Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Knitting Friday

A quick post since probably any Americans reading me today are spending most of the day at shopping malls and readers from other shores are probably laughing themselves silly to watch the Black Friday Lemming Shopping March of the Americans.

But I have been thinking about spending money lately. Especially after I had to find another inferior circular size 11 needle from my collection after the one I was using for the beginnings of a CO 1 st shawl was kinking and curling up so annoyingly. I thought: I'm still using these crappy needles I bought when knitting was just a passing fancy. Could it possibly be time to indulge in better knitting equipment? I may be clicking on KnitPicks as soon as I finish here.

Here's the link to a Summit shawl which existed in about 37 inches just one day ago.

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEss10/PATTsummit.php

I first saw this shawl pattern on Knitty and said: Wow! And started knitting. Mine was in the same color even and it was the easiest interesting pattern I've ever knitted. (Interesting in the key word; I've knitted easy patterns before.) You just have to remember to put a tag on the shawl with Left on one side of it and Right on the other. Just flip the tag depending on the direction you're knitting. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that if you don't do this you'll have no easy way to remember which way you're knitting without picking out stitches.

I re-learned how to knit backwards for this pattern (very easy) and I knew I was going to be rewarded with a dramatic shawl. But then I realized that after an initial knitting spurt this project had languished. And then as the cold weather arrived, I realized that I don't wear dramatic shawls; I wear shawls for warmth and this one was no thermal blanket especially with holes the size of craters.

So I frogged. And was left with very kinky wool fingering yarn (I had used US 6.) What to do? If I had used any brain cells I would not have started a diagonally knit shawl with one K row and one twisted K row. But I did. Once again to about 37 inches when clarity dawned and I said: This looks like crap. So I frogged.

Right now, I'm on US 11 needles and making a trinity stitch shawl. It's light and lovely and I really do know that the trinity stitch is the only stitch which works well on kinky yarn. (And we all have kinky yarn; the stuff we frogged and were too tired [lazy?] to skein-up and wash.)

Some suggestions for a future Summit project: 1. Make it scarf size, about 5 repeats. As a scarf I think it would be a knock-out. 2. Purl the 1st st and K the last in all rows for a smooth edge. 3. Get on Ravelry and read all the suggestions for modifying this pattern. I didn't since I started right in before projects appeared for it.

Next week: The pattern and pictures of the trinity stitch shawl.

Happy Knitting.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Waiting Wednesday

No websites today because I don't think anyone in the US is doing deep reading on the Internet today. It's Turkey Time prep! I have to say that after my fiasco of buying 10 pounds of deli turkey breast, I was appalled to see such a big breast which had to come from a magnificent, albeit rather ugly, bird. I don't like to kill animals. I may be reviewing my protein intake sources again; they are getting narrower and narrower.

I thought I would just tick off some things I've been thinking about recently. You can just read them and go merrily on your way. (Or, not read them and skip merrily off):

1. I re-saw Alice In Wonderland in the middle of last night. I'm softening towards Depp's performance (except for a few bits it's right-on as the Mad Hatter) though I do think the Hatter was given too much prominence because Depp was the drawing star of this opus. I'm still enchanted with the Wonderland part and not enchanted with the feminist slant expressed in the "real" world. I think we all realize that Alice matures into an independent woman in Wonderland. I wish they had just concentrated on that and then faded to black.

2. I also saw part of Public Enemies with Depp, also in the middle of the night. He really is a very good actor but probably he sells better in his fantasy roles.

3. Today is "Don't Touch My Junk" day at airports. There have been a lot of comments on how the new airport screening was the tipping point in flyers' patience after enduring years of lousy service. I haven't read anywhere in the US press that since we have totally screwed up relations with the Muslim world (excluding their rich rulers) with our treatment of Palestinians, Iraqis, Iranians, etc. and now our drone bombings of a completely Muslim country, Pakistan, unless we sincerely begin fixing this mess, security in line with Heinlein's The Puppet Masters (you guessed it: everyone got naked) is not going to make us more safe. The non-US press touches this "elephant in the room" predicament, but there's nada in the established US press.

4. I upgraded my iPad yesterday and only because I have a sweet, sweet disposition like the White Queen in AIW I'm not ass-kicking mad right now.

