More Media Lies

I read the following blurb in a column by Rich Galen on Townhall.com (on the frenzy of Christmas house-cleaning currently abroad in the land):

A visitor from a future time might think this activity was to make the home neat and orderly should Jesus decide to do a drop-by. Or, for those with a more secular bent, so that Santa would think "nice" (not "naughty") when he dropped down the chimney and picked out presents to leave under the tree.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

It all has to do with MY MOTHER IS COMING TO MY HOUSE FOR CHRISTMAS!

Substitute BROTHER, SISTER, NEIGHBOR, BOSS, or any of the many flavors of IN-LAW and the theory works equally well.

No. No, it doesn’t. “Mom Clean,” is largely a phenomenon associated with young married women, and is most prevalent in the first ten years or so of a marriage…any marriage. Getting to “Mom Clean” rivals the preparation of a surgical amphitheater for open-heart surgery. And the results are just as sanitary, too. Not a single solitary thing is out of place. There is NO dust behind the refrigerator and one could eat off the floor under the refrigerator without fear of getting bubonic plague. The inside of the refrigerator… including the freezer… is also cleaned to the OR level. No mold-encrusted science experiments remain inside, nary a one. The year-long accumulation (or the accumulation since the last time Mom visited) of National Geographics get hauled to the basement…or the curb. And that’s just the first day. Let’s not talk about refinishing the floors (actually happened, once) or washing down all the walls. Or the disappearance of nearly every single ashtray in the house. (Where did they go, anyway? They reappeared, miraculously, after the visit was over.)

I never did any of that stuff for my boss or other assorted guests, including relatives of every stripe. Normal everyday cleaning sufficed and some times not even that, in the case of impromptu drop-ins. But there IS good news. Mom Clean, as a phenomenon, sorta disappears in women with the onset of middle age.

That was my experience, Gentle Reader…YMMV.

My. How Time Flies.

This is kinda cool, eh?

Living My Life Faster - 8 years of JK's Daily Photo Project from c71123 on Vimeo.

What the Hell IS this, you might ask? Well…the complete answer is here (and includes still photos, if the video is too quick and/or disconcerting), but basically, it’s…

Eight Years of Aging on Video

What does growing older look like?

A video from New York artist Jonathan Keller gives you a glimpse. Every day for more than eight years he has taken a photo of himself. The result is a striking time-lapse video depicting a man in his 20s turning into a man in his 30s.

Which, from my point of view, simply validates the fact we don’t change all that much in early adult-hood, aside from transitory things like hair styles, glasses, and all that. Now I’d like to see a similar time lapse video documenting the changes one goes through between…say… 45 and 55. Male or female, makes no nevermind to me.

OTOH, maybe not. I keep forgetting: “Be careful of what you ask for. You just might get it.”

(h/t: the NYT)

Today’s Site Meter Moment…With or Without Chickens?

Heh. The English majors amongst us cringe.

Dark Days

This is a hard post to write…mainly because it will be perceived by some as whinging, although it is most assuredly not that. This is also neither a “cry for sympathy” nor a plea for “I feel your pain” sorts of comments.

It simply is what it is: a statement of fact. Some of us get depressed during the holidays. A lot of us, as it turns out. Google it if you don’t believe me…you’ll get about 133,000 hits on the subject. The search term I’ve offered up is just one variation on many potential search terms, as Google will kindly suggest other terms that yield even MORE hits. A google blog-search, on the other hand, yields significantly less returns (approx. 11,774) and the great majority of those links have to do with the ins-and-outs of “beating” or otherwise curing the depression. Precious few accounts exist of living with it, but I only went four pages deep into the blog links. This is something we rarely discuss in the first-person, mainly because it’s uncomfortable for us (both of us: sender and recipient) to do so and, ultimately, it IS the holidays, after all. We should all be decking the halls and such. This isn’t the time to be unhappy. Quite the contrary: tis the season to be jolly!

What set me off down this lil path was reading Lex’s “tidings of comfort and joy,” which had something of an opposite affect on YrHmblScrb. On the one hand, I can SO relate to Lex’s tale of domestic bliss, the joys of tree shopping, tree-decorating, and holiday familial togetherness, because, well…I’ve had my share. But the hand I’m currently playing is completely lacking in these simple joys and I wish it were not so. Emphatically.

