Mindless Chatter

Hi! I’m here! How are you? I don’t have a pic for this mish mash post but I do have a pic from the Best Play Ever. Do you know it?



I went to the CRUSH meeting last night after yoga and had a really good time. I ran into a woman I used to work with years ago. I never really spoke to her much then, she was all about following rules and I was all about being lazy.

Lazy is all you get from me for min. wage. Plus my boss was a jerk.

Anyway, turns out she’s good people. I should have made more of an effort to befriend her then. Maybe it’s a sign I should chat with the weird girl I work with now.

Nahh.

The Crush meeting, I was saying, was fun. You should go to one. It’s in the Bungalow, which is just about the neatest little room I have ever seen in Holyoke and while I only actually knew 4 people there, everyone else was super nice. The speakers were nifty too, especially the slides that I didn’t really see because some people are really into themselves and forget the little people, literally, whose view they are blocking.
-ahem- just saying.

I did say Yoga! I recently joined Vega Yoga in Open Square and you should do that too. It’s more then ‘just a yoga studio’ it is a place to sort of.. reconnect with yourself. I don’t know about you, but by the end of my day I am lucky to know where my shoes are let alone my inner quiet.

I have to write a paper this weekend. I am either going to write a short story (Maybe about a girl who is scatterbrained?) or write a more serious review of The Golden Compass (the book, not the crappy film).

Tonight I am going to dance like a fool with Rachel, who looks infinitely cooler then I do, dancing like a fool.

Saturday is Birthday Parties and Basketball, during all of which I will be mentally writing that paper so I can type it up in an hour around midnight.

Sunday is Bubblemania at Holyoke Heritage State park, 2 pm. We have been to that before and it’s a fun little show.

Thanks Peter, for letting me use your phone. I was too embarrassed to have lost my phone in my own purse to even be envious of your model.

Oh! And before I forget, this will either make you laugh or gag.

.. this is why you’re fat.

Back!

We spent a week in Florida with my Grandparents. I miss it already! Click on the pics for full view.

Sharing

This blog…

http://www.notesfromthetrenches.com/

Is easily one of my favorites. It is not about Holyoke. I have no idea where the blogger lives but I am sure it is not Holyoke. She’s not especially green and her pics are often full of plastic items.

But I love this blog.

She takes fantastic photos. Mostly of her children, sometimes of bathroom mirrors, pies or pretty scenery. Once she posted about peeing in a jug and carrying it around and I laughed for ages after wards. I never comment at her blog or even read others comments and her bog has none of my interests in it but still.. You should look, even if just to admire her photography skills.

Twofer Tuesday, plus 3.

Does anyone else think Miss Mass looks like a starving refugee? Can someone please give her a cheese burger?!

Anyway..

1. What the hell is with snow days and delays and people in New England freaking out about the weather? The last snow storm I recall being so bad that you couldn’t drive in it was in the 1990’s and I am a pretty timid driver!

I get the safety thing, I really do. Busses have no seat belts; kids have to walk to the bus stop. But.. Didn’t we all do it as kids? I not only walked in the snow but I have to take a Public Bus when I was 9! Both ways. (I sound like my grandmother.) We are raising a generation of fearful people. While I do not want to put my kids in any danger.. I do not want them to be afraid of the world. If you live in the northeast then wet and cold and icy weather IS your world.

If the buses are delayed why must the kids who are driven and/or walk have to be delayed? Can’t the delay be optional? Like.. Ok all the buses will be two hours late but for those of you who have to work to feed your kids can still drop them off at the normal time so that you do not have to drive 40 minutes to go to work, bringing your children with you and then turn around an hour and half later and drive your kids 40 minutes back to school, then drive 40 minutes back to work effectively wasting your entire morning and having to cancel 2 meetings and leave a co worker in the lurch.

Yea, I did. Thanks.

And now you know tomorrow will be a snow day so my kids will be coming to work with me for the day AGAIN. I am so lucky I can do that, seriously, so very lucky. My kids will behave and all but you know.. That’s really the kind of thing that I do not want to abuse.

Side note: One of the traveling guys just walked in here and asked where I was yesterday. Apparently he stopped by to see me while I was making that trip back to the school. It just gets better and better.

If there is no school Wednesday there will be no Zumba!

2. Holyoke. I love you Holyoke. I found a new apartment in Holyoke that’s big and nice and in a good area and the landlord is already a friend of ours. There are kids there that go to school with my kids too. Those of you have I talked to the last few years know of the housing hell we have gone though, from living in downtown to living in a foreclosure. It’s been one big disappointment after another. Keep your fingers crossed for me! It is so hard to find a decent apartment in Holyoke. People either want absurd rents (1250 a month for a one bedroom in the highlands? Really?) or they are back downtown. I am so glad we don’t have to look outside Holyoke.

