Giving In To Despair

Christmas, 2005.

Just a few days shy of the arrival of the rotund man in red with a bellylaugh and a sleigh crammed with gifts, the national mood is slipping into despair according to the President's speech on Sunday evening. His comment referred to the growing attitude that America's war in Iraq had brought more problems than resolutions and he urged reflection on the concept that positive changes are underway, that we are winning the war. But who said the attitude was "despair"?

It isn't easy to accept the responsibility for mistakes made, regardless of whether you are a president or a waiter. Yet the nation is seeing more and more information which questions how and why we have taken the course of action in the current war. And America loves to second guess, to wonder and to imagine if we are on the best path and if not, then where do we go and how do we get there.

Yet in all the complaints and protests here in this nation, I had not encountered the idea of "despair" mentioned by the president.

So I wonder, who feels despair?

"I don't expect you to support everything I do, but tonight I have a request: Do not give in to despair, and do not give up on this fight for freedom."

TV and Christmas Past

Put on those traveling shoes and go backwards in Time for a look at Christmas and Television the way it used to be. While I have never been part of the "it-was-better-years-ago" crowd, it is interesting to see how American culture has been so vividly and drastically changed with the arrival of half a billion TV channels to choose from compared to the handful of networks and independent channels that existed pre-1980s.

TV Party.com has a peek at what was, including the infamous Star Wars Holiday Special (yes, even then the evil secularists had used the word Holiday), plus a look at how the Rudolph special was made and those shows where old Hollywood crooners like Bing or Hope kept the family around the television. Check out the page here. I seem to remember it all changed the year Bing Crosby had David Bowie on his Christmas show.

They have loads of forgotten TV moments. You can rundown the schedule for a Saturday morning cartoon round-up in 1978 which included the Bay City Rollers cartoon, the sixth season of Fat Albert, and lots of superheroes and American Bandstand.

It all looks like ancient history today.

The Snake-Oil Standard

"Persuasive guessing has been at the core of leadership for so long—for all of human experience so far—that it is wholly unsurprising that most of the leaders of this planet, in spite of all the information that is suddenly ours, want the guessing to go on, because now it is their turn to guess and be listened to.

Some of the loudest, most proudly ignorant guessing in the world is going on in Washington today. Our leaders are sick of all the solid information that has been dumped on humanity by research and scholarship and investigative reporting.

They think that the whole country is sick of it, and they want standards, and it isn’t the gold standard. They want to put us back on the snake-oil standard."

That's from "A Man Without A Country" by Kurt Vonnegut Jr and featured at In These Times. The full excerpt is here.

Five Years After Bush v. Gore

It was Dec. 12, 2000 when the race for president went to George W. Bush instead of Al Gore. Sizing up the last five years is a current fad and ongoing debate.

"George Bush is talking again, and I don't have a clue what he's saying. It's not that he's mangling his syntax. That's par for the course. And while it's as amusing as it is disconcerting, I usually think I know what he's trying to say (though I do confess to being stumped by "more and more of our imports are coming from overseas").

Bush is talking about Iraq, which is always confusing for those of us who like our words and facts to match. He's saying he'll "settle for nothing less than total victory". And I'm wondering: what in the world is total victory? Does it mean large numbers of American troops will stay until Iraq is a fully functioning democracy with a vibrant economy and the political will to help spread freedom across the Middle East? That could take, like, 100 years. Or does it mean that we'll stay until we stand up enough Iraqi police officers and soldiers to claim with a straight face that they can handle their own security? That could mean substantial troop reductions in time to prevent total defeat in next year's mid-term elections. I just don't know."

That's one viewpoint among many, which you can read here.

It's All About The Coffee

I can recall my very first cup of coffee - and I can recall the most recent. Coffee stains more than the countertop and the cup.

Since this blog is, after all, about having a Cup of Joe, isn't it time I included some coffee links? Then read on, read on.

Sure, the French and Coca-Cola have their own unique offering, called Coca-Cola Blak. Its part of the new marketing idea of "fusion". Drinks are now something that gets "fused" in the 21st Century.

