Fantastic!!

For those of you with Facebook, set your language preference to ENGLISH (UK) or ENGLISH (PIRATE) and see what happens... so funny I just about spit my coffee all over my monitor...

Sad and profoundly angry.

Thinking of the families who got that call...

None of us knows the time or manner of our passing.  But to have a trusted someone, someone you consider a brother, take the lives of so many young people...

I'm so upset.

We should all pray for the people lost, the potential of all of those fine young people, and for their families. 

Thank you to Erin for sharing this.

Sometimes, you just have to laugh. When the whole world seems to be screwed up, and you cannot understand whether you're coming or going, sometimes you just have to laugh, or even cry -- whatever... sometimes both. That's something I learned a long time ago.

Just laugh. What you cannot change, make the best of, and what you can change, do.

Honestly.

And, sometimes, you can rant. That is one of the wonderful things about having a journal and, presumably, friends.

There are a lot of people with whom I don't see eye-to-eye. It's what makes the world interesting. And I have seen SO many things in this 40 years of mine...

Sometimes, people you just need to scream, or laugh, or dance, or run or sing or even attack computerized vampires... And that is perfectly ok. Dig?

I totally rock.  Get this:  I managed to diffuse a Major Incident in my house involving the remote control, two young boys who think they know karate, and sort of do (and could have done some serious damage to each other and a new flower display I just set out), and NO ONE WAS INJURED.  Additionally, I have established a policy entitled "Boy #1 Gets The Radio on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and Boy #2 Gets It On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.  On Sunday, Mom Flips a Coin."  This groundbreaking yet essential Morgan Household Peace Agreement will go a long way to ensure stability at bedtime...

You might argue, "But, Kim, that's nothing we wouldn't expect of you anyway.  And we figured you'd do something STELLAR in the parentlng department anyway, so we nominated you when you were still pregnant with your middle child.  We had high expectations and you met them admirably."

And you might be right.

Or, you might be the Nobel Peace Prize Committee.

I think the nomination for this most recent award actually was due by February -- isn't that just about two months after the president took office won the election? 

I OUGHT TO RECEIVE THE NEXT PEACE PRIZE!!!

You should register your support, and nothing else, in the comment box below.  Anyone NOT SUPPORTING ME for the Nobel will be defriended instantly, of course, assuming I care.   /sarcasm
 

 

Lieutenant Commander Otis Vincent Tolbert Jr. led a life of service to God, his country and his family. He loved football, and was a star runningback in college. A navy brat, he followed his father's footsteps and joined the US Navy as soon as he was able. His dad was a pilot, an officer, and an instructor at Annapolis. It was probably inevitable that his son, Vincent, would show the same character, gifts, hard-working spirit and dependability. He was a hero not only to his wife and three daughters, but to the people he worked with at Macdill AFB in Tampa, and then later at the Pentagon.

His wife, Shari, put it best: "These guys are heroes every day. It's not just when a plane hits their building. It's a shame the only time they get that honor is when they are in the ground."

U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, U.S. Representative C.W. Bill Young, U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, and the Tolbert family, were present at the dedication of the Lt. Cmdr. Otis Vincent Tolbert Joint Intelligence Operations Center at MacDill Air Force Base, Fl, which was held this summer.  The building is referred to as "The Vince" to those who work there, in memory of the many contributions of the man who spent his life surrounded by men and women who give their all to protect us, and who left a wonderful legacy of example for others to follow.

******

My husband works at the building called "The Vince", where US Central Command is housed.  When I found out about Project 2996 from my friend, Dale, I immediately jumped at the chance to participate.  I asked him right away if I could write something about Lt. Cmdr. Tolbert, because his story is so compelling and he shares so much in common with my family.  I could relate in so many ways to who he was, and his story is very real to me because of that: he's not just a name on a plaque on a wall.

Here is an excerpt from the project's homepage:

9/11/09 will mark 8 years since the attacks of World Trade Center I and II, The Pentagon, Shanksville, American Airlines Flights 11 & 77, and United Airlines Flight 93 & 175.

