Vested Disinterest

Look Over your Shoulder, Barry

2008-02-13T14:51:00.004-05:00

As it seems more and more likely that Barack Obama is becoming the new frontrunner for the Democrat nomination, I wonder just how desperate Hillary and Bill are becoming. I wouldn't want to be around Ms Clinton these days. Ash trays and lamps will be flying. Strike that. There is no such thing as an ash tray anymore, at least not around anyone with Hillary's political ambitions.

I'm sure the Clintons are not going to let a little thing like Obama's number of delegates get in their way back to Pennsylvania Avenue. Are there enough ambassadorships and cabinet positions to go around to all the superdelegates that Hillary and Bill are courting? You can be sure that they are putting the pressure on hot and heavy. Promises, threats, whatever it takes.

I'm not surprised that we are hearing talk about counting the Michigan and Florida delegates after all. We should know by now not to take the Clintons at their word. If going back on her word about those contests causes the successful favorable number of delegates to put her over the top, look for a bit of a rumble in the Democrat party. I predict one anyway if the super delegates put Hillary in the lead. Wouldn't she then be "selected not elected"?Anybody? Guess we won't be hearing any talk about the popular vote vs. the electoral college if that happens.

Anyway, look out Barack "Barry" Hussein Obama. I wouldn't put anything past a Clinton and the political office he/she seeks. You know they are prepared to haul out the big guns in order to keep him from the nomination. I imagine all sorts of Democrat muckety-mucks scared to death to cross the Clintons and support Obama. What if she wins after all? Will their political life be worth a plugged nickel? You know the Clintons have long memories and short fuses. And they carry a grudge.

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We have seen Chelsea a-pimpin' for her mom. Nothing unusual about that. Barbara and Jenna Bush were on the campaign trail a bit for their dad. Of course Bill has been doing his thing here and there. Speaking of Bill, he seems to have taken a lesser role lately. We don't see and hear about his tirades and political gaffes as much as we did a few weeks ago. I guess Hillary has put an electrified dog collar on his and he gets a slight correction now and then.

Heads have been rolling from the campaign staff. Out with the hispanic and in with the black. That seems to be too transparent for Hillary to do just for vote getting.

I remember Maggie Williams. I especially remember hearing testimony about her being seen carrying files from the recently deceased Vince Foster's office. Taking her cue from Bill and Hillary, she denied it. Yeah. Right.

Spade Work?

2008-01-11T17:04:00.000-05:00

I guess Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said on the Today Show, Jan. 11, 2008, that Senator Barack Obama "hasn't done the spade work necessary to be president."

Freudian slip? Just an unfortunate choice of words? An appeal to the racist nature in some people? Whatever.

I choose to believe that it was just a slip of the tongue, that she only meant he hadn't done enough of his homework in foreign relations to be adequately prepared to be the president.

She obviously thinks she has. Pillow talk with Bill (I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt on this) doesn't count. I chat with my husband about politics, foreign and domestic, all the time and wouldn't in a million years consider myself ready to be president, senator, or anything in national government. But then I'm not Hillary. Thank God.

Who's the Old Geezer?

2008-01-09T08:59:00.000-05:00

I've seen bad photos of Bill Clinton before, but this one takes the cake. It makes him look about fifteen years older than his true age. Perhaps it's the stooping to receive Hillary's caress. But he looks very gaunt.

Check out the expression on Hillary's face. Not one of her best. To me it reflects her conniving personality and her resistance to the obligatory hug of congratulations on her primary victory. Their "one big happy family" appearance is all too phony. She was probably throwing lamps at him yesterday after all the polls predicted a resounding defeat for her in favor of Senator Obama. Now she has to make nice.

These two need to get out of our political lives.

The Man Who Won't Go Away - 9 More Years of Him?

2007-05-15T14:43:00.000-04:00

Bill Clinton is going to take a more active part in his wife's campaign for the presidency latest reports indicate. Goody. I'm sure that the initial plans for running Hillary's campaign did not include much of His Horniness' presence. Hillary needs to be presented as a separate entity worthy on her own bona fides for acquiring the position of the head of the USA, not some hanger-on to Bill's coattails with all the baggage that evokes.

