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If there's anyone out there reading this, I've moved to WordPress. You can find me at:

http://alittlerayofbittersunshine.wordpress.com.

See you there!

I Think The Editor Was Napping When This Story Was Posted

An article on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel web site titled, "Packers Herron fights off home invaders," leads with this sentence:

"Green Bay Packers running back Noah Herron fought off intruders during a burglary to his Village of Howard home, striking one with a bed post that he unscrewed from his bed last weekend."

So, did Herron's home get invaded last weekend, or did he unscrew a bedpost from his bed last weekend in anticipation of a home invasion to come? Because if that's the case, then he could give Allison DuBois a run for her money.

Thus ends my geek-out for today.

Chick-Flick Weekend

I'm not much of a "girly girl." I hate dressing up, wear makeup only when I have to, and like watching baseball. However, there are a few "girly" things I enjoy, namely chick flicks and chick lit.

So you can imagine my anticipation at seeing "Sex and the City" on the big screen during its opening weekend. My friend Jenna and I ventured out to the Majestic Theater in Brookfield to take in the big-screen version of the pay cable show we both enjoyed during its six-year run. We got our tickets, then went to the snack stand and got some refreshments.

Apparently I've never before watched a movie with an audience that was 98 percent women, because I wanted to kill almost every one of them at some point during the film (Jenna excluded, of course -- you're fabulous!). The first time Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha each appeared on screen, gasps and screams filled the theater. The gasps and screams continued during almost every piece of dialoguye that was spoken between any of the characters; and, in case Jenna and I couldn't hear what was being said on the screen, a helpful woman sitting in front of us -- who we suspect had one too many cosmos -- would loudly repeat any line that she found particularly funny (she did this a lot). So, essentially, I missed probably about 15 percent of the dialogue.

Don't misunderstand me. I appreciate the fact that this movie is the ultimate "girls' night out" event that will probably ever happen in our lifetime (deer hunter widow's balls don't count because, frankly, I don't plan on marrying a deer hunter). And I appreciate friends wanting to experience the return of this beloved-by-many show, because that's exactly what my friend and I wanted to do. But most of these women behaved as if they were sitting in their homes with their girlfriends watching the show each week on HBO. Except this behavior doesn't translate well into A THEATER FULL OF PEOPLE! All I really wanted to do was watch the movie, take in every syllable, every scene, every outfit, every brief, fleeting shot of full frontal male nudity -- but these harpies in the theater wouldn't let me. I guess I didn't realize what happens during a movie watched by primarily watched by women.

Fortunately I loved the movie and will be buying it on DVD, so I'll be able to experience the movie again in the privacy and quiet of my own apartment.

* * *

After the movie Jenna I went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner -- yes, the restaurant with the "Cattle Crossing" sign right outside the ladies' room.

Jenna decided to get dessert, and then tempted me to help her finish it (what am I if not a good friend?). J ordered the "Big 'Ol Brownie," a sinful and rich warm brownie with ice cream on the top.

I started out planning to just have a forkful, but of course I ate half of it, not counting the portion that I dropped right down into my cleavage.

Addition to My Summer Reading List

This book should be extremely interesting.

Former press secretary's book bashes Bush

From Associated Press

May 28, 2008 8:26 AM EDT

WASHINGTON - Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan writes in a new memoir that President Bush relied on an aggressive "political propaganda campaign" instead of the truth to sell the Iraq war, it has been reported.

The Bush White House made "a decision to turn away from candor and honesty when those qualities were most needed" - a time when the nation was on the brink of war, McClellan writes in the book entitled "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception."

The way Bush managed the Iraq issue "almost guaranteed that the use of force would become the only feasible option," the book contends, according to accounts Wednesday in The New York Times and Washington Post.

"In the permanent campaign era, it was all about manipulating sources of public opinion to the president's advantage," McClellan writes.

The White House had no immediate comment on the book.

In a surprisingly harsh assessment from the man who was at that time the loyal public voice of the White House, McClellan called the Iraq war a "serious strategic blunder."

"The Iraq war was not necessary," he concludes.

McClellan admits that some of his own words from the podium in the White House briefing room turned out to be "badly misguided." But he says he was sincere at the time.

"I fell far short of living up to the kind of public servant I wanted to be," McClellan writes. He also blames the media whose questions he fielded, calling them "complicit enablers" in the White House campaign to manipulate public opinion toward the need for war.

