And the winner is...

I haven't watched the Oscars in years. I don't fawn over celebrities. They're people just like the rest of us. I haven't even seen any of the films that were nominated this year.

However, I love Ellen Degeneres.

Melissa Etheridge was up for best original song.

Her wife Tammy Lynn Michaels was blogging about the upcoming "office party" and what she was wearing.

So the wife and I watched.
All 6.5 hours, starting with the arrival coverage.
Sigh.

Melissa and Tammy looked great.
Ellen was good, but not great.
Al Gore was fabulously funny!
Forest Whitaker gave the best acceptance speech I think I've ever heard.
When Melissa won for Best Original Song, she kissed Tammy on camera - in front of however many millions of people were watching around the world!

Congratulations to all the winners.

Scrabbling

Yesterday, my friend Diana came over with her two boys. Diana and I were neighbors for 9 years. When I say "neighbors", I mean that if we both opened our front doors, we had a direct line-of-sight to each others' dining room tables! There was only 4 feet between our front doors. Ahhhh, apartment living!

I hadn't seen Diana and the boys for a few months - the last time they came over, they visited with Mary, but I was at work. We ordered pizza for the kidlets and Thai for the grown-ups, and put a DVD on for the boys. It's not very easy to hold the attention span of a two- and four-year old! Finally the food arrived, and after filling our bellies, the requisite Scrabble game commenced. The game did not go well from the get-go. All of us pulled crappy tiles at the beginning, and it didn't improve as the game went on. Diana's four-year-old was helping her play by naming all the letters she had ready to play. Finally, we finished up the game, and waved goodbye to the boys.

An hour later, there was a knock at the door, and Jo (another neighbor) was standing there with her puppy, Lola. We picked up all the cat toys (Lola likes to steal them) and shooed the cats back into the bedrooms from which they had recently emerged (they had hidden from the boys). "Scrabble!" she says, and calls her roommate to come down and play. I made a pot of coffee and wifey turned it Irish, and we sat down to play again. The tile draws weren't much better this time around. We chatted and played, and eventually waved goodbye to them, too. We collapsed in the bedroom and watched a couple of episodes of Voyager before heading off to the land of nod.

Meme - tagged from Elfkat

Rules: Each player of this game starts off with 10 weird things/habits/little known facts about yourself. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 10 weird habits/things/little known facts as well as state this rule clearly. At the end you need to choose 10 people to be tagged and list their names. No tag backs.

Blog of ten weird or little known facts.

1. I have a large pigmentless birthmark in the middle of my back.
2. I have a dragon and a gnome living in my apartment.
3. I always have at least one book I'm reading at any given time.
4. I am pretty good at catching cancerous cells in a person's aura.
5. I can usually also tell if someone is pregnant in the same way.
6. I have 3 kids ranging in age from 21 to 17.
7. I'm an incest survivor.
8. I have a slight intermittent hearing loss from a bad case of labyrinthitis almost 20 years ago.
9. My knees are shot from driving a stickshift in LA traffic since 1981.
10. I believe in faeries!!!!

Now, who to tag? Elfkat already tagged everyone!!!!!

Why the US is in Iraq

"Money trumps...uh...(audible sigh)...peace, sometimes."

--George W. Bush
Press Conference, Feb. 14, 2007

It's raining

For those of you who don't live in Southern California, you may not understand:
Monday morning is the WORST possible day for rain.

You see, we don't get rain very often here, not anything substantial anyway. So vehicle oils have plenty of time to accumulate on the roads.

Anyone who's taken elementary science or made Italian dressing knows that oil and water don't mix.

But some of those people out there think the laws of physics don't apply to them. They can drive their normal 70-75 on a freeway in the rain (when it hasn't rained for several weeks) and cut in and out of traffic cuz it's Monday morning and they're late for work.

They're the reason I end up late for work. And they end up calling their insurance agent.

Thank Goddess it's a holiday - maybe most of the idiots will still be sleeping it off.

