abbott's "Forgotten Books" column/blog will discuss banned books. I got ahead of myself and posted this a week early.

This week - take a banned book to lunch.

The imagination has long been under attack by religious conservatives. Apparently, even reading about dragons and non-Christian beliefs can be a threat to the far right way of life. I was raised in a liberal Northern Jewish household where my mom, who worked at the public library, brought home tons of books so I donât get whatâs harmful about this stuff. We always read, listened to music, went to shows (from local rep to âtheater in the roundâ to rare trips to Manhattan) Itâs not like I ever decided to become a witch because I read a book about one. And so what if I did? Okay, I suspect preaching to the choir has limited attraction so Iâll move on. (Just one more question â who the HELL objects to Captain UNDERPANTS??? Oh I know itâs probably anti-authority). (jeeeeezus) (oops)

Okay one more â raise your hands if you think FAHRENHEIT 451âs presence on the list on a regular basis is the ultimate irony? Yeah, thought so. Okay. All hands down.

When Madeleine LâEngle died a little more than a year ago. I mourned her as I have mourned the loss of few other authors. Her books have been a staple in my life, as child, adolescent, teen and adult. Her fantastic fantasy, her books about divorce, and her adult novels about love and sacrifice all mattered to me a lot. So Iâm here to talk about A WRINKLE IN TIME which might not be forgotten. I apologize in advance for talking about the book without my copy in front of me â itâs hiding out after a recent bout of âoh letâs neaten up, Iâll remember where I put itâ. For the record, I own a boxed set of the trilogy, bought many years back. They have cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon.

Iâm gonna punt a little here but I did reread A WRINKLE IN TIME relatively recently (okay, itâs been a while), because there was a televised version of the novel. I gritted my teeth at the news, because well, sigh, Iâd lived through a couple renditions of fantasy novels written by Ursula K Le Guin with the most recent being a mess unworthy of the Earthsea novels. But the film aired in 2004 version of this book was, well, it met MY standards. That happened in large part because the lead character, Meg Murry, was portrayed wonderfully by Katie Stuart. The casting was flawless. They didnât cute her up, make her Hermione. I was scared that with the popularity of Harry Potter, the ideas and imagery that LâEngle created would be overshadowed or lost. (According to Wikipedia, LâEngle did not like the film.

The book was hugely important to me as a kid because it addresses so many issues. It offered a tough concept in science with a simple clear explanation â that âwrinkle in timeâ . But what I truly valued was that Meg is a smart girl. She lives in a smart family. Her twin brothers are sort of regular kids (and smart), but young Charles Wallace is not. The book has some terrifying scenes, some warmly ridiculous characters (and thank you for âthe Happy Mediumâ I mean come on!) and one fabulously smart, tough, brave, caring, scared, loving girl.

I didnât like Nancy Drew (I thought she was dated, quaint and early on, I realized the cliff-hanger elements and thought the books were not well-written. I read a few f the Dana girls books but given how similar they were, I donât remember a thing. I do recall liking Trixie Belden. She was more true-to-life (I got one from the library recently and it all came back. The kid with the single mom who lives in the trailer but has a better life than the protected rich girl.)

And I never encountered sf as a kid, so I had a hard time discovering girl protagonists. Meg Murry seemed so right (as did Camilla later on, the kid whose parents were divorcing). I so appreciated Meg, and when LâEngle set it up so that the very popular boy, Calvin, who played football and all that âpopular kidâ stuff, really liked Meg, I was so pleased. Not that I wanted to be popular and hang out with the football/cheerleader kids. I just liked that he liked her because he liked her. As a kid, I saw those divisions but I donât think they were as sharp as they are today. I mean yeah, we were the ânerdsâ, the good grade, honor society students but the lines seem far more sharply drawn when I read about todayâs schools. Calvin was lost in his big family, and he was more than a jock.

I learned some science in A WRINKLE IN TIME. The mom in the book raises her children and conducts science experiments in her lab at their house. Sheâs what Meg wants to be but sheâs still pretty intimidating. The ultimate message is pretty obvious â love can conquer â but what it conquers in this book is conformity, indifference, prejudice, blandness.

