Things I learned on Public and CBS radio today, mostly in chronological order:
Shirley Jones sang and performed some wonderful roles I was aware of. Now, approaching 80, she has written an autobiography. And Diane Rhem asked her, politely as is her way, and bluntly, why she included so much information on enjoyable sex with her two husbands. Jones said everyone knew her public and professional persona. She wanted something in it that reflected her private, personal self that the world didn't know. Funny, that made sense to me.
Rhem asked her if she remembered her speech when she won the Oscar, and she did. She said, she remembers, "This is the best moment of my career." Afterwards, she said, her husband asked her why she didn't say the best minute of her life. She answered, "Because it wasn't. The birth of my children was that."
Diane Rhem said swiftly she understood. So do I. An Oscar isn't necessarily life-changing, though she felt it extended her career. But children change everything.
Next...
Bo Jackson. I know a con artist who goes by that name. Today I found out why. I was too young to know Bo Jackson. I learned about him today.
NPR told his story against the musings of whether spite was involved in his choices, and whether he benefitted or was hurt. A man who made choices almost impossible then. Could it happen today? No, because neither baseball nor football would let go today to let him excel in both. I have more to learn. I loved what I did learn. Wow.
Next...
I'm slow, okay? I didn't know about the pigtail bonus. I had been puzzled by references to pig tails. I read omnivorously, sports and celebrities only when they interest me. We have so many hogs here. I wish we could find some way to harvest, assess, prepare the meat. Why can't we? So much food we are letting rot. Yes, I know rules and regulations are in place. Surely practicality could do more. It's been done before. I've read about it. It was a while ago.
anecdotal information:
So many employees worked extra hours this year, meaning postponement of so many "Christmas" celebrations. We will get together over New Year's. A clerk told me today he still hadn't been able to visit family for Christmas, which includes more than food and what-did-you-get-me? At least, for most.
My neighbor told me he talked to an employee who worked till 11:30 pm Christmas Day for either UPS or FEDEX, and said his friend had only caught up to Christmas Eve. They still are frantically delivering gifts. News has the rest of the story. Speaking of rest, when do these people do so? It sounds brutal.
Several family members are in law enforcement. I remember when eldest grandchild was 3-4, her dad was off work Dec. 26. Mom was off both days.
So we told her Santa came Christmas Eve, Dec. 25. Worked great. She had a great time.
I am sure some infant prodigies do remember dates. I didn't, no one else in our family does either. I am not sure any of us has ever told her that story. She's probably ready now to hear it.
And that last paragraph was not it what I learned today. When I heard persons whining and whimpering about their "ruined holiday", I did think of it.
I do think Americans in general have more grit, more goodwill, than showed up on tv media bytes.
Look at the aftermath of any tornado.
This close to The Holiday? Not a chance.
I don't have stock in anything, but Kleenex may have bumped today.
Life does go on, people do keep loving one another, sooner or later they catch up on lost sleep.
We will continue to care about one another.
I hope that reduces the anxiety on television.
Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label environment. Show all posts
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Monday, September 21, 2009
Virtual and Real Exposure to New Things
My first effort with a digital camera went very well. In 11 days, I shot 370 photos, including at least 3 rather nice ones from 30,000 feet on the plane. (The one shooting down at Mt. Hood was particularly good.) They are downloaded on my computer. But I haven't learned the simple process of scanning into my blog, and talking about Oregon without pics is kinda like, well, like salt-free potato chips.
One reflection. When I lived in New Mexico, my dad, an avid garderer, had a velvety lawn of close-cropped blue grass and clover, a delight to bare feet. We had rattlesnakes, black widow spiders, potent desert scorpions and vinegaroons (if you scare them, they let out a smell like someone spilled maybe a gallon of strong vinegar), so we were careful where we stepped. But we didn't have chiggers. I learned about those in the 60s, when I moved to Dallas. And every now and then, I would forget and end up with a number of unbearably itchy bumps.
Then, in the 70s, fire ants reached the Metroplex and life changed forever. No more gardening without heavy socks over my jeans and long sleeves and gloves even in mid-summer because another queen might have landed in the tilled soil, undetected. The thing about fire ants, they run toward the disturbance, not away, and they all sting at the same time. And they leave painful bites that develop pus before subsiding. Not life threatening, but very unpleasant. So we all automatically became extremely conscious of where we stepped. Or sat. Lying down? Outdoors? Ha!
I hadn't realized how accostomed I am to this until I saw people Sleeping On The Grass in Oregon. My kneejerk reaction was concern, even alarm for them. Unsafe! Unsafe! but of course it is perfectly safe there. They don't even have poisonous snakes. That added a lot, I think, to my relaxation in the environment. Here, one stays a little bit vigilent outdoors, always. But it was a noticeable shift for me. Where we live is our norm. We interact without even thinking about it. When it changes, we notice.
