Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Top 20 Geek Novels

While cruising the message boards recently, I came across this site:

Top 20 Geek Novels

So far, 132 people have voted for the best geek novels written in English since 1932, in spite of Survey Monkey's rubric saying free polls were limited to 100 responses. The top 20 is therefore as follows, with the numbers in brackets showing the number of votes.

1. The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- Douglas Adams 85% (102)
2. Nineteen Eighty-Four -- George Orwell 79% (92)
3. Brave New World -- Aldous Huxley 69% (77)
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? -- Philip Dick 64% (67)
5. Neuromancer -- William Gibson 59% (66)
6. Dune -- Frank Herbert 53% (54)
7. I, Robot -- Isaac Asimov 52% (54)
8. Foundation -- Isaac Asimov 47% (47)
9. The Colour of Magic -- Terry Pratchett 46% (46)
10. Microserfs -- Douglas Coupland 43% (44)
11. Snow Crash -- Neal Stephenson 37% (37)
12. Watchmen -- Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons 38% (37)
13. Cryptonomicon -- Neal Stephenson 36% (36)
14. Consider Phlebas -- Iain M Banks 34% (35)
15. Stranger in a Strange Land -- Robert Heinlein 33% (33)
16. The Man in the High Castle -- Philip K Dick 34% (32)
17. American Gods -- Neil Gaiman 31% (29)
18. The Diamond Age -- Neal Stephenson 27% (27)
19. The Illuminatus! Trilogy -- Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson 23% (21)
20. Trouble with Lichen - John Wyndham 21% (19)



My husband, a self-professed geek, has read most of them (#19, #6 & #1 rate among his favorite books of all time). While I am familiar with many, I have only actually read and enjoyed The Hitchhiker's Guide Trilogy. I guess I'm not a very good geek.

Monday, November 28, 2005

Slammed Moose Search For More Alcholic Fruit

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — They rarely have problems with drunks or rowdy animals, but residents of a retirement home in southern Sweden had to deal with both: A pair of intoxicated moose invaded the premises.

The moose — a cow and her calf — had become drunk over the weekend by eating fermented apples they found outside the home in Sibbhult, said employee Anna Karlsson.

Police managed to scare them off once, but the tipsy mammals returned to get more of the tempting fruits. This time the moose were drunk and aggressive, forcing police to send for a hunter with a dog to make them leave.

Police did not pursue the culprits, but made sure all apples were picked up from the area, police chief Bengt Hallberg said. No one was hurt.




OK, I can't stop laughing at this. Those moose know how to PART-Y! Now I know why the moose from the opening credits of "Northern Exposure" was wandering around town...he needed a fix!

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Vindication! More on My Continuing Search for Spooky Smokin'

I am vindicated! Somewhat.

I've posted before about my search for a clip from the original ADDAMS FAMILY television series, in which Morticia and Gomez smoke from a hookah. For years, I told people about this, in the hopes that someone might remember more details about the particular episode...only to find that no one believed it ever happened!

Then, a few days ago, while watching a program on TV Land, there is was...the clip! The hookah! Jonathan and I saw it in all its glory.

A Google image search failed to turn up a picture of the infamous Addams Family Hookah. A regular Google search turned op these two links, however, proving that I'm not the only person to remember the elder spooksters puffin' out. The first:


FCC Slaps Anti-Drug TV Shows


"For all those who think what the networks have done is anything recent, I have a news flash: it's been going on for a lot longer than you think.
For example: It's been many years since the old 1960's TV series "The Addams Family" has been on the tube. I am old enough to remember when it was first on (yes, children, I am an old fart; I've earned my scars and wrinkles, and wear them proudly).

In several of the episodes, the two main characters played by John Astin and Carolynn Jones, were seen smoking a big Turkish hookah. In one episode where this happens, Astin's character disgustedly throws down the hookah hose and irritably complains that 'nothing seems to calm my nerves' after having witnessed something severely aggravating to them.

He then gets up to light a cigar.

You don't have to be Einstein to figure out that what they were smoking in the hookah probably wasn't tobacco. Else, why the cigar?

But in later re-runs of the syndicated show, these scenes are edited out. This none-too-subtle redacting began back in the early 1980's and these episodes are rarely ever shown in their entirety, which causes no end of frustration as it severely affects what little plot the shows had."


Well, that explains why so many people hadn't seen the Addams' hookah scene: it was edited out for fear that someone might think Gomez and Morticia were hopheads. Which should go without saying, anyway....


Now, for the second link:


Female Celebrity Smoking List: Reviews - "Addams Family, The" (1964)


"Smoking a Hookah pipe with Jon Astin towards the end of one episode"


Well, now I know the scene is at the end of an episode...and I also know that I'm unlikely to see it in syndication, as the offending scene was probably edited out. In addition, I'm not going to be able to find it on DVD, because to the best of my knowledge, the two seasons of THE ADDAMS FAMILY are not yet on DVD in their entirety, and even if they are...will they be the originals, and unedited?

My search continues: for the name of the episode, for a photograph of Morticia and Gomez sparkin' up, and for the episode itself on DVD. Keep your fingers crossed!

I get obsessed over the strangest things.....

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Best & Worst TV Couples...According to Zen Angel

I was up the other night in pain and caught a television program about television couples...one of the "best" on their list was Gomez and Morticia of "Addams Family" fame. And one of the clips they ran was of Gomez and Morticia smoking from a bong. Eureka! I've been telling people for years that I vividly remember the elder Addamses partaking in a little bonging...but no one believed me. Now, if I can only find a picture of it, I would be vindicated!

And so, on that note, I bring you Zen Angel's Top Ten TV Couples. These are from my preferences only...not what are "the best" (so no Lucy and Ricky here), just the ten I personally love. On with the list, in no particular order:


1) Gomez & Morticia, THE ADDAMS FAMILY.
Is it strange that when I was a child, I wanted to be Morticia? And have a husband who called me "Cara Mia" and went wild when I spoke French? They may have been altogether ooky, but they were also a great romantic couple. Mon sauvage!

2) Worf & K'Ehleyr, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION
Deep down, most women want a man who would fight & die for their honor. Worf was the man, K'Ehleyr's was the honor. Love, Klingon style.

3) Cliff & Clair, THE COSBY SHOW
The older I get, the more I appreciate the kind of love Cliff and Clair represent: two people who love one another more and more as the years go by...and never lose that spark of romance that brought them together in the first place.

4) Eric & Donna, THAT 70's SHOW
I think Eric and Donna represent that wonderful, high school love that sometimes works out...and sometimes doesn't. Small-town boy and the girl next door...a classic combination. Add a "secret circle," and it's a classic 70's combination.

5) Elaine & Puddy, SEINFELD
I was really hoping that they would get married in the final episode---and of course, call the wedding on and off a dozen times before they did. A perfect example of a couple who are made for each other---but aren't ready to admit it just yet.

