Wednesday, May 27, 2009

SCOTUS: Six degrees of separation

U.S. Supreme Court building.Image via Wikipedia

I grew up in the same small town as Chief Justice John Roberts. My time at Princeton overlapped with that of Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
And I knew neither.

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Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Real Money for Real Housewives

NEW YORK - MARCH 3: (L-R) From "The Real ...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Who would allow herself to be labeled a "Real Housewife of fill in the blank" and have the camera track her every move?

Me. Now that I know the Real Housewives of New York are getting $30,000 an episode, I'm ready to sign.

I'd put up with being mic'ed and gossiped about. It's not a bad way to make a living.
A good living at that.

Bravo, I promise I wouldn't push a book, jewelry, skin care or clothing line.







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Monday, May 18, 2009

Print this

Visited a friend this weekend who still subscribes to Ye Olde Star Tribune.

It lay on her kitchen table with the other detritus of Saturday morning; coffee, spoons, cereal bowls.
"I like the feel of it. I like the routine," she explained.

She'd best enjoy it while she can.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Beyond the laptop

Slow Cooked Beef Winter Stew: Part TwoImage by jennifermackenziejones via Flickr


This morning, in three hours, I knocked out three big projects. The deadline had been looming on my calendar for weeks while I did various other things; dawdled, drank coffee, mused, and cooked.

Any creative person will tell you that good work requires cooking time; not just the years spent training, but the days spent cooking; observing, thinking, reading, free-associating. All of it goes into the pot where it simmers and stews, until finally, the cream rises.

The work gets done.

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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Suck up and deal

Subject: :en:Buzzcut Photographer: Photographe...Image via Wikipedia

My soon-to-be-13-year-old son likes his hair cut short, military style; and on his hunka' chunka' husky frame, it's just plain wrong. He has great, thick, wavy hair and kept a moderate length, he looks pretty darn good. Buzzed-off, Quantico style, he looks f-a-t. There's no crime in that. But my personal vanity gets wounded. Now he's joined the Civil Air Patrol Cadets, and Quantico is more than a style. It's "regulation", he explains.

"But I love your hair. You have great hair!" I protest.
"Mom," he barks, "Suck up and deal."

"..................... .............!! ...........", I gasp, sucking up and dealing.

Yesterday morning, when the sixth in a series of substitute school bus drivers showed up, my son poked his head in the door and alerted me, "Mom, it's another sub!"

"Suck up and deal," I replied.

".....!.... ............ .......!!.... ", gasped my son, realizing the trap he'd set.
And sucking up and dealing with it.

I like the Civil Air Patrol.





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Saturday, May 9, 2009

Real women wear .............cardigans

White Woollen CardiganImage by StreetFly JZ via Flickr

Multimedia from NYTimes.com:

On the Street | In Bud

At the annual lunch of the Women’s Committee of the park’s conservancy, the fashion included extravagant millinery and a new fashion note, the cardigan sweater subbing for the structured jacket.

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Thursday, May 7, 2009

Truly Amazing

Look what just appeared in my inbox: A recruitment letter from a pesticide company

Letter to me
show details 12:33 PM (14 minutes ago)
Thursday, May 07, 2009

Dear Confidential Jobseeker,

My name is ........... the Sales Manager for a company which has had consistent growth year over year. Yahoo! Finance even had an article recently about TruGreen hiring 2,300 people nationwide. During this unfortunate economic recession, many companies are having a hard time staying afloat. We are fortunate at TruGreen to still be growing in an economic downturn.

I am writing you because I have come across your resume on monster.com. You have the experience that I look for in an employee and I would like to visit with you about my open Sales Representative Position. .....................I give my employees a base salary plus a lucrative commission scale.......... an average sales representative will make between $30,000 - $40,000 per year. If you are interested in applying, please go to www.applybyweb.com and enter the keyword: TruGreen. .
Thanks for your time!!!
www.applybyweb.com
Keyword: TruGreen
Letter Value: 12634A-1C109


I'd say its nice to know someone is still hiring, but not when that someone is in the business of poisoning our world.