_____________________________________________________
I want to recommend two books I've read lately.
The first is "Julie and Julia" by Julie Powell, the story of a blogger who won the lottery, i.e., wrote a book based on one of the first blogs in existence, and sold the movie rights.It is tremendously funny--her writing reminds me in some ways of Crystal's style--and I found myself laughing out loud.
As most folks already know, this non-cooking picky eater set out to cook--and also eat--every recipe in Julia Childs' first cookbook. Crazy. I shudder at some of the things she ate--pounds and pounds and pounds of butter, kidneys(I think I could eat them but I don't think I could cook them), and brains (no, thank you. ick.) Oh, and turnips. This woman didn't even like carrots and raisins when she started. I am bemused. You have to say she was anal-compulsive or she wouldn't have finished the project, but she is so full of life. Hugely full of life. It's a good read.
The seond book is "Banana" by Dan Koeppel. The bananas in the stores today are Cavendish, which may be doomed in the next 10 to 30 years...read to find out why. Still, many varieties of bananas exist throughout the world, some with seeds, most cultivated ones without (plants are grown from cuttings, so are clones of each other) He goes into ancient history, segueing into the rise of the tremendously profitable U.S. fruit companies with holdings throughout the world. (O.Henry coined the phrase, "banana republics" in 1905.) He also covers the genetic manipulation of this fruit and general produce in easy to follow prose about a complicated and tedious process.
He's an excellent writer and obviously an exhaustive researcher.
In the last year, I have made it a practice to pick out a couple of non-fiction books each time I go to the library. My only requirement is that it has to be something totally different. It has added a lot of enjoyment to my life.
One reflection. When I lived in New Mexico, my dad, an avid garderer, had a velvety lawn of close-cropped blue grass and clover, a delight to bare feet. We had rattlesnakes, black widow spiders, potent desert scorpions and vinegaroons (if you scare them, they let out a smell like someone spilled maybe a gallon of strong vinegar), so we were careful where we stepped. But we didn't have chiggers. I learned about those in the 60s, when I moved to Dallas. And every now and then, I would forget and end up with a number of unbearably itchy bumps.
Then, in the 70s, fire ants reached the Metroplex and life changed forever. No more gardening without heavy socks over my jeans and long sleeves and gloves even in mid-summer because another queen might have landed in the tilled soil, undetected. The thing about fire ants, they run toward the disturbance, not away, and they all sting at the same time. And they leave painful bites that develop pus before subsiding. Not life threatening, but very unpleasant. So we all automatically became extremely conscious of where we stepped. Or sat. Lying down? Outdoors? Ha!
I hadn't realized how accostomed I am to this until I saw people Sleeping On The Grass in Oregon. My kneejerk reaction was concern, even alarm for them. Unsafe! Unsafe! but of course it is perfectly safe there. They don't even have poisonous snakes. That added a lot, I think, to my relaxation in the environment. Here, one stays a little bit vigilent outdoors, always. But it was a noticeable shift for me. Where we live is our norm. We interact without even thinking about it. When it changes, we notice.
_____________________________________________________
I want to recommend two books I've read lately.
The first is "Julie and Julia" by Julie Powell, the story of a blogger who won the lottery, i.e., wrote a book based on one of the first blogs in existence, and sold the movie rights.It is tremendously funny--her writing reminds me in some ways of Crystal's style--and I found myself laughing out loud.
As most folks already know, this non-cooking picky eater set out to cook--and also eat--every recipe in Julia Childs' first cookbook. Crazy. I shudder at some of the things she ate--pounds and pounds and pounds of butter, kidneys(I think I could eat them but I don't think I could cook them), and brains (no, thank you. ick.) Oh, and turnips. This woman didn't even like carrots and raisins when she started. I am bemused. You have to say she was anal-compulsive or she wouldn't have finished the project, but she is so full of life. Hugely full of life. It's a good read.
The seond book is "Banana" by Dan Koeppel. The bananas in the stores today are Cavendish, which may be doomed in the next 10 to 30 years...read to find out why. Still, many varieties of bananas exist throughout the world, some with seeds, most cultivated ones without (plants are grown from cuttings, so are clones of each other) He goes into ancient history, segueing into the rise of the tremendously profitable U.S. fruit companies with holdings throughout the world. (O.Henry coined the phrase, "banana republics" in 1905.) He also covers the genetic manipulation of this fruit and general produce in easy to follow prose about a complicated and tedious process.
He's an excellent writer and obviously an exhaustive researcher.
In the last year, I have made it a practice to pick out a couple of non-fiction books each time I go to the library. My only requirement is that it has to be something totally different. It has added a lot of enjoyment to my life.
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