Vacation Time

Just shortly before noontime, I was officially on vacation! I spent the afternoon finishing my packing, getting keys to people, having a lunch, washing my car... playing. Tomorrow morning, I head out toward DC... do the walk. Then it is Baltimore, Atlantic City, NYC and the Catskills. Niagara is now out. When I got home today, I checked my mail--no passport. The officials were doubtful that my drivers license alone would be problem-free at the border, and as I mailed off my birth certificate with my passport app... I decided I would stay 2 nights in the Catskills and just drive home from there. Just about an hour ago, my neighbor came knocking... my passport had, in fact, come--just to his mailbox. So, since I had already booked and pre-paid my room for two nights, I'm sticking with it. The passport will get enough use in June.

Believe it or not, I've been very preoccupied with my vacation, neglecting to ridicule the City of Ypsilanti's Council requesting that we all join in a national day of prayer today to help the city through its fiscal struggle. Or the envelope I got in the mail yesterday with decriptions all over the outside about how Jesus loves me... or some such thing.

Ok, gotta get from here... DC is awaiting its new "madam" I can pimp. LOL

Obscure references and prostitution

Today found me staring down some old, obscure references that quite honestly, I can't bear alone.

#1: Remember Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan? I don't even know how this one came up, all I know is that after my lunch hike in improper shoes, my knee hurt. Coincidence? I think not!

#2: Miss Cleo. Again, an obscure reference that suddenly appeared in conversation.

So, I brought up Heidi Fleiss... and it seems only appropriate with all the talk about the DC Madam. Ok, no one at work was discussing this; but I'm avidly reading about it. Mostly, because I find it fascinating that it is such a big deal. I have no problem with prostitution... and up until Miz Julia decided to retire and close up shop neither did anyone in DC. The hypocrisy is staggering. I have to say though, that I respect her for not giving up names. And you know the only reason names are wanted is for political positioning as the elections gear up.

Just a thought

Nearly everyday, there is a headline about 30, 40, 50, 169 people killed in another country, namely Iraq (which goes to show that those atrocities in other countries don't even rate a headline), through some kind of bomb... and they are very low profile headlines... nothing that sticks out and tries to grab the attention, tries to elicit sympathies... there aren't pictures of the families mourning or troops securing the area. So while I think that the VA Tech shootings are horrific, I find it appalling that we pay no attention to the same tragedies that are befallen other countries. The situtation might be considered different... a campus isn't a war zone, at least not in a militaristic sense. We are immune to violence, yet enthralled with it and when it happens close to home, to something we can see and understand, it is memorialized. It's just a thought, but one that makes me wonder how we can so apathetically overlook worse atrocities just because the culture is foreign, just because the religion isn't Christian, just because it happens in a place most people can't point to on a map.

Your News Update

In a moment of feeling guilty for not reading the news in a few days, I hopped on CNN.com--which was my first mistake... I never read the news on CNN; but it happened--perhaps I inhaled too many nail polish fumes today, I dunno.

Seems one of the popular stories on CNN today is Dr Prison Radio. A Prison Coach of sorts to help you if you find yourself on your way to the "Big House" Note to those in Ann Arbor--they are not talking about the Stadium.

Also, Don Ho, who for many years I was convinced was a fictional character, died at the age of 72.

And, finally, before my head imploded, I caught sight of the headline that read Gonzalez better be prepared for some tough questioning... I'm confused, after firing 8 US Attorneys, why would one think it would be followed up with cake and ice cream?

Eh, whatever!

So, this weekend found me wrapping up my vacation plans. Part of my trip will be coming home via Niagara Falls... I haven't been in over 16 years, from what I hear--it's no longer in the same spot. The Travel Channel is showing a program as I type on the Falls... apparently, if I wait long enough, they will be located in Detroit and I won't have to drive very far or have a passport (beacuse only in Canada can you go behind the Falls... they are not as litigious a society apparently though they are very concerned about protecting their borders lately--not that I can blame them).