Discussing how a book is almost always better than the movie that comes after, other person bemoans that they have too many responsibilities to spend much time reading. It occurs to me that this is one of the ‘good things out of bad’ philosophy I may have mentioned before. I am ill. I have pain, I can’t do a lot of things I used to do, want to do. On the other hand, I don’t have to clean the toilet, or do the laundry, and I have loads of time to read, and access to unlimited sources of things to read. Even if I can’t get to the physical library, I can borrow online and get books picked up and returned by my homemaker, I can borrow ebooks, I have Kindle Unlimited, there are bazillions of free books available on line on many, many different sites. It’s a dream come true, when looked at from the reader point of view. It’s a good thing. Except for pain. Pain really sucks. But good comes out of everything, if you allow yourself to see it. I firmly believe that. Life is really all about how you look at things. You choose your reality in so many ways you may not even be aware of. Think about it.

The article, not the gif. Although the gif is good.

English Major?

from shock that some of these were actually banned books. Where’s Waldo? Comments say there was a naked lady (supposedly) in one of the pictures. God forbid a child should see a naked lady. People graphically murdering each other on ‘entertainment’ tv every day is okay, but naked ladies? Or men? Oh, the horror.

It’s interesting to see what you’ve read and what you haven’t, though. I’d only read 39 of them. For Shame.

Banned books You’ve Read (Or Not)

Yes. I actually like her. Answered my questions, listened to and discussed my concerns. It went well. I am happy. She made me feel more hopeful than I have been that I can get myself out of this morass my life has become. I CAN take more ibuprofen than I have been. It’s the only thing that really helps with the pain. Less pain will mean I can move more. Moving more means my metabolism may actually begin to work again, and I will lose weight faster than molasses flows in January, which is how it’s been going for the past year or so. Since I was pretty much bed-ridden and/or housebound much of last year. I gained about twenty pounds, and have only lost about ten, even though I don’t eat a lot at all. So hopeful, very hopeful.

I bought a new vacuum to replace the duct tape mess, and splurged on some Polish hand-painted dishes. I love these. I bought my first one (different pattern) way back in Jordan Marsh’s Basement years ago, and have bought one or two here and there over time. I don’t have a lot, a few bowls, a pitcher, a couple of sugar bowls, two large coffee cups a friend gave me, but now I got four plates, four small plates, four cups, and four bowls, all in the same pattern. Cheery dishes. It’s a good thing.

They are quite expensive if you don’t buy them from The Christmas Tree Shoppe or other discount store, but I’ve never paid full price. I couldn’t afford to. Here’s the page, if you’re interested: Polish Pottery

I heard from my missing friend in Finland, which made me soooooo happy. Not missing any longer. 🙂

It’s gray and cool and looks like it good rain any second. All in all, a very good day.

My vacuum cleaner is being held together with duct tape. I have been searching on line for a new one. Very confusing, but then read about a particular one that is good with pet hair and has no bag. I hate vacuum cleaner bags. It’s for sale at Walmart, but not Amazon. I seriously was thinking about it, then I came across this on Tumblr. It reminded me of why I don’t shop at Walmart, and that there is nothing I need badly enough to compromise my own principles, nor is saving a few bucks any kind of excuse at all:

“Wal-Mart earned $27 billion in profit last year. They could afford to pay their bottom million workers $10,000 more a year, raise all of those people out of poverty, cost — save taxpayers billions of dollars, and still earn $17 billion in profit, right? It’s simply nuts that we have allowed this to happen. […] You know, this ridiculous idea that a worker on Wall Street who earns tens of millions of dollars a year securitizing imaginary assets or doing high-frequency trading is worth 1,000 times as much as workers who earn tens of thousands of dollars a year educating our children, growing or serving us our food, throwing themselves into harm’s away to protect our life or property, that this difference reflects the true value or intrinsic worth of these jobs is nonsense.”
— Nick Hanauer, Venture Capitalist, on the necessity of a living wage (via cognitiveinequality)

So it’s not enough that I have constant pain anyway, now my right wrist is a bit swollen and quite painful. Don’t see any bug bites (hooray), and not aware of having injured it, so? Pretty good day. After googling a bit, figured out a plan that let’s me have breakfast and COFFEE first thing. Happy campers R US! Also, it is darned cold and getting down to around 40 degrees tonight.
Not hot and sticky. It’s a good thing. Meanwhile, I’m freezing. It it was winter, this would be a heat wave, but since it’s not…OMG It Is Cold In Here.