There is religious âcontentâ . I donât remember seeing it as a kid (but then I was apparently unaware of the religious symbolism that infuses THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE by C S Lewis â and thatâs apparently really obvious. Sigh.)

LâEngle dared to open A WRINKLE IN TIME with âIt was a dark and stormy nightâ. She gave us three unforgettable witches/immortal beings/otherworldly women, Mrs. Which, Who and Whatsit. She argues against conformity during the heart of the Cold War. The book was published in 1962 after it got 26 publisher rejections.

This book won the Newbery Medal â the highest form of award for childrenâs literature â as well as several other awards. LâEngle was writer-in-residence for years at the Cathedral of st. John the Unfinished (I mean the Divine) And although it comes out of a religious foundation (LâEngle was Episcopalian and many of her books express her Christianity, she still is considered a bad influence for some of her beliefs and for how she saw the world.)

I met Madelien LâEngle once. Years after becoming a fan, after meeting dozens of authors, many of whom were my friends, I was at a convention and was asked to escort her from point A to point B. She was with her husband, actor Hugh Franklin. And despite knowing giants in the field, I was flop-sweat, fangirl nervous. She was one of my heroes and her books are amazing

A WRINKLE IN TIME shows up regularly on lists of books that should be banned/challenged. Itâs #22 on the ALAâs â100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000.

Read it with heart. Read it with pride.

A WRINKLE IN TIME shows up regularly on lists of books that are considered "dangerous" and that should be challeneged or banned.

The Captain and Chenille

roscoe@drizzle.com — Thu, 25 Sep 08 11:20:00 UT

That's all I got so far. Came to me very late last night. Is it a song? A boutique? The new opening act for Sad Anoraks?

Donate to Planned Parenthood in Palin's name

roscoe@drizzle.com — Fri, 19 Sep 08 13:10:00 UT

It's making the rounds.

It reminds me of work we did back in the 80s or so when we had clinics under attack by anti-choice forces and we'd pledge X amount for every person arrested. OR the time we pledged money for every minute that the despicable homophobe Fred Phelps would show up at a gay event, or a funeral with his revolting hate messages. $1/minute or some thing and the money would go to a gay rights organization, or the ACLU or something.

Go to http://www.plannedparenthood.com

Mouse over "Donate."

Select Honorary or Memorial donations.

Fill in your info and your donation.

Select the radio button "I would like to make this gift in honor of..."

First name: "Sarah"
Last name: "Palin"

For the acknowledgment address, it's suggested you use:

McCain for President
1235 S. Clark Street
1st Floor
Arlington, VA 22202

A card will be sent stating such-and-such donation has been made in honor of... Yada. Yada.

Legal. Anonymous. Safe. Protest. And Planned Parenthood gets donations out of it. (So if you haven't donated yet-or even if you have-go for it.)

PS: Pass it on.

Famous books on famous cakes for famous library!

roscoe@drizzle.com — Mon, 15 Sep 08 16:20:00 UT

I LOVE IT!

http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/09/photo-of-the-day-duff-goldman-enoch-pratt-stack-of-books-cake.html

Women Against Sarah Palin

roscoe@drizzle.com — Sun, 14 Sep 08 21:49:00 UT

http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com/

Would you...tattoo?

roscoe@drizzle.com — Sun, 14 Sep 08 13:27:00 UT

I've been pondering this for days (gods help me).

I say "gods help me" because it was inspired by a rather insipid comic strip. i tend to read only about 6 of the daily strips in our paper but they do tend to grab your eyes sometimes and get you when your defenses are down. So um, er, thanks to "Luann" (argh) for making me wonder about this for myself to and wonder about others.

If you were going to get a tattoo (assuming you do not have one) what would you get? Why? And where?

Okay, do you have one? We shouldn't leave you out. What is it? Where is it? Why haven't I seen it? Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to imply we were that intimate.