6) Nancy & John Red Corn, KING OF THE HILL
Some might question my inclusion of Nancy and John Red Corn---after all, Nancy is married to the clueless cuckold Dale, and has had New Age healer John Red Corn over to "cure her migraines" for years on the side. In the end, Nancy gave up the adulteress' life to devote herself fully to her marriage...but KOTH fans like me miss the days when John Red Corn would fall out of Nancy's bedroom window just as Dale was coming home.

7) Thurston & Lovey, GILLIGAN'S ISLAND
Even when stranded on a desert island, Thurston and Lovey remain in love and completely devoted to one another.

8) Leon & Scott, ROSANNE
ROSANNE was never afraid to face controversial issues, and was years ahead of its time with the characters of Leon and Scott. Not only did this loving gay couple get married, they even adopted a child together. You go, guys!

9) Kevin & Winnie, THE WONDER YEARS
Puppy love was never so sweet. I think we can all relate to having a schoolyard crush, and adoring someone so completely...and that's what made this couple work.

10) Mimi & Steve, THE DREW CAREY SHOW
Drag queen meets woman who looks like a drag queen...they fall in love, get married and have a baby named King Gus. It's a fairytale romance. Twisted, but fantastic.



And as long as we're on the topic, let's go the other way and look at my picks for Ten Worst TV Couples:


1) Harry & Christine, NIGHT COURT
Let me get this straight: they love each other, but can't be with each other because she's a defense attorney in his court, and she can't transfer (or accept a promotion to judge) because it will ruin what they don't have. Huh?

2) Luke & Laura, GENERAL HOSPITAL
Sorry, but a woman marrying her rapist isn't romantic. It's creepy. Just how high was America when they all tuned in to watch this wedding because it was SO SWEET?

3) George & Susan, SEINFELD
She's way too good for him, but HE'S the one balking on marriage? Oh, and she's rich, too, so he could be unemployed and it wouldn't matter? Come on. In real life, George would have married Susan on date two.

4) Mulder & Scully, THE X FILES
I stopped watching after they became romantically involved. Why? Because to me, it ruined the entire premise of the show: two FBI agents, one who believes and one who is a cynic, investigate strange, unusual and top-secret cases. THAT premise is exciting, different, interesting. Two FBI agents, one who believes and one who now sorta believes because she's in love with him and is ignoring the porn collection in his dresser draw while they sometimes chase aliens together....that premise is boring, stale and a little dopey.

5) Jackie & Hyde, THAT 70's SHOW
In the first few seasons of T7S, Hyde hated Jackie. And the feeling was mutual. The two had nothing in common: he's a cynical burner, orphaned by his parents and believing in every conspiracy theory about the government ever written. She's the spoiled rich girl who gleefully plans to get by life on her good looks. He loves Zeppelin, "special brownies" and catfights. She loves unicorns, Donnie Osmond and pretending to be a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader at the mall. When they got together, he got less abrasive and she got less mouthy. Neither was funny, and the entire relationship was unbelievable from start to finish.

6) Abby & Carter, E.R.
Slightly dorky rich boy with a heart of gold meets whiny divorcee obsessed with her bipolar mom and bipolar brother (who once showed up to ruin Gamma's funeral). The entire relationship played out more like a trip to a therapist's office than a passionate affair: Abby whining endlessly to a solemn, nodding Carter. She rarely even called him by his first name, and responded to his marriage proposal with "You're crazy." Cupid missed his mark here.

7) Joanie & Chachi, JOANIE LOVES CHACHI
It was cute as puppy love...but after the wedding? And on their own show? It was just kind of...pathetic.

8) Brigitte Neilson & Flavor Flav, THE SURREAL LIFE/STRANGE LOVE
It got to the point where if I had to hear that old slag yell "Foofi Foofi!" one more time, I was going to have to go Van Gogh and cut my ears off.

9) Tim & Jill, HOME IMPROVEMENT
This show unabashedly ushered in an era of hit sitcoms in which the wife somehow didn't notice her husband was an absolute moron until after the wedding...and is intent on making him pay for her shortsightedness. Jill constantly belittles her husband, laughs as her friends call him a "moron" and rarely watches his tv show. Not to mention the fact that she openly hates everything he loves and to top it off, she spends untold hours attempting to make him like the things she loves (ballet, opera, calling a plumber) and getting angry with him when it fails. Not to say that this man is a prize...he's always blowing himself and parts of the house up, he's dumb as a brick and lies more often than an elected official. How they manage to stay married is a mystery to me. Why they manage to stay married is an even bigger mystery. Someone call Matlock...

10) Nels & Harriet, LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE
You just had to feel sorry for mild-mannered, hard-working, sweet ol' Nels Olsen...married to a loud-mouthed, bigotted, overbearing, materialistic shrew like Harriet.



And those are my lists, the 10 Best and the 10 Worst. Agree/Disagree?

Still want more?

Famous Couples: Movies & TV Quiz

Mister Poll: Who are the best television couples?

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Nutbag Parents & Owner Fight Over "Please Behave" Sign

This has been all over the news and the message boards, and so I'm adding my two cents. Here's the article, with my comments in red:


CHICAGO (Nov. 8) - Bridget Dehl shushed her 21-month-old son, Gavin, then clapped a hand over his mouth to squelch his tiny screams amid the Sunday brunch bustle. When Gavin kept yelping "yeah, yeah, yeah," Ms. Dehl whisked him from his highchair and out the door.

Right past the sign warning the cafe's customers that "children of all ages have to behave and use their indoor voices when coming to A Taste of Heaven," and right into a nasty spat roiling the stroller set in Chicago's changing Andersonville neighborhood.

The owner of A Taste of Heaven, Dan McCauley, said he posted the sign - at child level, with playful handprints - in the hope of quieting his tin-ceilinged cafe, where toddlers have been known to sprawl between tables and hurl themselves at display cases for sport. I think this is a good idea on Mr. McCauley's part...although he could have worded the sign better. It's a bit...antagonistic, as it stands. I think we can all agree that it's annoying to hear children scream and fuss while you're trying to eat your dinner. And I shudder to think how many injuries are caused each year (to children and to servers) by children running around in restaurants, or "sprawling between tables"---or "hurling themselves at display cases." Now, my kids have never done this, and I've got to wonder...who does let their kids do that? Just fling themselves at display cases for fun? Yikes, buy a deck of Uno cards if your kids need a lesson in what's fun.

But many neighborhood mothers took umbrage at the implied criticism of how they handle their children. Umm...I don't think it was criticism. It was a reminder to kids---who, let's face it, sometimes do need to be reminded---that a restaurant is not a playground. If it doesn't apply to your kids, then ignore it. Soon, whispers of a boycott passed among the playgroups in this North Side neighborhood, once an outpost of avant-garde artists and hip gay couples but now a hot real estate market for young professional families shunning the suburbs. I don't see what good a boycott will do. If this cafe is the kind of establishment that really wants to court people without kids, or people with kids who DO behave...then the parents of kids who can't behave refusing to come to the restaurant really just gives the owner what he wants, doesn't it? I mean, who thought up this boycott idea? Did they not think this through? And really, why waste the effort? Why not spend that time, oh, I don't know...teaching your kids to behave in restaurants so the sign isn't needed???

