Le mieux blog dans le monde!

And I'm known as the librarian with the orange hair.

A kid (a regular) came in yesterday and needed help with his myspace account. The person who helped him suggested he return today so I could help him out; the staff member used my name in the exchange.

The kid, not sure of my name, asked, "Is she the one with the orange hair?"

Orange hair, the voice of an older person....

Can't wait for the next impression!

A Diamond is Forever

Unfortunately, Blood Diamond is the kind of movie that will draw people who are already concerned about conflict diamonds entering the market or other cause-conscious moviegoers. To make a real impact on the diamond industry, more of the population must know about this issue and take a stand.

However, giving diamonds as gifts for a variety of occasions is so engrained in the minds of Americans that I can't foresee a call for the top diamond companies to create stricter measures to prevent conflict diamonds from entering their supply.

Also, as the movie points out, "This is Africa." When has the world truly been concerned for the welfare of Africans? What benefit would the world have in doing so? The Middle East and parts of Central/South America are important because of oil (not to mention the entrenched drug trade in these areas--hey, illegal drugs create jobs in America!). We have strong economic ties to Europe and Eastern Asia. What does Africa have to offer (especially, when we can go there and exploit the unrest and major problems. Wait! We don't have to go there; there are plenty of crooks in "some" of the governments--many of whom are there as a result of U.S. intervention)?

The other day a man came up to the circulation desk to check materials out. I asked him how he was doing and if he found the information he came in for.

His response: "Whoa! I didn' t expect you to have that voice!"

Further explanation: I look like I'm in my mid-20s but have the voice of a person in her mid-30s.
A voice can age (think of puberty or listen to an elderly person speak), but I thought that once between the ages of 13 and 80, there were no real indicators of the age of a person based on voice.

That man's comment-that horrible man (heh, heh, heh)-disturbed me. I don't want to sound 5-10 years older than I really am. I still consider myself young and fresh.

Merry Christmas!

Somehow, not only for Christmas,
But all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others,
Is the joy that comes back to you.
And the more you spend in blessing,
The poor and lonely and sad,
The more of your heart's possessing,
Returns to you glad.

--John Whittier

What a relief it is that the government is watching out for it's citizens!!!

With the extra opportunities for surveillance that the U.S. government has as a result of the USA PATRIOT Act, we can rest assured that when the government spies on "terrorist" suspects (such as the late John Lennon), they will get their man or woman!!

If only the USA PATRIOT Act was enacted earlier.... Maybe John Lennon would have been found guilty of more than not following the status quo.

"The FBI had unsuccessfully argued that an unnamed foreign government secretly provided the information, and releasing the documents could lead to diplomatic, political or economic retaliation against the United States.

"The newly released documents include a surveillance report stating that two prominent British leftists had courted Lennon in hopes that he would finance "a left-wing bookshop and reading room in London" but that Lennon gave them no money. Another page states that there was "no certain proof" that Lennon had provided money "for subversive purposes."

"I doubt that Tony Blair's government will launch a military strike on the U.S. in retaliation for the release of these documents," Wiener told the newspaper. "Today, we can see that the national security claims that the FBI has been making for 25 years were absurd from the beginning." http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/20/people.lennonfiles.ap/index.html

Such a waste of resources.... Makes me wonder why the prisoners at Gitmo are really there?

Hello, Ms. President

All this talk about Hilary running for president...
I certainly think she'd have a good chance--she's comparable to the other possible candidates for the Democratic ticket (except maybe Obama, but then that would bring up race--is American ready for a non-white President?).

But do we really need another Clinton in the Oval Office?

Are Americans ready for a female president? I don't see why not. How many people would not vote for a candidate solely because of his/her gender? So long as they compaign well and seem solid, I wonder if gender is an issue.

There are differences in the ways that men and women think in general. Are those differences significant enough to limit one sex's ability to be a good president? Probably not in and of themselves.

I'd like to see Hilary run, simply because she appears to be a women who has transcended the traditional gender divide in politics. But I'm not sure she could inspire me to respect the national party.

Sieg Heil! Welcome to the American Reich....

Our fellow Americans are turning their own democratic country into a fascist, bigoted, sectarian state. While we've probably already been heading in this direction on a smaller scale, with 9/11 the American people have become more united with their distrust of Muslims.