On that day 2,996 people were ripped from their lives. But as the media and society tend to do, they have focused on the killers. We’ve all learned more about them than we wanted to. On that day many of us made a pledge to never forget what happened.

The bloggers listed below are trying to keep that promise by learning about the people who died that day. Use the list below to visit their sites and read about the people they have chosen to remember...

Thank you for taking the time to learn a bit about this remarkable man, and how he was also so much like the rest of us: a hardworking family guy with three kids, one of whom was disabled, a competitive man who excelled at sports in his youth (and in the football pools as an adult!) and a patriot. 

1.  New layout -- still working out the bugs and I have to adjust a few colors.

2.  Tomorrow I will be posting a remembrance of  Lt. Cmdr. Otis Vincent Tolbert (who was killed in the attacks on 9-11) as part of a national tribute.  Everyone on the list of victims will be included in the blogs of the many volunteers who are involved.  I hope everyone will take a few minutes tomorrow to read my small contribution, so that he'll be thought of, and not just as a stranger and victim.

3.  Disney was ok -- different this time, but I can't quite but my finger on it.  I will produce one of my pitiful Slide Show-o-ramas as soon as I can, because the grandmas want to see it even if it sucks.

4.  Making pulled pork sammies tonight.  So far, it seems better than delicious.

5.  That's about it for now, I guess.

Hope all is well with y'all!

I cannot walk into a bookstore without buying an armload of books before I head out the door.  It's a sickness, I think.  I am a regular bibliophile.  Last night, I stopped into Barnes and Noble to pick up a book I've been wanting since, well, forever, and I left with two bags of books and about $100 poorer.

Ah, well.  There's always the *possibility* that I might, someday, actually resell my books on Amazon or at a used bookstore. 

Yyyyyyyeah, that'll happen.

I'm up to around 60  62 novels since January.  I need a habit that generates less dust and is far less addictive.  (I have not counted the 10 or so audiobooks I've also listened to this year, because they are books I've already read at least once.  So those 62 books I've actually read, front to back, are going towards my goal of 100 novels and nonfiction books this calendar year.)

*Heavy sigh...*

...EEEEEEeeeeeeeeveryone's doing it!!   With apologies to writerspleasure  for stealing his finer points, here's the crux...

We, as baby-making Americans, are responsible (in an ethical sense, as well as practical) for all of the future carbon footprinting left by our progeny.  The solution, according to Paul Murtaugh and Michael Schlax of Oregon State University:

In a study called “Reproduction and the carbon legacies of individuals,” they suggest that if you truly care about the environment, it’s not enough to trade your SUV for a Prius, use the right lightbulbs, or limit your lawn to organic fertilizers. To the contrary, you need to start thinking about something way more important: i.e., having one less child.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204313604574328823712388930.html?mod=djemEditorialPage

Mmmmm.  WOW.

It's been a theme in Science Fiction novels for many years.  However, I take certain umbridge to this whole philosophy that we are dooming the planet because we, as Americans, are responsible for so much more ick than the average Ethiopian or mother in Bangladesh.

Here's an idea:  MAYBE, instead of suggesting that we do our parts, get our tubes tied and applaud our forward thinking, we COME UP WITH CLEVER WAYS 
TO COMBAT THE POTENTIAL PROBLEM 
THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH OUR REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS.

What an idea!  Make ME the president's science advisor!  Give me a Nobel prize!  I should be heading up a major study!!  Grrr. 

Millions of dollars is spent annually -- probably more -- to get people with infertility issues to become more fertile.  People who cannot have babies are getting surrogates, others are donating eggs and sperm and whatnot, and there is a suggestion that we should have one fewer baby each?  I see.  Seems to me that the problem, as many people see it, is that we just want our babies too darn much, and, as shortsighted, selfish Americans (and Brits, in another research gem), we are dooming the planet.  Used to be that people said, "don't have babies if you cannot afford them."  Now, it's "don't have babies - plural - one's plenty good."

HOW??  Here's the rub:  The “basic premise,” the study reports, is that “a person is responsible for emissions of his descendents.”