The book is scheduled to go on sale June 1. Quotes from the book were reported Tuesday night by the Web site Politico, which said it found McClellan's memoir on sale early at a bookstore.

McClellan draws a portrait of his former boss as smart, charming and politically skilled, but unwilling to admit mistakes and susceptible to his own spin. Bush "convinces himself to believe what suits his needs at the moment," McClellan writes.

He also faults Bush for a "lack of inquisitiveness."

Adventures in Cat Ownership: The First Trip to the Veterinarian

Ginger had her first visit to the "V-E-T" tonight! She did very well. Didn't fight me when I put her in her carrier, but yapped at me the entire drive there.

We got there and they had me put her (inside her carrier) on the waiting room scale, and she and the carrier weighed something like 13 pounds. When we got into the office, we tried to coax her out with a treat, but she wasn't too interested. It took her about 15 seconds to come out, and then she hopped off the table and started to explore the room. We finally got her back up on the table and the vet looked her over while the assistant gently held her in place. She squirmed for the rabies shot, but not too badly.

All in all, my little Ginger is very healthy, and the assistant commented a couple times on how sweet she is. The vet said I should cut down on her food a little more (from 1/3 c. to 1/4 c. a day) to help get her weight down (without being in the carrier she weighed in at 9.8 pounds, which is slightly larger than he'd like to see her, but nothing to worry about. He also suggested I bring her in to get her teeth cleaned once a year, but otherwise she doesn't need any of the vaccinations that outdoor cats get, so that's good.

Then I put her back in her carrier, went out to pay for the shot (only $28 -- the exam was free thanks to the WI Humane Society, as part of adopting your pet), and saw on the counter a picture of a cute little cat, whose name I think was Stuart. The poor little guy has only three legs (he was being abused) and had tested positive for feline leukemia, so he could only go to a one-cat home (or a home with another cat who tested positive). They were asking me if I wanted to take him and I said I couldn't because Ginger is negative. Some of this can be attributed to PMS, I think, but not all ... I was almost in tears reading about this little cat. He had such a sweet little face, and while I never understood animal abuse before, now that I have a pet of my own, I can't even fathom hurting her like that, or imagining someone else hurting her. Maybe animal abusers are similar to child abusers -- weak cowards who only prey on things smaller than them and defenseless. When I got to the car, I did cry, it was just so sad. I get like that sometimes, it's a weird quirk about me -- I over-identify with a complete stranger or strange situation, and get way to emotional about it. I guess I'd rather cry at the drop of a hat about something like that than not care at all. :)

I was going to take pictures of her during her vet appointment, but I figured the vet (who was kind of cute) would think that was weird. So I waited until we got home to photograph the "aftermath" of the vet trip.


Ginger replenishing her fluids after the vet trip


Because I am now a "new mom" pet owner, here are some more photos I took of her over the weekend.



I'm on ur bed, stealin ur coverz



Being lazy on the couch


The menacing huntress watching for birds

New Addition

Last night I welcomed a new addition to my family.

Meet...Ginger Snap!

I adopted her from the Wisconsin Humane Society last night. Her original name was Yolanda -- don't think so. Ginger Snap it is!

My friend R went with me. The whole process took about two hours. I originally found her online, and when we got there I couldn't find her at all, so I was worried that she had already been adopted. Turns out she has a bit of a cold, so those animals are kept separately from the healthy ones.

The adoption coordinator brought her into one of the vet exam rooms in a carrier, and she climbed right out of it and started "marking" R and I, along with everything else in the room. R and I both looked at each other and said, "This is the one!" So they got her ready to go, and sent me home with my "cat starter kit" (litter box, litter, scoop, food, food bowls, toy, brush and lint catcher) and her antibiotics and we were off for home.

She yammered at me the entire 5 minute car ride, it was pretty funny. R prepared me for her probably being freaked out, and said she probably would hide under my bed for a day or so. I put the carrier in the living room and opened it up to let her out. She immediately started exploring the house. We put her litter box together and R suggested I carry her to the litter box and put her inside it so she knows where it is (R has a cat, he's not just a cat genius, lol). She has discovered the top of the sofa, where she can look out the window at the cars going by. When I was uploading the pictures of her last night she was on my bed, head-butting me and being generally affectionate. Last night she slept in bed with me the majority of the night, her little paw and head on my hand. So cute!

So now I am officially a cat lady! Guess that seals my role as a spinster, lol.