A List

1. The phone rings. Who are you hoping it is? If it's my cell phone, I'm hoping it's my wifey. If it's the home phone, I'm hoping it's a wrong number, cuz I'm sick of "telephone surveys". Did you know non-profits are exempt from the DoNotCall list? Sigh.
2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart? Yes, I do. I get annoyed when I get to the cart corral and there aren't any trolleys in there cuz they're scattered all over the lot. If I leave it in the right place for the next person, I'm lowering the in-store annoyance quotient.
3. In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener? I'm definitely more of a listener, unless it's a small group and I know everybody. Or unless I've had a couple of drinks... then I can tend to babble.
4. If abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive? I guess I would have to adjust from being a vegetarian and suffer the consequences, but I could probably survive for a little while, depending on the location, the weather, and whether or not I was injured.
5. Do you like to ride horses? I love to ride! I always have. Unfortunately I've never owned a horse, so I rarely get to ride. I won't ride trail horses anymore, as a rule, cuz they're running on remote control. The last time I went riding was on a mesa in New Mexico, and I had a blast going for a gallop across the sand.
6. Did you ever go to camp as a kid? Yep, went to Girl Scout Camp (Horseback Riding) twice. Learned a lot and had a great time.
7. What was your favorite board game as a kid? I'd have to say either Sorry or Parcheesi. Monopoly just took too damn long. We usually opted for card games over board games, though.
8. If a sexy person was pursuing you, but you knew she was taken what would you do? I'm not interested in anyone who is cheating, and I'm not cut out for polyamory. Besides, I'm married! The "sexy" thing has never impressed me. I'd probably tell her to go home, or go find a therapist.
9. Are you judgmental? I try not to be. I think I've succeeded at that, unless I'm driving on the freeway, in which case all bets are off.
10. Would you date someone with different religious beliefs? I have before. It can make things difficult when you're as involved as I am in a "non-mainstream" religion. I feel that a relationship has a spiritual level as well, and you need to be on the same page. If the spiritual understanding meshes, the "religion" doesn't matter.
11. Are you continuing your education? I am constantly learning new things. That doesn't mean I have to be taking formal classes. I'm an active participant in the Earth School.
12. Do you know how to shoot a gun? No. Never had any interest in learning.
13. If your house was on fire, what's the first thing you'd grab? The cats.
14. How often do you read books? Constantly.
15. Do you think more about the past, present or future? The future. I worry about paying bills that are coming due. I dream about moving to the woods and getting out of the city.
16. What is your favorite children's book? The Chronicles of Narnia.
17. How tall are you? 5'3"
18. Where is your ideal house located? In the northwest woods, far enough from civilization to see deer in the yard, close enough to run into town for a Toffee Nut Latte.
19. Last person you talked to? My wife.
20. When was the last time you were at Olive Garden? It's been a few months - I think it was for my youngest daughter's 17th birthday in October.
21. What are your keys on your key chain for? The cars and the house.
22. What did you do last night? Watched tv and played on the computer. We were exhausted after being at the Highland Games on the Queen Mary yesterday. It was very hot and humid, and we were pretty wiped out.
23. Where is your current pain at [sic]? Mostly my neck, but also my lower back.
24. Do you like mustard? Brown mustard, yes.
25. Do you like your mom or dad? I like them both.
26. How long does it take you in the shower? About 10 to 15 minutes.
27. What movie do you want to see right now? I still want to see "An Inconvenient Truth" - it's on our Netflix list. Other than that, I'm waiting for the next Harry Potter movie.
28. Do you put lotion on your dog or cats? Why in the world would I do that?
29. What did you do for New Year's? We were up in the northwest woods, with a wood fire, watching "Pirates of the Caribbean II". I fell asleep around 10:30 pm and the wife had to wake me up at midnight for the Martinelli's toast.
30. Do you think The Grudge was scary? Never saw it. What is it?
31. Do you own a camera phone? No.
32. What's the last letter of your middle name? E.
33. Who did you vote for on American Idol? I'm proud to say I've never seen it. Don't intend to.

Thiefed from Sapphique

To sleep, perchance to dream

I haven't been sleeping well lately. Some of it is the cats' fault for pinning me to the bed or for deciding to rid themselves of furballs in the middle of the night (new carpet, remember?). Some of it is due to being the unfortunate possessor of one of the world's smallest bladders. Some of it is due to incredible hotflashes that wake me up drenched in cold sweat. Some of it is just the inability to find a comfortable sleeping position - the discomfort, dare I say pain, wakes me up multiple times during the night, and I have to change my position. None of this makes for great amounts of sleep. Inevitably, the alarm goes off in the middle of a dream and I spend the next hour hitting the snooze button and trying to swim up from oblivion.

I begin taking in my daily allotment of leaded coffee before taking my shower and while driving to work. Once at work, I fix a fresh pot of unleaded and drink that for the rest of the day. All this means that I am taking one-third to one-half of the caffeine that I used to consume. It doesn't seem to help my sleep any. I've also tried ibuprofen and a half glass of red wine (no, not on the same evenings!). They don't seem to help either. Guess it's time to return to my insomnia formula: a tea made of equal parts of chamomile, catnip and valerian root with a teaspoon of honey. Valerian root is nasty without the sweetener. Better pick up some human-grade catnip for that - the cats will rebel if I steal some of theirs!