"I love people who don't have children who tell you how to parent," said Alison Miller, 35, a psychologist, corporate coach and mother of two. "I'd love for him to be responsible for three children for the next year and see if he can control the volume of their voices every minute of the day." No one is asking you to "control their volume every minute of the day." They are asking you to teach your kids to not scream when they are inside a restaurant. Honestly, is it that big a chore? I have three kids, and I somehow have managed it. I'm not saying that my kids have never thrown a fit in a restaurant or store...but you know what we did? WE LEFT. We were not going to allow them to eat in the restaurant if they could not "control their voices" in the restaurant. I'm beginning to wonder if that solution is beyond some of these moms.

Mr. McCauley, 44, said the protesting parents were "former cheerleaders and beauty queens" who "have a very strong sense of entitlement." OK, I was on this guy's side until this. He's acting just as childish now as the kids he's trying to "educate." Is name-calling really necessary here? They don't agree with your sign. No matter what you do in business, you're going to have to deal with complaints...and a businessman who responds to customer complaints (however frivolous they might be) with potshots and armchair psychology is not the kind of person I would want to do business with...and I doubt many others would, either. It's just not professional, and it makes me wonder how he responds to more legitimate complaints. It also makes me wonder why he didn't simply attempt to re-word the sign, to make it more palatable to ALL his customers. He didn't seem willing to make an effort to address the complaints of an apparently large number of patrons...and that isn't good business at all. In an open letter he handed out at the bakery, he warned of an "epidemic" of antisocial behavior. OK, now he's just being ridiculous. Kids have been misbehaving since Adam and Eve had to first master parenting. Crying, tantrums and naughtiness are all part of the package. Now, a parent who doesn't teach a child proper manners and behavior and/or refuses to remove a child who is having a meltdown is going to have problems with that child and with the general public---but that doesn't make the child antisocial by any means. I think my previous statement about "armchair psychologists" may be right on the money.

"Part of parenting skills is teaching kids they behave differently in a restaurant than they do on the playground," Mr. McCauley said in an interview. I agree with him there. He's absolutely right. "If you send out positive energy, positive energy returns to you. If you send out energy that says I'm the only one that matters, it's going to be a pretty chaotic world." Oh, my---someone either spends a lot of time playing hacky sack or spent a lot of time in Dr. Leary's experiments in college. Kids don't understand "sending out positive energy." Has this guy ever had children...or even spent much time with them? I am beginning to wonder.

And so simmers another skirmish between the childless and the child-centered, a culture clash increasingly common in restaurants and other public spaces as a new generation of busy, older, well-off parents ferry little ones with them.

An online petition urging child-free sections in North Carolina restaurants drew hundreds of signers, including Janelle Funk, who wrote, "Whenever a hostess asks me 'smoking or non-smoking?' I respond, 'No kids!' " I don't see a problem with this, although in many states there already IS a "no kids" section---the bar. Here in Oregon, many nice restaurants have a seperate room or cocktail lounge, and it's strictly no minors allowed.

At Mendo Bistro in Fort Bragg, Calif., the owners declare "Well-behaved children and parents welcome" to try to stop unmonitored youngsters from tap-dancing on the 100-year-old wood floors. I think that sign is worded a bit better than the one above. More diplomatic, you might say...and likely to make parents and kids smile, rather than feel unwelcome. And were I the owners, I would not balk at placing a sign calling attention to the beautiful, century-old floors...and asking everyone to be mindful of them.

Menus at Zumbro Cafe in Minneapolis say: "We love children, especially when they're tucked into chairs and behaving," Once again, this could have been worded so much better. I think many of these owners should take notice of how the Mendo Bistro has worded their sign. Remember Mary Poppins..."a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down." which Barbara Daenzer said she read as an invitation to cease her weekly breakfast visits after her son was born.

Even at the Full Moon in Cambridge, Mass., a cafe created for families, with a train table, a dollhouse and a plastic kitchen in a carpeted play area, there are rules about inside voices and a "No lifeguard on duty" sign to remind parents to take responsibility. Now, that sign is inviting, diplomatic and even clever.

"You run the risk when you start monitoring behavior," said the Full Moon's owner, Sarah Wheaton. "You can say no cellphones to people, but you can't say your father speaks too loudly, he has to keep his voice down. And you can't really say your toddler is too loud when she's eating." Now, the cell phones thing is a big pet peeve to me. There is nothing worse than trying to eat a meal while some idiot is blathering to her friends about the mediocre sex she had the night before, and does her friend think it might be PMS to blame? Or a man loudly re-capping last night's big game. And these are, invariably, adults who absolutely should know better.

Here in Chicago, parents have denounced Toast, a popular Lincoln Park breakfast spot, as unwelcoming since a note about using inside voices appeared on the menu six months ago. The owner of John's Place, which resembles a kindergarten class at recess in early evening, established a separate "family friendly" room a year ago, only to face parental threats of lawsuits. Wow. I can't imagine wanting to sue someone for that. If anything, I would be grateful for it. A "family friendly room" sounds more like catering to families than excluding them!

Many of the Andersonville mothers who are boycotting Mr. McCauley's bakery also skip story time at Women and Children First, a feminist bookstore, because of the rules: children can be kicked out for standing, talking or sipping drinks. When a retail clerk at the bookstore asked a woman to stop breast-feeding last spring, "the neighborhood set him straight real fast," said Mary Ann Smith, the area's alderwoman. WOW. This one really, truly shocks me. Now, I can understand not wanting children to have beverages in a book store. That makes complete sense. But for a place called "Women and CHILDREN First," a FEMINIST bookstore, to be hostile to a breastfeeding mom? That's outrageous to me...not to mention, illegal. And come on...if you want a smaller child to be quiet, nursing is a very good way to ensure that. I know many times my little ones have been fussy in public because they were hungry, or tired, or whatnot--and calmed themselves down quite quickly at the breast. You would expect a WOMEN'S store to know this!

After a dozen years at one site, Mr. McCauley moved A Taste of Heaven six blocks away in May 2004, to a busy corner on Clark Street. But there, he said, teachers and writers seeking afternoon refuge were drowned out not just by children running amok but also by oblivious cellphone chatterers. I wonder...did he put up a sign for the annoying cellphone addicts, too? Just curious.

Children were climbing the cafe's poles. A couple were blithely reading the newspaper while their daughter lay on the floor blocking the line for coffee. Who are these parents, who let kids do this? Do they not realize the risk in allowing kids to climb poles, not to mention lying in the path of hot coffee? Do they just not care, or are they really that stupid? When the family whose children were running across the room to throw themselves against the display cases left after his admonishment, Mr. McCauley recalled, the restaurant erupted in applause.

