Monthly Archives: September 2008

Okay, maybe because I am so sick of the Presidential Campaigns and Billion-Dollar-Bailouts and politics in general, I’ve decided that we need to determine something really important: who do you think would be the best actor to portray the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton’s upcoming film “Alice In Wonderland”? This poll is located in the right-hand sidebar of my blog. Please have some fun with me, and vote! If you can think of an even better selection than the three I’ve given, leave a comment and tell us why.

There really haven’t been many movies worth going to see lately. We did go to see “The X-Files: I Want To Believe”, but it was a huge disappointment. And I am a big X-Files fan. And while I am interested in going to see “Righteous Kill” and “Igor” soon, I’d be just as happy to wait until they both come out on DVD.

But, apparently there is still hope! I just read that Johnny Depp has signed on to star in Pirates of the Caribbean 4! We can only hope that the dreary Keira Knightley will not bore us to death with her incessant pompous whining this time! But that’s not all . . . Johnny will be playing “Tonto” in the upcoming movie “The Lone Ranger”. Hmmm. That will certainly improve that story line. I hated that series when I was a kid. . . way too cornball for me. But with Johnny Depp as Tonto, how bad can it be? Like Pirates, it will be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, so that’s a plus, too.

And last, but not least, Tim Burton has created his own version of “Alice In Wonderland”. We all know that Johnny Depp is one of Burton’s favorite actors, so it’s no surprise that Johnny will be bringing his own twist to the character of “The Mad Hatter”. I love Alice In Wonderland, but have always been frustrated that some of the best scenes were usually stolen from “Through The Looking Glass”. It will be interesting not only to see Johnny’s rendition of The Mad Hatter, but to see how Tim Burton has translated the story onto the screen. One last thought on this: don’t you think that Christopher Walken would be a much better Mad Hatter than. . well, than anybody?

I am not good with numbers. Anyone who knows me very well at all can attest to this. In fact, my friends won’t even let me keep score when we play Spades!! So, this whole bail-out thing with AIG and all is very confusing to me. The way I understand a free market society is that you take a risk, and if you succeed, you are successful and make money. If you do not succeed (or at least not to the point you hoped for) then you shut your doors and try something else. But apparently, if you can manage to get far enough into debt to sufficiently freak everybody on Wall Street out, then you are eligible for the government to come and bail you out. To the tune of BILLIONS OF DOLLARS!!! (So, Jill, here’s my rant!!!)

Last night, on the news, I actually heard Obama say something I agreed with. He proposes that the companies being bailed out should be held accountable, and made to pay back, with interest, the amount they receive from the government to stay afloat. Yes, that is a great idea, but my friend, Angela, sent me an email this morning that outlines an even better plan. At least to my non-mathematical mind! Let me know what you think:

Good afternoon my fellow Americans,

I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG. Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.
*To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.
*Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child.
*So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..
*So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00.
*My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend.
*Of course, it would NOT be tax free.
*So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%.
*Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.
*That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.
*But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.
*A husband and wife has $595,000.00.
What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

*Pay off your mortgage – housing crisis solved.
*Repay college loans – what a great boost to new grads
*Put away money for college – it’ll be there
*Save in a bank – create money to loan to entrepreneurs.
*Buy a new car – create jobs
*Invest in the market – capital drives growth
*Pay for your parent’s medical insurance – health care improves
*Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean – or else

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we’re going to re-distribute wealth let’s really do it…instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( “vote buy” ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we’re going to do an $85 billion bailout, let’s bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG – liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here’s my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn’t. Sure it’s a crazy idea that can “never work.” But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion We Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC. And remember, The Hoover plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh…I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Kindest personal regards,

Thomas J. Hoover — A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic

PS: Feel free to pass this along to your pals as it’s either good for a laugh or a tear or a very sobering thought on how to best use $85 Billion!!

