The Palace of the King of Pobe

It's that time of the week - injecting a little geographic exploration into an otherwise sedentary life.

I was in Benin for work and spent most of my time in the sort of capital, Cotonou, at the US government offices. As with any work trip I always try to fit in a site visit - staring at a computer all day doesn't exactly give you a sense of what you're doing - what is your purpose.

Fortunately a meeting of different partners (the US government term for grantees or contractors - doesn't it sound lovely? though misleading...) was taking place north of Cotonou in one of the provinces.

Several hours later by Range Rover (thank goodness for Beninoise drivers who can navigate potholes that would swallow a Mac truck) we arrived in the village of Pobe (pronounced Poe Bay). We toured around the village and checked out the building in which we were going to host our meeting. We had a concrete building with chairs etc - quite a nice village.

But before we could do anything, we had to visit with the King. It's his town, we had to pay our respects. We were ushered into the palace amongst a crowd of excited screaming children (all his I suspect) and were seated in some plush chairs to greet the King. As is custom, we removed our shoes and waited politely until he made his entrance. As is custom, he was wearing big sunglasses. Funny how even the most remote places have access to Ray-Bans.

Our meeting with the King was very pleasant. He thanked us for coming. We thanked him for hosting us. He hoped we would support his village financially, we chuckled. He was a pretty cool King.

Have you ever met royalty? Of the British or other variety? Perhaps a Kennedy?

(I'm the fourth from the left - in black)

Oy Danny Boy

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

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Mom is a huge James Galway fan. James and his Golden Flute. Sounds fairly pornographic to me.

A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to attend one of his concerts - my husband was reviewing and he always gets two tickets. I like James Galway enough - and it wasn't one of his Irish concerts, it was a Mozart flute concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra. Don't get me wrong - I like Irish music. I just tend to like it played in a smaller venue with beer and dancing.

The concert was wonderful. The crowd loved him. He came out to do an encore - and what should it be but "Danny Boy". My husband asked me what song it was (ironic since that's his name).

Like a dutiful daughter I stood in line after the concert to get an autographed CD for Mom - written out especially to Marilyn. She opened it up on Christmas Day, clearly excited with a squeal that crossed the ocean.

Thanks Mom for giving me the little bit of Irish that I have.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's in the 60's, I'm wearing Flip

Flops

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.

The Home of Dum Dum Pops and Etch-A-Sketch

It's that time of the week - injecting a little geographic exploration into an otherwise sedentary life.

I've had the pleasure of driving cross country twice. Once with mom and once with my sister. There's nothing like the thrill of seeing all the quirkiness that America has to offer. Jackalope in South Dakota, Dorothy's house in Kansas. A multitude of java huts scattered around the northern Nevada desert. That last one is just plain weird.

On one trip going west to east with my sister we stopped off in Chicago to meet one of her friends - and to take their car back east as a favor. They would be spending the summer there and since we were going that way - and had spent about 2 weeks sharing the same car, we were happy to oblige.

In Bryan, OH we pulled off the highway for lunch and hopped back on. And off. Seems that the timing chain on my car had died (broken? snapped?). The car basically came to a dead stop and I pulled over onto the shoulder. Having literally just gone through the entrance toll - and Bryan not being a particularly busy entrance, I was fine. Alas, my sister who was ahead of me in the other car got about 1/2 mile down the road before she realized I was no longer in her rearview mirror. She pulled off, came back around and found me. We called the police who came and took me away - I was literally sitting in the back seat of an Ohio State trooper's car - it would have made a great photo - while the tow truck took dear Sacajawea (we named the car that since she had taken my sister and brother - the "white men" - to the Pacific) away.

Since the car would be there overnight we checked into a hotel and went out looking for fun and adventure. You'd think a small town situated on the Ohio Turnpike between South Bend and Toledo would be hurting for activity. You'd be WRONG! Bryan, Ohio is home to both Etch-A-Sketch AND Dum Dum lollipops. Everybody knows Etch-A-Sketch and if you've ever spent anytime in a doctor's waiting room (or have a doctor for a dad) you know Dum Dum's.

We checked out the Etch-A-Sketch factory and asked to take a tour. No dice. No tours. Okay. So we went outside and took photos of us crying in front of the place. We then went over to Dum Dum's hoping for better luck. Alas, you had to be a school group to go on a tour. Bummer. Again, we took photos of ourselves crying outside the factory. Didn't they understand I had eaten every flavor at least 50 times?

So much for Bryan, OH. A sleepy town with such enormous potential for tourism.

