Final Daze

And, it has been a bewildering year. The assassination of Benazir Bhutto this week was just the final shock in a terrible time. A time of inane leadership (here and other countries.) This was an incredibly intelligent, qualified leader and someone in a position to speak of democracy in the Middle East. We have no business meddling over there and when we do, it only inflames anti-American passion. Now another voice of moderation has been silenced. War continues.

Iowa is about to have an inappropriate and ill-proportioned say in our domestic leadership. Yeah, I sucked up in the Open Editorial Letter, but in the end it didn't help. The republican Register lived up to their rep and 1) failed to print an opposing view, and 2) endorsed Hoary Hillary hoping she'll lose in the general. They know damn well she won't be President -- she's too strident. And, despite Oprah's endorsement, I doubt Obama with his black and Muslim background, will either. And, he's a smoker. Here's a little something I clipped from another blog;

Smokers are considered by wellness enthusiasts as self-destructive, reckless lifestyle kamikazes lacking self-control, self-regard, dignity and panache. Just as you would not want to live with one, the chances are you would not vote for one, either.

I failed to make the wellness point for my man John Edwards. Look how fit and healthy he is at 54. Why would we want an ex junky or any of the old fat farts with baggy, saggy complexions and unhealthy hearts about to burst, as the Leader of the Free World? Having a moron hasn't worked, either. Let's have a healthy, respectable intellectual; someone who has taken care of himself, his family and is highly successful. Is that a hard call to make?

Truly bewildering is the environmental crisis. We're not making any real headway on the oil or deforestation issues. I remember putting up a solar panel in 1979. How is it that nearly 30 years later, they're still too expensive and complicated to use? I want a solar battery tender for my van. Think I can find one at a reasonable price? Ha! So forget solar powered cars or home panels. That's just F'd. And, so are we with this continuing oil dependency.

I feel my blood pressure rising. Which brings me to the concept of moral outrage. If we truly had any, instead of such apathy, we might see real change. But even that is bewildering. The Dalai Lama doesn't rant like this. In fact, he makes this important observation: All political and religious beliefs boil down to the desire for peace and happiness. He says we must not lose sight of the fundamental goal nor put the means before the end. We must always maintain the supremacy of Compassion over ideology. That's worth pondering for 2008.

I'm anxious to leave 2007 behind. It was a year of health crisis and many changes for me -- many of them hard and unsettlng. Yeah, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but it can also make us bitter and sour. My challenge is to keep the Attitude of Gratitude for 2008 and gratefully welcome the new year.

I've been anticipating 2008 for seven years. I remember thinking in 2001, that I had seven years "to go" (for retirement.) Now, it's here. This is my final year of the daily government grind. I want it to be joyful and light. I've earned my keep and shouldn't have to stress out this last year. I should use it for transition and to maintain my fledgling health. I won't miss 2007.

Holiday Spirit

The Solstice was 12.21 at 11:08 pm MST. I celebrated with my annual ritualistic practice of burning the old and welcoming the new energies for a new year. I believe the Winter Solstice is not only the shortest, but final day of the cycle we call a year. It was a wonderful day for me. A group of us went to the BioPark for lunch. We sat amidst the festive holiday decorations, looking at the giant aquarium and the creatures living there, enjoying each other's company and blessing this holiday season and the new year. An Attitude of Gratitude; that's a beautiful theme for the coming year. If I can foster that feeling, stay in the moment and be grateful for all I have, that will be a true blessing.

I am blessed to be alive. I had a close call in 2007 and spent the year changing my eating and other habit patterns. I never was a heavy smoker, but I have not smoked now for over 10 months. I haven't had a coke, fries, trans fatty food, and haven't played poker (sigh) -- it's been a lot of difficult changes. Yes, I feel better physically, and now it's time to feel better mentally.

I get caught up in the swirl of negativity at work, and feeding on it with others. My sincere wish for this Christmas season, calendar New Year and the Precession of the Equinoxes is to let go of anger, negativity, and too much "forward focus." I have looked forward to 2008 for several years. It marks the final year of "Prison" (aka, government job.) But, as we know, Freedom is a state of mind. Change your mind, change your life. I can be free now.

