Sex and the City

I never became a fan until the show was already into re-runs. I could not even have told you any of the character names. Then something happened....... I watched an episode, obviously out of order & not knowing who anyone was, but loved it!! It was a hilarious episode where Samantha, the slightly older of the four ladies, is dating a younger man, as she is prone to do, and she discovers that she has some gray hair "down there". So, she dyes it herself and it turns out the shade of Ronald McDonalds hair! Having some familiarity with this area I nearly fell off my chair laughing. I could relate. I decided to watch some more of this show. Now, I am hooked.

A girl that I work with loaned me the entire series on DVD. Now, I am prepared for the movie. There is going to be about 15 of us total. We, a group of girls from work, have decided to go along with various mothers and sisters and friends. First we are all going out for dinner and a few drinks, then we are walking over to the theatre to all watch it together. My mom has never seen the show, but who cares! It is going to be a night of girl fun and frivolity! The movie will be its own story and those who know the history will get that extra added thrill.

I also happen to be a big Chris Noth fan from Law & Order long before he was "Big". So, along with the ending and closing of many story lines I am also looking forward to the camaraderie with all the girls and women of various ages that are going out Friday night. A few Cosmos, a burger and a bucket of popcorn later...who cares how good the movie actually is, it is all about bonding and spending time with the girls.

It's All in a Name

What Dharma Means

You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace. People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way!

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

What Kathy Means

You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life. You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip. People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person. You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

What Kathleen Means

You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life. You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip. People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out. Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia. Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Again, Mixter got me hooked in to this little quiz. Kathleen is a name that rarely gets used, but I thought that I would see what it said. I am almost a total combination of my screen persona, Dharma, and Kathy. At one point in my life I was actually going to legally change my name to Dharma since I like it so much, but decided that it would piss my mom off too much!!

Classic Rock

This morning, before school, Max had VH 1 Classic on the television. I was having coffee and reading blogs and then I heard music that stirred something in me. " I know that song", I said. I went in to look at the screen to see that he had VH1 Classics on and they were playing the Psychedelic Furs "Pretty in Pink". Wow, how I used to love that band. I came back in to the computer and then the next song, same thing, I knew the band this time, Thompson Twins and the song was "Doctor, Doctor". "Wow", I said,"This is awesome stuff from the 80's". Then I thought about what I had said and what was happening here.

The 80's music is now considered "classic rock". Wow. Hard to believe. When I think of classic rock I think of Freebird and Stairway to Heaven. The 80's were my hard clubbing, dance and party the night away days, or should I say DAZE!! The best part of the punk rock and New Wave scene where bands like Suzie and the Banshees, The Clash, Dead Kennedys were all the cool club rage. John Hughes was putting great music into all his movies. The Pretty in Pink soundtrack is fantastic 80's fare as is the Lost Boys soundtrack.

I guess to kids Max's age the 1980's would be considered a classic rock era. My god, it is 20+ years ago!! If you look around you will notice that all the plastic jewelry, 80's style, is coming back. Some days, when I am working at the coffee mega giant, I will tie my hair up with a black lacy scarf and wear big bangle earrings. My hairdresser came in and called me Madonna! I told him that I was single-handed trying to bring back the 80's!

If you look around in the stores you can see the jelly-type shoes are back in along with some more modern style flip-flops made out of the same material. It probably won't be too long before we see the leg warmers and Swatch watches back in vogue.

Everything old is new again and the next generation feels as if they just discovered it. Walk into a Claires, at the mall, it looks and feels like you just walked back into the 1980's. Except without Doc Brown and Marty!!

That Smarts!

All-Around Smart You are all-around smart. Essentially, that means that you are a good combination of your own knowledge and experience, along with having learned through instruction - and you are equally as good with theoretical things as you are with real-world, applied things. You have a well-rounded brain. 0% applied intelligence 20% natural intelligence

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Thanks for the fun quiz Mixter!

Democracy in America: The Monsters under the Bed & in the Closets

Bill Moyers has written a book about democracy in America and the excerpt that I have read is quite frightening...... and true. The things that he points out are things that many of us have either noticed or talked about, but are becoming more and more powerless to do anything about. Especially since our systems of electing the people, that we think will make the change, is not really doing anything for any of us.

