More 'This and That'

Fall is officially here in my neck of the woods. For fall to be "official" it must be raining, which it is. And according to the prognosticators it will rain for the next five days. The great part is that, rain or not, its a mild day. I'm sitting here with the front window open, window fan on low, and theres an opened window at the back of the apartment for a nice cross-ventilation. Now how damn interesting is that!

So many young people today seem to be totally...TOTALLY...spoiled without a clue as to what it means to be a responsible adult and to support one's self. Mommy and Daddy gives them everything they want. Not need...but what they want. "Oh mommmie, I must have this $3,000 purse." WTF?! I hold a belief that these spoiled people are not the norm... even if I'm wrong, don't tell me, k?

Top Ramen Noodles... what a deal. They taste good, are fast and easy to fix, and cheap. I buy them by the case and get several bags of frozen mixed veggies of some kind. When heating the water for the noodles I put in a portion of the frozen veggies and when water/veggies are boiling, in go the noodles for three minutes. (I crush the noodles before cooking because I don't like long strands falling off the spoon or fork.) After cooking I let the veggie-noodles sit for a while so the juice can be absorbed. And there's lunch or dinner. Its a good way of getting some veggies into my 2 yr old grandson, too. He likes the noodles and doesn't seem to notice the vegetables.

I'm babysitting tonight. My daughter doesn't go out very often and this will give her a chance to get away. I don't ask where she goes, who she's with, or what she does. I don't want to know... I worry enough as it is. However, she doesn't get to use my car when she goes out. No way Jose.

Still raining......

Thursday's Thirteen #8

Thursday's Thirteen
Crusty's Thirteen Morsels

1. I hate to see a pen left around without a cap on it or without it being retracted. Don't people know how important a pen is? It's mightier than a sword, especially when writing poison-pen notes.

2. I use to be nice.

3. I use to be dumber.

4. I have three old pairs of reading glasses. Its a good thing too, because my "regular" glasses broke. I was in my fifties when I began needing glasses. My arms weren't long enough.

5. Even with glasses on I can not read the directions on medicine bottles. Whats up with that? "I bet I can get 1,000 words on this little 1x1 inch label!"

6. I love PBS, but I have not contributed to any of their fundraisers. Shame on me.

7. I love the color Banana Yellow on walls. Its a happy color. I rent so now I live with white walls. Well, except for the places the grandson can reach.

8. I keep things I don't need right now because I might need them later.

9. I'm out of coffee, gulp. And I still have some coffee flavoring left to use. Damn.

10. Yesterday was a crabby day...for everyone.

11. The crackheads are still here. How long does it take for an eviction to be completed!! They argue 24 hrs a day. They're awake for 24 hrs a day. They are skeletons.

12. I visited a friend last Saturday and she fixed dinner. Marinated baked salmon with asparagus. So healthy and so YUMMMMMMMY!

13. One of the crackheads is now on the back porch shooting a pellet gun at a makeshift target. I think its a pellet gun...it uses air to shoot. He's a bad shot.

Here are a few other Thursday's Thirteens to check out:
Leanne's
MommaK
E's Retrospect
Interstellar's Adventure

WTF?!

From someone in 'Nawlins'....

Demolition workers said that they are being paid $35 an hour. However, when they worked at rebuilding after Hurricane Ivan they were allowed to work overtime. For the Hurricane Katrina rebuilding they are only allowed to work 40 hours a week. Nevertheless, they anticipate that they will be in town for 6 months and they are thankful for the “endless supply of FEMA money.”

Your tax dollars at work... your government at play.

If we knew only half of what our government does with the money we work hard for I bet Washington DC would be burned to the ground. Of course, if you are making over $100,000 a yr then you'll have that tax cut that's suppose to be creating all kinds of jobs. I just don't know how someone with a personal income of over a $100,000 creates jobs. I can see it for the business sector, but not personal income.

Then there's the $300 a night hotel rooms booked by FEMA.

But if we all tighten our belts and not drive anywhere, then the rich will have enough gas for their Hummers.

I smell a revolution in the making. Its not a strong smell, but it still stinks.

Dylan

I watched American Masters on PBS last night. It was about Bob Dylan. I was impressed. Impressed not only by how well the program was put together but with Dylan himself.

I am not a folk music fan. To me folk singing is okay but nothing to write home about. However, it (folk singing) was a major component of the Sixties and the upheaval of the times.

