Random Rumor: California's State Flag

http://www.wikipedia.org/

Rooney fans beware: the California State Flag design was based on a minor miscommunication.

When American settlers rebelled against ruling Mexico and declared California an independent republic, they wanted to display a distinctly Californian new flag over Sonoma Plaza.  Based on the future state's agricultural prowess, the men chose a pear to be the central figure on the flag.

Hastily composing a note with those instructions, the men sent the banner and more cloth materials to a nearby artist asking him to paint the pear in the center of the flag.  The artist (a nephew of Mary Todd Lincoln) misread the scrawled note and painted a bear instead.

The men hung the flag anyway, intending to change it as soon as possible.  This never happened, because the independent California was shortly captured by American troops and declared part of the United States.

The state adopted a new version of this first flag in 1911 to honor that short-lived republic.

http://www.snopes.com/

My Empathy

"A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us.  To live is to be slowly born." French aviator and author Antoine de Saint Exupéry

I was in seventh grade in March of 1998 when Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden shot 15 people at Westside Middle School near Jonesboro, Arkansas.  Four students and a teacher died.  

I was just about to enter high school in the spring of 1999 when Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 12 students and one teacher and shot another 21 people at Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colorado. 

I was a senior in college when Seng-Hui Cho systematically murdered 32 people at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. 

I was married to a deployed soldier and spending a lot of time on an Army Base in November 2009 when Nidal Hassan shot and killed 13 people and wounded 29 others at Fort Hood in Texas. 

And now this.

Even though I've never been to Norway and I'm not a teenager at summer camp, I can't help but feel, the way I've felt for these other victims, for the people of a country whose peace has been shattered in such a senseless and cruel manner.  It's the kind of terrifying event that brings all those other memories that have been hovering, blurry, on the edges of my mind back in sharp focus.

I don’t know why I’m telling you this.  I guess I’m in a dark and twisty mood.  I suppose I just want to impress upon the world how much my generation has violence embedded into our collective memories.  I grew up this way…with metal detectors and early-warning systems and shooting spree safety protocol.  Like the old adage “duck and cover” from the Cold War but somehow much more sinister, we spent afternoons in high school practicing covering the window in the classroom door and locking it, shutting off the lights and building a sturdy barricade of chairs and desks to shield us from bullets.   

Do our parents understand what that’s like?  Going to school every day knowing it’s possible someone among your peers wants you to bleed to death on chipped tile? 

Is it dramatic for me to say I felt the pain of these children, these young men and women, from hundreds or even thousands of miles away?  I did.  I wept and I forgot to eat and I couldn’t sleep for the nightmares of running feet and endless hallways and screaming pleas that haunted me.  It hurt so badly.  The anguish of strangers who lived just like I did broke something inside me...each and every time. 

This kind of human connection is a powerful and bewildering thing.  Is it an evolutionary trait designed to promote survival of the species?  Is it a gift from a Higher Power to ease the pain of loneliness in an ever-expanding universe?  Is it the result of individual brain chemistry and should be considered merely a personality quirk?  Is it all of those things or something we have yet to define? 

I have no answers.

Walt Disney World

My Husband and I took advantage of his two week leave by spending a postponed honeymoon in Disney World®, Florida.  We got married in July 2009 and headed right for the army base...he was deployed a few weeks later.  So now, after two years of marriage we spent almost a week in the Happiest Place on Earth.

Disney World® is my happy place.  My family is a Disney family...no Nickelodeon or Japanese cartoons for us.  My childhood was brimming with bits of Mickey Mouse...celebrating "unbirthdays" (Alice in Wonderland), Grandma handing out treats from Mary Poppins' carpet bag, singing Zip-a-dee-doo-da (Song of the South).  We've been lucky enough to head to Florida at least 10 times.  My Husband, though, had never been.

