WaterBear on MySpace

Dragon Mood? -- glad it's not me

My sweetheart, S, admits that she is not the most computer-literate person in the world. But we're SURROUNDED by computers, software, the internet and internet apps. Like MySpace!

There is a pretty funny video that S's son, Tim, took while up north for her side of the family, for their reunion. And of course, Tim has posted this on his MySpace. Which S cannot see unless SHE joins MySpace. Doesn't this sound all rather sinister, suck-them-in-before-they-notice, kind of????

She came home from Madison's birthday party at Caesarland (I HATE those places!) and was pooped. But she wants to see this video. So I offered to sign her up for MySpace. Which she agreed to. Somewhat reluctantly. With lots of caveats. And name spelling. Which S NEVER specifies name spelling. Egad! Yikes!

So here's S's new MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/waterbear56

My honey, a new MySpace rockstar!

This whole $700 billion thing

Dragon Mood? -- mad, angry, pissed off

Yes, this whole $700 billion bailout has got me pretty steamed! When individuals lose their homes, conservatives are quick to blame and to judge, "Loser! They should have made better choices. Poor decision-making. What were they thinking?" When Wall Street fat cats greedily drive their companies into bankruptcy, conservatives, quickly resort to fear and yell, "We must DO something or the economy will FAIL!"

Here's what Robert Kuttner opines in the Huffington Post (clearly not a non-partisan source):

[Secretary of Treasury Henry] Paulson's bill would give him carte blanche to spend up to $700 billion over the next 24 months to buy toxic securities from financial firms. This presumably would "unclog" capital markets, the financial economy would begin functioning normally again, and then the government would recoup what it could.

The plan is outrageous on several levels. It demands nothing from these firms in return. It holds the Treasury Secretary accountable to no one. And it extends the most generous terms to Wall Street while offering nothing to Main Street.

I hope Nancy Pelosi and company up on the Hill really hold Palson's feet to the fire on this one. I am PISSED!

Month-long hiatus

Dragon Mood? -- remembering in a travel-weary, but pleasant haze

Wow, it's been a whole month since I last posted. When I tell you what S and I have been up to, you won't be surprised! We have been scootin' around the Great Lakes area for the past three weekends. And I mean SCOOTIN'!

For Labor Day, S and I trekked to Madison to hang out with Carolina and the man in her life, Ron. We drove out late Thursday night, encountering construction, traffic delays (even at midnight) and the requisite Hi-we're-here-at-two-a.m. arrival.

Ron started off our Friday with delicious, tradition-creating omelettes. We poked around in a dusty, ramshackle place that could barely be called a store, filled with vintage record albums (remember those?). S found one after another that caught her eye, eliciting the comment, "Oh, put this one in the pile." I think she ended up with at least ten albums! It was fun to watch her excitement. We had other ambitious plans, but got 'sidetracked' and ended up in some bar called WTF (I thought it was you-know-what) but it actually stands for Weary Traveller F--- I can't remember what the F stands for. The rest of Friday afternoon is a bit hazy for me; I think we sort of drank our way through the afternoon.

Josh arrived Friday night. We celebrated by busting out the bar; Josh drank Manhattans, Ron, Lina and I sipped on dirty martoonis and Steph toasted with her favorite, Warsteiner beer. Friday was ANOTHER late night!

Saturday morning, Ron and Caroline toddled off to a tailgate party (beer, anyone?) before the first Badger game (cough-cough, ack-ack). Josh, S and I had a scrumptious breakfast at Marigold Kitchen in downtown Madison. Mmmm-mmm-good!

We managed to catch about half of the Farmers' Market and emerged with arms full and backpack loaded with veggies and fresh flowers and green things(!). I hit the Soap Opera (absolutely LOVE that place!) and then joined everyone else at the 'tree' bar where Corinne bartends -- honest to God, I don't know anymore about the place then that! [With the amazing power of the internet and Google, it's called Paul's Club ... and here's a review that captures what I noticed about it, as well:]

When you walk in it's super dark inside, carpeted (unusual for a bar), loungy couches, and a HUGE FREAKIN TREE in the middle of the place. Christmas lights round out the cozy vibe along with a killer jukebox.

Paul's Club most definitely serves up tasty drinks, nice variety of beers, and the BEST Bloody Mary I have ever had. Try it! Seriously.

Well, there is SOMETHING I would add: CORINNE, the very nice and very cool bartender from Seattle MAKES those BEST bloody Marys. They are truly the best bloodys I've ever drank. And believe me, I've drunk more than a few! All right, I'll quit mooning over the drinks; don't wanna sound like some LUSH or something! (chuckling)

Saturday evening we watched Michigan State get spanked by Cal. Darn!

Sunday was ALL about beer-brewing, watching little Abbey from next door and just hanging out with one another, relaxing. Oh yeah, and we all kicked in and fixed a killer dinner with marinated chicken breasts, S's Famous Celery Root dish, green beans roasted in olive oil and garlic, and Lina's oft-requested Cucumber Salad. It was a feast fit for kings and queens. Oh yeah, and we watched Cary Grant movies. Don't remember which ones ...?

Monday morning, Josh took off pretty early. S and I left by 2 p.m. for our journey back to Michigan. Thankfully, it was a pretty easy drive and with several stops, we were home by 11 p.m. We had Tuesday off which allowed us to sleep in, wake up slowly and do some errands in that neck of the woods.

While I had had some trepidations about Caroline having a man living with her now and how that would feel, it was a wonderful weekend. I felt like Caroline and Ron went out of their way to make both S and I feel welcome, comfortable and at home. Ron hit a home-run with S, with his recommending that old record shack. I was happy to see him be so attentive to my precious daughter and how happy she felt to me. 'Nuff said.

NEXT ... S's Family Reunion

AND EVEN LATER ... Dad's 80th Birthday celebration