As I sit here surrounded by my Taoist books and tapes, Cameron creativity books, Progoff life analysis and "the Secret," I know intellectually how to do this. Think positive thoughts. We manifest our reality through our thoughts. I know how the Law of Attraction works. I simply need to DO IT! Just like I changed my physical habits, I need to change my mental habits.

So, I didn't post pictures of me and Izzi taking van trips (which we did again -- to lakes and mountain retreats), and I didn't recap my activities as a government webmaster or IT Project Manager because in my most favorite term "who gives a ratz azz" (really), and I didn't even link to the new video I produced for the County (ok so I will now: "Bringing the Best Together") I spent ALL of November doing NaNoWriMo (novel writing, again.) All you have to do to see my life in review is scroll through the posts here or on the old blog.

But, the most important thing is what's happening right now this season. Can we please have PEACE and Gratitude, not war and misery. For those of you in Iowa, please vote for John Edwards. He is the best kept Secret! Happy Holidays and P E A C E ! (to everyone of all faiths and locations.)

Why do people complain?

That is the question posed by A ComplaintFreeWorld.org
Here's what they have to say about complaining;

Michael Cunningham, Ph.D., a psychologist at the University of Louisville, proposes that the human predilection for complaining probably evolved from our ancestors' way of crying out a warning when something threatened the tribe. "Mammals are a squealing species," Dr. Cunningham says, "We talk about things that bother us as a way of getting help or seeking a posse to mount a counter attack."

When an attack is imminent, it makes sense to sound a warning. However, most people are not threatened and yet we complain 20-30 times a day. In so doing, we are sending out negative energy and drawing back to ourselves negative experiences.

People complain because they have an unmet need. They may want a social connection so they begin a conversation by complaining... (sometimes innocently about the weather, politics, or sports .) It sounds innocent enough, but this negative talk is actually reinforcing the concept that "something is wrong in my world." Our thoughts (especially when verbalized) bring more challenges to us as a result. Beyond the need to connect, many people have a need to be admired so they will complain about an other's behavior as a way of saying, "I'm better than that person." People who habitually complain are often ostracized by their family, friends and coworkers. Complainers tend to have poorer health and not do as well at work.

Whatever the reason a person may complain, there are a lot of important reasons to put on a purple bracelet and break the habit, NOW! (especially this holiday season or for the New Year.)

I was watching a TV poker tournament just now and one of the players was still complaining several hands later about his "bad break." (Poker is often the luck of the draw, despite what Hellmuth says.) The commentator said the old poker joke about whining is; both dogs and poker players whine, but dogs stop eventually. (Memorial moment for Chip Reese, who died last week at only 56. )

Most of us here in the U.S. have little reason to complain (of course, there are exceptions.) But, a nation who is suffering (actually dying) from eating too much, rather than starving, should not be complaining. We should count our blessings. So this holiday season, I'll focus on that. (And, watch or read "The Christmas Carol" yet again.) My goal for 08: Stop forging more chains.

BTW, for those who logged on for the holiday update, this is not it. But, it couldn't hurt to click on the links (all of them ;) The link to the personal stuff will be here (soon.)

TV

I hate to admit this, but I spend way too much time watching TV. For instance, I'm watching several episodes of "House" as I write this. I think it's one of the best series. House is a wildly complicated character -- a witty, pain killer-addicted, arrogant, anti-social doctor. His colleague and friend Wilson, and former lover/female hospital administrator Cuddy are enablers and equally complex. It's not a typical medical show -- it's highly unusual. Hugh Laurie is Oxford English and yet there's not a hint of accent in the mean-spirited character he plays.

I'm bummed to be missing Dexter, but not enough to subscribe to Showtime. I pay way too much as is for cable TV. I DVR and watch On Demand. As for Dexter, guess I'll have to wait and get episodes on DVD. I loved Michael C. Hall in "6 Feet Under" and I'm sure he makes a great serial-killing cop.

I also like Boston Legal, Monk, tons of stuff on PBS, Dirty Sexy Money (another 6FU fav), and believe it or not, the cartoon series "Family Guy." The intellectual baby Stewie is hilarious. So much so, i had to get a 2008 calendar of just him. I should be writing about John Edwards and trying to persuade you to vote for him. (Been there, done that. Now I'm waiting to see if my letter gets published in the Des Moines Register. If so, I'll link right here!!!)