Coffee has been a part of the development of our modern civilization, and now you can find web logs dedicated to the drink itself, its history, and the various forms coffee can take. I can't imagine a World War Two movie without it or a cowboy campfire. Starbuck's even put a store in the tourist land of Pigeon Forge.

The Links?

Here is one. And another. And another. Or if you are searhing for something in depth, here is a whole list of coffee links. Tennessee of course has an entire Coffee County.

I like the old joke, "I like my coffee like I like my women - dark and murky." Then there's my favorite line from "Twin Peaks" - "Black as coffee on a moonless night." Or from "Ren and Stimpy" - "Mmmmm, my coffee, God Bless you Stimpy, I don't know why I'm all the time mean to you."

Maybe a T-shirt with the caffeine molecule is what you're after. Think Geek has more.

Ahhhhh, coffee.

UPDATE: As mentioned by Julie, there are more coffee issues to consider. One is the campaign to provide Fair Trade Coffee. And a link for Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee. Thanks, Julie!

County Ranks Tops In Health Risks From Pollution

For about 10 years I have been learning how badly polluted the air, water and land in Hamblen County and East Tennessee have become after decades of constant industrialization. The result of the release of deadly toxic pollution have put Hamblen County among the most polluted counties in the nation, not just in the state.

For example:

"In 2002, this county ranked among the dirtiest/worst 10% of all counties in the U.S. in terms of total environmental releases."

"Based on EPA's most current data, this county ranked among the dirtiest/worst 20% of all counties in the US in terms of an average individual's added cancer risk from hazardous air pollutants."


This information is compiled here, where you can submit your own area code and find out details about how much toxic pollution is released, what illnesses are likely to occur and which industrial sites release the most as well as what toxic elements are released.

The chemicals tracked pose serious risks for Developmental Health and Reproductive Health for every resident. In fact, the county is ranked Number One in toxic air releases that could damage Developmental Health, with almost 18 million pounds of toxic releases in the air alone. The same is true when it comes to toxic releases that could damage Reproductive Health.

Cardiovascular or blood toxicants also leave the county ranked as the worst in the state.

The information is staggering and while it might take you some time to review the information here, it may shed much light on the poor health conditions that exist, the potential damage you risk by breathing the air or drinking the water and which industrial entities are to blame.

Camera Obscura: Lions, Zombies, Sam and Katie

Gather round, sit, have a Christmas cookie, and of course I'll talk to you about movies - even some television too, yes, and your comments are welcome - when I am done!! Hang on, we're time traveling quickly, from the 1800s to the 1950s to the world within a child's mind to the war in Iraq. (Oh is this gonna be good.)

First, back in the 1950s, theologist C.S Lewis began publishing a series of books, beginning with "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe," a parable/fantasy about Christianity and the battle between Good and Evil. Now with the success of "Lord of The Rings," (of course Lewis and Tolkien were friends) and the Harry Potter series, we get the CGI-heavy "Chronicles of Narnia". Personally, of Lewis' writings, I always liked his science fiction trilogy better (it was really powerful and scary and thougtful) and the satiric "Screwtape Letters" wherein Satan advises an upwardly-mobile demon on how best to tempt a human and steal his soul.

An interesting blog, Hollywood Jesus, following the making of the movie is here, produced by the same makers of the movies "Holes" and "Because of Winn-Dixie," Walden Media and their plans to improve movies in America. Will the Lion, Aslan, entertain audiences on the big screen? Time will tell.

And Time moves to the Present now and almost the Future in a vivid indictment of all things related to the War in Iraq in the horror epsiode of Showtime's Masters of Horror with the recent "Homecoming" installment. Here, undead soldiers from the un-named but certainly Iraq War, return to America intent on voting out the politicians who sent them to war. This one-hour event is so up-to-the-minute fresh - including an Ann Coulter clone who is as pricky-evil as can be - I was stunned Fox News didn't break in the movie to debunk it.

