M.A.W.B. Squad

Complications and A Day of Prayer

I'd love to be posting more, but, for now, life's complications are keeping me away from the blog.

Put in perspective, compared to the ongoing struggle after Katrina, and the challenges faced by those around me, my problems are mere temporary annoyances. So, I won't bore you with the details.

I did want you to know though, that regular posting will resume as soon as possible.

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco has called for a Day of Prayer:  (I'm giving the text in full.)

Governor Kathleen Blanco: "As we face the devastation wrought by Katrina, as we search for those in need, as we comfort those in pain and as we begin the long task of rebuilding, we turn to God for strength, hope and comfort.      I have declared August 31, 2005, a Day of Prayer in the State of Louisiana.  I am asking that all of Louisiana take some time Wednesday to pray. Pray for the victims and the rescuers. Please pray that God give us all the physical and spiritual strength to work through this crisis and rebuild.     Please pray for patience for those anxiously waiting to hear from family members or to get word about their homes. Pray for the safety of our hard-working rescuers and those they are bringing to safety.     I know, by praying together on Wednesday, that we can pull together and draw strength we need; strength, that only God can give us.     In my prayers, I will also thank God for the strong and resilient people of this state and how they are working to meet this challenge."

We see the images on TV, families ripped apart, homes destroyed, so many jobs lost.  The problems are enormous.  What can we do to help?  Yet all of us can say a simple prayer. 

Thousands need shelter and food.  The Salvation Army is already there serving meals and passing out supplies.  If you can, please stop by and donate to their efforts.

 

Killer Katrina Updates

In New Orleans, they thought they'd made it through Katrina with less damage than expected, with network anchors using phrases like, "dodged a bullet."  Then the levees broke, dumping Lake Pontchartrain into the city.

The Times-Picayune staff had to abandon their offices, but are reporting on the web, Catastrophic. They also have a photo gallery, with pictures of boat rescues of residents throughout the night.

The Sun Herald is reporting from Mississippi, including a town by town rundown.

WWLTV out of New Orleans is updating their blog as reports come in.

More Katrina blogging at Josh Britton and the Irish Trojan's blog, Brendan Loy.

If you want to help, here's a link to the Salvation Army.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims of Katrina and it's aftermath.  It sounds like it will be a long, long road to recovery.

Update:  Someone also set up a Wiki for Katrina.

Update II:  It sounds like blogger Big Jim from Mississippi lost everything in their home, but the good news is they're reported safe at a friend's in the comments. Deadly Katrina links to an article Hundreds Feared Dead from Biloxi storm surge. Kaye Trammell blogged through the hurricane with her Blackberry. Metroblogging New Orleans is a group blog. Some authors evacuated and it appears others stayed in the city.

Hated Pikes Peak

Not too many years ago I chose to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.  I could ride any ride in the amusement park all day long,  (with the exception of the Ferris wheel, a long story in the idiosyncracy meme).  Mountain roads?  Loved them!

Gilbert O'Sullivan hit the nail, "Those days are gone."

Not long after I had the Boy, I started to have trouble with my ears.  Ear infections.  That sort of thing.  Soon after, riding the Octopus made me green, a first.  Before I knew what was happening, watching Sean Connery hang between the two highest buildings in Malaysia during a movie made me queasy.

Apparently, I still have not adjusted my perspective to match the betrayal of my body.  Because yesterday we drove up Pikes Peak.

See that ribbon cut into the side of the mountain?  You know, the road above the treeline advertised as "safe" that is actually a dirt track with an edge that drops off thousands of feet with no guardrails?  Yeah, I drove up that, actually it could probably best be described as "creeping in abject terror". What was I thinking?

Now everyone knows that there's less oxygen up high.  How high is high in this case?  14,110 feet.  Think about half the cruising height of a 747.  (Did I mention no guardrails?)  They don't tell you until you get about this high......

that you only have about 60% of normal oxygen levels.

What happens when you reduce the oxygen to your brain by 40%?  You get dizzy, and your head hurts, and you can't think.  Which is a great conditon to be in while you're driving a dirt track thousands of feet in the sky with no bleeping guardrail.  Even better, when you get to the top, after prying your white knuckles off the steering wheel, (which should only take 10 minutes or so) you can go stand on the edge of the cliff like these subjects, whom I like to refer to as Idiots:

Sounds like fun, eh?  So we get to the top and I'm pretty much wandering around aimlessly, unable to think clearly.  See the pictures in this post?  They are the result of me holding up the camera in random directions and clicking the button.  I did it for you, dear subjects.  I had no clue what image I might be capturing, but someone had to warn you.  Besides, I'll need evidence for the civil suit that I was there.