Have you ever had your car break down somewhere? What did you do? Any adventure?

Dad and the Redhead

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

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It's my dad's birthday today so this post is a tribute to him. Lucky for me, he likes music.

He's a huge music fan which is great - the thing I love most is his love of jazz. Benny Goodman, Stan Getz, Bucky Pizzarelli, these are the records I remember. A jazz drummer is a sight to behold. A jazz guitarist or bassist is a marvel.

Dad is a clarinetist. It got him into medical school. (well sort of).

He's a pretty bright guy and managed to go to undergraduate on a full scholarship so the odds were in his favor anyway. He went to his medical school interview fully expecting a grilling on his qualifications. Instead what he got was a bizarre query from the interview panel.

Instead of questions about the biology of the cell, plasma membranes or the doppler effect, the panel noted that he played in the university band.

Well, yes he did.

At every home game, when a certain zaftig redhead walked by the band played a sort of belly dancer tune?

Yes, they did.

Why is that? they asked.

Well, seems she had something of a reputation (not that any of the band members had first hand knowledge given their doubly geeky status as both Hopkins students and band members).

Question answered. That was it. He got in.

30 Days Until I Turn 40, I Feel...

Intrepid

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.

My Morning Constitutional

It's beginning to look a lot like spring here - you can just see the buds on the trees just ready to come out. And the daffodil leaves are all up - you just know there's a flower coming soon.

I'm one of those lucky people who can walk to work. If I go by metro it's about 30 minutes in a crowded box, by foot I do it in 40. And I get some exercise. When the weather is nice, walking is clearly the better option.

My route takes me down a street full of restaurants and stores, eventually arriving in the more commercial area - DC's "downtown" as it were.

At the end of this area is the White House. I cut through Lafayette Park which fronts the President's residence and as I pass by I'm sure to give the 4-finger salute. Gets my day going better than a cup of coffee.

I love spring.

Wayfaring Wednesday

It's that time of the week - injecting a little geographic exploration into an otherwise sedentary life.

For this week, I'm going to ask the readers out there to tell me the wackiest place they've ever been (And if I can figure out that link thing too I'll start including that).

What is it? Tell me the wackiest place you've ever been. Think broadly - maybe the NYC subway in the 70's, Florida in a snowstorm, France during a rail strike (oh wait, that's normal)...


To get you started here are a few of mine:

1. The Home of Dum Dum Pops and Etch-A-Sketch
2. Guantanamo Bay
3. The Palace of the King of Pobe

More on each of these in later posts.

Inquiring minds want to know...

I Remember It Well

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

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My husband and I were having dinner with friends this weekend and the subject of our engagement came up. The actual moment when we became engaged. These friends know us well and have known us for sometime and yet had never heard the story. So we decided to tell them.

It had a romantic setting - Paris in June in front of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel - on these things we agree. The other details are sort of in dispute. Well, not exactly in dispute - more like we remember them differently. I'm the first woman to go to Paris with her boyfriend who didn't expect a marriage proposal - so the moment itself was a bit discombobulating for me. In a good way. A very good way. I was definitely caught by surprise.

For me, seconds seemed like hours. My recollection of the events occurred in slow motion. My mind was going in six different directions so I can't say which thought preceded which. My husband recalls the details a bit differently - his mind was a bit more focused at the time. On this we can agree, we became engaged in front of one of the most beautiful views that Paris has to offer.

It reminded me of that song from Gigi - that's us, on our 50th wedding anniversary.

He: We met at nine.
She: We met at eight.
He: I was on time.
She: No, you were late.
He: Ah yes! I remember it well.

He: We dined with friends.
She: We dined alone.
He: A tenor sang.
She: A baritone.
He: Ah yes! I remember it well.

He: That dazzling April moon!
She: There was none that night,
And the month was June.
He: That's right! That's right!
She: It warms my heart to know that
you remember still the way you do.
He: Ah yes! I remember it well.

He: How often I've thought of that Friday,
She: Monday
He: night, when we had our last rendez-vous.
And somehow I've foolishly wondered
if you might by some chance be
thinking of it too?

He: That carriage ride.
She: You walked me home.
He: You lost a glove.
She: I lost a comb.
He: Ah yes! I remember it well.

He: That brilliant sky.
She: We had some rain.
He: Those Russian songs.
She: From sunny Spain.
He: Ah yes! I remember it well.

He: You wore a gown of gold.
She: I was all in blue.
He: Am I getting old? Oh no! Not you!
She: How strong you were,
how young and gay;
A prince of love in every way.
He: Ah yes! I remember it well.