"Now all bets are off. We have fallen under the spell of money, faction, and fear, and the great American experience in creating a different future together has been subjugated to individual cunning in the pursuit of wealth and power -and to the claims of empire, with its ravenous demands and stuporous distractions. A sense of political impotence pervades the country -- a mass resignation defined by Goodwyn as "believing the dogma of 'democracy' on a superficial public level but not believing it privately." We hold elections, knowing they are unlikely to bring the corporate state under popular control. There is considerable vigor at local levels, but it has not been translated into new vistas of social possibility or the political will to address our most intractable challenges. Hope no longer seems the operative dynamic of America, and without hope we lose the talent and drive to cooperate in the shaping of our destiny."

I have never seen an election year where more people are thinking of just "throwing in the towel". Too many to count are talking about not even voting. They ask,"why bother" or "why should I"? There seems to be such a pervasive feeling of malaise and giving up. The people that have these feelings seem to also be more of the middle class like myself. Others are students and regular working class folks. Most conversation has shifted away from politics, in the coffee shop circles, and gone on to gas and food prices. The feeling and obviousness of the separation of classes is evident.

"The earth we share as our common gift, to be passed on in good condition to our children's children, is being despoiled. Private wealth is growing as public needs increase apace. Our Constitution is perilously close to being consigned to the valley of the shadow of death, betrayed by a powerful cabal of secrecy-obsessed authoritarians. Terms like "liberty" and "individual freedom" invoked by generations of Americans who battled to widen the 1787 promise to "promote the general welfare" have been perverted to create a government primarily dedicated to the welfare of the state and the political class that runs it. Yes, Virginia, there is a class war and ordinary people are losing it."

One of the better things that Mr. Moyers points out is that the media , as if we did not already know this, is terribly screwed up! Yes, he points out, there are a few who actually take the risk and try to tell/write the truth, but they are few and far between. They are actually the pawns of those corporate giants that own them.

"I wish I could say that journalists in general are showing the same interest in uncovering the dangerous linkages thwarting this democracy. It is not for lack of honest and courageous individuals who would risk their careers to speak truth to power -- a modest risk compared to those of some journalists in authoritarian countries who have been jailed or murdered for the identical "crime." But our journalists are not in control of the instruments they play. As conglomerates swallow up newspapers, magazines, publishing houses, and networks, and profit rather than product becomes the focus of corporate effort, news organizations -- particularly in television -- are folded into entertainment divisions. The "news hole" in the print media shrinks to make room for advertisements, and stories needed by informed citizens working together are pulled in favor of the latest celebrity scandals because the media moguls have decided that uncovering the inner workings of public and private power is boring and will drive viewers and readers away to greener pastures of pabulum. Good reporters and editors confront walls of resistance in trying to place serious and informative reports over which they have long labored. Media owners who should be sounding the trumpets of alarm on the battlements of democracy instead blow popular ditties through tin horns, undercutting the basis for their existence and their First Amendment rights."

This book is definitely one that is going on my short list of new books that I will try and read this summer. I highly recommend that you check out the article, over at AlterNet, and see for yourself.

Shout Out to Dooce!

One of the blogs that I read is Dooce. The creator and writer on this web site is Heather B. Armstrong who was just on the Today show and has been an acclaimed blogger and winner of many awards associated with her blogging. She can now also boast a new book! "Things I Learned About my Dad in Therapy".

"Compiled by Heather B. Armstrong, award-winning publisher and über-mistress of the phenomenally popular dooce.com®, this hilarious and heartwarming celebration of "everything dad" features original stories from some of the country's most celebrated bloggers, including Alice Bradley (Finslippy) Doug French (Laid Off Dad), Maggie Mason (Mighty Girl), Matthew Baldwin (Defective Yeti), Sarah Brown (Que Sera Sera), and more.

From a new father's comparison of pregnancy to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, to a mother's story of bravely surviving a husband-son infatuation with Star Wars, to the mini triumphs and tragedies of toddlerhood, this book provides a unique, no-holds-barred glimpse into the quirks and candid moments of modern dads.

Whether we relish or fear growing up to be like our fathers…whether we've inherited his nose, sense of humor, or entire value system, our dads loom large in who we are and the choices we make. Things I Learned about my Dad in Therapy touches upon the many joys and discoveries of fatherhood, one essay at a time."

I have always enjoyed Heathers blogging and often the stories are irreverent and hilarious; like the time she tells about how her dog had his head up the chimney for days only to find out they had a huge raccoon living in there! Some of the stories about their little girl, I could skip because I am just not fond of stories about small children any more, but for the most part she is an excellent and funny writer and you should stop by her blog and check it out. Her stories about going to New York to appear on the Today Show are funny and often she includes photos that add to the enjoyment of the story.

