LAmom

THIS BLOG IS MOVING!

I am moving the contents of the LAmom blog to my own site.  Here's the link: http://www.joanalexanderhall.com/LAmom/

NEW POSTS COMING!

Some content that I have been publishing in another location is going to be moved to this blog.  I quit posting much here after I felt like had said most of everything I had to say about world affairs, but now this space is getting repurposed.  Stay tuned.

I RECORDED A TUNE ON GOOGLE'S MUSICAL LOGO TODAY

In honor of Les Paul's birthday, Google has a guitar logo today that you can play notes on and even record yourself.  Here's my humble offering, "Old McDonald" (address is http://goo.gl/doodle/eT7B)

Anyone else who wants to post a recording here is welcome to do so.

JG HAS BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS DAY!

This Sunday we went out to eat for the first time since JG turned 12, which means that he was finally able to order from the adult menu.  JG was so sick of children's menu items that he had even written a web page about it: Why are kids menu foods all the same?

He celebrated his liberation from the kids menu by ordering a Chicken Fried Steak breakfast plate.

CURRENT FOOD INFATUATION: KABOCHA SQUASH

This year I've been working on improving my diet (I wouldn't say that it was really bad before, but there's room for improvement).  My inspiration is some research I did on how to live to be 100.  From the things I read, it looks like I should focus mainly on exercising more and eating better kinds of food.

So I've been trying new vegetables, including lots of different types of squash.  And I have fallen in love with the Kabocha squash.  Velvety texture with a flavor almost like a sweet potato.  Mostly eating it baked with butter and that's it, but I'm seeing some recipes around that look interesting.  This one will probably be first.

I FOUND LAMB'S QUARTERS!

Here in the new house, I've been bemoaning the lack of mallow weeds in the yard.  I have bitter greens (dandelion and sow thistle), sour greens (wood sorrel), and delicate greens (chickweed, and lots of it!), but I didn't have anything I recognized that was a good sturdy, bland green to use as a salad base.

Meanwhile, this other weed was springing up back there and I watched it grow larger and larger, always wishing that I knew what it was.  Well, it has finally flowered, and the flowers gave me a clue!  They looked like Chenopodium.  A little research confirmed that I've got Chenopodium album, aka Lamb's quarters!

I'm eating a salad with them this very moment.  Cool.

FEAR AND HALLOWEEN

Seth Godin's Halloween blog post focuses on marketing, but one question that he asks is:

"How did fruit end up as treat non grata?"

A part of the answer to that is the attitude that has developed that sugar greed is a part of the Halloween fun, thus anyone who doesn't cater to it is a party-pooper who hates children.

But another aspect is fear.  Remember all the urban legends about razor blades in apples?  The take-home message was that homemade treats could kill you.  The only treats to be trusted were the ones that came in sealed wrappers with corporate logos on them.

A home-made cookie or piece of fruit is treated by many as "candy from strangers", and therefore dangerous.  Unfortunately, we are often so unfamiliar with our own neighbors that we view them as strangers who could potentially be homicidal maniacs.  Better off with something from the Hershey's company; we know we can trust them.

I JUST YELPED THE $1 BOOKSTORE IN CARSON

My first real job was working in a B. Dalton Booksellers in the Carson Mall, but since then the Carson Mall has had no bookstore in it for many years.  My kids and I recently discovered to our surprise and delight, that there is now a One-Dollar Bookstore.  Here's my Yelp review.

GETTING READY FOR A MOVE

We're moving from Lynwood to Lynwood so it won't complicate our outside life too much, but moving is always nerve-wracking.  Wish us luck.

FASCINATING MAPS THAT DOCUMENT SEGREGATION

This article from Britain's Daily Mail features color-coded maps that show the level of segregation or integration of some of the largest cities in the U.S.

DUELING SERMONS: JESUS VS. PAT ROBERTSON

This past Sunday, my father preached out of Luke chapter 13.  Hear what Jesus had to say about people who are victims of terrorist attacks and natural disasters (emphasis mine):

1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?

3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Contrast with Pat Robertson, who is convinced that the reason there was so much loss of life in Haiti is not because of an unsafe infrastructure, but because those people are so much more evil sinners than the rest of us that they deserve more misery than we do.

SOLVE A BRAIN TEASER!

I just did a write-up on Squidoo about a real-life incident where I was locked out of my car.  It presents the whole story and then invites you to make a guess about how the problem was solved.  See if you can solve "The Case of the Locked Beetle".

I'VE STARTED A NEW BUSINESS!