On the First Day of March, Waiting for...

Spring

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.

A Little Geography Quiz

I got such a positive response to my geography post - half-joking - that I thought it was time for another geography teaching moment. Maybe I'll make this a regular thing.

For work and play I travel to lots of interesting places around the globe. Recently I started a new job where it is expected that I will be covering a few countries for our team. Every day I would come home from work and my husband would ask "what did you get? what did you get?" and I had to answer "I don't know yet".

Well now I know. Maybe you can guess:

1. You would never get a tourist visa for either of these countries.

2. Both countries' average highs hover around 90 degrees F - every month of the year.

3. One country requires French-speaking skills, but not so much the French spoken in Paris. Cross the border and you need to speak Spanish.

4. The other country has a name very similar to its neighbor to the north - which when mispronounced sounds like a racial slur (it's fun to watch people struggle with that one!)

5. I'll be taking malaria medication. And hopefully this time it will work.

Can you guess them?

Baby Beethoven

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

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Joyfully, I find myself spending a lot of time buying baby gifts these days. If you invite me to a shower or over to see the new one I'll bring books and clothes (for 18 months - thinking ahead to the time when the 600 onesies you got will be useless).

Lately I've also been thinking about Baby Beethoven. I think it's partly due to a dinner I went to where the hosts played their CD incessantly - the child was upstairs sleeping and somehow the CD playing in the living room on the other side of the house for hours after the kid had gone to bed was somehow going to keep her in bed. Rather than soothing, I found the plunk-plunk of the toy piano on the CD mind-numbing. Maybe it was hearing my wedding procession played like I was a toddler that finally got to me.

Partly inspired by SMID's constant introduction of music to her children - real musicians playing songs the way they were written (graphic lyrics and all) - I put together a CD for a friend of a great album by Leon Fleisher. "Two Hands" is Leon Fleisher's first recording in 40 years after he suffered from focal dystonia - he had lost the use of his right hand. Thankfully, he recovered to great success and even went on to receive a Kennedy Center honor.

Hopefully my friend's baby will find this music soothing, at a time when she's probably more focused on burping better.

(I apologize for the poor quality video - go out and buy the CD!)

On a cold gray day

Hibernating

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.

VaVoom!

Yesterday I posted on our attendance at one of LA's premiere entertainment activities - pro-wrestling mixed with striptease.

The VaVoom is all about the striptease. You'd think one would find this fascinating for the usual reason - women stripping - but there was so much more. Typically you have a woman using fans in a clever way to hide her body parts; if you haven't seen it in person you probably caught it in a movie like Victor, Victoria.

Here a few of the higlights of striptease brought to a whole other level:

It's hard to tell from the photo exactly what's going on - I'll do my best to describe it. There's a man dressed as a cowboy bouncing up and down continuously on a pogo stick with a plastic horse on it. Follow me? He's bouncing vigorously for what had to be 10 minutes (thighs of steel!) all the while taking off his clothes. Just when you think he's reached the end, wearing nothing but a stars and stripes decorated speedo he pulls at his last remaining piece of clothing (still hopping!) and a burst of silver glitter sprays from his crotch. Yes, a g-string! What ingenuity!

The best tease was the last one... a woman (or so it seems) using a feather fan eventually reveals herself to a be a himself. And then proceeds to perform the most acrobatic, beautiful, and truly impressive act with a hula hoop. Calves of steel! Brilliant!

The evening's finale was something called Sashay Gigante. You're watching a bunch of men onstage in various outfits (fireman, postman, etc) and they proceed to strip off their uniforms revealing a variety of speedos. Only this group seems off, they are not nearly as buff as the previous peformers - both wrestlers and strippers. You wonder what's going on as they proceed to gyrate. And then they run into the stands and hump various audience members. That's it. Nothing else to it - just a big ole Sashay Gigante.

Plates of steel? In their heads?

Lucha VaVoom!

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

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We just got back from LA where we hit both the high and low cultural points of this town.

For Valentine's day my husband and I joined my little brother and his girlfriend for Lucha VaVoom! A combination of Mexican masked wrestling and burlesque, this show was outstanding in its acrobatics and colorfulness. Wrestlers dressed as chickens and nurses, women (and sometimes men) performing denuding feats that only years of wasted time could produce. Truly astonishing. A memorable performance all around. And some heart-racing music played at full volume.

I leave you with this short clip of the night's festivities...

More on Lucha VaVoom! and other highlights later this week...