So he put up the sign. Then things really got ugly.

"The looks I would get when I went in there made me so nervous that I would try to buy the food as fast as I could and get out," said Laura Brauer, 40, who has stopped visiting A Taste of Heaven with her two children. "I think that the mothers who allow their kids to run around and scream, that's wrong, but kids scream and there is nothing you can do about it. What are we supposed to do, not enjoy ourselves at a cafe?" OK, I was with Ms. Brauer at first...I would not want to patronize an establishment that made me feel uncomfortable every time I went in, and it does sound as if maybe the sign---and the owner's attitude---have created something of a hostile environment there for those with children. But she lost me after that. "Kids scream and there's nothing you can do about it"? Has she never heard the word "discipline" in all her life? How about the concept of just removing the child? You know, the whole "you are not allowed to behave like this in public, and we will not be coming back until you do learn how to behave"? And yes, if your kids cannot behave in a cafe...then YOU DO NOT GO THERE WITH THEM UNTIL THEY DO. You can still enjoy the cafe, of course...when your kids are not with you. Or when they do, finally, learn not to scream while there.

Ms. Miller said that one day when her son, then 4 months old, was fussing, a staff member rolled her eyes and announced for all to hear, "We've got a screamer!" I think I was dead-on about the hostile environment thing. This sort of rudeness is UNACCEPTABLE in a server. I say this, as someone who used to be a server and someone who used to be a manager. I would fire someone on the spot for treating a customer like that. In a heartbeat. I also think there is a world of difference between the kids who were old enough to hurl themselves against display cases, and a four month old infant. The former should know how to behave. The latter is a newborn. You cannot simply put up a sign and expect them to be able to follow it. For all we know, Ms. Miller might have been about to nurse the child, and the fussing would never have escalated to screaming. Or she may have needed to take the child for a diaper change. In any event, it's not a matter of discipline with a tiny baby. Babies will fuss, even for the best parents. That's how they communicate. Now, if a baby is screaming, and cannot be consoled with nursing/bottle or diaper change, then the parents should leave. Not only because the baby's fussing is bothering other customers, but because the baby is clearly unhappy and probably needs to be at home. Is this rocket science, that so few are getting it?

Kim Cavitt recalled having coffee and a cookie one afternoon with her boisterous 2-year-old when "someone came over and said you just need to keep her quiet or you need to leave." Once again, rude. I find it a bit ironic that some of these adults are up in arms about the lack of manners and good behavior in the children, when they themselves are behaving with less than sterling etiquette. Although I wish they would have specified whether or not the "someone" was a staff member or another customer...and just what Ms. Cavitt considers to be "boisterous."

"We left, and we haven't been back since," Ms. Cavitt said. "You go to a coffee shop or a bakery for a rest, to relax, and that you would have to worry the whole time about your child doing something that children do - really what they're saying is they don't welcome children, they want the child to behave like an adult." No..they are saying they want the child to behave, period. Some of these mothers are acting like that is an absolute impossibility, something completely out of reach for any child...and that just isn't so. And once again I am struck by the irony: Ms. Cavitt insisting that the coffee shop is for "rest and relaxation," but doesn't seem to "get" that if her child is screaming and misbehaving, there can be no rest and relaxation for the other patrons.

Why suffer such scorn, the mothers said, when clerks at the Swedish Bakery, a neighborhood institution, offer children - calm or crying - free cookies? A good way to handle the situation, and a good way to promote the bakery's cookies. Kills two birds with one stone. THIS is good business at work. Why confront such criticism when the recently opened Sweet Occasions, a five-minute walk down Clark Street, designed the restroom aisle to accommodate double strollers and offers a child-size ice cream cone for $1.50? (At A Taste of Heaven, the smallest is $3.75.) To that I say: if there are cafes ready and willing to accomodate and even welcome parents with small kids, why would the parents bother with a place that is clearly wanting to be more adult-oriented? Go to Sweet Occasions, and let them have the money A Taste of Heaven is losing. Why bother with a boycott? Just take your business to someone who will appreciate it.

"It's his business; he has the right to put whatever sign he wants on the door," Ms. Miller said. "And people have the right to respond to that sign however they want." I am beginning to suspect that the kids aren't the only ones with behavioral issues here---the owners, the parents, the staff---there's plenty of childishness and a good "sense of entitlement" to go around.

Mr. McCauley said he had received kudos from several restaurant owners in the area, though none had followed his lead. He has certainly lost customers because of the sign, but some parents say the offense is outweighed by their addiction to the scones, and others embrace the effort at etiquette. "offense is outweighed by their addiction to the scones"? Get a life, people. Seriously.

"The litmus test for me is if they have highchairs or not," said Ms. Dehl, the woman who scooped her screaming son from his seat during brunch, as she waited out his restlessness on a sidewalk bench. FINALLY! A parent who not only understands taking her business to child-friendly restaurants, but understands REMOVING her child if he can't behave there! Hallelujah! "The fact that they had one highchair, and the fact that he's the only child in the restaurant is an indication that it's an adult place, and if he's going to do his toddler thing, we should take him out and let him run around." My faith in mankind is (somewhat) restored!

Mr. McCauley said he would rather go out of business than back down. Stubborn, and would rather go under--and put his staff out of work during a recession---that try to act like an adult businessman and find a good solution that will work for everyone. I give him maybe a year, two tops...before he's wearing a paper cap and asking people if they "want fries with that." He likens this one small step toward good manners to his personal effort to decrease pollution by hiring only people who live close enough to walk to work. That, at least, I can respect.

"I can't change the situation in Iraq, I can't change the situation in New Orleans," he said. "But I can change this little corner of the world." Oh, for crying out loud. Forget "sense of entitlement." Talk about an overactive sense of self-importance!