Bonus! It looks like our trip to Florida to see my grandparents is still on, yay!

p.s I am still putting off buying that phone, I want to see if I wait long enough I will get over my phone lust or it will get cheaper!

P.P.S. Why do I have to play a dollar to go to my kids CYO games? I already paid enough in freaking registration fees and I buy the cruddy food. What does my dollar go to? I had to pay it at all the schools.. I don’t mind so much at Guadalupe.. but Holy Name really doesn’t need my Holyoke bucks as much as say.. Holyoke does.

For an Eternity

I have been obsessing over this new phone…The Samsung Eternity. It has a 3.2 mega pixel camera. I really don’t know what that means exactly but I know it’s GOOD. I played with it in the store, the pics are incredible. Yes this is what’s important to me in a phone. That it works, takes pics, and has a reminder feature and stores numbers with pictures.

Anyway if I add a line its 9.99 a month for 550 minutes shared (way more then enough, I don’t use the hone much) and my kids can have my pink phone. For when they are away from me, they can’t take it to school or anything.

The cost of the phone is about 200 in store then I get a 50 dollar rebate in the mail. I checked three AT&T stores and this is the best deal I have found so far.

I don’t need this phone, my pink phone works fine, and it just takes crappy pics and has no key board so texting is a pain. The Eternity has a QWERTY keyboard. It’s a touch screen; you can use the touch screen with gloves on. I don’t have to sign up for a huge ass data package (Like with the iphone.) And yes I know it’s an iphone copy.. I just don’t care. I want it.

I am going to buy it on Friday.

Consumerism is alive and well. -Sigh- But I did my research.. I want this phone! It has 3g! I don’t know what that is but I want it. Look!

Also called the SGH-A867, the black-and-chrome Eternity has a 3.2-inch display with haptics vibrating feedback, Samsung's TouchWiz interface, and an accelerometer. Inside you'll find support for AT&T Mobile TV, GPS, a 3-megapixel camera, messaging and e-mail, Bluetooth, a microSD card slot, AT&T's Video Share, a full HTML browser, 3G connectivity, a speakerphone, and organizer options. The Eternity is $149.99 with a two-year contract.

Does the SD slot mean I can take pics and then use the SD card to print them out?

key specifications
• Camera Resolution : 3.0 Megapixel
• Video recording : Video recording
• Music Player : MP3 Player
• Mobile TV : AT&T Mobile TV

QWERTY keyboard
The Eternity™ has a unique onscreen QWERTY keyboard you can access in landscape or portrait mode (or even switch between the two). In either mode, the Eternity™ lets you type as fast as you talk.
3.0 mega pixel camera
With a full 3.0 megapixels, the SAMSUNG Eternity™ will shoot beautiful pictures every time. There’s also a digital zoom, brightness control and camcorder that shoots videos of up to one hour long.

Video review!

The good: The Samsung Eternity has an attractive design with a intuitive touch-screen interface. It offers a solid assortment of multimedia features and good call quality. It also has impressive battery life.
The bad: The Samsung Eternity's virtual keyboard isn't available when entering message recipients. It lacks a camera flash, Wi-Fi and voice dialing and the 3G connectivity could be stronger.
The bottom line: The Samsung Eternity succeeds as a multimedia device, but without Wi-Fi and full e-mail support, it stops well short of being a business-friendly device.
Specifications: Band / mode: WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM 850/900/1800/1900 ; Talk time: Up to 300 min ; Combined with: With digital camera

Pictures taken with the Eternity..
I tried to post them but they are huge.

http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/samsung/samsung_eternity_s00.jpg

http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/samsung/samsung_eternity_s01.jpg

http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/samsung/samsung_eternity_s02.jpg

http://www.infosyncworld.net/resources/products/samsung/samsung_eternity_s04.jpg


And a message board



See, Alex? At least I am a smart consumer.. ist.

Christmas on Masslive

“Omg! I saw someone today buy king crab legs with food stamps and I am angry because I pay 25 grand in taxes a year and have to eat tuna out of a can.”

Several people chime in about how everyone on welfare is scum and should be shot, even the little welfare babies’ cause they don’t deserve to live. (So far it hasn’t turned into a race thing, but the day is early!) I read all of this quietly and sigh. By the way.. 68 bucks in crab legs? I’m not even sure you’re telling the truth. In fact I just called the S&S on Northampton st and Alaskan King Crab legs are 16.99 a pound so they got 4 pounds of mostly shell.. That’s not exactly a feast, you know?

This one made me snicker…

13712.6. whats wrong with the picture

is that you must make more than anyone in holyoke and you are eating tuna. how many kids do you pay child support on, 9?

Then someone makes the obligatory post (it was not me this time) about how it’s not a big deal and immediately they are called names and assumed to be on welfare.

You have to be poor to have compassion for your fellow man?

