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Musings on anything. |
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My blog was filled up. I'm too lazy to clean it out. So I started a new one. |
| I admit it. I am a TV addict. I have finally decided that it's a hobby ,and I am making mental notes about the actors and the plots. That excuses an otherwise a couch potato pastime. You have to find ways to justify what other people might judge as worthless uses of your time. In my love of old westerns, series and movies, I have noticed the frequent use of a gun handle on the back of someone's head. Apparently, this was a useful device by writers to delay or endanger a character the show could not allow to die. Sometimes the victim would be blinded, temporarily, or have a short bout of amnesia or just lie helpless until the bad guy escaped. A slight twist on this was to have the man, or sometimes a woman, be thrown from a horse or racing carriage and strike his or her head on a rock with the same results as the gun handle. The character of the Virginian, the man with no name, was struck on the head several times a season. It's a wonder he could walk after a few years. There were different writers and directors for the shows, and it looks like they didn't keep track. In real life, a person would have a struck of varying degrees of intensity with only partial or no recovery. Another one who was frequently struck was Matt Dillon. How? He was 6'7". He too should have endured more than temporary blindness or memory loss eventually. Yet both recovered 100% every time and quickly without rehabilitation. Both continued to solve problems, fight crime, and manage the books without a problem. In fact, Matt recovered from his partial blindness when an outlaw knocked his feet out from under him. The jolt of falling to the ground (he did not hit his head again) instantly restored perfect vision. At least two women on The Virginian hurt their heads from falling. Elizabeth was blinded, just like the Virginian in another episode, and relied on a stranger to help her, putting her trust completely in that person. But sight gradually came back to both. Another woman, a guest star, had a shock, then fell from a horse. As she healed, she became confused and filled in her amnesia with fantasy and the Virginian. Most other shows I've watched eventually had the hero or heroine have a head injury, but never permanent damage. In real life, being thrown from a horse can kill or damage a spinal cord, as in Christopher Reeves' case. I don't see this as much in crime shows. Then again, I stopped watching them because they are too detailed and graphic. I think they feed the imagination a little too much, and weirdos want to go out and do the same thing better. So I challenge you as you watch crime shows, dramas, and westerns, to notice when people are struck on the head. If a person is knocked unconscious, they aren't just going to have a headache the next day. There will be lasting damage. Is the problem with writers who don't have knowledge of this, or is it a director thing? They change books and stories all the time for screen adaptation. I want my shows to be more believable. |
| Egad! It's that sugary time of year again. We dutifully bought our bags of candy on sale last week, and we stayed out of it until today. There was nothing else to snack on. I'm tired of apples every day, so I caved. I had 3 mini Twix, then hid them from myself. I have pencils left over from something, but kids don't really want just pencils. Or stickers. They want candy! We don't get many trick or treaters because everyone in our neighborhood has a long driveway. Unless the parents drive the kids up, they only go to houses of people they know. It really is more fun when you walk around like they do on the TV shows. Like I did when we were kids. We covered a lot of territory back then, but that was in town. It must really be rough on kids in rural areas. Who sees their costumes or gives them junk food? We don't like to send anyone away empty handed, so that means we always have leftovers. That also means extra teeth brushing, more calories. Will I really walk an hour to work off one mini chocolate bar? Who's kidding? I did finally learn to throw the bags in the freezer. Then in January, we can sneak out a little chocolate. I won't see the kids in my family before or on Halloween. They live too far away to come at night. Sunday I'm taking my dad to see Mary Chapin Carpenter, so I told them not to come by. Maybe they'll send some pictures. And I'll save them a spooky pack of treats. So the candy companies make a rise in income. We spike our glucose and A1C and risk cavities. But it feels nostalgic and right to have some jack-o-lanterns, goblins, and candy and watch The Great Pumpkin. Some warm spiced apple cider helps, too. Today's kids are making memories, while we savor our own. |
| Aren't all those clever gadgets for household use exciting? I have learned long ago that they seldom live up to your expectations from the TV or magazine ads. My grandmother and mother had Vegematics and other devices that stayed put with suction cup bottoms so you could use both hands to maneuver your fruits and vegetables. The suction part never worked. You could end up with a pile of food and plastic parts on the floor. And there was the storage of the different type blades. There were so many pieces to be washed. It was less cumbersome and time-consuming just to do it all by hand. I was tempted by all those ads for non-stick pans, "Gothic steel" or copper bottom. We did find a copper skillet in the discount store "as seen on TV". It did work great for a while and cleaned easily. I used it frequently; eggs flipped easily and left little residue for cleaning. However, with many washings, it doesn't work as great as it once did. The research articles indicate it begins to release copper particles into your food. I did some research