National Anthem Protests

I don't have any issue with people protesting whatever they want wherever they want, as long as it is peaceful and doesn't interfere with anyone else's rights. Sit out the National Anthem if you like. Cancel your subscription to NFL Sunday Ticket if you like.

Kaepernick's critical mistake was using the National Anthem to protest police brutality against black people. The National Anthem doesn't represent the police or a particular race (or the President, as many think these days). It is a symbol of the United States, a country made up of people of all races and beliefs. The police brutality issue is now lost in the chatter about anti-Americanism, which is the only logical beef one can assume when people are protesting the National Anthem.

The National Anthem and the flag are symbols of something that ties us all together. We are all citizens of the US, and in the end, we have each others' backs. We argue and take sides on individual issues, each of us trying to make the country better in our own ways, but the family stays together.

Many in the media are quoting some tweet which said that assuming football players are protesting the National Anthem is like assuming Rosa Parks was protesting public transportation. That's a cute sound bite, but such faulty logic and could not be further from the truth. Rosa Parks is the quintessential example of meaningful protest. She didn't kneel for the National Anthem and then explain over and over and over again that she was protesting mistreatment of black people. She resisted segregation by refusing to give up her bus seat. Her message was quite clear.

Protest with a sign in front of a police station. Wear a Black Lives Matter arm band or a button or a hat. There are a thousand ways to protest anti-black police brutality that would actually draw attention to that issue, and not be misunderstood, or hijacked by other people to protest other things. Also, had he chosen another target for his protest, he never would have lost the support of so many people who actually agree that police violence against black Americans is a pressing issue.

If you protest the National Anthem and/or the flag, expect people to assume you are protesting against the United States. If you want to do it, I completely support your right to do it. I'll be turning off the game though.

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Survey Two-Fer

Sending prayers and good vibes to Mexico and Puerto Rico, who have suffered a lot with an earthquakes and hurricanes the past couple of weeks. Hopefully they will be on the road to renewal soon.

Sunday Stealing

1. Have you ever had chicken pox?

Yes, as a child.

2. Have you ever shopped in Home Depot?

all the time

3. Have you ever spied on your neighbors?

no

4. Have you ever ridden in a limo?

a few times

5. Have you ever had a pet fish?

yes

6. Have you ever lied about your age?

I don't think so.

7. Have you ever fired a gun?

no

8. Have you ever been ice skating?

yes

9. Have you ever played golf?

no

10. Have you ever hidden on Halloween because you had no candy for trick or treaters?

yep

11. Have you ever made a prank call?

yes

12. Have you ever gotten a tattoo?

no

13. Have you ever had a massage?

yes

14. Have you ever locked your keys in the car?

yes

15. Have you ever ridden a horse?

yes

16. Have you ever been to the circus?

yes

17. Have you ever been to Europe?

yes

18. Have you ever built a fire?

yes

19. Have you ever been skydiving?

hell no

20. Have you ever bought something at a garage sale?

yes

21. Have you ever walked in on someone having sex?

no

22. Have you ever faked an injury to get out of something?

no

23. Have you ever been to a nude beach?

no

24. Have you ever received a speeding ticket?

no

25. Have you ever run a marathon?

no. This reminds me of a joke we heard at a comedy club. The gal said she saw someone with one of those "13.1" half marathon stickers on their car. She said, "Yeah, I haven't run a marathon either, but you don't see me bragging about it." Ha!


Saturday 9: Da Doo Ron Ron (1977)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song begins by stating that he met her on a Monday and his heart stood still. How did your past week start? It may be a lot to expect you to report that you met someone who made your heart stand still, but did anything noteworthy occur? 

It started with submitting my timesheet, which had only a couple of hours on it for the first half of the month. That seemed to remind my boss that she wanted me to do a bunch of things, so I worked a lot this week. New and noteworthy- Jeff and I had a meeting with my pal Grant, to discuss hiring him as our financial advisor.

2) While making hit records, Shaun Cassidy also starred as Joe Hardy on the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books have been popular with generations of American kids. Were you a fan?
I was a fan of the show because of hunky Parker Stevenson! Also a huge fan of Nancy Drew books.

3) Shaun went to Beverly Hills High School. Over the decades, BHHS has had many good football teams. Do you remember what sports your school excelled at?

The Clear Creek High School Wildcats were notoriously terrible at football in our day, unfortunately. (Still, I was at all the games!) It was always a battle with Pearland High School not to be the bottom of the barrel back then. We had fabulous swimming and diving teams.

4) Shaun followed his older half-brother, David Cassidy, into TV/records/teen stardom. Do you have siblings? If yes, what career paths did they follow?