I expect I will go through life tattooless. Not because of religious hesitations, as I'm not observant and because I'm not a believer, (Jews with tattoos...you're not supposed to get a tattoo. It's in the Torah. Who knew? It's in Leviticus, by the way.)

No it's because I cannot comprehend choosing, deliberately volunteering to undergo something painful. Having lived with chronic, that is to say, daily pain since I was 20, i cannot imagine wanting to do something that would cause pain. Period. For any reason. I've gotten far better about looking at tattoos and seeing the cool of them, but I still shrink a bit. Especially when i see them on places that just would seem to hurt so much. Cringe, cringe.

Other people's manners/boundaries

roscoe@drizzle.com — Sat, 6 Sep 08 22:11:00 UT

Some weeks back, when I had joined Freecycle, there was a guy who wanted something I offered. And he didn't come get it and he didn't come get it and he didn't come get it. After about 3 tries at pinning him down, I wrote and said "it's no longer available" and offered it to the next person "in line" (Freecycle has no rules - if 17 people ask fir it, you get to offer it to person #1, or #6 or #17, or not at all. I often give kid stuff to folks who say their kids will like it, or who are just more polite. I tend not to offer stuff to someone who writes simply "what is your address?" as if they are entitled.

This guy showed up a day after I'd written to say "you're off the list" demanding the item. He was very angry when I said "you don't get it, and you don't get to just show up on my doorstep unannounced". He threatened to have me tossed off Freecycle for this. (I saved all the emails, both from and to. I have since started using "return receipt" as I've had other stuff go awry.

I was more than a little upset about this dude, and notified the listowners who advised me that should I at any time feel threatened, that they would provide info to the cops and that I should call the cops if I thought it was needed. I've not heard from this guy since. I will say that I did run a google search on him and found something hugely creepy - that he had signed up for what would appear to beevery single solitary "meet-up" group in the area. that is to say he'd signed up for everything from Slavic languages, to Thai cuisine to lesbian literature from Howard Dean supporters to pole vault enthusiasts. Those unfamiliar with "meet-up" its a social networking thingy which got its start from the Dean campaign, I think. Folks get to find other folks with mutual interests. No one signs up for 87 of them - every language, every form of music, food, politics, spirituality. The google search pulled up over 50 pages, no joke, each of them a different "meet-up topic". Paintball, figure drawing, comic books, children's rights, archery, rockabilly, the list is pretty tiresomely endless, that this guy signed up for. Sad to the point of making me almost sorry for him. But by coming over without emailing or calling to check? That seems well, in my book, it's rude. No idea if he's still on Freecycle but i've saved all the emails and he will never get anything from me, even if he's the only one wanting it. i susect me might have been kicked off the list but dn't knowl.

That was creepy.

Last week, as I've mentioned, we had a "Yes we can " Obama speech party under the auspices of Moveon.org. Thursday night, August 28, 20 people were in the house for a couple hours. After they left, leaving behind all forms of food, and flowers (yeah, wasn't that sweet???) I discovered a book and a shirt. I sent out a quick email and learned that the book was intended as a gift/pass-along (It's Obama's LESSONS FROM MY FATHER, his first, and quite interesting) and the short belonged to "M" as we shall call him. So he said "when might I come get it?" and I suggested a bunch of dates and times and asked him to pick something. Over the long weekend, I assumed he'd be by.

On Tuesday, I emailed him again. Then again on Thursday because, you know, this is getting absurd. I spent a lot of energy and effort hosting the event, i don't want to be dealing with someone's shirt a week afterwards, you know? I had spent over $30 on food, had felt the impact for 2 days, and I just wanted this little last thing done with. It's just one of those things, you know? I had errands to run, I was starting to suspect I was getting sick, wanted to get to the wheelchair place to get something adjusted, you name it. I don't sit around every day. There are days when I'm home all day, yes, but even then, i sometimes nap, or run out just at the last minute. Whatever. I'm not on the couch eating bonbons and waiting for anyone who wishes to stop by to do so. I do have a form of life.

