The flags are at half-staff on Fort Sill and elsewhere today.

As a retired military guy, my heart aches for the victims of last week's shooting in Fort Hood, Texas. God bless the souls of the victims, their families and friends, and all of the emergency service personnel that rendered aid and comfort on that horrible day.

As for the suspect involved, I personally don't need to know why he did what he did. As long as he is placed in a position where he could never harm another human being again, I would be all good with that, especially if such a position involved a room temperatured dirt nap.

***

POLITICAL MUSINGS DEPT.: The perception that Palin isn't qualified to be President is laughable on its face. What metrics are they based on? Two bad interviews with the MSM? The sole Vice Presidential debate? The lack of a proper pedigree from an "approved" political dynasty/education/upbringing/social class?

Give me a break. As tempting as it is to compare her to Obama, I won't bother. His hand maidens and sycophants in the MSM will provide cover for him and his resume.

Her life experiences, political orientation, and common sense approach toward problem solving were enough for me to say "I'm IN." I realize that a lot of people need much more than that, and even more people require some sort of assurance that Palin could actually win a fall shootout with Obama.

Let's see: who does she have to win over? The Far Left won't ever be on board for her candidacy based on her strong social Conservative beliefs, so there is no point in spending a lot of time convincing them that her tenure in Alaska didn't reveal any overt desire to assault those who wish to live differently than herself.

What about the Moderates and Independent-inclined? If you can get them to stop moistening their fingers in the air and make them focus on what outcomes they cherish most, perhaps Palin could make an argument that might move many of them to her camp.

The base will likely show up, but they still are going to need hand-holding during the primary season as they want to make certain that their vote for Palin isn't a wasted vote in the fall election cycle. Fair enough, but I am confident that she can make the case for herself when she connects directly with the people and avoid the media and punditry circles that love to get in the way.

2012 is still over three years away, and January 20 is still visible in the rear view mirror. A lot can happen on the road to the White House, and the safest assumption to make is that nothing is normal anymore.

***

MORE POLITICAL MUSINGS DEPT.: God bless Senator Coburn for trying to do right by the Constitution..

The Act would require all legislation introduced in Congress to contain a concise explanation of the constitutional authority empowering Congress to enact it.[2] Failure to comply would make a bill subject to a point of order, a procedural device to delay con­sideration until the problem is corrected or the objec­tion overruled.

This simple requirement would empower those few Members of Congress willing to stand up and call attention to Congress's routine disregard of the Con­stitution's division of powers, especially its limitations on federal power. No wonder, then, that the proposal, introduced each session by Shadegg since 1995, has gone precisely nowhere.

Though the Act could not guarantee the constitu­tionality of legislation, it would have a significant effect on Congress. Most clearly, when invoked it would shift debate to fundamental questions of the rule of law. There is an educational value to this exercise that stands to attract additional Members, over time, to the "constitutional caucus."

Most importantly, requiring legislation to state the basis of its authority would reveal the hollow­ness of the constitutional doctrine underlying so much congressional action. Every bill would be an opportunity for Americans to think seriously about our constitutional order, the wisdom of its design, and the consequences of departing from its strictures.

I really hope that The Enumerated Powers Act succeeds, but I realize that the political climate at the moment makes such a thing not likely at this time. *le sigh*

***

The Beginning of the End? Here is the latest trailer for the upcoming Doctor Who special. My take? This could be potentially one of the creepiest New Who Adventures yet. I suspect that the "behind the couch" moments for younger viewers will be many indeed.

The Brits get to see it on November 15th. For those of us in the US who are willing to wait to see it legally on BBC America, December 19th will be the date to mark on the calendar.

***

GET YER MOTIVATION ON DEPT.: True food for thought.

***

YouTubery Video Highlights: Level 42 - Something About You | Daft Punk - Something About Us | Beatles - Something

***

The itzWicks WayBack Machine: November 20, 2005 - Wishing You Were Here

Has it really been THAT long since my first contact with all things Rennaisance took root? Amazing, and yet very memorable since so many friendships were solidified during that one weekend as well. Hooray for meatspace! :)

***

Time for me to get back to work. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and don't forget to live like you mean it!

