Must See Movie

 

Excellent film about a topic that needs to be discussed. Watch this with your older kids and talk about it with them.

Just For Grins

Frog of Ridiculously Small Proportions

It's like a sauna here in Houston even at 6 am. But it's not the humidity I fear when I open my door in the morning. It's a teeny weeny Frog of Ridiculously Small Proportions that lives in the passion flower vine by the back door. He's only about the size of your pinky fingernail, bright green and begs to be posted on cuteoverload.com. Not long ago, I sleepily made my way there to let Sam out, when a gooey, cold, wet thing flung itself at me, landed on my arm and hurled itself off onto the door. Even in semi-wakefulness, I was able to scream, fling my arms in the air and spin myself about as if performing an African fertility dance. This frenzy went on for about 2-3 minutes after which I was able to get the light on only to see Sam looking at me like, "Really?" If dogs could roll their eyes, he would have at that moment. Turns out this smallish amphibian takes refuge from the broiling heat in the freshly watered potted plants. I did find the terrified little froglet hiding underneath the blinds on the glass door hanging on for dear life with his sticky little fingers.  It took both me and Tristan, and the aid of a mayo jar and a sheet of paper, to remove him and return him safely to the passion flower plant.  Now that I know he lives there I try to water generously every morning and evening. I always peer under the leaves to find Frog of Ridiculously Small Proportions staring at me with that "yeah, so?" look they seem to have.  Yes, he's cute, but I'm still afraid to open the door in the morning.

What Secret Asian Girl is Reading Now

The book industry seems to be capitalizing on the reading public's softer side lately: its need to eat, pray and love and its need to cuddle with a soft, loyal friend who won't give us pink slips or lose its value and leave us with nothing. Except for a almost a year following the loss of a 13 year old dear and loyal friend, I have always owned a dog. That's why I'm drawn to the plethora of books being published about humankind's best friend. I can't get through the Marley and Me's, for obvious reasons, but I search for the stories that connect my deep feelings for dogs that only fellow dog lovers can understand. A Dog's Purpose, by W. Bruce Cameron is, finally, the book I've been looking for. There's no exhaustive sadness when the dog dies, because this dog dies many times. Let me explain. The dog in this book is born a mutt, living in a culvert with his mom and siblings, living off what little life has to offer him with no human assistance. It is a short and expendable life, but not one without meaning. This existence provides him with the relative experience he needs to learn to be grateful for his next life, as a family dog, Bailey. Bailey's happy time with his boy, Ethan, is the kind of life all dogs dream of: a full belly, a warm home, and a boy who loves him more than anything. Together, they grow older, fight evil, and learn to lean on someone who will always be there for you...as long as they can. Like all dogs, Bailey's life is all too short and he is unable to see Ethan through the remainder of his human life. Bailey begins to wonder what is the purpose of a dog's life, if not to be with his boy forever? Miraculously, Bailey is reborn as a German Shepherd puppy, whose destiny is to be trained as a police dog. Now a female named Ellie, but retaining all the memories and experiences (and feelings) of his/her previous lives, this time around teaches Ellie many things. Ellie learns to Find, a fun game that seems to make humans happy. Find is easy for Ellie, having had to Find Ethan or Find food as a stray. Being a police dog is another wonderful life for Ellie, and her end is not a sad one but one of satisfaction. Surely this must be a dog's purpose? But as Ellie is reborn yet again, this time as a pure-blood black lab and again as a male, he is depressed and ambivalent about going through yet another purposeless life. Worse, he belongs to a human who doesn't want him and ends up, like so many unwanted animals owned by stupid humans, dumped "in the country" to fend for himself. By sheer luck, our friend finds himself in a place familiar to him, where he used to play with a boy named Ethan. Could he use his new skills of Find to find Ethan? I won't ruin the ending for you but Buddy (Bailey/Ellie's new name) finds his purpose in life. Find is a wonderful purpose, but Save is even better.  Buy a box of tissues, snuggle with your fur friend and read this book now. This one is for Lily, Popi, Duffy, Riley and of course...Sam.

Monster Mashup

Mwuhahahaha!

Just An Old Fashioned Space-man

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So he's not a great poet... He'd still be my first choice on an away team when breaching the space-time continuum if the fate of the universe is at hand.  What? Like you wouldn't....