Last night, at 9 pm came a knock on our door. It was "M" stopping by to get his property. He had not emailed to say he was coming over. we did not have the porch light on. We were, in fact having dinner (we do eat late but so what? Our business.) And both Stu and I are dealing with small colds/bugs. And this guy comes out of the blue to get his shirt. And idiot that I am,
i opened the door and let him in.

And was pretty impolite but not as much as I feel he deserved. Where did he get the idea that it was okay to "stop by"???? i'd made it clear i wanted to know when he was coming over. We were not friends. I had a plate in my hands from the microwave, my hands were greasy and I'd been sniffling and sneezing. And he didn't seem to get it. He certainly did not, that I can remember use the phrase "I'm sorry to barge in on you like this". He did thank me again for the very special evening but you know what? I didn't care. He could have done that by email and I wanted to eat my corn while it was hot. I essentially gestured to the shirt, said "we're having dinner and we're both sick, you need to go" and it didn't seem to register on him at all that he'd been impolite.

What the fuck?

But there we have reason #26 that I won't be doing another one of these parties again (reasons 1 - 25 mostly have to do with how annoying Moveon.org is and how exhausted I was. How they did some things to death and other things did not occur to them. But the last reason was "person stops by one week afer the event without calling first to ask and appears to want to hang out."

Do you have different rules? Do you think there ARE different rules nowadays? I mean there sure are in some cases (cell phone conversations on the bus/in the coffee place come to mind) but people coming over to your house without advance warning or permission? Is that something you've encountered? (We did once have some friends who did that a few times and i never figured out how to tell them that it wasn't okay. But that's another topic.)

The most chilling sentence I read this week

roscoe@drizzle.com — Fri, 5 Sep 08 18:48:00 UT

I don't goddam CARE if the cops think protests are dangerous. I don't fucking CARE if the feds are worried about safety. There are (allegedly) still laws in this country and there are still rights. The First Amendment rights, i guess i've always assumed were part of the FIRST amendment because they were seen as very important and had to be added to the Constitution quickly (ok, what passed for quickly back in the 18th century.) (that's probably simplistic but it's been too long since college, where I'm sure I studied this stuff.)

Of all the shit i read about the arrests of protestors and reporters at the Republican convention (oh yay, the Republicans can now take their proud places with the Daley/Chicago cops of 1968!) the most frightening sentence I read in Amy Goodman's report of this monstrous event was

"I repeated we were accredited journalists, whereupon a Secret Service agent came over and ripped my convention credential from my neck."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/377611_amyonline04.html?source=mypi

I've been reading similar stories in Molly Ivins' Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights where she discusses the various, and rather constant, abuses of the Bush White House and Bush staffers when it comes to free speech. it sucks that she's not here.

As an anti-war, anti-nuke protestor, in the 70s and 80s, I saw this egregious behavior often. I saw cops hide their badges and tape over their name tags during protests at Livermore Lab. Yeah, i was there. I witnessed it. I heard cops refuse to identify themselves to people in Berkeley, when they were rousting people in People's Park, just for jollies. i witnessed it.

I've heard from friends who crashed here during the WTO protests about cops screaming at people to disperse and then 10 seconds later, attacking those people who had no place to go.

It's no exaggeration to say that reading Goodman's column made me physically ill. Made me sick to my stomach. THE SECRET SERViCE? There might be an argument that some reporter was interfering. I don't see HOW since no candidate or politician under protection was at this location. But there's no way in any interpretation of anything that i will be convinced that the Secret Service's job depending on depriving a reporter of her floor credentials in a violent, blatantly abusive act of force.

The abuse of our rights and their power goes so deep that i wonder what it will take to restore these rights and freedoms.

Jesus CHRIST, people.

I won't even go into the whole "soccer mom/pitbull" analogy thing. Anyone who thinks that was funny or a show of positive strength on the part of the vice presidential choice. ANYone who can explain how John McCain can, with a straight face praise Palin as "a Washington outsider" when he has served in Congress for HOW many years? And anyone who thinks that there is legitimacy in his argument that Alaska is the US's "biggest state" and its proximity to Russia gives her special skills, take three steps back.

