Hello Again!

I've really got to get in the habit of updating this thing on at least a weekly basis.

Last night, I got to talk to my best friend. And I'm still not sure which was the more enjoyable part. Actually talking to her or listening as she fussed around with her baby, being all motherly. I love my best friend. I miss her.

But she's coming for a visit soon!!! Hooray for my best friend's husband and his family reunions. I heart his family right now. I have to plan an outing for us. And I need to make contingency plans in case we can't go out alone. I'm guessing alone won't be an option. Not that I mind. I adore her kids and I can't wait to see the new baby. Even if she isn't so 'new' anymore.

I'm still working on chapters of 'Adventures of the Fanfiction Fellowship'. Over halfway done with the rewrite, so I'm feeling somewhat accomplished in that area. Then we have the sequel to rewrite....yes, and finish.

A couple of videos in the works. Still Star Wars because I'm too lazy to search for other downloadable movies/tv shows. I think I have the capability to get content from actual dvds...but I'm not sure that's what the DivX bundle on my computer is for. I hate being ignorant.

My life is mundane. That's all that I have going on right now. Except that my husband wants to kill my cat. But that's par for the course, really.

Wow

Huh. It's been a while. Let's see....what's been happening? Well, my pick for the election didn't win, but there are people who have it far worse than that so we won't linger.

My baby brother has a girlfriend. She's a Junior in high school. Oh, and for those of you who aren't familiar with my brother, he's a FRESHMAN!! He should still be playing with Legos and stuff, not going out with a girl two years older than him.

*sigh*

Anyway, they went to prom this weekend. Along with my sister (who's also a Junior) and three other girls (all Juniors). Oddly enough, my brother did not see the reputational advantages of arriving at prom as the only guy with five older women. *shrugs* Oh, well.

They all looked beautiful, my brother looked very handsome, and it reminded me so much of my own prom. I'm glad my sister went with her friends. I think they all had more fun in a group than anyone did as a couple.

In closer to home news, I've been 'vidding'. I've done three Star Wars vids and have two in the works. Well...three if you count the one I'm plotting out and haven't actually started yet. Once I get those done, I think I'll take a small break and try to do a Gilmore Girls video. Just to switch things up a bit.

Summer's coming. And it will be fairly slow at work until August. I'd REALLY love to make the trip to DragonCon in Atlanta again, but I just don't think it's a possibility. Which makes me sad, because my friends Cath and Deb will be there. Stupid money. I think we should just all go back to the bartering system. Of course....that wouldn't be much better for me anyway. Stick with the devil you know, I guess.

And.....I guess that's it. My life's not very exciting. But it is mine. So it's all good.

Election Fatigue

Yay for striking blows against baby-killing, jug-eared freaks!

In short….I voted this morning. And, yes, I voted for McCain/Palin. *sticks tongue out at Obama supporters*

Rodney: Yeah, that shows them supporters of McCain are REAL mature. Way to go.

Shut up. And go away. There’s like……maybe ten or twelve people reading this blog who even know who you are. Shoo.

Alright, I apologize for the sticking my tongue out part. Although I don’t apologize for the opening sentence.

Fear not, oh those few of my friends who are Obama supporters. This is not an anti-Obama rant. It’s not even a pro-McCain rant, actually. Just a general one.

I was greatly relieved last night after watching the monologue for the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Why, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. Because this man is the person I have seen get most excited about the election and the whole voting process and everything. It’s the first time he can vote and he’s relishing every minute of it. And I’ll be honest with you. It kind of fired me up about it, too. But lately I’ve been like…..meh. This made me feel guilty.

But last night, Craig’s ‘Election Fever’ had apparently turned into ‘Election Fatigue’. And I totally understand how he feels. Because it seems like this whole thing has been going on longer than….well, longer than this country has existed, to be blunt. And the candidates are everywhere. I can’t even check my inbox without some ad asking me if I think Palin’s qualified to be VP or if I’m going to vote for Obama or if I think McCain was hot when he was young. (FYI….yes, I do think McCain was hot when he was young. See picture at the beginning of this post).

It just seems to me that this entire election has been a lot dirtier than any other election I can remember. First it’s Hilary vs. Obama. And…um….that other guy vs. McCain. I can’t remember his name right now, because I was kinda pulling for Huckabee. But whatever. Then it’s down to the nitty-gritty. McCain vs. Obama. Palin vs. Biden. Batman vs. Joker. Coke vs. Pepsi……wait. Where was I?

Oh, yeah. The nitty-gritty. Now, I understand that the candidates have to get out there and stuff. Of course they do. That’s only natural. It’s politics. Duh. But seriously? Does everyone have to be all up in our faces? Thanks, non-biased media (*giggles madly*), for shoving all these people down my throats 24/7. I just want all this to be over with. The process of electing our leader may be part of what makes this nation so great. But the constant scrutiny of aforementioned candidates….waiting for one of them to screw up….pouncing on every little thing they say or do….asking about their love life with their spouse (thanks for that development, Clinton administration)….doesn’t this cheapen the whole thing?

