Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Monday, August 30, 2010

Really, I Was Just Doing Some Research: The Guilty Pleasure of You Tube

   Ok, ok. You caught me. I'm working on a novel about a band, one contemporary to the Police, U2, Genesis. Feeling stuck, I entered the names of some of my favorite songs into my favorite search engine.
    Courtesy of You Tube, I was able to see videos for "If You Love Somebody (Set Them Free)," (not impressed, Sting not withstanding), "We'll Be Together" (cute), and "Desert Rose" (Gordon Matthew Sumner, you can do better than a ride into Vegas in a Jag, especially for a song of that magnitude).
    Music aside, there are the innumerable videos of pets acting adorably (such as one involving two Brittanys telling their two-legged mom that it was time to get up). I'm an idiot for those.
    Sometimes, there's a whoop of insanity as refreshing as cold water on a hot day. The Internet is Made of Cats came courtesy of a friend's blog (thank you, Charlie!), and I load it up when I need a giggle or two. Then there's a live version of Solsbury Hill with an exuberantly goofy twist.
    Happy Monday.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Our Winter's Diviersion

US v. Blagojevich round 2 begins on January 4, 2011.
The US dropped all charges against Robert, long suffering brother of Rod.
You have enough time to stock up on snacks, Gentle Readers.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Prayers for Pakistan

    Great Mystery, You Who holds the planets in Your palm and Who keeps the seasons in order, hear us now as we pray for your children, our brothers and sisters in Pakistan. Please help us all put politics and ideologies aside just long enough to hear Your words in our hearts and respond to the flood survivors' cries for help. Grant that we may all come together and play our parts in helping to clothe, feed, and shelter them and support them in creating a brighter tomorrow. In the names of the Prince and Princess of Peace, amen and thank you.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Convicted on One Count of Fibbing to the FBI

   Finally, the verdict was handed down yesterday for ex-Governor Blagojevich. Guilty of lying to the FBI.
   That was the only one that unanimously stuck. The other 23 counts for wire fraud, extortion, soliciting bribes, the jury was hung. Evidently, one juror was left unconvinced.
    The defense team of Adams pere et fils should send flowers.
    Of course US States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald wants to retry the case. While ex-Gov. B attempted and conspired to do bad things for his own personal gain, no money exchanged hands, nor was there a direct link to someone's injury or death as it was with George Ryan's proceedings (a commercial license had been procured through bribes for an inept driver, leading to an accident that wiped out six of eight children in a family).
     By no means do I believe that Rod should walk free. Does he need to pay a consequence? Yes, but keep in mind that there are worse things someone could do than not being able to keep his pie hole shut.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Still Waiting

    So we finally had a little movement in the Blagojevich trial--the jury sent a note to the judge. Did they have to be total accordance with each other on all the charges?
    No...
    So the mystery continues. Which charges they're deadlocked on, we don't know. Which ones are still shadowed with doubt, we don't know.
     I'm listening to WBBM, which I rarely do.  Since there's a status meeting scheduled for later this morning, I want to keep an ear peeled. Will this be the day a verdict is handed down? I don't know, but we will shortly.

Monday, August 9, 2010

We're Waiting

      Been a little negligent in my two cents on the Rod Blagojevich trial.
      Briefly recapping: jury's been out nine days. We wait. We wait. And wait some more.
      For some unstated reason, the defense chose not to present their case, and rested immediately after the prosecution did the same. In some logic that defies explanation, the defense chose to rest because the prosecution had made all the arguments for them.
       Meaning...what? Were they that scared that ex-Gov. B would make himself look like an even bigger doofus that the prosecution had made him seem? Or that to save some shred of dignity, perjury would have to be committed? Once it's disclosed that a governor hid in the bathroom to avoid the budget director, and that he'd spent $400,000 on clothes which sent him onto debt, hence the alleged attempts at soliciting bribes, it would be harder to make him look worse.
       So, some nine days later, we wait. Is the jury making sure that they have their ducks in a row before they return the verdict? Are they hung? Or are they listening to the tapes for what a friend of mine, a retired lawyer, calls "the yuck factor" and laughing hysterically?
       Stay tuned, Gentle Readers.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

How To Tell if You Need A Break from News

From my dream journal 8/2/10.....I'm being interviewed by Katie Couric. She has tracked me down to interview me about Rod Blagojevich's corruption trial. In the dream, I'm one of his ex-girlfriends. There are flashbacks to pivotal points in our relationship. The dream ends with me in the Thompson Center (the state office building in downtown Chicago) and Rod following me into the ladies' room, begging me to believe in his innocence.

I studied Carl Jung in grad school. I've kept track of my dreams since then. It's been helpful, and have figured out what symbols correlate with which events in my life. But, please, can't I just have a dream about horses or rainbows and unicorns or mythology? Please?