What Laura started

roscoe@drizzle.com — Wed, 3 Sep 08 15:24:00 UT

Laura started this. and as replied, it got so long I thought "oh god, this is rude" to go on so long in a reply, so i just went and wrote it here. PLEASE READ Laura's blog first so it makes sense. Besides, you should be reading Laura's blog. She's really cool (link to Laura's blog above/below with the other links - in yellow print.)

It's so weird. I'm doing exactly the same thing. Ridding the shelves of books that one year, two years, five years, ten years ago I thought I'd keep forever and ever. I know taste changes but these were some form of foundation of my taste in mystery and yeah, in fiction. There's always the occasional purchase of a history or non-fiction book that i think I SHOULD read or should have READ, but my taste in fiction changed, I thought, glacially.

House cleaning because I now need more floor space means moving stacks ONTO shelves that heretofore just stayed piled up. Using a power wheelchair requires turning space and space near those doorways that were once cut off by stacks and piles and boxes of books. So it's time for the "I will never reread this" decision. The "I don't need to look that erudite" decision (see above - books I feel I should have, or maybe might read often fall into that category) (even if most of my friends have shelves and piles and boxes just like mine.)

So imagine my surprise when the P shelf got emptied of the Parkers and the Paretskys. WOW. While I stopped with Robert BP a long time back,, even these mid-career reads are going. i love VI but i won't be rereading these. It's been years and years since I did, so it's a good bet. And there are lots of them around if eventually I change my mind (and we have a good library). Most of the Graftons have gone, more are going. Some of the "oh she's so good she's going to have a huge career" one-shot authors are going. Too much time has passed and he is really dated and it's not as good as i remember - or is, but....

Worst yet are the signed ones. Gulp.

It's also meant that,k dammit, we've opened some other boxes to examine before dumping and alas, I've hauled OUT some books - no no no! But that copy of Marilyn Hackeer's PRESENTATION PIECE at least needs a quick scan.

Not one of the Marcia Muller books makes the cut - finding the two Oliverez museum series stops me for a quick reread. They'll stay, even if they're, in retrospect, not her best work. Muller books take up huge amounts of space. But they stay. Numerous authors with 2 REALLY GOOD goddamit books (the swearing because no one picked up on how good they were but, apparently me.)

The Dillon-illustrated stuff stays. If i were wealthy, I'd collect teapots and books illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon and artwork of theirs in every form. And High Victorian dollhouse stuff. Every few years the ballet/dance books come out and go back. Damn. And there's almost nothing left of the criminal justice stuff (my Master's degree).

The Kate Ross books will not ever go, I can pretty much swear. Nor the Rozans (even the multiple ARC/HCs that i've acquired. Thanks be that some of my favorite and best started in paperback so I don't have to worry about thinning out certain parts (Jeff Abbott, Charlaine Harris, um, er Laura Lippman?)
The nightstand books stay mostly the same - HARD LAUGHTER by Lamott, MAKING BOOK by the amazing Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Cornelia's FIELD OF DARKNESS. I think BEAN TREES by Kingsolver might be there too - it's a feel-good reread like the Lamott. sometimes books migrate, like Nancy Mairs, or Shirley Jackson. Go figure. Oh yeah, and the Bunny Suicides books and other Andy Riley genius. (snork). And the only books of affirmations I'll ever read by Ann Thornhill and Sarah Wells. they've done two - TODAY I WILL INDULGE MY INNER GLUTTON and TODAY I WILL NOURISH MY INNER MARTYR. I learned of these by reading one and howling with laughter one day as I waited in the exam room at my doctor's office. Does that tell you anything about my doctor?

A few plays, a few books from college that changed my thinking but no, no collected works of anyone. Stu's got those.