Trouble is, she is riding on his coattails. She would never have been elected to the Senate without his having been President. The Democrat party would never have picked her out of Arkansas to run for the junior Senate seat from New York with Bill being ex-governor of that state. Everyone knows that, but it doesn't seem to matter.

Everyone also knows that she put up with years of his lies and infidelity in order to keep on keepin' on. Her fervent prayer was that his affairs not be made public knowledge. Well, the best "laid" plans oft gang astray, as they say. In spite of all the brouhaha after Bill's best "laid" plans with Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Monica, Kathleen Willey, Juanita Broderick, et al., she stayed with him until it was too late to cut and run. She bet on the magic aura of his name and it seems to have been a sure thing for her.

Here she is, the leading Democrat contender for the nomination and now is she pulling out the big gun, Billy Boy, to stump for her, at least in the short term. They'll see how it plays in Peoria. Slick Willy has starred in a slick production, thanks to their Hollywood connections, I'm sure, a "Look at how Wonderful Hillary Is!" video that showcases all the activities Hillary undertook in the past couple of decades. No mention of flying ashtrays or lamps, the Rose Law firm billing records, cattle futures, Castle Grande, Whitewater investigations here and there, FBI records, Travelgate, her brothers' involvement in Pardongate, her health care debacle, the vanishing White House furnishings, her blatant denial of Bill's infidelity (invented by the "vast right-wing conspiracy") and purported shock when, lo and behold, he had to confess to it.

Obama's threatening to overtake her in the polls necessitated the call to action for Bill. I'm sure his role will be carefully scripted to prevent his appearing to be coaching her. His position, as first gent, will be an unusual one, to be sure. He will be kept under control, probably by sending him abroad (ha!) as often as possible. In the meantime, get ready to see his snowy white head popping up relatively often, nodding in agreement to Hill's every utterance, giving her quick hugs and smooches (no passionate Gore-type kisses, no sirree) on podia all across America.

Fort Dix Six

2007-05-12T08:16:00.000-04:00

In about 7 years, when the "Fort Dix Six" come to trial what will their leagal team use for a defense? It will probably be entrapment, or maybe excessive profiling. I can see it now - the poor Circuit City guy who was asked by the "FDS" to transfer a recording of their target practice and "Allah Akbaring" to DVD will be labeled as a government agent, free lancing to abuse the civil rights of the struggling minority immigrants. They wereonly just making a home movie. They didn't really mean to do any harm.

Yeah. Yeah.

The FBI informant who joined the group will be accused of leading these poor Muslims on a merry goose chase. He's the one who forced them to "pretend" to go along with his plans for destruction and death. He's the one who organized the purchase of weapons.

Just watch. The Democrats will decry such "Bushitler" tactics in the non-existent global war on terror and wind up defending all Muslim terrorists trapped in such a way.

By the way, did you notice how quickly the Democrats in the MSM all called these guys "homegrown"? Look again at their nationality and immigration status. No one can convince me that they were homegrown. Three of them were here illegally, smuggled in from Mexico. Four were Yugoslavian and one was from Jordan and one from Turkey.

Now, if they mean that the plot was hatched here in the US, O.K. We don't know yet whether or not these guys took marching orders from anybody. But this ragtag group, according to some, were not of "homegrown" fidelity or allegiance. Their allegiance was to violence, whether or not inspired by Islam. One at least was fond of calling Osama Bin Laden "Uncle Bennie."

How fortunate for the Fort Dix community, and others in New Jersey, as well as for the United States that these six terror suspects were stopped before they plied their terrible trade.

Rosie Strikes Again

2007-04-24T09:41:00.000-04:00

The emcee of the annual luncheon of New York Women in Communications was non other than Rosie O'Donnell. She lived up to her reputation by delivering her special brand of off-color humor including the "F-word", and "Eat Me!", a reference to her feud with the Donald.

Some of the attendees professed to be offended by Rosie's remarks. Robert Zimmerman, a Democrat activist for progressive causes called her "vulgar and common." I agree she's vulgar but his remark that she is "common" says more about him than her. I believe those kind of remarks are anything but common, but that's beside the point.

Some thought it was fun to watch other people be offended. I don't need to say anything about that.