Valentine's Haiku

Flying to LA
Valentine's Day in the air
Join the Mile High Club...

Happy Valentine's Day everyone - we're off on vacation.

Visit My Mommy's Place for the Second Haiku Buckaroo Contest! You've got until Friday to enter your own poetry. And this time you'll win prizes.

Geography

I am a geography geek. I could peruse an atlas for hours. And so it was with great interest that I came upon this map.



Funny, they forgot to mark the Starbucks at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Another Round!

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

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With SMID visiting Europe this weekend I was reminded of my travels there as a child and all of the music we took in. Mostly, we staged productions of ABBA songs - "Fernando" and "Dancing Queen" were favorites. Occasionally we would be exposed to other music.

For instance, Roger Whitaker. Popular amongst the German housewives at the time, and sung in English, we found more fodder for our dramatic talents. I recall vaguely something about a staging of "Yellow Bird" and "Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella" - maybe that was the Muppets. Not that you could tell the difference. English-speaking children spending the summer in Germany will take whatever they can get.

Finally, I distinctly recall a particular song we learned while touring around - "In Munchen steht ein Hofbrauhaus, eins, zwei, Hofbrau!". While other kids were learning "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" we were learning beer hall songs.

Oh, what an educational childhood!



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p.s. Watching the Grammys as I write this. Anyone else think the sound quality is sucky? Isn't exactly selling any tunes.

I don't know what to make of it.

Dick Cheney's dog, Dave, and Lucy, our beloved cat, have the same veterinarian. Good thing we didn't schedule our appointments at the same time.

Poor dog, such a shame his owner is heartless.

Posting at 11pm on Saturday Night

Late

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.

Kiss Them!

I came home today to this in my mailbox. Not only does it indicate that spring is a mere 6 weeks away, it shows last night's primary results.

I'm not going to promote one or the other - they are both clearly liked by a number of states and voters. In fact, one won more states, one won more delegates. Reminders of 2000.

Alas, I was not part of yesterday's frenzy - that is next week - but my family was! My dad tried to caucus in his new hometown but hadn't registered in time - but he really did try! And as luck would have it, the polling place was his favorite bookstore. Gotta love that.

My sister, brother, and mother all voted in the first ever global primary. Not sure how many delegates that is and who exactly those people are. And if any of them count. No matter, they voted! Kiss them!

Super Tuesday in Jakarta

(notice there are more cameras than voters)

Worlds Collide

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

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Are you a fan of Bollywood, Teletubbies, and HIV prevention?

I am!

And if you are too, this is the video for you! (Not for the kids)

Four Flights In Four Days

Dizzy

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.

Oops I Did It Again!

I made onto Looking Into again!

I made a distinct effort over Christmas to take photos that were something more than documentary. Denver really leant itself to artistic photos - mostly taken by my husband.

I especially like this particular photo (that I took!) of the Denver train station because I love to travel and travel by rail is one of my fondest childhood memories.

And now with lots of travel expected in the new year I will continue to look for those "Looking Into" kind of shots. Except for airports where armed guards usually attack you if you try snapping a photo. Will avoid that.

Time Suck

As if there aren't too few hours in a day, here's how I've chosen to waste the ones that I have...

1. iTunes - hours of entertainment. especially when your friends have so many recommendations. also a great way to burn through lots of cash - in case you have suitcases full lying around

2. Facebook - really couldn't be a bigger waste. communicating with your husband via graffiti. how many friends can I accumulate in an hour so I can beat my sister in a popularity contest?

3. IM - when your family lives around the world, this can be a collossal vacuum of time. good thing they prohibit it at work or I'd be spending 8 hours a day trying to decipher my mother's shortand - cul8r!

4. The Daily Show - videos online. okay, not exactly a time suck since I do learn a lot about current events. but do I really need to catch up on what happened in 2003?

5. Kayak.com - how many fantasy vacations can you plan and never actually go on? hmmm... last count, 52. one per week. enough to keep me going back to the office.

Okay, I gotta go now and find another way to lose another evening...

Just a few questions

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

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If you were like any kid in the 80's, heck any kid today, you got a bit of your fashion advice from your favorite rock stars.

It's okay, you can tell me, you had the Flock of Seagulls haircut. How much hairspray did it take to keep that do going in all different directions? You don't need to run so far away when I ask that question.

Or maybe you modeled your hair after Heart? Tease me. Please. How big was the comb you used to get that frizz to perfection? These dreams don't scare me.