So I bought myself a coffee maker the other day and am now attempting to use it to make myself coffee. For many of you this is trivial but for me this is Big News. Further updates as events warrant.

Well, after purchasing a 32gig thumb drive and a 350gig notebook drive, I have now replaced the old 20gig drive in my PS3 with something far more substantial. I'm amazed at the ease of the whole routine, including the PS3's built in backup utility and drive storage and such. In fact the hardest part was removing the dang screws from the little hard drive housing around the old drive. Scott had to employ a few tricky moves and some pliers before he finally got them to budge. But once we switched drives out everything else was a breeze. As much as people complain about the PS3, I'm glad that they made a system that trusts its users enough to allow them to do this if they want. At least my model does. (I bought one of the first gen PS3s on the advice of several friends because it has much better PS2 game support)

I spent a little time surfing the Playstation store since I could finally potentially buy content now, but beyond some binge purchases that really deep down weren't of much interest... Well, there wasn't anything of much interest. But at least I don't have to delete Scott's Fallout Games if I ever want to play Oblivion again!

Yesterday we also took a rare excursion to the Florida mall. We hadn't been in a good long while so it was neat to walk around and look at stuff. I discovered the Bijoux Terner store which is a nice concept in that everything is $10. Some of the items like earrings and necklaces I wouldn't ever consider paying $10 for (I'm a cheapskate like that), but they had literally hundreds of watches and I finally found one that really suited me. It's a cuff watch like a bracelet so it's easy to pull off and on, and actually fits my incredibly teeny tiny wrist! And if it breaks, it was only $10.

We also went to Sephora... Or I should say I went to Sephora and Scott hung outside in the comfy chair reserved for men who would rather tear their eyebrows out than hang out in Sephora for an extended period of time. I alllllllmost bought this eyeshadow set, but resisted and bought a much smaller and cheaper palette. I may get it anyway eventually, but just couldn't bring myself to spend that much on makeup no matter how cool it was. Instead I attacked their travel sized section and got some solid perfume, a small traveling eyeshadow set in colors I really like, a travel mascara set, and some hair refreshing spray. I've been curious about spray on shampoos for awhile so it'll be neat to experiment with.

And that was my estrogen allotment for this month. I could totally go back and buy half the store, but budgeting for Christmas and all. Whimper. And since that was my estrogen allotment for the month we avoided Lush. Ahh, sacrifices.

On the way out we got a brochure from River Fruit Winery who were selling fruit wines from a cart. After some research it turns out that they might actually be the same people from the winery we intend to visit after Thanksgiving, but for some reason are selling under a different name for the purpose of the mall. I wonder if they're not allowed to push for tourism there so they have to go under a different name, or they know the tourists will pay more so they go under a slightly different name and charge more.

But anywho, it is early in the morning and the comics will not draw themselves. So off I go to crank them out.

Are you content to live as a slave?

Yesterday I did no writing on my NaNo.  After work I went to husband's work where I saw some short films by Robert Beavers.  Interesting stuff.

Today was Sammy's Gotcha Day.  We didn't really do anything to celebrate it but he let us sleep in until 11:30am and he rewarded with a long walk.  As usual, Sammy did climb into bed at 6:45am looking for cuddle time and some belly rubs.

I am still behind on my tv watching but am making progress in getting caught up from watching shows while my husband and I were out of town last month. 

And today I had my best writing day for the month to date.  3188 words.  This still leaves me behind but I am catching up to where I should be.  My total word count is 7219.  I knew I wasn't out of this yet.

EEEEE! Hopkins did a picture of meeeeee! *bouncebouncebounce*

(David Hopins draws Jack, which is one of my favorite webcomics out there.)

Squee!

The weather continues to be psychotic but that is all right. I am enjoying it because I don't have to stand out at some bus stop. I went grocery shopping this morning, found a present for Senor Onion's birthday & then took the time to do something just for myself. I went and had hot chocolate with home-made marshmallows. I didn't have any children to watch over, I could just sit and be. It was pleasant as it was pouring outside. It's the little things. Eventually I came home and was back to being responsible Mummy.

