I hear that there is "proof" that Iran is interfering in Iraq. It is said that a weapon with some parts made in Iran has been located in Iraq. I wonder where the parts of other weapons (not our military's) in Iraq come from? Who are the major arms manufacturers and suppliers?

How dare anyone "interfere" in Buscheney's private little affair! Is it invitation only? And wasn't there an invitation on the guest list a while ago?

Bush budget shows 1/5 going toward defense. If you were living on around $50,000 how much would you spend to defend yourself? I guess bullets, guns, etc. Ten thousand bucks a year? Around $840 per month? Does that seem like too much to anyone else? Where would you draw the line as far as taking from other expenses to reinforce the defense spending?


Would you head to the other side of town and mow down all in the neighborhood and then some while leaving your back door unlocked (or wide open)?



Certain religious groups do not think it is good to vaccinate their daughters against the cervical cancer danger, that it encourages promiscuity... Have you ever heard of rape? Take care of your daughters.

It is good to have the websites dedicated to informing others of sex offenders living in the area. I see quite a few around downtown schools, parks, and playgrounds. The older I get the more I want to see people who molest and rape sent off to someplace away from the general population after being rendered sterile or impotent.



A planet on lockdown is an interesting idea.


I found these when I was looking around at holy cards of St. Valentine and St. Barbara.


The imprinted cellular memories from my days in Catholic catechism snuck in to prevent me from downloading the one of Jesus.


You may order nun finger puppets, papal rubber duckies, or nun rubber duckies from MissPoppy.com.


And for your grad or dad - Fetish Nun Strip Pens. You will not believe what you see. I hate to be an advertisement for crass cashing-in on Christianity but this is too funny! Hands Off Anti-What?!? Cream??!!??



lulublue

I heard someone say that Anna Nicole Smith had too much to handle in her short lifetime. Yes, those were alot of highs and lows. God Bless her Soul, in Sagittarian fashion, she wanted "more, bigger, and higher" which that sign can bestow.

I am reading "Beyond The Garage" written by Sean Bonniwell of the Music Machine (Talk Talk). He also was a member of the folk quartet, the Wayfarers, in the early 1960's. He also seemed to have alot to handle in one lifetime. He started his life dealing with life-changing challenges. And it just kept on going.

I used to feel like I was a freak (at least internally) who could barely function but every other person out there was cruising along as "normal" as they could be. I would be struck by this thought most commonly when I was driving around town in my car. I always felt like everyone else (almost) was calmly driving along, going about their day, while I was about to burst into tears, or about to laugh hysterically at the radio comedy routine, or having thoughts too silly, selfish, twisted, or maybe illegal for anyone to understand. I thought about ways to feel "complete".

I now realize that there isn't a "normal" one out there anywhere. We all carry our dramas, stories, memories, or disabilities, visible or invisible, closed away while desperately trying to put on the appearance of health, prosperity, and a family life like Leave It To Beaver or Ozzie and Harriet.

0000 0000 0 000
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We have been expecting rain for about 3 days now. Clouds are still gathering with the sun shining through here and there. It feels like it will rain to me, because the pain in my bod feels the barometric pressure going down in a way that's hard to ignore. I've become one of the oldies who groans and mumbles, "Oh, my rheumatiz...ouch...it's gonna rain, I can feel it." It is a funny vision, but it does really hurt alot. Besides car accidents with 17 year old males, I have fibromyalgia which settled in while I was working in a law office. It feels like I've been working out hard, and am now feeling how out of shape I'd become. It's just that the pain never goes away as it would after a day or so if it were due to a workout. Then, you can't sleep because it hurts, then it hurts more because you're not getting any sleep.

Anyway, I try not to think of the things I cannot do any more. I used to love working on the playground at my children's alternative school, dancing, swimming, sewing, and just getting out and going places when I felt like it. Now I stay closer to home and usually schedule one "outing" a day, such as a trip to buy groceries, going into the bank, an event at school, or whatever. After that, I'm too tired and painful for anything else. The good thing is that I can hang out and read to my heart's content. I can now spend lots of time learning and writing at the computer, listening to radio talk shows, researching astrology, or flea-combing my cat. I am so thankful to have a great friend in Wild Thing. She follows me down to the laundry room and the mail box, like she was a puppy. I just got a "starter" digital camera so I can sell things online, too! I'm having fun with that!

So for now, have a good weekend! Be safe...be well. lulu

PS We had to start locking up the laundry room. One morning I tried to go inside but someone was sleeping against the door! I guess he washed and dried his clothes, too. Only problem I had was his leaving the Cheetos bag and the milk container lying on the floor. Just looking for some shelter...

Hello, Saturday Night! It's BlogParty and Little Steven's Underground Garage!

Cynicism and Sarcasm Building a Foundation


Imagine living in Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California.



It's always warm in there...



Last month, there was a power outage on Padaro Lane in Summerland, near Santa Barbara, California. You can buy 17 acres on a bluff above the ocean
on Padaro for about $32,000,000.



You would live very comfortably.





After the power outage, the front page of the local paper, the News-Press, had a story about the outage. A man was interviewed about what a hardship it had been. He told us that he had 3 of the house fireplaces blazing!


