Truth is stranger than fiction

BREAKING NEWS!! You'd think the Titanic sunk again or the London Bridge is falling down, but nooooooooo... Kim Kardashian is pregnant!! My GOD, have we sunk this low?!?! They were actually doing breaking news both on the internet and on TV about this. It's SOOO embarressing!! This woman, this woman who isn't good at anything except marketing herself, is so high-profile that we have breaking news?? Or is it interesting to Americans because we're sick of hearing about the imaginary "Fiscal Cliff" because they've been crying "Wolf" for over FOUR YEARS NOW!! When is sanity going to return to the US? I keep thinking that at some point, everyone will wake up and it will go back to how it always was in our great country. It's like a bad dream since 2008.
I mean more like a nightmare...

Hooray for Hollywood"

Last night we saw Les Miserables, and although it was too long, it was a great throwback to how the great movies of yesteryear were made. Huge sets. Big stars.  Great casting. Believable costumes and makeup. Excellent songs (actually sung on set, which is unusual.)
Sigh.
I miss all the huge movies that used to be made instead of all of these stupid computer-generated (CG) movies that they produce now. I miss television shows with actual writing and writers, and not these embarressing reality shows that are so prevalent now. I just got a  reader's comment today from one of my posts from last February from "anonymous" (they always are - hey, just give me your first name, so I can address you in a response) where they said that the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" was a satire, and was just mocking this kind of lifestyle. Noooooo, I beg to differ. These are, unfortunately, REAL people who are trying to become rich and famous and the next Kim Kardashian by showing us their shallow, sad lives.
Anyway.
Les Mis was refreshing since it showed, finally, that the producer actually made the effort to make a quality blockbuster. For that, I say to them - Thank you.
Please go see it, so it will encourage others in Hollywood to do the same...

"Eat, drink and be merry?"

Thank God it's Friday... It's a full moon... and just like the hospitals, the crazies come to newspapers on the full moon as well. They call newspapers like we are Directory Assistance. Old people will call and ask questions or for phone numbers or super weird stuff. And a guy just came in to tell us a water pipe broke at his house.
Anyway.
I'm noticing that when I talk to my clients and even friends,  they are all saying they aren't listening to the news any more. At least for a while... And these are regular news people. (sigh) I'm kind of the same way. This last election has done most of us in. We realize there really is nothing we can do. It's like the boy who called 'Wolf.' Since Bush was president in 2008 we've been hearing that there will be a financial collapse. Then stimulus after stimulus. Fear and gnashing of teeth. And now there's the "Fiscal Cliff." WHO FREAKING CARES?!? Blah blah blah. Certainly our elected politicians don't care. And definitely our president doesn't care. They know THEY will be just fine thankyouverymuch. They are all "on holiday." The prez has been in Hawaii playing golf. They really could care less. Everyone is putting on blinders because there is nothing that one person can do.
And news, by nature, is depressing because only bad news sells. And the news is scary. Cannabalism. Gang rapes. Cutting babies out of pregnant women. Facebook suspends accounts of gun proponents. US soldiers suicides outnumber combat deaths for 2012. Scared parents impose (toy) gun control. Congress extends wireless wiretapping program. Woman pushes stranger in front of NYC subway. And that's just today...
I'm still just watching Hallmark sappy holiday movies at home and nothing more. The shows are all just reruns, and even late night are reruns. (Come to think of it, I should call Time Warner Cable and tell them I don't want to pay for half the month, since it's all reruns.) It's hard to hold on to hope. I mean, I know, as a Christian, that God will take care of me, but... evil controls this world and it's getting worse. My old pastor used to say, how are we exempt? Most of Jesus' disciples died horrible deaths as martyrs.
I don't know...
My grown son is watching 80's movies, and tells me that even he sees how much things have gotten worse. My grown daughter says she is only listening to 90's music since it's nostalgic for her and helps her forget her financial woes. And my 15 year old doesn't realize how different our country is since the year she was born. We are losing freedoms quickly and have become something we never thought possible. I'm praying that 2013 will be better than this year. I'm praying I will have a better attitude with it all. And I'm asking God for the strength to endure.
Because we must...