Now you know the original poster who is so upset about the food stamp purchase is a devout Catholic or Christian.. So let me just remind them that Jesus was a welfare baby who was born in a dirty freaking barn because his unemployed parents were poor run aways. They would have qualified for food stamps and when the three wise men showed up.. I bet they would have bought them crab legs if they could have.

I know I get on this a lot but I have been on welfare, I have used food stamps. I have seen you give me a dirty look as I swiped that god awful blue card. When I was making nine bucks an hour and the holidays rolled around.. everyone got food gifts from us.. Because I could use my food stamps to buy chocolates or exotic ingredients.

What I think is being forgotten by those so upset is that today is Christmas Eve. Let them eat cake! Or crab. Because I want to be happy today I am going to assume that the shopper has kids and maybe Christmas crab is a tradition, maybe this is a tough year and they already scaled back gifts, cable, activities and the guy just doesn’t want to see the look on his kids faces when they serve spam instead of crab. Who the hell knows.. and who the hell cares?

There are jerks out there abusing the system, I know. But do we have to collectively punish them all for the screw ups of a few? And before anyone goes there.. let me remind you that in Massachusetts we have the Family Cap law, you cannot be on welfare and have a baby and get more money. You get NOTHING for any baby you have after you sign up for assistance. Your family is capped.

Merry Christmas to all the scrooges out there and to all my fellow Holyoke’s who try to make every day the best it can be in our sad little city.

I am buying some crab tonight I think. With cash.

Being Poor

I came across this today and it really struck me. I have lived more then half of these things, my children have too. I think most people have at least experienced something on this list. Especially in Holyoke. Have you?

Being poor is knowing exactly how much everything costs.

Being poor is getting angry at your kids for asking for all the crap they see on TV.

Being poor is having to keep buying $800 cars because they’re what you can afford, and then having the cars break down on you, because there’s not an $800 car in America that’s worth a damn.

Being poor is hoping the toothache goes away.

Being poor is knowing your kid goes to friends’ houses but never has friends over to yours.

Being poor is going to the restroom before you get in the school lunch line so your friends will be ahead of you and won’t hear you say “I get free lunch” when you get to the cashier.

Being poor is living next to the freeway.

Being poor is coming back to the car with your children in the back seat, clutching that box of Raisin Bran you just bought and trying to think of a way to make the kids understand that the box has to last.

Being poor is wondering if your well-off sibling is lying when he says he doesn’t mind when you ask for help.

Being poor is off-brand toys.

Being poor is a heater in only one room of the house.

Being poor is knowing you can’t leave $5 on the coffee table when your friends are around.

Being poor is hoping your kids don’t have a growth spurt.

Being poor is stealing meat from the store, frying it up before your mom gets home and then telling her she doesn’t have make dinner tonight because you’re not hungry anyway.

Being poor is Goodwill underwear.

Being poor is not enough space for everyone who lives with you.

Being poor is feeling the glued soles tear off your supermarket shoes when you run around the playground.

Being poor is your kid’s school being the one with the 15-year-old textbooks and no air conditioning.

Being poor is thinking $8 an hour is a really good deal.

Being poor is relying on people who don’t give a damn about you.

Being poor is an overnight shift under florescent lights.

Being poor is finding the letter your mom wrote to your dad, begging him for the child support.

Being poor is a bathtub you have to empty into the toilet.

Being poor is stopping the car to take a lamp from a stranger’s trash.

Being poor is making lunch for your kid when a cockroach skitters over the bread, and you looking over to see if your kid saw.

Being poor is believing a GED actually makes a goddamned difference.

Being poor is people angry at you just for walking around in the mall.

Being poor is not taking the job because you can’t find someone you trust to watch your kids.

Being poor is the police busting into the apartment right next to yours.

Being poor is not talking to that girl because she’ll probably just laugh at your clothes.

Being poor is hoping you’ll be invited for dinner.

Being poor is a sidewalk with lots of brown glass on it.

Being poor is people thinking they know something about you by the way you talk.

Being poor is needing that 35-cent raise.

Being poor is your kid’s teacher assuming you don’t have any books in your home.

Being poor is six dollars short on the utility bill and no way to close the gap.

Being poor is crying when you drop the mac and cheese on the floor.

Being poor is knowing you work as hard as anyone, anywhere.

Being poor is people surprised to discover you’re not actually stupid.

Being poor is people surprised to discover you’re not actually lazy.

Being poor is a six-hour wait in an emergency room with a sick child asleep on your lap.

Being poor is never buying anything someone else hasn’t bought first.

Being poor is picking the 10 cent ramen instead of the 12 cent ramen because that’s two extra packages for every dollar.

Being poor is having to live with choices you didn’t know you made when you were 14 years old.

Being poor is getting tired of people wanting you to be grateful.

Being poor is knowing you’re being judged.

Being poor is a box of crayons and a $1 coloring book from a community center Santa.

