FB March 15th - 17th

March 15th:

* Oscar winning actress Kate Winslet announced her marriage was ending, and I posted that I 'still had a shot'. This was promptly and good naturedly shot down by some Facebook friends. I responded:

Bob (I), here's the plan. Eventually, her career will flounder. By then I'll have had a book or two published, and sold the rights to one to Hollywood. That screenplay will have a part that could ressurect a great actresses career. Sadly, she'll be far down the producers list of options - but maybe I could be convinced to tip it in her favor. Wink wink nudge nudge. ;)

To which he replied: Ah I worship the ground that you walk on Sir. I like your plan and wish you all the best.

and my grade-school friend Tom wrote: A well thought out plan indeed. Good luck on your mission. I myself am still holding out for Kate Beckinsale.

* I received & completed the census form today. We were already subjected to the 'long' form earlier in the yr. Assuming u don't mind answering questions about your race, bills, income, transportation, etc. the long form isn't invasive at all ;) Today's form was easy-peezy, and I'll admit I felt proud listing the whole family. In a weird way, I feel we now 'exist' in history.

* [on word that the museum was thinking of dropping the weekly free day for County residents] Utter crap. As much as I love museums, MPM is dull. Very little of substance has changed in decades, except to remove the wonderful arms/armour exhibit for the PC rain forest area, & that was 20 years ago already. Take away the free day & I'll never take the family; it simply wouldn't be worth the cost. I'll draw the kids a map from memory & call it a day.

* [RE: reports that babies may be banned from airline flights because of noise complaints] My youngest flier was 3, but I've been on flights that included crying tots. Here's what I think of the people who complain about them: Nut up. You're an adult, she/he's an infant whose ears are hurting. You don't like listening to it, buy a f*ing Ipod as-hole.

* NASA found a shrimp like creature swimming 600 feet below the Antartic ice. It's a great discovery, but this line from an article about it "[the shrimp] could challenge the idea of where and how forms of life can survive" seems old hat. Haven't we already agreed that life pretty much exists wherever the hell it wants to?

* The kids are in bed & I'm waiting for Lisa to return before cranking up AI on the DVR. Meanwhile I'm watching "Alone in the Wilderness" on PBS. When he retired in 1968 Iowan Dick Proenneke moved to Alaska, where he lived on his own in the wilderness, crafting everything by hand & filming ala Survivorman. A very cool if mellow film.

March 17th:

* Gawd, American Idol was boring. I'm not a huge Stones fan to begin w/, but most of the 12 seemed bound & determined to make each song xtra slow and shi--y. Siobahn was the glaring and inspired exception, & the night belongs to her. Tim Urban should be voted off the show this wk.

* Tapes of 1954-1962 "General Electric Theater", hosted by [Ronald] Reagan, were believed to be damaged or lost. But they were recently uncovered in the General Electric/NBC Universal archives and will be delivered to Nancy as part of the celebration for what would have been the late Prez's 100th birthday.

* Another backroom deal?? Rep. Kucinich called the bill "little more than a boondoggle" for private insurers, and yet now, after several closed door meetings with Obama, he's changed his mind. A sincere and selfless decision it ain't.

* Detroit is closing 44 of its public schools. However, I should mention this is due to declining enrollement and a lack of students, and so (from a surface reading) it's more of an indictment of the city's overall decline than that of the school system.

* Despite it being a lovely spring day, Ginger is obsessed with wearing her pink snow boots around town, and Lisa's drawn a line in the sand.. "I'm serious, you're not going anywhere unless you put shoes on. There is NO SNOW. You look like a goof. You're making US look like goofs. Take them off. Now!" Good luck w/ that. I caved after 5 min yest.

* Riots errupted and two people were shot in the aftermath of the [Ugandan] royal tomb's destruction. The tombs were a UNESCO World Heritage site of historical and spiritual significance to Uganda.

* On the same day Rangers manager Ron Washington admits to failing a drug test, Nationals' player Elijah Dukes is cut. It's a shame. Dukes was/is a bad-ass w/ a dozen different marks against him, but he sucked it up & held it in check long enough to give himself a chance in TB/Washington. In the end, his #'s just weren't there.

* 12 Christians were attacked and had their tongues cut out in Nigeria, only a week after more than 200 Christians were butchered in their homes. The country is split nearly evenly between Christians in the south and Muslims to the North. If you haven't heard about this, don't sweat it - the media buries violence against Christians in the back pages (when they report it at all).