In closing:


To Mr. McCauley: Get a clue. If you want to own a restaurant and actually turn a profit, you're going to have to learn a few things: 1) Noise is unavoidable. Kids are going to be fussy, babies will cry, people will talk loudly and cell phones will ring. If you want quiet, buy a library. 2) Offending a huge customer base---such as parents, for example---is not the best way to make money. 3) The customer is always right. If you get even just one customer complaint, take it seriously. Even the people who agree with you are going to have less confidence in you as a businessperson if you are completely deaf to customer complaints, and completely unwilling to find compromise so that your customers know they are number one with you. Your utter refusal to back down in the light of not only numerous complaints, but a boycott, proves that you, sir, are number one...not the customer. And even the customers who are applauding you now have to wonder why they themselves should patronize a business that puts the owner first...an owner who has no problem insulting his patrons publically if they dare disagree with his policies. And most importantly: 4) It's not the message, it's the tone. The message, in and of itself, is a good one: please keep your kids from destroying property and eardrums while in a restaurant. It's sad that some parents need to be told this, but addressing the problem is not a bad idea. HOWEVER, the way you worded it leaves a bit to be desired. I hope you read the article you were interviewed for, and take note of how other establishments have worded their signs. A little humor and a lot of diplomacy would not only have possibly avoided the boycott and bad blood, but made your customers---ALL of them---feel welcome. If you care more about "changing your part of the world," if your agenda here is more important that making an inviting, welcoming environment for all your patrons...then maybe owning a restaurant is not for you.
To the moms who are boycotting: Get a life. Children screaming and hurling themselves at display cases is not something out of your control. Discipline them. Teach them how to behave in public, or don't take them out in public. And if you don't feel your children are welcome at some restaurants, simply save your money and spend them at restaurants that not only don't mind your family's patronage, but actually cater to it. Walk the five blocks...and if you are so "offended" by the sign, but too "addicted" to the scones to stop giving Mr. McCauley your money....you need help. Maybe a 12-step program: Assholes Anonymous. Because if you actually ARE offended, you aren't going to give the jackass money even if his scones were made of solid gold and sang show tunes. If you can still go and buy the damned scones, you weren't really offended. You were miffed, and you got over it. So get over it already.
And to the "Women and Children First" bookstore: Get a clue and a life. You might have some reading materials handy to help. If not, I suggest Barnes & Noble. You can even breastfeed there. ;-)

Labels:

Monday, November 14, 2005

Weird eBay: God Warrior!

If you missed last week's "Trading Spouses," well, you missed a doozy of a show. If you're unfamiliar with the premise, the idea is that two moms trade homes & families for a week. They usually switch you with as opposite of a family as they can muster up.

Last week, the switch was between Jeanne, a hypnotherapist and new-age afficionado, with Maragaret, who can best be described as an extreme, EXTREME religious nut. At the end of the show, Margaret had a meltdown of, well, Biblical proportions.

Which brings me to my latest "Weird eBay" find:

The Margaret God Warrior Bobblehead

Scroll down on this one folks, and you can hear Margaret in all her God Warrior nuttiness. Not only is the item hilarious, the page is ingenious.

Enjoy!

Hurtful Things

(Note from Zen Angel: I was having difficulty with this post...it kept changing dates on me, and new posts would appear under it rather than on top...so I had to delete the original
& am re-publishing it now. I went ahead and posted Amanda's comment below, so it
would not be lost. Sorry for the mess.)


Hurtful Things

I belong to an online support group of people with MS. It's been such a gift to me, over the last few years. Each week, we have an "open-ended" chat, where we can discuss anything we like (MS-related or not), and we have a "topic" chat. The topics change every week.

This week, the topic was "Hurtful Things." We were supposed to examine hurtful comments or actions by friends related to our MS diagnosis (we've discussed family in the past, and as we all know...there's a big difference between family and friends). The goal being, to determine WHY it was so hurtful, how that impacted our relationship with the friend(s), and what we learned from it.

It was a difficult topic for me, and I ended up being pretty "silent" during the chat. I am now thinking that this was a bad move on my part, that perhaps maybe I do need to examine those "hurtful things" that were running through my mind during the chat but didn't make it to my keyboard.

And lucky you...I'm sharing them here. Well, it's my blog, and all that.

There are two "hurtful things" that I've been thinking about since the chat. One is kind of non-specific, and one is definately a specific incident. The non-specific one I have already discussed here before...the "fair weather friends" who quickly abandoned me when I got MS. The specific incident, I haven't shared here, or talked about, in some years.

It happened on Halloween, four or five years ago. I had been very sick that year, but was improving. So much so, that I accepted an invitation by a friend, "Julian," to come see the debut performance of his band at a local nightclub. I had not been able to enjoy an evening out in a very long time, and I was greatly looking forward to it. Jonathan stayed home with the kids, and a mutual friend, "Kim," went with me. We both dressed up as sort of dominatrix-sisters. It was fun.

When we arrived at the club, I found out that Julian had forgotten to put our names on "the list," so I had to stand outside in line. Now, normally, that wouldn't be a problem...but my legs had been giving me trouble all year, and I had been counting on that early admittance. There was nowhere for me to sit, and I had to sit on the curb...with my cane and Kim to help me up and down. In front of a lot of people. It may seem silly, but that was embarassing to me. In any event, I wasn't going to let it ruin my evening, and was still looking forward to the show.

A few minutes before the doors opened, another mutual friend, "Donna" arrived...with her seven-year-old son, "Allan." I had two problems with Allan's presence: one, it was almost two in the morning, what on Earth was this child doing out, downtown, so late (at a night club, no less); and two, he was dressed in faux moccassins, buckskins and headdress. The first disgusted me as a parent, and the second offended me as a Native American. But it wasn't my kid, and once again, I chose to overlook it all because I was bound and determined to have a great time.

The doors finally open...and again, I'm in trouble. Stairs, stairs everywhere. No elevators, no ramps (I have no idea how this building gets away with being so completely inaccessible. Maybe it's historic? I don't know). And after standing for so long and struggling with the curb...the stairs looked, to me, like Mount Everest. And felt like it, too, once I was finally up them. I was close to collapse by the time Kim got me to a table. Adding to my problems is the fact that the place is not air-conditioned. My MS is heat-reactive, and no air conditioning equals big symptom flare-up for me. Still, I am trying to make the most of it, and hoped to cool down with a drink...with lots of ice.

Julian sees us, and rushes over to ask why we hadn't come in for the sound check, only then realizing that he had forgotten to put us on "the list." He shrugs it off, no apologies. I am a bit peeved. He buys me a drink, and all is forgiven.

After a few minutes, Julian takes off backstage to get ready for the performance. I am on drink number two, and beginning to enjoy myself. A few casual acquaintances join us at the table. The drinks are good, the conversation excellent. I am having a great time.

Then...the spotlight on the stage turns on, and we all quiet down for the show. An older man, dressed like a monk, is standing alone at the microphone. For a moment, he says nothing. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out some index cards. Then he begins to speak.

To my absolute horror and astonishment, it's a long poem about the "red man's savage god" and "primitive cries to the heavens, ulalala ulalala yahalalala!" I am speechless. My first thought is, "Julian must not have known about this, this guy must be with some other band."

I am wrong.

As soon as the "poem" is over (finished with a pathetic, two-minute-long war-whoop), the curtain rises...on Julian's band. They begin to play, some pretty decent goth-metal type music. And there, in the forefront, pretending a sacred dance of which he has absolutely no knowledge...is Donna's son, Allan. War-whooping and acting for all the world like a tiny, hyperactive Tonto.

I am stunned. I am horrified. I am hurt.

The people at my table, and many at other tables, are staring at me. One of the beforementioned casual acquaintances whispers to me, "Ah, man...I am so sorry about all this. I can't believe they did this. Are you ok?" I hear a man behind me ask someone unseen person if I am going to "do anything about it."