However, the NY Women in Communications' managing director, Beth Ellen Keyes, expressed the group's overall pleasure in having Rosie appear and do her thing. "She was just great."

O'Donnell's publicist, Cindi Berger, told the New York Post: "When you ask for Rosie, you know what you're getting. She's not a shrinking violet. She's a stand-up comedienne. She says things that are provocative." No kidding.

Let's play a little game. People who attend these functions, watch certain television shows, listen to certain radio broadcasts, do so of their own free will. If they don't want to subject themselves to Rosie's "humor", or see sex and violence on their TV sets, or hear entertainers' humorous remarks or political opinions, they don't have to. So, our game is to substitute the name "Imus" for "Rosie" in Ms Berger's statement above. "When you ask for Imus, you know what you're getting. (S)He's not a shrinking violet. He says things that are provocative."

Lest you think that the attendees were mostly telephone operators, the Women in Communications group included such celebrities as Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Meredith Vieira, Joan Didion, Arianna Huffington, Nora Ephron, Martha Stewart and Hillary Clinton. Barbara and Joy must be used to Rosie's nasty mouth by now but the others may not have become so jaded. I wonder how many of them railed against Imus' recent provocative remarks. I wonder how many of them will publicly denounce Rosie? Can I count them on one hand? One finger?

Spring is Sprung the Gras is Riz I Wonder Where the Birdies Is?

2007-04-22T14:22:00.000-04:00

Yahoo. The warm weather is keeping me outside. It's much too pretty to be inside writing or reading blogs. I'll check in later; tomorrow it's supposed to rain.

STILL MORE ON IMUS

2007-04-16T18:39:00.000-04:00

If you can stand more on the Imus fiasco, read this editorial from THE MANCHESTER, NH, UNION LEADER

The Imus standard: You can't Say That

Radio talk show host Don Imus called Rutgers' mostly black women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos" and got fired. Al Sharpton falsely accused a white man of rape and incited a race riot that left several dead. Jesse Jackson called Jews "hymies." And yet they still mingle at the highest circles of Democratic Party politics.
Imus' comments were indefensible. Even if the women did have tattoos and look a bit street-tough, as Imus was trying to say, calling them whores was an insult too far. But is it a fireable offense for a "shock jock" who has built his career uttering juvenile comments, including regularly making what he calls "n----- jokes"?

What Imus said was a great deal tamer than what is routinely uttered by rappers who call women "bitches" and boast about using and abusing them. It is tamer than the misogynistic and even racist jokes numerous stand-up comics make a living uttering. How did this offensive but comparatively tame comment get a major radio host pulled from the air? Fellow syndicated radio host Neal Boortz has a theory.

Boortz thinks that the Left has finally figured out how to bring down talk radio: accuse the hosts of racism. Unable to compete with talk radio, the Left has opted to play thought police. Racial prejudice is the last free speech taboo in America. Peg a broadcaster as racist, and you can bring him down.

"Liberals see this whole Imus situation as a way to rid themselves of the problem of talk radio ... they will turn their attention to the rest of us. The tape recorders will be running. There is not one single significant right-of-center radio talk show out there that is not going to come under fire."

Boortz has a point. Calling black women "hos" is not offensive to the cultural Left. If it were, there would be boycotts of rap stars and record labels. But if it presents an opportunity to go after a non-liberal talk radio host, the Left will take it. With one notch on their belt, they'll be sure to seek others.

Meanwhile, the same people who demanded Imus' head on a pike will continue to give platforms to Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton as legions of rappers provide the misogynistic background music.

Copyright, Manchester Union Leader, 2007

The President is Coming to Town

2007-04-16T15:04:00.000-04:00

Wow! This will be important news for residents of our town, Tipp City, Ohio, a community of 9000 plus people, 15 miles or so north of Dayton. For once our little burg will have the spotlight on it. George Bush will be speaking at Tippecanoe High School on Thursday, April 19. What excitement for the students who will get to see him. They can brag to their children about it.

I saw two presidents in my lifetime, Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy. When I was ten years old, we were visiting Gettysburg battlefield nestled in the countryside of Pennsylvania. As we were driving out of the park, a small motorcade, car, drove by. It was a black Cadillac limo and seated in the backseat was Ike. He and his wife had a working farm in Gettysburg, right next to the park. He was an avid golfer and had on his golfing clothes, complete with hat.