Opinion: Building a Mosque at Ground Zero

bundesregierung.de

It's a sensitive subject: Is it okay for an Islamic mosque to be built anywhere near Ground Zero? This question has been in the news and the subject of many debates this past week. Probably more so in N.Y. than around here. I've watched and read some of the discussions and I can see it from both sides. Even the president has weighed in on the matter and was soundly thumped for an answer that perhaps could have been better explained.  Still, if I had to choose, I'd have to go with the Constitution. In reality, it's two questions: Can it be built? And should it be built? The first one seems to be a purely legal issue. The U.S. Constitution provides for freedom of religion, no matter whether it's Christian, Muslim or Satanism.  I know that's difficult to stomach but get used to it.  So many people can't see past the noses on their faces to see the truth. Sure, the document *says* that but we all know it's really talking about the one TRUE religion, right?  It says so, right on our currency! And if people can't get on board with that we'll just micro-legalize it in individual states and shove it down your children's throats until they all believe as well and don't even realize they've been propagandized.  (Texas Board of Education...grrrrr) This reminds me of the white crosses that sometimes pop up along the interstate or at intersections where people have been killed.  There was some bruhaha in my neighborhood a while back where some people objected to these, saying that they were offended by the overt display of religion in their neighborhood. These people couldn't see it as not so much an in-your-face show of faith, but a demonstration of the family's grief in the way in which they are familiar with being comforted: their religion.  I'm fine with all of this as long as these cross displayers understand that the same laws that make their expression okay also protects others whose beliefs MAY not be in sync with theirs.  Unfortunately, I'm afraid that while these folks may agree in theory, they might get their dander up if a goat head figure shows up at the corner of Melody Lane and Sunshine Ct. Hypocrisy has always been a bugaboo of the fanatically ignorant.  So back to the Ground Zero debate.  I give President Obama props for gently trying to remind everyone that this is still America and we have religious freedom here, at least in theory. Maybe it's still too fresh in our minds because his words were met with an uproar. The president later came back and said he "questioned the wisdom" of those making this decision.  I agree with both.  The answer to the first question is "YES," a mosque CAN be built on or near Ground Zero. Thank goodness for that because it's precisely that YES that is the reason the terrorists hate us. NOT letting them build is like saying you're right; we are bigoted and intolerant and narrow-minded and ignorant to the diversity that make us resilient as a people. As to the second question of SHOULD, my answer (for now) is NO. It's not a legal issue, it's one of good taste and sensitivity. No more should a Shinto temple be built near the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor or a U-Haul rental store open next to where the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building used to stand in Oklahoma City. It has less to do with faith than with reminding people of the senseless reasons so many people died. Sometimes you have to take emotion out of the mix to be able to listen to rationale. Our wounds are still too raw now to be rational but perhaps one day.... Just my opinion.

New Look!!

Time for sumptin' diff'rent! Let me know what you think!

Hot Flash?

Ahhhhhh....
Wonder where all this HEAT is coming from? Visit Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog to read about how our heat is related to the Russian Heat Wave of 2010 and those floods in Pakistan. Or...it could just be another pesky hot flash.

What Secret Asian Girl is Reading Now

In general, I'm not a fan of this type of "pop fiction," or "chick lit," whatever this genre's current tab is. It's like cotton candy, fluffy and ... (show more)

In general, I'm not a fan of this type of "pop fiction," or "chick lit," whatever this genre's nom du jour is. The Island by Elin Hilderbrand is like cotton candy, fluffy and sugary with nothing really substantial to it. Plus, it's completely unrelateable to most readers. A totally narcissistic family, so engrossed in each of their own pleasures that they don't see other family members crumbling around them. Every conceivable human drama or tragedy is stirred into this story: suicide, divorce, rock climbing accident, engaged to one rich handsome brother but actually in love with his not-rich-but-still-handsome rock star brother...there's even some lesbian dabbling thrown in. "But how will that affect ME??" Wah, wah, wah. What a bunch of whiners! Compounding the dynamic is the fact that all of them are drowning in money, which, at the first sign of trouble, enables all of them to pack off and spend a whole month in the family's beach house on an island near Nantucket - ostensibly to HEAL - eating foie gras and raspberries delivered daily by a sun-bleached blond hunk of the month delivery stud (whose young wife is dead and who has left him with two impossibly cute tow headed boys). Wahh... what a terrible life. The cell phones don't get great service, proving that they're roughing it. Every venture each of them has tried in life has been wildly lucrative: the youngest food editor ever for a national magazine, a sought-after computer programming whiz...even the mom's divorce was amicable and generous . The fact that AFTER the success came the reality of some tragedy is supposed to make us sympathetic to the characters. Nope, not buying it. Most people don't even get to taste a morsel of the luxurious life these folks have enjoyed. If reality is too harsh for these immature, spoiled brats afterward, oh well. I gave this book a few pity stars because as a beach read, it's quick and escapist, without having to connect to the characters. In the end, everyone ends up deliriously happy, on the outside, at least. Looks good on the outside, but is it? Sort of like fat-free cheese. This was the first book I've read by popular author Elin Hilderbrand and will, most likely, be my last. I guess I got caught up in the whole "fun summer reading" whirlwind of excitement. That, and I am drawn to her novels' beautifully photographed covers. If you see me reading another book of this kind, please, for God's sake, slap it out of my hand and replace it with something by Chris Bohjalian! Gag. Bleah.

