Friday, August 29, 2003
Casualties of War
I feel compelled each day to see what my fellow BlogAmist has to say. I don't feel any particular bond to her, although I'm sure she's a fine young woman. I read lots of other blogs, but since we use the same title, I always want to know what she's saying. On Wednesday, she posted a "goodbye" note that said she was leaving to go camping in coastal Maine. I'm green with envy, as I have been camping many times in Maine. Nothing like it in the world. We actually do have more than our name in common!
The other post that caught my eye was her "one last thing" comment. She posted an "Iraq Coalition Casualties" link. Her link didn't work, but I found it. This is a detailed list of all the dead (names included) and wounded in Iraq since the beginning of the war. The total? 333. Average of 2.06 per day (this includes the British, and others, as well as Americans). You can find out the name, place/date of death and how he/she died.
I'm not going to go into my beliefs on war, especially the war with Iraq. But let's take a closer view at our casualties in wars past (numbers are approximate and include only American deaths).
Civil War - just under 500,000 deaths
World War I - 117,000
World War II - 400,000
Korean War - 52,000
Vietnam - 59,000
Persian Gulf - 400
Irag War - 280 (total coalition)
The blogs that rant and rave about the war with Iraq are endless. I spent the last hour reading some of them. And, of course, they bring up the innocents who are killed or wounded -- the ones who have no choice. Some bloggers show graphic pictures of the dead and wounded.
There are just under 300 American men and women who have died over there. These are folks who voluntarily signed up for the armed forces. They knew what they were getting into. They had a choice. Most believed in what they were fighting for. They bravely fought and died for our country. Then there are the civilians... the ones who can't stand up for what they believe for fear they will be killed. And the ones who are killed because they're in the wrong place at the wrong time. The bloggers who rant about the senseless killing of these poor innocents are outraged and incensed, as well they should be. It's horrific. It's unthinkable.
I'm confused. I've scoured these same blogs for information about an even greater war. One looks in vain for that first reference to the 40+/- million innocents who have been killed in our country since 1973. The ones who can't stand up for what they believe. The ones who are killed because they're in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's horrific. It's unthinkable.
No, I won't tell you whether I'm pro- or anti-war. But I will tell you that I'm pro-life. Where are you now, bloggers? Why don't you list those casualties? What are their names? What time did they die? Where? How? Was it saline? Was it suction? Where are the pictures?
Isn't it interesting how we pick and choose our battles?
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
Ignorance is Bliss
We were in Ohio when the story unfolded. Baylor University basketball player, Patrick Dennehy, had been missing for nearly two weeks when the press finally got ahold of the news. In the end, Patrick Dennehy was dead, a teammate (Carlton Dotson) was charged with his murder, and Baylor's basketball coach (Dave Bliss) tried to cover up the mess by asking other players to claim Dennehy was a drug user and dealer. What a tangled web we weave...
Last week, I dropped my daughter off at Baylor. She's a freshman. She's naive. She's my baby. We struggled to find a parking place amongst all the other freshmen who were moving into the dorm. We joked that there were most likely plenty of spaces outside the athletics dorm. Plenty of rooms, too, I would imagine. All players were offered a release from their scholarships and the NCAA waived its rule that the players sit out a year after a transfer. Several players (all top scorers, of course) took that option.
Dave Bliss, along with much of his staff, looked the other way while rules were being broken left and right. Heck, he was breaking plenty himself. The buck got passed round and round, but it finally landed in Bliss' lap. He resigned. Baylor quickly got another coach. The rest of the school is still playing the ignorance card.
Lisa wasn't given the opportunity to transfer when we became aware of the scandal. She wasn't released from her scholarship. She didn't have another school waiting in the wings. She did, however, give up a scholarship at another fabulous school when she decided on Baylor, but it was far too late to make the change. Perhaps we were too ignorant and naive in believing that Baylor was the better choice because it was a Baptist (translation=Christian) university. Hindsight is 20/20.