What started this TV talk tonight was seeing something on Amazon that makes me salivate! Northern Exposure was one of my all time favorites. Right up there with... Twilight Zone and, yes, Alfred Hitchcock. Remember Dr. Joel Fleischman? Cynical, bitter, intellectual. Wow -- kind of House-like, eh? Or maybe I like House cause I miss Joel. How about the quirky, intellectual, philosophical radio DJ (played by -- come on. What's his name?) or Ed, the young Native American Shaman/film director wanna- be. Just look at that amazing complete set in a cowhide bag. But, wait... I read some of the reviews and the music is missing? WTF#$%!!^%$ The Music was such an intregal part of that show. OK, forget that set. sigh! Back to getting Edwards elected...

the Best Place in the Universe

I better make this entry good. (Search engines may find it.) Apparently life forms from all over the Galaxy are focused once again on New Mexico. You know, just like they were in 1947 (after we made the bomb) and then detonated it at White Sands. Word is when the alien rubber-neckers crashed at Roswell back then, they were actually just gawking at our beautiful state. Now, we know they were hoping to prevent us from blowing ourselves up. Even Marvin (the Martian) knew that! Anyway, "they're back." Better check out the videos. I don't know how to link directly to them from the official Tourism site, so here's the famous Alien Ad on You Tube.

I actually had to contact the state Tourism office and suggest they use a more friendly alien, not the Reptilian variety that munch down on us and do weird cattle experiments. You'd think after all the contact here our tourism folks would know all this. New Mexico -- gotta love it. It's Weird and Cosmic! Why else would I be here ;)

Fascist Police State

What we're writing and even eating is being tracked by the U.S. government. Honestly! I just sent the following emails. Blogging is fine, but one of our remaining rights is to contact our political leaders directly. I urge you to do the same.

Dear Mr. Edwards; I just sent the following email to to my Congressman (Bingaman.) But, as my Presidential candidate, I feel it's crucial that you also see this and take immediate action. I will be submitting an Op-Ed piece to the Des Moines Register (as a former Iowan), explaining why I feel it is essential that you emerge as the front-runner there. I intend to include something about the danger of these excessive Executive Powers in that piece, too.

Senator Bingaman; I must rely on you as my only Democratic congressional representative, to take decisive and immediate action against these outrageous Presidential directives (NSPD51 and HSPD 20) that give the Bush administrative excessive Executive powers. I have recently learned about directives to the FBI to monitor our email, personal activities and even our FOOD consumption, as ways to profile terrorist activities. I am a life-long, born-in-America, US Citizen. And if, as an open-minded "Anglo" female, I eat Mediterranean food, read Islamic literature, or even visit a Mosque, that is my absolute right. Or, at least I thought so, until I reviewed these directives. We are losing our Constitutional rights. I am shocked that the President has the power to order such monitoring and profiling of my activities. We have become the Fascists (authoritarian political ideology) and racists, and should not be interfering or intervening in the affairs of other nations when our own government is in shambles.

Correcting this situation, excessive Executive powers and directives, must be your top priority. This can be resolved quickly since you have Democratic control now. Then you can address climate, oil dependency and solar energy incentives. I know I speak for many who will not take the time to write. Protect US! Please act now.

Shhhh... I'm Noveling Now

Yep, I'm doing it!
Every year I swear I can't possibly do NaNoWriMo again. Yet, here I go again. Why? Why would anyone in their "write" mind even consider writing 50,000 words in a month? Why would anyone run a marathon? or climb Mt Everest? For the Challenge. To proclaim oneself successful, and like a marathon... just to cross the Finish Line.

But, I want to post this for ALL to see. I really only "have" to make 30K words, because I'm really trying to write a new middle section for my novel. Going all out for the 50K (which I did last year), means messy, stupid writing. And, that's wonderful -- actually a great way to write first draft stuff. Last year we would write anything during "all nighters" on weekend "write nights" to pump up the word count. It was a blast and some really creative stuff emerged. But, I can't do that this year. I'm on a deadline to finish this one, and I simply can't create another word pile. (but notice how many words I'm wasting on blog entries, updating the AKS site, and private Nanograms within the Nano site.) STOP the madness -- close the blog and start novel writing. NOW!