Christmas, to me, is all about the kids…and the grand-kids. Speaking as a father of a ten year old, it pains me greatly not to share Christmas with my youngest son as it “should be,” which is to say: as a family. I’m also reminded that, as the patriarch of what is becoming a rather large extended family, Christmas would likely as not be celebrated in my home with said extended family if things had worked out in the manner I wish(ed). But, as you can well imagine, Gentle Reader, it does one absolutely no good… no good at all… to wish for things that can never be. Still and even: how do you block these thoughts, exposed as we all are to “tidings of comfort and joy” at this time of year… whether it’s in a blog post, a stroll through the mall (enduring the never-ending, sotto voce [or louder] Christmas carol Muzak), or in the messages that bombard us 7x24 on the small screen? Answer: you pretty much can’t.

So. We endure, those of us so afflicted. We smile, we wish our friends “Merry Christmas,” we go on about our lives as best we can, we conceal the sadness beneath the surface of our merry faces. And a great many of us wish nothing more than to be left alone during this time. It is a true fact (to Yr HmblScrb, at least) that happiness experienced during the holidays cannot be shared unless both parties are of a like-mind. It does me no good to be wrapped in the warm embrace of another’s good cheer if I’m not feeling it. Selfish? Perhaps. But once again, Gentle Reader, it is what it IS. And no amount of effort on your, or any other sentient being’s, part will change it. Best just to leave it alone. Because, in the end the sadness passes along with the holidays…for most of us, at least.

I’m done unburdening. I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas…and I mean it. Consider yourself blessed if you’re having happy holidays. As Lex suggested:

Another one of those moments, another of those days that I would have preserved in amber if I could, and kept someplace safe. To bring it out like the phial of Galadriel - to be a light for me in dark places, when all other lights go out.

As Promised…

…the first pics of young Taurean, including his first portrait and poses with (in order of appearance) Aunt Ava and Aunt Angelina, aka Goo-Goo.

Cute, eh?

Back in a few…

BIG News...

…in a small package. At precisely 1621 hours yesterday afternoon in Omaha, NE, Taurean Christian Easter entered this world. He weighed seven pounds, seven ounces and was 20 inches long at birth. Taurean is the son of granddaughter Amanda. Mom, son, Grandfather Sam, and Grandmother Alisa are all doing fine.

GREAT-Grandfather Buck is elated at the news in one aspect (the most important one), and befuddled in at least one other. The befuddling aspect, of course, is all about being a great-grandfather. At such a young age. Ah, I’m only kidding myself. I’m old, and I should wear it with pride. Isn’t that what great-grandfathers are expected to do?

I’ll post pictures when I get ‘em…

The pic above is of a younger Amanda, flanked by SN3 on the left and Grandson Sean on the right.

Two years ago… June of 2005... taken in a diner just across the street from Bath Iron Works, Bath, ME.

Is It Warm in Here? Or Is It Just Climate-Change?

Via Blog-Bud Morgan…take the (short) global warming quiz! It’s pretty cool; I especially like the verbiage associated with each answer. Example:

That is correct!

How did you know that? Tom Brokaw or Dan Rather certainly didn't tell you. You are obviously up on your climatology!

Heidi didn’t tell me that, either. Just for the record: I’m 9/10. And I didn’t answer any of the questions falsely-on purpose. I suppose this means I’m as qualified as any other layman to pontificate about Algore and other fellow-traveling eco-nuts. Not that I needed justification and/or support in any way, shape, or form. But it’s nice, I suppose.

I wonder if Algore took the test?

(pssst. While you’re over at Morgan’s place, check out the best idea for a political ad I’ve seen, ever. Way-cool.)

More on climate-related stuff… Semi-good news from the Bali conference on climate change…

While accepting the need for a new agreement, in the end the United States retained the flexibility that it had sought at the outset, fending off European attempts to set binding commitments on emission reductions. American negotiators said this was vital to gain global consensus.

That success, though, was bemoaned by some observers.

[…]

In Bali, European delegates threatened to pull out of those talks unless the Bush delegation agreed to keep some semblance of concrete targets in the outline for the talks.

Those targets remain in the agreement — including a possible cut in emissions of up to 40 percent below 1990 levels by rich countries by 2020, and a 50 percent cut in emissions globally by 2050 — but they are now a footnote to the nonbinding preamble, not a main feature of the plan.

In all of this, the Bush administration did not, in the end, have to shift substantially from its most staunchly defended goal, which was that a comprehensive new accord would maintain flexibility, allowing nations to agree on a rough goal for global emissions, but using any mix of means at the national level to get there.