My family saw President Kennedy at Otis Air Force Base on Cape Cod, in 1962. My father was a civilian working at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, and was sent to Otis Air Force Base for his work. We had good friends stationed there and our family stayed with them. President Kennedy's usual weekend routine was to fly to Otis on Friday, helicopter to his family compound at Hyannis, and reverse that on Monday mornings to return to Washington. Many residents on the base would flock to the airfield to await his arrival. We joined the mini-throng one Monday while we were there and sure enough, out from the helicopter descended John Kennedy. We were probably 150 feet from him but I had my handy camera at the ready and took a few pictures. I was eager to get home and develop the negatives and make the prints in our home darkroom. My dad patiently had taught me how to do the procedures and it was great to watch the image of JFK appear on the photo paper. My camera was not very good and the picture is so grainy that you can't make out his face. However, the posture is definitely Kennedy's. What a thrill.

I hope children of my hometown get as big a thrill out of seeing our current president as I did so long ago. Of course, any photos they take will be nearly instantly available for viewing on home computers or printed out quickly at CVS or Walmart. No chemicals, no careful procedures, no thrill of seeing the image gradually develop in the solution. Digital photography is great, don't get me wrong, but the magic of film is indescribable.

Do You Believe in Hell?

2007-04-12T09:22:00.000-04:00

Remember hearing about Dante's Inferno, describing the different levels of Hell?

Take this test to find out where you are headed. Answer the questions honestly. Get ready to burn.

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Third Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	High
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	High
Level 2 (Lustful)	Very Low
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Low
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Low
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Low
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Very Low

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

La Pelosi Lallapalooza

2007-04-06T17:38:00.000-04:00

What was Nancy Pelosi thinking? Well, I think I know what she was thinking. Being a little drunk on power at the moment, after 100 days as Speaker of the House and undoubtedly thinking that she is technically a heck of a lot closer to the Oval Office than Ms Clinton is, it must have been irresistible to travel abroad (to one of the "axis of evil" countries no less) and pretend to be Head of State for a while. Conduct a little foreign policy, wing it if necessary, politely wear a headscarf, color-coordinated to her modest Armani suit, smile for the cameras, come home to cheering crowds and next year be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Whew! That's a lot of work, even for a woman, to undertake. But alas! Something is amiss! There is criticism of her Nobel, and noble, efforts! The second-in-line newspaper of record, the Washington Post, has compared her trip to a pratfall. Ignoring the direct request of the President not to meet with Syria's dictator Bashar al-Assad, Nancy Pelosi has shown either her ignorance of constitutionally delegated powers or she has decided that they need not apply to a woman of her stature. By circumventing our current diplomatic policy of isolating Assad and attempting to force him to denounce terrorism and prove it, La Pelosi has succeeding in shoring up Syria's terrorist support system and confounding President Bush's efforts to dismantle it.

Now there's a chance that she may go to Iran and start a "dialog" with Ahmadinejad. I remember her campaign slogan "A woman's place is in the house." May I suggest that she go back to Washington, DC, and the House and stay there a while.

Kirby -A Dog's Life

2007-03-18T10:18:00.000-04:00

He came into our lives in October, 1996, a scrawny, long-legged bundle of energy, about to enter his third, fourth or fifth life. If cats are said to have nine lives, surely dogs must have more than one. This dog, rescued from a Washngton, DC animal shelter, started his official "second" life when our daughter took him home to her small apartment already occupied by two cats. When the cats refused to accept his still puppy-like ways, he started his "third" life in Ohio with us.

He must have thought that he was in heaven. A large fenced back yard, another dog to play with, a nice house, warm in winter, and cool in summer, and two more people who would grow to love him like no other dog. Our dog at the time, Jesse James, was five years old, and somewhat set in her ways, but she accepted Kirby and the two of them chased around the house and yard with wild abandon.

How to describe Kirby? Part terrier, part hound, deep chested, tiny waist, long, skinny legs. Sparse fur which grew in a coarse-looking manner, but was surprisingly soft to the touch. Mostly white, with a few large tan spots, black spots on his pink skin, big ears, long tail, with one eye rimmed in black which made it appear smaller than the other. He was definitely an original. He always drew attention wherever he went. "What kind of dog is that?" was heard countless times. Our standard answer was "He's a Kirby," a true one and only.