C ountdown to NANO (October 25)

November is National Novel Writing Month (hence the acronym.) How can I not do it, especially this year when I'm on a Mission to finish AKS. One of the few NaNo rules is to start a new project each time. Ha! this will be the third time I've violated that and worse, admitted it on the forums. Here is this year's early confession. I posted in the Roswell section to be funny and sneaky.

So, I have tonight, five more days and Halloween, which for me is NaNo Eve, to edit my existing material. Because the one thing that is important about NaNo is it's writing time -- NOT editing. Those are two entirely different activities that use different parts of the brain. And, since my brain is very bad these days, I can't possibly confuse it further mixing those modes. No Way!

And, for now, the most important thing is to get back to editing. YIKES! The clock is ticking.

Real Justice

Not only does Sheriff Joe Arpaio ("the toughest Sheriff in the nation") put Maricopa County (AZ) convicts in tents, he uses the air conditioned jail as an animal shelter. I love that! His point, "The animals deserve the better treatment. They are the victims of abuse. The criminals can live outside in the tents." I say RIGHT ON! He's absolutely right. Here in ABQ we've had the death penalty for animals who have already been victimized, while our jail inmates live in our luxurious 90 MILLION dollar jail. How screwed up is that? Bernalillo County will go bankrupt supporting this insane, upside down system. We can't afford to pay enough to hire competent IT staff, but we give incentives to bring in more corrections workers.

The staggering statistic I heard this week was this: What does it cost for a year at Harvard? $43-thousand. What does it cost for a year in the California penitentiary? $44-thousand. Clearly we need more politicians like Arpaio who will take a hard line. I'm sick of paying over 30% of my earnings for jails, jail scams, courthouse kickbacks, and the bloated cost of the alleged justice system (where there is none.) And, for wars and waste on the federal level. Which candidate is addressing this stuff? Take the Quiz and find out: Who to Vote for in 2008

take me to the River

After 3 1/2 years of cautiously protecting the title of another of my "in progress" writing projects, I can now reveal it. Not because it's finished, or published... oh no, because my lack of focus and inability to finish has resulted in yet another massive disappointment. "Take Me to the River" is indeed published, but by someone else.

I knew the title was too good and that's why I never, ever said it aloud. In hold'em, the River, is the final card. The title is a play on an old song by the Talking Heads. It was a perfect title for my effort to be the the first woman to bust the last bastion of male domination -- to Win the World Series of Poker (WSOP.) In writing (on blogs, my website, and in emails) I always referred to my poker journal as TmttR. Just like I call my Phil book AKS. Putting that stuff "out there" in the aether is too dangerous. The only thing I can say in my defense (on the poker project), is that unless I won (or at least PLAYED) in a WSOP, there was really no purpose to my 100,000 plus words about playing online and trying to get to the real deal. So, F that idea.

I haven't even played poker for the past few months. The first blow was having some local hag win a seat to this year's WSOP playing on AOL. That was enough to gag a maggot. I thought it was my destiny to 1) be the first ABQ player to win my way to WSOP, and do it on Full Tilt -- a far superior and respectable method, as opposed to idiotic AOL. 2) Once there, I was to make my way deep into the field of nearly 8-thousand players, ideally win of course. I knew winning was as unlikely as hitting Powerball, but that wasn't stopping me. 3) Once I won, or made the final table, or even just "made the money" (cashed), I would finish TmttR and voila, I would be a published writer. Interest in my poker playing experience and the subsequent TV interviews, would be the opportunity to promote my AKS novel, to be published next year (2008.) See how perfect my plan was? See how F'd it is now?

So, I'm pissed but Phil is ecstatic. He never cared for the poker project which has been just another diversion from completing AKS. He is doing everything he can (from Beyond) to pave the way so I will finish HIS book. Think I'm kidding? I could fill this blog with examples of how he has intervened to make AKS a reality.