Doc (my therapist) told me not to get my hopes up that My Husband would fall in love with Disney World® the way I have, as it's not everyone's spinning cup of tea.  But he seemed to really have fun...he enjoyed the rides, the food and was patient with me as I went over every instant of our day after heading back to the hotel.  Of course I had everything planned out...from the transportation to/from the airport to dinner reservations every night.  Frankly I'm pleased to know I can plan a successful Disney vacation.

My Husband will probably never love it more than he loves the Shore, but I think I made a nice dent in his perception of it.

My sisters were here in the Midwest taking care of Buoy while we were gone.  From what I gleaned from Chloë (who is the queen of personal secrets), she is planning a wedding with her longtime boyfriend John.  They've already discussed using my grandmother's 50th wedding anniversary solitaire diamond necklace (willed to Chloë on my grandmother's death) as the diamond for their engagement ring.
This is very good news...John is slightly ADD and has a pretty erratic emotional temperament, and getting him to sit down and plan a wedding must be a nightmare.  He loves Chloë and wants to marry her, but he's the kind of no-details person who'd wake up one morning and say, "Let's get hitched," without a thought as to how much planning has to go into a ceremony and reception.

My job as future maid (matron, actually) of honor (Sarah was mine, I'll be Chloë's and Chloë will be Sarah's) is to make this as painless as possible for all involved and to run herd on John's future sister-in-law.  John has a twin brother, Joe, who's engaged to one of Chloë's best friends from high school, Suellen.  Suellen is petty, passive-aggressive and HATES when someone else is the center of attention, and as Chloë is decent and can't find a way to keep her out of her wedding party without hurting her feelings I'm gonna handle all her nonsense.  And there will be nonsense.  Luckily for me, I've been in the center of girl-world all my life and no one can manipulate a woman with the attitude of a high school snob like I can.

Modern Communication

I'm blogging and on hold with Cox Cable at the same time.  Multitasking, thy name is Lark.

I'm on the phone because my second foray into OnlineTechSupport Chat was futile just as the first was, although much less rude.  The woman on the other end reset my whole cable box, but to no avail.  The INPUT button still doesn't work, and now the ON DEMAND button has stopped working, too.  Really all I want from this conversation is a repair guy to come here and give me a new remote.  I've been on 10 minutes so far, let's see how this goes.

Anyway, since we're talking about communication...

Remember that wedding My Husband and I went to, the one with his best friend from college?  And his dad has cancer and his brother spewed his personal hatred of the bride all over me pre-ceremony?  According to Facebook, they're (the bride and groom, not the dad or the brother) pregnant.

When did it become OK to announce major events...IE engagements, pregnancies, etc...over the Internet without first attempting to call all your friends?  When My Husband proposed, I called all my closest friends, my sisters and my parents.  All the engagements that have happened since, I've gotten no phone calls.  Not even from the girls I called personally.  Not a fan.

And my poor Husband, this is the second time this has happened to him...where a close friend is having a baby and he finds out through Facebook.  Not even a personal Facebook message, mind you...just a random announcement for all to see.  Doesn't that cheapen the event a little, that you can't even pick up the damn phone?  Or am I some kind of anti-Internet fuddy duddy?

Does it reiterate the fuddy duddy idea if I've now been on hold for 20 minutes?  I feel pretty geriatric about it.

Anyway, I was always under the impression Facebook and Twitter were supposed to accent one's life, not take it over.  It's like the Internet has become everyone 'smouth instead of their eyes and ears to a larger world.  We're all connected now...so why do I feel so cut off?





*In case you were wondering, I did get my tech support appointment (29 minutes and 42 seconds after beginning this post).

Casey Anthony Case

Defense team smothers Casey with hugs after the NOT GUILTY verdict
From www.dailymail.co.uk

I know you're exhausted by the constant coverage that is making this case more of a circus and less of a murder, but I'm gonna have to put in my two cents about the Casy Anthony verdict.

First of all, I am PISSED that her parents were obviously in on the "my father and brother molested me so I keep all my pain buried deep inside" defense.  Why else would they not fucking disown their daughter for saying such a horrible thing?  How else could Cindy Anthony sit there and accept the accusations that make her husband a pedophile?  Plus, the defense team actually suggested the reason no father was listed on little Caylee's birth certificate is because George Anthony or his son Lee could have fathered her!