Director Joe Dante makes zombies rise up to chase George Bush from office and as one writer for Slate notes:

"What's shocking about Dante's Homecoming is that he dispenses with the usual horror subtext completely. Pundits go on TV to defend the living dead's right to vote until they find out they're not voting Republican. Zombies rise from the grave, wrapped in the American flag. There's even a Cindy Sheehan stand-in with a zombie son. Nothing is too recent or too raw."

The entire Slate article is here.

Now let's jump back in the Time Machine and land in the Old West. I love Westerns, no doubt and I am a bona fide Sam Peckinpah fan too and was delighted to read this week about the January 2006 release of a restored version of "Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid." As usual, critics of the day hated the movie, but time itself has returned to show favor to Peckinpah's story of dying cowboys and shattered American heroes. This new two-disc set has much new commentary and runs 115 minutes, and not for every taste, it still presents Peckinpah's vision intact. James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson and Bob Dylan (in a nearly wordless role) star in the film. And another star is Dylan's soundtrack - still one of my favorites ever.

Some other notable DVDs released or on their way can be found here.

Ah, yes, one more item, somewhere outstide of Time: What if Katie Couric were to anchor the CBS Evening News??? What would that be like?

"Another car bomb went off in downtown Baghdad today, marking a further escalation in the violence that has plagued Iraq over the past two and a half years. There is still no official word on how survivors of the bombing feel about the upcoming Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes baby."


The rest of Katie's newscast is here.

A Griswold Greeting

I am always glad when Christmas arrives - usually.

This year has not been my best as I struggle with losing my job and finding another. Fortunately I have been more than a little blessed by many good friends, who have helped me keep my gaze focused upwards and not down. For them, I wish the best not only on Christmas, but for every day of the year.

As for my former employer - this video is jes' for you. (Thanks, Jed, for the link to YouTube.)

A Twisted Case of Abuse, Life and Death

There is an astonishing legal case unfolding in Massachusetts, involving a nearly dead 11-year-old girl, and whether or not she should be removed from life-support, and the pleas of the suspect in the beating of the child, her step-father, who wants legal custody of her. His lawyer says if the girl dies, his clent then faces a murder charge.

The grim and grisly details of what happened to young Haileigh Poutre at the hands of her step-father, Jason Strickland and her adoptive mother, Holli, who was her aunt, indicate the child was beaten with a baseball bat and thrown down the stairs more than once. According to the news report, her aunt was killed shortly after Strickland and Holli were released on bail, but that incident is also still being investigated:

"Within two weeks of the couple pleading innocent to the beating, Holli Strickland was dead, fatally shot in her grandmother’s West Springfield apartment. The body of her 71-year-old grandmother, Constance Young, was beside her. The possible double suicide or murder-suicide is still under investigation.

In a legal brief filed before Tuesday’s hearing, Strickland, 31, asks to be declared Haleigh’s de facto parent. His lawyer, John Egan, insists his client is not motivated by the chance he could be charged with murder if the girl dies."

Holli, who had a degree in child care, and Strickland, both attacked the child, according to one witness:

"But Alicia Weiss, a baby sitter for Haleigh, testified at a hearing in Strickland’s criminal case that she saw Holli Strickland kick the girl down the stairs repeatedly and hit her with a baseball bat. She said she also saw Jason Strickland hit the girl twice with an open hand and once with a plastic stick.

Although he has not been accused of dealing any particular blows to the child, court documents accuse Strickland of watching as his wife abused Haleigh."

The state's Supreme Court heard the case Tuesday, though Justices indicated Strickland had no real standing in a custody claim.

The state's Department of Social Services now has legal custody of the comatose child, and doctors are saying she will never come out of her vegetative state.

Within the maze of abuse and abandonment and legal rights, the child remains in the center spotlight. What will the courts do? Will more state officials argue for the girl's life-support to be suspended? And is there any punishment which might suit this string of brutal crimes?

A War On Christmas?

UPDATE 2 - From the Press Briefing at the White House:

"Q: Scott, you very graciously answered seven questions from two reporters, and I have a mere three-part question. First, at the National Christmas Tree lighting last week the President said, "Each year we gather here to celebrate the season of hope and joy, and to remember the story of one humble life that lifted the sights of humanity. Santa, thanks for coming." And the question: Will the President apologize to Christians offended by his referring to Jesus as Santa?