Just today, YES TODAY, he insinuated himself into my consciousness. How? While I was bitching and muttering under my breath about the poker book fiasco, I went to the library to get a much needed Buddhist manual on anger management ;) As I was walking in the door, I glanced over where the library keeps a box of recycled magazines. There on the very top was a New Yorker magazine. I chuckled and thought, now wouldn't it be "a sign" if that was the one with the article about Phil. It was the August 20 issue. I picked it up, flipped it open, and there on the table of contents was Philip K Dick -- page 79. And, the title? "Blows Against the Empire: the Return of Philip K Dick." See -- he won't take no for an answer. I picked up the mag and brought it home. Now, here he is in full color, smirking at me with his famous furrowed brow, asking, "What will it take to get you to sit down and finish my story." And, heavy sigh, I have no answer.

a better mousetrap

For 99 cents you can get a snap trap, end up with blood on your hands, sometimes a mangled mess in the trap (often still suffering) that you have to pick up to toss, and a lifetime of recalling the scene and knowing you tortured or murdered a mouse. Yeah, I'm well aware a lot of people don't care about that last part. I learned that this past week trying to find a humane mouse trap. I heard about the "Have-a-heart" catch and release traps and tried to locate one. The problem is the smallest one is really too big for catching a mouse in the house. They're designed for garden rodents. When I called Chase Hardware (N Valley, in ABQ) a nice woman said they had some "no kill" traps that were much smaller. Yay! I was on my way.

When I got there I found some horrible implements of death. Glue traps, sonic something that makes them go insane (the label proudly states that), and the alleged "no kill" traps that were too small and clearly could chop off a tail and then leave them in something smaller than a matchbox. I took that up to the "customer service" counter and asked the woman if she was the one I spoke with on the phone. No. I said this was the only "no kill" trap they had and how would you release it? The woman went berserk. "You don't release it. You toss it in the trash. Why would you want to release it?" I tried to stay calm and said, "I called asking for "no kill" traps and the other woman said you have them." Still red in the face and ugly as hell, she says, "It's alive, but you don't release them..." and again she asks me, even louder this time, "Why do you want to release it?" -- her eyes bulging, with a hideous facial expression. At that point, I tossed the trap at her and said, "it's none of your business why I want to release it. But, it is my business how you are treating a customer and I'll take that up with your management."

Time out on the mouse and humane aspect for a moment. I work in government. When citizens come in and request information we don't ask "Why do you want this?" It's public record and none of our business. When I go to a store and ask for a product, it's not the clerk's business why I want it. Bulging eyes, veins protruding from her redneck and escalating volume pretty much indicate she's not trying to be helpful. (That part is going in my letter to the company.)

So, I was back home with no humane trap and facing another night of seeing the mouse running around and brazenly sitting on my kitchen counter. Almost enough for me to get the Decon and do him in. When I googled "humane mouse trap" and found this fabulous idea. So easy and works perfectly (just don't put a plastic liner in the tall trash can, cause they can climb up and out of that.) Once the little bugger was in the trash can, I just took the dog along and ran a block or so down to the ditch bank (plastic trash can extended away from me), and released him. Just to be safe, I set it up again, and sure enough the next morning another one was in there. Now, some might say the same one, since like dogs, apparently they will try to return "home." So, to be safe, this time I did put him in a large dumpster further away. I haven't seen one since. I am taking some precautions now to keep them out.

Now, let's have that discussion, WHY would I go to all this trouble? All I can say is there are two kind of people in the world: 1) Those who honestly believe the human species is superior, despite all the atrocities we commit to our own and others, and despite our alleged "evolution" we are pathetically inhumane; 2) and those labeled "tree huggers", liberal environmentalists, anti-war activists, non-violent monks (who get killed standing up for human and animal rights), and those of us who just prefer not to kill other living creatures. Mick Vick, whatever the fucker's name is that killed the dogs "for sport," is about the only creature I want to catch in a snap trap. I'd like to find him half-mangled and still breathing so I could ask, "Why would I want to release it?"

A Novel Idea

It's the last day of summer! I was riding my cycle, hair blowing in the wind, 85 here in ABQ. Tomorrow is supposed to be much cooler and rainy -- fitting for Fall. That's when I'll really write... (yeah, right!)

Honestly, I'm doing it. I plan to pull an all nighter and I worked on it all morning (the novel.)

I keep forgetting to mention this horrifying statistic: only one in four people even read a book last year. A single book! That's really difficult for a reader to grasp, and sad for those of us writing and hoping to find future readers. Unless, of course, your name is JK Rowling who had no trouble getting 16 million people to buy the final Potter book. Can you imagine how many more read library or borrowed copies of it!

It simply reaffirms that a novel must be novel. That is constantly on my mind. I can't rehash some tired old format or cliche concept. Fresh fiction...