Life's a Beach

Yes, I'm here at work and of course no one else is working... but that's how the newspaper business is. You always have to work. Period.
Sigh.
At least I have a job? WHY didn't I become a teacher like my sister and be home right now for the holidays with great benefits and great retirement?!? She gets summers off, all holidays and it's really not that hard no matter WHAT they tell you. And, how many fired teachers do you ever hear about?? Maybe on the news if they are caught having sex with a student, but other than that?? Not really.
Just read a super sad story about a Chinese slave labor camp sending a note in a Kmart Halloween novelty begging for them to give the note to the World Human Right Organization, saying that they make the equivalent of $1.61 per month, and must work 15 hour days with no time off or they face torture. Where are the Hollywood types marching about this?!?? Here's something I could agree with them on. It crosses my mind OFTEN that these Chinese slave laborers are making all of this crap for Americans, and must be wondering what our lives must be like. Maybe they too long for the freedom we have and all of the junk we buy. But the Hollywood types only do the "in" thing, like campaign for Obama, or same-sex rights, or abortion rights or whale rights.
Besides.
They are all in Aspen or Hawaii this week anyway. Looking for paparazzi to take their photos on how much fun they are having. Don't get me wrong. I wish I too were snowskiing or at the beach, frolicking about with not a care in the world. But alas. Here I sit at my sales job. On 100% commission. Listening to my boss abuse me constantly. I'm happy for them. I wish I could do that too.
Which reminds me - a few years ago my sister's good friend was King Antonio in San Antonio's Fiesta week. It is a man chosen each year from an exclusive all men's club who attends social parties every night over the week and is in parades, and represents the city. It has evolved since I was a child and now the Hispanics have El Rey Feo (the ugly king) which is a Hispanic (rich) business owner. He's sort of the anti- king... I worked for both metro papers in San Antonio, and most common folks resented the rich white King Antonio, so started giving 90% of the press to El Rey Feo. Too, the Hispanic king would raise money for needy kids, so it sounded better.
Anyway.
I tried to explain to my sister's friend that he would get a LOT more press from the Express-News if he would do fundraising for worthy causes, and specifically for needy children. I said that most employees at the paper think that King Antonio is a rich jerk, and he would have to fight that image. But he didn't listen. And he got almost no press. He impressed his Alamo Heights friends and that's it. I've noticed his men's club now does a lot more fundraising. And all of the beautiful people are "on holiday" right now.
And I'm stuck here...

Funny Christmas photo

Merry Christmas!!!

"Always Kiss Me Goodnight"

Well, the world didn't end on Friday, so my son got married. It was a sweet ceremony, small & perfect for the bride and groom.
Wishing them a lifetime of happiness & healthy-ness!

Don't Mess With Texas

One of my favorite advertising accounts - I love Texas :)

"Keep on swimming..." - Finding Nemo

I'm still having trouble posting... Yes, I am very opinionated about almost everything. And yes, there are lots of subjects to comment on. Like gun control. Oh pulleaseeeee. As Samuel Jackson said today, it's not a gun problem, it's a people problem in not teaching the value of life. And I agree with Rush Limbaugh, that this generation wants fame at any cost. If they can't be famous, then they will settle for infamous... They want to make their mark, even if it's for the wrong reasons. And as I've said in previous blogs, kids these days don't find it honorable to be doctors or scientists discovering the cure of cancer or attorneys fighting for justice. No, they all want to be pop stars like Britney Spears. They want to be the next American Idol. They've been brainwashed that business people are greedy capitalist bastards, and people like Mitt Romney are the enemy....  It's all very frustrating.
And I can't even watch anything about the school massacre. It's just too much. I can't look at their faces. I can't read the poems on Facebook. I am just turning off the news... Alex says she blames all of the news stations with 24/7 news glorifying criminals non-stop and since bad news sells, it encourages these mentally unstable people such as the school shooter.
My take? God is lifting His hand of protection over our country. God is a just God and He, by His own nature, cannot allow evil to persist. We have allowed the death of unborn children by the millions in America. We have taken prayer out of school. We are removing the Ten Commandments from courthouses. We are watching Christ being removed from Christmas, and nativity scenes everywhere are endangered. And then we wonder why there are so many killing sprees happening in our country.
Anyway.
It's a week from Christmas. DD has school finals this week. My son is getting married on Friday. I'm selling a Johnny Manziel (Heisman) section at work. I haven't finished my Christmas shopping. And time IS going faster than ever before. I'm trying to savor these Christmas moments. I'm trying so hard to be positive. And thankful. And happy.
But it just feels like I'm swimming upstream...

