Identity theft is a world-wide problem.  Everyone is potentially exposed and vulnerable.  Credit security has come a long way, but identity criminals are keeping up.  It is so incredibly easy to obtain names, addresses, mother’s maiden names, social security numbers and credit card numbers.  Any of us could be a victim and not know it until life finally unravels. Talk, Talk by T. C. Boyle is the tale of one such victim who only discovers she has been compromised when, after being stoppe... Read Full Story

Last week I began an experiment on hunger.  Initially, it was a reaction to an insensitive comment.  But common sense (sorta) prevailed.  I wanted to see if I could remember what hunger actually felt like. From Friday to Wednesday, I only nibbled on food.  I did not eat anything resembling a meal.  No junk food.  Only a few drinks. I suppose this part was the easy part??  The only real change I could notice was crankiness.  I admit it.  I did fly off the handle and over-react on Wednesday.  C... Read Full Story

As seen on a fellow blog,  http://mycrzylife.wordpress.com/2008/11/25/the-nearest-book/, just for kicks, pass it on.  Good books will come to you. Grab the nearest book Turn to page 56 Go to fifth sentence Post, with title and author, and these instructions. “Joy rose up in him like a champagne reflux.” Villa Incognito by Tom Robbins That was fun.  Thanks, My Crazy Life.        Read Full Story

I have been conducting a little experiment since Friday night. On Friday, November 21, Number6 was being a jerk and told me I was fat.  I am not really fat, only ten or so pounds overweight.  Kinda like most of the people in America.  Considering I am in my mid-40’s and have had two children, my clothes still fit.  He was a jerk! I got to thinking anyway.  Perhaps a small diet was in order.  After all, this is the season to overeat.  I don’t keep a scale in my house.  I judge my w... Read Full Story

There has been an awful lot of hoopla over Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - both movie and book series.  I want to believe that the movie will entertain me.  I haven’t seen it yet, maybe this weekend. The book, however, didn’t really work for me.  Am I missing something?  Did I give up too soon?  Should I try again? Normally I have no problem with vampires or love stories.  For some reason I just could not get into this book.  OK, maybe it starts out slow.  By the second chapter, I c... Read Full Story

Advertising.  What a great thing…at first.  Now? After World War II, all those returning soldiers had to have jobs.  Some of those working women wanted and/or needed to continue working.  Factories not only wanted to continue manufacturing, they wanted to increase their bottom lines.  Radio was everywhere.  Television was on the horizon and closing fast. What to do, what to do. OK.  We know.  Advertise,  of course.  Time goes on and Madison Avenue expanded, no, boomed.  More businesses ... Read Full Story

What if the bailout doescn’t work out the way they planned?  Will hostile takeovers and corporate raiding become the norm?  What if the banks foreclose on the government? (yeah, right) I just watched CBS Evening News and was fascinated by their story Lawmakers Blast Shifts in Bailout Plan.  Senators Issa, Kucinich and Cummings were questioning Neel Kashkari, Interim Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability in the United States Department of the Treasury.  He also head... Read Full Story

As we spend the two weeks between hoopla’s (Halloween, election, Thanksgiving) I want to take this opportunity to take a deep breath.  Take two even - they’re small.  I want to think about America. There are so many things to love about this country. There is an amazing diversity across the land, everything from flat land to tall mountains, oceans, lakes, rivers.  The people that make up the population come from everywhere.  I don’t think that there is a corner of the earth ... Read Full Story

I heard from my son that “everyone” was reading Jude by Kate Morgenroth.  I got it out of the library for him, so, naturally, he did not read it.  His friends told him it was”good.”  He pretended that he was going to read it.  After three weeks, I was going to return it, but I read the dust jacket instead.  The writing on the cover drew me in.  I decided that I would read it if the boy would not. This story is about a boy who grows up with a drug dealing father who get... Read Full Story

The depression era of 1937 was a very tough time for a lot of people.  Human migration in search for jobs, any work of any kind, forced many to live in cars with their children and all of their stuff.  At least there was fruit to pick in California.  The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatly Snyder is one such story. After their old Model T blows a tire in front of an old house, the Williams family winds up working on an apricot ranch just down the road.  They are given a house to live in and the chan... Read Full Story