this week and found that T-fal ceramic skillets give you the most bang for the buck. They're not cheap, and they're not perfect. Cephalon was the next best ceramic lined skillet, about double the price of T-fal. The very best was stainless steel, more than twice the price of Cephalon, and it wasn't perfect either. The test was on hundreds of skillets to come up with a final four, the 4th being stainless as well. I have a half dozen skillets, so I'm not going shopping, even though I'm not satisfied with anything I have. I've seen some recipes calling for a "spiralizer". I didn't know there was such a thing, so I checked it out. They run from $20 up to $100, some manual, some electric. However, I haven't seen any up close and personal, so I fear the old Vegematic routine, with long noodle like veggies all over the counter and the floor. I want to make my own ice cream. Too many store versions of ice cream just don't taste that good. I try to make sure it doesn't say "frozen dairy dessert". I'd like to experiment with my own. However, the makers vary in price and size. With my extended family, a two pint thing that costs $85 is hardly worth the effort. I've seen one that can be both manual and electric, but that just seems like a maintenance problem. A manual one would give the children a good lesson in hard work and patience paying off, and understanding how the churning and freezing work together. The electric one would be faster. I need at least a 6 pint size. I don't want to pay over $200 for something I'd only use five or six times a year. The real reason I don't invest in these items is storage or the lack thereof. I've already given away a hot dog cooker, a pizza cooker, and an electric peeler that my mother had. (They were gifts; she didn't purchase them.) I tried them first and just didn't like them. They were taking up space I needed for other things. I'd like to have a food processor, but where would I put it? I have a rice cooker and a vegetable steamer-Mom's- and they work great. But I can't keep them handy, so I don't use them. I'm toying with the idea of donating them, not because they aren't good. I just don't have enough space. I do cook a lot and like to experiment. My kitchen is tiny with little counter space. I keep sodas in the garage and Dad's chips and hard candy in the dining room. I have some antique dishes that I don't use, but can't part with. So I only "window shop" the gadgets. I have to remind myself, "No More". |
| Today I attended a discussion panel for female ex-offenders and community members to discuss acclimating back into society. At times it was tearful. At times you felt surrounded by anger. But mostly, I felt there was genuine concern for rehabilitation and allowing these women who don't want to return to their old ways, but make a living for themselves and their families. A number of these women are struggling to finish college or to go to seminary to become ministers. They are very different from each other, some with close families, some alone in the world. One woman told about her alcoholic mother putting her in the foster care program at age 11; she said she felt like she had been incarcerated her whole life. Most had been in for 3 to 20 years. Can you imagine coming out of a protected, severely regulated environment for a decade or more and seeing how much the world has changed? Even job hunting has changed. You can't pound the pavement any longer. In person applications are not taken. Styles of clothing and hair change. They haven't kept up. Their closets, if they still have access to them, aren't adequate. Their computer skills aren't up to date. The world kept moving on, but they were on hold, suspended in time. I know we hear about the computer access and the white collar prisons. Those are for men. And not in my state. My state emphasizes punishment, not rehabilitation. Recidivism is high. Fortunately, the women meeting with us today are determined to turn their lives around. A few admitted they couldn't stay around their old friends or even family any longer. They had to get away from the toxic environment. One woman had worked for almost two years, getting good reviews and a promotion, until a new boss ran police checks on all employees. She was fired on the spot, no severance pay, on the day she was to leave on her first vacation. So there are two main issues: preparing these women for the real world before they get out (budgeting, job hunting, keyboarding, interviewing, availability of resources like counseling) and after they get out (finding a safe place to live, transportation to get started, a job, finding a support group). Parole officers only check for drugs and violations and traveling. Another issue is the fact that all chain stores and big places like hospitals do not hire felons. Period. How do you get smaller or local employers to get beyond the fear of felons? How can they be taught to discern between hardened criminals and those who are reformed? How can the community help felons set up their own businesses, whether painting (they have to be bonded) or copy writing or selling cosmetics? We sort of left off with a lot of unanswered questions. There are thousands of people in any state in the prison system. Most will be released (all but death row) and they will be back in our communities. What will we do with them? |
