Antidote for blogertia

BlogLily wrote today about blogertia, that syndrome where one wants to blog but seems to have lost the spark for actually blogging. Lily gives some suggestions for overcoming blogertia and asked for others to make similar suggestion. Mine: post a list of things you've thought about blogging about. Then do it!

So, walking the talk, here are some of the things that I've thought about writing about but haven't moved out of the brain and into the blog.

- Ants & frogs and helping my son move into his first college apartment (yes there is a connection). There's a wonderful poem that goes along with this (not written by me).

- my recent efforts to be more aware of the environment and my impact upon it, as part of the Eco-Justice Challenge (which also seems to be suffering from extreme blogertia).

- writing about Michael Ondaatje's poem, 'The Cinnamon-Peelers Wife'. I was struck by this poem when it was read by Julie Christie in the movie Away From Her. I have read it several times since I first heard it. I thought about writing about this during National Poetry Month as part of Kate's Modest Poetry Challenge -- that was in April!

- writing about any of the books I've read in the last several weeks, or any of the 3 books that I'm reading now.

- Answering the question, how many books are too many to have by one's bedside (on the nightstand, under the nightstand, behind the nightstand, under the bed, etc...). I cleaned this area recently and found the answer. (As a born clutterer, I consider cleaning a highly overrated activity). Maybe this isn't an entire post. So here's the answer: 52.

-- do one or another lame meme that I've bookmarked in my blog feeder.

-- Why does my news addiction, so well controlled most times, flare up every 4 years, especially since all of the talking heads are driving me crazy.
OMG, Chris Matthews just referred to 'Senator Barack'. Does he only have one name now?

-- Related to the above post, an screed about a really biased 'news' story. I started writing this a few weeks ago. But I hated to post it because it was favorable to McSame who I will NOT be voting for. But, maybe I should post it, because it isn't about him, but about the news.

--Book clubs, in particular, my bookclub which has a rather interesting makeup.

--Scrabble.

--The only movie that I've ever seen that has a 100 rating on Rotten Tomatoes: Man on Wire. Don't know that I'd actually review the movie as much as write about how one can't segregate in one's mind the symbol that the Twin Towers have become from what they were, although this film tries. It isn't about 9/11 but about the towers on August 7, 1974.

-- Highlight some of my favorite blogs/bloggers.

-- Hold another 'Roundtable' like I did last November.

-- create a meme

-- Visit this place since I haven't been there since it re-opened and write about it. Take some pictures of the cool architecture too. Surprisingly, there aren't any pictures of the new addition to the library on the web.

-- Write about the spot where we vacationed when I was a kid -- the lake, Sherman's Dairy, the 'Indian Path' and the 'jumping off point'.

-- write a post or two for What She Said.

-- write about some of the more memorable teachers I had.

-- try to write about my grandfather without being sentimental.

-- post about some of the cookbooks I've used recently -- my attempt to participate in Soup's On Cookbook Challenge, without actually joining.

-- write about my hair turning gray

And if this doesn't give me something to write about, I'll just continue to post photos.

A 3 x 5 greeting from Mother Nature

I was walking on my driveway today when I spotted an amazing Luna Moth with wings like a marbled paper. She blended in with the mossy stone wall. The markings on her wings looked like eyes. Across the top of her five-inch wings her feathered coloration looks like a twig. Adaptation in nature never ceases to amaze me with its ingenious beauty.

LUNA CLOSEUP


Her body was like a long, white cotton puff that glowed through her translucent wings.
LUNA BODY


Although Lunas are common, they are rarely seen, living only 1 week, during which they don't eat. They live only to mate. She'll rest until it is night, giving off pheromones to attract a male. She'll mate with him for 4 hours.

LUNA ON WALL, RESTING UP FOR THE BIG NIGHT


Maybe the short life of a moth isn't so bad: beauty & pleasure. Okay, so I'm anthropomorphizing a bit, but just try to tell me that she isn't beautiful!

To the f*ckwit who stole the Obama campaign sign in my yard:

You can venture 45 feet up my driveway and then scamper like a mountain goat 15 feet down a steep ravine to steal my sign, but you CAN'T STEAL MY VOTE OR SILENCE MY VOICE!



I know that it isn't very kind of me, but right now I really hope that you ran into the poison ivy! May that 3-week miserably itchy rash remind you that what you did was wrong in a country where one of our basic rights is FREE SPEECH. Perhaps you've forgotten that just like some of the present leaders in Washington. I'll defend your right to your political positions, but you do not have a right to trespass on my property in an attempt to silence mine.

BTW -- just like the previous 4 signs that have been taken from my property -- I'll replace it. Each time I do I make another campaign contribution. So I guess I shouldn't call you an asshole; instead, I should call you a campaign contribution stimulus package!

Olympic Ceremony in Real Time

Go to www.cyclingfans.com and scroll down for the second link to NRK. I think this is in Danish. My info on the language may be wrong, but it doesn't matter because I can't understand it. However, there are some things that are universal: "anti-doping", "conflict Dafur", "basketball", "dream team".

More importantly universal: the smiles on the faces of the atheletes. Very cool!


Why is there someone from the UAE in the parade speaking on his cell phone? (He smiled too when he realized he was on camera!)

They're only Mammary Glands!

I rarely read Salon, but came across this today:

But here's perhaps the most intriguing breast cancer story of the day: Scientists are working on a "smart bra" that could detect early breast tumors and monitor how treatment is going for women who already have cancer. "The smart bra works using a microwave antennae system device which is woven into the fabric of the bra. The antennae picks up any abnormal temperature changes in the breast tissue, which are often associated with cancer cells." There are doubts about whether the technology is really there yet and whether such a bra would cause too many false positives -- detecting benign growths and "nonmalignant inflammatory changes" -- but researchers are hoping nevertheless that the bra will make it to market within "a couple of years." Cancer-screening bras may never replace mammograms, but they could at least turn out to be more reliable than self-exams.

Full article here.

Interesting, but, all jokes about radioactive bras aside, even though I'm prone to bouts of hypochondria (and therefore should like this idea), I can't help but wonder just how good the technology can be when it's so damn difficult even to find a bra that fits! And one that is comfortable, too. I'm just saying....

PS: Although I'd appreciate your thoughtfulness, please don't leave comments suggesting I try certain stores. I have a list of good bra stores and great bra fitters across the country (well, 1/2 across the country -- I never travel to West Coast). Sadly, the closest one is 280 miles away. Sadder still, I can only visit ones in Paris about once a decade.

Yes, I'm just a bit obsessed with properly fitting brassieres. Have been since I realized I fit in the grouping Jane Russell referred to as 'full figured gals" -- and I was only a teen then.

PS #2: I wouldn't use the word intriguing for this article, or for the link I'm about to reference, but for one of the most insightful and honest looks at breast cancer screening exams, go read Litlove's 3 part story of her recent experience. It's worth reading through to the end of the 3rd post.

PS #3: Wasn't this an idea on The Big Idea? okay. bad pun. I'm going to bed.