This skinny little white boy, Dylan, did not have a strong singing voice. But it seems what he was good at was opening up to the cosmos and allowing the songs/words that needed to be said to come through him. And these words helped move civilization up a few steps on the stairs. He did not censor himself. He did not critique his creativity. He allowed the words to come and to be sung. And he seemed not to give a fig about what others thought of him. That, my friend, is a treasure indeed. To be free of "public opinion".

He was heard to say he often did not know what the song meant as he wrote them, but to those hearing the lyrics the words would touch a place in their hearts and bring about many layers of meaning to the listener.

How many times do we stop ourselves from creating anew. How many times do we criticize our efforts and throw them away. The Universe tries to express itself through the only animal currently able to use many modes of expression... but we close it down.

Open your mind. Do not stop to think about what you are creating. Do not stop to think about what others will think. Simply EXPRESS YOURSELF and then move on to a new moment in time which is waiting for another dose of full expression. Even the lowly dandilion is a full expression.

This and That

Government is so big it takes a week of Sundays just for it to turn around and scratch its own ass. There's a lot more wrong with FEMA besides Brown. Too many chiefs, too many 'authorizations' required, too many levels of bullshit to wade through. And talk about waste. Rumor has it that FEMA booked up 190 rooms of a hotel/motel (?) at 300% the going rate. Now why was it necessary to overpay? If you're booking one room or all the rooms, why does FEMA have to pay more for it? Is it because of, oh I don't know... GREED? Now there's talk of paying church associated volunteers for volunteering. I don't have a viewpoint on this cause I don't know anything about it... but doesn't that take away the point of 'volunteering'? Some church organizations are saying "no" but I hear a lot of other good Christians want in on the government bale-out, since they're flinging money all over except to the people who need it. Our society is so convoluted I get motion sickness just thinking about it.

I like Gregory Grenon's art work. He paints in reverse on glass (or plexi glass). I searched the web for examples of his work but none of the photos do it justice. There's a certain amount of 'realness' and life-energy coming from the portraits... maybe because we view them in reverse.

The weather is grey and overcast. We are suppose to have some sun this afternoon. It better hurry up or it will be too late. Rainy day blues.......Stormy weather..... consciousness streaming. Sorry.

(added later)How to promote yourself/website/artwork.

Thought I would also mention I added two more links, both virtual art pads for your amusement and enjoyment. Check out the links section on the right.

"Saying no can be the ultimate self-care."
Claudia Black

(geesh, I've had to come back three times to fix or add things. sigh)

They Aren't Swallows, But What The Hell....

I had a post ready to go earlier today but lost it. It was just a chitchat note saying how beautiful the weather has been for several weeks.

We may not have Swallows migrating here, but we do have Swifts. They come swooping in all together and stay in a grade school chimney for a month or so. Here's a short news article about it.

Hurricane Watch

I got up this morning expecting to check out our local news program for the latest developments with the Gulf Coast and Hurricane Rita... and nothing. We had a golf tournament going on...WTF?!

All during the week it was nothing but coverage of the preparations. "What? There's another hurricane coming? Lets send all our news anchors down there so they can be in the eye of the storm and report on it. Oh, wait.... its the weekend. Never mind."

Normally we have a local three-hour newscast on one of the channels Saturday and Sunday. (Don't ask me why its for three hours. I guess its a recap of the week's news.) Today we have golf. I guess this is where it could be said "no news is good news".

I did come across some live coverage from the Houston area. If you're interested, just click on the headline that says "Live Video" and you'll be able to see their newscast. Also, if you're into watching cams here is a site with lots of them listed. (and I don't know anything about the 'adult live' cam so don't ask me.) You can click anywhere on the "map" and a list of cams from that area will come up. It looks like a lot of the sites have cam "photos"... if you want "live" cams, check that column of the table.

Hope you have a good Saturday. If you don't, just lie about it. Thanks

Edit: forget that cam link above... here's a list of live cams from the Texas area and most of them are live.

Thursday's Thirteen #7

Crusty's Thirteen Morsels

1. Its not easy coming up with thirteen things.

2. Its time for me to get out of the house. I can feel the walls closing in on me. My thinking is getting petty.

3. I finally got some scissors with the thought of cutting my hair. I haven't done it yet. Once its cut then there's the upkeep... more cutting, trimming, cussing.