I mean, these are the things one does with celebrities. Brangelina, Britney, Paris Hilton. A woman who Frenched her brother, a cheating husband, a girl who once had difficulty remembering to put on some underwear before leaving the house, and a spoiled brat heiress whose vocabulary seems to revolve around the two words ‘That’s hot’.

Yes, American media. I want you to treat the candidates for the highest political office in the country just EXACTLY like you treat these people. *rolls eyes* Oy.

I don’t really feel so guilty for being tired of the election now. Because I’ve realized that it’s crossed the line of normal coverage and information long ago. It has, in fact, crossed the line, shot the line at point blank range with a 9 mm, stabbed the line with Crocodile Dundee’s knife, torn the line’s guts from it’s body and danced around on the line’s remains.

It’s ridiculous. And what’s even more ridiculous is that, until the last couple of weeks, no one was really asking the important questions. Questions that, you know, actually have to do with issues the President of the United States might face.

I guess this is a media rant. Finally. I’ve discovered the purpose of this post. What really gets me is that it’s the actual news people that are doing stuff like this. It’s not like this behavior is limited to people from TMZ and Access Hollywood, etc. These are respected news anchors, beating us over the head with every little move Obama, McCain, and Palin make. Haven’t heard too much about Biden. Truthfully, I have trouble even remembering him sometimes. I’m sure he’s a very nice man. But no one ever reports on him, really.

I made up my mind during the week of the RNC. But I know there are people out there who are still undecided. Frankly, I agree with Craig on this. This far along in the election…..two weeks away from election day and you STILL don’t know who you’re going to vote for? Just don’t vote. You’re just way too indecisive. I’m not at all sure there’s a detail that hasn’t been covered regarding these people. There’s no excuse.

For me, it’s cut and dry. McCain seems like a great man. I’d be honored to know someone like him. I don’t know every detail of, say, his economic plan. Or his plan for Iraq. Because, as I’ve said before, I’ve really almost started ignoring any election news I can. Aside from some e-mails I get. But I do know that, morally, we’re pretty much on the same page. And I also know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I could never, NEVER vote for someone who is Pro-Choice. And Obama is not only pro-choice. But he voted against the Illinois Born-Alive Infant Protection Act. Basically, if an aborted baby somehow survived the process, the act required that a doctor do everything in his/her power to provide that baby with medical care. To not do so is murder. Even by pro-choice standards. The baby is out of the womb. It’s breathing oxygen. It’s a person. And yet Obama voted against this act.

That’s sadistic in my book. And this post is taking a turn I promised it wouldn’t take. So I’ll stop there for now and finish up with this.

I voted this morning! Go me!

~Mel

Why?

I simply have to know. Why am I given knowledge and a biology lession when all I want is for something to be killed? Is it a man thing? I'm curious.

Last night, I went into the laundry room to...what else?....do some laundry. I didn't know I'd have to fight past some distant cousin of Shelob (geek reference!) to get to the freakin' dryer. Checked the Raid can. Flying insects. Well, knowing my luck, the Spider That Ate Manhattan probably also had wings. But I didn't want to take any chances. Back-up plan, then.

"Chris, come kill this spider!"

With the customary roll of his eyes, my husband came to investigate.

Now, I'm assuming you know me fairly well since you're reading my blog. I've never been a fan of spiders. Up until a few years ago, however, I would at least attempt to kill one with a shoe or something if it cropped up in my path. My run-in with brown recluses has changed that. I don't want anything to do with them. Ever. Quite honestly, I'm a little bit surprised that I actually thought about spraying it with poison before calling my husband. No spider is safe from my vengeance. If I see a Daddy Long Legs, I want it dead. I don't want to hear about how it eats other spiders and how it's mouth isn't actually big enough to bite a human. Again, with my luck, I'd run into some sort of mutant Daddy Long Legs that COULD bite me and I'd die and THEN where would I be?

Certainly not writing this blog. But I digress.

'Where is it?' he asks.

'There!' I point, thinking he really DOES need those glasses if he can't see the freakin' HUGE vessel of evil that is currently resting on one of his t-shirts.

As he kills it, I get the inevitable lesson....

'That's a wolf spider'

I don't care. I don't CARE that it's a wolf spider. I don't care if it's Rakdra the Talking Spider from the Kingdom of Polhim, on a mission to establish a peaceful relationship with the human race. It's a SPIDER. I want it dead.

I didn't ask what type of spider it was. Eight-legged. Perhaps if I'd given him the chance to examine it more closely, he would've been able to throw in whether it was male or female.