First, some background: the iPad is not your cutting edge technological tool. You can't do much on it: no word processing; no desktop publishing; no spreadsheets..... It's fun. I LOVE mine but it's my companion with middle of the night insomnia, not my go-to computer tool. It's my "let's shop the App store" not my "let's get this proposal out" pal. And that's how Apple markets iPad, which is fine. Fast forward to upgrade day. I read article after article re: the upgrade. I went on the Apple site but only learned the "great" features of the upgrade. Nothing on how to make the upgrade happen. First, I thought they would automatically update like Microsoft and anti-virus programs do. Wasn't going to happen.

Finally, in the 27th paragraph of the 100th article (slight exaggeration) there appeared the sentence: You must connect your iPad to iTunes for the upgrade. WTF? That means you must have a "real" computer which you use to make the connect. (Sort of like uploading pictures from your camera to the computer.)

What if you didn't have a "real" computer? Since you can get an iPad version which connects automatically to the Internet (at a monthly fee), you may not own one. What would you do then?

Needless to say, I was royally pissed. Not for myself (I have computers so I upgraded) but for the cockamamie way Apple upgrades. Fix this now, Jobs!

Regarding the upgrades? All I know is that simple app upgrades (like they fixed a glitch in the Hangman app) have become problematic. Now, after I enter my password, I'm told it can't upgrade the app because I'm not connected to iTunes! Then it processes to load something onto the app. I have no idea what's happening.

But I do love my iPad. A month ago I would have said: What a fluff! I still say that but you're going to have to pry it from my cold, dead hands if you want it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Movie Monday - Alice in Wonderland - the Tim Burton version

Just some stuff before my AIW (which is also an eye/brain condition - look it up; it got some publicity recently when the WSJ ran an article on it) review:

1. I returned to Sam's Club yesterday around 10:30 am, well before the 11 am start of the Holiday Tasting. But, there was food everywhere. I didn't come to eat but I was surprised that the manager took my suggestion: If you advertise the food, the food should be there. Did he read my blog? I was also surprised to see him roaming the store the whole time I was there (you never see "suits" at Sam's) and I stopped him to thank him for putting the food out, unlike Friday.

2. I know your burning question is: What were you doing back at Sam's so soon? Well, remember the 10 pounds of turkey breast I bought at Sam's on Friday for Thanksgiving?.......Wait for it......I bought deli meat! Oh, the embarrassment! I am never allowed to shop for the holidays again - banned for life. How did I make that mistake? Beats me. Anyway, Sam's takes back everything. Some day I'll tell you about the boat we returned.

And now to Alice in Wonderland. The good news is I did not turn it off after 10 minutes as I thought I would. The bad news is that once again this became a Johnny Depp vehicle and unfortunately, Depp is becoming a parody in this type of movie (see POTC also.) Which is a shame because I think he's a fine actor.

I liked the look Burton got in Alice. His wacky vision fits perfectly into Carroll's work. Helene Bonham Carter was great as the Red Queen and Anne Hathaway gamely played the thankless role of the good White Queen in broad visual caricature. (Yes, the Red Queen's bulbous head was also caricature but in character; the exaggerated lips on the White Queen seemed to be parodying Hathaway's prominent mouth - a big difference.)

Special effects and visual beauty kept my interest until about 2/3 through when the movie suddenly started to drag. Too much Depp in the Mad Hatter role there? Possibly. But I was able to sit through it all until the end, though I was getting more and more disturbed as this movie began to play more and more as a women's lib drama than a classic fantasy.

I really am tired of the heavy-handed movie message that women can chart their own courses and the world will magically open up opportunities for them. This especially annoys me when the source material is tweaked to fit this POV and then this POV is heavy-handedly crammed into the theme.

Who convinced the writers/director that a fit end to the movie would be Alice embarking on a business career in the Far East? A visually beautiful, scary, supernatural story became a polemic. What a waste!

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Knitting Friday - on which I shopped for Thanksgiving and other adventures

Wegmann's down by me in the Princeton area has a turkey breast in honey brine, priced at more than a third higher than any other similar brined turkey breast in the area. I looked at it. It was $24+ for a piece which would only serve 5 so I was looking at close to $40. Not very promising.

Then we went to Sam's Club for shopping and their annual Holiday Tasting. However, it was their annual Holiday "What a Bunch of Crap" Tasting. I wish I had had a camera to snap the size of the cheese cubes offered. They were the size of the pieces I sweep from the table as crumbs. Really, the toothpick dwarfed the cube. And this was not "Oh, we're letting you taste our expensive stuff" cheese. Not this was the slightly more than $5 Irish cheddar, which today unfortunately could be classed with your cheap cheeses.

