It's Off

Tonights Killers/Neon Trees show in San Francisco has been cancelled. The word is that they may reschedule for Dec. and it will be back on.

Oct. 11, 1996

Shaken awake out of a deep slumber
Eyes open to an old world made new
Poised to plunge now
Into life's rich colors
To lick up life's sweet pearls as dew

Sometimes we fall into the error
Of closing our eyes to friends
Of closing our hearts to precious help
Which their arm readily extends

Sometimes we become the source of
numbing sorrow, stinging pain
To the ones who are most precious
But in all of our wretched self-centeredness
We continue to inflict this torture
Perhaps in ignorance
Perhaps with ill intent

But this hardness we have perpetuated
Forcing all to down bitter pills
In the end will only fall back
Into our own belly to the brim to fill

Hard words crowded into my mind
Then spewed out my mouth
Spilled into the air
And stabbed out her heart

Desolate love only managed then
To grace this skeletal soul
From a once brimming cup
of passion and care
From the one, my only lighted abode

Forthwith then she left me
To my own black hearted affairs
To work my poison devices
To drink this black souled despair

Yet in her hasty leaving
My stained mind sat in blink
And raged and raged against itself
Against its fetid stink

I'm facing up now to the reflection
Cast by my shadowy soul
This grim dissatisfaction now seized
With a new determined fledgling hope - T.R.A. 1996

Baby Girl

Why do our babies have to grow up? Lately Katie has been acting too grown up for me. Soon she'll be more mature than me and we can't have that. She's bored with the work in kindergarten. It's too easy she says. Instead of Cinderella, she wants to watch Everafter. Instead of Beauty & The Beast, she wants to watch Enchanted. Instead of Cars, she wants Days of Thunder (just kidding...I just threw that in there...could have been Splash instead of Little Mermaid).

Recently when I asked why she didn't have fun at a friends house, she replied, "Mom, people change. We just don't want to play the same thing anymore."

And this is how she tells me she's ready for breakfast, "I would like a sunny side up egg, runny please. With some salt and wheat toast with a little bit of butter, thank you."

At Disneyland this summer, I was devastated when she didn't want to wear her big poofy Snow White dress-up like she did last year. I guess it's not that cool anymore. It truly broke my princess mommy heart. Gulp.

She doesn't even look like a 5 & 1/2 year old. I think I'll start doing her hair in pig tails.

The Beatles are the best....EVER!

Branden and Emilie agree that people who don't think The Beatles rule, are uncool. We agree with the following:

"I work on the principle that it's not possible to take anyone's views on music seriously if they don't like the Beatles. Everything else is a question of personal taste and therefore debatable. But if you don't recognize the Beatles as the twentieth century's most inventive, most influential and most talented composers, you're pretty much admitting that you've rather missed the point of the last hundred years of musical endeavour. Should you fall into that category, I do not condemn neither do I mock. I merely despair and, having despaired, I move on."
...Mark Bastable

Bailout shmailout

I'm so happy I don't have TV. I can't even get the news and I'm glad. I have enough stress in my life right now without hearing about all the disasters happening...financially and otherwise. Some one tell me why this can't be a reality....
[and I did not write this myself...just something someone sent me]

Here is an interesting approach. Is my math correct?

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG. Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a "We Deserve It Dividend".

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bona-fide US Citizens 18+. Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up. So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a "We Deserve It Dividend". Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let's assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

* Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.

* Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads

* Put away money for college - it'll be there

* Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.

* Buy a new car - create jobs

* Invest in the market - capital drives growth

* Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves

* Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else

Remember this is for every adult US Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it . . . instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( "vote buy" ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult US Citizen 18+!!!!

As for AIG -

* Liquidate it.

* Sell off its parts.

* Let American General go back to being American General.

* Sell off the real estate.

* Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.

Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work." But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party! How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 billion We deserve the "We Deserve It Dividend" more than the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC.

And remember, The Family plan only really costs $59.5 billion because $25.5 billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh . . . I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Cancer

Cancer is really uncool. I feel so grateful that it hasn't stricken my parents or my immediate family. We are so blessed. But I'm sick of it hitting everyone else and therefore spoiling the happy lives and times of those that I love.