He had the mannerisms of Tramp, from the Disney movie, spunky, and boyish to the nth degree. His favorite pastime was chasing tennis balls, a not unusual activity for dogs, but he did it in his own way. When my husband mowed the lawn, he would throw the tennis ball for Kirby, who would run at speed to fetch it. He was smart enough to drop the ball right in the path of the mower to insure that it would be thrown again immediately. This made lawn mowing take a little more time, but he never tired of chasing the ball during the whole hour and a half, and he would gladly sacrifice a torn claw to retrieve the ball after one bounce.

In his first life, Kirby must have known love and attention. He came to the animal shelter totally housetrained, understanding the word "NO" and quickly learned the boundaries of our unfenced front yard. He was obedient, always came to us when called, and although a little destructive in the beginning, quickly learned what he was allowed and not allowed to chew on. He only strayed once, during a heavy snowstorm when he wandered between two neighboring houses and found himself on the street behind us, slightly disoriented. We were outside with him shoveling snow and when we missed him, we scattered and luckily found him right away.

When Jesse James died, we waited a year to get another dog. The new one was Little Dixie, a Maltese puppy. Kirby's gentle nature let him adopt her and put up with her chewing on his heels, ears, and tail. In spite of the great difference in their sizes, the two of them played and chased each other around the house. His only fault was in not sharing toys with her. He would carry his stash of toys upstairs, one by one, and hide them from her in a guest bedroom. If we bought tiny toys for her and big toys for him, he learned to leave the tiny ones alone, but he never let her play with any of his.

We have always wondered what his early life was like. When our daughter first adopted him, he was filthy, with grease stains on his back. He had obviously been living on the streets for a while. I'm sure he had some unpleasant memories but he kept them to himself. His only outward fear was of thunder and fireworks, a common fear for dogs. He was boarded over one fourth of July weekend while we were back in DC visiting our daughter. When we returned, the kennel owners told us that he had escaped the kennel and they had no idea where he was. We were horrified and spent two days with the help of friends searching for him. When we finally got a phone call telling us that he was found, we were so relieved. During his flight, probably caused by his panic at the sound of fireworks nearby, he was clever enough to go up to the front door of a house where the lights were on. He looked in the screen door and the people inside finally saw him and were kind enough to give him food and water. He stayed on their porch overnight and they finally let him inside to rest. I must have walked and driven right by that house several times while I was searching for him never knowing he was safe inside. Those wonderful people called the animal shelter who had already been notified by the kennel. They put two and two together and that's how Kirby was rescued yet again. He sat on my lap during the twenty minute ride home and cried the whole time, as if trying to tell me about his frightening adventure.

That was the last time he was boarded at that place. They never told us how he managed to get out, if they even knew. He definitely didn't like confinement, maybe due to his memory of being at the animal shelter in DC. When we found a reliable indoor kennel, with several doors between the boarding area and the outside, we were lucky that the kennel mistress developed a deep connection with Kirby. He was only in a cage at night, when the kennel staff left for the day. The rest of the time, he was allowed in the staff room, the office, the supply room, wherever he wasn't in the way. They gave us a photo of him curled up in an empty kitty litter box in their storeroom. Another time, he slept wrapped around their fax machine, on the counter in the office. But eventually, as he got older, his extreme fear of being caged was more than he could bear. During his last kenneling, he destroyed the heavy stainless steel kennel door, and became so distraught that the kennel mistress had the vet in the facility examine him and sedate him because his life was in danger.

Fortunately, he survived the ordeal and we decided never to kennel him again. We found "Ark Angels", a pet sitting service that was a loving alternative for the times we had to leave town for a few days. Wonderful neighbors filled in when family emergencies prevented our arranging for pet sitters. Our DC daughter eventually moved to our town and Kirby was reunited with his original "Mommy" rescuer. Although he stayed at our house, the two of them had a special bond, evidenced by the way he "talked" to her whenever she came to our house.H e also "talked" to my sister from New York. She loved Kirby as if he were her own. And the two of them would sing "You are My Sunshine". He would relish the opportunity to sleep in bed with her whenever she spent the night with us.