I worked on a recipe that is nearly ready. I baked two Christmas cakes, which will spend the next month or so relaxing with some booze. (like someone's maiden aunt) Senor Onion did not nap and made him a little frantic but we got through it together by doing some baking. Thankfully his sister did nap. Miss Biscuit you are earning yourself a pony.

In fun grown-up health news I got my lab results. In many ways I am one healthy horse, but it seems I suffer from a pretty darn extreme vitamin D deficiency veering into the "severe" category. I don't have bendy bones or anything but I now have a prescription for a crazy-high dose of the stuff. The doctor told me that even with eating foods that are boosted with Vitamin D ,(milk, juice and so on) taking a multi-vitamin and going out everyday in the sun -it doesn't do much. In this part of the world we don't get the intensity from the sun in the Autumn/Winter to get our dose. It doesn't mean I should give up walks; (because they do a lot for my health/sanity in other ways) I just need to add more to the diet. I also have some anemia and a B-12 deficiency. (even though I am taking a crazy high amount of that now as well.) An excuse to eat steak? *snorts* This should take care of some things. Hey now we have an extra excuse to think about a vacation some where sunny next year. "The wife...she ails."

Anyhow...

I am making chicken with onions and peppers. I will cook up some polenta and a spinach salad with that. This damn chicken seems to be lasting forever. I will be happy to see it gone. I shall think of it as practice for Thanksgiving.

Now to not move for a few minutes.

The church dinner was a bit unattended, but still very fun. They had prime rib and chicken and all sorts of food, as well as a dessert tray that still makes my teeth itch thinking about it. We have some professional chefs in our parish and they pull some remarkable feats of food during these events. Since it was adult only there was also a bar and some play gambling along with a silent auction. It was all a fundraiser for the school that my church hosts, so all the money went to a good cause. Scott ended up coming home with a couple of bottles of nice wine that he won at auction.

I ended up sitting with one of the British people in the parish. He had an American wife and it was cute to see their interactions. We discussed British food and curry and how proper fish and chips comes wrapped in newspaper even though now it's wrapped in a sterile paper and then wrapped in newspaper. I neglected to ask him about Spotted Dick. It was cute to see him turn his nose at the peanut butter dessert his wife got though. Those if you who don't know, peanut butter is mostly an American treat and most other countries aren't too sure what to make of the stuff.

Scott implied that there were lots of leftovers so I doubt I'll need to make him lunch on Sunday. Plus he came home with quite a bit of beer. Like any social event like this, they grossly overestimated on the food and drink, but that means there is plenty to take home. I wonder if any of those evil desserts will survive until Sunday?

Poor Scott limped in at about 1AM, and must be off again for a 9AM bible class. We may do some afternoon stuff but after that I'm going to let him get some rest. I told him he could play more Fallout or take it easy. "But not both at once?" he asked me. By some miracle I did not beat him silly.

I have finished inking page two of my Jack project and have one more to go, which I have in blueline form right now. I may finish it up today and then get it scanned and toned and all prettied up by Sunday. That will probably put me WAY ahead of schedule, but since it's a small thing and I'm kind of fond of the characters it's been a treasure to do. Besides, if I do it now it'll be done with and I can continue to pretend I'm going to build up that backlog for Little Tales. Really and for truly! Nnngh.

Oh yeah, I did a silly voice meme thingy on FurAffinity. Check it out here.

And now, back to the blue pencils. Then the graphite, then the tech pens, then the brushes, then the scanning, then the digital stuff... IT NEVER ENDS! (And that's okay)

I can't even remember the last time it occurred to me to write on LJ. It's most likely been over a year, if not more, I'd reckon. I'll be home soon, whatever that means...

Something's coming around the bend...I'm huffing and puffing, dragging myself up the ridge of the mountain...I feel like I can go no farther... but something's over that ridge line, something's at the top, and I feel that when I reach it, everything will change. And though I'm fearful of the top, and of the possible fall, I keep climbing, because now, looking down, there is nowhere else to go. But then again...whatever is coming...in the back of my mind, I know, that where ever I may get to might not be the lesson, might not be the matter, the marrow, the point. Perhaps it's the climb that matters most.