So last Saturday evening was spent waiting in a room at the Flat Rock Playhouse YouTheatre while Alex auditioned for a role in their upcoming production “The Orphan Train”.  We spent three hours there altogether, and Alex had to sing sixteen bars of a song (he chose “Piano Man” by Billy Joel and sang the chorus), then he had to get together with a group of 19 other kids and “do some movement”, which basically meant they were shown some dance steps and then had to dance. We could hear the music out where we were sitting; I was afraid the old wartime tune “Over There” would be echoing through my head for days after that!  Then finally, he was called in to read a part.

He felt good about it when we left, and the two of us had a nice dinner at Umi, which is a really nice Japanese restaurant in Hendersonville.  He got a ‘call-back’ on Sunday, and went back last night to do more reading.  They had him read from every male role!

And today, we finally got the news:  Alex was offered the role of “Harvey”, one of the orphan kids.  He’s excited, and so am I.  The Flat Rock Playhouse is rated one of the best community theatres in the nation, and their “YouTheatre” is top-notch!  The play will hit the stage November 14th – 23rd.  I’ve seen a lot of their performances in the past, so I know this will be excellent!  I am so happy for Alex.

Well, if you’re reading this, and you’ve been keeping up with me recently, then you know this is the third theme in as many days!  I’m gonna get a bit “geeky” and “techy” here, so bear with me.  As I mentioned in my previous “New Theme” post, Wordpress has been upgrading relentlessly  this past year.  And, I like what they are doing!  At first, I had some doubts, but by this point, even someone like me who has no clue how to create software, can appreciate their hard work in improving the interface and usability.  I love all the new bells and whistles!

However, as I mentioned before, the upgrades have rendered many older themes crippled, at best, and useless, at worst.  My old “Coffee Cup” theme (AKA: ‘Downtown Java’ by Brian Garndner) could no longer keep up with the new platform.  So, a couple days ago, I thought I would try the theme “Amazing Grace“.  I liked the name, and it seemed like it would be really easy to customize.  The guy has some pretty good forums for people to go to for help, and it works great with the latest Wordpress release. He also has some really amazing plug-ins.  I particularly like his “Theme Test-Drive” plug-in, which allows you to play with a theme on your own site, while everyone else who visits the site still sees your regular format.

But for some reason, I couldn’t get my own images to load, at least not all the time.  And, I couldn’t get rid of the default images.  Now, I’m not a coding expert, but I know enough code to usually be able to go in and tweak whatever I need to fit my needs.  So, I went to the forums for help, and started reading posts, thinking I might find my solution there.  Nope.  Furthermore, I didn’t think some of his responses to people were very friendly.  Instead, he was rather sarcastic.  I imagine he gets frustrated with folks asking him lots of questions, all the time, but he could be a bit gentler!  Granted, he has offered the theme for free, and if he charged for it, then that might make a difference in the tone of his customer support.

So I continued my quest for a new, customizable theme that I could use.  I Googled “Wordpress 2.6 Free Themes”, and found that Wordpress.org itself offers a listing of themes that are compatible with their newest release.  The one I am trying out now seems very promising.  Although I like the headers that come with it, I am going to create my own header, and use it instead.  I have had several folks (including my husband and my daughter, whose votes count double!) tell me that they really miss my old header, and liked it better.  So, for those of you who agreed with them, but were too polite to say so, I will be creating another header, hopefully even better than the last one, to go with this theme. But I’m keeping the little stars!  Aren’t they cute??

And what theme is this, that I have chosen now?  Glad you asked!  It is called “Mandigo“.  These guys actually offer several themes, but this one will work best for me, I think.  If you have your own domain, and you use Wordpress for a blogging platform, check them out.  (This would be a good time for me to point out that the free blogs available at Wordpress.com are very, very different than the stuff available at Wordpress.org).  Wordpress.org is where you get all the wonderful OpenSource stuff, including this wonderful blogging software!

Okay, so I’ve loaded this post with all sorts of links, if you are so inclined to follow my path through the Blogosphere and try to figure out what I’m talking about.  If not, that’s okay, too!

