i drive back and forth to work

(amendment 9/30/2007: i have been gently reminded, i also have a TON of pens, most of which are anchored in my bun AND several little ketchup bottles in my handbag)

to the grocery store, to my dad's house, to the half door, to an occasional restaurant, a movie theater, a lecture at a local college or university, to a friend's house. perhaps i'll go here or there every once in a while, but i don't travel that much. i usually carry a bit of makeup with me. some butts, some mints, an extra pair of sox, my digital camera, my mp3 player, my knitting, a book, lots of pens, some money (not a lot). in my car i have extra shoes, boots, water, cds, some yarn, a denim jacket, a wrap (as in if it's cold out, it goes around my body), books, a magazine on women with tattooes that i am in, three GIANT rats seatbelted in the back seat along with their friend, little teddy (remind me, around the holidays to tell the festive tale (or is it tail) of the three christmas rats). i know i have more in that car, i just can't think of ALL of it right now.
i drink a LOT of coffee. two big gulps every morning at dunkin'. i am currently listening to some leon russell. i'm currently reading: gertrude bell: queen of the desert, shaper of nations by georgina howell. i watch lots of television. i write. i don't sleep very much at all (usually averaging 3 hours a night) but i am USUALLY in bed BY 8:00 each night. as i said, not sleeping. i don't like violence. i have never even gotten a traveling traffic ticket (i have gotten two PARKING tickets in my whole life. ONE was not justified). i pay my taxes and i'm honest. i don't build bombs in my basement or plot to bring the united states down. i knit.

it's NOT your bid-nez to find these things out about me UNLESS #1) i tell you (which i just did) OR #2) you suspect me of being something i'm NOT and get a warrant to spy on me

otherwise BUTT out. you aren't entitled to MY life. it's MINE

Collecting of Details on Travelers DocumentedU.S. Effort More Extensive Than Previously Known
By Ellen NakashimaWashington Post Staff Writer
The U.S. government is collecting electronic records on the travel habits of millions of Americans who fly, drive or take cruises abroad, retaining data on the persons with whom they travel or plan to stay, the personal items they carry during their journeys, and even the books that travelers have carried, according to documents obtained by a group of civil liberties advocates and statements by government officials. The personal travel records are meant to be stored for as long as 15 years, as part of the Department of Homeland Security's effort to assess the security threat posed by all travelers entering the country. Officials say the records, which are analyzed by the department's Automated Targeting System, help border officials distinguish potential terrorists from innocent people entering the country. .................

i was mindin' my own bid-nez

not having that great a day. did a little grocery shopping at the stop & shop which just made it worse. there was some trouble in the line i picked (NO, NOT with me). it was horrid. i was standing there forever. it never fails.

then i walk outside to my car and i see the MOST WONDERFUL THING EVER (well almost)

a little elmwood news

and history (i for one didn't know about capt'n ebenezer faxon)

Elmwood's Liberty Symbols
Though it may sound generic, the name of the Elmwood section of West Hartford has a distinct historical provenance. In 1777, Captain Ebenezer Faxon planted 13 elm trees at the corner of New Britain Avenue and South Quaker Lane to celebrate the crucial American victory over the British forces led by Gen. John Burgoyne at the Battle of Saratoga. After the Revolutionary War, more elms were planted along New Britain Avenue and Newington Road.The tall and graceful trees gave the neighborhood its name and identity. But in the early to mid-20th century, Dutch elm blight took these and countless other American elms. Well, the elms are coming back. .......

a nice little write up

about what andy thibault is doing (BUT SHOULDN'T HAVE TO DO) because our constitutional rights are being slowly BUT surely taken away

if you're free on october 14th, why not attend the event at the litchfield inn?

"If You Stand Up, People Will Help Out"
A Ripple Effect in Reg. 10 Flap By Emily M. Olson Litchfield County Times09/20/2007LITCHFIELD - When Litchfield journalist Andy Thibault heard about Avery Doninger, a 17-year-old student at Lewis Mills High School in Burlington who was punished by school administrators for critical statements she made in a blog on an Internet Web page, he was outraged. And when the situation became a legal battle involving the student's First Amendment rights, he was disgusted and angry and wanted to do something. Now he's using that energy to help the Doninger family raise money to pay its continuing legal expenses to fight the Region 10 school district by organizing a fund-raiser at the Bistro East at the Litchfield Inn. On Oct. 14, "Poets and Writers for Avery: A Free Speech Festival" will be held involving Mr. Thibault's writer friends, including Wally Lamb, Ravi Shankar, Amy Ma, Franz Douskey, Rand Cooper, Jon Andersen, Ron Winter, Margo Schilpp, Oscar de los Santos and Luis Colavecchi. Five local bands have also been invited to perform. .............

......"We'll have a great time and we're doing something that's important," he said. "It's like a 'Field of Dreams,' -- if you stand up, people will help out."E-mail tntcomm82@cs.com, or call 860-690-0211 for information and tickets. ...............

i just felt like listing some

songs that are sad to me. this by no means is complete. they're only what i thought of this morning (so far). the songs may not have been written by the artists listed by them. it's THEIR version that is the saddest to me.
do you have any?