MR. McCLELLAN: The President meant exactly what he said, Les."

UPDATE: First, what the heck is a MegaChurch (outside of a Japanese anime series) and second, why would they close on Christmas Sunday?
Now on to the rest of today's post .....




A comment last week on the Very Unscientific Survey noted the current effort to remove the word Christmas from our language. So I did some checking - seems the White House is in on it.

Even using the word Christmas and Winter together are, apparently, wrong.

Maybe the real issue is this ever-evolving (or if you prefer, Intelligently Designed) use of the word War. There's the Culture War, the Cola War, the non-War against non-insurgents in Iraq and the Axis of Evil, the Diet War, the Red-State, Blue-State War, the obesity War, the anti-War, the pro-War .... I'm dizzy, lemme sit down for a moment.

Whew. (And thanks to all those, by the way, who took time to take that survey. I promise to ask fewer questions next time.)

Perhaps the American mind is jes' gettin' a little paranoid. Any viewpoint contrary to your own is reason enough to invoke War. I'm more than a little tired of it. It's like a bunch of whining children in the playroom - "Are too!!" "Am not!!" "Uh-huh!" Nuh-uh!" "Waaaaaaaa ......."

Somebody changes these diapers, give them a cookie and some coloring books and lets see if the rest of us can reclaim some normalcy.

Worst of the Worst

He's been called the "Worst of the Worst," and he even has a "little list" he's keeping on the folks he says are out to get him. And he says, that Christmas itself is under attack.

Bill O'Reilly may be the Fox News equivalent of Howard Stern -- people love him or hate him and there is no middle ground.

Both of these "media masters" are proof that controversy, no matter how ridiculous, sells.

Camera Obscura - I Am King Kong

With a new version of the classic "King Kong" on the way from Peter Jackson, a new documentary about the man who made the original Kong is a treasure trove of a seldom-celebrated innovator. Turner Classic Movies aired the documentary last week, "I Am King Kong: The Exploits Of Merian C. Cooper," and it is part of a new DVD set. (And not to forget, there's an East Tennessee connection to King Kong lore, but more on that later.)

Merian C. Cooper did far more than create a lasting iconic image of a Beast stuck atop a city skyscraper - he was an old-fashioned explorer and adventurer, a bomber pilot who even years after Kong became a Brigadier General, who helped turn Hollywood into a Technicolor marvel and that's barely the story. During World War 2, he and director John Ford met and returned to Hollywood to make movies that created another enduring American Icon - the cowboy. The two paired up for some of Ford's best work, from "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon" and "Fort Apache" to "The Quiet Man" and one of the best Westerns ever made, "The Searchers."

Why does Kong endure? It is a brilliant bit of insight into the collision of the old and the new, and modeler Willis O'Brien also made an excellent and articulate creature - the nuances of character are vivid and funny and almost human. There are also insights into Obsessions and Mythmaking in an America on its way to becoming a World power. The movie leaps from Hollywood to the Prehistoric and then back to the modern city and never misses a beat. The Great Beast, as was said in the film, was killed by beauty -- but to me it was the Ape's encounter with Greed which led to his demise. (And yes, I know there was a re-make in the 70s but it has all the power of a broken light switch.)

Here are some excerpts from TCM's profile of Cooper:

Before he fell under the spell of the movies, Cooper served as a bomber pilot in WWI. While flying in a mission over German lines, his plane caught fire. Though he succeeded in landing it and saving the life of his wounded gunner, he was taken prisoner by the Germans. Thinking him dead, the military sent an official death notice to his family. After the war, Cooper joined a group of American volunteer fliers committed to defending Poland against Russian aggression. He once again became a war prisoner, this time of the Russians. After being sentenced to death, he managed to escape, walking 400 miles across hostile terrain. After refusing honors from a grateful Poland, Cooper embarked on a life as an adventurer. He joined forces with cameraman Ernest B. Schoedsack and went deep into Persia to record the migration across river and mountain of the Bakhtiari tribe. Never before witnessed by westerners, this event became the landmark 1925 documentary Grass and led to a contract with Paramount. For their next project, 1927's Chang, Cooper and Schoedsack lived for a year in the jungle of Siam, filming the story of a family's struggle to survive amongst the marauding animal life. The way they photographed animals in the wild broke new ground, especially when it came to the climax, an astonishing sequence in which a massive herd of elephants stampede through a native village. Their third film, 1929's The Four Feathers, interpolated their trademark location shooting, this time in Africa, with the telling of a classic adventure yarn.
---
With Europe at war once again, Cooper was convinced it was only a matter of time before the United States joined the conflict. In June 1941, six months before Pearl Harbor, he once again put his film career on hold and left his family to return to active duty. When war was declared with Japan, Cooper was posted to the legendary Flying Tigers in China, where he became chief of staff to General Claire Chennault. Despite his age, Cooper was determined to see action from a cockpit and not just a desk. This fighting spirit may have impressed those who served around him, but it caused problems with those above, who consistently blocked his promotion. It would not be until several years after the war's end that he would be promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, but by then he was back in Hollywood. Cooper had joined forces with John Ford before the war, and with the war now over, they could revive their production company, Argosy. Though Ford could be the most difficult of people, he had enormous respect for Cooper.
---
As a fitting cap to his career, Cooper produced and co-directed the film that would launch the widescreen revolution: This Is Cinerama. It was Cooper, the daredevil adventurer, who startled audiences with the thrilling rollercoaster ride that opened the show, and it was Cooper, the patriotic aviator, who stirred their hearts at the climax, as the camera soared in a plane from coast to coast

Cooper also had to place himself in the Kong movie as he pilots the plane that fired the fatal shot and left the Beast to tumble to the ground.

Sequels followed, and as mentioned, a massive remake was released in the 70s, and here is where East TN joins in on the Ape Legend.

"King Kong Lives," the sequel to the 70s film, was shot in Fall Creek Falls State Park - 2009 Village Camp Road, Pikeville, Tennessee, and in Pigeon Forge. And it is really, really awful. I mean really. Although, I should also mention the very odd and funny "King Kong vs. Godzilla" (1962), which is like watching a bad wrestling match, the kind you might find in some odd and forgotten roadside attraction late one some summer's night, when the workers put on weird outfits and play games -- only Japan could have made this one.

Kong's story is also a part of "Gone With the Wind". When the city of Atlanta burns, filmmakers burned tons of old sets around the movie lot, including that massive wooden fence from Skull Island which was supposed to keep Kong at bay -- but as has often been noted, why did they build a huge wall and then put a door in it big enough for Kong to walk thru?

A Very Un-Scientific Survey

I want to know more about you, dear readers, and what burning (or at least piping-hot) issues tumble through your thoughts. Back in Ye Olde Radio Days, I used to conduct what I called a Very Un-Scientific Survey and today this event lands smack dab in the middle of your Cup of Joe.
Answer as many or as few as you wish - if you want to explain your answer go ahead and do so or just add your comment and go about your business.

Remember - This is Very Un-Scientific.

Questions For Readers:

1. On a scale of One to Ten, with One being lowest and Ten being highest, what score would you give the changes and reform in TennCare or Medicare?

2. Which issue would you say should be the top priority for state government funding - Education or Health Care or another issue?

3. Again on a scale of One to Ten, what score would you give the success of President Bush in leading the country?

4. Name at least three politicians, state or national, under ethics or criminal investigation. Is this normal, abnormal or unheard of?

5. Where do you get most of your news/information - Television, Internet, Radio, Newspapers, Friends, Blogs, etc etc.

6. What news story or recent information you've read and or heard in the last month made you angry?

7. What story made you happy?

8. What has been the best movie you've seen this year?

9. What has been the best music you've heard this year?

10. If you were fortunate enough to have a Thanksgiving feast with friends or family, what food made you happiest to eat?

Okay, that's it. That wasn't too bad, was it? I may try this type of survey again or I may not, depending on what you, dear readers, tell me.