My daughter is amazing! She is only 11 years old, but she can already sew, cook, crochet, and knit. And now, she can quilt, too! She recently decided that she wanted to make a quilt. So, she came to me and asked me if I had any fabric she could have to cut up. Well, I had plenty, left over from unrealized sewing projects over many years, and was glad that somebody wanted to do something with it. The next thing I knew, she had commandeered my sewing machine, and was stitching 6-inch squares of fabric together. She then climbed up to a forgotten corner of my closet where she had spied some batting, got it down and cut it to fit the pieces she had sewn together. Next thing I knew, she had produced a beautiful, bright quilt! Here are some pictures of her work.

With Wordpress constantly updating their software, many themes are becoming obsolete.  Sadly, my original theme is one of those dinosaurs!  So, after spending way too much time searching for a new theme, and even going as far as setting up a test site just to try out different themes and see if I liked the way they looked, I have found a theme I like.

And, like all new things on the Web, it’s “under construction”!   The pictures on the upper right hand side of my header will soon be replaced with photographs of my own choosing, but for now, please enjoy the ones that came with the theme.  Every time you re-load my blog, a new photo will display.  Yeah, I’m gonna have some fun with that!

I am not too crazy about the “Category Tabs” at the top, and will be working on figuring out how to change or possibly delete them. (Update:  I have already deleted them!) I am also considering adding a “Wall” and maybe a Poll or two.  I do hope that everybody likes it . . . I’ve threatened to change my theme for a long time now, and everybody I’ve mentioned it to has begged me not to, but sometimes you just gotta keep up with the times!  Please let me know if you find anything weird or glitchy, so I can try to fix it.  Thanks bunches!

**************************************************************************************************************

Okay, here are some very random thoughts that I have been chasing lately. I am in “rant mode”, so reader beware!

1.  Nancy Pelosi (and if you don’t know who she is, shame on you!) claims to be an “ardent, practicing Catholic”, yet she wants us to believe her when she says that the Catholic Church is not decisive regarding their stance on abortion? Pelosi Lies About Catholicism and Abortion Gimme a break!  The Catholic Church, from it’s earliest days (ca. 33 AD) has been adamantly opposed to abortion!!  This is a classic example of a politician trying to twist the truth to make her views seem acceptable.  Her own Archbishop was unable to turn a blind eye to this, after several other Archbishops made powerful public statements against her.  Too bad he didn’t confront her sooner.  Pelosi Agrees to Meet Archbishop

2.  I know it’s been a couple of weeks since the Republican National Convention, but this really bothers me.  What in the world has our society come to when mobs of people can abuse their right to peaceably assemble and attack people who simply disagree with with their beliefs???? Mass Arrests of Protestors at Republican National Convention Let me get this straight:  these are the same people who are so passionately against the war in Iraq, who are always going on about “tolerance”, and yet the minute they are faced with a group of people who simply disagree, they become an angry mob?????  What hypocrites!!!  And honestly, is it still safe for our children out on the streets, or in the public malls anymore?  What if they disagree with someone?  Will they be beaten to death by an angry mob of tolerant peacemongers???

Apparently the Liberals feel justified in violently lashing out at anyone who opposes them.  It would probably come as a huge shock to them that most Republicans oppose the war, as well.  I do.  But we are, generally speaking, able to see past the ends of our noses and cast our votes based on educated decisions, and realize that trying to negotiate peace with militant Muslims is a ridiculous exercise in futility. And we usually don’t find it necessary to physically assault those who disagree with us. Of course, we are talking about the same demographic of people who believe it’s perfectly okay to murder preborn children, so what, really, can we expect?

3.  For thousands of years, since the Fall in the Garden of Eden, there have been hurricanes on this planet.  Yet now, if there is a hurricane, gas stations think they can get away with hiking prices (read: GOUGING), even to the tune of $1 more per gallon?  Right. . . guess they’ll be explaining that one to the NC State Attorney General.  (And who wants to cross an AG named Roy Cooper???)  Gas Stations to be Subpeonaed in Gas Gouging Investigation

4.  And to round out my “Soapbox” today, I just want to get one last thing straight:  I am PROUD to be an American, a Christian, and a Conservative!  I am so sick and tired of trying not to offend anybody.  I do not blindly hold to any belief.  Everything I believe and stand for has come at some price.  I check my sources and don’t just believe something because I want to, or it sounds good, or it’s popular.

