Because I'm Sure Everyone Thought I Quit Posting. . .

I really haven't quit.


I visit the site from time to time to see if any new posts have magically showed up due to the writing sprites, but. . . nooooo. They are apparently either hiding or on strike. Oh. On strike. I guess my writing sprites are card-carrying members of the Writers' Guild ! That must be it !


Anyhow, since they are on strike, I guess I'll break down and post for them. *sigh* Always gotta pick up the slack for those sprites. . .


Kitties ! Everyone loves kitties !


Kismet -- wearing what we now know will be only the first of five collars. She is now wearing collar #5, having lost 2, 3, & 4. (I took the first one off because I bought a way cuter collar, but that one was #2 and it was promptly lost in the great wilds of our neighborhood.)




S'prise -- [[ Okay, now for the minutiae explanation (for those of you who play WoW, on the Horde side, who rolled either troll or orc, AND who did the "Lazy Peon" quest, this is for you. . .)]]

This is what I see when I look at this picture of Scooterpoo. . . "Something need doing ?" and/or "Me not that kind of orc !"




Dogs

For those that knew and loved them. . . I will make a separate post soon. It's taken a while just because it's still difficult to process.


And other things that cross my mind randomly. . .


Patriots or Giants ? Honestly -- I don't care because it's an all-Northeast Superbowl. Now, if it were the Pats against Hillary Clinton, I think we might have a ball game ! The only point of interest that I have in the game AT ALL is the possibility that the Pats go 19-0 and knock off the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only undefeated team in history. Having said that, of course, they have already done that, as their de facto season has two extra games in it; the Dolphins ended up as 17-0, which the Pats have already surpassed.


I read that Britney Spears has been hospitalized for "observation" of some of her "issues". [sarcasm=on] Gee, really ? [/sarcasm] Haven't we all been subjected to the incessant "observation" of her "issues" via the paparazzi for the last several months ? And, honestly, show of hands, now -- who among us seriously believed that KFed would turn out to be the "responsible" party in that relationship ? I fear for those children. Hell, I also fear for the spawn of the other Spears child. Lynne ? Seriously ? Were you sleeping 23 hours a day ? Jeez, woman. WAKE UP.


And Dr. Phil ? This is straight to you, buddy. You have lost whatever iota of credibility you still MIGHT have retained when you went to "help" Britney and, instead, made it a story line. You are a disgrace to the therapeutic community. You have crossed every boundary of professionalism and have made a laughing stock of yourself and your so-called "self-help". Boo. Hiss. Please fully embrace your showman side so you can head off to the circus and leave the actual therapy to qualified individuals.


Heath Ledger -- I am sorry that he is not with us any more. I am sorry for his family and friends. I have to, however, reserve judgment due to the reports that several different prescriptions were found around him when he passed away. I am certainly not suggesting that he took his own life, but I am not above suggesting that a certain level of responsibility needs to be exercised, even if you are famous, to guard your health from all threats, both outside your circle and inside your own braincase.


Celebrities -- why is it that the majority of Americans would prefer that children grow up with two parents and you "famous people" can't manage to marry before you squirt out progeny ? Is it some Faustian contract that you sign when you agree to put your life on public display that you feel the need to reproduce without benefit of wedlock ? Shame on you. I'll say it. I don't care. Shame on you ! You have money to burn, nannies without number, assistants and handlers and stylists and whatever and you flaunt your irresponsibilities in multi-thousand dollar strollers. What is the MATTER with you ? Seriously, we should go back to the practice of shunning. . . =P

I'm calling out. . . lessee. . .Nicole Richie, Jamie Spears, Halle Berry, Matthew McConaghey's (sp?) gf, and LOTS more. Thanks for inspiring the trailer park trash and ghetto hos to whelp more litters. Wish you were required to pay a substantial portion of your earnings to support those who follow your lead.