Did you show off your cute legs with a mini-skirt inspired by our favorite girl band the Go-Go's? You can tell me, my lips are sealed.

Don't worry, you can confess here. I won't tell anyone. I'm just sitting here typing away in my Madonna-inspired lace gloves. I know, I'm borderline insane.

After Two Office Retreats in Three Weeks

Spent

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.

It's An Honor Just to be Nominated

Oscar nominations came out today - and since there may be nothing more than an Oscar press conference next month, I thought I'd take this opportunity to put in a plug for a few favorites.

Let me preface all this by saying that I am by no means an Oscar fan. I don't dress up, have a party, place bets. I find the whole thing annoying - I don't need *one* single favorite, I prefer a collection of favorites. Heck, it's not like I go to only one movie every year. These are just some thoughts that you might not hear from the mainstream critics.

Viggo Mortenson in Eastern Promises - Holy Cannoli! Literally. Full frontal nudity in a fight scene. And somehow not gratuitous.

Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson's War - FRICKIN' HILARIOUS! Makes you want to become a CIA agent just like him - maybe they should put him in ads for recruitment.

Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone and Ellen Page in Juno - two sides of the young women maybe shouldn't be having children story.

Ratatouille - Cartoon cooking schools should be filled to over capacity after this film.

I won't comment on Best Picture - I haven't seen them all and I think the ones I have seen really bring different things to the table. You should see them all. No need to choose favorites. There are plenty of fake Oscars to go around.

And one sad note - an Oscar nominee we lost today:

Talkin' 'Bout A Revolution

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

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This being MLK Day and being inspired by SMID's posting this week (Huckabee? Oh God help us!) I thought I would post on songs that inspired me to action.

I've been a bit of an activist all my life - hardly compared to some friends - but pretty much known among others as the one ready for a fight. Pick your battle, I'm in.

So this week's post is dedicated to those favorite songs that make me want to get up and do something.

Top of the List: "Talkin Bout A Revolution" by Tracy Chapman. I remember when this came out - heyday of George the 1st, successor to Reagan, one-termer. The "what me, worry?" president. Your own people can rise up against you when you dismiss and ignore them.

"Stop Children What's That Sound?" by Buffalo Springfield - I remember hearing this Vietnam Era classic on the Muppet Show. Hey, listen up! Pay attention!

and finally, a song that was adapted from another in response to Hurricane Katrina. oh, how far we have not come...(this one not for the kids)

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To follow up on my Campaign Songs posting last week - the Washington Post wrote an article on the very same topic!

To The Rescue!

Earlier this week I posted a phrase that I seem to be saying a lot these days. Quite honestly, I've been saying it for years. Someone thought it might be from a movie - Fast Times At Ridgemont High, for instance. No, it was uttered to a friend by our favorite neighborhood barman.

Way back in the early 90's a good friend (we'll call her Cathy) and I lived in the West Village in NYC. This was pre-super rent increase (though rents were still astronomically high) and we had a local bar that still maintained a regular (not yuppy) clientele and regular bartenders. The jukebox was fantastic, the beers cheap, wood-paneled walls, and the best burgers ever. Hands down. No kidding. It was such a happy place...

One night we were hanging out as usual and there was another woman who was falling down drunk, literally. At one point she collapsed on the floor. Cathy, being a lifeguard during the summers, moved into full-on rescue mode and dialed 911. While waiting for the ambulance, the woman's friends picked her up and carried her out of the bar.

The ambulance arrives with two very laidback EMTs who have come to rescue the fair maiden. Who is now gone. Cathy talks to them and tells them that the woman has been carried away by her friends and apologizes for bothering the EMTs. They're pretty cool and tell her no problem. Dude. Off they go.

Cathy is feeling a bit stupid for having reacted so strongly. I assure her she did the right thing, the woman had literally collapsed. Tommy, the bartender leans over and in his thick Irish brogue says:

"Next time someone does something crazy like that, you see that she's breathing, check her wallet for money, then ask her 'what are you smoking, and can I have some.'"

Words of wisdom.

Three Day Weekend

Glorious

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.

Oft used phrases this week

"They send one of ours to the hospital, we send one of theirs to the morgue. "

"What are you smoking and can I have some?"

Grid-O-Rama

I once had someone do a psychological test on me - the result, "you like problem-solving". Not as in world peace (still working on that) but more like the NY Times crossword puzzle.

I recently mentioned that I saw the movie Wordplay about a crossword puzzle competition run by the NY Times puzzle editor, Will Shortz. I've been a fan of his for years - ever since he was editor of Games Magazine. I may be a geek, but I am in good company - Jon Stewart also does the puzzle.