Not So Much A Secret in the Secret City

The proof of the power of words continues to swirl in the "Secret City" over the infamous high school editorial. According to the Knox News-Sentinel, (reg. required) the offending (and accurate) information about birth control has been replaced with an Editorial about a play being performed at the school - Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest". Now that's just too funny!

The censorship and outrage and the publicity have likely made the student's comments become much more widely read and discussed than anyone may have imagined possible.

Say Uncle has some good points on the issue - as well as mentioning that the issue will be debated on WBIR-TV this weekend.

Shocking News! Teens Talk About Sex!!!

Over in the "Secret City", aka Oak Ridge, the state and national media has been alerted!! Teenagers talk about sex! And birth control!! And how NOT to get pregnant and NOT get diseases. Outraged school officials immediately seized copies of the school's paper (The Fig Leaf? no, wait, The Oak Leaf) and promptly ended any further student discussion about sex.

Riiiiiiight. Sure they did.

You can read the "horrifying" (and factual) editorial by a student on birth control and how to get it (thank God children never see these items in a store or anything) via this page from Whites Creek Journal.

More information is at Tennessee Guerilla Women, who notes that here in America, teen pregnancy rates have dropped to 34% -- which according to a 2004 study is the highest rate among developed countries. (Thank God we're developed!)

Juliepatchouli also blogs her views on the topic, as have others in Tennessee and beyond. In the "Secret City", there's fear the ACLU may appear on the horizon like Satan on horseback, probing the mystery of the Censored Student News.

Of course, I also heard the obligatory parent complaint that they did NOT want schools to be involved with communicating information about sex to THEIR kid. I hate to rain on that illusion, but teens and pre-teens (and even adults) learn about everything from each other all the time. Teens and adults alike just won't shut up - kids talk about their parents' divorces, and ask questions and generally talk about everything.

Thank God most teens can come home to watch the TV in their room while surfing the internet and talking on cell phones. You know, safe stuff like that.

The State Tax Turmoil

With projections of as many as 4,500 new pieces of legislation headed for the next session of the state's upcoming legislative session, one or two issues are once again getting some discussion including one debate sure to return with renewed energy -- the so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR).

Other states as well are trying to create ways to limit the rapid growth of government spending while coping with growing demand for more increases to handle the ballooning costs of health care and education alone. However, the state has so many court orders on just how to fund these agencies, the legislature is operating under pressures from beyond the ballot box.

Truth is, the state already has language in the law to limit spending growth based on population and revenue growth, however the courts have made decrees about teacher pay and school funding and health care that step outside those boundaries.

And we are hardly alone in this maze of taxation -- Colorado, which has been the poster-boy for TABOR saw voters agree to changes in TABOR for a five year period, essentially limiting any potential state tax refunds in order to insure the state can provide a fully funded budget. The argument that TABOR is in fine shape in Colorado is made here by the Colorado State Treasurer.

Another view of whether or not TABOR is beneficial to states and taxpayers can be found here.

Other states are also in conflict over what to do and how to do it.

If you ask most residents of Tennessee, you'll find there are two key issues on their minds - jobs with better pay and consistent availability, and the nightmare of health care costs. Who should set the priorities of spending and at what levels of funding they receive are being stacked and prepared for the next election-promise cycle, but will any real changes occur?

No Sunshine On Tennessee Secrets

How often do your elected city, county or school board officials meet in secret to make decisions?

Keeping track is nearly impossible. Many meetings are held when the public is least able to attend, and many times officials meet in small groups to make decisions prior to any public debate or awareness.

The vast majority of Tennesseans have been kept in the dark for so long, they have no concept of how much their rights are violated. The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government's most recent report shows secrecy is increasing.

One story on that report is here.

Holidaze

Stuffed with food like the turkey we devoured on Thanksgiving Day in Georgia, I fell into a deep and dreamful sleep, chasing cranberry relish visions and scampering slabs pumpkin pie, which sought to flee from my fork all to no avail.