Being poor is checking the coin return slot of every soda machine you go by.

Being poor is deciding that it’s all right to base a relationship on shelter.

Being poor is knowing you really shouldn’t spend that buck on a Lotto ticket.

Being poor is hoping the register lady will spot you the dime.

Being poor is feeling helpless when your child makes the same mistakes you did, and won’t listen to you beg them against doing so.

Being poor is a cough that doesn’t go away.

Being poor is making sure you don’t spill on the couch, just in case you have to give it back before the lease is up.

Being poor is a $200 paycheck advance from a company that takes $250 when the paycheck comes in.

Being poor is four years of night classes for an Associates of Art degree.

Being poor is a lumpy futon bed.

Being poor is knowing where the shelter is.

Being poor is people who have never been poor wondering why you choose to be so.

Being poor is knowing how hard it is to stop being poor.

Being poor is seeing how few options you have.

Being poor is running in place.

Being poor is people wondering why you didn’t leave.

I'd love to call you sometime

Why do men ask for a womans number and then not call? Seriously. I admit it, it's bothering me. And what you said.. Was that a line? Because it freaking worked, I can't stop wondering what in the hell you were talking about. I swear to god I was 13 the last time I saw you. So what kind of first are you even talking about? If you had called, I would have asked. I hope this isn't like when I was 13 and it took you like 2 months to call and say Happy Birthday.
Meh.

Buh Bye Bratz!

I am bound to piss off someone’s mother today but can I tell you how pleased I am that MGA has been told to stop making Bratz dolls?

No more Bratz Dolls will be sold after 2008!

Personally I don’t give a damn about Mattell, Barbie, Carter Bryant (who sounds like a sleaze) or MGA. What I do care about is your daughter growing up to be a hootchie and dating my sons. And yea I really do think these dolls encourage very hootchie like girls.
I even have examples!

That is a dress. It is a whole outfit. That doll is completely dressed about to go out and be a really well behaved good girl with good grades and a bright future. As a hooker. The purple lipstick really completes the look.

Baby Bratz… BABY Bratz. The toddler has make up on and it dressed like a 22 year old about to get her drink on. If she were 22 that would be just fine, but she’s 2. And wearing combat boots and a mini skirt. Because 2 year olds want to be sexy too. Love the eyeliner.
-cry- The shoes. If those shoes were in my size they would have six inch heels. They are the length of the dolls hands.. my hand is six inches from palm to middle fingertip. My feet (Yes I just measured) Are only 8 inches long! These dolls are marketed to your 7 year old. Why can’t she still be wearing keds and patent leather? Doll 1 form the left is not so bad to be honest. Sadly she has obviously been hit in the face with a baseball bat at her last frat party sp that her lips are permantly swollen but she is decently dressed. Doll 2 is apparently trying to make her gynecologist’s job easier, who needs a paper gown when you’re already flashing your cooter at the world? It just goes on from there.. too much make up, too little clothing, too extreme styles for children dolls. It is not the clothes and make up itself though. They are styles and colors I might wear and therein lays the problem. I am a grown woman, little girls do not want to dress like me (Unless they are incredibly precocious little dears!) but they do want to be like their dolls.

Suddenly Barbie seems like nun. I played with Barbie, My little Pony and something called Star Faries.

I had a blue plastic castle.

When I was 8 my father drove down here form New York and bought me this, then go drunk, yelled at my mom and drove away. A few weeks later my star Fairy castle disappeared. I was smart enough to not ask about it.
Disclaimer.. I am aware that responsible parenting can make toys such as Hootchie Mama Dolls acceptable but how many irresponsible parents have you come across in your time? Exactly.
Sidenote.. can you still even buy Keds tennis? Remember Jelly shoes? I grew Up in Jarvis Heights, back them there was a brook running though it and Scott’s tower only smelled like pee a few times a year. Chamura pool was a quarter to get into but they let us poor kids in for free anyway. I think childhood in Holyoke is another days post.
What was your favorite toy growing up?

Better late then never!

Things I am grateful for.

Oranges in December.
Kids that scrape the ice off my windshield without being asked.
Cake, in a jar!
My avocado plant is 12 inches high.
I have the luxury of throwing out leftovers sometimes
A decent job in this economy
The man at Nicks Nest who said I was a good mom.
Next years desk calendars came early.
Everyone coming to help at the BookFair
Holyoke’s Bloggers
The nice rep at Comcast who didn’t hang up when I told him the rate hike was fucking lame.
Spellcheck.
Netflix.
Glitter in a glass tube
Chunky heels on boots
Brown paper wrap and jute twine
My ninja like bow making skillz.
LOLCATS. (Shut up, there funny)
Red cell phones
Camping at the beach, I am so ready already.
Space heaters
Lentil soup and goldfish crackers
Coffee
My 5 and a half readers!
And one of the biggest things I am grateful for.. College. I want to be a writer, a photographer, a teacher, a nutritionist, a horticulturist, a chef and raise goats. How lucky am I that I live in such a place and such a time that I can want all those things and someone will actually say that I can do it all. There are people in places so unlike what we have that it would shock most of us pampered spoiled brats. Even those one welfare are affluent as compared to most farmer laborers in Africa.

