Technology: friend or foe?

Well, my laptop took a great, big crapper yesterday. After wasting 7 hours of my life trying every disk repair/recovery tool at my disposal, I've officially given up and am taking her to the doctor's. Ugh. So, my faithful audience, it'll be a while before I post again.

Interest now or later. Who cares?

Went to see "Maxed Out" last night. This film, directed by James Scurlock, just about sent me over the edge. Scurlock started filming a documentary about Americans' loss of control when it comes to the almighty lure of trinkets purchased with "free money" (otherwise known as Visa, Mastercard, etc.). What he found was a dirty overbelly of greed. I call it an overbelly because we often hear about the underbelly of society: the poor, the wretched ... criminals or just plain poor. However, what about those scurrilous assholes who, in search of the almighty buck, will sell just about any story to anyone who will listen in order to make a buck off the backs of those who are either ignorant, foolish, or just plain desperate?

I think everyone should watch this documentary, and then think long and hard next time they get an offer that sounds too good to be true -- it probably is. Of course, the major focus of "Maxed Out" was on bogus loans and mortgages, but our debt-run society scares me. I learned my lesson a long time ago. Luckily, before it got beyond my control, I paid off all my debt. There was more happenstance and luck involved than actual self control, though there was a time in the late '90s when I put my credit cards into a glass of water and then stuck it in the freezer.

Words to live by: if you can't afford it today, you probably can't afford it period. Whatever happened to saving? I know, I know, instant gratification is so delicious, isn't it?

The sun is shining, and I'm getting hungry

With my readership expanding slowly, I suddenly feel pressure to keep up with this blogging thing. Of course, I've been spending the past two months on my butt, so I don't have a whole lot going on in the noggin. It's a wonderful freedom, this taking time off from my career. Today, the sun is shining (something we sorely missed in Holland!), and it's actually ridiculously warm considering half the country is buried in snow right now. I was tempted to skip through the streets of Uptown, singing at the top of my lungs. "I have nothing to do, how about you? I can sleep until noon, how about you?" Or something equally imbecilic. However, it's not that funny if you're the only one laughing.

Tonight, we start to delve into downtown. It being Justin's birthday, we're going to temporarily transport ourselves back to France for a lovely dinner of escargots and something else very chez Francais. I hope this restaurant doesn't disappoint because he & I can't get enough of that rich, fabulous, decadent fare from our favorite country on the other side of the pond. Hopefully, I can then find some place to wiggle my toosh for a little while to work off all that butter! And by that I mean dancing, people, not randomly shaking it on a street corner ...


Stay tuned for my next post, when I return once again to ponder the elements of our society that make me scratch my head. But for now, I leave you with a vision ... think of me, plucking these little suckers out of their shells, praying I don't pull a "Pretty Woman."

Yes, we're all dirty

As a follow-up to my last post, I have to poach some material from my good friend Jeff (thanks JF! I know I didn't exactly ask for editorial rights here, but I'm giving a voice to a non-blogger ...)

"Watching television will make you crazy and begin to convince you that God should seriously consider pulling the plug on humanity. When the death on Anna Nicole is afforded 24-hour coverage, we need to ask ourselves why we will never hear about people doing good and making a difference, yet there is time for the shocking clarity that she MIGHT have been doing drugs!!! Who saw that coming?

I have been really tiffed lately with society and the role of status. What does that mean, status? We have all fallen so short of being perfect. Yet we have introduced status into our society to qualify our failures as less than those of others around us. If you see a dozen coal dust covered miners walking out of a mine do you find yourself asking which of the is the least dirty? They are all dirty, as are we. If the World could accept that and choose to see each other as true equals where could we go, what could we achieve?"

Can you really call it culture if it smells like garbage?

I want to use this space for more thought-provoking analysis of this incredibly strange world we inhabit, but I'm currently short on ideas. Perhaps I need to get out into the frigid Minnesota air, shake my head around a bit, and clear out the cobwebs. Currently I'm just astounded by the fact that Anna Nicole Smith (formerly a big waste of space in American pop culture) gets more play than Darfur. In my time overseas, I missed the sheer levels to which the American media can take the most vapid of subjects. Now that I'm back, I find myself -- eyes popping out of my skull, mouth wide open, and synapses misfiring at record speeds -- glued to things like MTV and E!. It's sad that to get real news, I have to go online and look at overseas' sources. I mean, honestly, why do we care if we have a crazy astronaut who can drive 900 miles in a diaper? A woman scorned is a scary thing (believe me, I know), but without them, whoever would Katie Couric talk about?

well that feels better

It's funny how blogging gives you the opportunity to broadcast (very selfishly) what's going on in your head at any given moment. My friend Mike told me to get over myself -- in the nicest possible way -- and he's right. Sad? Who am I kidding? I just had 1 1/2 years living in Europe and have moved to a cool new city with the man that I love (thanks for the reminder MG). Maybe I just need to get out more ...

What junk I write

Seriously, my recent posts were stupid, so I had to delete them.

Gee Justin, it's (almost) just like Europe!

Outdoor cafes? Streets open only to pedestrian traffic? BIKES are loved!?!?!?! Are you sure we moved back to America?

Did you say that picture sucks?

So, you weren't impressed by the neighborhood shot I posted below? Well, shame on you! That's the Children's Theatre, which is attached to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (shown here). I live in a bastion of art and culture. Jealous yet?

Welcome Home

Well, it's not really home yet seeing as I've never lived in Minneapolis before, but so far, I like what I see. We've finally finished unpacking the last box from the many shipments ... Justin's storage, my storage, the furniture sent overseas. Ugh! It seemed like we would never see the last box emptied! But alas, we treated it like our full-time job (oh wait! it pretty much WAS our full-time job!) and got it done. So this is the first installment in my stateside blogging, and I've promised myself to write more as I explore what the hell I'm going to do with my life. So, stay tuned ...