| I finally saw this movie. In broad daylight. I'd heard a lot about it. I once read it was a spoof of The Living Dead. That word should have stuck with me. I was expecting to be scared. I expected gore. I didn't expect to burst out laughing early in the movie. It did have the expected nasty scenes, eyeballs, melting flesh, but not very realistic. There were two moments that caught me off guard: the "dead" jump up and bite someone's head to eat the brains. Each of those two times make me start and got a big "ew". Most of the time I just shook my head at the incredible stupidity of the story and some of the bad acting. (That doesn't mean they were bad actors. It does mean they had to act according to the script which called for acting badly.) The stupid decision that started the saga was done by a middle aged man trying to entertain the new teenage employee. Generally, stupid decisions are done by the teenagers in horror films, but dumbness comes at all ages. Very soon into the story a beat-up convertible packed with teenagers did show up. They were stereotyped punkers with appropriate garb, piercings, and language. They were to be the first victims of the "dead". Of course, a funeral home and a cemetery were part of the setting. There was lots of mud, also a frequent component of many horror films. I suppose when people are hysterical, they might act like these characters did. The redeeming quality for me was the presence of Clu Gulager, who played the owner of the medical supply place. Even some of his lines had me wondering if he ever acted in comedy. He didn't have that many lines, so there was no opportunity for character development. In fact, none of the actors got to develop their characters. unless you call instantly turning from a rebellious, acting-out teen into a scared to death, hiding teen development. Horror movies generally, with a few exceptions, contain some nudity or gratuitous sex. I have a feeling this one did have a half naked girl, because of one particular scene in the crowded car where the painted up girl had bare shoulders which had previously been covered and were again moments later. On the ground in the cemetery earlier, she was getting turned on thinking about the ways people die. So predictable. I was watching on AMC which would have had to censor such scenes. They bleeped a lot of words, bad language being an element of the run-of-the-mill horror movie, too. If you're looking to be frightened, this is not your movie. If you like being grossed out, this might do it for you. (All vomiting is done off camera.) If you want to laugh, this probably is not your first choice. I guess I laughed because it caught me off guard. If you're a Clu Gulager fan, you have to see this just out of loyalty. He doesn't disappoint. I hope I haven't ruined it for you. |
| I really don't like being scared. I don't care for practical jokes. I don't like horror movies. I don't like violence. I'm scared of heights. Life has enough hard moments without seeing them onscreen. But this time of year, it's really hard to find some TV time without scary movie options. At times you just need to read a book with no distractions! Horror movies usually follow a formula. Most run of the mill horror movies depend on teenagers or young adults making really stupid decisions. There's usually some gratuitous nudity or sex. For instance, Piranha 3DD, we all know the DD refers to the naked Playboy Bunnies in the pool. There is a tendency to focus on some inanimate object, like an empty rocking chair or a toy. Suspenseful music is essential. I have to tell myself, when I'm stuck in this situation, it's all fake. I have some health and focal issues that have affected my balance, In non-horror movies, I get dizzy when the camera pans a room or spins around. I discovered that virtual reality situations make me nauseous. In fact, when I'm sitting at a red light at an intersection, I can't watch cars turning left going by me. I have to focus on the light or something in the distance to avoid nausea and dizziness. Strobe lights pose a threat to me, and I don't want to take risks. So I'm squeamish about horror movies. I'm steeling myself up to watch a zombie movie because I met one of the non-zombie actors a few years ago. This movie turned him away from drama and western films to specialize in horror movies, so I am going to make myself watch it. Maybe knowing one of the people pretending will help make it tolerable. I know a lot of men and women love horror movies. There is a lot of money to be made in them. I just don't get it. Why? Who needs to be scared or thrilled that way? Yech. Happy fright month to you, if you like it. Every channel features horror this month. Booo. |
Well, that magazine misled me! Imagine that. It seemed like such a simple process. I spent a fortune in supplies, made cupcakes, and had everything ready. Whew. That process was a challenge to adults, much less young children. A few things were left out of the article. The first thing we discovered was that the cupcake, standard size, was too flimsy to serve as the base for the Frankenstein heads. When you press on your sculpture, absolutely necessary, it topples over. The paper pops free from the cake which is too tender to stand up to the weight or the handling. Certainly, in their extensive test kitchens, they could have tested and recommended a sturdy cupcake, since they obviously pulled it off. Either a recipe to do from scratch or a particular brand of mix. The most popular brands focus on taste and moistness and just don't work for a project like this.Mrs. Frankenstein took one chocolate donut, but Mr. took two. I went to several stores and bought the only chocolate dipped donuts that either store had-the same brand, and same sale. They were too big for the cupcakes. I needed a smaller donut, like the ones I remember; the ones in my memory were not very good, but maintained their shape and didn't crumble. The only ones available were like a gourmet version, quite tasty, but easily crumbled despite the waxy coating. So the very essential parts for the body and head didn't go together. Toothpicks didn't work well, either, holding them together.  A standard buttercream frosting didn't look like the picture either, no matter how green we made it. The chocolate didn't frost the upside down wafer cones for Mrs.' hair like they showed. The sprinkles for hair worked perfectly. The faces didn't look like theirs, but they turned out pretty cute. The Twizzler black bolts for Mr.'s neck worked perfectly. Our finished products were monstrous for sure, but nothing like the photo. I had to find egg cartons to hold up their cakes to take home, one carton for each child's set. I did expect a big clean up job afterwards. I got it. I did expect the adults would have to help the little hands. we did. I didn't expect the adults to face so many problems. The kids were good about not eating the materials, but they dipped their fingers into the frosting quite a bit. I hoped what we accomplished was to feed the children's desire to be creative, to try new things. Maybe we won't repeat this particular project, but there will be others. And they had fun. You don't have to have a perfect result to be successful.  |