Then you had to listen to a spiel about the mini-quiches before she cut the damn things in half and handed it to you on a small plastic plate which was still 1000 times larger than the quiche piece.

I did get half a cup of coffee, about 7 cran-raisins and they were starting to prepare a cold burrito roll-up which I think was supposed to feature - wait for it - ranch dressing.

Did you notice that I'm still grumpy from this experience? They sent me a damn e-mail inviting me to this festive gala no less! Well, they really sent me two e-mails. It was supposed to run from 11 am to 4 pm and we got there after 12. We did get to see a lot of the backs of microwaves on food stations - just the microwaves, no attendants.

However, it an Annie Hall moment (remember when Allen is arguing about Marshall McLuhan with a professor who taught him and Allen is able to bring in the real McLuhan [who was just standing behind a poster] to refute the other guy?) for me when I spied the store manager.

Now, for those who don't know Sam's Club, you never see a management type in that store. If they're there, they're wearing HP's Invisibility Cloak.

But there he was, walking right towards me as I was waiting at check-out. I was very polite but firmly told him his party sucked. His feeble excuse was that it was a staggered party and more food ("more food"? - read that as any food worth the schlep to the store) would come out later. At which point I told him: Fine, but you could have put that in the damn e-mails.

Now, I know you are all on the edge of your seats with this burning question: How did you know this person was the manager?

Because, good people, I always look at his picture posted on the wall as you pass security on the way out. So my days of post office wanted posters perusing finally paid off.

I did buy a 10 pound Perdue turkey breast at Sam's with only 3% of juices added for moisture so I'd consider my trek successful albeit disappointingly hunger-filled.

Here's my latest top-down top. It's cotton with a simple pattern of a seed stitch collar and hem and a body of 8 rows of stockinette followed by one row of *YO, K2tog.* (I do about 6" before I bind off 30 stitches loosely for the each arm and then cast on 10 stitches for each underarm.

You can see that the top has hues of purple and that the tee is light purple. I've had that Land's End purple tee for a while and finally I found a match. The beads are funky with red, green and purple. I think it all works.

I'm coming close to my 20th top-down top. Talk about being addicted to a pattern! But it is a very fast knit.

Next week, I'll show you my Super Mario pillow. Mitered squares are sooooo slow but I think it's looking quite spiffy!

Happy knitting.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Movie Monday - Hearts and Minds, 1974

This entry is going to be short because I got the flu shot about three weeks ago. OK, you ask: How is she going to connect a short posting and the flu shot?

Because I have not gotten this shot in over 5 years and I've been healthy, flu-wise, all that time. This year, I stumbled, got the shot and have been miserable for about two weeks. So miserable that last Friday, Knitting Friday, I really thought I had written an entry for a while. Of course, I hadn't.

Since I can't crawl back to bed today, I'll make this short and then medicate myself to face the day. (Fisherman's Friend are effective cough drops.)

Unfortunately, Hearts and Minds, the 1974 documentary on the Vietnam War, is being shown on TCM as I type; which means unlike Starz and Encore, it won't be repeated often.

If you've lived through the Vietnam War or if you weren't born until years later; watch this movie. Not so much to understand that particular war but to understand the clash of imperialism (US, here) with the third world (Vietnam.) To understand the post WWII foreign policy of the US. To understand why we're going to have a rough time dealing with China as they ascend to the first economic power in the world. China remembers.

I guess you could say the Vietnam War is just a dot in modern American falsehoods when it comes to our relationship with other countries when they stand in the way of US mentality: We want it and we want it now.

The sinking of Maine, the Gulf of Tonkin, WWDs in Iraq - a straight progression.

Hearts and Minds puts faces and reality into a volatile period of American foreign killing. Our assessment of our enemy was brutal; our bombastic puffing of victories disgusting; our use of napalm, war-crime worthy.

But as you watch this film, realize that the establishment press finally "got" it with Vietnam. Walter Cronkite famously, albeit much too late, announced his opposition to this war on his highly-watched nightly news show.

Fast forward to today and view our "Yes, Master, whatever you say." establishment press and try to name the times any of them opposed the Iraqi and Afghanistan invasion. Your fists are still clenched.

Santayana famously said: Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

It's worse than that: We are becoming those who can't even discover our true history.

Watch the movie.

Veterans' Day in the U.S.A

Amid the flag waving, some food for thought. Two examples of the great war poetry from World War I (1914 - 1918) from Sassoon who survived the war and Owen who didn't.

