One step closer to apathtic cynicism

I try and try not to be a cynical person (although it doesn't always work so well) but today I think I've crossed over and there may not be any turning back. I was listening to NPR on my way to work this morning and heard two back to back stories about Congress. One about Tom Delay's un-ethical ways and how the republicans tried to pass a bill that made it easy to get out of investigations should something like Delay's case come to light. And another about a new federal abortion law they're trying to pass through that makes it OK for one state's laws to follow you into another state. Then, while at work I read about Georgie Bush's new brilliant energy initiatives. Instead of trying to find cleaner, more energy-efficient fuels, he's decided it'd be brilliant to make MORE oil refineries on unused government property. Brilliant. What little faith or trust I had in our government (and it wasn't much) is now gone. They try to find ways around being held responsible for their own actions. They try to mix up state laws with federal laws. They do their best to continue our generation into a deeper pit of environmental sludge.... I've had enough. I don't know. Is the answer to pick up and move to another country? Should I just suck it up and ignore it and join the rest of the apathetic masses? Maybe I'll run for mayor so that one day I can be president. Sometimes I wish that life were more like a choose-your-own-adventure when it came to some bigger issues. I hate feeling so helpless. I'm not good at helpless. Anyone else out there feeling it too?

Hear ye hear ye

Hear ye hear ye
Originally uploaded by zoesworld.

Medieval Times -- Aside from having Cable Guy flashbacks and getting a frightening taste of how Romans at the coliseum could cheer on someone else's demise...It's quite the costume show, but it was nice to be a princess who got to eat with no utensils.

Sandy footprints

Sandy footprints
Originally uploaded by zoesworld.

One of the best things about the beach - feeling the sand underfoot and inbetween all ten toes.

Citizens for free stuff

Citizens for free stuff
Originally uploaded by zoesworld.

Something that rarely, if ever, happens in Fayetteville is a free concert by a good (or even decent) band. Thank you Sister Hazel for being in Myrtle Beach last weekend and being free and great as always.

Rangar

Rangar
Originally uploaded by zoesworld.

Meet Rangar. He's my new Viking mini-golf buddy. It's all about no-rules mini-golf.

Can you find the gator?

Can you find the gator?
Originally uploaded by zoesworld.

Being from mountain country, the only alligators I ever saw were either at the zoo begind plexiglass or on Animal Planet. At Huntington State Park near Myrtle Beach I got an upclose glance at the real thing. This picture is the long shot - can you see the gator in the water? The other one was only a few feet away - lying in the sun near the sidewalk. A little too close for comfort if you ask me.

Where's the golden ticket

Went to the video store last night (yes, I still go to the actual store instead of ordering online) and had a wonderful surprise. The Wonka bar has returned. Oh yes, go grab Grandpa Joe and have him buy you a box of Wonka Bars because somewhere out there is a golden ticket! Of course I had to buy one, but alas no gold. Ah well - knowing my luck, if I were to find the golden ticket and go to the factory, I'd get turned into a blueberry or something. I'm excited to see the new Wonka movie when it comes out. Hoping it will be completely different from the Gene Wilder film. That way I won't be disappointed or tempted to compare the two. Bring it on Tim Burton.

Michael Israel

Michael Israel
Originally uploaded by zoesworld.

Got a chance to meet and watch Michael Israel perform not long ago. He does amazing work on huge canvases in a way that I'd never seen before. The canvases spin, he paints to the music, the crowd is on their feet... It was something not to be missed if you ever get the chance.

flip a coin, will ya?

Indecisive people give me a rash and today I'm in need of some cream. One of the girls I work with - our editor - is great and fun and blah blah blah. However, she is seriously lacking thre ability to take charge of any situation or make any decisions that she fears others will dislike her for. So instead of doing something, she does nothing. Even when faced with the question "What exactly would you like me to?" she turns to wish-wash and sighs and says "Oh, whatever, I don't care." Argh! Perhaps I will bring in a coin for her to flip, so that something will get done without the fear of the indecisive rash.

Nature's alarm clock

There's one thing I missed when living in Seattle - REAL rain storms. Very rarely did we have the tumultuous downpours, thunder and lightning that made the ground shake. I've found them again here in North Carolina. I was woken up this morning by a huge CRASH of thunder followed by what sounded like buckets of water falling from the sky. It was most excellent. Granted, I was indoors....I'm hoping that John, who is in the field right now, was inside barracks rather than out under the stars this morning. If not, he was most likely not as happy about the rain as I was. I say come on inside and bring on the rain!

Self-made holidays

When I was young and holidays came around, I just assumed, things would happen. There'd be some sort of Christmas tree, the Easter bunny would come, there'd be fireworks on the 4th of July... I never really stopped to think that do-it-yourself kits weren't mailed out to all the families so that holidays would be celebrated. When I moved away, I found that holidays obviously take effort to celebrate. Things to plan, to cook, people to invite, things to make or buy.... Although these days you can walk into Wal-Mart and pretty much buy a self-made holiday kit equipped with everything one may need to celebrate a stereotypical holiday - is that really what these days are about? Do we celebrate out of tradition, self-importance or just to break up the monotony? A lot of the meaning and history behind the celebrations get lost in the shuffle - that's nothing new. People have been saying that ever since Santa Clause became part of corporate marketing schemes. Still....when or IF we celebrate, do you make it our own or do we just go through the motions? Is it really celebrating if you're just going through the motions? I'm not so sure.