Heather B. Armstrong is the award winning publisher of dooce® (dooce.com). She gained notoriety in 2002 as one of the first people to be fired because of a blog, and in 2005 dooce.com was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 50 Coolest Websites. Armstrong has been on Good Morning America, CNN, NPR, and ABC's World News Tonight as a featured commenter on both blogging and postpartum depression, as well as profiled in the New York Times Sunday Style section and the Washington Post Weekend Magazine. She was published in Real Simple's Family edition in August, 2007.

Armstrong lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband, daughter, and dog.

She also has a very cool dog, Chuck, that will allow them to pose him with some of the craziest things I have ever seen on a dogs head as well as clothing! He sits and poses so patiently, more than any dog I have ever seen. That dog has expressive eyes and a wonderful looking face.

Heather also coined the phrase "recovering Mormon" that I am often fond of using as she was raised in a Mormon home and therefore I can relate to her stories of dinnertime prayer etc.

Congrats Heather & Dooce on being a fun and award winning blog and on your newest literary efforts!!

U.S. Death Toll, Tough Love , Womens Rights , Oprah Overload & Beautiful Finland

This morning, as I sit here sipping my extra bold Italian roast coffee, I find that many news articles are catching my attention. Not to mention the beautiful photos that John has sent from his weekend get-away in Finland. I plan to just touch upon the basics of these stories and let you go to the links for further details. They are all stories that piss the hell out of me, so I would be here writing for hours if I went on about all of them. I have too much to do today to let that happen, so have at it!

I have never been a big Oprah fan. Just never got into the show and I do not buy any of her "brand". I used to reach with a woman that had to watch her show every day and would come to school each day recapping the show from the day before, as if I cared. When James Fry crashed and burned from his book debacle I loved it. Anyway, this writer is beginning to discuss how many folks may be tiring of Oprah as she continues to blanket the nation, and maybe the world, with her product.

Seems that Oklahoma continues to legislate the choices for a woman. They are now telling women that wish to get abortions that they MUST have an ultrasound before they can do as they wish.

"This new law inserts the government directly into the doctor-patient interaction and promotes the legislators’ personal values rather than the best interest of the patient. This sets a dangerous precedent that could be extended into other aspects of patient care, especially other controversial areas of medicine."

They are already required to get information, prior to the procedure, that informs them as to what they are doing etc. In my mind that is already pushing the envelop. Now they must undergo this procedure? The choice continues to be taken from women and put into the hands of legislators. This is getting scary.

The U.S. death toll, in Iraq, has hit a 7 month high. Some may compare these numbers to other wars etc., but why compare...aren't they all unnecessary, sad and useless losses? The shape of this "war" seems to be changing greatly to the fighting of insurgents rather than liberating people and helping them to establish democracy etc. All the reasons that it was stated that we went there in the first place.

As someone that has worked with troubled and "at risk" teens I have to say that the whole "boot camp" idea of punishment leaves me quite cold. We are talking about kids that have come from mostly violent homes. Where there is never ending yelling and screaming along with physical violence. Then you want to put them in boot camp style punishment settings where they are forced to endure more of the same yelling, screaming and the like. Granted the leaders may not be druggies or drunks, but I have seen first hand how these kids respond to more of the same tones etc. and it is not good. I am not saying that they do not need some type of program, but I do not think that these militarily styled settings may not be in the best interest of the child.

When you look at some of these "camps" or "wilderness camps" you have to look at the caliber of those they hire. Due to the death of some kids at the hands of the guards/instructors that are hired to watch over them. Also those instructed to teach them. There are always stories of those that slip through the cracks and end up working with these kids that do not even have the proper training or demeanor to be doing so.

Finally, we come to the Finland experience. Looks like John will be there till June, but he has had a wonderful weekend adventure and I have included a few photos for your viewing enjoyment. The owner of the company has this lovely little cabin in the woods on this lake. They went for a weekend. All the food was catered in and there was a smaller sauna building as well. They had much Finnish vodka and after several hours in the sauna did three trips to the lake for frozen dips. They walked out that dock and into the lake. I asked if it was refreshing and John said, "Not once! It was fricking freezing every time!" Said that his feet were blue by the time they were finished. The man does not have much body fat! Said that he slept great and the air was wonderful. It looks like a beautiful setting and it is a place that I could spend a great deal of time.

Coffee is cold, so I guess that is the signal that it is time to either refill the cup, or do something constructive. It is my day off. We'll see.