Then he mentioned his wife wearing a blue robe or coat over her clothes, which I didn't quite get too clearly, but whatever...he was too cold to talk, perhaps.


I was floored by what I read. This guy was complaining about 3 fireplaces not keeping him warm while many sleep in sleeping bags or under cardboard boxes hidden among the tall plants along the freeway or in a park.



A few days after that story appeared, a letter was published in the opinion section saying what I had thought. It was from a college student confessing that he found it hard to feel sorry for this guy on Padaro Lane.



This city begs to be held up for disbelief and examination by being a place of very stark contrasts. There is mega-power and money while the homeless are struggling to get something to eat. Some people complain that they don't like to go onto certain streets because of the panhandlers. I admit that I don't want to give money to someone who might spend it on dope. But many will carry McDonald's Gift Certificates to hand out or buy some deli food to give the person.


Al Gore made an interesting statement sometime last night, the night he accepted an award for the film, "Inconvenient Truth", at the film festival. He said that, "...reason only briefly and rarely interrupts wealth and power."

That thought has been on my mind for most of today. And I don't think I would have mentioned to a newspaper that I had 3 fireplaces burning away the cold and darkness while others starve in icy winds. I wouldn't even find myself in a home with 3 fireplaces. Not that I don't like money, I do for the comfort and necessities it can guarantee. But how wealthy does one have to be to feel content? And I think of what drives the ego, the part of a person that separates from others, to do things like sell weapons of mass destruction to both sides of a conflict to gain more and more.

It is a glaring distinction from the souls whose hearts ache for the suffering or impoverished as if they were his/her very own sons and daughters.

Be good to yourself and others, you are reflected in them and so is your relationship with Divine Source. Living in Santa Barbara lends itself to being faced with this paradox each time you open your door. Need and greed. Will or ill.

Don't drink and drive! Blessings, lulublues

The man who would have been (if it weren't for Katherine Harris of Florida) president, Al Gore accepted an award last night at the Santa Barbara Film Festival just a few blocks from Lulublue's humble home!

http://www.edhat.com/

Stories and photos of the ceremony and social events after are at the edhat site. Go check it out!

How about that Katherine Harris? The way she ran that campaign was just ... mindboggling, wasn't it?

The tickets to see the film, question and answer session, and the presentation of the award were $75.00, I hear. I wasn't up to the crowd or excitement due to my son's science fair taking place yesterday (more on that later).

A friend who is a journalist, Nancy Black, had a press pass for the film event but when we last spoke at our school's science fair, she hadn't heard from the "festival people" about the social event. After I speak with her, I'll post it here, so we'll all know how it was.

Science Fair -

I'm down to 2 more science fairs. They are gruelling. The kids seem to handle it much better, though. I've been through 15 science fairs between both of my sons. I find them pretty stressful (understatement).

I've seen projects such as electrical conductivity through lemons and potatoes, the great standby of the floating egg (easy!), a robot (sort of), a millet seed sprouting inside a venus-fly-trap, and this year, how salt effects the growth of a plant (death sentence). From the decision on what to do up through the transportation of the project from home to school, you're just as involved as your child. And you'll never forget it because of those sugar crystals stuck to the back seat of the car!

I had a horribly painful and humiliating time the year my ex-husband and I separated. Dad helped my son put together a project causing a bulb to light up somehow. I was pretty much in meltdown condition facing divorce, legal troubles, and learning of a life-threatening illness. I tried my hardest to get out of bed to take the child and project to school and get it set up. It wouldn't work. Where was dad to help out? He was in Mammoth with someone who looked a whole lot like me but wasn't me. Thankful and grateful to my friends who understood, we made it through the day. I didn't but my son did.

At this point, I love seeing the projects of the kids at our beloved alternative school of about 225 students. The imagination, effort, and work put into the project is astounding! The morning of the fair, hearing the student explain what the project was and what they learned, is one of the highlights of the year. We learn about so much: what whitens laundry the best, abrasive toothpaste, stains, sound, taste buds, and any other scientific subject you could imagine. And I am reminded about the magic that life and children are!

So it's complete for 2007. We are relieved and satisfied that it went so well. Two more years to go. I guarantee I'll miss it all after 2009.

lulu

I think of the Superbowl in a pretty negative way. It's way too commercial. It's over-hyped. It leads to over consumption of alcohol. Most disturbingly, I remember reading or hearing that there were more domestic violence calls then, too. What is that about???

People, you gotta cool this crap! Stop hitting the people you are supposed to love and take care of.

Control your anger (and I get explosively angry, too) or express it in ways that won't damage or destroy anything or anyone. Alternatives to beating the heck out of someone would be:

1. Go for a walk or run down the street or around the block. Do some
push ups, sit ups, dance, stomp, or dribble.

2. Express it creatively by art or writing.

3. Punch pillows or couches or beds. Breaking something doesn't say
you're strong or in control. It says you are way out of control.


And, for the 11 millionth time, and still not enough,

DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE

I hear it is no fun to be taken in for driving under the influence. It is expensive, too!

Have fun and be fun. Take care! lulu