NEW TATTOO

Yesterday, I went to a local shop to have a tattoo put on the back of my shoulder. The shop, O'Tooles, had been recommended by several people; and it is consistantly voted "Cleanest Tattoo Parlor" in the QCA.

The artist asked if I would be able to go bra-less for the next week, because the rubbing of the straps could harm the tattoo. Because going bra-less was not an option, I had him put the tat on my upper right arm.

For those of you unfamiliar with Swedish art, the image is a Dala Horse. The detailing on and around the horse are traditional. In order to show this detail, the size is slightly larger than the original 2 x 2.

I was quite nervous about how much pain would be involved; but I needn't have been. A friend at work had described the feeling as "annoying" - not really pain at all. And she was right! If it had not been for the annoying buzz of the equipment, I could have actually fallen asleep. According to my artist, Wind, some areas are more sensative than others; the middle of the back, for instance, is full of nerve bundles, and is much more sensative than arms, calves, etc.

My experience was awesome, and the artist was very good at conveying what I described o him. Needless to say, I am already planning Tattoo 2 - when I have the money. When I do, I'll be going back to Wind at O'Tooles.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.
~~John Lubbock

THEY GROW UP SO FAST...

Nealee is nearly two years old. Unlike most young ladies, she does not have a cell phone; but she does have a Twitter account. Nealee does all the typing with one paw. She has made many new friends on Twitter; most are kitties and doggies, but her friends also include hamsters, rats, birds, turtles, and a snake.

She would love for you to stop by to say "hi!"

BOB INTERVIEWS REDFORD

Excerpted from The Bob Edwards' Show Blog:

"On the evening of June 17th at the newly renovated Alice Tully Hall at the Lincoln Center in New York City, Bob (Edwards) interviewed Bob (Redford). Backstage, two dressing rooms were assigned – Redford was to use Dressing Room A, and Bob, Dressing Room B. Dressing Room A, Bob (Edwards) quickly pointed out, was stocked with a selection of nice chocolates and nuts. Those treats were untouched by Bob (Redford) upon his arrival, however. Instead of hiding in his own dressing room, Redford stepped into Dressing Room B to chat with Bob (Edwards) and I about the interview which was about to begin. Redford seemed shy to talk about his acting career. Rather, he wanted to focus on the NRDC and the environmental work they have completed since 1975 (the year he became a trustee of the legal advocacy organization).

"Once on stage, the conversation flowed nicely from film-making (and the arts) to the environment (and politics). John Adams is the founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council and he’s been close to Redford since the actor joined the organization more than thirty years ago and has seen him talk many times. Following the event, Adams commented that he heard stories from Redford that he never had before. It’s nice to know, that even after interviewing Redford several times prior, Bob was able to elicit new tidbits from the actor.

"Redford regularly posts entries to the NRDC’s On Earth web site (https://xmail.xmradio.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.onearth.org/author/robert-redford). It’s worth flagging that page, because just as he demonstrated during his interview on stage at the Lincoln Center, Redford is very knowledgeable and involved in the fight to protect the environment, and his blog posts convey that passion. What’s more, On Earth is a great resource in general.

"Now more than ever, the subject of protecting the earth is a priority, whether it’s a conversation with a Hollywood celebrity or a lesser-known environmental journalist. As you can see, the NRDC is a strong resource in that effort."

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

"The people we are in relationship with are always a mirror, reflecting our own beliefs, and simultaneously we are mirrors, reflecting their beliefs. So... relationship is one of the most powerful tools for growth...." If we look honestly at our relationships,we can see so much about how we have created them.
~~ Shakti Gawain ~

"THE MOST TRUSTED MAN IN AMERICA"

From The New York Times:

"Walter Cronkite, who pioneered and then mastered the role of television news anchorman with such plain-spoken grace that he was called the most trusted man in America, died Friday at his home in New York. He was 92.

"From 1962 to 1981, Mr. Cronkite was a nightly presence in American homes and always a reassuring one, guiding viewers through national triumphs and tragedies alike, from moonwalks to war, in an era when network news was central to many people’s lives.
He became something of a national institution, with an unflappable delivery, a distinctively avuncular voice and a daily benediction: 'And that’s the way it is.' "

May he rest in peace.

FRIDAY'S LITTLE DOSE OF CUTE

SOTOMAYOR'S HEARINGS

From our friend, Badtux, the Snarky Penguin:
"Given who the GOP has grilling SotoMayor (Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina), why don't they just break out with the Confederate flags and white hoods? White redneck crackers being obnoxious, WTF? The GOP really expects to get *any* Hispanic votes in the future after this?!"
~~Badtux the Somewhat-amused Penguin
"(Hey, it's always amusing watching GOP fail, as long as they aren't taking the *rest* of us with them -- and Sotomayor is getting confirmed short of suddenly exploding on the stand and shouting 'Kill Whitey!', so why NOT just munch popcorn while watching the GOP kill their electoral chances outside of the racist belt for the foreseeable future?)"