(I forgot I started this and took off with Mo.) We went out to celebrate the Equinox (early.) And, where were we? A book store. Books are on my brain and with fall comes the real writing season. I better finish this now, because even if I do pull the writing all-nighter, I'll surely collapse before 3:51 am. Unlike Phil who would start at 11 pm and go until 5 am -- when he was MY age. YIKES! Anyway, I didn't finish my literary thoughts, but I do want to acknowledge the Equinox , and the Precession of the Equinoxes, like my novel, "The process is slow, but cumulative." (And, it's a chapter title in AKS!)

Queen of Mean

I've had a lot of blog fodder rolling around in my head, but I've tried to be good and work only on the novel. I have to spit some of this out cause it's clogging my brain. Leona Hemsley leaving 12 Mil to her dog. I know that upset some people, but that's better than the sports ass who was killing and torturing dogs. Now that upsets me. F him. I've always thought of leaving my money (what little there is) to whoever would take care of my pet (s) should they survive me. Why not leave $$ to Isadora for the person who would step up if I stroke out. Of course, this kind of tips my hand. I'll have to build in some safeguards to make sure whoever it is truly takes care of her in the style she's accustomed to -- and that means riding in the "rig", going on trips, eating well, etc. PJMR (you know who U R.) If you're reading this you'll have to help with that one!

Speaking of sports a-holes, the "IF I did it" book is out. At least the proceeds are going to the Goldman family and not OJ. Can you possibly imagine anyone writing anything like that if they didn't do it. Come on. I read somewhere that testosterone/hormone, steroids and adrenaline are all linked to RAGE. I know this from personal experience and past hormonal imbalances. So these jerks that are all hopped up on steroids are capable of anything. I'm sure OJ did it and now we have the confession.

And finally, speaking of mean, I watched Christopher Hitchens on "book tv" last weekend. Like Bill Maher, he's an Athiest. I have to wrestle with how I feel about that. One of my idols, who figures in my novel, John Gribbin, once said he didn't believe anything. Here's his precise quote, "My own opinion is that belief is the death of intelligence. As soon as one believes a doctrine of any sort, or assumes certitude, one stops thinking about that aspect of existence. The more certitude one assumes, the less there is left to think about, and a person sure of everything would never have any need to think about anything and might be considered clinically dead." That was my man Gribbin. Hitchens, on the other hand, is not so eloquent. He calls religion "a crazy self-centered idea." He did make a valid point about the pious -- those who pretend to be devout. And, I did laugh when he talked about the "pinched and scorny faces of the pious." OK, pious is pathetic, but authentic spiritual beliefs are another matter. And, that's enough for now. Gotta meet my AKS editing goal, or else!

Watching the Grass Grow

I come back from my wilderness retreat, turn on the tv and there's the alleged political pundits pontificating on the 2008 election. At least when I'm in the middle of nowhere watching the grass grow, I'm meditating and contemplating on things more immediate than an election that's still 15 months out. But since I saw this, "Meet the Press", here's my thoughts. This Senator Craig was forced to resign because he "touched a foot" under a restroom stall? I'm still not clear on what happened there but I had to laugh my ass off listening to out-of-touch Mary "Magdalene" Matalin, the old George H Bush hack and self-proclaimed republican spokesperson (at-large), blather on about the viability of the R presidential candidates. Pahleeeeze. Would that be cross-dressing, adulterer Giuliani? Or perhaps Mr. Mit Morman Macho Mess who's run will never fly, (should that be his fly will never run?) who cites the Bible has his favorite book (geez.) Or perhaps old down-home actor/lobbyist Fred Thompson with his trophy wife (25 years younger than him?) These guys are fit for President, but the footsy-playing Idaho senator had to resign. hmmmm.

As a former Iowan and barometer of midwest sensibilities, I will be shocked if any of these pillars of stability appeal to the State Fair State. Thompson did attend for photo-ops (the Fair.) I'm only concerned about who Iowa picks in the democratic caucus in January. A few months ago, the Des Moines Register had my man Edwards a clear favorite with 30% of the vote. Now, that's slipped and current polls show Hoary Hillary in the lead. (don't make assumptions about what hoary means -- if you don't know look it up! Better yet, let me provide the definition: dated; tedious from familiarity; stale: as in "Please don't tell that hoary joke at dinner again tonight.")