Sale, swap, donate, freecycle, Stu-bring-to-work bags. It's hard. I always wanted that house with the bug humongous library (but what's the point when you can't climb up those damn ladders anyway)

Please DON'T (political - you've been warned!)

roscoe@drizzle.com — Sun, 31 Aug 08 22:10:00 UT

If you're one of those who was disappointed that Hillary Clinton is not the nominee, understand that I really do get it. At least, I hope I do. This was such an important year, and it was more than meaningful for all progressive voters, all lifelong Democrats, all left-leaning Americans. In SO many ways.

But if you're one of those who's pissedness has taken you over the edge, to the point where you're seriously considering voting Republican, please DON'T. DON'T DO IT, DON'T TELL ME AND DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT for any length of time. Because if you can't see that this election will change everything, from the Supreme Court to the Ambassador to Burundi, from the Secretary of Energy to the UN Ambassador, from State and Interior and Surgeon General to the Ambassador to Vatican City to the third assistant aide to the assistant aide to the assistant vice assistant, From scientific advisory councils to the Secretaries for Education, and Environment (you remember those? The ones that the Republicans had hoped to get rid of?)

If you can't do it, if you can't see the difference or you're thinking it's over, or that you're too burned out to care, PLEASE get past it. If you stay that pissed off, and can't move on, I don't understand you and I don't really think I want to. For everyone who's ever said or thought "there's no difference", I've never held with that, though I have tried to understand it. This time, however, THERE IS A HUGE MAJOR HONKING MASSIVE DIFFERENCE AND IT WILL MOST CERTAINLY AFFECT YOUR LIFE, YOUR FUTURE and if you gots kids the lives of your kids. Oh, boy, will it.

FOR THE RECORD, Sarah Palin is anti-abortion rights. she began early in making it clear where her focus was - Sarah Palin was her high school's president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. (Hmmm, wonder how big the school's "Fellowship for Jewish Athletes" was....)

Sarah Palin's church affiliation, (maybe you think it should not matter. Maybe it shouldn't. BUT IT DOES) is with the Christian Assemblies of God. In today's America, "Christian" is not simple. Her faith has, among its very basic tenets belief in the Rapture and that speaking in tongues is a fundamental part of religion (I looked up the official Assemblies of God website, folks, I did not get this from any other source). Sarah Palin supports the teaching of "creationism".

Don't go there okay? Please get past your anger, your sadness. Please don't consider skipping voting in November. Please find it in you to vote Democratic even if you're disillusioned with party politics (gods know I am and have been for close to 40 years. But THIS ONE MATTERS.)

Happy Labor Day to everyone who's ever worked. That's EVERYONE. i hope you have a good day off (and hope you have the day off unless you're raking in gobs of OT and holiday pay.)

History on the Hoof

roscoe@drizzle.com — Tue, 26 Aug 08 12:55:00 UT

On Thursday night, a bunch of strangers will come over to the house. And Iâm really excited about it. Because theyâre coming over to share in what I think will be one of those moments Iâll remember for a long time â Barack Obamaâs acceptance of his partyâs nomination as candidate for President of the United States.

This event will inevitably make me cry. Iâm so stunned that this is happening in my lifetime and Iâve become quite a cryer in recent years. I think itâs stunning that weâve gotten here. And Iâm terrified about the outcome in a number of ways I donât even want to talk or think about.

That this speech will take place on the anniversary of another stunning, amazing date cannot be ignored. I know from my own experiences planning events that planning this convention started so long ago, when no one knew who the candidates would be. Hell, no one probably had heard of Barack Obama. The DNC had to book Denverâs facilities years and years and years ago. So no one could have foreseen that this speech would take place on the very day, 45 years ago, that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr stood at the podium on the National Mall at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in front of a quarter of a million people. Does that rock you? It does me. Iâm 55 years old and Iâm watching watching history being made. Thatâs a very weird feeling. I usually donât give in to such dramatic pronouncements. Usually, I think, most of us take stock after something and think âoh wow, Iâm not going to forget this but itâs been obvious as it happens. It was obvious from watching for months as we realized that it was going to be history on the hoof, we were gonna fucking be there as someone accepted the nomination and changed history, whether it would be a woman or a man of African-American descent. Holy cow.

