Earl the Hugger

Love "Earl the Hugger"---sometimes everyone needs a hug, especially contestants on "American Idol." Flat-top-haired Simon Cowell was fairly unimpressed with Siobhan, but I liked her. I haven't been a fan over the past few weeks (having called the Adam Lambert soundalike before the judges), but I really like "Across the Universe."

I'm a victim of songism. Even is the artist sounds great, I can't like them if I hate the song. But I love the Beatles, so I'm liking most of the Idols this week, even Tim Urban.

Ah, guilty pleasures

So my husband is out of town, which leaves me full control of the remote and TV (yes, I have found in 5 years of marriage and 9 years together that some cliches are true).

YES! Bravo TV it is. And to top it off, it's a "Real Housewives of NYC" marathon! Score. Seriously. Baby in bed, glass of wine in hand and hours of mindless entertainment. And if it ends soon, "Death At a Funeral," one of the best movies I've seen. (The 2007 British flick, not the Chris Rock version. That's in theaters and I've heard people frown on leaving a 10 month old at home alone.)

I love that half of the "housewives" aren't even married. I've also figured by viewing back-to-back episodes that these ladies are so hypocritical. And who isn't, from time to time? But I think it's hilarious that each woman air kisses and says "hiiiiiiii!" and then in the confessional says how annoying it is when women talk behind each other'sbacks.

I'm not sure why this show appeals to me so much. I'm younger, different background and values, but for some reason....it's addictive. Like anything that's bad for you, I guess.

I'm baaack

I am not sure if anyone is even reading this anymore, but to whom this may concern:

I am back. I've been taking a sabbatical of sorts after having a beautiful baby girl. First I had to wait for me to get more human, then I had to wait for her to get more human. So now that we're both a little more manageable, here I am.

So much has been going on! I missed blogging about Tiger Woods, but I think everything that can be said about that has been said. So I'm wondering if now is a good time to take this blog in a new direction. (Or rather, determine a direction.)

Do I blog about motherhood? I mean, the good, the bad, and the ugly? Do I blog about starting my own freelance business? Do I still blog about pop culture stuff? Should I post random thoughts? I'm not sure...

Snakes On A Plane?

Where's Samuel L. Jackson when you need him?

I was excited when I read the headline ("Baby pythons escape during flight in Australia"), but after reading the story--see below--I was a bit let down. Pythons are not as scary when they're 6 inches long. And non-venomous. And Samuel L. Jackson is not involved. Oh well.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – Four baby pythons escaped from a container aboard a passenger plane in Australia, leading to a search that forced the cancellation of two flights, the airline said Thursday.
Twelve non-venemous Stimson pythons were being transported Tuesday on a flight from Alice Springs to Melbourne in the plane's cargo area in a bag inside a plastic foam box with air holes.

When the flight landed, it was discovered that four snakes had escaped from the package, a Qantas spokeswoman said in a statement.

A reptile expert searched for the 6-inch (15-centimeter) -long snakes but did not find them. It was not known if the snakes were still on the plane or if they had somehow escaped outside after the plane landed.

In the meantime, the plane missed two flights it had been scheduled to fly and the passengers were transferred to other flights.

When the snakes were not found, the airplane was fumigated and it returned to service on Wednesday. Stimson's pythons, which can grow up to three feet (one meter) long, live in western and central Australia and are not an endangered species.

Regarding the Stimulus and AIG: who's to blame?

Everyone’s so angry. They’re incensed. They’re indignant! After the stimulus bill was rolled out, people were mixed on whether the money was not enough, whether it was too much, how it was going to be spent, who was going to get to spend it, and so on. And surprise—some of it wound up going to the bonuses for the same executives who ran their companies into the ground.After all, if you've had the worst financial quarter in the company's history, why wouldn't you reward that?

(My imagined conversation between AIG chairman and one of the execs:
Chairman: You've just posted a $61.7 billion fourth-quarter loss, the worst in U.S. corporate history. What are you going to do next?
Executive: I'm going to Disneyworld?
Chairman: No, that's just silly. But we will give you more than $1 million in a bonus.)So now the senators are angry at the executives and the Treasury. The President is angry at the executives. Heck, even the executives—the chairman at AIG—is angry at someone. The kicker is, even the people at AIG is angry at the people at AIG. They’re all so incredibly mad. The real winner here is us, the American people. Because we get to be angry also. And we get to do what we do best--blame everybody but ourselves.But whose fault is it? Well, whoever “they” are angry at. Because the thing I’ve come to see is that everyone is ready to point the finger. Everyone is ready to fight, but no one wants to accept the slightest blame.Reminds me of that poem:This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.There was an important job to be done and Everybody was20sure that Somebody would do it.Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job.Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

“He’s Just Not That Into You” … because you’re stupid.

I haven’t seen the movie. Nor have I read the book. But I know enough people who have to get the gist of it. It’s been several years since I was single, so maybe I just can’t relate to it, but it seems like the real reason guys aren’t into the girls is because the gals just don’t get it. Sorry, sisters, but I have to call it like I see it. So that’s the cause, though the symptoms vary:

1. Stupidity. They don’t learn from their mistakes, and keep going back to the same guy, or some archetype thereof.
2. Insecurity. They don’t learn think they deserve any better. “Daddy” issues, body issues, etc., are also related.
3. Delusion. They think the good guys are all taken, boring, or gay. They’re not.

These are just a few of the reasons he may not be into you. Better yet, to quote another line….after awhile, you gotta consider that “it may be you, not him.”

Scary Words

I ran across this article today(http://www.newsweek.com/id/183658). Now, I won't begin to debate the rights or wrongs of abortion; there's usually no swaying people on these things. I am firmly against it. Don't agree with me? Fine. To me, if there's a heartbeat, there's a life. And that life is not to be terminated. But I think that even people who are pro-choice can agree that abortion is not a good thing, or one that should be taken lightly.

This is why the words that popped up frequently in the article scared me: control, simple, and privacy. Those three words are indicative of how many people pawn off difficult decisions or mistakes.

Control--"I can do what I want. It's my choice."
Simple--"If it's easy and legal, it can't be too wrong."
Privacy--"Since it's so simple and in my control, I shouldn't have to be accountable to anyone else."

The author goes on to cite that people passing judgement on others' situations is part of the problem. To me, this "live and let live" attitude is getting more and more tired. What happened to accountability? It seems people have no issues in stating liberal opinions (of which, yes, I do have some), but the second someone tries to get traditional ... whoa, Nelly. No one wants to say there are some things that are right and some things that are wrong. Agree or not, but don't be afraid to pass judgement on an act you feel is wrong. And yes, there's a difference between judging the act, and judging the person.

And good God---abortion may mean many things to people, but I would hope the word "simple" would not be a part of the vocabulary.