Of course, I'm reacting to one Gallup poll and one Reuters article, but I hear other anti-Muslim/Islam comments from all sorts of people.

Stereotypes that get out of hand lead to the persecution of innocent people. In the poll and article, 39% of 1,000 people polled and a number of people who responded to a "devils-advocating" radio show program, stated that they'd like to see Muslims in the U.S. marked , not unlike the Jews and other prisoners of concentration camps during Hitler's regime.

Any acceptance of this kind of behavior (could we call it "Unamerican" behavior) will lead us further and further from a democratic state. Its interesting to see how people try to make sense of 9/11. I suppose we need real people to point fingers at and get our frustrations on, not just a vague abstract enemy like "terrorism" or an unseen "bin Laden".

I could be overreacting to a simple article that I read, but I really hope that this way of thinking doesn't escalate.
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Clay Aiken is....

Maybe its just me but I think that Clay Aiken is really annoying. I saw him on that now famous episode of Regis and Kelly and, boy, was he annoying. I wanted someone to cover his mouth. He kept talking, talking, talking--he would have done all the talking for the whole show--didn't need any guests.

Maybe he was confused and thought that the show was about him that day....

He should also get a haircut.

Social Networking

So my sister asked me the other day if I had ever gotten onto an online dating site. I have but don't think its my thing. A couple of friends of mine have met people and hooked, but I just don't trust people I can't read and you can't really read a profile and a picture.

She asked me this after I told her I'm considering returning to school to get an MPA. She's concerned I won't marry. But really some things are more important than sitting around waiting for that (especially living in this county!--I could sit forever).

What is it about marriage that married people want their single family members and friends to find that "special somebody?" Being single is fun. You can go out on the town every weekend (or more). You can spontaneously call up your friends and get together. You can kick your room-mate out when they cause trouble. Right now I'm happy in my singlehood. If you get married before you can have a wonderful single life, you really don't know how fulfilling it can be. And I'm sure if you haven't married you don't know how married life is but maybe some of us can have the best of both worlds: get married later!

PS. George W. is such a dick! And a traitor to his party (and you probably know by now I'm not a huge fan of his party).

Hallelujah

I have been looking forward to this day for the past 6 years.

Rumsfield is finally leaving the Administration!!!!

His commander-in-chief and he always had an excuse for why he wouldn't leave. Why he's suddenly stepping down we may never truly know. Bush must really feel the pressure (party image, recognizing his follies, finally woke up, etc.).

Maybe if we keep trying, Bush will bend on some other pet projects of his and realize he's only a man (a very idealistic man) and step down (taking Cheney with him, of course) and move to a very small island in a the middle of the ocean (maybe near one of the poles) and keep to himself.

Please! No more Clintons and no more Bushes!

Voting

Sometimes just the idea of fitting voting into your day is a deterrent. I almost didn't today, but in the end did visit the polling place and did succeed in using the computerized voting system.

The election judge didn't announce that I had voted when I returned the card--that was a huge disappointment--but maybe they only do that for a presidential election.

As for grandma, she's doing pretty well considering the aneurysm was a four and the rating scale is 1 to 4, four being the worst. She left the hospital on Monday and the swelling in her head has gone down. Still am hestitant to see her any differently from the grandma I've always known and loved.

Medieval Babe

My Grandma

My Grandma is very special. She is 80 years old and hasn't gone to the doctor for 50 years. She drinks a little bit of coffee every morning to relieve her morning headache, which works much faster than taking a pill, which she hasn't had to take for 50 years either.

When she was a teenager, Grandma donned her short shorts and strolled down the pier with her friends. She had lots of dating experience. She'd trade her father's gas ration coupons with her beaus for their shoe ration coupons. Even after she had five children, men hit on her and wanted to whisk her away on their not so white horses. (As difficult as it may be to believe, we are related!)

Grandma likes to reminisce about her glory days; life was perfect back then. She thinks about those days often and misses her brother, whose life was cut short during the War. She also misses her father who I imagine to be a charming man (he danced, he entertained, he was an extra in a couple of Westerns, he was a mechanic, and at one time ran a gas station.)

