from 'The Feminine Mystique'

by Betty Friedan:

It is more than a strange paradox that as all professions are finally open to women in America, "career woman" has become a dirty word; that as higher education becomes available to any woman with the capacity for it, education for women has become so suspect that more and more drop out of high school and college to marry and have babies; that as so many roles in modern society become theirs for the taking, women so insistently confine themselves to one role.

in case you wanted to know

[and the earlobe trivia wasn't good enough for you]:

Percent of People Who are Two or More Races - Hawaii tops the list with Mississippi at the bottom.

High school diploma or higher, by percentage - Minnesota tops with Texas at the bottom.

flaunt your lobes

because a decorative effect is all your earlobes are good for.

first sunburn 2006

i've been listening to the radio all day, enjoying my favorite station's countdown of the 500 best classic rock songs of all time. the top ten should play any minute, a long way since it began on friday at 6. i'm glad to see the list is different than the last time they counted it down.

does that mean their opinions have changed?

ha ha ha

from the QotD, this is funny:

"The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting." - Charles Bukowski

when is my email

going to get smart enough to answer for me?

[for instance, any incoming email with the word 'override' in it would get an automatic reply of 'no.']

ten things only women understand

10. Cats' facial expressions.
9. The need for the same style of shoes in different colors.
8. Why bean sprouts aren't just weeds.
7. Fat clothes.
6. Taking a car trip without trying to beat your best time.
5. The difference between beige, ecru, cream, off-white, and eggshell. (um, maybe?)
4. Cutting your bangs to make them grow.
3. Eyelash curlers.
2. The inaccuracy of every bathroom scale ever made.
1. OTHER WOMEN [via email.]

happy holiday weekend

love the extra day off. enjoy these i-can't-get-her-to-smile pics. and, in case you are wondering, she did get her hair chopped off last weekend.

stealing from myself

by stealing this pic from the other page. it is one of the pics i took in vancouver. it has also been discovered and relayed to me that this pic makes a nice wallpaper. i agree.

as if i didn't know this

[quiz] What Year Do You Belong In?: You Belong in 1970

If you scored...

1950 - 1959: You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!

1960 - 1969: You are a free spirit with a huge heart. Love, peace, and happiness rule - oh, and drugs too.

1970 - 1979: Bold and brash, you take life by the horns. Whether you're partying or protesting, you give it your all!

1980 - 1989: Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day.

1990 - 1999: With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

it's getting hot

i don't know how they got the result

from this online test, but it was fun to take.

[quiz] Your Subconscious Self - What's Really on Your Mind?: Jessica, your subconscious mind is most preoccupied with issues around your friendships.

On a conscious level, you might already be aware that something is troubling you, or eating up a lot of time when it comes to your friendships. But it's also possible that thoughts and feelings about your relationships have been preoccupying your subconscious mind — leaving you with nothing more than a general sense that things just don't feel 100% right in your life though you can't quite figure out why.

You may feel dissatisfied with your current circle of friends or conflicted about one of your closer friendships. Perhaps you long for more fulfilling connections, or wish that you found your friendships less draining, or more balanced. Or maybe you're so frustrated with your situation that you avoid the topic all together.

Whichever feelings hold true, your test results indicate that right now, your subconscious mind is working overtime to resolve the issues confronting you in this area of your life — even if you don't feel aware of it.

However, you can learn easy ways to tap into your subconscious mind and discover the source of the issues that are preoccupying you.

maybe it's a brain tumor

or maybe a sinus infection. but i've had a migraine-quality headache since sunday. i naturally assumed it was related to the cold i seem to be suffering from, and i still think it is, but it's getting pretty old.

teacher using coke in class

i heard on the news last night about a local pre-school teacher has been charged with using cocaine in the classroom. she snorted it out of the bag and used a dollar bill, denoting two at least two occassions. she has been charged with a misdemeanor.

a misdemeanor! i can't find the story to link here, but this seems wrong. people are incarcerated for far less serious crimes than using a dangerous, addictive, and agression-invoking drug in the presence of 4 year olds.

new prison stats

the latest stats for prison and jail populations have been released. nothing new really, populations are increasing:

Imprisonment rose by 1.6 percent on the pervious year, and jail populations rose by 4.7 percent, for a total of just over 2.1 million people behind bars ... Women make up 12.7 percent of jail inmates. Nearly 6 in 10 offenders in local jails are racial or ethnic minorities ... nearly 4.7 percent of black males were in prison or jail, compared to 1.9 percent of Hispanic males, and 0.7 percent of white males. Among males in their late 20s, nearly 12 percent of black males, compared to 3.9 percent of Hispanic males and 1.7 percent of white males, were incarcerated.

in case you are wondering, the US incarcerates more people than any other nation, and LA an GA lead the nation.

also, reported by talkleft, 1 in every 136 US residents are incarcerated.

it's bad enough

when a police officer is killed in the line of duty. it's even worse when he is shot by a fellow officer:

At 11:15 p.m. Sunday, officers responded to the 400 block of Nicholson St. on a reported shooting. They found a man who had been shot, and he was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital for treatment. Meanwhile, a suspect was located on Virginia Beach Boulevard, and was taken into custody. Officers recovered two handguns from that suspect. Charges are pending against that suspect, in regard to the initial shooting.

