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Tonight's the night. Here's my rig. It's not too late for you to break out yours. Clue: try the Goodwill. I found my ensemble at the Apex, NC, location for six bucks. I think that boils down to a millionth of a penny per shiny red dot.And so the devil walks tonight! Add to del.icio.us - Stumble It! - Subscribe to this feed - Digg it Read Full Story

At the recommendation of Anonymous on the previous post, I just read a stunning article by a brave woman. "I Will Never Know Why" is Susan Klebold's story of living with the fact that her son committed murder-suicide at Columbine High School.This is one full-time brave woman. I hope her telling the story is helpful to her. Add to del.icio.us - Stumble It! - Subscribe to this feed - Digg it Read Full Story

The business about comparing people being bad is a cliche. Ever wonder why?It's because it's always apples and oranges. There are no equivalent situations. Even identical twins growing up in the same house have different aims and different sets of problems to solve.I think we all know that at a gut level. But it's easy to forget, especially in the case of self-judgments. The practice of measuring is "odious" because it's always inaccurate. When I do it, it simply distracts me from doing t... Read Full Story

My friend with an ovarian tumor had surgery yesterday, and the news was: BENIGN.What a huge relief, and wash of gratitude. It occurred to me that in the challenges in life that require the most courage, we have no choice but to proceed. It's with the easier stuff--hang-gliding, public speaking, returning tricky phone calls--that we have a choice and can get wobbly. Maybe we should remember that when it comes to courage: we're all marathoners. That very recognition could make the easier ... Read Full Story

Seems that letting go of the usual self-imposed structure leads to some serious sleeping. Not what I expected, but entirely predictable. I've always found that as long as I work intensely, I don't get sick. Colds, etc., happen after deadlines. And that can make a person delay in letting up.But pressing on and on is ultimately counterproductive, personally and professionally. Right now I'm finding this going-slack business really nice.Religion and politics blogger Doug Muder has a wonderf... Read Full Story

Been overworking for about a year. This morning I woke up, knew I didn't have a deadline or an appointment today, and decided against doing anything terribly productive until Monday. (Email and blogging don't count)So I'm having Ferris Bueller's day off. Husband Bob has been rambling about with me; he's half-retired and already had the day off. We've poked around in Carrboro, the Paris of the South: thrift shops, used books, a camera store, a bead store (he was patient), a run through Mc... Read Full Story

What is it about orange that makes it a "bolder" color than the others? Bolder even than red. A field of pumpkins for example, is much more vibrant than a great pile of cucumbers or eggplant.There's probably some optical reason. In the absence of knowing what that might be, I dare to guess: orange arrives at the eye sooner than indigo? there's less orange in the typical background? it has some innate charisma?My hope is that when I figure it out, I'll know something about forthrightness... Read Full Story

This is an example of why we sometimes grind our teeth and then rush to watch Jon Stewart. This is a reminder (as if it were needed) that sometimes we are beyond the reach of caricature and satire. Here is an actual quote from an online help desk individual who couldn't answer my question."...Your concern will need to be taken care by the Concerned department." Add to del.icio.us - Stumble It! - Subscribe to this feed - Digg it Read Full Story

My writing group is showing its age, as one of our number pointed out last week. The group has been meeting on Thursday afternoons for 26 years and we weren't kids when we started.Recently one of the gang said she would in the future be coming only very occasionally. She has a serious chronic ailment that limits her mobility. Another has a pacemaker and continuing heart trouble. One wears hearing aids. Yet another has some surgery scheduled for Monday and I had a round of that myself a f... Read Full Story