4. I need a transplant. A personality transplant.

5. I made several ATCs. Oh Yuck. Worse than 'yuck. I used Tombow pens because of ease, but they don't blend well. I also used a rapidoliner pen thinking the ink would be permanent. Not so, the ink smudged with the Tombow pens.

6. I just took half an hour to go read other blogs.

7. I watched part of Martha's show. Reality my ass. It looks like the producers have encouraged people to be assholes. "Now when you're in the conference room I want you to argue and get passionate. And when the other creep is fired, put on a smug look, k?"

8. And Martha smiling at employees... its always looked incongruous to me.

9. Now Tyra Banks thinks she's a psychologist. I know, I know... just turn it off. And that's what I just did.

10. I drag raced my Camero a few times.... back in my youth. That was a cool car... 1972 Camero... the Bullet. It was so low to the ground I often just rolled out of it.

11. One more tv thing... I can't believe that Patricia Arquette won an emmy. Was bribery involved? Probably. The only thing the character says on the show is "I'm sorry" "I'm sorry" "I'm sorry" "I'm sorry".

12. I know, I know... these are suppose to be 'my morsels' but I'm boring.

13. And I never cared for the Beatles or Elvis. I didn't see what all the hoopla was about.

Leanne's Thirteen (she's the originator)

A Village

"DO YOU WANT ME TO CALL THE COPS!?" It was a threat, not a question. "I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN THERE. DO YOU WANT ME TO CALL THE COPS?" ('on your sorry ass' was implied.) "I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!"

My consciousness floundered a bit as it struggled to the top of slumber. WTF? The dark of night still had its fingers clutched around the city. All was quiet except for the voice, a strong and forceful female voice.

WTF?

What is going on NOW?! You're going to wake up the monkeys, for gawd sake!

I couldn't tell where the voice was coming from, but it was close. Was something going on across the street? Was someone breaking into a car? I gingerly moved to the window and raised one blind up ever so slightly. There was my 40-ish looking neighbor (the only decent one here) standing on the sidewalk in front of another apartment wearing a tee-shirt that barely covered her panties. Her feet were bare and her fists were clenched. She neither looked right or left. She was presenting a solid wall of "non-acceptance".

The door to the apartment opened and some of the occupants tried to calm the woman down. "Where's Clyde and the baby?" she asked sternly. (Clyde must be the six year old they call Buddha and the baby couldn't be more than four months old.)

Apparently we were having some domestic violence going on and I had slept right through it. And the 'decent' neighbor was not going to sit by and let it happen as so many do. ('Its none of our business. That's his wife/girlfriend and he can do what he wants to her.') Plus, both apartments are next to each other and sound carries easily between apartments. Smack! Thud! Cry!

I don't know who actually called the cops, but they were there talking to the battered one the next time I looked out. There was talk of "PO" (parole officer), "work release", "drugs", "drunk" and "done it before". The police shined their flashlights at the woman to look at the evidence.

Several years ago one of our laws was altered. It use to be the woman would have to lodge a formal complaint before the police could do anything about domestic violence. That is no longer the case. Now they only need to be able to see the evidence of the violence... the bloody nose, the swollen eye, or the fat lip... and the perp (that's cop talk) can be arrested. The crime of violence is now done against society instead of an individual. Thank you.

The police got their information and left. The little dickhead had taken off, otherwise his ass would be in jail. Of course, he'd only be there a few hours before being released. Our criminals know the city doesn't have enough jail space to hold them all. But nonetheless, when there are consequences to your actions, you have a tendency to think before acting. When society as a whole says "Stop. This is not acceptable" then we will have begun to become a civilized society. It does, indeed, take a village.

I must remember that evolution is a slow process, a very slow process.

You can take the man out of the cave, but you can't take the monkeys out of the horse's ass.... or something like that.

I didn't wanna do it

I... I didn't.... I didn't wanna do it. I tried everything I could think of to ignore the need. It began with layers, layers of long sleeved shirts. It continued with wool socks. Okay, not really. I don't have any wool socks, but it did involve the putting on of shoes verses flip-flops. "Where's my left shoe?" I even closed all windows as a last resort.... but it did no good. With much regret and reluctant movement, yesterday I turned on the heat. Gasp! Dollar signs replaced my eyeballs. Cha Ching, Cha Ching.