I'm unveiling my new business, ChoirParts.com.  This is a service that provides practice tracks for choir songs -- individual soprano, alto, tenor, or bass tracks that can be downloaded as MP3s or purchased on CDs.

Gospel choirs generally don't use sheet music.  They learn their music completely by ear and through repetition.  Practice tracks from ChoirParts.com make it possible to continue that practicing outside of rehearsal time.

We have a catalog with some songs to choose from, but we also take requests.  Choir directors can tell us what song they want choir parts for, and we'll do the to order.

The site is here: ChoirParts.com

And I made a Squidoo page that describes the service in more detail: What is ChoirParts.com?

THE UNITED NATIONS IS OFFICIALLY "NOT SMARTER THAN A FIFTH-GRADER"

At least in 1950 they weren't.

For Veterans Day today, my boys and I looked a little information about the Korean War (they were interested in that because some of their great-uncles served in Korea).  We followed the action of the invasion by North Korea, the Allies coming in to help, and their successful recapture of South Korea.  When we reached the point of the US/UN decision to cross the 38th Parallel, JG declared that that was a terrible idea.

Only after countless more lives were lost did President Truman conclude that they never should have crossed the line.  Too bad they hadn't applied some fifth-grader logic before they did it.

SIGN OF THE TIMES

A steel company here in South Gate.  I wonder how long they're going to keep this up there as their primary message to the world.

 

UPDATE:  As of September 2010, the sign is still bearing the same message.

AMAZING: HUMAN USE OF ECHOLOCATION

A must-see.  The story of a blind teenager in Sacramento who uses echolocation to navigate the world.  This is part 1 of 5.

UPDATE: I found out that this young man died from a recurrence of cancer in January of this year.  His website pays tribute to him.  His story is still an inspiration, though.  It shows the capabilities that all of us have but often don't know it.

MAYBE IT DOES MAKE SENSE

Like a lot of people, I was majorly surprised to hear that President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize.  I would have thought that he has only gotten a start on his stated goals in international relations.

But perhaps this is a sign to us Americans of how bad our international image had become before Obama took office.  You all know how deep my feelings go about the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war (if you don't remember, let me remind you).  If the most powerful country on earth has a foreign policy as dangerous as that, maybe it really would be viewed by other nations as the world's biggest problem.  Maybe the election of a new president who is going in a different direction is so great a relief that it really would merit the Nobel Prize.

UPDATE: I just made a debate web page on this topic.  Go give your opinion about whether it makes sense to give Obama the Peace Prize.

A STORY THREE YEARS IN THE MAKING

Wow, it's been three years since I said this:

I have a pet project that I worked out in my mind a long time ago but haven't gotten onto paper yet.  It's a rewrite of the story of Cinderella, one in which Cindy has a sweet and kind stepmother who loves her very much.

I finally did it, and it turned out to be pretty long.  As I went along I started getting more ideas for putting my own slant on it.

Here's the link: A revision of Cinderella.

DEPRESSION SONG

I've always loved this old song, and now it seems timely again.

If I ever get a job again,
I will never be a snob again;
I'll live within my means, carry a dollar in my jeans,
If I ever get a job again.

If I ever get a break again,
Brother, what I'll do to steak again!
No turning out the light bidding my appetite good night,
If I ever get a break again.

I'll get two rooms and a kitchenette,
Furnished comfortably;
With two rooms and a kitchenette,
I'll get a sweet somebody to move in with me!

If I ever get a job again,
I know that two hearts will throb again,
She told me with her eyes we'll be rehearsing lullabies,
If I ever get a job again.

If I ever get a job again,
I will never be a snob again!
I'm through with stocks and bonds, I'd rather spend it all on blondes,
If I ever get a job again!

If I ever get my pay again,
I'll save it for a rainy day again,
But let me tell you, bud, I'm gonna save up for a flood,
If I ever get my pay again.

I'll get two suits and an overcoat,
Like a millionaire!
Just two suits and an overcoat,
And then when things get better, I'll buy underwear!

If I ever get a job again,
With my old friends I'll hobnob again,
What great fun it will be saying, "Just have one more on me!"
If I ever get a job again.

GHOSTS

Jonathan at The Gridbook Blog writes eloquently about the images of beauty and vitality that we can see on film, preserved images of people who have long ago stopped looking the way they looked then.

This very same thought has been on my mind through this Christmas season.  During Christmas, we hear in the air all around us the voices of the dead.  They're still instantly recognized and they still feel personal, even though the owners of the voices are long gone.  Bing Crosby, Karen Carpenter, sounding so vibrant and alive, walking with you through the mall, visiting you in your bedroom.  The ghosts of holidays past.