Back from tour.  Beyond the whining.  Don't miss it like I used to.  Just a sense of duty that I've done my bit.  Mostly get no appreciation back, so don't really enjoy it anymore.  I did my best and as usual it's not enough.

But back to my garden and my house.  My poor pink garden was so choked with timothy grass that I'm surprised it's even surviving.  It was good to spend the morning pulling up miscreant plants up by the roots.  Focused my energy and anger.

Other less satisfying jobs are slated for later today.  Cleaning out the fridge and making a grocery list loom large for this afternoon.  After tour, I really don't want to sit and plan menus, but it's gotta be done.  Because I crave non-sysco type food.  Salad will be featured prominently this week and maybe broccoli since it made heads while I was gone.  As did my Romaine lettuce.  YUM.

I hope to tackle the backyard later in the week.  I think I've weeded as much as I can today.  

My best surprise for a Monday was that my large rose in the pink garden did not die after all.  I was a very happy camper to see it coming back.  I'd given up on it.  So it's a good thing I was gone and didn't dig it up or something before it had a chance to come back.  Made it all worthwhile as I tore all my remaining nails.  

Time to move on to less time wasting pursuits.  oh bother.

medicine bah humbug

I'm already so over this go round of doctor visits.  Go see this one, go see that one with huge gaps of time in between is for the birds.  This is going to go all year because I'm gonna have to keep cancelling things.  Next appointment--day the baby is due.  We'll see where the kids are on this with making appointments with their doctors.  Maybe I can go for a consult that day.  I don't know.  It's almost 3 weeks away though.  Obviously my time and peace of mind is of no concern.

So terribly tired of it all.  I knew this would be like this.  It plays into my all least favorite things--waiting, talking on the phone, being treated like cattle.  You lose all control when you submit yourself to these people.  Their timing, their methods, etc. win out over yours.  It's like dealing with the airlines.  I hate it.  It's why I am reluctant to go.  It invariably becomes a circus.

Calgon--take me away.

Writing for myself

So none of the blogs I usually read have anything new.  So I thought I could write instead of read. A novel concept.  Novel, get it?  I got a million of them.

Mostly I want to say that I will miss the hell out of John Updike.  I haven't loved every single thing he's written, but the ones I've liked have stayed with me a long time.  I even enjoyed his critical pieces because they were usually humorous as well as informative.  If Updike said something sucked, it usually did.  Many writers don't make good critics.  And many good critics don't make good writers.  He could do both.  A great gift.

I loved the Bech books.  I know everyone else loved Rabbit Angstrom, and I had some affection for him too.  But Bech was oversized and amusing.  He always caused his own predicaments while Rabbit suffered from omission not comission of sin.  In the "real world" people like Rabbit irritate me.  So no matter how good the writing, I was always slightly annoyed with him.  Bech amused me no end.

I'd like to think that another book starring Bech was around the corner.  What a horrible thought that it is not.  

Merry Christmas Happy Holidays etc.

Looking for one word to describe the year in Iowa this year:  wet.  Very good for the garden, not so good for levees in various places.  Downtown Des Moines had its share of flooding, but West Des Moines was dry.

As usual, we traveled with Colts Drum and Bugle corps this year.  David went one week, I went another.  After my stint, we had family time in Chicago.  So fun to have Uncle Rich and Aunt Marlene Hopper and GG (greatgrandma,my Mom) to help spoil Caitlin.  We took her to Taste of Chicago and the Shedd Aquarium.    Caitlin loves fish and turtles and frogs, so the aquarium was a big hit.  She'll be 3 in March.

And by that time she will have a little sister.  Jennifer and Brendan are expecting again in February.  We do know it's another girl, but the name is up in the air.  I'm sure this space will have more news at it happens.

Our downer moment this year was GG's breast cancer.  Luckily, it was found early and was treatable.  No chemo, but some radiation.  Her prognosis is fabulous.  We feel lucky.  This was found during her routine mammogram, so pop 'em out there, ladies.

And the late news is that Aaron and Sebastian will be marching in the inaugural parade on January 20.  The drum corps was selected.  We are all pumped, and David and I are going as volunteers.  Can't wait.

David and I ran all over.  We went to San Francisco and Seattle this year for flower shows.  I ate like there was no tomorrow.  Fresh seafood for days.  David went to Miami and New York.I had a weekend with the girls at a mystery convention in Omaha.  Way fun and the writer of the new HBO series True Blood was there.  The woman is a stitch.  Then we took a week in October to go to Kansas City and do shopping, mostly for Christmas.  Next year I'm sure we'll spend quite a lot of time in Chicago at the kids' new house with the kids' new baby (and Caitlin, too).

Sebastian and Shanna are in Tallahassee.  Shanna is finishing her Master's degree in Music Therapy, and Sebastian is working for Florida State as an academic advisor.  Their first year anniversary is soon.  

Clark and Aaron live with us.  Clark works the help desk for Mediacom and Aaron is a desk clerk at our Sheraton.  Both doing all right.

Otherwise, we work in the garden, cook up a storm, and spoil anybody we can.

Marketing again

Could I get anymore disgusted with American business if I tried?  What is it this time?

I'm getting really tired of getting "IMPORTANT INFORMATION CONCERNING MY ACCOUNT" which turns out to be paper telemarketing.  What I'm wondering about is what the rationale is here.

I've been told that when I get something like this the entire reason for doing it this way is so that I will open it.  I can't see how my opening it, becoming angry, and discarding it adds anything except the middle step.  They've taken away moments of my life.  I want them back.  I want them to clearly mark on the envelope that this envelope contains a miserable attempt to get you to buy life insurance and has sod all to do with your account.  We, the company you chose to do business with, have again wantonly sold your information to a third party without your knowledge or consent.