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

RICHARD DREYFUSS ADDRESSES THE NECESSITY OF CIVICS

Click here to see video.

HELP - SOCKINGTON IS MISSING

If you Twitter, you have most likely heard of Sockington, a most unusual cat. Sockington is Jason Scott's cat, who logs daily, sometimes hourly, Tweets about his life. Hairballs, dust balls, dinner, and his "companion" cat, Penny, are all hot topics. Socking has 832,647 followers - more than many "celebrities."

Today, one of the most "trending topics" is "HELP - Sockington is missing." Trending topics are those that have lots of people Tweeting about them.

We hope that little Sockington is OK; and that if he is missing, he is soon reunited with Jason.

But we cannot help but wonder, with a celebrity of his magnatude, is this is merely a stunt to garner more followers as Sockington nears the 1,000,000 followers mark.

FRIDAY'S LITTLE DOSE OF CUTE

Two tired kids after a day at the zoo....

ECONOMY FORCES CUT-BACKS NOT DREAMED OF A YEAR AGO

From John Marshall, for The Huffington Post:
WASHINGTON - "Due to the recession, politicians who only a year ago were able to afford prostitutes and mistresses may actually have to engage in sexual acts that do not go beyond the boundaries of law or marital vows.
"Economists cite Senator John Ensign (R-NV), a 51-year-old with gray hair, who was forced to borrow $96,000 from his parents to pay off his mistress, dipping not only into his parents' retirement fund, but also into any hopes of affording another mistress.
" '$96,000 is a lot for some trim,' said one economist. 'Even good trim.'
"He added that most Republican parents want their children to be able to afford things they could never have, like mistresses, and seeing them unable to do so was a source of heartbreak.
Governor Mark Sanford (R-SC) made headlines earlier this year when it was revealed that he kept a mistress in Argentina. But the cost of airfare, apartments and aftershave may now be too high for most governors, not to mention international implications.
" 'If politicians are forced to have sex at home,' said one expert, 'it could cause a ripple effect on the mistress-producing nations of the world.'
"Even that most venerable of political institutions - prostitution - may be hurt by the economy. Experts say that former governor Eliot Spitzer (D-NY), if he were still in office, would most likely be unable to afford the $80,000 he spent on escort services.
" 'That's too much for today's Democrat,' said an expert. 'Spitzer would have to settle for sex with his wife while fantasizing that she was an expensive 22-year-old from New Jersey.'
"Some politicians hope that a second stimulus package will include provisions for extramarital sex, but admit that such hopes are dim. 'We need another $787 billion just to f**k around,' said one. 'We'll probably have to borrow it from Ensign's parents.' "

THE RIGHT TO LIFE DOES NOT STOP AT BIRTH

From our friend, Badtux, the Snarky Penguin:
"On the evening of July 4, 2009, Eric De La Cruz died, killed by the patchwork U.S. 'healthcare' system and its infuriating inability to provide a working system of healthcare for all Americans. This young man had a congenital heart defect which was quite solvable by a heart transplant, but because he was uninsured and Nevada Medicaid won't pay for transplants, he died.
233 years before Eric De La Cruz was killed by our 'healthcare' system, some guys in Philadelphia wrote these words:
" 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ...'
"Over 18,000 Eric De La Cruz's are killed by our 'healthcare' system every year because of its refusal to pay for needed care for all Americans who need care. This is a slaughter of innocents, over six times the death toll of the 9/11 attacks PER YEAR. Clearly our 'healthcare' industry is killing, slaughtering, tens of thousands of innocents per year guilty of nothing except being born poor or maybe not the brightest bulb in the chandelier or just plain unlucky, and has no intention to stop doing so. Whenever any industry infringes so baldly upon our inherent human right to life, it is completely within the realm of our founders' intents to have our government secure these rights, and if it does not do so, to change our government if necessary -- which we did, in November 2008, when we elected President Obama on a platform of healthcare reform and withdrawal from Iraq.
"There are some people who say that the right to life is conditional -- that you have a right to life only if you have the ability to pay cash for your health care. There are others who say there is no such right because it is not listed in the Constitution of the United States of America, 9th Amendment of the Constitution nonwithstanding. This is utter nonsense. Rights are granted to us by our Creator, not by a piece of paper, and are absolute, not conditional, and the right to life is the most fundamental right without which all other rights are meaningless. When any entity infringes upon this most fundamental of our human rights, it is well within the provence of government as envisioned by our founding fathers to deal with this threat to our most fundamental human rights via whatever means are necessary -- which, in the case of our corrupt murderous health insurance industry, should with all fairness be the death penalty just as much as for any other mass murderer, but I'll settle for Medicare For All single-payer health insurance and let those bastards spend the rest of their lives begging for alms on streetcorners."

I'M THINKING OF GETTING A TATTOO...