Lisa has managed to overlook all of this mess and has jumped in with both feet. Classes started on Monday and she's already saying "it's gonna kick my butt." She'll get a great education. She'll make lots of friends. She'll come out shining. Ignorance is bliss :o)
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
BlogAmy and BlogAmY
As I mentioned before, I now have BlogAmist competition. I've decided to try Michael's "McGriddle Experiment" and (BlogAmy) shamelessly promote my blog (BlogAmy). The other Blogamist is now being blogrolled (BlogAmy) by a couple of other left-wing, bleeding-heart, liberal sites. I'm blogrolled (BlogAmy) in one place... Michael's Blog. (BlogAmy)
The other Amy uses 3 capital letters in her title (BlogAmY). I just use two (BlogAmy). How did she choose her name? "Finally, and to the point, if you're wondering why "blogamy"? Well, it brought to mind blasphemy to tell you the truth. Since I feel that most of what I have to say here, overall, will probably be considered as such...well, there you have it." (Posted 6/15/03) How did I choose my name (BlogAmy)? "Just so you all don't freak out... it's BlogAmy... it's not a play on words. It's simple... it's Amy's Blog. BlogAmy." (Posted 5/6/03)
Michael is able to look at his webstats and see who Googled him or who MSNd him and see what the exact search was. I can do the same thing, but for some reason, nobody is looking for anything that I blog about. More people are interested in McGriddle Sandwiches than my empty nest, my church, my kids, my hangups, my whatever. However, I did have ONE come up... someone searched for the letter "a" and they found me.
A. That's a great place to start. B is good, too. Stands for BlogAmy.
BlogAmyBlogAmyBlogAmyBlogAmyBlogAmy
Love,
(Blog)Amy
Friday, August 15, 2003
BBC 1! BBC 2! BBC 3! ... BBC Heaven!
I'm an addict. A BBC America addict. On my cable box, it's channel 225. If I only had channel 225, I'd be a happy camper.
I've always loved British humor. Monty Python is my all-time favorite -- I'd provide a link, but I couldn't find one that wasn't loaded with totally obnoxious stuff like a lame midi playing the theme song from Flying Circus. Anyway... one day, I tuned to BBC America, and I stumbled upon Ground Force. The Ground Force team comes in and revamps your "garden" (your yard) in just two days and with a budge of about £2000 ($3000 US). They also surprise someone in the house who has been whisked away on holiday or some work conference or some other such distraction. The surpisee comes home and finds their derelict garden transformed into a haven.
I was hooked.
Then I found What Not To Wear with Trinny & Susannah. Two fashion designers with a cruel-to-be-kind approach to telling fashion victims what they should and should not be wearing. The US has come up with its own version... it stinks.
The Office has me in stitches. It's a British Dilbert-type office with a boss who is smarmy and thinks much too highly of himself.
Then came Changing Rooms -- the predecessor to America's Trading Spaces. There is simply no comparison between designers such as Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Linda Barker and Anna Ryder-Richardson.
The list goes on and on. More shows that I watch on BBC America are:
3 Non Blondes
Bargain Hunt
BBC World News
Cash in the Attic
Coupling (US version comes out this fall)
Faking It (US version came out this summer -- not bad)
House Invaders (I LOVE this show! They redecorate 3 rooms in your house in one day using things you have in your shed)
So Graham Norton
Talking Movies
I'm now starting to watch some of the crime dramas they have on there as well.
See? I told you I was an addict. I don't sit around and watch TV all day. I record them on my PI-VO (our name for our generic TI-VO) and then watch a bunch of episodes at once after Michael goes to bed -- skipping the commercials, of course.
What's happened to American TV? Why can't we come up with our own good stuff nowadays? The Simpson's is always fresh, funny and original. Matt Groening calls The Office one of the funniest shows he's seen in years.
Michael, on the other hand, does not find any of the British programming to be the least bit interesting or funny. His comment after seeing 3 Non-Blondes was, "I think I'll let you have this show for yourself, honey."