From here: the Backlot

“Reports say that the entire Palin family was involved in a giant 20 person street fight started by 25-year-old Track, who was upset to see his sister’s ex-boyfriend there. Bristol evidently has quite the right hook, and Sarah was screaming “Don’t you know who I am?” Evidently the fight closed out “As people were leaving in a cab, Track was seen on the street, shirtless, flipping people off, with Sarah right behind him, and Todd somewhere in the foreground, tending to his bloody nose.” “

From a blog on nutrition.  Post is about easy lunches to pack.

…frittata, cheese quesadilla, grass-fed hot dogs

Seriously?  Hot dogs eat grass?  Hot dogs EAT?  I am sadly undereducated, it seems, because I did not know that.  I wonder who feeds them.

Oh, snarky Jean is feeling snarky today, people.

Retweeted by Neil Gaiman and found by me on Twitter: Why we need the Oxford comma, people. Seriously, did you know these facts about Nelson? Me, neither, and that’s not what the author intended to say. Excellent example of why the comma matters. Anyway, made me laugh. I am one sick puppy. LOL

It’s a gorgeous day. I was very unhappy yesterday when they butchered two of the trees directly across from me. No reason that I could see. They looked healthy and fine. The one on the left, they only cut off most of the right side, and left the left. (Ha ha) Symmetry, people? It looks like it could just fall over to the left from the weight.

Not tree-men, obviously. Just two town employees with a buzz saw. It was the best part of living here, having that line of blossoms out my window every spring. Now I have that line of Tedeschi’s mini-mall. Oh, well. But the weather is very fine, and I am going out with my friend to do some shopping. Took my three extra-strength Excedrin and my allergy pill, had my coffee…it’s all good. Well, except for the trees. 🙂

It’s 10:46 am. I have already taken eleven pills today. Eleven.

it’s sappity-do-day here in Jean’s World. Found this on line. (online? on-line? I think I write this differently every time)

Good Stuff Happens

this from Tumblr. The answers are my own, of course.