I realize I left out health, family, love and all that cheesy crap but I figure enough people said that boring crap to cover me so I wanted to list the little things, the things that make every day a little brighter. Like having a good pen. You know what I mean? Driving down Riverdale and hitting all green lights. Getting something nice in the mail. Hand lotion that smells like the holidays. Bread. Post it notes! Chocolate donuts (Which I can’t eat, I just like to look at them and sigh wistfully) Rollover minutes. Lazy Sundays. Pizza with spinach and kalmata olives. The Asian art display at George Walter Vincent Smith. Physics. And Alex actually knowing what a Charter School is.

Oh and let’s not forget.. I am grateful that 20 bucks this morning filled my tank. I would have high fived the attendant but bullet proof glass hurts my hands.

Tag, your it, what are you grateful for?

Buy Nothing?

Buy Nothing day, formally known as Black Friday. I will buy nothing today, not so much as an internet cookie. I will not be shoved, sworn at, stressed out or freaked out today. Though I admit it is easy to do when you have to work all day.

I never did Black Friday, even before I realized what a wasteful event it is. My kids get very little for Christmas. They get enough, more then enough really, but not a whole lot. I do not delude myself that they are perfectly happy about this. Sure they would love a never ending shopping spree, so wouldn't I. But I have tried hard for 12 years to instill in my children a love of all things intangible.

Christmas at our house is a holiday to be together and to love. It is not an excuse to go broke and buy junk. It seems silly to me to hear so many people crying about how hard it will be this year to provide a 'good' Christmas with the financial melt down. (Which really did not affect me and my credit and debt free lifestyle. Why will it be hard? Does the latest techno gadget really make Christmas 'happen' for you?

My recipe for a 'good' Christmas..

Snow
Twinkling white lights
Hot chocolate
Slippers
Corny music that only sounds pretty Christmas Day
Family

Stir well.

What makes your Christmas good?

Atlantis

Thanks Rachel for this…

Atlantis is a landscape created by Gayle Chong Kwan out of semi-opaque plastic food packaging that the artist collected from London dwellers. The project was inspired by the lost city of Atlantis and it is no coincidence that many of these food containers are often to be found at the bottom of many bodies of water, forming a new sort of city created from waste. Climate change, urban planning and communal living are all themes evoked by this fascinating depiction of the Atlantis we are creating.

Artist: Gayle Chong Kwan
+ arts-co.com

I love those pics, the eerie lighting is perfect. It reminds me that plastic itself is pretty eerie.. It’s never going away and we better figure out what to do with it all.

And Mike.. the guilt! Thanks for pointing out my plastic coffee lid last night. When I got home I dug out all those great travel mugs I have and should be using.. and will be for Tuesday nights “I need to be awake enough to drive home after this meeting’ coffee.

It’s been crazy here in the midst of our Plastic Revolution and we have been slacking off like 17 year old but it’s less then an ounce pot head. The kids have end of term exams all this week which at least means no homework, scout meetings, basketball and an awards ceremony for Soccer tonight. This weekend we are goingt to see a play, go to a scout event and then a Falcons game. Sunday is officially homework day for me, it has to be.

Who needs sleep anyway?

Random Tuesday

My boss wears way too much cologne.

Mattresses are entirely overpriced.

I hate having to go to the post office when it’s cold out.

It’s freaking cold out.

I think I look kind of great today.

I think loosing all this weight has inflated my ego.

I have to write a poem about a kiwi.

All my bills are paid and on time this month.

We made pumpkin bread this weekend and it’s already all gone.

I wish Tuesday Scouts was at 6 and not 7.

I wish Alexander was on this coast and not that coast.

I need to get keys made today.

Does the White House use CFLs?

Do you?

Friday Funny

Butt!

Part of my day job deals with traffic tickets. Yesterday an interesting one passed my desk.. Littering. A 1500 dollar ticket for flicking a cigarette butt onto the ground at a truck stop. The guy who got the ticket is livid and spent a good 10 minutes shouting at me because I expect him to pay it and pay it promptly. If not, he will be out of a job.

When he calmed down he apologized, he really is normally a good guy. He asked what I thought about the ticket and I had to be honest.. I think it’s great. I think it’s about damn time we started enforcing litter laws. Cigarette buts are trash, they are poison, they smell bad and why should I or you, our children, our pets and our wildlife have to deal with someone elses dirty stinking habit?