Perhaps humor is in the eye of the beholder and the ear of the behearer.
{{{Coming Soon to a blog near you! What's all this BBC1, BBC2 business? The history of the BBC (British Broadcasting Company) is quite interesting!}}}
Sunday, August 03, 2003
The August of My Life
It's August already? My firstborn launches her teaching career on August 18th. I have a child who is starting a career??? I'm not old enough to have a child with a career. OK, I am... but I don't FEEL old enough! My son begins his sophomore year in college in two weeks. My baby, the youngest of the three, leaves for her first year in college in two weeks. I can't believe it's August.
As I mentioned, Tiffany begins her first teaching job on the 18th. Her birthday is six days later. She usually gives me a very practical birthday list... things she needs for her apartment... things she needs -- period. And then there's one thing that's "extravagant." Usually a CD or something. This year, the only things on her list are things for her new classroom. And she has made it clear that it's OK to celebrate her birthday before the 24th so that she'll have her classroom ready.
Tiffany's List
Desk Organizer (16" wide x ??" deep -- it's a really deep drawer, so depth doesn't matter)
Inspirational or Math Posters (she's teaching 8th grade math)
Sticky Wall Hangers
Hanging Plants / Flowers
Expo Dry Erase Board Eraser (the new kind with the layers that peel off)
Dark Post-Its (not pastel... she already has pastel for the girls. She wants dark "boy" colors for the boys)
She crossed off the 4 AA Batteries... presumably because she found them on sale at Big Lots already.
The swallows that nest on our front porch are back every day for a few hours, even though the two rounds of babies have flown the coop. The other day, one of the babies (we named him Nemo) was sitting INSIDE the nest just squawking away. The mama bird would zip by every once in a while to check up on little Nemo. At every pass,l he would open his mouth hoping for food just like he did when he was a baby. I assume this is what it's like when grown kids move back home.
That's not gonna happen with Tiffany. Any kid who asks for inspirational posters and dry erase board erasers for her birthday pretty much has her life in the bag. That makes her visits back home even more special. That's what makes the "August of my life" worth living. That, and the fact that her birthday list is only gonna cost me about twenty bucks!
Life is good.
It's August already? My firstborn launches her teaching career on August 18th. I have a child who is starting a career??? I'm not old enough to have a child with a career. OK, I am... but I don't FEEL old enough! My son begins his sophomore year in college in two weeks. My baby, the youngest of the three, leaves for her first year in college in two weeks. I can't believe it's August.
As I mentioned, Tiffany begins her first teaching job on the 18th. Her birthday is six days later. She usually gives me a very practical birthday list... things she needs for her apartment... things she needs -- period. And then there's one thing that's "extravagant." Usually a CD or something. This year, the only things on her list are things for her new classroom. And she has made it clear that it's OK to celebrate her birthday before the 24th so that she'll have her classroom ready.
Tiffany's List
Desk Organizer (16" wide
Inspirational or Math Posters (she's teaching 8th grade math)
Sticky Wall Hangers
Hanging Plants / Flowers
Expo Dry Erase Board Eraser (the new kind with the layers that peel off)
Dark Post-Its (not pastel... she already has pastel for the girls. She wants dark "boy" colors for the boys)
She crossed off the 4 AA Batteries... presumably because she found them on sale at Big Lots already.
The swallows that nest on our front porch are back every day for a few hours, even though the two rounds of babies have flown the coop. The other day, one of the babies (we named him Nemo) was sitting INSIDE the nest just squawking away. The mama bird would zip by every once in a while to check up on little Nemo. At every pass,l he would open his mouth hoping for food just like he did when he was a baby. I assume this is what it's like when grown kids move back home.
That's not gonna happen with Tiffany. Any kid who asks for inspirational posters and dry erase board erasers for her birthday pretty much has her life in the bag. That makes her visits back home even more special. That's what makes the "August of my life" worth living. That, and the fact that her birthday list is only gonna cost me about twenty bucks!
Life is good.