Speaking of inappropriate behavior: here's defense lawyer
George Mason flipping off paparazzi at the post-verdict party.
Also from www.dailymail.co.uk

That is such a travesty of justice for everyone who has been sexually abused by a family member and puts her right up there with the filth that is the Menendez Brothers.  Which, of course we should have known based on the fact Cindy Anthony claimed she, not Casey, looked up "chloroform" on her home computer even though she was signed in and working on her computer at her office at the same time.

Second of all, her behavior post "accidental" death of her only child is pretty much proof of some kind of guilt.  Getting wasted with friends, stealing checks from them and spending their money, entering "hot body" contests at bars, getting "Bella Vita" tatooed on her shoulder?  That doesn't say "I'm devasted," that says, "Finally, I'm free."

Third of all, I'm in absolute dread of whatever reality show, dating show, tell-all tome or porn she's going to end up in.  There's a rule about not profiting for your crimes, but it doesn't apply when you're acquitted.  Ask Mr. O.J. Simpson.

However, the jury really can't be faulted for their decision.  Prosecutors have to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and even with the cartoon characters that are the Anthonys and the defense team they obviously didn't.  It's a crappy situation, but hopefully the jury won't face too much static for actually following the letter of the law.

Coming soon to a crappy TV channel or bookstore near you!

Vent Central

I'm taking a little time for myself to vent about some recent technological issues.

First: Cox Communications

The only reason we signed up for Cox Cable is because there were no other cable providers servicing our area.  We had to.  AT&T is starting to get its tentacles in around here, but unless you want satellite (yeah right...I can see our dish flying away in the latest windstorm now...) Cox is your only option.

We have phone, Internet and special HD service (since they stopped offering HD with their basic cable package and demanded you upgrade in order to keep it last year).  For some reason, our universal remote does everything except change the INPUT setting on the TV.  So in order to switch the Source Setting (Video for DVD, Component 1 for the Wii, etc.) you have to press the INPUT button on the television.  The input button DOES work on the old Insignia remote, which I'm glad now I didn't toss.

Anyway, I contacted Cox's Live Agent Chat to deal with the problem.  Some guy named Leo came on after about 10 minutes and after I explained my issue, told me to reset the setup codes for both the TV and the Cable Box.  When I couldn't find the setup code for the cable box he sent me four links to the Cox website to "help" me locate it.  Then, before I could type that I'd found the right code and I was still having a problem, he sent me some kind of standard "Thanks for choosing Cox" bullshit and logged off the session!

I think that is the equivalent to a telephone operator hanging up on me mid sentence, and I told Cox so on the email I sent immediately afterward.  What the Hell?  The only reasons I used the Stupid Live Chat are 1) I'm decently computer-savvy and I'd rather save the telephone help for people who need it and 2) The issue seems relatively simple and not worth wasting some poor repairman's time to fix.

And of course I feel incredibly stupid because I can't get a lousy button on my remote to work.

Second: Verizon Wireless

Besides that, Verizon ended its $29.99 per month unlimited data plan.  Now, I've been seriously considering signing up for that since I'd love to be able to check my email from my phone like everyone else does, but spending $1 per day for 2GB of data with a $1 per GB overcharge after that is ridiculous!

My Husband and I have been with Verizon for 7 years now and I'm slightly wary of breaking up with them.  We're both due for a phone upgrade but there's like, no choice in handsets unless you get a data plan.  And of course I'm the one who has to deal with all these issues since My Husband is 100% hands off when it comes to household details.

These are the times I want to say "Fuck it," go completely off the grid and do nothing but read books and raise alfalfa in the Montana wilderness.

Canine Kitteh Gets His Cover Blown

In this hilarious edition to Youtube.com, a Russian cat revels in barking out his window...until his owner catches him on camera.