It is estimated that several trillion cigarette butts are littered worldwide every year. That's billions of cigarettes flicked, one at a time, on our sidewalks, beaches, nature trails, gardens, and other public places every single day. In fact, cigarettes are the most littered item in America and the world. Cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate tow, NOT COTTON, and they can take decades to degrade. Not only does cigarette litter ruin even the most picturesque setting, but the toxic residue in cigarette filters is damaging to the environment, and littered butts cause numerous fires every year, some of them fatal.

This has been an on going problem in Holyoke and everywhere. Next time you see someone flick a butt.. walk over and say.. “Oh look, you dropped something” And point it out. Just.. you know.. try not to get shot.

White Privilege

I am white. My friend Sean says I am so white I am like the bleached white flour used in making wonder bread before it’s even mixed with all the water and chemicals. I think that means I am super dorky white. Sean is a big black man from Texas who wants to buy my children Pimp cups (I’m not really sure what those even are). Little does he know I plan to stealthily teach his baby daughter all about Greenpeace and peta! Ha! Win!

Ok maybe not Peta.. I’m not that crazy.

Anyway that conversation got me to thinking about this article I once read..

This is your nation on White Privilege

Go read it, it’s quite interesting.. I will give you a few snippets here.. Warning.. this is politically charged and NOT all are my personal views, I just find it interesting.

White privilege is when you can develop a pain-killer addiction, having obtained your drug of choice illegally like Cindy McCain, go on to beat that addiction, and everyone praises you for being so strong, while being a black guy who smoked pot a few times in college and never became an addict means people will wonder if perhaps you still get high, and even ask whether or not you may have sold drugs at some point.

White privilege is being able to say that you hate "gooks" and "will always hate them," and yet, you aren't a racist because, ya know, you were a POW, so you're entitled to your hatred, while being black and noting that black anger about racism is understandable, given the history of your country, makes you a dangerous bigot.

White privilege is being able to dump your first wife after she's disfigured in a car crash so you can take up with a multi-millionaire beauty queen (who you then go on to call the c-word in public) and still be thought of as a man of strong family values, while if you're black and married for nearly 20 years to the same woman, your family is viewed as un-American and your gestures of affection for each other are called "terrorist fist bumps."

White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.

White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto is “Alaska first,” and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she’s being disrespectful.

Just something to think about this weekend.

Are you sure?

This flier was handed out on Suffrage Day, April 24, 1915.
Notice that there are only 11 reasons listed. Also, the last line of text reads,
"Give this to a friend and ask him to vote for it."


Massachusetts 2008 Ballot Questions
Ballot Question 1: A Proposed Law to Eliminate the State Income Tax

Question one.. I am 90 percent sure I am voting No. It comes down to simple math and common sense. Income tax accounts for 45 percent, on average, of our state budget and that money has to come from somewhere. Losing the State Income tax will not get rid of blight or welfare or pork barrel programs. If we don’t pay it on what we earn we will pay it at the store, at city hall, excise tax, property tax, higher registry fees. I find it much more reasonable to pay tax on what I earn.. If I make 500 a week and you make 1000 a week it makes no sense for us to both pay say.. 300 bucks to renew our drivers licenses. It makes more sense for us to both pay a percentage of what we earn.

Ballot Question 2: An Act Establishing a Sensible State Marijuana Policy

Last year I was approached to sign the petition to get this question on the ballot.. and I refused to sign. I come from a family of heavy duty drug addicts and I was once a heavy pot smoker myself. Those of you who know my oldest son and how smart he is .. would you ever guess I spent the early months of that pregnancy high as a kite? I’m still thanking god for his health every day. The day I found out I was pregnant I never did another drug. What I am saying is that I know first hand what drugs are and what they do.. Pot is not harmless.. it’s NOT like a beer or cigarettes. My instinct is to vote no.. no no no.
On the other hand I would vote to make pot entirely legal and taxable. If it were legal and taxable it would become like alcohol and could be more controlled and dealt with by the public. We can teach responsible use like we do for drinking. Right now all we can teach is ‘No, Pot is bad! Stay Away!” Which is right.. but if we make a little bit ok.. it just seems to me like it makes us hypocrites.
“Drugs are bad!.. but you can have a tiny bit.”
Seriously? Who can say that to their kids?
“Stabbing people in the face is bad! … but you can stab them just a little.”
Ok so I am exaggerating but you get my point, no?
I can’t make up my mind.

Ballot Question 3: An Initiative for an Act to Protect Greyhounds
I didn’t even know about this question. Excuse me while I go look it up.