My half-brother, who I didn't get to know until after I was married, went to an engineering high school in Germany and works as some sort of technician in the high tech industry. I went to engineering school before I knew anything about his career path. Hmm!

5) His middle name is Paul, after his maternal grandfather. Tell us something about one of your grandparents. 

My middle name is my maternal grandmother's name. She is from Wisconsin and her family are mostly dairy farmers and nurses. She was a very huggy, loving grandma! Always smiling. When we visited them in College Station, she would take me "into town" (downtown Bryan back then) to do errands. We also frequently stopped in at the Catholic church, where my grandparents were very active parishioners, and where she would take care of various things during the week.

6) Shaun's mother, actress Shirley Jones, reports that he was more than 3 weeks late and born by Cesarean. Have you heard family legends about your arrival into the world?
My mom always talked about how I was born on a sunny Sunday morning and the church bells (in Heidelberg) were ringing. She felt like they were ringing to celebrate my birth.

7) "Da Doo Ron Ron" was originally recorded by The Crystals. Can you think of another song that has been a hit by more than one artist?

"Just Missed the Train" by Kelly Clarkson... and Danielle Brisebois. That I even know that is a testament to my undying love of pop music. Ha! Fantastic song.

8) In 1977, when this version of "Da Doo Ron Ron" was popular, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak incorporated Apple. Are you Mac or Android?
Um... Mac and Android are not counterparts. I am Mac/iPhone.

9) Random Question: You're exhausted. You collapse into bed and are about to drift into slumber when you hear the drip-drip-drip of the bathroom faucet. Would you kick off the covers and go turn it off? Or would you stay in bed, letting it drip until morning?

OMG. Turn it off. How lazy and wasteful are you?! LOL

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Family Search Indexing

Well, I'm doing Family Search Indexing again! (You can do it in your free time, too! familysearch.org) To me, it's very gratifying getting printed records into digital, searchable format, so people can research their ancestry. It's also interesting to have your eyes on these sometimes very old documents. 

One person types in the information on the copied image of a document. Another person reviews it to confirm the data entry. Eventually a particular set of data is complete and becomes available for searches. My current project is immigration records from the 1800s-1975. In the past, I've entered censuses, marriage records, death records... all kinds of things!

This particular genealogy site is run by the Mormon Church (Kimberly is a member and got me started), and is completely free to use. Go find your relatives there! It is super fun. I've downloaded census records and such for my great grandparents and other family members. There are documents from all over the world.

Saturday 9: Don't Talk to Strangers (1982)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) When did you recently have a conversation with a complete stranger? What did you two discuss?

The sweet onions at the grocery store this week were ENORMOUS. A gal walked up and I said, "What are they feeding these things?!" She laughed. I bagged one and weighed it. A smidge over TWO POUNDS. One onion, y'all. We talked about the size of them and how one might use such a freakishly big onion. While she bagged her own world record onion, I spotted a whole BAG of normal sized sweet onions for about 30 cents more than the one I had. We decided the smaller ones would be much more practical. We put our onions back and got the bags.

2) In the video for this song, a woman is having a "hot" conversation on a corded, rotary dial phone in her bedroom. Do you have a landline? If so, do you have an extension in your bedroom? 

We do not have a landline. When we did, we had an extension in the bedroom.

3) This week's artist, Rick Springfield, says he wrote this song when he was worried that his girlfriend (now his wife) would cheat on him when he was touring. Would you describe yourself as suspicious or trusting?
Completely trusting, until it bites me in the derriere. Then, not so much.

4) He became a daytime heartthrob as Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital. Do you think it would be cool to have a really attractive doctor? Or would it make you uncomfortable?

I do have a really attractive doctor. It doesn't make me uncomfortable at all.

5) He's discussed how sad he was when, as a boy, he had to leave his dog Elvis behind when the family left Australia. While you were growing up, did your family often move? 

We moved when I was 3 (to Pasadena), 5 (to Kansas City), 7 (to Deer Park), 8 (to Houston) and 12 (to League City). It was a lot, I think. Not as much as some.

6) In 1982, when this song was popular, Italy won the World Cup. Do you ever watch soccer?
Sometimes.  When American football is phased out for head injuries, I think we'll all be watching more soccer.

7) "Smiley," the first emoticon, was introduced in 1982. Do you use emoticons in your communication? Or do you avoid them?

I use them as clarification or emphasis of emotion, neither to excess, nor as a sole form of communication.

8) The Vietnam Memorial was dedicated in Washington, DC, in 1982. Do you know any veterans of that conflict? If so, tell us about him or her.
My uncle Brian was in the army during the Vietnam War, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't serving there.

9) Random Question: Your friends are throwing a birthday "roast" in your honor. Which one quality of yours are you sure will be singled out for laughs?