SUICIDE IN TRENCHES by Siegfried Sassoon from Project Gutenberg

I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.

In winter trenches, cowed and glum
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.

* * * * *

You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you'll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.


Parable of the Old Men and the Young by Wilfred Owen from Project Gutenberg

So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,
And took the fire with him, and a knife.
And as they sojourned both of them together,
Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,
Behold the preparations, fire and iron,
But where the lamb for this burnt-offering?
Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,
And builded parapets and trenches there,
And stretch\ed forth the knife to slay his son.
When lo! an angel called him out of heaven,
Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,
Neither do anything to him. Behold,
A ram caught in a thicket by its horns;
Offer the Ram of Pride instead of him.
But the old man would not so, but slew his son. . . .

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Website Wednesday - well, sort of

Boy, am I pissed! I just ordered the full version of the Pottery Create program from iDreams.pl ($4.99) for the iPad because the kids loved the lite, free version and the on-line reviews looked very good. You can add handles to your pottery, paint it - do a lot of neat stuff beyond throwing and firing it; which is all the lite version does.

I punched "Buy Now" and the little bugger started loading and finally the the icon for the full version appeared - and then the shit hit the fan.

For, when I clicked to enter the program I went right into the old Pottery lite free one. So, I rebooted. You know: To complete the process, your computer needs to re-boot; I know the drill. Nothing happened. Then I removed the icon for the free version. Like I thought the paid and free version were somehow linked. I know, you have a bridge I might be interested in.

So, as I write this, I have two e-mails in: one from the "Report a Problem" on the company's page on iPad and one from my real computer's e-mail to the same company; and no full version of Pottery Create.

Waiting......waiting.......

On Ravelry, when you do an instant purchase and you have problems, you can send a questioning e-mail to our almost 1 million members. That's instant and global bad PR if the problem isn't fixed.

With iPad, they have my credit card already (a condition of their iTunes feature) so the money has already been deduced. That might give me some cover since I could dispute the charge and my card company would investigate. However, I had a gift card for Apps so I'm afraid that money is lost unless the company steps up to the plate.

The money lose makes me momentarily mad but the nagging frustration comes from having no recourse for the problem. It's not like a big box store where I could return with the product and grouse through levels of management till I got satisfaction. In this case, I as Blanche DuBois, (A Street Car Named Desire) am really depending on the kindness of strangers.

To be continued......maybe.

But in spite of it all, in spite of the wails I'm going to hear from two heartbroken children after school today, I do have a website:

http://www.betterrecipes.com/blogs/daily-dish/

It's a recipe site called Better Recipes and they have a lot of recipes and an interesting blog called The Daily Dish and a newsletter where you can sign up for the type of recipes you like and today they have a chocolate cookie with a peanut butter center and as I'm pretty mad and sad, the food looks very comforting.

Right now, I'm going to find out how make that peanut butter center. Enjoy!

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Movie Monday - well, TV Monday - Modern Day Sherlock Holmes

If I were teaching logic, teaching how to discern truth amid the lies, I might start with movie rumors. It was recently reported in the UK Guardian that Martin Freeman had turned down the role of Bilbo Bagins in the upcoming movie, The Hobbit, in order to continue to play Dr. Watson in the BBC modern day Sherlock Holmes. series Wow! Playing one of the most coveted roles of the decade or playing the second banana to Sherlock Holmes? What a dilemma! Maybe we should dig deeper folks. After all, The Hobbit has had a very fitful start. Is it really going to ever get made? Is it even going to pull in a fraction of the audience of LOTR? Good questions; maybe Freeman liked steady work.

Digging deeper is what Sherlock Holmes does. From the minute we are introduced to this pompous consulting detective in A Study in Scarlet, we are dazzled by his powers of deduction:

"How are you?" he (Holmes) said cordially, gripping my hand with a strength for which I should hardly have given him credit. "You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive."

"How on earth did you know that?" I (Watson) asked in astonishment.

We are supposed to be dazzled by them. Doyle created Holmes this way and every actor, starting well before the iconic Basil Rathbone, has portrayed him as such: a brilliant, smooth "horse's ass."

Benedict Cumberbatch in the modern day verison of Holmes doesn't change this portrayal and it was knowing this fact that kept me at arm's length from the first PBS Holmes episode this season: A Study in Pink.......the title alone....give me a break.

