hot toddy

"The People of Iraq are sometimes so full of democracy that they walk into a crowd and explode."
--from Saturday Night Live

this made me laugh for many reasons even though its mainly morbid if you think about it. i'm not very savvy when it comes to politics (ie: i have forgotten who the Speaker of the House is) but criticism is best appreciated by those who have no idea what is being criticized since they have no opinion of their own on the subject. i've never seen Bush converse with troops in Iraq via satellite, but watching SNL do a parody of it was enough for me. i'm horrible, i know, and someday i'll get my act together and be a better American, but right now, getting through school is more important.

at least i know where the continent of North America is on a map! a survey was done in the 1980s that found that at least 30% of college students did not know where the united states was on a map. really! i've known where it is on a map since 3rd grade! we even did a study of maps and cartography in 4th grade! it reminds me of this past year's academy awards when chris rock went around LA asking people if they'd seen million dollar baby and all those other oscar nominated movies--to which they replied "no" with a puzzled look. when asked if they'd seen white chicks, they all said yes, sometimes with the added "that was real good." but isn't that what criticism is based on? personal taste? knowledge of related material?

i also do not have cable, so i'm stuck with 13 channels. no CNN for me, although network news on NBC and Fox now have that annoying scrolling marquee at the bottom of the screen that reports other tidbits of news while the anchorman/woman is talking--which i can only guess is done in imitation of CNN. so they only political commentary i get is on filtered shows like the american president and SNL. but that's just me making excuses.

a woman came into the bookstore two days ago with a two week old baby in the stroller. she'd come in many times before while pregnant and it was neat to see the transition. the baby looks a lot like the father--same hair color. now that my sister is married i've been taking note of pregnancies and infant care, just in case. she's still only 23 and she and her husband plan to wait a couple of years, but i don't think she was paying attention when my mom was explaining to her about cycles and i also don't think she really cares. she'll have a baby when she's ready, just like she got married when she was ready, regardless of age. i respect that, but in my opinion, "ready" is a relative term: when she thinks she's ready, i'm not so sure its the best time. i can't imagine her pregnant. my mother always tells me what a difficult delivery she had the first time, but she's told me the story so many times that its lost its impact. my co-worker on the otherhand told me her story once and it made me shiver. she told me that she had a long, laborious delivery for her second son. she just closed her eyes, shuddered and said, "he turned me inside out." thank God for mothers.

halloween is next monday, and what an unfestive halloween it will be. my mother will be out of town on business (Atlanta, Georgia again). my father will be working overtime because its end of the month. i will be working until the customary six, but then i agreed to babysit my neighbor's daughter, Lauren, who is also only two weeks old. so, we're not even buying candy because none of us will be home to give it out. but i don't mind babysitting lauren. she doesn't do much yet because she's still very young, but i hold her for hours at a time as she sleeps and she really is the sweetest little thing i've ever held. like all babies, she doesn't have complete control of her muscles yet so the strangest expressions come across her face. in any case, that means no parties, no costumes, no abundant amounts of sugar. i could do without the sugar and the costume, but a good party wouldn't hurt.

blather, blather, blather and goodnight.