03 February 2013

the evolution of dog

miss scarlet was the love of my life...just a few short years ago.  her antics tickled me pink, her sweet but sassy little attitude melted my heart, and the way she could brighten my day with a little bat of those baby browns more than made up for how much of a pain in the ass she is.  she was the baby of the house, until the human baby came in and stole her thunder.

for the first week of life with a tiny human, scarlet barked at the baby.  the second week she left the room when the baby was around.  and for the next several months, she gradually learned to tolerate the baby. when food started to drop from above when baby was sitting in the kitchen, scarlet's acceptance took root.  and now that baby is up and around, and starting to play a meek game of tug of war, scarlet is taking on the role of big sister.

i'll probably shed a wee tear of joy when she gives up her spot at the foot of my bed for a warm spot in the bed with the tiny human...someday.

~k


27 January 2013

head in sand

and about the environment.

this is something else i just don't get.  even if you think climate change is a hoax (and really? really?), why are you so opposed to cleaning up dirty air, requiring industries to keep paint and oil out of our drinking water and crops, and limiting the amount of crap we all put into landfills?  why?

why is the only dude in my neighborhood that doesn't use the FREE recycling bins provided by our city (a no-sort container for aluminum, glass, paper, plastic, textiles, cardboard, etc) one of those batshit republicans with the "who is john galt" bumper sticker on his old jeep cherokee...right next to the obama as the joker sticker?  because he's making a statement that he doesn't believe in recycling?  or is it that he is so unbelievably selfish he doesn't care that he's leaving a slightly dirtier world to his children?

and do you no-government-ever-at-all people honestly believe that businesses and industries will benevolently pay to dispose of toxic materials because it is the right thing to do?    fuck no.  without regulations, they would be dumping every single toxicity they manufacture into the air, ground, creeks, rivers, lakes and oceans, contaminating everything you breathe, eat, wear, and shit.

and is it such a bad idea to invest in the manufacturing jobs of tomorrow?  i mean, get a clue.  coal mines, oil fields, and all that is dirty is going away (and honestly, do you really want to work in any of those nasty ass industries?).  we need to invest in clean energy, renewables, and the related maintenance technologies so that china doesn't take that market.  the world is going green.  period.  we can either lead the way or we can resist ourselves into a dark, dirty, uninhabitable, bankrupt america that looks more like the districts of panem than the country we see today.

yeah, yeah, yeah, "we don't have the money".  we have the money, we just spend it poorly...no argument there.  the difference between you and me and money is that you blew it when you took down the economy and started (and want to keep blowing it on) unnecessary and strategically bankrupt wars and tax breaks for people who don't reinvest those savings in america.  i'd rather spend it to clean up, rebuild, educate and rehire america.

it would be awesome if you'd get your head out of your ass so we could all work together, to really talk about where we can intelligently reallocate our limited funds, and get this ship turned in the right direction.  but so long as you're focused on the earth being 6,000 years old, regulating my uterus, and stockpiling assault weapons to protect yourself from the muslim president, there's no way we can have an intelligent conversation with you...because you are proof that we aren't spending enough money on education.

~k



23 January 2013

the hearing

[benghazi was] "the worst tragedy since 9/11".  wow, what color is the sky in rand paul's world?

does he get the newspaper at his house?  or own a television, or computer?  i guess no one ever told him about the wars that've been killing americans for 12 years, newtown, connecticut, or the hostages killed in algeria this week.

i've never quite been able to wrap my mind around this benghazi "scandal".  our embassy was attacked.  four american diplomats died.  yes, it was a terrible tragedy.  but it happened in the most dangerous part of the world...to people who accepted that as a possible outcome when they signed up for a post in _libya_.

there's a special kind of someone who wants so desperately to see the world become a better place, he's willing to put his life on the line to help birth a new democracy.  someone who wanted to build a democracy in a region that's been ravaged throughout history, and conditioned to fear and even hate a country he loves.  that was christopher stevens.  he didn't want to die.  he didn't want his comprades to die either.  no one did.  and no one meant for this to happen.  it is a terrible tragedy, and a loss to all americans.  and yes, mistakes were made, security was sparse, and the negligence cost four americans their lives, but this witch-hunt by senate republicans is incomprehensible.

this is the same fucking party that bullshit its way into a war with iraq...a war, incidentally, that has cost 4488 american lives.  and now they demand that heads must roll because the declassified talking points provided to the morning-show-stooge (i'm sorry madame ambassador--i don't actually think you a stooge. it's mere wordery) were "misleading".  the effrontery exceeds my comprehension.

like, i don't even know what else to say...