Who wanted to see a modern day Sherlock Holmes? The only modern day portrayal I can remember is George C. Scott in There Might Be Giants with Joanne Woodward as his Watson. But this Holmes was a nut case and Woodward was his MD. There were villains for even a paranoiac has enemies, but it was all pretty silly.

So I was not planning to view a second try at Sherlock Holmes in the 21st century. And, then I tuned in and discovered that I had been the horse's ass.

Wow! Holmes is just as deductive and just as annoying. However, Watson is not the bumbling Nigel Bruce and he blogs. Lestrade looks and acts like he could pass the police exam. All the characters and plots have been transported into modern times with thoughtful and plausible tweaking so that even in this day of CSI-type shows you can thoroughly commit to this stereotyped-to-death, armchair detective from a long past era and a long past writing style.

From what I understand, there are only three episodes in the 2010 PBS Sherlock Holmes series. The final episode was shown last night. As one commenter said, he wants the series to come back next year (it will) but he can't imagine how they can top that 3rd episode's cliff hanger ending.

In that ending, all the Holmesian elements are there: Holmes, Watson, Moriarty, ultimate danger. This all occurs after the writers/actors/director have taken you on a heart-stopping suspense ride for over an hour. What more can they do, you ask?

Wait. Not only do they bring in a brilliant denouncement, they play with their audience: Who really is the bad guy? OK, whew, the danger is over......Wait, it's back.....

That final fade-to-black: Holmes with a gun, the glance to Watson, a different choice of target.....and then. Well, we are all going to be waiting until 2011 for that answer.

I have been purposely oblique with this review. There is too much I can give away so you're going to have to trust me when I say that whether you know Holmes or not, if you love good mysteries and good acting and are willing to suspend your modern-day sensibilities to embrace Holmes' genius, you will not be disappointed.

Don't be a horse's ass like I almost was.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Knitting Friday
I’ve been pretty disgraceful with Knitting Friday entries lately. I would like to cite my current problem as an excuse: I can receive e-mails but it takes over 8 hours for people to receive one I send; but that really just a feeble excuse. Much more plausible than the dog ate my homework, but feeble.

I do have some knitting bits for today however. First, a picture of my 1 skein (431 yards) unblocked and unfinished lace shawl in deep purple. This shawl is part of my “Boy, wouldn’t it be a good idea for my birthday to by 1 skein of all the lace weight yarn that Knit Picks has?” project. One skein makes the airiest, lightest shawl/scarf and, if based on the time this bugger has taken me, the longest knitting project in the history of the world.

The pattern is so simple:
Row 1 & 2: St St
Row 3: K1 *YO, K2tog* K1
Row 4: P1, *YO, P2tog* P1. I

It’s a pattern I can do in my sleep and apparently that’s when I must be knitting it because the “Rip it” factor has been huge: Work 3 rows, Rip out 2. I am coming to the end however and I love, love, love it! It’s warm and soft. If you’re interested in trying this project: I’m using US 10 needles with a CO of 60 stitches. After blocking, I think I’m looking at least at 25" x 60+”, which will work very well.

(A crazy hint: Don’t’ slip the first stitch with this shawl. I worked up about 1/3 of the length with a 1st stitch of Slip1Purl and a last stitch of Knit and the edges were very tight. The middle of the shawl stretched nicely but the edges were taut. Back to the frog pond and this version has no slipped edged stitches. What a difference!)

My second shawl is just a prototype started because I was becoming so bored with my purple beauty and I wanted to use my brain. A little background: I am still addicted to my top-down shells/pullovers/cardigans (more on that below) and I was looking for a stitch for the body of a winter tank top.

I came across the Lasso stitch (I think this one has many names) which is simply: Left needle into stitch on right needle as to knit but wrap the yarn around both needles and then through the middle V the needles form and to the back. K the stitch as usual and you get a twisted, elongated, 2-thread (but it's only 1 stitch) K stitch.

This will take you to directions and a picture:

http://www.knittingfool.com/pages/stCatalog2.guest.cfm?StitchID=1034&name=Lasso&numofst=2&stplus=0&rows=1&rplus=0&sym=0 (BTW, Knitting Fool is a great knitting site.)

Knitting Fool says you need a multiply of 2 stitches for the Lasso but I don’t see that. Even or odd stitches would work.
As I worked this stitch, my mind asked: Can I make a more stretchy stitch? Can I make a square shawl knit on the diagonal with this stitch? I’m also interested in working this stitch as a open-stitched top-down tank, hoping it takes very little yarn.