It's About Time!

California Supreme Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban

It's about time.

While I'm not gay and would benefit in no way from this announcement (particularly because I live in Wisconsin, where the real happy cows are!), I welcome the news nonetheless. No one bats an eye when someone like Britney Spears or Pamela Anderson enter into ill-advised marriages that last hours or even a few months, but when a loving, committed same-sex couple wants to get married, stop the presses! Does God favor a straight person who enters into marriage frivolously over a homosexual whose marriage could potentially last 10 times as long? I would like to think the God I believe in doesn't discriminate this ridiculously.

I wish I were optimistic that this decision by the California Supreme Court would stand, but I am not holding out much hope. Unfortunately it seems those who are against same-sex marriage are far more well-funded and connected than those of us who believe that every person has a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, whether that happiness entails marrying a man or a woman. I don't recall that phrase in the Declaration of Independence including a codicil about the pursuit of happiness only being limited to heterosexuals. Or that "the pursuit of happiness" means more for heterosexuals than for gays.

Another argument that amuses me is the whole "marriage is a religious sacrament" garbage. Don't people who go to the courthouse to get married call it "getting married?" If Catholics don't want gays to marry in the church, fine. A marriage in a courthouse is presided over by a judge, not a priest, so does that make the marriage any less recognized in anyone's eyes? Maybe they should call church weddings "marriages," and non-denominational weddings "civil unions," and just take religion completely out of the equation. Because any marriage, no matter where performed, isn't legal until the couple obtains a marriage license, which is provided by the government.

See where I'm going with this?

Unfortunately, until this country achieves the true separation of church and state that our founding fathers envisioned and built this country on, bigotry like anti-gay marriage amendments will continue to erode society and keep good people from being able to legally declare their love for another person. I hope I live to see the day that this finally happens.

Turning a corner

I jogged for the first time today. I had an appointment with my trainer, and it was nice outside so we did 10 laps around the rectangular building: we walked the long sides, and jogged the short ones. On the last lap, we sprinted a short one and walked the rest. It was awesome! She also told me how to do something similar on the treadmill.

Then we did crunches and rollouts with a big exercise ball.I'm still not seeing much of a weight loss, but I'm starting to lose some inches and see some muscle definition. Even more importantly, I'm doing things I could not have done when I first started training with her. I'm pushing myself harder than I did before, I have more stamina, and I'm just plain capable of doing more and different things. It's a great feeling!

I'm also experimenting a bit for the next couple of weeks, and trying to eat fewer overall carbs, as well as fewer bad carbs and more good carbs. For instance, I'm replacing bread for sandwiches with flour tortillas (I wanted spinach tortillas, but couldn't find them), which have 5 g of fiber. I'm also trying my hardest to have less caffeine and more water, although I slipped a bit today and had two 20 oz. diet cokes (in addition to 80 oz. of water, so hopefully that balances out).

Did Wal-Mart get a heart, or was this a PR decision?

I don't think this story was widely reported, but a now-former employee of Wal-Mart was permanently disabled in a car accident eight years ago and received a settlement. Wal-Mart (who made billions of dollars last year) then took her to court, trying to get money from her settlement to reimburse them for the $470,000 in medical expenses paid as part of her insurance.

Unfortunately -- and not surprisingly -- Wal-Mart won. After several appeals (which Wal-Mart also won), the Supreme Court refused to hear her case (if you're surprised by this, shame on you). This poor woman -- who is only 52 lives in a nursing home and has lost much of her memory and ability to communicate. Oh yeah, and while this case was going through the courts, their 18-year-old son was killed in Iraq.

After being reamed in the press (I first saw this story on Countdown with Keith Olbermann), Wal-Mart is trying to stop the shitstorm of bad press by opting not to recoup their expenses from this woman. Click here to read the story.

If I had not been refusing to shop at Wal-Mart before, this pretty much would have done it for me. I realize that the law is on their side, but sometimes doing the right thing means not necessarily taking advantage of every loophole you're offered. I wish I could say this showed that Wal-Mart was growing a heart, but I think it had more to do with repairing their image in the media than actually caring about how this woman will be cared for for the rest of her life. And it's not as if her family is living in the lap of luxury with their settlement. They won a $700,000 settlement from the trucking company, and after attorneys fees, the remaining about -- about $417,000 -- was put in a trust for her care.

Star Wars explained by a 3-year-old.


Star Wars Explained by a 3-year-old!