Who I am…
I am a lawyer, former mother of teenagers, and a quixotic seeker after and champion of factual truth.
I make the best damn brownies you have ever had that are not regulated by the federal government.
I love movies, Broadway, and intelligent conversation.
I think in song lyrics and movie and television quotes.
I believe in the use of proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar even in text messages. I am willing to debate the use of the Oxford comma, if you know what the Oxford comma is. It also makes me very happy if people use the subjunctive mood when appropriate.
I have been told I intimidate people. I am really just a fluffy-centered teddy bear. Really.
- It's all my fault. No, really. The views expressed in this blog are mine and mine alone and in no way whatsoever represent the views of anyone else, including any past, present, or future employer.
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Words to live by ….
“He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8.
“Pray for the dead, fight like hell for the living.” Mary Harris (“Mother Jones”).
“Don’t boo. Vote.” Barack Obama.
“Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” Reinhold Niebuhr.
“No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We’re always one of Us. It’s Them that do the bad things.” Sir Terry Pratchett.
“Damning facts are still facts.” Steven C. Holtzman.
“If you don’t stick to your values when they’re tested, they’re not values — they’re hobbies.” Jon Stewart.
“Darkness never sustains, even though it sometimes seems it will.” Doctor Who.
“Writing is a form of mischief.” Stephen Sondheim.
“An idea is not responsible for the people who believe it.” Don Marquis.
“If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That’s why it’s your path.” Joseph Campbell.
“Truth is our strongest ally, our biggest weapon, and our best defense.” Me.
“Reality has a well-known liberal bias.” Stephen Colbert.
“The opposite of war isn’t peace, it’s creation.” Jonathan Larson.
“We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger.
We rise and fall, and light from dying embers
Remembrances that hope and love last longer.
And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love;
Cannot be killed or swept aside.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda.“If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.” Emma Goldman.
“No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” Samuel Beckett.
“I believe that the God who made (among other things) light, and space, and number, and time, and the spiral curve of Fibonacci numbers, must be acknowledged to understand more than I do about why there’s pain in the world.” Teresa Neilsen Hayden.
“No, it’s not fair. You’re in the wrong universe for fair.” John Scalzi.
“Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act. So when you try to hurl that label at my feet, ‘Liberal,’ as if it were something to be ashamed of, something dirty, something to run away from, it won’t work, because I will pick up that label and I will wear it as a badge of honor.” Lawrence O’Donnell
“So keep fightin’ for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don’t you forget to have fun doin’ it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin’ ass and celebratin’ the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was.” Molly Ivins.
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Category Archives: Family
DInnertime Conversation.
Discussion at dinnertime: Periods of classical music. Tchaikovsky. The 1812 Overture. The War of 1812 — both Napoleonic and American theatres. Napoleon’s attempt to capture Moscow. Hitler’s attempt to capture Moscow. The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, and how Hitler was stupid … Continue reading
The ghost of Christmas recently passed
It was a good Christmas, more or less. I spent most of the day in my room with a migraine (courtesy of the woman in front of me at church with the perfume containing bergamot oil) and I tripped and … Continue reading
Alternative holiday decorations
Tonight the entire household – including a friend that the Not-So-Little Drummer boy brought home from college with him — did our annual tour of Christmas lights. We were heading down streets in the Willow Glen area of San Jose, … Continue reading
It would be easier than throttling them. Messier, though.
My favorite reality show that does not involve either food or traveling is History Channel’s Top Shot. I like it most for the attitude of the contestants: they usually vote the weaker performers to face possible elimination, so that the … Continue reading
So that’s what he does up north…
I have often mentioned the Rocket Scientist’s field seasons. His tongue-and-cheek response about his work, when asked, is “I break things for a living.” Such as drills.
I know I wasn’t going to blog so much about my family, but…
The first day of school…. Chem Honors teacher: Any questions?Red-headed Menace: Kirk or Picard? It is going to be one of those years, I can just tell. The teacher actually gave a thoughtful answer (“it depends who you’re fighting — … Continue reading
Who Am I?
I have been rereading this blog lately, from the beginning. And I keep running smack dab against an overwhelming question: Who is this woman? I have changed so much in the past two years that in many ways the woman … Continue reading
Anyone who knows me for any length of time knows that I am irretrievably opposed to capital punishment. Nonetheless, some people just deserve to be taken out and shot: the doctor who published the study linking autism and the mumps, … Continue reading
Letting go.
It’s been a year today since Nadia died. I think it’s time I took her number off my cell phone.
It’s been a day. Not much of a day, but a day, nonetheless. The house is filled with the incense of wine and oregano, as the pot roast slowly simmers towards its ultinate culinary destination. Dinner was originally suppposed to … Continue reading
Questions…
While I was trying to make dinner last night, on a day when I was in the midst of amassing more miles than a Boston cab driver on a good night, I kept getting bombarded with questions by my offspring, … Continue reading
EchidnaQuest 2006, Part II
EchidnaQuest Part I, here. The fateful day arrived. Echidna Boy could hardly contain his excitement. We arrived relatively early at the zoo, and there were already long lines for tickets. Going to major tourist attractions during the week between Christmas … Continue reading
Echidna Quest 2006, part I
My youngest child is insanely obsessive about echidnas. They are his favorite animals. He can tell you all about them. Where they live (Australia and New Guinea), what climate they like (temperate), how they give birth (leathery eggs like reptiles, … Continue reading
I have a teapot now. I grew up a bit of a wild child — a tomboy to the max — and while I was exposed to “tea” as an event rather than simply a beverage at college (Wellesley has … Continue reading
Happy Thanksgiving.
Things I have to be thankful for: The boys: the Not-So-Little Drummer Boy, the Wrestler, the Red-Headed Menace, and the Rocket Scientist. That I don’t have to worry about having a roof over my head or food to feed my … Continue reading
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