Yes, it was cold enough here yesterday to turn on the heat in the apartment. It seemed too soon, but was it? If you can see your breath condensing in front of your eyes, can you truly ignore it? Like the elephant in the middle of the room.... no, no you can not ignore the fact that it was cold enough for artifical heating. Summer is over. (The death march begins to play slowly and softly in the background.) Shudder.

A month ago the cheapo toaster gave out. It was barely toasting anyway, so by the time it decided not to hold the bread down no matter how many times I tried, I was ready to throw it out. Luckily the window was still open.

Now the coffee pot has gone kapoot. It was a birthday gift over ten years ago... maybe even fifteen. It was a strong little trooper. Used almost every day. Lately use had slowed down to a couple of times a week. I used to play the role of corporate clone standing around with a coffee mug in my hand at all times. I fell for the propaganda about coffee being a symbol of working hard, when in reality it was hardly working.

"Will work for lattes."

I usually ordered an extra shot of espresso. Loved that jolt of caffeine. Now my body rebels, so I've gone decaf. I've also stopped buying lattes. It seems pretentious to order a decaf latte. The purpose of an espresso IS the caffeine, fer gawd sake. I am currently addicted to Folger's Cafe Latte mix, but only the mocha & almond flavoring. (I put it in my coffee rather than using it with water. I'm no wussie.) I have half a container of flavoring .... but no working coffee pot. So I worked around the problem. After all, I am a woman. Invention is our middle name.

The basic way coffee is made, at least in my world, is to pour hot water over coffee grounds. Simple, isn't it. Its the spilling and splashing that can be tricky.

I put the coffee into the filter holder, leaving it swinging out to the side of the pot. (In this position the water, aka coffee, will not be able to get out of the opening at the bottom of the filter cup.) The pot sits in its assigned place. I heated up water on the stove and then slowly poured the hot water into the filter. When full, I then pushed the filter holder into place over the pot.... and a tiny trickle of liquid worked its way through to the pot. Dark delicious coffee. I repeated this step about five or six times. I must really want a cup of coffee badly!

Its not efficient, but I did get two cups of coffee from it before it got cold.

Thursday's Thirteen #6

Crusty's Thirteen Morsels

1. If I had not read Leanne's blog I would have forgotten it was time for thirteen things about me. I remembered it was Thursday, but spaced out on the blog entry.

2. I got 3.5 gallons of gas for $10.00 yesterday. 'Errands to run' and the gas to do it with finished up in a tie. Perfect timing.

3. I splurged and bought an inexpensive set of watercolor brushes. They look like they will sop up the water and paint like a champ. I hate to do it, but if I have to I will delay cleaning the kitchen so I can test the brushes first. (weak smile)

4. I bought a couple of other things too. It felt good saying to myself "I'm an adult now and if I want to buy this stuff I will. hrmmph." I'm getting really good at being selfish. Not consistently, but I have a lot of 'moments'.

5. I buy up to four loaves of bread at a time from the Franz Bakery Discount store. I freeze them until needed. ($1.00 verses $3.79 retail) The Franz Discount store use to have everything priced at a dollar. One buck. Sigh. But it hasn't lasted... the pricing. Now you have to look to see if there's a different price tag for most items.

6. People taking phone calls at the IRS don't always know how to do their jobs very well. They give out mis-information/bad instructions.

7. I got two free ballpoint pens from my credit union. And yes, I got permission to take them. "Take as many as you want." I didn't want to look greedy so I only took two... but I had to think about it for a second.

8. I still have to put away the household items I bought yesterday. Space is at a premium I will have to maneuver things in order to make room. I think its called 'Creative Living'.

9. I finally remembered to get some sewing thread so I could do some mending. I may have to get my daughter to thread the needle for me. Last time I tried it was not easy. I had to have luck do it for me.

10. I use to have my own rollerskates when I was thirteen. It was cool to have your own skates. It meant you belonged a little bit more... a more dedicated skater.

11. I usually went skating alone. My hermit tendencies manifested early.

12. I could take a trolley to the skating rink from where I lived. The trolley line ran right behind our property. The trolley was creaky and totally put together using wood. Wood worn smoooth from repeated use...much of it turning white from the sunshine streaming through the large windows. Rocking this way and that... very easy to fall asleep.

13. I think its kewl how brussel sprouts grow so tightly on a stalk. I was in my late thirties before I saw a stalk of brussel sprouts in the buff. I thought they grew like cabbage does.