My planning and organization obsession. I've heard stories for years about my "scripted" wedding day, where I gave everyone in the wedding party a personalized note describing where to be at various times, and details of any tasks for which they'd volunteered. The stories are always followed by how smoothly the day went though!

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One Day More- Les Harveyables

At some point, you have to take a break from the clean up... and sing. This is awesome.

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Bubble Gum Fun and a Music Survey

Our cats are perplexed by my bubble gum. When the bubble emerges, all wide eyes are on it. If I pop it, WOW. If I just put it back in my mouth... MIND BLOWING. Quite entertaining for all of us.

Sunday Stealing: Music, Music, Music

1: A song you like with a color in the title "Black Roses Red' Alana Grace


2: A song you like with a number in the title "Dance Ten, Looks Three" from A Chorus Line


3: A song that reminds you of summertime "I Want Candy" Bow Wow Wow


4: A song that needs to be played LOUD  "Cruise" Florida Georgia Line


5: A song that makes you want to dance "Kissing Strangers" DNCE


6: A song to drive to "Life is a Highway" Rascal Flatts


7: A song about drugs or alcohol "White Rabbit" Collide


8: A song that makes you happy "Kiss Me" Sixpence None the Richer


9: A song that makes you sad "Rain" Patty Griffin


10: A song that you never get tired of "Belief" Gavin DeGraw


11: A song from your preteen years "Bad Girls" Donna Summer


12: One of your favorite 80’s songs "The Reflex" Duran Duran


13: One of your favorite classical songs “Galop Infernal” Offenbach


14: A song that you would sing a duet with someone on karaoke "Just a Fool" Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton


15: A song from the year that you were born "Happy Together" The Turtles


16: A song that makes you think about life "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" Green Day


17: A song that you think everybody should listen to "What About Us" P!nk


18: A song by a band you wish were still together "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" The Police


19: A song by an artist no longer living "Let's Go Crazy" Prince


20: A song that breaks your heart "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables


21: A song by an artist with a voice that you love "Sober" Kelly Clarkson

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Monday Monday

Today I discovered that I will return to the grocery store from my car at the far end of the parking lot, and then stand in line at Customer Service behind four people, for $7 in coupons I forgot to use. (I probably would have done it for $3.) Thanks, HEB!

Survey- First word that comes to mind:

A Africa
B  best
C cinco
D dear
E effort
F frank
G gall
H happy
I isthmus
J jacket
K kiss
L love
M money
N nest
O open
P pickle
Q quest
R riddle
S silly
T tennis
U umbrella
V vest
W waterproof
X xray
Y yellow
Z zinc
Anti antiquated
Bi bicycle
Con conversation
Di diatribe
Euth euthanasia
For forethought
Gui Guido
Homo homogenized
Ill illness
Ja jamboree
Kil killer
Lu LuAnn
Min minestrone
Ne Ne-Yo
Or Oregon
Psy psychology
Qu queso
Re relocate
Sim sims
Tele telekinesis
Ur ureter
Va vasovagal
Wo woman
Xe xenophobia
Ye yee-haw
Ze zest

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Throwback Saturday

Phoning it in today with amusing quotes from my old LiveJournal. I was reading through some entries from 2004 yesterday. Lauren was in fourth grade. The JC Chasez solo tour was going on. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was the big movie at the time and we were all lamenting the end of the trilogy. I did a major redecorating of Lauren's room with an LOTR theme (it turned out so cool!).

Here we go!

I'm thinking that when I was in school, History would have held my interest more if Antonio Banderas had just sung it to me.  In tight pants and an open shirt.

In other news, the DD has presented her book report on the J.R.R. Tolkien biography. It's a good thing we cleared up the fact that he did NOT grow up in Alabama. I can see how the Birmingham thing threw her off.

Never wear a red shirt to Target. Just sayin'.

Just spent ten minutes looking for a doll shoe. It's for one from DD's collection of display-only porcelain dolls. I noticed the shoe was missing when I was moving them around, as I like to do every so often. 
Ten. Minutes. 
The doll? Cinderella. She doesn't HAVE the other shoe.

NC-17 Gilligan's Island fanfic?? *winces*

Yes she is!

I just got an email from someone named Willie Johnson. He asks, "Can you send me some pics of Justin Timberlake?" He signs with a link of some sort. 
While I'm making nasty comments about this weird email, DH says, "You didn't click on the link did you?" 
Duh, no. 
He says, "The guy has two penis names. Don't click on the link."

My next tweet [from this site, which (still) predicts your next tweet from your previous ones...] might be...