"You can all go to hell but I will go to Texas." - Davy Crockett

Week in review

DD sprained her ankle at school when a strong football player threw her in the air, shopping in Austin today, DD got her learner's drivers license yesterday, my darling grandson has been very very sick, and my son got his fiancé her engagement ring.
Whew...

And the angels cried

The sadness of the massacre in Connecticut overshadows anything anyone can say today. We are all left speechless. And somehow it's that much worse when we are within 10 days of Christmas Eve... This morning as I was going through my busy Friday, the report came over my phone as a Drudge newsflash. Soon, it was all over Facebook and email flash reports. And in this day of instant news, all the media were fighting to see who could get the information out the quickest. I got on a group message with my son and ex, both in Austin and both unemployed, so both had access to television coverage. And both were sickened by what they were seeing. My son's girlfriend was off today, so she immediately went to who they thought was the shooter, Ryan Lanza's Facebook page, as did my coworker. Facebook shut it down while both people I knew were looking at it. THAT'S how fast this day of information is.
Three years ago two children from our small town that we knew well died within a few months of each other. One of a freak stroke and the other a car accident. On both children, it was on Facebook before some of the family even knew. People who had been called by telephone, and posted before they should have. Then family members had to find out from friends who saw it on Facebook...
The news said that Ryan (brother of the shooter) heard on the media that he was the suspect, and called to say it was not him, and he had been at work all day. The shooter was his brother Adam, a mentally disturbed young man with high-functioning autism called Aspergers. I'm familiar with it because I have a coworker who's 17 year old son has it as well. He is extremely intelligent but socially as off as one can get. DD and I looked at each other and said we could easily imagine the guy we know with Aspergers doing something like this. He's so angry at the world, since he's smart enough to know how off he is. It's tragic. They become so bitter, that they take it out on the ones they love and strangers.
Sigh.
Blame has already started before these children are even buried. Blame on the guns. Blame that God has been removed from school. Blame on school security measures. You name it. But evidently this is our new norm. They said there have been FORTY PLUS school shootings since Columbine.
Heaven help us...

Shut the Front Door...

Did you hear that Nancy Pelosi is accusing Republicans of having a "lack of concern" about Kwanzaa? Wtf? I mean I know she is getting advanced in age and quite possibly senile, although it's hard to tell from all of her face lifts that make her look like the joker?!?
Does anyone really know what Kwanzaa is?!?  Does anyone know anybody who actually celebrates it? I'm not even going to google it because I DON'T CARE!!! Here we have a "holiday" that was invented for who knows WHAT, and now Republicans have a "lack of concern" for it?? Isn't that really just her way of calling them racists??
Of course it is...

Annual Bad Christmas Card photos

ENJOY!!

"It's a Wonderful Life..."