I remember years ago, my dad had forwarded an email poking fun at a liberal candidate (Gore, perhaps?) to one of his cousins, not realizing that his cousin was extremely liberal.  His cousin promptly emailed him back, rebuking Daddy for his email, and telling him that he proudly supported that candidate and to not send anymore such nonsense to him.  Well, Daddy thought about it for a minute, then sent one last email to his cousin.  It stated:  “Please forgive me.  I had no idea you were that stupid.  Love, Buddy.”  Needless to say, Daddy never heard from his cousin again.

Okay, I’m done for now.  Although I can feel some random ideas forming into at least a Category 3 Thought Storm regarding the endless foolishness of people who stay in the path of a hurricane and then feel resentful and neglected!  Stay tuned. . . .

Yesterday was Alex’s Sweet Sixteen.  He had a slumber party with all of his buddies last weekend, since his birthday landed in the middle of the week, and then we had a private family get-together last night to celebrate.  It took him forever to decide what he would like us to cook for him, but he finally decided on fried chicken (by Nana), homemade biscuits (by me,) mashed potatoes (by Faith), cream gravy (by Gaylon), and a Kentucky Butter Cake (by Lishi).  It was truly a group effort!  Kendall got out of helping because he didn’t get home from work until it was time to eat.

However, the food wasn’t really the best part.  The best part was waiting to see how long it would take him to notice that there was a new car parked in our driveway!  We all kept going out on the front porch, waiting to see if he’d come out to say hello and notice the car. . .but no.  He was busy on his computer, and completely oblivious to the world around him.  It was great!  After the car had sat there for several hours, he finally came out on the porch to ask me “When is Michael going to get here??!?”  Then he glanced at the car in the driveway.  Then he looked at me, and I said “I don’t know.”  He looked at the car again, then at me again.  “That’s not Michael’s car”, I stated.  He looked at the car yet again.  “Is it mine?” he asked, and I could see the light slowly start to dawn.  I handed him the key.

We all laughed.  Hard.  He didn’t care, just grabbed the key from me and ran out to claim his prize.  It is a black 2002 Honda Civic.  He loves it, but there is only one problem: Alex can’t drive a stick shift!  So the really fun part started this morning.

Alex and his New Car

I should have known he was up to something when he actually got out of bed early.  He came downstairs and ate, then headed outside.  Faith and I were doing school at the kitchen table. The dogs started barking like crazy, and Mom came in and said “What is that noise?”  Faith replied that she thought it was Alex.  And then it dawned on me:  he was in the driveway, practicing going forward and backward in his new car.  That terrible sound that had the dogs all in a frenzy was him popping the clutch and spraying gravel as he tried to figure out how to get his car into gear gracefully! He figured out almost immediately that it makes it go a lot more smoothly if you release the emergency brake first.

So, I ran outside to watch the show.  Yeah, I’m twisted, but hey!  That’s why we have kids, right?  For the entertainment value.  It’s just as fun and exciting to watch them try to figure out how to drive a stick as it is to watch them try to walk!  After about an hour, he took a break to work on his French homework, and I talked to him a bit and explained that sometimes you don’t have to press the clutch all the way down to the floorboard.  That was new and helpful information, and after he figured that out, he started having much more success with things.  By supper tonight he was very smoothly driving backward and forward up and down our driveway.

Now, you may be wondering why he is limiting himself to the driveway.  There are two reasons.  First, we don’t have a license plate on the car yet, and second, until he gets his license and insurance in about two weeks, he won’t be able to drive it at all.  But he hasn’t let that stop him.  He just has to go back and smooth out the deep ruts he created before he figured out how not to pop the clutch!