This proposed law would prohibit any dog racing or racing meeting in Massachusetts where any form of betting or wagering on the speed or ability of dogs occurs. The State Racing Commission would be prohibited from accepting or approving any application or request for racing dates for dog racing. Any person violating the proposed law could be required to pay a civil penalty of not less than $20,000 to the Commission. The penalty would be used for the Commission’s administrative purposes, subject to appropriation by the state Legislature. All existing parts of the chapter of the state’s General Laws concerning dog and horse racing meetings would be interpreted as if they did not refer to dogs.
My grandfather adores greyhound racing and as long as dogs are not being abused I’m not really sure why this is a problem. People race and enjoy it.. Why is it bad for dogs? And why are we so much more concerned, as a society, for animals then we are for people? What about homeless starving children in our own towns? What about abused babies?
Greyhounds? Really? Let ‘em race. I’m more concerned with the decline of the climate and toxins in our food to be too worried over a dog race.

Economical Romance!

If I ever hit my head really hard and get married again do you think anyone would object to this being our wedding song?



Lyrics

Parody of T.I.'s smash hit "Whatever You Like" By Wierd Al

Hey girl,
You know our economy's in the toilet
But I’m still going to treat you right

I said you can have whatever you like (if you like)
I said you can have whatever you like (if you like) yeah, yeah

Tater tots, Cold Duck on ice
And we can clip coupons all night
And baby you can have whatever you like (if you like)
I said you can have whatever you like (if you like) yeah, yeah

Take you out for dinner, anywhere that you please
Like Burger King or Mickey Ds
And baby you can have whatever you like (if you like)
I said you can even have the large fries (large fries) yeah, yeah

Baby, you should know I am really quite a sweet guy
When I buy you bathroom tissue I always get the two-ply
Want it, you can get it, my dear
I got my Costco membership card right here, yeah

You like Top Ramen, need Top Ramen
Got a cupboard full of 'em, I’ll keep 'em coming
You want it, I got it, go get it, just heat it
Dump the flavor packet on it and eat it

Pork and beans and Minute Rice
And we can play Cribbage all night
And baby you can have whatever you like (if you like)
I said you can have whatever you like (if you like) yeah, yeah

I can take you to the laundromat downtown
And watch all the clothes go round and round
And baby we can go wherever you like (if you like)
I said we can go wherever you like (if you like) yeah, yeah

Hottest shorty I know, if you had some lipo
You could be second-runner-up Miss Ohio
Seven dollar bills rolled
Up inside my plastic billfold
Buy you a bagel even if it isn’t day old
And you never ever gotta wear your sister’s old clothes
As long as I’m still assistant manager at Kinko’s
Cut your hair with scissors and a soup bowl
You ain’t got to pay me, that’s the way that I roll

My chick can have want she want
At Wal-mart she can pick out anything she want
I know girl you ain’t never had a man like that
Who doesn’t make you buy generic brand like that, Yeah

You like my Hyundai, see my Hyundai
I can take you to see your cousin Phil next Sunday
But that’s kind of far and I’m not made of cash
Do you think you could chip in for gas?
Mac and Cheese would be all right
But let’s send out for pizza tonight
And you can order any toppings you like (if you like)
I said you can even have the last slice (the last slice) yeah, yeah

Ran myself a cable from my neighbor next do'
Now I can get free HBO
And baby you can watch whatever you like (if you like)
I said you can watch whatever you like (if you like) yeah

And you can always ride the city bus
Got a stack of tokens just for us
Yo, my wallet’s fat and full of ones
It’s all about the Washingtons, that’s right

You want White Castle, need White Castle
Long as you got me it won’t be no hassle
You want it, we’ll get it, just don’t be a hater
If I grab a bunch of napkins for later

Thrift store jeans on sale half-price
The underwear at Goodwill is nice
And baby you can have whatever you like (if you like)
I said you can have whatever you like (if you like) yeah, yeah

Baby, I can give you anything you please
Even share my government cheese
And baby you can have as much as you like (if you like)
I said you can have as much as you like (if you like) yeah, yeah

Dear Connecticut Ren Faire

Dear Connecticut Ren Faire,

This was the second year I took my kids to the CTRF, We actually came twice but I wanted to tell you about Sunday the 19th, closing day from the point of view of my family.

We got there around 1 and thankfully missed the long lines for tickets.It was cold and windy but we were undeterred (Well I was deterred but kids are never cold.) We bought our tickets and missed the college student discount you offered last year but it is still well worth the money. This year I not only brought my children but I brought the 6 year old daughter of a friend who had no idea what this was. She does not speak in front of people she doesn’t know and in public will mostly whisper. She is painfully shy. Unlike my own children who are loud and adorably obnoxious. No, really.

Pirates at the gate had her eyes so wide I thought they might pop out of her pretty little head. We took our Mandrake Mystery paper and realized we should have brought a pencil, but I applauded that you did not give out those little wasteful golf pencils that end up on the ground and in the trash or sticking out of a previously happy little eyeball. That is not an idea for a Zoltan trick either.