My dreams are laughing at me...and the veil over them is thick and disconcerting. I am, at one time, equal parts anxious, impatient, and dreading to go home. So many cans of worms. Leaving one can for a barrel... if only it were a barrel full of knife-fighting monkeys. Well, whatever's up, I hope it will lead to fun, and laughter, and long-forgotten joy and mischief.

Hopefully, I'll be seeing some of you back stateside by turkey-time.

Aloha

Mist

This is Joan McCracken in "Ballet in Jive" from the movie "Hollywood Canteen". It is a surreal number but fantastic for the dancing. Her career in films was limited (she died rather young and mostly did specialty dancer bits) but her rare appearances were amazing. Kind of like Carol Haney in that respect. I came across this piece tonight and she was equal parts funny and beautiful. Definitely a rare combination in dance.

.....

And now some random thoughts that have nothing to do with anything.

The weather has been hilariously psychotic. Thunder and lightning then glorious blue skies then rain that goes sideways with the wind. A little something for everyone who appreciates vaguely biblical weather. I am waiting on the locusts.

Today was the enormous procession/memorial for the policeman who was murdered last weekend. The route effectively left our neighborhood kind of stuck from going anywhere unless one took a rather bothersome detour. Errands were left for another day. When we went out on our walk this morning we saw some of the hundreds of police cars coming through. It was quite a sight. There were people from all over the Northwest and B.C.

Apparently babies mimic the accent of their Mother when crying. The idea being that it will quickly grab a Mother's attention. Intriguing stuff.

My favorite quote from this article:

"Now that Fox News and conservative talk radio give people alternatives, critics squeal as if being sodomized."

Some very good information on the real and imagined bias in various news channels, too.

Hat tip: athousandsmiles

Since Obama took office 8 million jobs have been lost.

Not imaginary jobs like the administration counts for the "stimulus", but real, tangible jobs. Remember when the Democrats claimed that a million jobs being lost while Bush was President was the end of the world? Once again Obama outdoes Bush with eight times as many unemployed and the clock is still ticking for Obama. (Note also the sustained growth in employment from 2002-7 for President Bush, something the Democrats and MSM will never admit happened.)

Data extracted on: November 6, 2009 (12:31:37 PM) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

Series Id:           LNS12000000
Seasonally Adjusted
Series title:        (Seas) Employment Level
Labor force status:  Employed
Type of data:        Number in thousands
Age:                 16 years and over

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
1999	133027	132856	132947	132955	133311	133378	133414	133591	133707	133993	134309	134523
2000	136559(1)	136598	136701	137270	136630	136940	136531	136662	136893	137088	137322	137614
2001	137778	137612	137783	137299	137092	136873	137071	136241	136846	136392	136238	136047
2002	135701	136438	136177	136126	136539	136415	136413	136705	137302	137008	136521	136426
2003	137417(1)	137482	137434	137633	137544	137790	137474	137549	137609	137984	138424	138411
2004	138472(1)	138542	138453	138680	138852	139174	139556	139573	139487	139732	140231	140125
2005	140246(1)	140377	140626	141243	141600	141711	142029	142434	142407	142551	142555	142783
2006	143129(1)	143424	143713	143763	144092	144358	144247	144644	144806	145289	145587	145989
2007	145983(1)	145992	146267	145647	145915	146057	145972	145732	146203	145867	146665	146294
2008	146317(1)	146075	146023	146257	145974	145738	145596	145273	145029	144657	144144	143338
2009	142099(1)	141748	140887	141007	140570	140196	140041	139649	138864	138275
1 : Data affected by changes in population controls.

Eight...million....jobs...lost. So much for the "saved or created" bullshit!

President Obama warning about 10% unemployment...if his stimulus bill was not passed:

President-elect Obama is warning this morning that the economy “could become dramatically worse” and face unemployment above 10 percent without bipartisan support for a massive government stimulus program that would temporarily add to the record federal budget deficit but would “save or create at least three million jobs over the next few years.”

But remember, this is all Bush's fault and Bush made him spend three trillion dollars and Bush, Bush, BUSH!