This and That

Boy, are there a lot of great writers in the blogging world. And there are some that are so damn funny (writing...their writing is funny) I check their blogs several times throughout the day. Sometimes its intimidating. I mean, these people bring laughter to the world... I seem to just whine. Oh well, too bad for you.

My life is so routine and predictable that some days there's just nothing to write. And sometimes days turn into weeks. Today I thought I'd try to come up with a little bit of that and a little bit of this.

that...this...that that that... this .... that.. well, you get the picture.

I'm learning how to share again. Today I get to share my income with others. 'Others' being corporate America.... money comes in, money goes out. Time to pay the bills. I've tried to simplify my life by getting rid of much, but getting rid of money is not one of my most favorite things to do, however, it does get me out of the house. With the price of gas being what it is, I get out about once a month. And today is my big day. Why...gasp....I might even blow $4 and buy a latte. hmmmmm. Or not. Scrouge, you know. Spend $4 on a latte and just pee it out within 30 minutes. Maybe I'll blow that wad on some Nag Champa instead. Yes... that's what I'll do. I'll go stand in the artsy-fartsy yuppie store (which I like) for a while and breathe in the atmosphere then buy the incense. I will have something to hold in my hand for a while and it will save me 10 or 20 trips to the bathroom. One right after the other.

The weather here is gorgeous.... fall-like weather. Cool at night with happy sunshine during the day. Looking at the national weather map I feel very fortunate to live where I do. But ya gotta love moss and rust here. I love the smell of wet moss. It gets my allergies going...adult onset of allergies. But its mild. When I smell wet moss I can visualize trapsing through a rain forest with everything green and freshly washed. Only my rain forest doesn't have any insects. I almost typed incest. Close enough to be an innocent slip of the brain/finger coordination thingy.

I thought I had more of 'this' to share but the moment I sat down the thoughts went poof! Maybe when I return from my errands I'll have some 'that' to write about. Anyway, I'm "poof" outta here.

Mountain Water

Nothing to talk about today.
Public Domain Photos

What the hell is this?

"Okay... grab 'em by the scuff of the neck and hold 'em down hard. They're going to get a dose of this whether they want to or not!! Not one sucker gets outta here without this damn concert, ya hear?"

I knew to expect the Katrina concert (yes, another one) to be on the three network stations.... but I was not expecting it to be on the independent stations as well. Talk about manipulation and control. Bullshit. I don't mind what entertainment people want to do, but to force it down EVERYONE's throat... doncha think that's a bit much?

Bullshit! Yes, its for a good cause.... Yes, the money will be put to good use... Yes, its wonderful that so many people suddenly got the spirit.... sputtering... but... but.... Don't force it down my frigging throat, fer gawd sake!!

Yes, there is a way out. Turning off the boob tube now, just on general principles!

(added later) Okay, okay... I will relent just a little. After all I got to see Morgan Freeman...so... okay.

Coming, Not Coming. Coming, Not Coming

The city was told by the Red Cross to expect 1,000 Katrina survivors and they began setting up facilities. Then they were told to stand down. Things were left as they were... in readiness. The city was then told to expect 500 survivors so the finishing touches were done. The last word is that survivors will not becoming after all and the facilities will be 'undressed' as it were. All to the tune of over $100,000. We have to pay it up front and then get reimbursed for it later. Hopefully.

Some of the volunteers are angry that they won't be getting their victims to take care of.... I'm glad that things are going well enough that no one has to get shipped out here. I can understand the frustration of the volunteers because they've put in a lot of work.

However, there are a few survivors coming as "private guests" of a church. The church is renting four apartments, which will be furnished by Goodwill, and they will help find the people jobs. Good luck to 'em.

Thursday's Thirteen #5

13 Super Sweet Morsels about Crusty Crone 1. I need to drop the habit of having the tv on in the background. 2. Once again I'm reminded that what ticks me off about others is the very things that I am guilty of doing/being. Sigh. 3. I often use liquid smoke when cooking a hamburger. 4. I keep two CDs in the machine... Mozart and Vivaldi, so I can mention it and perhaps sound a little couth. 5. My favorite (that means 'comfortable') summer pants have a growing crotch rip. And me without any thread. 6. I'm not going to tell you how I came to know about the aforementioned rip. 7. I'm counting the days on my fingers until my next "payday". It helps me keep track of the passage of time. 8. Its confirmed... you don't need talent to become a celebrity. 9. We've been having beautiful fall weather...loving it. Rain is due tomorrow. 10. I browse ebay's Self-Representing Artists listing in reverse order (when time to bid is running out) so I can see which works got any bids. 11. I like Debra Hurd's work. Especially the rainy street scenes. I found her via ebay. 12. Now I have to go find links to some of the things/people I've mentioned. 13. I like seeing pictures of people's studio/work areas. I'm nosey. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Leanne's Thirteen.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


Thirteen things is all I ask for, and what do you get in return? Linkage! If you do it, leave a comment here and link me to your Thursday Thirteen. I will be sure to update my entry with links to yours, and then you can continue the chain if you like! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Whose Minding the Store?