I decide that yes, I am going to do something about it. I got up, and I left. I did not care, at that moment, if Kim came with me or not...but I am glad to say that she did.

We caught a cab home, and the whole time I kept thinking...this was my first night out after a long, long MS attack. And I spent it, listening to a poem insulting my spirituality, my ethnicity, my people. And to top it off, my friends knew all about it. Julian, Donna...they orchestrated this, as part of the show. They actually thought it was a good idea. I was struck by the conclusion that they were either A) racists, set out to humiliate me and mine, or B) ignorant shitheads, who didn't actually stop to think that this sort of display would be hurtful or offensive to anyone...much less, their one American Indian friend. And as much as I, in my anger and hurt, wanted to believe it was A, I knew in my heart it was actually much more likely to be B.

For several days following the show, I did not speak to Julian. I did not trust that I would not say something that could not be unsaid. And so, I kept my silence. I later found out that Kim had not been so inclined...she had called him the very next day and read him the riot act. Apparently, it really was B, after all. It had not occured to him that Allan's "dance" would offend me, and he claimed he was unaware of the monk's poem (the monk turned out to be a relative of one of Julian's bandmates). I still find that hard to credit, as the poem and the "dance" were clearly inter-connected. I accepted his apology, but it saddened me that after being my friend for so long, he had learned so little from me. I was also saddened when he told me that he felt that I, also, had acted wrongly...that I should have stayed until the end of the show (another hour), and spoken with him then. Which told me that he didn't understand at all.

He didn't understand how hurt and offended I was. He didn't get that it wasn't just the contents of the poem and the "dance." It was the fact that I spent what little energy I had, and had in fact had to struggle most of the night to get to the show, to only be hurt and offended. He didn't understand that as a result of both the physical and emotional stresses of that night, I was sick for a week. He didn't understand the pain of my legs the next day, strained by the standing and the curb and the stairs and the heat...and the relative swiftness of my retreat. And most of all, he didn't understand that as his friend, I was willing to suffer that week gladly, just to see his band perform for the first time...and instead, what I saw was like a slap in the face. And that, that hurt far more than my legs did.

Julian and I remained friends for some time after that incident...but we are not friends anymore. But, that is a story for another time...if I tell that story at all.

So, what did I learn from that "hurtful thing"?

Well, it reaffirmed my belief that anti-Native American sentiment is so ingrained in this society, that many if not most people do not notice it when it occurs...even when they themselves perpetuate it. Julian and Donna were not racists. None of the people there were racists, as far as I know. The people at the show, these are the people who hate racist skinheads, who are pro-gay marriage and pro-ERA. The kind of people who have "hatred is not a family value" stickers on their cars. And yet...they wrote that poem. They set up that show. They dressed up a child to mock what an entire culture holds sacred. And they did it, without a second thought.

But, that was something I pretty much already knew. Can that really count as "learning" something?

I suppose I learned that people who are not disabled often have a hard time discerning what will be difficult or impossible for a disabled person to accomplish. The owners of that club had made no arrangements for disabled persons. The manager stood right there and watched as I struggled up the stairs. It had not occured to Julian to make sure I was on "the list," so I would not have to stand outside.

More importantly, I learned that I had to be more pro-active in those matters. I cannot simply rely on others to tend to them for me. If I had to face the same situation today...I would have called the club well in advance and asked about their accomodations. I would have also made certain I was on the list, or even went with Julian and the band so that I could come in the back entrance (which I later learned had a ramp for band equipment). When it happened, I was still self-conscious about the MS. I didn't want to have to ask for help, or make a "big deal" of needing it. Today, I would see that as nonsense. So, I learned to be more of an advocate for myself, to not take for granted that an establishment would be accessible or that I could simply "muddle through." A good lesson. I don't think I realized until now that I learned that lesson on that night.

I guess I should have spoken up in my chat...I not only learned something, but it did actually apply to my MS!



1 Comments:
At 8:42 AM, amanda said...
good for you for learning the ever so hard fact that WE as MS'ers need to learn to accept help and more importantly ASK for it when we need it!!! That I believe is the hardest thing to over come living with this disease.

AS far as the Native American racism I see and hear it all the time No I am not a native but live so very close to the Seneca Nation Reservation and travel there very often it is like 20 miles or less from me. My son't step-siblings are all full blooded natives.

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Saturday, November 12, 2005

Gusty Grannies: Two Golden Girls Fight Back

There have been two stories recently, both of grandmothers, that I want to share with you.


First, the story of a woman who has grabbed life---and burglars---by the balls:



Battling nonagenarian grabs burglar by 'nads

By Lester Haines
A battling 93-year-old Lithuanian woman has thwarted an attempted burglary by grasping one of the miscreants by the testicles so hard that the sobbing blagger required hospital treatment, Ananova reports.

Soja Popova, from Klaipeda, answered the door to two young men who promptly knocked her to the ground. The fighting granny quickly grabbed one of them by the nuts and squeezed "with all my force as hard as I could", as she later told the cops.

Popova continued: "He started screaming like an animal and his friend was trying to pull him free, but I have a grip like iron." The man's howling and his mate's protestations that the old girl should lay off alerted neighbours who called in law enforcement. The two broke free but were cuffed by police after escaping the attacking nonagenarian through a bedroom window. One was taken to hospital, the other to the lock-up.

A police officer noted: "They would not have got far, one of them could hardly walk and seemed pleased when he saw the police car. He demanded that he be taken to hospital because he was in so much pain."




The second story just goes to show that robbers can't assume that the homes of elderly women are easy prey:



Pistol-Packing Grandmother Shoots Intruder



ARLINGTON, Texas -- A woman found evidence on her porch that someone might have broken into her house when she let her dogs out for a walk early Wednesday morning. The woman's granddaughter also said she heard noises from inside the house.

Susan Gaylord Buxton, 66, retrieved her .38 caliber handgun and searched her house. She found a man hiding in a closet, covered by a coat.

The man, 22-year-old Christopher Lessner, lunged for the gun, and, police said, Buxton shot him once in the leg. She fired a second shot, which missed, according to police.

Buxton, who was a license for the weapon, said she feared for her safety and that of her 28-year-old granddaughter.

"He was 6 feet tall," she said. "He could have done something horrible my granddaughter and me. That's exactly the reason you need to learn how to handle (a firearm) and keep it with you."

Arlington police attempted to pull over Lessner near Interstate 30 and Fielder Road in briefly after 11 p.m. Tuesday. Lessner drove the car to a dead-end road and fled into a nearby neighborhood.

At about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, officers responded to a 911 call of a shooting at a residence. The homeowner told police she found someone hiding in her house and shot him in the leg.

Lessner ran from the woman's house and was found at about 3 a.m. a few houses away hiding underneath a patio deck, police said.

He was arrested and transported to an area hospital, where he is being treated for a gunshot wound.