The Girl senses my distress and guides me into the Gift Shop, (of course there's a damn gift shop on top of devil ridge), where they sell oxygen.  Fun tourist attraction, no?  Plop down your $6.29 in order to regain your senses, so you hopefully won't walk over the edge of the cliff before you find your vehicle and maybe you won't drive off the edge on your way down.  Yes.  We're selling the basic element you need to survive.  Would you like to breathe Strawberry flavor or Watermelon?

Oh, and the Pikes Peak T-Shirts?  Like I want to pay to be reminded of hell on earth.

Hey - come back here!

I agree with what Sandy said last week, I can't believe summer is almost over! : ( 

Why does it seem as if the summers are so short and the winters are so long? It's not fair! Here are the things I like about summer, and a few things that I don't like:

 

The good things:

1. Lemonade stands - one day I made $15! 
2. Swimming - I like to swim under water, just barely above the bottom of the pool.
3. The State Fair - but don't eat until after you've gone on the rides!
4. Shorts and T-shirts - do I really have to explain this?
5. Flip-flops - see above. 
6. Bare Feet!
7. Roller Blading - too bad you can't do it barefooted!
8. It's hot out - which means...shorts and t-shirts, again!
9. Playing in the rain!
10. Grilling hamburgers - actually, eating hamburgers!
11. Having fun!

The not-so-good things:

1. Mosquitoes - ugh!
2. Ticks - nasty, blood-sucking things - ick!
3. Scabs - gross!
4. Sunburn - ouch!
5. It's too short!

Summer is great! At least we have something to look forward to in the winter after Christmas. Time for me to go have more fun, so ciao for now!

That Idiosyncrasy Meme...

After reading the preceding post by C-Jo (sort of like J-Lo but with a skinnier ass and a bigger brain), I've decided to share one of my strangest idiosyncrasies with you all.  This will come back to haunt me, but seeing as I've recently canned the Court Jester, I guess it's up to me to provide a little entertainment.

I hate wet paper.

Wet newspaper, wet paper towels, wet 7-page term papers for freshman theology that were used as coasters by my roommate ..it doesn't matter.  If it's made from wood pulp and it's damp, I hate it. 

I'm getting more tolerant in my old age.  When our first born arrived at The Outpost, he was a projectile vomiter.  We had a roll of paper towels in every room of the house.  Over the past seven years, we've added another boy and had two dogs with sensitive digestive tracks.  I can use the moist Brawny when required.  But I was not always so flexible.  I once made a waitress go get me dry change after she slapped my four dollars down into a small puddle of water that had formed at the base of my beer mug.  Rather snotty thing to do, seeing as I was the one who got rid of the cocktail napkin that would have prevented the water ring in the first place.  I was not about to have some sodden piece of paper stuck to the bottom of my glass though.

One year, my college roommates wrapped my bunk with sections of the Boston Globe they first soaked in the shower.  I threw a hissy fit of biblical proportions and made them wash the sheets before any of us went to bed that night.

These days I manage pretty well.  But I'm constantly forgetting to check pockets when I do laundry, and about every tenth load...a Kleenex makes it into the washing machine.  Having to scrape itty-bitty pieces of wet tissue out of the drum of the washer is right up there with killing garter snakes with a crow bar and other necessary evils.

I have a few other amusing quirks I'll share someday, but first I'll need to get a clear ruling on "idiosyncrasy" versus "psychological problem."

All full of crazy here...

Now this is a meme I can get behind. Idiosyncrasies.

I love all the things that make each of us weird. If you ponder this question and come up with nothing, you are lying for one but if not, well you’re just too boring to live. Go play in traffic.

On with my list of what makes me a freak……

1.) There is no way on God’s green earth I can get into a ceramic tiled shower without flip-flops or shower shoes. No, I cannot explain it. It simply is.

2.) Since we’re in the shower…I can wash my hair without any problem. If that hair comes loose however, the panic sets in. Loose wet hair that will not come off my hand makes me scream. If there is a loose hair in the sink and I am brushing my teeth, ugh. I am really cringing right now thinking about it.

3.) If you are going to pull up the blinds, they must be perfectly horizontal. If one side hangs down, you MUST fix it until it is correct. Get a level if you have to.

4.) Power goes out and the DVD player, clocks etc are not re-set so the time is flashing? For the love of God, you must re-set them all right away. You’re in another room? It doesn’t matter. They all need to be fixed before you can do anything else.