Officers on the scene were told about a second gunshot victim inside a home in the 400 block of Nicholson St. The initial officers at that scene reported a “large crowd” in the courtyard there, and requested back-up.

Five uniformed officers responded. One of the officers saw a man in the crowd, later identified as Seneca Darden [the killed officer], in a white T-shift and blue jeans, holding a handgun. An officer commanded him to drop the gun. The officer fired at Darden, who was hit “multiple times.”

last night on SNL

i rarely watch the show, only because i think it is not nearly as funny as in the ancient past, but last night's 'tv funhouse' [making fun of bush] was hilarious.

you can view it here from crooks and liars.

oh, and what happened to nelly furtado? when did she become so ... slutty?

no more periods

yes, i'm talking about that kind of period. apparently, quite a few new methods of birth control are giving women the chance to skip the monthly visitor altogether.

i've heard that it is not good for your body to miss periods because it 'cleanses' your system. personally, i would consider once every 84 days enough.

this news is awesome. now, which, if any, of these will be covered by insurance?

free association #30

Yours :: mine
Charcoal :: black
Platitude :: obvious
Graduation :: day
Hungry :: like a wolf
Somewhere :: out there
Nurse :: aid
Freak :: of nature
Unbelievable :: believe it
Walk :: this way

this is not what i would do with $25,000

but to each his own.

Star Trek memorabilia up for bid at Christie's

it's been a while

since we've had a quiz. so take this dumb one:

[quiz] What Color Blue Are You?: You are Ocean Blue

You're both warm and practical. You're very driven, but you're also very well rounded.
You tend to see both sides to every issue, and people consider you a natural diplomat.

you like it

i tried for an odometer update

last wednesday, on the way to chincoteague to drop off little missy before my trip, the odometer hit 30,000 miles.

considerate thieves

thinking about my trip to vancouver reminds me of the one other trip i took outside the US. a friend and i [for anonymity, let's call him brian] visited paris for a week. it was awesome. and we got a very funny story out of it.

i should preface with the information that, anticipating we would need to write down directions, etc. throughout the trip, brian purchased one of those very small pocket notebooks in the airport. it actually had the powerpuff girls on it.

okay, when visiting europe, everyone tells you to look out for pickpockets. and i found that in paris, it's true. they are everywhere. not to worry, brian and i were prepared and did not keep our money in obvious places, like the back pocket. brian actually kept the notebook in his back pocket, for quick access to the notes we jotted down.

while walking through the montmartre area, a parisian gentlemen stumbled and bumped into brian on the crowded street. he then tapped brian on the shoulder and handed my friend the powerpuff girls notebook. the guy had purposefully ran into him and picked his pocket, only to find a pink notebook! it was great. the thief didn't need that so he just gave it back.

i'm back

our trip was awesome. can't believe it's over. pics are up on the photojournal page.

vancouver pics part two

here are random pics: a mountain pic [i believe taken from canada place], scientology outpost, in the chinese garden, molson and starbucks[of course], the roman-style building is the library, an AIDS awareness sign on a bus to remind us of the junkies, the steam clock in gastown, and a recycling trashcan lindsay thought was really cool.

vancouver pics part one

the above is downtown from the lookout at the harbour center tower. below were taken in stanley park:



from the capilano suspension bridge in north vancouver. it is 450 feet across and 230 feet high of awesomeness, with a 'treetops adventure':



these were at [or around] kitsilano beach:

i'm out

i'm off for five days. it's vancouver time. i'll leave you with a few things:

geena davis has launched see jane, an organization that addresses the lack of female characters in television, movies and other media, particularly for young children.

it is believed that dolphins create a signature whistle for themselves ... a name.

check out j-walk for interesting things i might miss this weekend [glad i caught this circular kitchen!] ... and visit mr. helpful, too, since i will be thinking of him as i land on the west coast.

and lastly, the complete love story is up here.

out to lunch

i'll be gone for a week [yoo hoo vancouver!] so i'm leaving you with this beautiful pic. hopefully i'll return with good pictures, too. [if not, i'll make lindsay hand over hers.]

don't want your baby? shoot yourself

i told you about this when it happened, but now the pregnant woman who shot herself in the stomach has been released. free to go.

If an assailant had shot Tammy Skinner in the stomach on the day she was to give birth, killing her baby, he could have been prosecuted.

Because she shot herself earlier this year, however, General District Court Judge James A. Moore decided Monday that she can’t be tried for producing a miscarriage or abortion, and he dismissed the felony charge.