The dream swirls with images, packed bumper to bumper like the traffic down I-40 and I-75, families and really-not-so-much families in cars and SUVs crammed to the ceiling with gifts and tupperwared remnants of sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes and casseroles and hot-buttered-but-now-cold dinner rolls. A bounty of feasting and a parade of the leftovers traveling north and south and east and west across America as the holiday blurs into the shopping days where retailers dream of profits of Christmas future.

I make a stop in South Knox to decompress from families and the battle of the endless traffic, sipping wine and laughing with my new best friend until the wee hours of the morning. I have so much to be thankful for and I hope I say it enough. She makes me smile and we listen to Johnny Cash and Van Morrison and the sometimes wee barks of a tiny dog who finds the oddest things to gnaw upon in the early dawn hours.

Then back on the road to Home, stopping to get necessities at a nearby MegaWhopperRetailWarehouseStore where men and women wearing Christmas sweaters and Grinch T-shirts shove shopping carts thru a maze DVDs and trainsets and specially boxed-sets of shampoos and bath-oils and techno-gadgets, steering their carts through the aisles like Captains on a boundless sea, searching for the discounts which will soon find their way into boxes wrapped in shiny paper, the shoppers like neo-hunter/gatherers tracking the spoils of discount sales.

Home now, and in this dream of the Holi-daze, I look for a nap as the dream has been exhausting in itself. But I know it is only the beginning of a month of carving paths between the shopper/hunters who track elusive bargains armed with lists and pencils and I know again this year, I will be focusing instead on gifts I can make myself, collections of words and music and perhaps candles made to give flickering lights as December nights turns slowly moment-by-moment into the Year to Come.

The bloggers have hung their posts with care, wondering if the Technarati Saint Nick will lead a Google-Search-Sleigh down the chimneys and curl into their mailboxes and e-links.

But yes, Home now, both in the dream and awake - and I feel the stirrings of feasts and fellowship ahead, count my blessings and drift into another nap.

If home is where the heart is, I have found I have homes to numerous to count, and I try to express my gratitiude and send my best thoughts to all. Soon so many houses and neighborhoods will twinkle with lights and giant blow-up snow-globes gathered on lawns like totems to happiness and hope.

And I hope your first steps into the world of gifts and wishes will bring the Joys you seek for yourself and for others.

(oh and look for some posts next week about Faith Hill who hugged my brother-in-law Fred on her TV special )

A Trailer Is Worth 1,000 Words

It's the fall movie season -- which movie will rise to the top? A feel-good hit of the year? More Harry Potter Magic? Johnny Cash? Thanks to a heads-up from The Poor Man's Weekly, I found this teaser-trailer about a movie called "Dubya." (It's a QuickTime and funnier/scarier than you may want to admit.)

Check out the movie here.

Pay Raises Not A Part of Trimming Fed Budget

I'm sure you've seen this news already, but I have to offer some thoughts on it. Some years back Congress came up with a way to get yearly raises by NOT voting for them. They get these raises automatically unless they vote to not receive them. Wonder what the anti-worker crowd would say if union and non-union workers could get such a provision in their work agreements? And this year's non-vote increase occurs as Congress works to decided what U.S. programs to cut money away from.

And I was most happy to see Congress reconsidering the plan to make key elements to the so-called "Patriot Act" go on and on, with some calling for a seven year extension. But voters have been very loud about ending some of these provisions by year's end.

"I didn't come to Washington, D.C., to expand the police powers of the federal government," said Representative Dana Rohrabacher, Republican of California. "To make these temporary expansions of police power permanent as our way of life, changing our way of life in America, altering the balance of liberty and police powers, is outrageous."

Since most lawmakers are taking off for the holidays, this gives you a chance to make some of those hockey-puck shaped sweet potatoes with marshmellows on the top (Yuck!) and take them over to their homes (unless they are all at vacation hideaways) and say "Here's something for the holidays and by the way, I don't want that Act extended!")

Which also leads the burning question I ponder each Thanksgiving -- What is the difference between a "sweet potato" and a "yam?" Its these kind of things that keep me awake at night.

UPDATE: The wise and witty Julie helped ease my concerns about the debate over yams and sweet taters -- discover the facts for yourself here.