Yesterday, unquestionably the hardest day of our life, we had our dear Kirby put down. After a mercifully short illness, heart failure, he was unable to do much more than lift his head. He refused medication after a few days and we stopped forcing the pills on him. We spent his last few days giving him small bits of steak, scrambled eggs, and more steak. Our dedicated vet and his wife spent a generous amount of time with us and we finally left Kirby there, secure in the knowlege that he was in no pain and would never have any more fears. Oddly enough, we had a thunderstorm soon after we arrived home. We knew that Kirby was not bothered by the thunder claps. It was the only bright thing in the whole dark, dismal day.

I know the pain we feel will ease, but there will always be our deep, abiding love for the very special dog Kirby who will be missed by many, many people.

The "Flying Imams"

2007-03-14T09:03:00.000-04:00

What a stupid term. It always makes me think of the "Flying Wallendas" or the Wizard of Oz's "Flying Monkeys". But i must admit that I know exactly to which imams one is referring, the six muslim clerics booted from a USAirways flight a few months ago due to suspicious behavior noted by passengers on the flight. Their concern about the clerics' behavior, loud "Allahu Akbars!" while waiting at the gate, agitated appearance, angry comments about America, Osama, and Saddam, their requested seatbelt extenders put under the seats, the switching of seats and the worrisome location of those seats, similar in pattern to those of the September 11 attackers, caused the flight to be delayed and the imams asked to leave the plane.

If I had been a passenger on that flight, I would have been relieved. The imams, however, were aggrieved, declaring their removal to be an example of profiling, and racial and religious discrimination.

There were investigations, of course, by Minneapolis police, USAirways, and Homeland Security's Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Secret Service, Transportation Security Administration, the Air Carrier Secutiry Committee of the Air Line Pilots Association, and probably others. All investigations cleared the crew of wrongdoing in the removal of the Muslims.

So now the Council of American-Islamic Relations, is planning to sue. It may just be another attempted shakedown of a major company but I can't see most Americans backing USAirways caving to CAIR's lawsuit. It's way past time to stop giving in to these crooks.

Wine Watch

2007-03-13T10:09:00.000-04:00

Opened a bottle of Lindeman's Bin 50 Shiraz, 2005, yesterday. Hadn't had that for a while. Really tasty, fruity, good value.

Generally like Australian Shiraz, this is a good one.

Tired of Politics

2007-03-13T09:57:00.000-04:00

I would be so happy if the term of office for the presidency was extended to six years and limited to one term. It seems that the campaign season begins much too soon. All media attention is directed to that subject, endless polling, digging into candidates', and even potential candidates', pasts, back to their high school years. Genealogists search for ethnic backgrounds and embarrassing activities or beliefs of ancestors, whether or not the candidate even knew them. It's ridiculous.

We have Obama's mother's ancestors owning slaves, but he's part Muslim, but also part Irish. Hillary's commencement address, once hidden by the Clinton's to quell any pointed question about her radical college leanings, is now revealed. Giuliani's divorces are mentioned, his children interviewed about his fatherly qualities. Romney's religion (the scary Mormon one, and his changing views on abortion (I've changed mine a few times!) are questioned. McCain's temper, Hillary's temper, Giuliani's temper. My temper!

It's such a diversion from governing, to have candidates who currently are in office spending so much time away from their elected jobs campaigning all around the country. What a waste of time and money and energy (NB, all you green-leaning candidates).

I wonder if the constant drumbeat in the MSM isn't one cause for voter turnoff and all the no-shows at the real polls.

By the way, read at interesting post over at Sloan Morganstern's blog.
Check it out. I couldn't believe that "Aunt Jemima" Hillary, after adotping a southern accent while campaigning at a black gathering in Selma, is now comparing herself to President John Kennedy. She didn't try to sound like a Bostonian did she? That would have been great fun to hear!

Struggling in the Trojan War

2007-03-03T08:03:00.000-05:00

For the past week, I have been trying to read The Iliad. It is one classic I never read while in school. I reread The Odyssey a month ago and wanted to read the Iliad but it is a struggle. I can't get into the plot like I did with the Odyssey, so my progress is slow, especially since I only have been reading it at night in bed. I just get drowsy and give up trying to make sense of it.