Those of us who remember our history can recall that at this point in 1981 President Reagan had passed his tax cuts measure and in the summer of 1982 the economy began rocking and rolling into the greatest peace time expansion ever.

Don't hold your breath waiting for Obama to explain why unemployment is two points higher than he claimed it would be at this point in time. Though I'm sure his useful fools will simply continue the "Bush!" chant.

Sometimes I get frustrated with a lot of the art I see on the online galleries. Technically it's good, extremely good, but the people who do it have no distinct style of their own. It's the same homogeneous Disney style. Not to mention the inability to understand good inking, line weight, or color and shape theory. This isn't just furry art either. A lot of the comics are either ripoffs of Bruce Timm's style or a weird hybrid American/Anime style that doesn't stand out from any other at all. You want to drag these folks out and get them to look at a few different things as references instead of the same artbooks over and over. Alex planted the idea in my head, and now it's one of those things I notice more and more.

Which reminds me how much I miss having him local so we could sit and draw on random evenings. He taught me a lot about inking. Technically I think I'm partially responsible for getting the guy into furry fandom as my then boyfriend and I dragged him to some of his first cons and showed him how to do the basic art dealing stuff. I agented him at his first convention actually. I just wish I coulda pushed the guy to stop working on his portfolio and actually start sending it to people.

Regarding art though, I did indeed visit the art store and buy a new pen yesterday. And being the dork that I am I bought some new .3 pencil lead because it's bloody hard to find anywhere except art supply stores! Plus I got a kit for cleaning my technical pens that cost almost as much as a technical pen itself! But hopefully with the cleaner I won't be buying any new pens for awhile.

I peeked in the framing section and looked over the mat board as well. I mentioned to Scott how much board cost and he gave me such a look. I can't say I blame him as mat board is cheaper to buy large sheets of, but a pain to cut properly and invariably he's the one who ends up having to cut it for me. I think I'm happier just paying someone to cut it even if it costs more in the long run. Currently I'm trying out precutmatsplus.com for mat board, although I may have to see if they'll do custom work for me since I can't ever seem to find a precut mat place that sells mat board for 9x12 paper. At least not cut in a manner that I'd like.

Anywho, tonight my church is having a banquet with a Vegas theme (hush with the jokes, it's a fundraiser and we're all adults) and I'll be stopping by to snag some food and make good on my meal ticket. Scott needs to stay later because of various obligations like needing to help clean up and such, but I may choose to be antisocial and just sneak out as soon as I eat. We've donated some things to the charity auction and I'm hoping they go well. The nicest part is that it's casual dress, which is good because as I tell people, the last time I wore a dress I got married in it.

So generally busy day, but I'll eat well tonight.

Jalama Beach, Ca. 11/4/09

They look good enough to eat—but don't try it!


.

Letting some of the what was weighing heavily on my mind out into the open helped a fair amount. I had a nice conversation with Mr. Jenner last night. It wasn't some hysterical conversation. It was rather calm and relaxing. I am attempting to make an effort to let go of some of the stress. Not forcing certain situations and letting go here and there.

Right now I am working my way through a bread and chocolate bar by Theo. It makes many things okay.

Now to find some attractive tops that work with the whole breastfeeding gig. I am beginning to despair when I get dressed in the morning. I don't need a ton of things, but gosh darn I want a couple of things that make me want to get dressed. I think my problem is that I have a waist again and it seems some of the things that are "tres chic" are what I like to refer to as the "hiding a pregnancy" tent top. Obviously if I ever think it would be a fun idea to have another baby, I should time it based on the style of the season. Dammit I have lost weight. I want to show the world. Grumble grumble.

Today I made a bunch of chicken stock, some chicken pie and a batch of muffins for breakfast. Tomorrow I may make a cake. I also took the kids to the library. It was kind of a mad-house. Maybe it was because it was pouring and kids didn't have much outside time. Post-storyhour it is a bit like a rabid cocktail party in the children's section. You have people running around, getting overly emotional and repeating the same story over and over and if you are lucky someone trips over their own feet. Have you ever been to that party? I know I have. Thankfully in the children's section you don't have too many people vomiting in a corner or going through your medicine cabinet.