September 7th, 2005 1:11 pm
Foreign offers of help ready, waiting


By Elizabeth Williamson / Washington Post

WASHINGTON — Offers of foreign aid worth tens of millions of dollars — including a Swedish water-purification system, a German cellular-telephone network and two Canadian rescue ships — have been delayed for days awaiting review by backlogged federal agencies, according to European diplomats and information collected by the State Department.

Since Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast, more than 90 countries and international organizations have offered to assist in recovery efforts for the flood-stricken region, but nearly all endeavors remained mired yesterday in bureaucratic entanglements — in most cases, at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

In Germany, a massive telecommunication system and two technicians await the green light to fly to Louisiana, after its donors spent four days searching for someone willing to accept the gift.

"FEMA? That was a lost cause," said Mirit Hemy, an executive with the Netherlands-based New Skies Satellite, who made the phone calls. "We got zero help, and we lost one week trying to get hold of them."

In Sweden, a transport plane loaded with a water-purification system and a cellular network has been ready to take off for four days, while Swedish officials wait for flight clearance. Nearly a week after they were offered, four Canadian rescue vessels and two helicopters have been accepted but probably won't arrive from Halifax, Nova Scotia, until Saturday. The Canadians' offer of search-and-rescue divers has gone begging.

Matching offers of aid — from Panamanian bananas to British engineers — with needs in the devastated Gulf region is difficult in a disaster whose scope is unheard-of in recent U.S. history, especially for a country that is more accustomed to giving than receiving aid.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday that to his knowledge, all offers of foreign aid have been accepted but must be vetted by emergency-relief specialists.

"I think the experts will take a look at exactly what is needed now," he said.

FEMA spokeswoman Natalie Rule said the foreign complaints echo those from governors and officials across the nation.

"There has been that common thought that because [offers of aid] are not tapped immediately, they're not prudently used," Rule said. "We are pulling everything into a centralized database. We are trying not to suck everything in all at once, whether we need it or not."

Soon after the flooding, the government of Sweden offered a C-130 Hercules transport plane, loaded with water-purification equipment, and a cellular network donated by Ericsson.

"As far as I know, it's still on the ground," said Claes Thorson, press counselor at the Swedish Embassy in Washington. He said that along with 20 other European Union nations that have pledged money and goods, "We are ready to send our things. We know they are needed, but what seems to be a problem is getting all these offers into the country."

So far, Thorson said, the State Department has denied Sweden's request for flight clearance.

German telecommunications company KB Impuls contacted another company, Unisat, based in Rhode Island, with the idea of contributing an integrated satellite and cellular-telephone system.

The $3 million system could handle 5,000 calls at once, routing them, if necessary, through Germany.

The donor, KB Impuls, would contribute the equipment and two engineers, supplied with their own food, water and generator fuel, to set it up. Unisat contacted another firm, New Skies Satellite, based in the Netherlands with offices in Washington, which agreed to contribute satellite capacity.

New Skies arranged transport, securing a C-130 cargo plane from the Israeli Air Force, to pick up the equipment and technicians from Germany and bring them to Louisiana.

"With one call, I got an airplane," Hemy said. For four days, she and the owner of Unisat, Uri Bar-Zemer, called contacts at FEMA, the American Red Cross, the State Department and members of Congress, trying to find someone to accept the gift.

Finally, the State Department told them that to receive flight clearance, the gift must have a specific recipient.

"I was ringing, ringing, ringing — and nothing," Hemy said. Finally, yesterday, she got a call from the U.S. Air Force Joint Task Force Katrina Communication Operations division, thanking the companies for the gift and inquiring about the system's technical specifications.

As of late yesterday the companies were waiting for a written order from the Northern Command to begin the mission.

Forget Diamonds, give Gas

Flower Power

free domain photos

Another link

Here's a link to an information dissemination site. The mayor's appeal is especially moving.

