…especially on rainy roads in normally dry Southern California. Sometimes they involve a lot of cars. If you’re truly unfortunate, one of those cars is yours. Guess who was truly unfortunate on Monday afternoon? My family spent the President’s Day weekend at my mother-in-law’s, and started the drive home after lunch on Monday. The weather was iffy, so we wanted to allow extra time for traffic tie-ups. Even so, we weren’t doing too badly time-wise […]
Tag: news traffic and weather
From The I-Don’t-Get-It Files: Eight is more than enough
Last week, a Southern California woman gave birth to octuplets. Early news reports focused on the medical accomplishment – all of the babies were delivered healthy and seemed to be thriving, including the “surprise” eighth one (the doctors were prepared for seven) – and didn’t divulge too much personal information about the family. But people are curious, and before long details began to leak out. At this point, there’s still a fair amount of rumor […]
The hour I first believed: thoughts on a Tuesday morning
Technically, that’s not true, but it’s what crossed my mind as I entered the room to watch the Inauguration of President Obama, and I thought it would make a good title. I’ve believed for quite a few months now, probably since last spring or early summer. I believe something amazing happened last November, and I believe it’s going to take an amazing amount of work, patience – and yes, grace – for genuine change to […]
It’s bookKEEPING, not bookSTEALING
A conversation among some of my book-blogging buddies on Twitter clued me in to Shelf Awareness, a daily e-mail newsletter about the book business. This item in the January 8 e-mail caught my attention: On Tuesday, local police arrested a woman who between 2006 and 2008 was a bookkeeper at Page and Palette bookstore, Fairhope, Ala., and charged her with embezzling about $50,000 from the store, the Press-Register reported. The former bookkeeper, Theresa Canavan Lyda, […]
Book bloggers say goodbye to Dewey
Book bloggers were shocked and saddened by a post at The Hidden Side of a Leaf on Monday, December 1 from Dewey‘s husband: Hi folks, I’ve got a piece of sad news to deliver. Dewey passed away on Tuesday evening. She will be cremated on a non-specific date this week. We live in a place with relatively relaxed laws abut these things, and I want to ensure her family has an opportunity to see her. […]
Protecting marriage HOW, exactly? – or, Prop 8 Round 2
(Parts of the following were originally posted on the Los Angeles Moms Blog, and this issue isn’t going away for awhile.) I celebrated my wedding anniversary on October 21 – the second anniversary of my second marriage, which is also the second marriage for my second husband. I’ve heard the saying that getting married again, particularly after divorce – which is what ended both of our first marriages – is a triumph of hope over […]
I voted.
Half of California’s population is expected to vote by mail this year. I guess I’m in the forefront of a trend. I’ve been a “permanent absentee” voter for several years now, inspired by my sister and brother-in-law, who have been doing it even longer. I’m not really absentee, of course – I’m right at home, not going anywhere. There are definite advantages to completing your ballot at the kitchen table. I have voted in four […]
“Why buy the cow?” An overview of economic systems
This pre-election quick course in economics showed up recently in my e-mail. My high-school history teacher actually used the “cow” example to explain certain socio-economic systems, but this list has had a few additions since the late 1970’s. SOCIALISM You have 2 cows. You give one to your neighbor. (“From each according to ability; to each according to need.” It’s actually not a bad concept of community, in my opinion – it’s not unlike the […]
In my opinion: Pro-choice IS pro-life
I’m heading down an editorial path in a political direction today, so I thought I’d warn you first – and if it’s not your thing, the mood will probably be a little lighter during the next few days, since Book Blogger Appreciation Week starts tomorrow! The recent selection of Sarah Palin as the Republican vice-presidential candidate has stirred up a lot of talk, and as might be expected, some of it’s focused on her position […]
Mothers of Intention: Red, blue, and purple at PunditMom’s place
***UPDATED 9/10/08 9:00 AM – please see below! +++ UPDATED AGAIN at 9:20 AM – keep going… Earlier this year, PunditMom was motivated to open up her blog to weekly guests in a feature she called “Mothers of Intention.” Things are heating up in the presidential race as we winnow the field of candidates. And emotions, as I’m noticing on comments here and elsewhere, are reflective of that. So I’m introducing a new, regular feature […]
1984 – There and back again: A Hump Day Hmm
Julie recently reflected on some ways in which the climate of the USA today isn’t all that different from the way it was 24 years ago, and ended by posing some related questions for this week’s Hump Day Hmm: For those of you who don’t recall (or weren’t born yet) in 1984 Democrats Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro challenged Republican incumbents President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George Bush. It was unprecedented: a ticket with […]
Weekend Assignment #216: Fire!
The Weekend Assignment is posted each Friday at Outpost Mâvarin; a roundup of responses goes up the following Thursday, so if you’d like to join in, you’ve still got some time. Karen says: Don’t worry if you don’t get your entry in by the end of the weekend. It’s called the Weekend Assignment because John Scalzi originally designed it to give folks something to write on weekends, but times have changed since then. Now the […]