Skinner’s attorney argued at a preliminary hearing that the charge is meant to be used against a third party and that the same offense with similar wording has been tested in courts in both Florida and Georgia and failed. It simply does not govern an expectant mother doing something to herself.

unbelievable. this is virginia after all.

life in earth

i love the world processor site. this is one of many pics.

they display politics and trends around the globe, but with some great images.

you can view all 300 here. globes include: TV Ownership, Chinese Geography, 15 Years of War and Border Conflicts, and The Biggest Cities.

another lily pic

three things i buy every time at the grocery store

cheese
peanut butter
milk

may tv finales

here's a good article.

i don't know what happened

since i took an Ambien. yeah, i know this feeling... never again.

a love story

in case anyone is interested, posted on the scribbles page is an original story. part one is up here. part two will follow soon. and so on.

i will be listing the posts with errors in time so that the story flows naturally, rather than backwards. forgive me. it just makes sense.

the forever stamp

the post office is planning a 'forever' stamp, good no matter how many times postal rates increase.

that would be cool. how many would you buy at one time?

why, hello there

i'll take that in one lump sum, please

a study from Salary.com says that if a full-time stay-at-home mom was paid for all of the work she does, she’d be getting $134,121 a year. working moms would pull in $85,876 annually, in addition to their regular job.

roadside lectures from your leader

we have these here, too. i find them annoying, though sometimes comical.

from 'Cold Case Squad'

by Edna Buchanan:

Like all things good and bad in the world, it began with a woman.

i just saved $300 on my car insurance by switching to geico

really, i did.

what kind of place do you live in

when there are constant ads on the radio for a bank account with a $10,000 minimum balance?

regarding decriminalizing drugs in mexico

i wrote about because it seemed it was going to fly. the mexican congress passed the bill and the president was reportedly all for it.

but guess what? washington [ours, as in DC] stepped in. now the mexican president has announced he won't back the bill. can you believe it?

oh wait, yes, i can.

eagle cam

this is cool. norfolk botanical gardens has set up webcam watching a five member family of bald eagles. three babies were hatched in march. watch it here.

did you know an eagle's nest weighs between 700-800 pounds?

and this is post #845

the blogpatrol display [the number of visitors, on the right] shows exactly 9,000 at the moment. sitemeter measures 14,291 visitors to this page. either way you cut it, thanks.

it will never be admitted

but texas may very well have executed an innocent man.

adorable photo of the day #8

is this guy unlucky

or was someone out to get him? A man who spent 12 years in prison for murder before new DNA testing exonerated him last year was killed in a hit-and-run.

love it or hate it

i stumbled across this political cartoon: abortion.

i thought about swiping it [with credit, of course] and showing it here, but i figured someone out there wouldn't think it to be funny.

does anyone find it strange

that i have a tooth growing in?

kelly’s revenge

i got this Kelly’s Revenge Shiraz the other day, after a long hard day. really, it was. i will say i bought it only because of the label:

Had a hard day? Kelly’s Revenge is perfect at the end of a long day.
This great new range of Australian wines is packed full of fruit flavours and finished off with a hint of attitude. Kick back, relax, forget about the pressures and take revenge with Kelly.

It’s all about you now. Are you up for it?

honestly, the wine wasn't all that good, but how was i to pass that up?

it's been a whole lotta years

but i am reading nancy drew again. my daughter got the starter set for her birthday last week and i quickly tore through them.

not sure if i like it, though. john grisham may have ruined nancy drew for me.

it's good that they go together

quiz time via tickle:

The Multiple Intelligences Test reveals that i am smartest when it comes to visual/spatial intelligence.

Others may take their environments for granted but not you. Because of your visual/spatial intelligence you really see the world around you. This strength often helps you better appreciate the beauty and detail in everyday things. From shapes in nature to the structure of a fine automobile, a countless variety of things hold your interest.

Having this particular kind of heightened awareness can allow you to form accurate mental images of existing places and objects. In extreme cases, one might call this strength a photographic memory. Being visually/spatially intelligent also means that you likely have a vivid imagination that can be put to use in a variety of creative or professional endeavors.

The True Talent test says that my true talent is numerical ability.

You're great with numbers, whether you enjoy math or not. Your results show that you're not only good at calculations, you are much better than most people at understanding how to use numbers to your advantage.

How do we know that's your true talent? While you were taking the test, we calculated your responses to each test question and rated your skills in 5 areas. You scored highest on numerical ability.

People like you manage their personal finances with ease. In the work world, your numeric skill can help you in a variety of ways. Because so many other people have trouble understanding numbers and figures, you really have an opportunity to shine and use this talent to your advantage.

first flower pics of the season

i wanted to show off this very pretty lily i bought today. and just because i haven't taken any pics of the flowers so far this year, doesn't mean i haven't been busy.