What you see in the picture of the light green lasso stitch is the beginning of a square prototype shawl. Here’s the pattern:
CO 3 stitches (I’m using US 4 and fingering yarn)
Row 1: Kfb *Lasso st (LS)* Kfb
Row 2: “Lasso stitch” in every stitch
Once you get to your width, end on row 2 then:
Row 1: K2tog *LS* K2tog
Row 2: *LS* across
Work to 3 sts. BO
The decrease part is still in the planning stage. I may need two rows of straight Lasso before I start decreasing.

Of course as usual, I’m playing around on inferior yarn just to try the technique. And as usual, the finished product is coming along so nicely, I’m thinking: Why waste my time on junk yarn? More on this dilemma later.

And finally: in my search for the perfect top-down sweater pattern, I came across this free pattern at Yarn Market:

http://www.yarnmarket.com/yarn/Artyarns_Free-Regal_Silk_Lacy_Tank_Top_Free-1981.html

It’s a very attractive tank worked bottom up and it has a pattern for a circular knit lace neckband. So, I thought: How about I work out the amount of CO stitches I need to work the circular lace band from the top? Then, after I increase for the body I could work the Lasso stitch, until boredom or carpal tunnel syndrome occurs. More on this next week.

Happy Knitting.

Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Website Wednesday

Last night, before I watched Real Time with Bill Maher and Jimmy Carter said the same thing, I said to my husband that Republican control of the House might be the making of Obama. Sometimes, leaders need a challenge (and not only one from their own party) in order to find their voice.

Howard Zinn said (via Bill Moyers) that "If you go and do the right thing NOW, and you do it long enough good things will happen --"

http://www.alternet.org/news/148720bill_moyers%3A_howard_zinn_taught_us_that_it%27s_ok_if_we_face_mission_impossible/

Food for thought.

A quick Website Wednesday since the same husband mentioned above is going to be taking a live half-day course from The Netherlands on the Internet in less than two hours. This course helps fulfill his credits for re-certification in his profession and I don't think I'm allowed to disturb him - even if I catch fire.

My pick: http://www.psychologytoday.com/ - Psychology Today or Psych Lite.

A lot of interesting topics here. The staff looks magazine and web site orientated but the articles seem to be written by professional in their fields.

The articles are current and many are Oprah/like: Adjusting to Being Single Again: What We Can Tell by Listening for Just 30 Seconds or Reality Bites: Freudian Fangs/Team Edward, and Twilight Goes to Therapy or Words Have Power.

Take a look at their Diagnosis Dictionary. The advice looks solid. (Of course, you should always see your medical professional and not rely solely on websites for diagnoses.)

Also, look at Psych Basics. You can spend a month with all these topics; probably more. Once again, the information look solid.

So whether you're depressed, elated, mad, sad, you know, just feeling human, take a look at Psychology Today. Bring the coffee pot; it'll be a long visit.

Vote for the Democrats and then Participate in your Government

Yes, my advice for voting tomorrow is as simple as that.

I guess I can explain this by saying that tomorrow may be the most important election in the life of our quasi-representative government. It may also be the last true election in your life.

OK, you say: All the liberal, nay-sayers spout this stuff but this is a great country, the best country on the face of the earth and it has been going on quite well for some time, you little prick!

Well yes, we’ve been going on for some time, that I’ll give you. But read your real history; we have quite an extensive trail of stupidity, cruelty, bigotry, and genocide. We have represented the dark side of humanity many, many times. And still do.

This election, as we descend as a country into second-world status (and read some real history here, also), stands as an a vital one.

Votes which bring Republicans and tea-baggers into majority rule in Congress may, without much of a thought-stretch, bring us past the tipping point of maintaining a government dedicated for the common good. (“promote the general Welfare”, yes, tea-baggers, that is in the U.S. Constitution!)

Let’s face it folks: Republicans and tea-baggers do not want to advance the common good. The first group, where the real power lies, really doesn’t give a shit about anything except their capitalistic greed. The second group, the teas-baggers, well, scratch them and you’ll find a hatred of the “nigger” who occupies the White House trumps all reason.

In no way are you going to get Utopia when you vote Democrats tomorrow. You are however buying time.

Time to get out there and take a part in your representative government so it will be better. It is going to be a long uphill battle and you must participate in it. Current history has shown us that you can’t just vote then grab the TV remote and vegetate until the next election. It may be a losing battle but it may be the final chance to define what really makes our species special.