1,000 miles from nowhere – dwight yaokam
a change is gonna come – sam cooke
angola – ry cooderdisorder – system of a down
avalon - bryan ferry & roxy music
cry on – tracy nelson and mother earth
don’t dream it’s over – crowded house
glory box – portishead
hallelujah – jeff buckley
hurt – johnny cash
i can’t make you love me – bonnie raitt
i don’t know where i stand (i just picked this one – but there are TONS) – joni Mitchell
i get out (or ANY of the songs on her mtv unplugged release) – lauryn hill
i’d rather go blind – christine perfect* (*can anyone WITHOUT LOOKING IT UP tell me who christine perfect became?)
farewell to tarwathie – judy collins
i’m so lonesome i could cry – hank Williams
louise – leo kottke
luca (my name is luca) – Suzanne vega
nothing takes the place of you – toussaint mccall
now that the buffalo’s gone (or MANY others)– buffy sainte marie
somewhere over the rainbow – israel kamakamiwo’olemadame george – van morrison
stars – janis ian
strange fruit – billie holiday
sunday and sister jones – roberta flack
suzanne (or MANY others) – leonard cohen
sweet jane – cowboy junkies
the messiah will come again – roy Buchanan
white man’s melody – cyndi lauper
who knows where the time goes – fairport convention OR judy Collins

to the family and friends of jeff

i am so very sorry for your loss. as jeff's mom and dad said, HUG YOUR KIDS TODAY (and everyday). even if you're mad at them. let them know you love them.

shiver me timbers me matey

aye maties did ye think I would forget? Nay. Tis talk like a pirate day again. seems t’was just a fortnight ago it last be talk like a pirate day. me hearties, may all the booty of the world be left at ye door (NOOOOOOOO NOT THAT KIND OF BOOTY)

talk like a pirate

talk like a pirate day

yarrrrrrrrrrrr

pirate talk
My pirate name is:
Iron Bess Flint
A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you a tough person. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr! part of the fidius.org network

A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you a tough person. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!
Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com. part of the fidius.org network

reformed pirate: www.gutenberg.org/.../15373-h/images/image25.jpg

some cool pirate knitting charts:
argyle scull
scull scarf
we call them pirates
pirate socks
scull socks of fury
kid's pirate hat
the pirate queen's booty bag
craft like a pirate
pirate lil

nick lapenta

the story tells it all. i don't have to add a thing

A Passion For Protest, Till The End

By REGINE LABOSSIERE Courant Staff Writer

When World War II and Korean War veteran Nick LaPenta started his protest against the war in Iraq, he stood alone on a busy street corner in Manchester holding his sign.For the first three months, he protested by himself, accepting everything from honking horns and waves of approval to insults from passing motorists. But he soon drew a following, with other anti-war demonstrators joining him every Saturday on the corner of Main and Center streets for the next four years.Those who joined him were inspired by his tenacity and loved his gregariousness. He even earned the respect of a war supporter who stands vigil on the opposite street corner. But six months ago, LaPenta learned congestive heart failure and kidney disease would soon kill him, and he was admitted into hospice care.That didn't deter him. His wife still dropped him off Saturday mornings to sit in his wheelchair on the street corner. He wasn't just protesting the war, he was protesting death, LaPenta said. His body may have been ready to go, but his mind wasn't......

and stories just like this

are why i have issues with the ccsu polydongs 'comic' i wrote about the other day (see a few postings ago for THAT shite)

Federal Prosecutor Arrested In Child Sex Sting
DETROIT -- A U.S. Justice Department official has been arrested on suspicion of traveling to Detroit over the weekend to have sex with a minor. John David R. Atchison, 53, an assistant U.S. attorney from the northern district of Florida, was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Detroit Monday afternoon. An undercover officer posed as a mother offering her child to Atchison for sex, according to police.
He is charged with enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. According to authorities, Atchison made contact with a detective working undercover for the Macomb County Sheriff's department's. The detective, acting as the child's mother, allegedly arranged a sexual encounter between Atchison and her 5-year-old daughter, police said. In deposition, detectives said Atchison suggested the mother tell her daughter that "you found her a sweet boyfriend who will bring her presents." The undercover detective expressed concern about physical injury to the 5-year-old girl as a result of the sexual activity. Detectives said Atchison responded, " I am always gentle and loving; not to worry, no damage ever, no rough stuff ever. I only like it soft and nice."...........

(and NO, i don't think a cartoon where a triange or square or whatever, pisses on a 14 year old grrrl CAUSES the rape of a five year old. i just don't think it's FUNNY or a CARTOON when a 14 year old grrrl is tied up and locked in a closed and pissed on because shite like that happens in real life. i know for a FACT it does)

please stop by

the new republic to see

jill greenberg's INCREDIBLE monkey portraits

the manipulator jill greenberg's site

this is a posting i found (by 'kitty')

about the polydongs cartoon AND about me. 'kitty' calls me some high school fuck-wit. I LOVE IT. i'd also love to set up a meeting with her. hey 'kitty', please contact me. i really WOULD love to meet face to face. we'll then see who the fuck wit REALLY IS. no threats here, i just want discussion. although i think one of us wouldn't have a prayer...........

My college paper manages to piss everyone off....again!

and here is what the lovely 'kitty' has to say about moi:

BOO to this idiot. I don't like censorship BUT ONLY WHEN IT'S THINGS I LIKE! If I hate it, then SHUT UP! The fact that her logo is a rose in the pentagram makes it far worse. I imagine her as some high-school liberal fuck-wit* whose only hating on authority cause it's "cool".

kitty i am BEGGING YOU, write to me to set up a meeting. and oh by the way 'kitty' i have a rose in a pentagram because my name is rose AND because (are you sitting down???) i'm a witch! wow huh?

p.s. please feel MORE than free to bring that ONE person you came across that MAY be latina.