Family History

My youngest daughter is taking Folklore this semester, and her assignment this week was to write about a "family story". I did come up with quite a few, but here is the one she used (in my words, and slightly expanded).

John Murray was my great-grandfather. He was born in Lot 65, in Prince Edward Island, Canada (henceforth known as PEI) in 1870. He left there sometime around in the 1890s - a whispered portion of the story says "there was something about a young girl" - and hopped trains to and around the US, eventually marrying Ivy Stoops somewhere in the Midwest, and then making their way to California, where they settled in the Los Angeles area.

John, whom I knew as "Pop Murray", was famous for being a storyteller and a bit of a trickster. This particular story involves his return visit to PEI. A cousin reported that one day, a hobo appeared at her back door, asking to "work for food". This hobo was filthy, dressed in rags, and with several teeth missing. He chopped food for a couple of hours before the cousin recognized him as John. The "missing teeth" had merely been blacked out with tar. I'm sure the cousin was horrified and angry that he had fooled her, but by the time I first heard the story in 1980, all the assembled Murrays in PEI (and there were quite a few of them) thought it was very funny.

The Bottle of Wine

(Snagged from an email)

Sally was driving home from one of her business trips in Northern Arizona when she saw an elderly Navajo woman walking on the side of the road.

As the trip was a long and quiet one, she stopped the car and asked the Navajo woman if she would like a ride.

With a silent nod of thanks, the woman got into the car.

Resuming the journey, Sally tried in vain to make a bit of small talk with her passenger. The old woman just sat silently, looking intently at everything she saw, studying every little detail, until she noticed a brown bag on the seat next to Sally.

"What’s in bag?" asked the old woman.

Sally looked down at the brown bag and said, "It's a bottle of wine. I got it for my husband."

The Navajo woman was silent for another moment or two.

Then speaking with the quiet wisdom of an elder, she said:

"Good trade."

The Descent of Brighid

Each day and each night
That I say the Descent of Brighid:

I shall not be slain.
I shall not be sworded.
I shall not be put into a cell.
I shall not be hewn.
I shall not be riven.
I shall not be anguished.
I shall not be wounded.
I shall not be ravaged.
I shall not be blinded.
I shall not be made naked.
I shall not be left bare.
Nor will Brighid
Leave me forgotten.

Nor fire shall burn me
Nor sun shall burn me
Nor moon shall blanch me.

Nor water shall drown me.
Nor flood shall drown me.
Nor brine shall drown me.

Nor the seed of the fairy host shall lift me.
Nor the seed of the airy hist shall lift me.
Nor earthly being destroy me.

I am under the shielding of good Brighid each day.
I am under the shielding of good Brighid each night.
I am under the keeping of the Nurse Cailleach.

Each early, each late,
Every dark and every light.

Brighid is my comrade-woman.
Brighid is my maker of song.
Brighid is my helping-woman.
My choicest of women, my guide.

From the Carmina Gaedelica (translation by Alexander Carmichael)

6 Degrees

Early last summer, two of my coworkers auditioned for an upcoming part on The L Word. After a few weeks of intense waiting, we learned that one of them - Jon Wolfe Nelson* - had won the part and would be heading for Vancouver BC to film seven episodes! He is playing the role of Tom Mater, who is Jodi Lerner's interpreter (Jodi is played by Marlee Matlin). And yes, he is a real ASL interpreter who is also an actor.

He wouldn't tell us much about this season. He didn't appear until episode 4, so we waited almost all of January to see his debut. Sunday night, we sat in front of the tv waiting for Jon's part to appear. OMG! That shirt was too much! but it does set up that character in a way only another interpreter (or a deaf person) would really understand. You see, we professional interpreters typically wear a solid color shirt that is contrasting to our skin color. Which means, for someone like Jon, it would be a solid blue, black, brown, green, etc. Solid. Dark. Not bright orange flames. The shirt screams that his character has a unique rapport with Jodi, and that he doesn't necessarily follow "the rules". It is obvious that he and Marlee worked very well together on this show, and I am really excited about the future this opens up for him.

I talked to Jon yesterday at work. He said the best is yet to come; to make sure and watch this Sunday's episode, where he is in the first scene after the intro. I can't wait!

* Unfortunatley, this site is not up to date with his acting bio, but the picture is great!