1. What is your middle name? – It’s the one that comes between my first name and my last name.
2. How old are you? – Older than dirt.
3. What is your birthday? – I believe it’s the day I was born, but I could be wrong about that. You could try googling.
4. What is your zodiac sign? – I need a sign?
5. What is your favorite color? – Pretty much all of them. Otherwise, everything would be black.
6. What’s your lucky number? – 65038653047569372658595746363734899876453840459457345458.
7. Do you have any pets? -Yes.
8. Where are you from? – ‘Out there’ according to my children.
9. How tall are you? – About yea high.
10. What shoe size are you? – I am not a shoe.
11. How many pairs of shoes do you own? – At least one. Pair, that is.
12. What was your last dream about? – It was an outer space fantasy, starring me and every really cool actor alive. Or maybe I was every cool actor alive. I could have made that last bit up, though.Or the whole thing, now that I think about it.
13. What talents do you have? – All of them.
14. Are you psychic in any way? – Again, all of them.
15. Favorite song? – Signs, numbers, pets, songs, picture frames, lamp shades. Questions, questions, questions.
16. Favorite movie? – Yes.
17. Who would be your ideal partner? – I don’t need a partner. I can run this planet on my own. I am woman, hear me roar. Thank you, Helen Reddy.
18. Do you want children? – Only the ones I already have.
19. Do you want a church wedding? – Been there, done that, never doing that again.
20. Are you religious? – Not even the teensiest bit.
21. Have you ever been to the hospital? – Which one?
22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law? – Again, which one? There are so many.
23. Have you ever met any celebrities? – Have any celebrities ever met me?
24. Baths or showers? – I certainly hope so.
25. What color socks are you wearing? – How do you know I’m wearing socks? Have you hidden a camera in here?
26. Have you ever been famous? – You mean I’m not famous now?
27. Would you like to be a big celebrity? – No, just regular sized.
28. What type of music do you like? – Not country.
29. Have you ever been skinny dipping? – There’s that regular size thing again. I’ve not been particularly skinny while dipping anything, no.
30. How many pillows do you sleep with? – I only have sex with humans. Seriously! Do I look like a pervert? I know you have that camera hidden in here somewhere. I WILL find it!
31. What position do you usually sleep in? – Horizontal.
32. How big is your house? – About this wide and that long. Oh, and yea tall.
33. What do you typically have for breakfast? – Food. I tried other things, but none really went over well with my digestive tract.
34. Have you ever fired a gun? – I have. It just wasn’t up to the demands of the job.
35. Have you ever tried archery? – No, was it charged with anything serious?
36. Favorite clean word? – Later.
37. Favorite swear word? – Solemnly. As in ‘I do solemnly…’ The other words are just okay.
38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep? – Four days.
39. Do you have any scars? – No, I’m like Captain Jack, I just keep rebooting to pristine.
40. Have you ever had a secret admirer? – Actually, I have, thank you very much,.
41. Are you a good liar? – Can’t you tell?
42. Are you a good judge of character? – I am not a judge. I never even passed the bar.
43. Can you do any other accents other than your own? – I can only afford the one.
44. Do you have a strong accent? – Yes. It’s been working out quite a lot lately.
45. What is your favorite accent? – Mine. Those muscles! I do like the Welsh accent, too. I’m all about Wales at the moment. Thank you Ianto Jones.
46. What is your personality type? – I think I flunked that test.
47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing? – I’m supposed to keep track of this, too? I’m not going to have enough time to finish this quiz with all the things I have to catch up keeping track of. Geez. I’m not even sure I saved those receipts.
48. Can you curl your tongue? – Wanna see? Just tell me where that camera is.
49. Are you an innie or an outie? – Come on. Where is it? I’ll show you if you tell.
50. Left or right handed? – Left or right-handed what? The open-ended questions! What kind of meme IS this?
51. Are you scared of spiders? – Nooooo. See ‘Are you a good liar’ above.
52. Favorite food? – Not okra.
53. Favorite foreign food? – Also not okra.
54. Are you a clean or messy person? – Aren’t we all?
55. Most used phrased? – I have to keep track of phrases, too? I’m going to need a lot more paper.
56. Most used word? – Oy, vey. No, that’s not it. That’s exasperation showing.
57. How long does it take for you to get ready? – Depends. Ready for what?
58. Do you have much of an ego? – No. Most of it spilled out of the bowl while I was scrambling it. Oh, wait, that doesn’t say ‘egg’, does it?
59. Do you suck or bite lollipops? – Are you hoping for something a little…you know 😉 ;), here?
60. Do you talk to yourself? – Yes, and I am a very good conversationalist.
61. Do you sing to yourself? – No, I sing to the world. The inhabitants just aren’t always around to listen.
62. Are you a good singer? – You’ll have to ask my listeners. As soon as the applause dies down.
63. Biggest Fear? – Getting these answers wrong. What happens if I fail this quiz?
64. Are you a gossip? – No. Gossip is for people who know what’s going on. Or think they do.
65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen? – Seriously? Do you know how many movies I’ve seen? Another thing I was supposed to be keeping track of?
66. Do you like long or short hair? – Yes.
67. Can you name all 50 states of America? – Why, have they forgotten them? Didn’t they have a SIGN???
68. Favorite school subject? – Reading, writing, but not arithmetic.
69. Extrovert or Introvert? – Again! Extrovert or introvert WHAT?
70. Have you ever been scuba diving? – No. I inherited all the scubas I could possibly ever need.
71. What makes you nervous? – Nerves.
72. Are you scared of the dark? – No. It’s exactly like the light, except you can’t see anything.
73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes? – There is not enough time in all of eternity to correct people’s mistakes. There are just so. darn. many.
74. Are you ticklish? – Try me and find out for yourself. But first, where is that camera?
75. Have you ever started a rumor? – Yes. I started the rumor that……..
76. Have you ever been in a position of authority? – Not sure. What position is authority usually in?
77. Have you ever drank underage? – Have I ever drunk underage what? Water, booze, orange juice, potato salad? Underage WHAT?
78. Have you ever done drugs? – I have. Antibiotics, allergy pills, the usual stuff.
79. Who was your first real crush? – Well, it wasn’t actually me, but I was in a car that accidentally crushed a tiny little animal, unrecognizable when I got out to see what we’d run over.
80. How many piercings do you have? – Again, I was meant to keep track? Let’s see. There were all those vaccination shots, some cortisone a couple times. Allergy shots. Like everybody.
81. Can you roll your Rs?” – No, but my Ss curl quite nicely.
82. How fast can you type? – About this fast.
83. How fast can you run? – I have people who do that for me.
84. What color is your hair? – Hair-colored?
85. What color is your eyes? – My eyes is eye-colored.
86. What are you allergic to? – Allergens.
87. Do you keep a journal? – I blog, does that count?
88. What do your parents do? – I don’t know. What DO dead people do?
89. Do you like your age? – No. I’d rather have one with swashbuckling adventurers, one of which being me.
90. What makes you angry? – You do not want to go there.
91. Do you like your own name? – Yes. I chose it didn’t I? Oh, wait…
92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they? – Baby is a good one (well done you), infant, tiny person. That’s all I’ve got.
93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child? – Is that a hermaphrodite?
94. What are you strengths? – All of them.
95. What are your weaknesses? – Weaknesses? We don’ need no stinkin’ weaknesses. (Tiny little cliche there.)
96. How did you get your name? – Found it hidden in a suitcase in the attic.
97. Were your ancestors royalty? – Puleeze. I, like everyone on the planet, is related in the distant past to everyone else. Of course some of them were royalty. Once royalty became a thing. Before that, not so much.
98. Do you have any scars? – I thought we covered this already.
99. Color of your bedspread? – I don’t spread things on my bed. I do like to spread things on toast, though.
100. Color of your room? – Which one? I have several in my apartment.