And, how about James Carville, ex-Clinton hack and married to the Mouth Matalin (ref above.) I swear he's turning into Yoda right before our eyes on national television. Huge hairy ears, bald head, big, bulging eyes. Good grief!

And, our poor host, Tim Russert, seems equally out of touch with reality, closing the show with a comment about how we'll continue this conversation around our BBQ's for the holiday weekend. Huh? Do you honestly think regular Americans chat about this crap on their holiday weekend?

Bottom line: it's too frickin' early to care about the 2008 election -- especially on Labor Day Weekend 2007! I hope everyone is out there enjoying nature, as I just did, and if they think about anything, let it be global warming and how to preserve what beautiful environment we have left.

The Artiste of the Slightly Funny Deal

Phil's in the news again. The New Yorker magazine this time. I like this line, "Dick’s allegiance was not to literature but to writing and to the possibilities of writing as a form of protest and instant social satire. Another twist of fate, or circumstance, and he could have ended up as Rod Serling." The article also says, "Dick’s last big book was a work of cosmic explanation in which lightning bolts of brilliance flash over salty oceans of insanity. Poe’s explanation of everything was called “Eureka.” Dick’s was “VALIS.”

And, William Gibson's tour de force was "Neuromancer." I know I just went off on this topic a few days ago, but I'm not done. (sorry Phil, but I've got Gibson and Cyberspace on the brain right now.) I just blogged about the fact that Gibson coined the phrase cyberspace in 1982, a good ten years before mainstream America was about to step head-long into it. I was tinkering in that virtual realm myself back then (running a BBS from 1983 until I converted to a website in 1994.) I've paid homage to both Gibson, and Neal Stephenson (of SnowCrash fame) as my cyber godfathers. Both clearly visualized worlds where we exist virtually, rather than physically (in meat space, as Gibson called it.) And, yes, Philip K Dick was certainly a visionary, also. He was writing about computers and alternate realities in the 1950's, for gawd sake! But, did you know that on the same page where Gibson first used the now famous word Cyberspace, he also called it the Matrix!!! Here's the groundbreaking line: "He operated on an almost permanent adrenaline high, a by-product of youth and proficiency, jacked into a custom cyberspace deck that projected his disembodied consciousness into the consensual hallucination that was the Matrix."

In fact, our anti-hero Case (the protag of Neuromancer) was a "console cowboy" using a cyberspace deck to jack into the Matrix. So, the Matrix (aka, Metaverse to me and Neal) was the destination. I searched just now (in cyberspace, of course) and found that the directors of Matrix, the Wachowski brothers, credit Gibson, Stephenson and Philip K Dick for their concepts! That's cool. I was always kind of pissed off thinking they plagiarized the stuff.

Anyway, what got me going on all this (again) is the release of Gibson's newest book, "Spook Country." This is the second of his "current time" novels and uses some of the same characters as Pattern Recognition. I'm anxious to LISTEN to it on audiobook CD while traveling in a few days. I purposely didn't put links to a lot of the references to keep you moving forward. But, here, by all means, jack in yourself to the book that started it all and go ahead and veer off to PKD 's latest tribute (of sorts.) Even take a quick click on Johnny Mnemonic, an even earlier Gibson creation

Oh, and as for the title of this entry... that was a line from the first page of Neuromancer where the bartender Ratz refers to Case as "the artiste of the slightly funny deal." PKD, and hell, me, too!

Fast Money

I'm still laughing over the stock show on CNBC. Ex-hedge fund manager Jim Cramer started this trend of screaming and acting out on his "Mad Money" show. But, truth-be-known, the Kahuna and Brain were spewing witty stock talk on early morning Squawk Box years ago before it became so fashionable. But, I've got to hand it to these guys on "Fast Money." They're pretty witty. I don't know what was funnier... their repetitious growling about hanging at the buffet with "the old man" (which is only funny if you know they mean Warren Buffet, the famous Oracle of Omaha) or their talk of fall TV trades. What made this funny was the talk of manna falling from heaven and helicopters thanks to the upcoming political ads. TV networks and cable TV will be the ultimate beneficiary of the 2008 Presidential election when, as they say, "multi" millions will be spent by the top candidates. That's sick (as in bad, not impressive.)