"Yes! Witty AND insightful."
"What do you wanna do? Ahh! I can teach American sex slang."
"And... it's roly-poly season!"
"I'm not playing. Your ass is a technical background."
"George Clooney hasn't tweeted anything. We are both on a frozen custard sort of vacation."
"Piven does rock! Squeee!"
"Looking for a B&J's? I've heard that about you."

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Back to School Survey

There are a lot of social issues I'd love to speak on here in my own little forum, but since it appears as of late that I disagree with pretty much everyone on every side, I'll just keep my thoughts to myself.

:D

I think the only thing we all have in common these days is that we're exceedingly unhappy about the state of things. At least that's a start to changing them!

HEB is a hero of Hurricane Harvey. They kept their stores open in the area if at all possible, reconfigured their entire supply chain to handle varying needs across the state, provide food and water, money, and continue to collect donations at the checkout stands- and probably a whole lot of other things I haven't mentioned as well. Bravo!

Sunday Stealing: Back to School

1. What kind of school did you attend (Big? Small? Public? Private? Specialty? One-room schoolhouse?)
I went to a large, public high school. My graduating class had 600+ students (we started with 680 my freshman year). I thought I knew every one of them at least by name or face, but Facebook has proven me wrong.

2. What did you wear to school (uniform? dress code? Whatever you wanted?)
We had a dress code, but we could wear whatever we wanted within those guidelines. The year after we graduated, they started allowing shorts! It was the 80's, so I usually wore pants with nice tops, or dresses, but some days I wore jeans and concert or school t-shirts. Here is a sample of what teenage girls looked like when I was in high school (not my photo):

3. How did you get to school?
I rode the bus, except for days here and there when I drove my mom to work, took her car for the day and picked her up after work.

4. Who was your favorite teacher? Why?
My faves were:
Mrs. Lofland, my Biology teacher. She was a brilliant, beautiful Southern lady, a wonderful resource for anything from science questions to relationship advice. I was her student aide my senior year.
Mrs. Jameson, my Journalism teacher. She's still there, running the newspaper! She is a funny, caring, generous teacher who managed a large group of us with just the right amount of freedom and constraint.
Mrs. Garner, my sophomore English teacher. Oh man, she was hilarious. Her reactions to our class's cut ups and shenanigans was the BEST. So many of my inside jokes with Kimberly are from that class and continue today.
Ms. Lee, my Physics teacher. She was the JETS and NHS sponsor, and spent a lot of time helping me decide what type of engineering I should go into.

5. What was your favorite subject? Why?
Biology, particularly zoology. I've always been interested in how the body works. It's amazing.

6. What was your least favorite subject? Why?
History and Geography. I just didn't see the value of studying it in any sort of detail, much less over and over again. Today, I appreciate it much more and have a curiosity about how things evolved from their origins to be as they are today.

7. Did you belong to any clubs?
I was Vice President of the Latin Club. I was on the newspaper staff as a sports reporter and then as advertising manager. I was in Best of Sophomore Sweethearts (BOSS), which was a spirit group who sat together and did stuff in the stands at football games and pep rallies. I was in Junior Engineering Technical Society. Seniors Only Club- I can't even remember what the heck that was, but it says so in my yearbook, so it must be true. Jr. Advisory Council- I'll have to check with Kimberly on that one, too.

8. Were you a picky reader?
I guess so. I read a lot, but I didn't just read any old thing.

9. What did you do in your free time?
Hung out with friends at the beach, downtown Houston, Baybrook Mall, each others' houses, at the movies, concerts, etc.

10. Did you get good grades?
Yes

11. Did you like/participate in sports?
Love watching sports. I didn't play sports in high school. I mostly went to football games, but went to swimming, basketball, volleyball and other games as well.

12. Did you have a boyfriend/girlfriend in high school?
Two- John (a junior) my sophomore year and Evans (a junior) my senior year

13. When did you get your driver’s license?
the day I turned 16 of course!

14. What kind of kid were you? (Popular? Class clown? Shy? A nerd? Teacher’s pet?)
Nerd-ish, but not part of the nerd crowd per se. Nerd-adjacent.

15. Who were your heroes?
Ronald Reagan, Prince, Peter Jennings

16. Were you ever bullied?
No.

17. Did you learn how to touch type?
Yes! Kimberly and I took a night class.

18. Who was your best friend? (Are you still friends today?)
Cathy and Kimberly. We're still friends!

19. What is one thing you regret about high school?
I do regret not appreciating history. Also, there was this supposed limit on AP classes, which I observed, but others (KathyL coughcough) did not, which kept me from being Valedictorian (there were 6 tied) or Salutatorian (2 tied). They weren't supposed to count the extra grade points from AP classes over the limit, but they did for the rankings. I would take more AP classes to get my darn ranking.

20. What were you most proud about?
Being in the senior musical. SO fun! Everyone loved the show.

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