I'm not interested in life insurance.  In face I don't believe in it.  If I want my money invested for my old age, I don't need an insurance company as middle man to do this for me.  I can do this just fine myself.  And if I can't, I don't have the money to give someone else to do for me.

My point is here, admittedly obscured by the ranting, that I am much happier with straightforward advertisements.  Just tell me what you have to sell, and I'll act accordingly. Don't treat me like a patsy.  My reaction to being treated as if I'm too stupid to realize what you're doing is to quit doing business with you.  And to write you scathing letters and emails.  That you then have to deal with because I mark them important.  Two can play at this game.

Just tell me what you are after.  No "courtesy calls" or "important" or anything.  State your business and move on.  We'll both be happier.

J. K. Rowling

I just read the end of the trial story about the suit brought by Rowling against someone trying to publish a fan book of Harry Potter.  I'm trying to ignore the David and Goliath aspects of the suit and not think about all the trite sayings about using nuclear weapons to kill a gnat.This is purely a protection of copyright case.  But it so not simple.

From an economic point of view, why should someone make money from Harry Potter besides Rowling?  From years of working at a book store, I can tell you that this new Lexicon would have sold like hot cakes.  When something is as hot as the Potter series, anything remotely connected with it flies off the shelves.  That includes books that are "kinda" like it.  She hasn't tried to stop publication of the various fantasy/witchcraft young adult books obviously "inspired" by the incredible success of her series.  Some are painfully close to plagiarism.  But she has let other writers profit in this way from her success.  She hasn't even made tacky remarks.  I'm sure I couldn't have restrained myself when the main characters are named something almost as blatant as Henry Porter.

Apparently her concern is only with her own characters.  And this is essential in maintaining copyright because you can lose some protection if you don't actively pursue those who try to use your copyright.  It's why Disney prosecutes all the piddly stuff like children's cakes sold commercially with Mickey on them.  The Mouse is the franchise.  Lose him, lose the company. Rowling wants to maintain a tight hold on her own work.

The next point gets so sticky that I'm not sure how I feel about it.  The person writing the Lexicon says it falls under the same category of any other critical work about a piece of literature.  This means that Tolkien guides and guides to James Joyce and all sorts of explanations of books could only be published under the watchful eye of the author or and here's the real catch, the author's estate.  This has caused all sorts of misery for literary critics and biographers.  What can someone say without going beyond the limit for quoting material?

My experience with other critical works makes me side with the Lexicon author here.  I would never have made it through Ulysses without lots and lots of critical help.  And sometimes, especially with place names, I was so lost in Middle Earth without some sort of guide.  I'm glad someone did the work so I could look up all the places and get situated.  

That being said, I don't think Harry Potter is that complex.  I don't see what you actually need a lexicon for.  Exposition is at the ready in all the books.  And the place names and spell names, etc. are puns.  Diagon Alley, indeed.  If you need someone to explain that as diagonally, you are way too slow on the uptake to be reading these books.

I'm at impasse along with the judge in the case.  This is a part of the law that is ill-defined.  My puritan soul says you shouldn't profit from someone else's labor.  Or words.  But my sense of fair makes me wonder how bad it would be for this guy to make several thousand on a dictionary.  If it were a novel that used the characters, no contest.  But criticism is different. Absolutely.  So if it's criticism, fine.  If it's her novels broken into smaller units, not fine.  Where's Solomon when you need him?

Nascar, Part Deux

I realize I'm a poster child for, oh wait shiney thing, attention deficit, but I'm getting bored with Nascar.  I really used to like to watch the exciting races which came right down to the line with at least 2 cars beatin' and bangin'.  Not so much.

And really I can't decide if it's them or me.  I became irritated with the ignorant cracker and the rhinestone cowboy way before I usually do.  The "definitely probably" construction started to bug me the second time this season that it came out of his mouth.  If I see another cowboy hat, it'll be too soon.  And a gopher?  Is this Caddyshack?  Is it even the coverage?  Or is it the races?

The races should have had me in hog heaven.  No Hendrick car won, and they were trading around who was gonna win.  Even Jeff Burton already won.  But watching the network wring its hands over poor jeffy and jimmie and above all jr, sorta took the edge off.

Then Nascar weighed in and docked a zillion points from Carl because he getting uppity.  Oh wait it was that they cheated.  It wasn't 'cause it looked he was gonna blow Hendrick outta the water with a Roush car.  Hey, Ford can you please increase your payments to Nascar?

And I am stunned by the unraveling of Richard Petty Enterprises.  Can someone not help these guys with a net to stop the free fall?  It pains me to watch Kyle struggle week and week.  I do remember when Kyle was competitive.  And then Davy died and it all went south.

Maybe I miss the old guys.  Maybe I'm not as engaged by the new young guys.  That's a dumb thing to think when it is so very much fun to watch Kyle Busch have his way with a car.  I don't know that that is driving in the old sense of the word, but it is entertainment.  And sometimes, comedy.  He has every bit as much talent with car handling as The Revered Intimidator.  And he's more fun.  

I guess it's mostly fox, who apparently can ruin anything.  I don't watch the pre-race stuff because I can't stand jimmy the mouth spencer.  No that's not just cable blowhard.  His comments about Kelly Earnhardt woulda got him tossed and and tarred and feathered on any other venue.  And not because of who she is.  Because of the lack of respect for women.  Who watch the sport.  And don't appreciate it.  

Maybe when the dust settles and we're on to ESPN, it'll get interesting.  And maybe it's the on again off again nature so far.  Every weekend I could really watch, no race.  Every weekend I was traveling,  races up the wazoo.  The races haven't reached their stride yet.

Here's hoping.