The Latest News

It's been awhile. I know. I have been away.

So, what's new? Well, I have just discovered a brand new food stuck comonly known as the chickpea (aka the garbanzo bean) and I am in love. It has a buttery flavor that surprises the palate. Plus, it fufills all the requirements... it's cheap, storable for long periods in my cupboard, able to be cooked in one point with no more than three additional ingredients (can not handle more than that), healthy, and, of course, something I am actually able to cook. Needless to say, there are not many foods that fulfill these stringent requirements so any new addition is always celebrated with glee.

What else... Barack did it. And, it looks like the environment might actually be a factor in this election. That's a promising bit of hope. Another bit of hope, my mother is no longer drinking bottled water because, and I quote (please imagine in a slight Chicago accent but please do not ever mention this to her, for your own sake), 'I realized that's a lot of plastic I generate.' She mentioned the cancer thing too but of course 'they're always saying things like that'. My stepdad (aka world's coolest man aka if everone could be like him the world would be such a wonderful place although my mother would have to be institutionalized for having been driven insane) actually went kayaking with me and even tried to get us into some wetlands. It was very sweet and I'll be honest, no one in my family has ever taken any interest in anything environmental, ever. They aren't bad people or horrific consumers (not this side at least) they just are hard-working midwesterners with more important things to worry about. So, yeah, I just got back from a family reunion. Hadn't seen my family in years. Good times were had I do have to say. I didn't even cry, not once. And, I think I am my aunt's hero for telling my mom to quit complaining.

So, I guess you could say I'm feeling pretty good. Maybe it's because I haven't watched the news in about 3 weeks so I have nothing to be pissed off about. I don't know. But the vitriol has subsided, at least for a little while. And, if I might add, none too soon. I was starting to get ornery.

What else, fuel prices, I guess. The story is getting old though. It will be news again if the prices don't rise.

Oh, I saw Richard Simmons. He was on the second leg of my three-plane ride, 'I'm not even going to tell you how many hours long but I am still tired a week later' ordeal to get home from the family reunion. Mr. Simmons was sitting in first-class. Unmistakeable in his red tank top and curly 'what Donald Trump wishes he had' hair. I couldn't tell you about the shorts because he was sitting in the window-seat so I could not get a look. He has aged since the torturous gym classes of my middle school years and his hair has thinned a bit (yes, it is real), but he's looking good. He was very smiley but not in a creepy way, in a happy nice kind of way.

No, I did not talk to him.

I have decided that World of Warcraft is definitely evil. And I am one of the lucky few who has had basically no experience of it at all. Just what I overhear and... it is evil. I am glad that no one reads this because otherwise I would probably be hunted down and killed for what I have just said. But the truth must be spoken.

And I am not talking about baseball. I just can't. It's too painful.

Mother Nature, Do Not Mess With Her

There are massive floods in the Midwest. Man-made dams and reservoirs are bursting. A lake has burst its berm sweeping away several multi-million dollar homes in the process, a man-made lake. It's the worst flooding in the last 15 years.

When will people learn that mother nature will take back her land. Rivers flood their banks and water will eventually go where it wants. And it is well known that bad floods happen. A little thing called the 100-year event. I just get mad at our attempts to control hydrology. It has such horrible effects on the environment. I just find it interesting that the worst damage is occurring at engineered sites.

And by the way. Why don't the airlines design some more fuel-efficient airplanes? We all know oil prices are never dropping. Doesn't matter that much to me. I'm all for airplanes charging by the pound, I only weigh about a 100 pounds.