I finally got some good pictures of the latest acquisition from Jungle Jim’s, made when we were in Cincinnati for Andy and Heather’s wedding.

I’m not planning on eating it, but if anyone is interested: it’s sugar-free!

Hadn’t had much of a chance to go through any of the pictures I’d taken this fall.

Pictures taken at my grandmother’s house.

I also got a couple of senic pictures on the way home–the weather however didn’t really cooperate, so despite the beautiful fall color, I got few pictures.

Me: Michael?
Michael: What?
Where are you?
I’m in the basement.
What are you doing?
I’m looking for my eye.
Oh.
(pause)
Me: That reminds me, have you seen my big stick?
Michael: I can’t look for yout big stick until I find my eye!
(later)
Michael: AAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! (holds out eye)
(more…)

Just talked to my parents. Cousin Pat’s cancer has spread. It’s now in her adrenal system and other nodes near her heart.

They’re talking about other experimental studies and treatment, since the study she wanted to enter required enterants to be cancer free.

Damn.

I had a strange dream last night. It’d been awhile since I’d had one, so despite the weirdness, I rather enjoyed it.

HOBBITS!

The DA has an interesting article on a recently publiched book about UFO sightings in Flatwoods.

Because they don’t think we’re crazy enough here in WV as it is…

I wish someone would explain to me why in Windows XP, you still need to go to DOS to create a text file of a directory list. Stupid.

Meanwhile, here’s what I’ve been listening when I walk:
(more…)

When I left work today, that jackass Warner was politicking in front of Health Sciences. Despite tremendous urges to the contrary, I did not walk over and spit on him.

Although I really wanted to.

That the biggest slumlord in Morgantown can claim that he will be a good steward of the state astounds me. Does he think we don’t see the properties McCoy 6 owns? Doesn’t he realize that every student McCoy 6 has screwed over is going to venomously remember how they were treated?

The only good news is that the Bush/Warner signs that were plastered all over town were put up without the premission of the Bush campaign, and they are not pleased. I particularly like the headlines in the Diminishing Pest: Warner campaign denies connection to signs. Candidate says Bush posters are ‘perfectly legal’ That’s great. We didn’t do it! But even if we did it’s okay!

My favorite sign was a Bush/Warner sign plastered on a beater truck full of trash.

Ha.

I can’t decide if it’s me, or if everyone I know is crazy.
(To this I am sure Michael would reply, “yes.”)

1.
We were watching the 1st game of the World Series (my dad loves baseball) at my grandmother’s house. She doesn’t have cable, so the signal was coming in from her antenna. The picture would occasionally fade to black and white, but only for a second or so.
Dad: This picture isn’t that great.
Michael: Of course the picture is terrible! It’s radio!
Everyone: ?

2.
I discovered this weekend that my father had wanted to name my brother Orestes because it means “of the mountains“.

I realized when we got home last night that I had not realized that I am buried under a huge pile of work, both for work and school.

I’m sure this is because over the weekend I came up with about 6 different things I wanted to write about.

One of the nice things about visiting Grandmom, is that we are usually the first two people wup, and so I get to spend time with her in the morning, just sitting and talking.

We don’t necessarily discuss anything of consequence, we just sit and chat.

It’s a long-standing tradition. Grandmom says that when I was quite small, we’d sit in the kitchen and make Play Doh creatures, or color. But when I got older, we’d sit and talk.

It’s that something about her kitchen that gives me a sense of contentment whenever I’m there. Just walking into her kitchen makes me feel better–and I’m rather fond of kitchens in general, as we’ve sat and talked in other kitchens: at my parent’s house when I was little, at the house where my parents currently live, even here at my house. But it’s not quite the same as being in her kitchen.

Just got back from Baltimore and visiting my grandmother. It was a good visit (they all are, really) although we were pretty busy the whole time we were there, and didn’t get home to 7, so I’m pretty tired.

We visited with cousin Pat, and I got to hear from here how things are, and how the treatment of her cancer is progressing. Although her cancer was at stage 4, she is still optimistic, which is a good thing.

We also did a lot of stuff for my grandmother, including sneakily getting her some more plants. I picked out four of the winter hardy pansies to go in an empty pot on her porch, dad picked out a red mum we planted under her mailbox, and we picked up to crocuses, daffodils, and dutch irises to plant about her yard. She should be surprised come spring, although I am a bit worried about the bulbs–there were several bulbs that were obviously dead, and a couple that didn’t look in too good shape. I definitely do NOT recommend Home Depot as a place for bulbs, although the workers there were wonderful–extremely helpful as we were attempting to gather the oddements that we needed for the various repair jobs.

So Home Depot was good for the helpful and nice employees, but I’m less than impressed with the bulbs we bought.

But it was wonderful just to spend time visiting–we spent a lot of time just joking and laughing, so although I’m tired, I still feel great.

I love visits with my grandmother.

I’ve mentioned before that we live close to the stadium.

Sometimes there are advantages.

Plus, being stuck at home was a good excuse to make chocolate biscotti.

The only disapointment is that we’re not close enough to hear the band.

That time is fast approaching, so in preparation:

Why I don’t like Bush
Part I: War
Part II: Sex
Part III: Religion
Part IV: Environmentalism

National Political Parties
Democratic National Committee
Libertarian Party
Green Party

WV Political Parties and Information
WV Democratic Party
WV Libertarian Party
Mountain Party
WV League of Women Voters
WV Secretary of State

Remember, early voting is going on in WV!