So I got this email from Moveon.org, which has moved on from their origins as the âletâs get over itâ group back during the whole Clinton/Lewinsky/impeachment debacle. And theyâre huge and theyâre progressive and theyâre apparently organized. On that last, we are reserving judgment. Because I think they suck and I wonât be participating in any more Moveon.org-planned events.

The idea was to open your house Thursday to friends and/or neighbors so we could participate in this history together. I signed on after talking it over with Stu, who was concerned because of course he gets home late so Iâd be coping by myself. But hey, the house is still pretty okay after the Vanguard party. So I put us on the list. And I emailed a few friends. And then waited as nothing and no one signed on. Welll, hell, weâll be home anyway but it matters if itâs just the two of you, or if itâs you and 12 other people, or 5 other people. Whatever.

Moveon didnât send out any announcement of these parties until yesterday, Monday, three days before. Sorry but thatâs poor planning. People need more time to organize their lives, at times. Moveon has sent numerous emails about âdonât forget to read the guidesâ to running these things. Said guides were not available for days after Iâd signed up. At last check, the âevent materialsâ page was still âcoming soonâ. Itâs now up. It includes a reminder to âattend a national conference call on June 25 25. Yes. Thatâs right. June 25.

That âconference callâ wasnât. After FIVE tries to get in, I got in only to hear that I was in âlisten onlyâ mode and no one would hear me if I said anything. And the guy was going to go over what we were to do Thursday. I hung up.

A lecture is not a conference. I already read the guide, the emails about the guide, the memos about the emails about the lists about the suggestions about the agendas about the websites. I donât relish holding a phone to my ear if I have to listen to someone tell me what I already know.

So I wrote to the folks and they wrote back saying essentially, yes, it was a rehash of what I already had received. But, you see, they were swamped (which is why maybe I could not get in on the toll-free number) (oh lovely, and they knew TO THE nth degree how many people MIGHT call in) and golly gee, âwe have so many new hosts, and there is so much information being imparted that we need to share it more than once and in different ways with our hosts.â

Golly gee. I missed the sharing part, I guess. Since I can read. The âconference callâ was not described as a ârehash for those of you who canât read emails/websites/printoutsâ but it was supposed to âMake sure you're ready for the big night! Please join a national conference call for all hosts this Monday. We'll go over everything you'll need to know to make your party fun and successful.â (thatâs from the 8/21 email from one guy, not to be confused with the 8/23 email from another guy.

Monday, they finally sent out the email to folks signed on at Moveon.org about these gatherings and finally, I began to see that yes, people did want to come over and join us. Iâm thrilled. I really am. I just think that watching this event in the company of other people will be the right and cool thing. And as Iâm very much not a capital âdâ Democrat, and was not really happy with the experience I had at the local district gathering I attended, I just donât want to go to some legislative district or campaign gathering where, Iâm sure, there will be lots of recruitment speeches and pleas for money. I mean, one of the most negative parts of that legislative district gathering came when those running for delegate slots said âvote for me, Iâve been working for the party/campaign for months ringing doorbellsâ and âvote for all these people who have been working for the party for monthsâ. Sorry but that does not represent me. It does not tell me anything about you that I want to know. Sorry but I gave up on partisan politics back when I was in my early 20s. Iâve never dropped out of the process, I have been politically active for decades but I still hate partisan politics for many many reasons. Chicago was the trigger for that. Anyone who doesnât get that is probably too young to remember 1968.

Happily, one of the people who signed up is connected to moveon.org and asked if she could bring flyers on how to get involved. I enthusiastically told her yes, and said how pleased I was that sheâd do that, since clearly she could answer questions I would not be able to answer.

Iâm really happy that at least 8 people (7 of whom are strangers, one is a neighbor) will be joining us Thursday night to celebrate. Will you be watching?