Buxton was not injured in the incident.

Arlington police said Lessner is expected to be charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, evading arrest, criminal mischief and criminal trespass. Buxton was not expected to face charges.




To both, I say: WAY TO GO, GRANDMA!!!

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

~*~The Best of ZEN~*~

I just realized that I have now been writing THE ZEN PRETZEL TRICK for more than a year. The time has really flown by!




I didn't know, when I made my
first post, how big a part of my life this blog, and blogging in general, would become. How I would "meet" so many wonderful and interesting people, and be exposed to so many wonderful and interesting blogs. It's been a saving grace for me, in times of pain and insomnia and frustration and just plain need.




And so, to celebrate one year of ZEN, I bring you a comprehensive BEST OF ZEN list. Below, you will see what I judge to be the best posts I have written, followed by a complete list of NUTBAGS, NDN NEWZ articles, TIN GODS, MS/trigeminal neuralgia/chronic pain musings and more.




Enjoy!





~*~THE BEST OF ZEN~*~





From September of 2004 until October of 2005, the best of the ZEN PRETZEL TRICK.





100 Best Movie Quotes by the Experts...and 100 More By Me

All that the AFI list left out.


Bob Jones Is Making Me Sick


Comments on a letter from Bob Jones to George W. Bush shortly after the election.


Breast Cancer Awareness


An important issue.


Call It...Pointless!


A harrowing adventure at the DMV.


Coming Down the Coors Mountain


My run-in with Jane's Addiction.


The Curse of King Arthur on Film


Beware! BEWARE!


Drowing in a Sea of Sneeze


Head-cold musings.


Happy Halloween 2004


A true-life ghost story from my past.


Its Good to Be Persecuted: Pharmacist Refuses to Fill Birth Control Pills


But it's bad to be a self-righteous idiot.


The Legend of the Nastiest Scratcher on Earth


The infamous story of the Chicken Man.


Life in My Skin: The Aftermath of Red Lake


My thoughts on the Red Lake tragedy.


The Miamisburg High School Riot Revisited


I didn't start the riot...but I've got the last word here.


My Vacation


Nazis, hillbilly Indian grandfathers and reverse vasectomies...oh, my!


A Note to Television Advertisers


A commentary on bad television commercials.


Nutbags of the Year: 2004


From Omarosa to Dick Chaney...the worst of the worst from 2004.


Oh, the Horrors! Is Your Child a Goth?


Comments on a scare-tactic letter from a church to unsuspecting parents.


Remembering Micah


R.I.P., my friend.


Remebrance, Part One


I wasn't going to include this here originally...but I recently received an email from a new ZPT fan telling me how much she enjoyed this post. So here it is.


The Sad Ironies of Homophobic Parents


And "sad" doesn't even begin to describe them.


Supreme Court to Hear Assisted Suicide Case


My thoughts on this very important issue.


Thanks a Lot, Breakfast Bastards


AKA: How to Lose a Customer in Five Short Months.


ZPT 100 Best Websites of 2004


Links included.





`**`NUTBAGS`**`




From the beginning, I have perused the Internet for people whose ignorance, lack of compassion and complete disrespect for the human race has earned them the singular title of NUTBAG. Below are my NUTBAG rantings.




As Promised: Nutbag Hassles Secretary Over Four Pounds


Moral of the story: don't spill ketchup on an attorney's suit. He'll bring the full force of the awesome power of the mighty judicial system raining down on your pitiful head!


Congressional Nutbags and Anti-Abortion Bill Alert!


Some nutbags will do whatever they can do circumvent Roe vs. Wade. This article is not unlike another nutbag (before I began using the title), he of the beforementioned "It's Good to be Persecuted" entry.


Dayton Nutbags: Marriage is Protected, Everyone Else Can Kiss Off


And some nutbags, in their zeal to prevent gay marriages, will even make domestic violence victims suffer more.


Find this Nutbag and String Him Up: Child Injured at Hospital


A truly sad, tragic story. This child was failed, in so many ways. (Also, check out my Update on Hospital Baby for more).


More Nutbag Parents: Mom Loses Kid in Toy Machine


There are, unfortunately, many nutbags who insist upon breeding. More in this list to come...


Nutbag Authors: Sexist Men on Parade


Need a man? Stay away from these two.


Nutbag Coach Pays Player to Hit Disabled Teammate


I think the title says it all.


Nutbag Disc Jockey Spews Anti-Native American Rhetoric


Ah, a racist nutbag. The kind of scum your average nutbag scrapes off of the bottom of their shoes.


Nutbag Employers: You're Mine, All the Time?


This is the only nutbag entry in which I received comments and emails disagreeing with me. Well, you can't win 'em all.


Nutbag Extraordinaire: Phelps Bullies Student


Sometimes, just the word "nutbag" alone fails to truly capture what a complete and unrepetant waste of oxygen a person is. Thus, the "nutbag extraordianaire." And Fred Phelps, taking a break from protesting the funerals of homosexuals in order to harass a schoolchild, more than earns the title.



Nutbag Extraordinaire: Teacher's Aide Charged with 96 Counts of Sexual Abuse


There's a place in hell for people like this...and a broomstick in prison.


Nutbag Father "Upset" Over Sentence After Beating Child


Nothing like a man who murders his kid and then whines about having to actually serve jail time for it.


Nutbag Homophobes Strike Again: FDA Proposes to Ban Gay Sperm Donors


But...I thought homophobes kept insisting its not genetic???


Nutbag Judges: Eroding Our Religious Freedoms


Two judges, one mission: to force the "right" religion down your throat, willing or no.


Nutbag Mothers: Nutbags in Real Life


My encounters with two extremely unpleasant women on one long, eventful day.


Nutbag Parents: Clown Car


Look, people...they're kids, not sardines.


Nutbag Parents: Mom Makes Contract for Boyfriend to Rape Daughter


Don't read this on a full stomach.


Nutbag Parents: Toddler Killed So He "Wouldn't Be Gay"


I hope some big, hairy, stinky man named Butch makes this pathetic dirtbag his bitch in prison.


Nutbag Scratcher: Charges Follow Obscene Tattoo


Believe it or not...I didn't notice the whole pun with "nutbag scratcher" until I made this list...oops.


Nutbag Sicko: Man Kills Nesting Swans in Park


There's no words, really, for insane fuckwads like this.


Nutbag "Taunters"


Teasing and killing the mentally ill...nutbags in the extreme.


Nutbag Teacher: Cheater, Cheater


Hey, Teach...eyes on your own paper!


Nutbags Caught On Film: Aw, Isn't That Sweet? NOT!


Must be seen to be believed.


Nutbags in a Theater: Throwing Out Disabled Boy for "Laughing Too Loud"


What a cold, cold-hearted nutbag this is.


Nutbags in the Government: Helping Rapists Get a Stiffy


Viagra for sexual assaulters...your tax dollars at work, folks.