Election Information
Project Vote Smart
CNN’s Voting Coverage 2004

Teresa at Making Light has been posting like crazy. In addition to the post I mentioned yesterday, she’s also talking about Catholicism and Bush.

I’ve been saying for awhile that I don’t understand how anyone who is Catholic can support Bush–especially since he’s even failing the abortion litmus test.

I’ve had the oddest dreams recently. Not that my dreams aren’t normally odd mind you, but still.

Earlier this week I woke up with the feeling that I had spent the entire night running away from people and things in different dreams. The only unifying theme was that I was constantly trying to get away.

The follwoing night I was late for everything, including a disturbing dream where I could not get to sleep. That was an unpleasant awakening let me tell you.

So the past several mornings I awakened feeling just as tired as when I’d gone to sleep. Not my favorite way to greet the day I assure you.

But this morning was the oddest yet. I woke up with the strange sensation that I had been having someone else’s dreams. I can’t recall what the dreams were about, only that I was convinced that they were not my dreams.

So now I’m left with the feeling that someone else spent the night dreaming my dreams, and I wonder what they were.

Who wants to know what’s going on? (Sorry–brief movie flash)

It’s been a strange week. I’m actually quite busy at work, with a substantial project on my desk right now. But it’s a fun project, so I’m not upset, I just feel like I’m firing on all cylinders all day long.

As far as school goes, I’m working on my paper/project, which is on the ethical/legal issues of Euthanasia/Physician Assisted Suicide. Although it’s not the most cheerful subject out there, it’s not quite as depressing as you’d think. There are two questions I’ll need to answer: Is PAS legal and is PAS moral? Interestingly enough the answers to those questions will not necessarily be the same, but my biggest challenge will be separating my opinion from the conclusions I draw. Of course there is no way I can completely separate my morality/ethics completely from the subject, but it is my job to look at this with an open mind, to see the arguments presented by both sides.

Precisely unlike how things work during a presidential election.

You MUST read this post from Making Light.

I’d comment myself but:
No time! No time!

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

–Dylan Thomas

When you see this, post poetry into your journal.

(1)
If Paul as an apostle
wrote epistles to his misses
should Ephesians take as gospel
all he said within his missives?

or as skeptics would we wonder
(while with God and stuff we blunder)
why epistle apostolic,
intellectually cause colic?
– Lenny Aniello

or if you prefer…

(2)
A crash reduces
your expensive computer
to a simple stone
– Unknown

or even….

(3)
I believe in coincidence.
Coincidences happen every day.
But I don’t trust coincidences.
– Elim Garak (Cardassians)

When you see this, post poetry into your journal.

(via Erin)

What on earth was I thinking when I bought so many bulbs?

Yes, I planted bulbs this weekend. Four types of daylily, five types of iris, two different types of daffodils, tulips, anemones, firecracker flower (Dicholostemma), and something else I can’t remember, but that had tiny bulbs and came in a package with a ridiculous number of bulbs. I’m sure I thought that was wonderful at the time.

Now I just have to hope that the weather stays cool. It should be okay–temperatures have mostly been in the 60s during the day. As long as we don’t have a week of really warm days it should be fine. I just really didn’t want to wait two more weeks until it’s freezing outside to be planting bulbs.

And on the lines of gardening, my burning bush is just starting to turn. Hopefully it will have as much color as it did last year.

I went grocery shopping this morning at Giant Eagle. Picked up what I needed and then got in line behind a well-dressed middle-aged gentleman who was holding back somewhat in one of the two open lines. He had a bottle of Bushmill’s in his cart (I noticed because I’m partial to Bushmill’s myself) that was set aside as a separate purchase from the rest of the items in his cart. I realized that he was waiting for 9am, when liquor sales begin. Throughout the whole process of ringing up and paying, he chatted and joked with Edith at the register and was quite pleasant. Your typical middle-aged man who looked to be getting ready for a party.

After he left I was chatting to Edith when a man got in line behind me. Like the first man he was middle aged—probably in his 50s or 60s—but unlike the first, this man looked the worse for wear. He also looked as if he might not smell very good. His general demeanor was of a man to whom life had not been very kind. The only thing on the conveyor belt was a large bottle of cheap rum. As I glanced back, I noticed that although his hands were resting on the edge of the conveyer, both arms were visibly trembling.

As I said goodbye to Edith and pushed my cart away, I heard him ask, in a rough voice, for two packs of cheap cigarettes.

It was 9AM. They were just two middle-aged men buying liquor, but they could hardly have been more different.

There was a letter to the editor in Monday’s DA that had me fuming, so I went home and fired off a letter to the editor of my own. Yesterday there was a very elegant response, so I assumed that my letter was not going to be published, but they did print it today.
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Great. The vote fraud in WV has now reached even unto the BBC.

In the state’s deep coal-mining valleys and small towns full of old style barber shops and “gun and loan” stores, money still changes hands every election year.

According to several people I spoke to, the going rate for a vote these days is $15 or a pint of whisky.

Logan county may be the middle of nowhere, but it now could be the most famous middle of nowhere in West (by God) Virginia.

And just like S, no one’s offering me anything yet. But as a note to all you vote buyers out there: if it’s good whiskey, I’m willing to listen.

(via Hillbilly Sophisticate)