Klingon Panhandler

Just because I like this picture.
lIjSoS ghajtaH Hab Quch!
(Translation: Your mother has a smooth forehead!)

You Oughta Be In Pictures #91 Fun With Photos

This assignment was just too tempting for someone like me. I love image generators! Fotoflexer is familiar to me but BeFunky was a new site. I really liked the variety of special effects you can add to your uploaded photo. Unfortunately, you do have to register at the site if you want to save it. You can "share" your edited photo from its home site but not save it to your own files. I edited the photo of my dog, Sam, in both Fotoflexer and BeFunky. The finished product, below, is a cartoonized version courtesy of BeFunky. I liked the quality better and the woodcut effect I ended up with was very cool. The logo watermark doesn't really bother me. If you're not interested in precise matching, FaceinHole is a lot of fun. This Baywatch photo may not be very funny to some of my co-workers but what the heck! I'm sure they don't mind sacrificing some dignity for a training exercise! he he BigHugeLabs also looks like a creative resource for future "experiments." The other plus with BHL is that you can create monthly calendars, movie posters, stickers, jigsaw puzzles and mosaics all from your own photos. There are also links where you can find out what time sunrise and sunset is going to occur at any geographical location in case you're interested in taking that "gorgeous sunset" shot you've always dreamed about. I think all of these sites are terrific resources for playing with, and learning about, digital photo manipulation. And if you happen to get a few laughs at the expense of a friend or ahem, a co-worker or two....so much the better!

You Oughta Be In Pictures #90 Sharing Photos

Used to be, if you wanted to share a classic photo, like the one left, you'd have to hurry to finish your film roll, rush it to the drugstore and then wait for a phone call to go pick up your prints on photo paper. Then you'd have to mail it to someone via good ol' U.S. Mail and hope they received it in good condition. With the advent of digital technology, you could save it on a floppy diskette, e-mail it and wait for your recipient to respond. Now, thanks to sites like Flickr, Photobucket, and other digital album storage sites, your friends and family can readily access the images at their own convenience immediately and you don't have to pay for processing. Who wants to wait for a picture like this one? I've had a Flickr account for awhile and use it mostly to store photos I've taken from my digital camera but also favorite photos I've scanned from old family albums. Not only is it easier to access an on-line album, but it's a way to preserve and archive the old paper images that have become family heirlooms. There are also editing capabilities to crop or rotate your image. For beyond basic editing, you can always use a free site like Picnik to get out red-eye or adjust color saturation. I watched the video introducing all the different photo sharing websites but I've already explored the ones listed. One is really just as good as the next one but I suppose I prefer Flickr. Protecting the privacy of my images is important to me but I'm not naive enough to think that once that picture is out there, whether on a blog like this one or on Facebook, the chances of it showing up elsewhere is pretty good. Fortunately, there are billions of photos out there to steal so why choose mine? Still, it should always be in the back of your mind that anything published is now public. And really, now that you've seen this image, it's gonna be hard to get it out of your mind anyway. Yikes.

Life Cycle of a Tree

Berkeley Breathed used this unusual "treed bike" as inspiration for his children's book, Red Ranger Came Calling, a unique holiday story about a boy's waning ability to believe in the unbelievable and how he restored his faith in the abilities of others. This real bike is located on Vashon Island in Washington. What story could you make up about how this bike-in-a-tree came to be?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 - November 19