My puzzling obsession has taken on epic proportions at my new job. Two weeks into it, and I have already created several grids and have embarked on a project to create an organogram. And another project to produce a service delivery cascade that can be best described as OrgPorn. I can't help it. I have to put things in boxes.

I see chaos and I need to create order.

Now if I could only apply this obsession to my closet.

Campaign Songs

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

This week SMID is out of commission - the details of which will no doubt show up under a posting for "parental horror". Please let me know that you will be posting!

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In light of the recent activity around the upcoming presidential election I started thinking about campaign songs. Some original, some from bands we all know. What makes a good campaign song? I have no idea.

Here's a few that I thought were pretty interesting:

1932: Franklin Delano Roosevelt: "Happy Days Are Here Again" which was totally appropriate to the time

1972: George McGovern: "Bridge Over Troubled Water" which I very much love and was appropriate to the time, but don't you think it's a bit morose?

1984: Ronald Reagan: "Born in the U.S.A." which I think is particularly funny since Bruce Springsteen asked Reagan to stop using it - Go Bruce!

1988: Michael Dukakis: "Coming to America", an odd choice since I think it's about immigration. Doubt that would go over well today!

1992: Ross Perot: "Crazy", toooo funny! I love Patsy Cline but don't you think this song's title isn't quite the image you want to project? And a bit slow and romantic at that.

2004: John Kerry: "No Surrender". Ouch.

2008: Hillary Clinton: "You and I" by Celine Dion - demonstrating that letting the public vote isn't necessarily a good thing.

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Want to read more about Music Monday?

A2eatwrite declares herself Nerd Princess - yay Nerds!

Cablegirl (aka 42) illuminates War Pigs - hmmm....

Wholly Burble has thrown her hat in the ring this Monday

Fleeing Floyd

This post is written today in honor of our family cat, Eloise, who passed away last week at the ripe old age of 18. She lived a full life, as evidenced by the following true story which she participated in.

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In September 1999, due to various transitions in our family, my sister and I found ourselves housesitting (and cat sitting) for our Mom in Savannah, GA. At the time, my sister and I were between homes and Mom was in Europe on a hike about to meet the man she would later marry. As my sister, Jenn, and I were homeless we also had our pets with us - the total in the house being 6 cats and 1 dog. Sounds like a lot but the house was pretty spacious. Blitzen, Eloise, Henri, Hector, Sophie, Lucy, and Wilma (the dog). And me and Jenn.

We were enjoying ourselves in this lovely coastal home overlooking a marsh when some friends from NY called one night - "Are you watching the news?". No. "There's a hurricane coming and you need to evacuate." Alrighty, then. We turned on the TV and the local news was on red alert - everyone must evacuate, Hurricane Floyd is going to hit the Georgia/South Carolina coast. Everyone.

We ran around the house putting away objects that might become projectiles should the glass doors on the house be smashed. We contacted Mom briefly to ask what we should pack in the car - important papers in a box and the rest of it would have to stay. To her credit, she didn't require us to pack all of her possessions - good thing, because the car wouldn't hold it all - what with the 6 cats and 1 (large) dog. Oh boy.

My sister furiously called around to hotels further inland and the best we could do was a motel in Augusta, GA - about 3 hours away. We packed up the car (thank God it was a station wagon!) and headed out. More like crawled. 10 hours of crying cats later, we got to Augusta. The country's 2nd largest evacuation had kinda clogged the roads. Hmmm.....lesson learned by FEMA??

We finally arrive at the motel and when Jenn checks in she discovers that there is a $25 per pet charge - per night. That would be twice our bill and half our income- thankfully, to enter the rooms at the motel you went from outside - no toting anything through the lobby. So under the cover of darkness, and with several trips, we managed to get everyone into our room. Two double beds proved to be sufficient - everyone had a place to sleep. After awhile we got kind of bored and started playing badminton (we had the forethought to pack rackets and shuttlecocks before we left Savannah). That proved mildly entertaining to our sacked-out companions.

The next day we realized we had to leave our room - taking everyone with us - since housekeeping was going to come by. So back in the car went our menagerie and we began to drive around Augusta. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant where we could see the car from our table. Went to a museum for a short visit - the city had made all museums free for the evacuees. And then we drove around trying to figure out what to do next.