OK, so I'm alternating between laughing and shaking my head. "Money, money, money" -- it is so pathetic, really. This sub-prime loan mess doesn't surprise me. I never could understand how or why banks were willing to make such huge, extravagant home loans to people who could barely make these payments. Now we know -- they couldn't make them and foreclosures are at all time highs. It's just one more crisis. The ridiculous, inexplicable war. Global warming generating bizarre weather, and 2012 is looming (the end of the Mayan and Hopi calendars.) I should just go back to gambling. Roll the dice, cut the cards -- it's all fast money, and who knows how long we have to spend it.

Testing the Water

What do fish and stocks have in common? Hmmm. You can say both stink. What I had in mind was how I have literally been testing the water this week. My betta fish is sick and I keep testing his water, trying to regulate his tank so he can get well, live long and prosper. (Betta Release 1.0 is three fish years, which equals about 35 human years. Still young.)

The stock market is sick. The Fed has been trying to regulate those turbulent waters. These wild Tsunami swings are tough to take. I wanted to buy RIMM (Research in Motion, aka Blackberry) before Monday. I can reveal now that it splits 3 for 1 Monday. It's waaaaay too expensive at $200 per share. But, as I suspected it closed up $22.50 per share today, closing at $220. I'm sick because I should have bought RIMM back in 2005. I actually thought it was too expensive then. Ha! It's up about 2000% from then. I have owned AMZN (Amazon) since the beginning. I rode that baby from a $20 stock to a $400 stock, watched it split (several times), collapse and now come back as one of the alleged "four horseman" of tech stocks. AMZN has been very, very good to me. I owned AAPL, another of the "horsemen" (these are the four.) It was the very first stock I ever owned (1980's!) I could be Warren Buffet if I had kept that one. I sold it in the 1990's when I thought Macs and Jobs were washed up. Ha! Didn't see iPods and iPhones coming. It trades around $125 a share after who knows how many splits. I'd love to own GOOG (Google) but it has never been less than $200 a share for the average person and currently trades at -- get this -- $500 a share! When will it split? People will go crazy and it will immediately run amok again.

What will I do when I retire? Come on. I could keep an eye on the market, which is far too time consuming for a working person. I can travel and write (more likely.) Or, I could renounce my materialistic ways, meditate and teach T'ai Chi. I'll be doing the Buddhist thing tomorrow -- a retreat. Let's see which wins out ;) For now, I'll just keep testing the waters.

Second Life

I only gave a few seconds thought to the name of this blog. I've been blogging in my Zen Blog since 2001, but I'm really tired of that closed community. I can't get any feedback unless people join. No one wants to join these sites unless they blog there. I thought of setting up my own blog software, but that's just too much work. Which brings me to today's topic. Living in cyberspace.

Blogosphere, a term coined in 1999 as a joke, is becoming common slang now. When I first created a web site in 1994, I called it the Metaverse after the virtual reality existence envisioned by Neal Stephenson in his landmark cyberpunk, sci-fi novel "Snow Crash." Ten years before that, William Gibson (another idol) wrote "neuromancer" and created the original concept of cyberspace as a consensual hallucination for the alternate reality of console cowboys. Gibson was an early adopter of AI, neuro and bio-genetics, and helped fashion virtual reality. Both Gibson and Stephenson envisioned a dystopian society where multi-national corporations, pollution and over-population make living in cyberspace preferable to "meatspace" (Gibson called the "real" world.) SnowCrash had us designing our own avatars for virtual life. If you were a skinny nerd, you might take on a bulked-up super hero appearance in the Metaverse.

Now that the 21st Century is established, maybe they weren't too far off. Global warming and multi-national corporations are making life miserable enough that some people are actually living SL. What's that? Check it out. Second Life. Remember the Sims and Sim City? Well, SL is Sims gone amok. "Residents" are so addicted to this second life, that I understand the KOS blogger convention actually ran a second convention in SL. that's pretty weird. But, who am I to judge? I can sometimes get immersed in my own web/blog/poker virtual reality, and I know some folks that spend a little too much time in online multi-player games. And, for sure 13 years ago I wanted to live in the Metaverse myself. Heck, maybe that's where I'll be living soon anyway. I'm anxious to leave behind the work-day world. And since I'm too young to retire, I like to think of it as Phase Two. Pretty similar to Second Life, eh?