Now my grandma lives in Colorado and is whipping her senior apartment building into shape. She's told off the complex sourpuss, who yelled at her grandson John and who bothers people at Bingo (he has since been banned from Bingo night). She doesn't tolerate gossip about other tenants. And the old, blind man that hangs out by the mailboxes wants to date her.

She is still spry as can be and looks good for her age. Her hair is hardly gray and she doesn't even dye it. This is my grandma.

And I bet she can beat up your grandma!!!

Guilty as Charged

Last week I pled guilty to three violations in the city of Sunset, Utah: not updating my address on my driver's license, not having proof of insurance in my car, and having a broken windshield.

The lame thing is we were short staffed at work and I was given a time to appear before the judge. I thought I'd just have to show my new Utah license and my proof of insurance, which I did have just not in the car. I was fined $30 for the not updating the address.

I think of it as donating to the city of Sunset.

The thing about northern Utah is there are tons of small municipalities with very limited resources. Just think of all the services the cities could provide if they united. I'm not sure why they remain independent. Surely there is some principle the residents stand upon. As for me, I believe that northern Utah could thrive if it was more united. (Kind of like my singles ward!)

I've decided lately that the Utahn culture is just too odd and I will never understand it. And I am a city girl, now and forever.

Who Are the "People" in Your Neighborhood?

One of the funny things about living in Idaho and Utah is the neighbors.

A block down the road from my four-plex, which is located in a nice, conservative neighborhood is some land with a couple of horses on it.

On the way to work, I pass pastures with cows and more horses. Sometimes I see chickens running around an unfenced yard. Once they were sitting, lined up by the side of the road watching the traffic pass by (perhaps wondering why that chicken decided to cross the road in the first place). I've seen peacocks roaming around. And this morning, I passed several dogs playing tag.

As a city girl, moving to Idaho was another world. Skipping church, sitting in the park and hearing cows mooing was eerie. And then readjusting to the city in Texas before moving to Utah made me forget how the farming community lives.

Truly, if you want wide open spaces, move West. But remember: when the wind blows the wrong way you may get a nasty whiff.

Turning Over a New Leaf

It's Fall. What better time to turn over a new leaf!

As I've been learning more about people and feeling more empowered to be myself (and not sacrifice myself to make others happy), I'm a lot happier. The anxiety, annoyance, and overall negative feelings that persist in blood sucking relationships really do weigh a person down and thats not fair. In fact, I've learned that by keeping those relationships going, I'm supporting them in their negative behaviors.

No more!

The latest incident was with a guy who really is a great guy but way too wishy washy and untrustworthy for the likes of me. A guy (or anybody) who says one thing one day and acts completely different the next is not worth the confusion and anxiety. There are more fish in the sea to settle for a jellyfish.

BFF

Dear Abby,

I read an article on BFF (Best Friends Forever) in Discovery Girls, "a magazine created by girls, for girls."

Now I can't name one BFF I've ever had! The last person who wanted to be my BFF was a little psychotic, and that is how I tend to view girls who want a BFF relationship.

Am I normal?

Yours truly,
Little Miss Independent
Utah

"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." --Socrates

Apparently the work to unravel the mystery of the adolescent brain is a fairly recent investigation. I'm reading a book about the teenage brain and am fascinated at how complex this organ is. I think its safe to say that we can apply the same principle to any science that we can apply to life in general: just when we think we know something, we find out we really don't.

I wonder if part of the brain has been reserved for learning things not yet revealed to man.

Cyrano De Bergerac

Some animals are so ugly they're cute (kind of like newborn babies). Take for instance the Proboscis Monkey:

My personal favorite is the Naked Mole Rat (hey it has "rat" in its name!):


The Naked Mole Rat in Kim Possible, named Rufus, is really cool, although traditionally cute:

Myspace.com

Well, I gained a testimony of Myspace.com last weekend and today I've lost it.

The brother of a friend from way back in the day found me on Myspace.com and emailed me telling me how to get in touch with my friend (his sister). This was super cool!

This morning I get on to check my messages and I have couple messages telling me I'm cute from loser guys whose friends consist of scantily clad girls. So not cool!

Branny, I prefer messages from nice guys! (Here is the attention you're craving!)