Who Knew?

I'm sorry I was gone for a while. I had a couple of intense workshops back-to-back, and while I've just seen another which is tempting, I'm kind of "workshopped-out" and not only that, my budget needs a break.

So. Who knew? I'm not a big fan of George Carlin, but here is something I really should have known because I do know that most comics are extremely intelligent. You can't be stupid and do good comedy. Sure, he's mostly known for his "7 Words" schtick, but here, he nails EXACTLY what has happened to society and how we've become even more inhumane toward others. Watch the clip here, and I apologize for the poop commercial. Just skip that one. George had nothing to do with that, though I'm sure he'd have seen the humor in it...

Knitting...

Frogged Teal Sock #2 because somehow, the 3 knitted row start to the cuff ended up on the wrong side. I want the knit side to show, not the purl side. Luckily, I only had the cuff and a few rows of the leg done. So I frogged it and now it's sitting wound up waiting for the yarn to relax. 

I will not be knitting tonight, likely - I'm teaching the Yin class. 

I will probably start another pair of socks. I normally don't do that till I have a pair, but I do want to make some headway. I will also likely bring the Fluffy Scarf stuff home today; maybe THAT is all I'll want to knit tonight after yoga. I've got to get those rolling; I'm about 50% done with the project.

Politics...

See George Carlin above... 

Also, I have a beef. (Well, one among many.) I truly, truly, TRULY despise Freaky Freddie and his Westboro Whackos. However. The Supreme Court has upheld his right to speak. 

The reason I even mention his name is that, in Monday's Chicago Trib, someone has decided to sue their local public library. Because of porn. Well, it's not even her LOCAL library. The quote that got me was this one:

"Who do they think they are?"

Let's look at that, shall we? THEY are the PUBLIC library. The one that all of us pay for in our tax bills. The place where the censors should not enter. 

They've been sued over this issue before. The plaintiffs didn't win. The Chicago-based American Library Association even backs this particular library. As does current case law, specifically because there is no precise legal definition of pornography. The "I'll know it when I see it" thing doesn't work here. It can't. Because I might find a picture of a woman in a bikini "offensive" when it's a shot of Frankie and Annette (look it up if you don't know who I'm talking about) back in the '50s in "Beach Blanket Bingo." 

There's a case in Virginia where the court found that Internet filters on all public library computers were unconstitutional. And let's look at removing "Satanic" books... There was a 1982 case where the SCOTUS said it was unconstitutional to remove books after the public had access to them. 

That darned Constitution. 

This woman's complaint is that the last time she was in there, she saw 3 different men at 3 different computers viewing porn. According to the library, the adult section is not near the kid's section. Children under 18 can't log onto the computers in the adult lab, and the library has privacy screens on the computers, so passers-by can't see what anyone else is doing. I've seen those kinds of screens, and you mostly have to be standing directly behind someone, looking straight-on at the screen. There are also filters in the kids' area which prevent them from looking up inappropriate stuff. 

However... I think that perhaps this library could put partitions up to more fully enclose the adult area. It seems that it's more open than maybe it should be. 

I don't like porn. I think it's degrading to women. And I feel like I know it when I see it, but I recognize that that concept won't hold water. And yes, whether I like it or not, if you want to view porn on the library computer, you have that right.

Just like I have the right to NOT view porn if I want. Because we both pay taxes for our library district. 

At the end of the article, the woman said, "If they had (apologized) to me, they would not be in this position right now." 

Really? Something's not sitting right. You're offended so long as you get a big strong library district to apologize. Then what? The issue is pretty much a done deal; people will look at things you will find offensive. It sounds as if this library district might make some small tweaks to the location of their adult computer lab, but let's be realistic in this day and age of smaller and smaller budgets. 

The complaining woman has to get over it and move on to the kids' section, where she says she was headed anyway.

I will tell you that I once complained to my HR director about a screen saver one of our salesmen had on his computer. It was a "Sports Illustrated Swimsuits" screensaver, and while it wasn't explicitly pornographic, my issue was more that the "bullpen" where our sales staff sat was directly in view of visitors and current and/or potential customers. The last thing you want to do is lose a customer -- and that's a valid reason for prohibiting that kind of thing where it's "open and notorious" to use a legal turn of phrase.

Food...

Losing several pounds, thankfully. I think that the darkness has something to do with it. You almost have this primitive need to "pack on pounds" because of some latent "caveman" thing where you maybe won't eat for the next several weeks... I can do without that impulse, thanks! 

Losing the Halloween candy helped... 

Haven't finalized the Thanksgiving menu yet, but since we hold ours the Sunday before, I know I have to get on it. It's going to be ham and a turkey, with mostly the usual sides. Just a matter of who's doing what. 

Random Picture...

Shower Cake

There will be two of them today. One is the shower cake I made for my great-nephew's arrival several years ago. Yes, I went nuts; yes, those were his nursery colors. And yes, since I found that my nephew and his wife loved Jelly Bellys - I bought them in those colors for table favors. In case you want to know, yes, you can get Jelly Bellys in TONS of flavors and colors. These were chocolate, coconut, pear and tangerine. 

You make perfect circles by using an old pill-jar from the pharmacy. And you freehand the monkey off her "wish list" and hope for the best! 

It was a fun shower, even including "Pin the Sperm On the Egg." You had to be there. My sister is a nurse. They are all weird...

The other is my Tippi and her Gallatin Bear. She was taking a nap and wanted a pillow. You can obtain your very own Gallatin Bear from Fun Time Dog Shop and 100% of the profits from the sale will go toward a rescue agency you get to pick at checkout. 

Tippi naps

Hey - Christmas is for pets, too. And FTDS deserves a shameless plug. They have lots of things for pets and people, and Sarah, the proprietor, sources things that are good for your dogs. You won't find melamine-laced stuff here... Nosirree - she makes sure that the toys are as sturdy as she can find and that the treats are exceptionally good for your pets. 

I have a large-ish selection of leashes for Tippi for her therapy gigs. The kids love them and I like knowing that I'm not supporting some nameless, faceless corporate giant. I'm supporting rescue. My favorite breed.

On a grey day like this, a grey dog having a nap is a warm fuzzy. 

I have a spare Bear in her Therapy Bag. Lucky for me, (a) it's dark brown; and (b) it's washable. She gets to play with it in between visits. The cream one is at home. It's not indestructible, but it's lasted quite a while. I think they like it more as a pillow than a toy!