Translation for “some observers:” Those members of the IPCC that drank the kool-aid. There’s good news buried in the article, but you have to read ALL the way to the end to get to it... being as how it is the NYT, after all. And note that it wasn't "the US delegation" in Bali, it was the "BUSH delegation." I’ve quoted most of the good stuff above, anyway. But the Euro-Weenies, the Chi-comms, and other anti-US elements are already banking on a change of administration here in the USofA…to one that is less-protective of our national interests and more in-tune with eco-dogma as flogged by the Church of Global Calamity.

Keep that in mind as you decide which party’s candidate will get your vote. Just sayin’.

I’m not going to go into great detail… but the primaries are really beginning to get interesting at this point, eh? Especially the Democratic primary races, which seemingly have turned a one-horse contest into a dogfight, to mix my metaphors thoroughly. Ya gotta believe the Hillary camp is burning the midnite oil while asking themselves “WTF!?! I mean…WTF!!?” A lot of Hillary’s angst is the result of a self-inflicted wound (IMHO), which the Obama camp deftly turned into an opportunity…of sorts. And Obama seemed to have the support of both the MSM (no surprise) and the General Public (BIG surprise!) on this issue. Which leads me to believe We, The People may have grown up a just little bit in our attitudes towards recreational drug use. But I’ll stop right there, as I feel a major rant coming on.

On the Republican side of the house, Mike Huckabee’s surge is getting a lot of press, but I think his lofty place in the polls will be rather short-lived once the other candidates begin their serious Huckabee-bashing, which has begun in earnest…as we speak. Someone call the clean-up crew, coz there’s lotsa blood on the floor in here. More coming, too.

I go on more than I should about google-weirdness resulting in atypical visits to EIP… visits with prurient intent, more often than not. But this is the sort of thing that warms the cockles of a blogger’s heart:

One visit, featuring a dozen discreet views of photos I’ve posted. Yes! Someone cares! Even if they choose to not leave a comment…

You can’t have everything, I suppose.

But Hey! Everything still isn’t “sweetness and light.” Note the Number One search term resulting in hits/EIP visits. Still.

{sigh} I need to develop some sort of variation on “It’s better being pissed off than pissed on!” Or something like that. While I’m on the subject: Thanks, Phlegmmy. You’ll note your comment about certain “-ectomies” has garnered me four hits. (Insert whimsical smiley-face thingie here.)

Starters

Via SN1…a quiz about one of my Hot Buttons…

You Scored an A

You got 9/10 questions correct. It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors. If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs. As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human. And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

Now I could have cheated and taken the quiz over (object: perfect score), but we’re all about honesty and integrity here at EIP. I knew which question I got wrong when I chose the answer, but chose falsely just to see what would happen. (Ed: I thought you said something about “honesty?” Oh, Shaddup.)

Whatever. Still and even, you’d think otherwise intelligent folks would learn to use apostrophes correctly, though. To quote one of my favorite grammar sayings: “The purpose of an apostrophe is NOT to announce the imminent arrival of the letter ‘s.’” Or, in other words…don’t frickin’ use an apostrophe to indicate the plural, OK?

/irritated school-marm voice

Further on Wreaths Across America… a video, produced by the Worcester Wreath Company, that explains why the company’s owner does what he does.

(h/t to Cynthia @ Gazing at the Flag, who did a much better job on her “Wreaths Across America” post than I did on mine.)

One more thing before I put this lil bit of rambling up and finish making the rounds… We had the (nearly) full gamut of all possible December weather last night. A fairly strong storm blew over The High Plains last evening, visiting us with a significant amount of rain, sleet, ice, and snow. And thunder. I counted at least four lightning flashes last evening just before the freezing rain turned into full-blown sleet. Now I’ve heard and read about thunder-snow but don’t believe I’ve ever experienced it…until last night. And it’s a strange-bordering-on-weird sort of phenomenon, too. I mean ya just don’t expect to hear thunder when it’s 26 degrees outside now, do ya?

I awoke this morning to about an inch of fresh white snow on the ground…which was beautiful. Even more beautiful since I’m secure in the knowledge it will ALL be gone by about 1600 hours today. The best sort of snow: Saturday morning (no place to be), not much of it (an inch…or less), and a guaranteed half-life measured in hours. It could be worse. A LOT worse.

Back in a bit…