  I subscribe to several of those women's and home magazines. One had an item on some great prizes, and it told me to enter online. I did. Now they have me set up for a second subscription! It didn't say in the article that the only way to enter the contest was to buy another subscription. I'll have to send that back with a "Cancel" on it. I got a confirmation email which told me what had happened, but there's no way to respond to it. The same magazine told me how to make these cute Halloween cupcakes. I thought it would be a nice craft for the kids to do themselves when they come to visit tomorrow. I have to have everything ready in advance because most of them are still at the impatient age. The ingredients cost me a fortune! The cake mix was cheap enough on sale. I had to add eggs and oil, of course. I have to make two kinds of frosting, one requiring cream of tartar which I haven't used in years. That was almost $5. Powdered sugar, gel food coloring. Chocolate sprinkles in a large quantity. Ice cream cones (to be frosted and inverted on half the cupcakes). Tiny tubes of frosting to make faces. M & M's for eyes. Licorice to make bolts for Frankenstein's neck. I'll have to use wax paper for work sheets for each of six kids, paper towels, and hope they don't eat all the supplies. Oh, I forgot the chocolate dipped donuts that go on top. True, that's too much sweet for kids to eat, but these are just décor. The cupcake is just the base or body. The donuts get decorated as the heads. I'll have to scrub the house down afterward, and I hadn't foreseen how expensive these ingredients would be. Another magazine is telling me how to make butternut squash soup. Whew. Sounds good. I don't know if I'm up to it. |
| Yes, I'm sitting here waiting for the police to come and arrest me. I just a got an emergency phone call from the IRS about my back taxes. They are going to seize all my property and bank accounts because I refused to give my credit card number to the woman on the phone. So I made sure the back door was locked and the furnace won't come on while I'm gone. The floors are swept and the dishes are done. So they can come and take me to jail now. (I wonder if H & R Block will post my bail?) My computer is going to be shut down and all my account info compromised, because I refused to give my passwords over the phone. Windows was kind enough to call me even though my Internet connection was off, and the computer was unplugged. How thoughtful of them. But I just don't cooperate, so I'm going to lose that. Another phone warning yesterday advised me that my credit cards were in arrears and I would be assessed huge fees, if I didn't pay a nominal fee right then. I hung up. I don't like scary calls. I'm not confrontational. I'm so careless with my cards. I pay them all in full upon receipt. And I only use them for convenience and speed of service. Still it's so nice that these companies warn me that I'm overdue. I'm just so stubborn about phone transactions though. So, if I don't show up for a while, the IRS and the police have me. And Windows has shut me down. And all my bank cards are frozen. I guess that makes me a criminal according to my prolific incoming phone calls. |
| I once knew a mom who wouldn't let her teenage daughter die her hair orange. She told her she might have a prestigious job someday or want to run for public office. It wouldn't look good if people brought up her orange hair, too many other associations to wild hair color. I thought that was insightful of the mother at that time, but didn't see the great offense in hair color. Since then, men and women of all ages have put unnatural colors in their hair. It's become more acceptable, although not many politicians have had that issue come up. Or college presidents and so forth. Now, however, it is becoming evident that what you do when you are 15 or beyond, may seem annoying or innocuous now, but at some later date, say 30 or 40 years later, may come back to haunt you. Those unchaperoned parties and drinking will have a damaging affect on your life, no matter how many degrees you get, or how much money you make. Something you do in high school or college can make your whole character questionable decades later. Forget making up for it later on. Won't happen. I do hope that parents and teachers everywhere are telling their teens to follow the golden rule and live a sober, upright life now while they are young. Don't put it off. If a mistake is made, don't believe that it is in the past and forgotten. It can resurface. When it does, face up to it immediately. The only hope of survival is to admit the mistake and beg forgiveness. You won't come out unscarred, but it may stop the destruction of your life and family future. Denial of youthful behavior will not help you. Once you've been in denial mode, it is too late to confess and redeem yourself. Any teenager who hopes to have a good job in the future or who plans to pursue a good education needs to live an old-fashioned puritanical life. Alcohol, gambling, and promiscuity still do the same damage they always have. They are only for adults who have no ambition and know they have no possible elevation in life. |
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