Satan's mutant ninja turtle

In an attempt to avoid all news media regarding Teri Schiavo, which has proved most difficult, I found this "Pet store owner: Satan's image on turtle's shell." HA! It seems the turtle was the only thing to survive an intense store fire and when he came out of the flames, he had the image of what this guy thinks is Satan on his shell. I say, add him to the mutant ninja turtle league. And so what if your turtle has Satan's face on it (as if anyone knows what that really is). Now, perhaps the store owner could market the turtle as fire-proof. Check it out: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/03/21/evil.turtle.ap/index.html.

Fo shizzle

Check this out: www.gizoogle.com. Type whatever you want into the search engine and it'll come up translated. It was a good laugh for a gloomy Monday.

the sounds of Fayetteville

Last night I was able to hear a tried and true professional symphony for the first time in far too long. The National Symphony was in town (a miracle in this place) and played to a packed house. The music was amazing both in sound and theme. Everything from a world premiere of a contemporary piece to good ol' Hayden filled the rather sad-looking theatre. (sad, but it's the best this town has to offer, so it's better than nothing at all!) Aside from the lady across the aisle whose cell phone went off THREE times and the baby who started crying in the middle of Hayden's piece. (she and her mom were escorted out by one of the ushers).... it was a welcome respite.

The Twilight Zone part was coming home from the concert to be greeted by sounds of heavy artillery. One of the unsung "perks" of living next to one of the largest military bases in the country is that the surrounding community is treated to a weekly barrage of artillery sounds, building-shaking vibrations and overall happy times. My apartment shakes as the "booms" thud through the clear evening sky. Sometimes it feels like an earthquake, but other times it just sounds like the aliens are invading. Ah well.... had the symphony known, perhaps they could have incorporated the sounds into the show.

she's baaaack

The media has been inudating us with Martha, Martha, Martha. She's out of jail and apparently richer than ever. With a new TV show (Martha's Apprentice) and all sorts of goodies heading her way it seems tha jail was the best thing for her. Hey, it worked for Snoop Dogg, why not Martha Stewart?

march magic

March is my favorite month. Nature starts to come out of the deep freeze (well, at least certain parts of it), leprechans dance, people wear green....good times. This March, for me - already happy times. In a matter of 2 days I've gotten free ice cream thanks to yahoo.com, gotten a credit at my favorite craft store, and found out I can get into our local botanical gardens for free on Saturday. let the good (and hopefully free) times roll.

witch hunt?

I was listening to NPR this morning on my way to work and heard a story about a program they're using to keep track of aliens in the US. I was hoping it was referring to little green men, but sadly no. It talked about how many non-citizens in the country are wearing electronic anklets and have to check in with some security company "or else". I guess they have a choice between being detained or wearing the anklet and being able to go home. I guess it's a trial run program, but they were saying that if it's "successful" that all non-citizens might be required to wear one. WHAT? I'm all for keeping the country safe, but since when was America about treating people who come here like prisoners? Not cool. There has to be a better way.

you can do that?

I checked on CNN's Website today and was stricken with laughter and then wonder when I read "Lebanon's government quits." They can do that? Can we petition for that? I guess they just couldn't take it anymore and so they all packed up and left. What happens to them now? Hm.....mass chaos? Pinky and the Brain taking over their government? Perhaps they'll change their minds and want their jobs back. Too funny. What will this world think of next?

Not so hot

OK, so last night I was purusing the channels on the huge tv and for some insane reason stopped to watch "The Simple Life" for a moment. I figured, hey, I've never seen it before. Maybe I should watch for a couple mintues so that I can try and see what all the hype is about. Let's just say that I now feel like I wasted ten minutes of my life. Can someone PLEASE explain to me the obsession with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, because I don't get it. Aside from being completely annoyed every time Paris opened her mouth and said "that's hot" or "that's sexy" I wanted to crawl through the tv and force her to use a thesaurus...anything other than what she was saying. I guess I don't understand why the average American cares about 2 women who never really had to work for anything. It seems like all they do in the show is make fun of the average joe's job and life. Lame. That's what I say to counter Paris' "hot". LAME. Get a life girls - we know you don't have one, and that's why you come out and ride the bus and try to take ours, but let's face it...you are lame.

In Living Color

I'm one of those who REALLY likes surprises, but according to my huband, it's really hard to surprise me. I ask too many questions apparently. BUT last night I got home as I do every night. Went into the kitchen with my husband and started to eat dinner. He got this grin on his face - the one that means he knows something and wants to tell me, but it's a surprise - so I went searching through the apartment. I was thinking maybe he wrote me a note and hid it somewhere, or maybe he got me some nummy dessert....I walk into the bedroom and there it was - larger than life. A HUGE new television. OK, so it's not as big as the behemoth tv my mom has, but it's pretty freakin' huge. We settled in and watched a movie on it - felt like I was at the movie theatre. Man, I LOVE surprises. (well, good ones at least)