The radio stations were in full evacuation mode - "thousands of people homeless, big storm coming" - and they kept asking people to drop off supplies at the local storm shelters. Heeding their pleas we went to the grocery store and stocked up on diapers, shampoo and baby food and headed off to one of these shelters. As we were walking into the shelter with economy size diaper packages a local TV crew filmed us. Later on that evening we ended up on the 7 o'clock news - "Locals help out hurricane victims". Ironic, given that we're from NY.

All the while we were sending emails to everyone to let them know we were okay - and on TV! Mom would get these emails at each stop along the hike and read them to her companions at dinner. Endless entertainment.

After another night in the motel we were free to go home - and in just under 3 hours we were back at mom's house. Lots of tree branches everywhere but otherwise everything was intact. Except the one dish that Jenn broke while trying to pack Mom's valuables safely away. But you can hardly blame that on Floyd.

One of our family cats (not Lucy) has died

Sad

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.

The Dog Ate My Book Report

Oh, I'm having 4th grade nightmares all over again. We had to record the number of books we read and our totals were posted prominently on the wall. Despite being the best speller in the class, I didn't do speed reading. I've never excelled at reading "competitions". I just read whatever, wherever, whenever.

I could peruse an atlas for hours, go through hundreds of National Geographic magazines, pour through volumes of recipes - but ask me to count the number of books I read and I just fall short.

And now with Day to Read, I've failed at even the simplest thing - reading a page. I wanted to, really I did. But I spent a whole day in an intense office retreat and then went to a concert (I read the program!) and at the end of it all my brain was mush. Mush mush mush.

I promise, tomorrow is DEFINITELY Day to Read for me! And no excuses about the dog eating my homework. But there will probably be a cat reading over my shoulder.

Retreating

What will I be reading on January 10th? Well, for the past few weeks I've been telling everyone that it will be The Princess Bride - which is true. I'll be reading it at night when I go to bed.

Alas, the rest of the day I'll be reading minds.

I have an all day staff retreat on the 10th. For my new job. I'm somewhat famous for my ability to avoid such retreats - somehow I have magically either arrived at a job just after or departed just before a staff retreat. So, you see, I've never been on one. But I have heard horror stories.

At one retreat a friend was asked for one word that described her office. "Toxic" she replied.

I think the odds are that this will be a good day - alas, no bowling or karaoke like some retreats I've heard of. But maybe avoiding heavy projectiles objects and public singing aren't such bad ideas.

I'm fairly optimistic that this will be a productive exercise - for sure I'll learn a lot about my office and how it functions. I'll get to meet all the new people and learn a bit more about the current staff. I hear they're serving lunch too.

And later on that night I can retreat to my bed, forget it all, and be whisked away to a magical land with princesses and pirates.

I Feel Warm Inside

As I sit here writing this I am watching Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. He doesn't have writers but he's still funny - heck, he could be bombing and I wouldn't even notice. I'm just so glad to have my major news source back.

Having The Daily Show back is like:

1. a beautiful spring day lying in a meadow after a cold winter (as long as it's not January and 70 degrees!)


2. a tall cold beer on a blistering hot day (as long as it's not December and hotter than Texas!)


3. a breath of fresh air on a mountaintop (that still has some snow on it because it's not the beginning of the Presidential primaries and balmy!)

Ah, my heart is warm (and not because it's steamy outside!)

Remakes

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

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I was watching the movie Wordplay (which is awesome if you're a big NY Times crossword geek like me - includes Jon Stewart who is hilarious!) and there was a song playing that I couldn't quite place. The tune was familiar, the singer was familiar, but they didn't match. My puzzling mind tried to figure it out.

Finally it came to me - Shawn Colvin singing This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) - a song I've known to be sung by the Talking Heads. She did a wonderful version of it and I even felt like I heard phrases I'd never heard before. A positive effort all around.

And that got my puzzling mind thinking about remakes (not covers - which are more like what wedding singers or Las Vegas bands do) of other famous songs - and maybe not always so successful. Here's a list of a few remakes I like - can you add any others?

1. One: U2 (original), Mary J Blige and U2 (remake) [not really a remake but oh so much better with MJB]


2. Hurt: Nine Inch Nails (o), Johnny Cash (r)


3. Red Red Wine: Neil Diamond (o), UB40 (r)


4. Tainted Love: Gloria Jones (o), Soft Cell (r)


5. ...

Puzzling minds want to know...

Work is Harsh

I know none of you will shed a tear for me on this one. Probably throw tomatoes. But here goes.

I started a new job this past week. The first job I've had in an office in 3 years. In case you think I've been completely unemployed, I have been working - just from home. The consulting stuff got to be too unstable, and benefits too appealing, so I took a job (with more travel and interesting work too) and so it's back to the office for me. I think I'm prepared - I've been watching The Office for 3 years.