(This portion of the post is not directed at those folks who manage to make it to the altar BEFORE producing offspring, btw. Kudos to Julia Roberts, Jennifer Garner, Courtney Cox, JLo, Christina Aguilera, etc. Thanks, ladies -- it makes it easier to know that there are still some folks that make decent role models (although Christina ? Chicklet -- please wear more than dental floss now that you are a mommy).)


Politics -- Hillary, Obama, McCain ! Oh, my ! This is shaping up to be one of the best bare-knuckle dustups in recent memory. It will be a barnburner up until the end, I think.


I have been reading a few of the blogs that my husband follows and, I have to say, I have some questions for the Republican leadership based on some of the points that have been raised in the blogs.


Here's what I would like answered:


1) Why do we have a separate mercenary force operating in Iraq (Blackwater) and why are we paying them untold vast sums of money when we can't manage to provide mental health treatment for the folks serving in the armed forces now ? I saw a blurb that stated that we currently have a higher level of suicides from returning vets than any time in history. Whut ?


1a) Why can't we just let the Iraqi people know that if the radicals among them will quit blowing up stuff that we (and the rest of the Iraqi people) are trying to build (roads, sewer systems, water tanks, etc), we will be glad to leave as soon as it's finished ?


2) Why is Exxon still showing the highest profits in history and gas still hovering around $3 a barrel, but we (as a country) still cannot manage to put folks from Katrina (2 years ago) in some type of affordable housing ? Why does it take a private organization (Habitat for Humanity) to show the government how to perform this ?


3) Why are CEOs still paid exorbitant salaries when Wall Street is taking a beating ? More importantly, why is Wall Street taking a beating ? Where were the regulators when "everyone" thought sub-prime mortgages were a great idea ? Whose pea-brained idea is it that the industry should offer "easy to afford" mortgages to those who are not the greatest credit risk to begin with ? I don't mean to say that the poor should be punished -- rather that the irresponsible and poor decision makers should not be rewarded for those traits. Now that a great deal of money has been squeezed out of a large section of the populace, it appears that it has been distilled into the pockets of the very rich and that the poor and middle-class will once again be left holding the bag in the form of bailouts and ever-shrinking pools of candidates from whom to borrow. What with BoA setting up to buy Countrywide and (is it JPMorgan ?) going to buy (Chase?), it just means that the monopoly continues to get closer to locked down.


It also means that there is a vast swath of real estate foreclosures that no one wants to claim responsibility for atm. This is ridiculous. The banks don't want the properties on their books, so they try and foist them off on the cities as "abandoned" so that the cities will be responsible for the maintenance. The cities don't want the responsibility of the maintenance cost, so they throw back to the banks. Meanwhile, the shelters are still full. Why not use the houses as temporary shelters for those folks who are one paycheck out of their previous home ? Claim them as safe houses for domestic violence victims. Set them up as starter houses for welfare recipients, rather than putting them in public housing projects. In short, USE THEM.


Okay -- now for fun stuff. . .


Love Project Runway. Ricky -- please quit your crying. It's annoying now. Christian -- you are talented, but honey, you're still little. Give it a few years to grow into that ego of yours because right now, honestly, you're about an 8 and your hat size is about a 24XX. SweetP -- show some fight ! I think most of your clothes have been intriguing and clever, but you're letting your insecurities get the best of you. Don't be a Wendy Pepper. Chris M -- I hope you win it all. I haven't liked all of your clothes, mind you, but I think you are a bright guy and you definitely have your own voice. (No pun intended) Jillian -- I love your clothes, but I would have already strangled you with some type of embroidery floss just because you whine so. Seriously. Knock it off. And, no, I don't care what kind of "stress" you are under. If you think the competition is tough, you have ZERO clue what is waiting for you in the fashion industry, no matter that you used to work at Ralph Lauren.


Can't wait for Top Chef - Chicago.


Gotta leave now to go grocery shopping ! YAY !


Thoughts ?