Well, down here in Texas,  we got a cold front and finally it feels Christmas-y. It had been unseasonably warm in the 80's lately, so I just wasn't feeling it. That and I'm giving all I've got to try to be in the Christmas spirit. I've decorated the house, put up lights outside, bought a poinsettia, am listening to some Christmas music, and still watching all of the sappy Hallmark movies that I so love. It's just that Alex's baby B is sick for the third week in a row, DD is still sulking about losing her boyfriend, money is tighter than ever, the men in my family are all still looking for jobs except my son-in-law, and my boss is using me as her whipping boy at work.
I actually was going to walk today. Just walk off the job. She is the most evil person I have ever encountered, along with the most selfish and rudest. She humiliated me over absolutely nothing and it was abusive to say the least. My coworkers all felt sorry for me and were kind. The guy who heard all of it said that he would testify to a hostile work environment if I left and applied for unemployment. It was tempting... But I'm a single mom and need the health benefits. So, until I can find something, which doesn't look at all possible in this economy or especially during the holidays, I'm stuck in this torture chamber. She's letting everyone else off on Christmas eve at noon, and even though I still have 5 holidays left this year and am taking one of them for my son's wedding next week, she now says I have to work that entire day. There won't even be anyone to make a sales call to. In a small town? On Christmas eve? Wow. She's Mr. Potter on "It's a Wonderful Life," (which happens to be my all-time favorite movie.)
Was thinking tonight that my town is like Bedford Falls. It's wonderful. Not perfect as nothing is, but as close as it gets on this planet. There are so many wonderful people in my town. Kind, caring, Christian, family-oriented people. I'm totally blessed to live here. The problem is there aren't many jobs. So I have to commute to the town I work in, which has some nice people but nothing on the scale of my town.
Sigh.
I saw the Drudge headline about what was happening in Detroit today with all those thug union guys out of control, and intimidating everyone over the Right to Work legislation. Ugh. I never ever want to even VISIT Detroit, much less Michigan. The Midwest used to be filled with wonderful salt of the earth people when I was growing up, but that's quickly changing. Maybe the United States isn't so united any more, and we should divide into quadrants with like-minded people.
Anyway.
It occurred to me tonight as I drove down Main Street with all of the beautiful lights, that the majority of people in my town are like George Bailey. But Detroit has too many Mr. Potter's.
And they have become Pottersville...

"Keep Calm and Carry On??"

Well, I WOULD have posted over the weekend if I hadn't of been as sick as I've been in about 10 years.... I had the stomach bug (flu?) so bad that I couldn't even MOVE without feeling like I would "wretch" (just found out that's the way the British say puke.) Yes, I learned that from the horrible prank that went terribly wrong in calling the hospital that Ducchess Kate was in last week, but I digress. Anyway. I couldn't watch television or hear any noise at all or I would feel "wretch-ed." It lasted all weekend.
So I missed my future daughter-in-law's graduation from the University of Texas (my alma mater) in the School of Communications (also my same major) in Journalism on Saturday, and consequent celebratory party. My grown son, who now calls himself a liberal, told me that I would NOT have enjoyed the graduation ceremony, since the commencement speaker was Bill White (Democrat who ran against Rick Perry for governor of Texas in the past election.) His speech did include good advice to these future journalists by saying that they should be objective and truthful, however then he went off on a rant about Fox News and how biased they are (like the other networks AREN'T???) and how they should not even be on the air. My son said he went on so long, that everyone got fidgety and uncomfortable, knowing that he was crossing the line into an area  he should not have entered.
So. There's that...
And, yes, I have not announced yet that my oldest, my only son, is getting married. They decided a week ago, and will have a immediate family-only wedding on Friday, December 21st. (Yes, you guessed it, they chose that day since it's the end of the Mayan calendar, so either the world will end or they will get married.) Anyway, I am very happy for them, and wish them a lifetime of happiness.
Something else I'm dealing with, as the single mother of a teenager, is DD's sadness at losing her boyfriend. She was sooooooo happy when they were dating and then he abruptly ended it. As I've mentioned, he evidently had already begun another relationship with a girl, and it was fairly advanced. That girl started bragging about their inappropriate texts, and in addition, some of the things she was saying were the same lines the boyfriend had told DD 7 months ago. Ugh... He went with the new girl immediately and now she is rubbing it in DD's face on Facebook after only 2 weeks. Arrrrrrrggggggggg.... Oh how I wish Facebook had NEVER been thought of. (Kind of like the nuclear bomb...) But it has. So. As they used to say in the sixties -- Love the bomb.
We have no other choice...

Christmas parade - small town - Main Street