Stand back

Stand back

That seems to be the words of the N.O. tragedy. The mayor of N.O. said FEMA used it often. To our National Guard ready to come and help, it was stand back, don't come yet. Don't bring any water or food, stand back. Don't use those school buses to remove the survivers, stand back. A long line of school buses waited for two days to get the okay to go in and take people out. Is this true? I don't know... it was on the news. And with each passing hour more people died. With help standing back. Once the dirt has settled, I hope they form a good, unbiased fact-finding committee to track down and hunt out the truth of it all. There are a lot of lessons to be learned.

And why didn't the Mayor of N.O. know where the people were being taken on the school buses? That seemed very strange.

We (the city) are preparing to accept 1,000 folks from the area. A secret place (I think its one of our high schools that has been closed for years) is being prepared. And what will the people of New Orleans come to... yup, another large room full of cots lined up. Just like where they left... only not so hot or humid.

And the citizens are being asked to stand back. It is because of the physical and mental trauma the folks have been through already. A crowd of people rushing to help out might traumatize them even more. I can understand the request... but will the New Orleans citizens know they are welcomed? People are offering to take folks into their homes, but are told to stand back. I suppose that might be coming later. And one never knows if the people offering up their homes might be on the crazy side. Yes, we have one or two of them here.

I hope the folks don't have to sleep on cots for long. We have a glutton of vacant apartments around here. I know these folks would just like to have their own space and regroup in private. And I also hope families aren't being completely separated from each other...all this shipping people around the nation.

Well... I'm just standing back.

Where were they?

Where has the federal government been? Up someone's ass? Watching NBC news interview the fema director and the director said the government just now heard about the conditions in the dome. WTF!! Its been on the news for days. sigh. I guess if you don't have a valid excuse, then you plead ignorance. Well, I agree. Ignorance it is. Geesh H C!

I'm sorry but this is the only place I have to vent. Now that we have the internet to get the "real story", government officials won't be able to lie as easily. Some heads need to roll. (figure of speech only) How long do you think incompetency would last in a job if it was corporate America. They would have been gone. I guess that's why so many go into politics. You just have to be a good con man.

Crusty is getting frigging cranky. I know... like that's going to do anything.

James Ransome, Illustrator

When I'm not doing anything I like to watch Reading Rainbow with Lavar Burton (public tv). I enjoy seeing the illustrations. Today one of the books, Visiting Day by Jacqueline Woodson was featured. I liked the artwork so I googled James Ransome. He's won about every award there is... or so it seems. He's got a long list of them. I checked out his 'gallery' but unfortunately the thumbnail pictures wouldn't enlarge...but you can get an idea of his work anyway.

If you are interested in how he finds his 'right voice' check it out here.

Thursday's Thirteen #4

I thought I should number my entries like Leanne does, thus the "#4". I think I've kept up with her.

Thursday's Thirteen Things You May or May Not Know About Me

1. I don't know anything about HTML coding except to copy what I think I've seen other people do... I may have to come back in here and delete some of it if it doesn't work.

2. I moved some things I had under my utility table, where my pc is, to another room. The now empty space has opened up the room a lot more than I thought it would.

3. I love nuts... I married one once. But my favorite is unsalted almonds. Great for cleansing the ole system too.

4. I'm sleepy at 9:30am. I'm going to see if I can get a cat nap in right now. You wouldn't be able to notice it. (It didn't happen)

5. I cleaned off the dining room table and, again, it makes the room look larger. I don't have places to put things... no drawers, no shelves and the closet is stuffed.

6. I downsized dramatically so whenever I moved I could fit things into my two-door car. Why do 'things' still keep finding me?

7. If I wanted to, I could have a yard sale at the drop of the hat. By that I mean I live on a busy thru street and would not have to advertise it.

8. Around here people expect you to give things away at a yard sale. "A dollar??! That's way too much."

9. The gray in my hair is increasing.

10. I have long hair but that is only because I don't have sissors that will cut hair.

11. My spelling quadrant in my brain isn't working today. Not to worry, its been this way for a long time.

12. I want to see the movie What the (bleep) do we know.

13. I will be babysitting a little later today while 'mom' goes shopping.

(ooops... I forgot to link to Leanne. My bad. I hot-linked her name at the beginning of the post. sorry. I seem to be saying 'sorry' a lot today.)