Trick or Treating and a mystery to solve! You could not have put together two better things in our humble opinions. The three of them Belly danced for clues and hopped on one foot and had to cross their eyes and tell scary stories, it was really great fun for me to watch.

Most amazing of all was that one booth demanded a song.. from my sweet little princess who had barely uttered 'Trick or treat' for the last hour. (Yes she really is a Princess, I bought her pretty hair bows to make it official) There she stood, like a deer in the headlights

"Do you know I'm a Little Teapot, Little Mistress?"

She looked sideways at me as if to say Excuse me but there is a weirdo man speaking to me and you need to make him stop … I began to interject that she does not speak..

"Yes.." She said, clearly. I shut my mouth and the boys stopped being hyper (Thank the Play Free Devil Sticks guy for the Pixie Stix, really)

There she was .. Miss I am too shy to speak in front of anyone I have not known since birth.. Singing, loudly! And people clapped! I swear, Erin, I did NOT tear up. Much. The kids got their clue, solved the mystery and got knighted. How cool is that? They got KNIGHTED. I cannot tell you how awesome that is to kids.

We watched the Duelists, my boys adore that show (They don't get most of the jokes though thank goodness) and Rosalitas puppets. We ate a pickle and a bread bowl and watched the most dramatic wedding ever! When my little Princess for the day saw that .. How can I express into words the joy on her face? This time I teared up, for real. She clapped without me prompting her and yelled and cheered when the evil Morganna was beaten. She watched Zoltan from start to finish, even when I covered my eyes and turned away. I was worried it might too much for this delicate little flower.. how naive am I? She LOVED it. She picked out some fairy stones and danced to the pirate music.. a little anyway. She was enthralled with the .. Tree Spirit? And still has not figured out how that can be a person in there so tall. I've decided not to explain stilts to her. Why ruin the magic?

My kids, who have a seen it all before kind of pre teen 'tude let themselves be kids for the day. They Trick or Treated and raced around for clues, they battled a man with foam swords but spent so much time laughing at themselves they both got thier butts whipped. Thank you for helping me remind them that being a little dorky is not so bad.

I may sound dramatic myself over all this but this little girl recently lost her mother, two sisters and may soon be losing her grandmother. She doesn't have a whole lot to smile about these days. Shes only 6 years old. Thank you for helping me expand her world a little and see her smile agian.

Next year, I think, we might actually dress up. We want too.. we just haven't gotten up the nerve yet! I guess I have taken up a lot of space here to say, simply.. Well Done.

Always,
ReduceHM

P.S. What are the chances of getting some recyling bins for next year? Or maybe a whole recycling ‘green’ committee? It will help save money and the planet!

The Mall Killed holyoke

Everyone is talking lately about bringing big business to Holyoke. I get the thought behind this, tax revenue, lower crime, safer streets, more jobs but I like to think I am looking at a bigger more long term picture.

A Wal Mart in Holyoke will cause pollution, trash, litter, poverty, traffic, strain our hospital and any number of other small trickle down effects. BMaverick is snorting so hard right now he just inhaled his moustache.

I do understand what Wal Mart would bring as well.. more jobs, competitive grocery prices, convenience. I just happen to think it’s worth it, to me, to drive to Big y, BJ’s, Price Rite and even Trader Joes if it means I feel better about my purchases.

Every dollar you, as a person, as a voter, as an American spend.. is a vote. Every single dollar is a vote. Think about that. If you buy flip flops made in china by pre teens who can only pee once a day and eat nothing but rice while working with toxic chemicals that cause burns and rashes.. you are essentially saying to that 12 year old girl that you don’t give a flying fuck abut how she was ripped from her family, half starved, abused and hit.. you just want cheap flip flops you didn’t have to drive more then 4 miles for. And maybe that’s ok for you. I can really understand that. Not everyone has an overdeveloped sense of empathy. Not everyone should.

But it matters to me. If I want cheap flip flops, I will by them second hand, because then my buck, or by then only 25 cents, goes to support something I believe in like the Salvation Army or some Joe the Plumbers tag sale or Big brothers and Big Sisters.

I do not really know if it is possible but wouldn’t it be nice to see downtown go the way NoHo has? Small independant shops, people WANTING to come there. I like spending an afternoon lazily poking around Main St in Northampton. We grab lunch at Bueno Y Sano or Sushi at Soo-ra, Ice Cream at Harrell’s and pick up some groceries at Cornucopia I can’t get at S&S or Big Y.

I take my kids to downtown Holyoke now and then.. I do not want them growing up in fear of their own city. We use our heads.. lock up the car, don’t leave things in plain site etc. I try to shop there.. but it’s just cruddy that nothing is really.. there. We use Chips to fix our car, even though he has no weekend hours and once got hair cuts down there but never will again because no one spoke English and they really butchered my oldest sons’ hair. He wore a hat every day for a month.

Lowes alone will not “Save Holyoke” So tell me.. what will?