Is this a guy thing? That you insist on telling us more than we really need to know. Or, sometimes, want to know?

Case in point. And once again, last night.

It's deer season, which means Chris is usually up a tree somewhere in the woods. When he came home last night, he felt the need to tell me that his brother had to come kill a rattlesnake at the base of the tree before Chris could get out of his stand.

See, I didn't need to know this. Now, had he actually been bitten.....then, yeah, I'd have been a little miffed if no one had told me. But no harm, no foul? I know he's out in the woods. I know there are snakes out there. But, see, I can PRETEND that he's perfectly safe. As long as he doesn't volunteer information like this. As far as I'm concerned, he's in his tree stand, watching the cute little squirrels, listening to the birds sing, waiting to shoot a deer. Snakes don't usually enter the picture.

Today, of course, it's the only thing I can think of.

Meh.

Men. Men drive me nuts.

Baseball

My sister, Elyse, and I have this game we like to play. Made only possible by the fact that our family is strange and records everything under the sun on VHS. Or used to, anyway. Before dvd's came along and made it impossible to figure out how to record on VHS again.

But I digress. The game is to take un-labeled video tapes, pop them in the VCR, and find out what's on them. You never know what you'll find. Last time we did this, we found our video from Christmas morning of 1998, a Biography special on Judy Garland, several random Monty Python skits that A & E aired, and of course the episodes of Herc and Xena that I have scattered around for no apparent reason whatsoever. Except that I can't afford to get the dvd's.

I had decided to play this particular game alone at my own house one Saturday and so absconded with about 4 VHS tapes from my parents' home. Popping one in while I went about fixing myself from lunch, I was surprised (pleasantly so) to find that my mother had recorded THE game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs (1998). If you are a baseball fan, you might possibly remember this period of time. The season home-run record was being chased by both Mark McGwire (Cardinals) and Sammy Sosa (Cubs). McGwire had already tied the record held by Roger Maris since 1961. It was during this game that he hit his 62nd home run, breaking a record many thought was untouchable.

And I began thinking. Usually a bad sign. But in this case, I don't think it was.

I remembered watching this. Me. The girl who will usually only watch a sport if it involves someone twirling around on a pair of ice skates or sailing through the air on the uneven bars. Much to my mother's chagrin, I have never been a baseball fanatic. Not to the point where she is. I like it. It's one of the few team sports that I DO like. I get bored easily while watching it, though.

But as I watched this tape (which held only the moments when McGwire or Sosa came up to bat), I could remember sitting in my parents' living room. Watching as the Homerun Race reached its climax. Thinking it was so cool that it would reach this point when both of the competitors were playing the game together. Laughing when, after McGwire hit his record-breaking homer, Sosa hit a single and wound up hanging out with McGwire at first, joking around and chatting. There was no animosity between the two of them.

I remembered Mom crying when they showed the Maris family in the stands. And I started to cry myself. Heck, everyone on the screen was crying, too.

Today, when I look back on that day, a small voice calls out to take into consideration the steroid scandal of the last couple of years that have rocked baseball to it's core. But I don't want to consider that. As far as I'm concerned, it puts no blemish on the emotions of that day. The pride and excitement felt by every baseball fan, casual or fanatical. It was a day of pure joy, capping a season that had brought America back to baseball after the disastrous 1994 strike.

Thinking of all these things inevitably led me to my one of my mom's all-time favorite movies, 'Field of Dreams'. We all roll our eyes whenever she comes across it while surfing channels and lets out the 'Ooo! Ooo!' before hitting the 'Select' button and clutching the remote like it's the One Ring of Power and woe betide anyone who dares try to remove it from her grip. But the thing is....I don't ever leave the room anymore, like my brother and sister sometimes still do. There was a time when I would've. As a teenager, I got sick of the film. As an adult, I find there's more to appreciate in it. Kind of a weird parallel to the storyline of the movie itself.

See, it's not JUST the baseball. I probably sound like an idiot, parading things out that are pretty much BLARINGLY obvious if you watch the movie or are a baseball fan. But I'm gonna continue anyway. Where was I? Oh, yeah. It's not just the baseball. It's the memories made by the game. The simple act of catching a ball in a leather glove. A nation that pulls together during wartime and has women playing baseball to fill the void left by the men that have signed up to fight overseas. Has there ever been a sport other than baseball that has had this kind of impact on the American culture? I'll make that question really simple for you. No.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying football/basketball/hockey/soccer/insert random sport here are rotten sports. They're not. But they're not baseball, either.

Now, with the steroid scandal still looming large over baseball, I'm reminded of the speech from 'Field of Dreams'. And, seriously, could they have gotten a better actor than James Earl Jones to give it? I think not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qXkcPQUfJM

I think that pretty much says it all.

~Mel





McGwire and Sosa brought the audiences back to baseball after the 1994 strike.