13: The Big O
1. Fellow poet, Scrabble player and Floyd Spoken Word participant, Chelsea Adams took the words right out of my mouth and put them down in an eloquent order for THIS Roanoke Times commentary about Pro-life vs. Pro-choice. It’s well worth the read.
2. My spell check is like a far right fundamentalist Republican robocall because whenever I type the name Obama it suggests I say Osama instead.
3. Typing the word Obama reminded me of the story I recently did for the Floyd Press about a talented teenager who sings Opera. So many of my stories this spring and summer seemed to focus on outstanding women like, Kari Kovick, Rosemary Wyman, Mara Robbins, Tenley Weaver, and Pam Cadmus. More recently they have been about talented young people like Abraham Cherrix, The Junior Jamboree players, Rowan Chantal, and now Carolyn Kirby.
4. Whenever I type OPERA (which is rare) my mind confuses it with the word with OPRAH.
5. I called Mara to ask if she do some poetry performance at the Floyd Democratic Rally this Friday. I didn’t expect her to answer and was all ready to leave a message and when I heard “Hello Colleen.” For a few seconds I was shocked and flattered to think that her answering machine message was “Hello Colleen.”
6. Now you can have your own Saturday Night Live Sarah Palin skit game HERE. Move your mouse around and click all over. The place is boobie trapped with spoof.
7. It was so refreshing to see Barack and a relaxed McCain in the same place making jokes about each other that really were funny. See HERE.
8. It’s true. Barack Obama is Irish. See HERE. His ancestors came from the same county some of mine did HERE.
9. The social scientist in me loves to study human nature, take informal surveys and document life. I like to track the progress we’re making with tolerance and equality, and so I intuitively make a note to myself of minority representation and the ratio of women to men at events or in books and other print media. When I drive the 25 mile stretch to Christiansburg for errands a couple of times a month, I like to keep track of things like: the ratio of those wearing seat belts and not, how many commuters are driving alone or not, or how many are driving trucks and SUV’s as opposed to small gas efficient cars.
10. Recently I made the Christiansburg trip with a paper and pen nearby and kept tallies of election yard signs. Being from a largely Republican area, I was surprised at how even the score was – McCain 10 to Obama 8. But if the two of the houses I saw with Democratic signs for Boucher and Warner posted in their yards had added one for Obama, it would have been a dead even tie. (Note: on the seven mile ride from my house to town, the tally of Obama to McCain signs is even).
11. I saw feminist and founder of Ms. Magazine Gloria Steinem on Oprah this week. She said something very wise in reference to her husband’s death that reminded me how loosely we use the word depression these days: “In depression, nothing matters. In sadness and grief, everything matters. Everything was more poignant.”
12. And here’s what Steinem (who thinks that Sarah Palin is like Phyllis Schlafly, only younger) said about orgasms when she turned 70: “You put on a pair of jeans and realize they’re older than most people in the United States. And you remember things from your childhood but not necessarily from the day before. That’s when you start to think that remembering something right away is as good as an orgasm.”
13. Do you think THIS photo has been photo-shopped? And if not could the article in question be part of THIS shopping spree?
Thursday headquarters is here. My other 13’s are here. View more 13 Thursday’s here.
October 23rd, 2008 12:40 am
No, that hasn’t been photo shopped. The woman’s a cretin!
There’s no link from your entry on the TT hub. I had to get to you by going the long way round!
October 23rd, 2008 4:50 am
Woke up early and could not get back to sleep and am so thankful for Loose Leaf Notes…I needed the good laugh and the link to the wonderful article on Gloria Steinem who had slipped from my memory these past years. Palin is such a contrast and forever a surprise and I guess I fear her philosophy that she knows better than the rest of us on everything from what books to read to reproductive decisions to agreeing with Chaney’s use of power as VP. John McCain as a maverick certainly listened to the wrong advisors at GOP when he selected her and should have used his maverick skills to fight the base. I used to have great respect for his more moderate views.
October 23rd, 2008 4:52 am
I forgot to add that I am too maverick for the Thursday 13 and also can not think of that many items on a theme…that is why mine is just Thursday Thoughts!! 😉
October 23rd, 2008 6:39 am
1. Very good article
2. What a clever comparison!
5. I’ll see ya at the rally…wouldn’t it be fun if Obama made a surprise appearance 🙂 OK…I’ll settle for Warner…
10.Encouraging to know Obama signs are close in number.
11.I’m going to have to remember this comment! I’m sorry that I’ll miss your presentation on grief at the library next Tuesday. I’ll be in Florida voting. Judy will be there though…I hope we can find a recorder to record it.
13.I saw that picture of Palin yesterday…not sure if for real
or not…but given how her handlers have bungled things, I vote for it being real.
October 23rd, 2008 6:57 am
Great articles–thanks for linking to them! I’d written something along the lines of the first one a while back–how we’re mostly more alike than we think. Too bad that in an age of soundbite-driven politics, that message is just too long and complex to make it into the mainstream. It’s just so much simpler to shout “pro-life!” or “pro-choice!” Argh.
October 23rd, 2008 7:46 am
How much of a commentary is it that your spell check knows Osama? Sigh.
October 23rd, 2008 7:56 am
Hey there. Love #5
Mine’s up
October 23rd, 2008 9:26 am
nice list. opera here is “operation”. really about Obama?Happy TT!mine is up now.
October 23rd, 2008 10:26 am
My spell check doesn’t acknowledge Palin either and wants to call her Plain or Pain.
October 23rd, 2008 10:27 am
If I had had coffee in my mouth when I read #2, I’m SURE I would’ve spit it all over. ROFLMAO!
re: #10, that’s amazing in your neck of the woods! Awesome 🙂
October 23rd, 2008 12:21 pm
Good for you for taking the time to write about inspirational people. I bet that’s made a huge difference in your community. People need to read more of that – so well done!
I love that Palin as president site. It’s hilarious
October 23rd, 2008 1:12 pm
I enjoyed the Al Smith dinner. I though both candidates were very funny.
The spending spree of Palin is just another thing that drives me nuts and I can’t do anything about it. How could her donors not feel slighted that she spent their hard earned money on clothes they will never ever have?
October 23rd, 2008 3:46 pm
The donkey scarf was definitely added on. Look at the ends going up to her neck and it’s obvious this was photo-shopped. It looks like a paper doll add on. (remember paper dolls?)
October 23rd, 2008 4:24 pm
I’m not so sure. Look, now it’s on the Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/23/palin-fashion-includes-sc_n_137090.html
I do remember paper dolls well and loved playing with them.
October 23rd, 2008 8:58 pm
That Palin room is lots of fun. The door really gets me.
October 24th, 2008 3:00 am
My sister sent me the Palin as President site last week. Did you know that they keep updating it every day? I’m totally obsessed with it. Apparently they got so many hits they had to migrate it to a new server. I love it!!
October 24th, 2008 9:03 am
I like #1………..it states a lot of good points.
Another great TT. xo
October 25th, 2008 3:39 am
Oh wow, I have had the best time in my first visit to your blog. What a treat! This post was like being a kid at an Easter egg hunt. That Palin in office thing is a riot (although it scares me to death even seeing a spoof photo of her in the Oval)! And it was wonderful to touch base with news about Steinem.
Love the photos of you and your grandson. What a precious post.
And you’re lucky that you were unable to get rid of those freckles!