Nutbags in the Morning: "The View" Insults Nursing Mothers


Probably the most popular of my nutbag installments. (Check out my Update: Tom Cruise, "The View" for more).


Nutbags in the Wake of Terri Schiavo: Ignoring Patients' Rights


A bill to let doctors ignore final directives. Shame on these nutbags. (For my idea of a great living will, see this post).


Nutbags with a Double Standard: Schools Forbids Teen Mom to Graduate, But Allows Teen Dad


This made my blood boil. The hypocrisy.


When Nutbags Attack: Nutbag Douses Infant with Pepper Spray


Next on Jerry Springer...


Your Honor, the Nutbag: Judge Stalls Abused Woman's Divorce


Nothing like the court telling you you can't divorce your abusive, scumbag husband. When you read the reasoning...you'll scream. I know I did.


Your Honor, the Nutbag Part II: Speak English or Get Out


Someone needs to tell this dickweed there is no official language in this country. And to take some Valium. STAT.


See also: Nutbags of the Year 2004





///American Indian, Like Me///





So rarely are the issues of Native America brought to the attention of the general public. Below are my NDN NEWZ articles.





GOP Candidate Says Cherokee "Not Real Indians" and Other Nonsense


Running your election on a racist platform...and gee, after it worked out so well for David Duke...


Native News: Chief to Get Justice 150 Years in the Making


And it's about time, too!


NDN Newz: False Organization Warning!


There are way too many of these con artists around...unfortunately.


NDN NEWZ: Hate Crime Shocks Paiute Reservation


And it will shock you, too.


NDN NEWZ: Housing Funds May Go to War Effort


Because we all know it's important to help out the oppressed peoples of an uncaring regime...wait a minute....


NDN NEWZ: Plastic Shaman Indicted


A "plastic shaman" is one of the lowest forms of life. I hope they throw the book at him.


NDN NEWZ: Reservation Life Worse than Iraq


A startling link.



School Shooting: Grieving with the Chippewa


I elaborated more in: Life in My Skin: The Aftermath of Red Lake


So Why Don't You Celebrate Thanksgiving?


The answer to the question I get asked, every single year...


Weird eBay: Spirit Guide in Utero?


I'm still shaking my head over this one.


See also: Nutbag Disc Jockey Spews Anti-Native American Rhetoric





-*-TIN GODS-*-





There are many, many good and capable physicians out there, who care for their patients and do everything they can to keep them healthy and happy. They bear no resemblance to these jerkwads. You can read more about what, exactly, a Tin God is, as well as break-downs of all the Tin Gods below (except Caligula) here: A Directory of Tin Gods (So Far)





Now, on to the individual posts:





The A-Ha! Doctor and the Otherwise Busy Tin God


The Caligula Tin God


Caligula is the only Tin God here bad enough to warrant two follow-up posts: Caligula Strikes Back and Caligula, the Ongoing Saga


The My-Way-Or-The-Highway Doctor


The Pageant Judge Tin God


The Siren


Tin Gods with an Audience: The Celebrity Tin God


The Wannabe Tin God






**MS/Trigeminal Neuralgia/Chronic Pain Entries**





All my writings, musings and complainings about the world of disability, as I see it.





A Letter to People Without Chronic Pain

An MS Adventure: How I Got Started on this Crazy Trip

Canada OKs Marijuana Use for MS

Chronic Pain in Verse

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to the Dentist I Go


The trouble with dental work and trigeminal neuralgia.


I Am a Doofus


A clumsy MS moment turns chicken soup into second-degree burns. Continued in the post Burn Baby Burn, with a photo that's definately not for the squeamish.


I Hate Pain

It's My Pity Party, I Can Cry If I Want To


So na-na-na-na-boo-boo.


Measure 33


A bill in the last election seeking to re-write Oregon's medical marijuana law...and why I was against it.


MS and Belly Buttons: To Pierce or Not To Pierce?

Pain, Pain Go Away...So I Can Have a Clean House!

Supreme Court Ruling on Medical Marijuana

Trigeminal Neuralgia, or as I Call It: Demon-Spawn

Demon-Spawn is Back: Trigeminal Neuralgia Attacks Again


A detailed explanation of what it feels like to have trigeminal neuralgia.


Unsung Heroes: Hospital Nurses!

Well, This Sucks: MS Attacks My Legs

WTF is the Point of a Flu Shot?





(*)(*)THE QUIZ & MEME LIST(*)(*)





I've done a bunch of these, for fun. Here they are. Links are included for quizzes, so you can do them, too. MEMES are in bold.





The Book MEME Challenge

Literary MEME

Music A-Z

Strictly for Monty Python Fans...

Stroll Down Memory MEME

What Does Your Birth Month Reveal About You?

What Happened the Year You Were Born?

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

What Movie is Your Love Life Like?

What's Your Hippie Chick Name?

Which 80's Band Are You?

Which American City Are You?

Which "Big Lebowski" Character Are You?

Which Broadway Character Are You?

Which Canadian Province Are You?

Which Celebrity Would You Hook Up With If You Were Drunk?

Which Christmas Movie Are You?

What Classic Pin-Up Are You?

Which Cure Album Are You?

Which Decade is Your Personality Living In?

Which Depeche Mode Album Are You?

Which Elemental Dragon Are You?

Which Happy Bunny Are You?

Which Historic Woman Are You?

Which Horrible Edward Gorey Death Will You Die?

Which Irish Gaelic Phrase Are You?

Which Kind of Freaky Mother Are You?

Which Law & Order: SVU Character Are You?

Which Movie Do You Belong In?

Which Mystical Creature Are You?

Which Peanuts Character Are You?

Which Sexy Cartoon Character Are You?

Which Shitty 80's Hair Band Are You?

Which Tattoo Should You Get?

Which That 70's Show Character Are You?

Which Weight Watchers Recipe Card Are You?

Which Witch?

Which X-Men Are You?

Who Should You Vote For?

Who's Your Inner Rock Chick?







*--~*~--*PHOTOS*--~*~--*





Pictures I have either taken myself or found on the Internet and shared with ZPT fans.





Big Cup...

Burn Baby Burn: Second-Degree Burns on My Hand

Giant Cross

I'm Too Punk For This

Interesting Picture My Father Took in Montana

Kokopelli

The Lazy Fairy

My Chalice Well Tattoo

My Cover-Up Tattoo

My Dragon Tattoo

My Miracle Baby Tattoo

My Turtle Tattoo

Oregon Zoo Trip: The Frisky Peacock

Oregon Zoo Trip: The Polar Bear

River Bed

Rob's Skate Park: Local Boy Makes Good

Rob's Skate Park: Another Picture

Tattoo Humor: Funny English Characters

Utah

World's Longest Dreadlocks?










I hope you enjoyed THE BEST OF ZEN. I have enjoyed writing it.





Here's to another year, and beyond...