I’m stopping at 4 , but what is truly warped is I think I could go on all day. Yes, I have toys in the attic, truly gone fishing. They must have taken all my marbles away......

I Need a Ruling

Would you say that pants like these are suitable to wear in public when on vacation, or are they the equivalent of running around in sweats?

More Toilet Blogging

Is it just me, or does this just seem wrong? (via Metafilter)

A childhood in Yodok

We’ve all read accounts of the brutal gulags in what was the Soviet Union, but there have not been many that have come across the ones found in North Korea. No doubt due to what is a tightly veiled country.

I just finished an account from a man that basically grew up in one that was known as Yodok.

The book is called Aquariums in Pyongyang by Kang Chol-Kwan.

What really hit home for me is Kang and I are the same age. While I was living a relatively happy childhood, Kang was eating salamanders whole in a fight to stay alive.

Kang was sent to “Hotel Yodok” when he was about 5 years old and was released in 1987 at the age of 18.

And when I say hotel it is of course dripping in sarcasm. His family and all the others being “re-educated” did not even have barracks.

Each family was given a grass hut about the size of a broom closet. One can imagine how cold and vile the winters up in the mountains must have been for them.

Each family would be given a thin uniform that was to last 2 years if not more. Considering that they were forced to perform hard labor every day, it’s not as if the uniform could hope to last that long. Every person there was reduced to rags.

Food was not distributed. Each family had a small plot of “land” in front of their hut in which to grow their crops.

These “gardens” were for the most part barren as after performing hard labor all day one does not have it in him to maintain any sort of green thumb.

Kang did get out of this hell hole as I mention above but he left behind everyone he had ever known. His mother, his sister, his uncles, none of them were to ever see him again. Sadly, his father died shortly after their release.

Kang was able to smuggle himself out to China. He details how cautious and surprised he was while discovering China.

What we think of as a closed communist country was a free man’s paradise to Kang after what he had been through.

I have already given enough away, Kang’s story deserves to be told. Pick up the book, it’s worth the read.

P.S. If this does not format correctly that I have not fixed it on purpose. I have been fighting with the Word vs Typepad all morning and the words that are coming out of my mouth would make Nick Coleman blush. I knew blogger had this problem, but Typepad?

Iron Chef getting stale to you?

While I consider myself a fan of Iron Chef, I must admit it is getting old. I needed something new and the Travel Channel has come through for me with Anthony Bourdain’s  - No Reservations.

My love for Bourdain started when I picked up a copy of his Kitchen Confidential (which a new sitcom coming out this fall is loosely based upon). He tells his story of how he got into the food biz and all of the craziness that comes with what is really is sub-culture.

Bourdain followed that book with Cooks Tour which is a romp through the world in search of the “perfect meal.” While he was writing of these escapades the Food Network was filming all of this and made it into the show that was Cooks Tour no less.

I loved the show, but I must have been the only one as they only ran a few of the episodes.

The Travel Channel (a sister network to the Food Channel) must have seen something worth dumping some money into as they are now running the show No Reservations with the same idea as Cooks Tour.

Bourdain is globe-trotting again and each time I watch it, I catch myself grinning the whole time.

Now, if you are not familiar with Bourdain he is best summed up this way…picture PJ O’Rourke if he had gone down the road of being a chef instead.

If Bourdain is not eating on screen, he has a smoke hanging from his lips. In this day and age with all of the anemic, vegan freaks walking the earth, I find it quite refreshing. Take a drag, breathe deep and blow it in their faces Tony!

One of my favorite spots was when he was in Iceland.The Icelanders munch on rotten shark like the Americans do potato chips. Thank God when I was there no one made me eat that crap but Bourdain gets paid to do this show, so bottoms up for him on the smelly beast. They prepare this shark much in the same way Kim-Chee is made. They bury it deep in the ground and let it rot. Num.

The look on his face after he ate that was priceless. I suppose it’s easy to do multiple vodka shots after chewing on putrid shark bits. Hell, hand me the whole bottle of vodka.

Monday night was the episode where he visits his friend in Vietnam.

Nothing like pan fried porcupine and bird carcass whiskey to wake you up in the morning.

Now this is not to say that every meal this poor guy eats is as repulsive as what I have recounted. He does this with wit and sarcasm and that is what is funny to watch.

A recent journey took him to his hometown in New Jersey where he commented on all of the new Sopranos references. Hell, he even stopped in and had some munchies at the Bada Bing – or in reality the Satin Dolls club.

That show finishes with him hooking up with Mario Batali and some cannolis Godfather style.

Most people don’t need to add more tv shows to their must view list but Tony does not disapoint.