Well, at least I thought I was. Here's my past week's foibles:

1. First day walking to the metro - 28 degrees with whipping winds at 7am. ouch.
2. Work wardrobe. Shoes. ouch.
3. Need a security badge to go to the bathroom and anywhere else. Kinda like a hall pass only worse. Fear being accidentally strangled by lanyard.
4. Squatted in someone else's empty cube for 3 days before realizing that the cube they assigned me did in fact exist and wasn't just a figment of my imagination. To reach said cube, must enter wardrobe.
5. Staff. retreat. next. week. Never been on one in my life. Can't say I've heard good things about them.
6. No IM. No talking with my sister and mom who both live overseas in far away time zones.
7. Husband still learning "make dinner" concept.

Now here are the good parts just so you don't think I'm a total whiner:

1. Get to work with friend who is cool - alas need badge to get to her office.
2. Have work space not defined by couch length
3. Regular paycheck (soon)!
4. Lunch buddies
5. Conversations with people who aren't sleepy 19-year old cats
6. Husband understands "make coffee" concept very well.

After the First Week at the New Job

Pooped

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.

There's An Epidemic

MADISON - New video was released of a police chase in Madison. Dash cam video shows officers pursuing a man in a stolen Krispy Kreme truck! You can see doughnuts literally flying out of the back. Police eventually caught up with the suspect. The cops say he was drunk.

Police recover doughnuts
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Police followed a trail of doughnuts to find a stolen Krispy Kreme delivery truck.

"It has a happy ending," Swatara Township Sgt. Robert Simmonds said. "The evidence was brought back to the police station, and the cops are eating the doughnuts."

It was 12:45 a.m. Thursday when Krispy Kreme deliveryman Tim Trostle stopped at a Swatara Township convenience store and left the engine running as he made the delivery. Someone fled with the truck, but since Trostle had left the back doors open, police were able to follow a trail of doughnuts.

The doughnut trail ended before long, but police in a nearby township found a doughnut cart near the Harrisburg city line. City police found the truck near a downtown bar.

No arrests were immediately made. The truck was returned to the company.

Although Simmonds had been joking about police taking the contents of the truck, he acknowledged seeing Krispy Kreme doughnuts in a station conference room Thursday.

"I suspect that the manager from the Krispy Kreme might have given us a little thank you for our efforts," he said.

Thieves Find Hole In Plan
TWO crack cocaine smokers left a 15-mile trail of doughnuts after they took a delivery truck from a car park lot.

The truck was parked at a store with its rear doors open and engine running while a Krispy Kreme delivery man carried doughnuts inside, police in Slidell, Louisiana, said.

They abandoned the truck when they were spotted by police responding to reports of a driver losing his doughnuts.

A police spokesman said: "I don’t know if it was a need for transportation or if they just had the munchies."

Digital Killed the Radio Star

This post brought to you by Soccer Mom in Denial - posting every Monday on a different musical memory.

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A recent article in the Washington Post got me thinking about how I hear about new music. The article talked about how the Recording Industry Association of America is suing a man because he copied CDs (that he purchased!) onto his own computer. Yep, that's it. Not copying and sending to a friend. Not posting on a website where others can download it. Just doing what millions of iPod owners do every day. Scary.

Enough about how the RIAA is trying to kill music. It got me thinking about how I acquire new music - sometimes (oh please, government don't read this post) friends will send me inspirational CDs, or a copy of some songs from an artist they think I might like. Generally speaking it's music I wouldn't otherwise purchase - I hadn't heard it before and the artist isn't someone I would seek out. And I no longer listen to the radio.

I remember growing up we would always have the radio on in the car. Driving around with Dad it was WQXR (classical). Driving to school with my siblings it was WLIR (alternative - during the 80's). In college it was WHFS (alternative in Baltimore/Washington). Many of these stations sadly no longer exist or if they do the music is very different (all talk, Latin). And I no longer own a car. On the rare occasion when I am in a car I now have satellite radio which lets me choose exactly which genre I want - back to the 80's for the most part - or we set up the iTrip and choose from what we already own. Our stereo at home might have a radio - I have no idea. Our alarm clock plays NPR.

So how do I acquire music nowadays? Read my friends' blogs, go to a movie, and get mix CDs for special occasions. Uh oh, better hide.

The Lull Between the Holidays

Peaceful

For more Singular Saturdays go visit Jenn in Holland.