Next on my list is the rest of the Oedipus trilogy; Antigone was the first one I read and next is Oedipus Rex. I read that long ago, so this will be a refresher.

I'll keep trying with The Iliad a little longer. This goes against my principle of never reading anything I don't like. I'm trying to keep an open mind and be disciplined.

Kinkead Ridge Riesling

2007-02-27T17:01:00.000-05:00

[In case you are wondering who Rachel Riesling is, she is a woman of a certain age who has many interests, one of which is enjoying new wines. She was enjoying a bottle of dry Riesling as she originated this blog, hence the name. No, Rachel isn't her real first name either. For the moment, we will keep her incognito.]

The riesling I was enjoying was a 2005 Kinkead Ridge from the Ohio River Valley. The first time I had this wine was at Thanksgiving, at the Murphin Ridge Inn, a bed and breakfast in an Amish community. The wine was their featured wine for the thanksgiving meal and was thoroughly delightful. Upon returning home, I sought out a bottle at my local wine merchant. We could only buy 3 bottles, the last of his stock. the winery has been sold out for a while so we will wait to see if the 2006 is as good. The back label says:

"Hand-harvested on September 19th, peach, honeysuckle and ripe pear notes precede a flinty finish. This racy wine's floral front palate and sweetness balance its crisp acidity. The grapes were cold-fermentsd to preserve aromatic components."

Only 147 cases were produced so it's easy to see how such a tasty wine was sold out early. I will certainly be trying more of the Kinkead Ridge wines as I see them available. We have been to the area where the vineyard is located so maybe a field trip is in order this spring or summer.

Winter Weekend without a good Movie????

2007-02-23T17:55:00.000-05:00

I desperately need some new movies to watch this weekend at home in the comfort of my chair, sitting by the blazing fire, feet up on the footstool, one doggy on my lap and another waiting for his turn on my lap, sipping , ok, slurping a glass of red wine, and knitting. Yes, I can knit and watch the boob tube at the same time. No, I don't have one eye on the sticks and the other on the screen. I look up and down, but I can do simple knitting, on relatively big needles (diameter, not length) without looking. You might not want to wear the finished product, but idle hands and devil's workshop, you know. It does get difficult, however, when a dog or two decide that yarn is something to get wrapped around legs. Then it's a bit of pandemonium.

I also read while watching TV, not heavy tomes but magazines, or cookbooks, something that I can scan and mark for later more careful reading. If I didn't knit, or read, while watching TV, I wouldn't get either done. It's not that I'm a slave to watching television, it's that I want to spend time with my man, who is. He's a slave to watching movies. "A night without a movie to watch is like a day without sunshine." Neither of us watches network TV or cable series. More on that another day. Occasionally, when he gets the urge to watch one of the bloodier, or more violent movies, I leave him to it and retire to another comby chair in another room to knit more demanding projects or read something that requires more concentration.

Anyway, we have plans tonight and tomorrow night, weather permitting, so Sunday looks like the movie watching evening. We won't bother watching the Oscars. We haven't seen any of the movie nominated for anything and couldn't care less about which one of those self-absorbed, spoiled, Bush-bashing, filthy rich, hypocritical weenies wins an Oscar. Who cares?

We'll find some old movie somewhere or one of the few newer movies that is decent, and hunker down with a good meal, our
dogs, our stick-in-the-mud ways and be perfectly content.

whatever was I thinking!?!?

2007-02-22T15:36:00.000-05:00

I need another blog like a hole in the head. I already have a political/cultural blog, here, and a home-based, cooking, etc. blog, here. Those take enough time and effort and here I go with another one. What an ego. Do I really think that anyone in their right mind will bother to read anything here? Check the heading.

Like Pierre, I don't care.

I don't know when I will get around to this posting on this blog. I mainly liked the name Vested Disinterest and wanted to reserve it here.

Check back sometime. Food for thought, maybe. Maybe not.

Trial Run

2007-02-22T14:00:00.000-05:00

This is only a test. Do not adjust your computer monitor. This is only a test.

In this space, shortly will appear a new blog, one created especially for you.