~k

21 January 2013

guns and rules

i don't get the whole guns thing.  at all.

i don't care if you have guns.  have all the guns you want.  shoot every deer and pheasant between here and mt. rushmore for all i care.  have two guns.  five.  ten even.  i. do. not. care.  but tell me why it is that a background check bears any resemblance to an infringement of your constitutional rights.  tell me why a ban on high capacity magazines and the amount of ammunition you can buy is akin to being packed naked into an overcrowded box car and shipped to a camp that will kill you.  and then tell me why--and i want a really good reason--why any civilian has any need whatsoever for military weapons (cuz i know you're not hunting with them).

from where i sit, the only thing i can come up with is paranoia.

maybe it's paranoia that the neighbor (or the neighbor's kid) is going to rob you and set your house on fire. or maybe it's fear that the government is going to come throw you out of their own home.  or both.  either way, what the fuck kind of fear is defining your life?

stop.  think about this.  could the government become so oppressive that it storms into your home and makes a slave of you and your family?   fuck. no. it. couldn't.  this country is too big, has waaaaaaay too many people, and waaaaay too strong of a standing armed forces.  and even if something powerful enough to overtake our government and army (not a even a real live socialist kenyan muslim president could pull that off) does exist, the arsenal in the basement isn't going to do shit for you.  and more likely than the government takeover, is the possibility that your arsenal could be used (accidentally or otherwise) to cause you and others great devastation.  think about that for a minute.

and then let's talk about your constitutional rights.

if you still want guns, have your guns.  but get the same kind of licensing i am required to own and operate a _car_ (this is such a "duh" for me). i mean...will people without a license be able to get a gun?  i'm sure.  but we have to start somewhere.  keeping gun ownership from the people who have proven themselves to be bad or mentally unstable (and let experts in the fields of criminals and insanity define who that it) is the smart thing to do.  making sure that people with guns are educated about them is the smart thing to do.  limiting the number of rounds in a magazine could save a life, five lives, maybe even 10 or 20.  how is that not worth the minor inconvenience to you to having to reload before blowing the guts out of the next deer that happens into the slaughter?

guns are really dangerous.  they need rules.  and, frankly, anyone objecting to reasonable gun safety rules seems pretty irrational.  and those of you vociferously objecting to gun safety rules...well, you look like a fucking whack job.

~k




05 January 2013

the light of my life

but i wanted a baby, and not just any baby, but the baby i got.  she's exactly who i've dreamed of having in my life.  my beautiful, sweet, little buddy.  i get to show her the world and teach her about life, and then watch her go off and live her own.  i love life with her.  and i wouldn't trade it in for anything.

~k

frost's disappointment

it never even occurred to me to make a resolution this new year.  sure, there are things i'd like to do differently (eating a bit healthier (not that i'm a terribly unhealthy eater, but i could use a few more fruits and veggies), being a bit more patient with my husband (it's really hard to live with a child in an adult-sized body), working out a little more, and writing a lot more), but committing to such things in resolution form...it's just more of a commitment than i can make right now.

the writing thing, though...i really, really, really want to write more.  i feel like i can't seem to find my voice.  i mean, i have lots of mommy tales to tell.  i have lots of political rants in my head.  but i can't find the inclination to put them into words.  wtf!?  it seems like it all went to shit when i left los angeles.  is it because i left my voice on the music box steps?  i've thought about changing the name of my blog, or perhaps starting another, but i would really rather find another way to unleash my muse because 'notes from the music box steps' feels such a part of me.

or maybe it's just my way of hanging onto the life i left behind???

i miss los angeles every single day (especially in the winter).  i miss the random smell of jasmine in the air.  i miss my friends.  i miss my bumpy road, 4100, dusty's, and that it never got cold.  i miss my deck, schneider, and living on the music box steps.  and while there are certainly things i really love about my new life, i'm starting to worry that i intentionally chose the road most travelled, and that maybe, just maybe, it's made all the wrong difference...

~k