Remember Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal?  You have to go back and read it.  He had a solution right there -- we should just eat our young.  Then, it was the Irish and their silly Catholic notions -- we ought to nip that in the bud, right?  He laughed, but any good satirist has some brilliance in his jest.  Tongue-in-cheek aside, what a wonderful solution!  They need to go back and revisit that.  Maybe fund a study.  I am sure they will be able to extract some useful ideas from his essay.  Especially where it concerns the environmental benefits of baby-eating... don't you see the appeal?

I have been gone for weeks and weeks and I SUCK at being an LJ pal lately.  I'm just feeling very sorry for myself that Roger is leaving and I didn't want to be here because, really, who wants to listen to someone bitch about something she cannot change?  Rather than do the pointless bitching, I simply took hiatus.

And I opened LJ today and WHAMMO!  -- everyone has a ton of Major Stuff going on.

So I think, why the hell am I stuck in my own head when my friends have stuff going on?  I should be involved!  I should move my ass back over into LJ and find out what they are doing!

I miss you guys, I really do. 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!!!!!
#WQ#()+#R+)FSJ#*(&%&W$&


I feel MUCH better now.

A friend sent this to me.  These men and women ranked about number 10 on ABC's newsworthiness list yesterday... but their lives and deaths held more meaning for me and their families than Michael Jackson (a talented person, certainly, but...)

I hope that their families find comfort in their loved ones and friends, and the memories of those they've lost.
************

While the focus today, tomorrow and for the next God-knows-how-many-days will be the death of a pop culture icon (Michael Jackson); while many will mourn, wail and quite literally make fools of themselves over it and while as many will speak endlessly about it, allow me, if only for a moment, to remind us all that others have died this month; others whose lives were cut short; others who leave behind loved ones and whose families will dearly miss them; families who'll suffer with much more dignity and honor than we'll be exposed to on the tube in the coming days.

Yes... I t's true... We've suffered a great loss... But forgive me while I tell you that I'm not talking about the "king of pop music".

 
These American military members died in Iraq this month:

Sergeant Justin J. Duffy
Specialist Christopher M. Kurth
Specialist Charles D. Parrish
Lance Corporal Robert D. Ulmer
Staff Sergeant Edmond L. Lo
Sergeant Joshua W. Soto
Captain Kafele H. Sims
Specialist Chancellor A. Keesling

And these members of our U.S. Armed Forces died in Afghanistan this month:

Sergeant Jones, Ricky D.
Specialist Munguia Rivas, Rodrigo A.
Command Master Chief Petty Officer Garber, Jeffrey J.
1st Sergeant Blair, John D.
Sergeant Smith, Paul G.
Staff Sergeant Melton, Joshua
Sergeant 1st Class Dupont, Kevin A.
Specialist O'Neill, Jonathan C.
Chief Warrant Officer Richardson Jr., Ricky L.
Specialist Silva, Eduardo S.
Lance Corporal Whittle, Joshua R.
Major Barnes, Rocco M.
Major Jenrette, Kevin M.
Staff Sergeant Beale, John C.
Specialist Jordan, Jeffrey W.
Specialist Griemel, Jarrett P.
Specialist Hernandez I, Roberto A.
Sergeant Obakrairur, Jasper K.
Staff Sergeant Hall, Jeffrey A.
Private 1st Class Ogden, Matthew D.
Private 1st Class Wilson, Matthew W.

Let's remember and honor this day those whose deaths are truly impacting.

God rest them and God comfort their loved ones they've left behind.

And may God use their deaths to remind us all of the shortness of our days.

I am eating a bowl of Breyers Cookies and Cream ice cream and you're not...

Tomorrow morning, Roger is going to try out for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire... cross your fingers!!!

He has to actually go through the whole process of trying out, and I think he has to take a screentest or something beyond that, but it would be so neat if he made it!!!!!!!!

People are so funny sometimes.

Haven't done the paper dolls or books yet -- need to find the right images to work with. Until then, here's a summer 8-pack. ( swimsuits ahoy )

This is a picture of someone being served free soup from a soup kitchen.

If I am not mistaken, that is a Blackberry phone...



*headdesk*

If anyone has an extra Dreamwidth code just sitting around collecting dust, I'd love to beg it off you...
Thank You!!