Found it here: moreintelligentlife.com

This is the one that resonated. I always say that the purpose of life is to live it, and to experience as much joy as you possibly can while doing it. This is also very Buddhist.

What do you think?

JOHN BURNSIDE Poet
As any teenager can tell you, it’s a short step from asking the question: “What does it all mean?” to arriving at the inevitable answer: “Nothing.” Meaning is constructed by each person after her own fashion, his own nature; there is no universal formula or divine plan—no “all”—that can make individual lives meaningful. At first, such a realisation can lead to dismay: befuddled by the schemes and promises of our elders and betters we had trotted dutifully to school and kirk and community discos full of the blithe enthusiasm youth is cursed with, in the sure expectation that a worthwhile life would just fall into place, with a modicum of effort, so long as we did the right things. Maturity, love and marriage, job satisfaction, happiness—they were all out there, waiting to be achieved. So we thought, until this perennial teenager’s question cropped up, and we began to doubt.

Doubt is a good thing, most of the time. As is the shedding of illusions, however painful the process. For after dismay, after the insomniac nights and the hollow feeling in the pit of the mind, what follows (if our supposed betters can be persuaded to refrain from meddling) is the gradual understanding that, since meaning is neither fixed nor universal, it is determined, to a significant extent, by the power of the individual imagination. True, there is a world out there that would compel us to conform, to consume, to render unto Caesar. But we are, nevertheless, free to resist, free to imagine, free to furnish our lives, and the terrain we inhabit, with meanings that derive from our own natures, and from the nature of our home terrain.

Henry Miller remarked that “life has to be given a meaning because of the obvious fact that it has no meaning.” But he also said that “the aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware.” In a conformist society, the attainment of that joyous, drunken, serene awareness is both an act of resistance and a personal achievement, for it says to hell with Caesar and his tawdry coin, and leaves each of us to invest life with all the intangible and unaccountable forms of wealth that the imperial minions in their counting house can scarcely begin to imagine.