Mark Steyn on Iran:

You know what's great fun to do if you're on, say, a flight from Chicago to New York and you're getting a little bored? Why not play being President Ahmadinejad? Stand up and yell in a loud voice, "I've got a bomb!" Next thing you know the air marshal will be telling people, "It's OK, folks. Nothing to worry about. He hasn't got a bomb." And then the second marshal would say, "And even if he did have a bomb it's highly unlikely he'd ever use it." And then you threaten to kill the two Jews in row 12 and the stewardess says, "Relax, everyone. That's just a harmless rhetorical flourish." And then a group of passengers in rows 4 to 7 point out, "Yes, but it's entirely reasonable of him to have a bomb given the threatening behavior of the marshals and the cabin crew."

Posted by: Sarah at 03:43 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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My mom was having a hard time getting into my website over the weekend for some reason, so she googled my site to try to access it that way. If you've been following my site for a few years, you may remember the day I got Lefty-lanched, when hundreds of people came to my website to tell me how dumb I am. My mom ended up back in the middle of that mess via google, and what she found really surprised me when she told me today.

Someone didn't like a blog post I wrote. They thought it was dumb and mathematically unsound. So he wrote a post about what an idiot I am. I personally think that's in very poor taste, but whatever, it was his choice for his hate-filled website. But his comments section went too far. Apparently some commenter published my name, address, and phone number, and the contact info for my parents as well. Thankfully, other commenters thought that was a low blow and the owner of the site took the info down. But, man: I just realized that two years ago I was personally attacked for something I said online. People who disagreed with me seriously meant to hurt me. And I didn't even know it until today.

It's funny because at that time, I got some really hateful comments. This site had nasty comments too -- including the ones that said that my husband left his wedding ring home from Iraq so he could get laid -- but this other blog owner also got a handful of comments defending me. It was nice to read this comment:

I saw all of this via cruel.com, and really don't get why everyone piled on. It didn't seem to me that she was doing a stat analysis so much as making a (not very carefully worded) point about reporting bias highlighting certain aspects of a poll already suffering from several questions that presented insufficient response choices to options that begged other questions.

I was not under the impression that she literally thought that only 615 people in the entire United States responded in a certain way to question quoted above. In fact, it was obvious to me that she wasn't. To think that's what she meant, you'd have to assume an almost non-functional level of stupidity. I guess the assumption of simple-mindedness was in place because of the general trend for lefties to view righties as intellectually inferior, for the simple thought crime of not being lefties.

Coming from cruel.com, I'm used to good quality links of people making asses of themselves. I'm still waiting for the punchline on this one, and I can't tell if the intended stupidity was supposed to be the original blog entry on tryingtogrok or all of this odd, over-the-top follow up.

Now that's some common ground I can enjoy! (emphasis mine)

I've been thinking a lot about comments these days. Lots of the big right-leaning sites don't even have comments sections, and I can completely understand why. Charles Johnson has to answer for everything that's written on his blog, when he himself only posts links and pithy snippets. But he's a "racist" and a "fascist" because of his comments section. I've often wondered how Markos Zuniga lets people post the crazy things they say under the umbrella of his site. No one takes note of the diarist; they just attribute the whole thing to Zuniga.

So what's our relationship to our comments? The other day I somehow managed to get a comment from a White Power site. I don't know how they found me or what they thought they read in my words, but there they were. Does it make me a white supremacist because someone thought he had identified me as one? Am I a religious fundamentalist just because Will Sommerset called me one?

A lot of times I've just considered shutting my comments section down. But I guess I've grown accustomed to the noise.

Posted by: Sarah at 10:53 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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1 The haters think but calling people names it dulls their pain. Their pain of self hate and drepression brought on by their believe in a negative ideology. I had a slight taste of that myself this week. http://jameshudnall.com/blog.php?/weblog/secular_religious_zealots_in_action/

Posted by: James Hudnall at April 17, 2006 07:04 PM (F+Wqc)

2 What vakue would the blog have to you without a comments section? How would you know anyone was listening? Needless to say, though, I take issue with the person you quote. As if "righties" treat "lefties" as THEIR intellectual equals or superiors. Yeah, I'm always warmed by the respect with which Ann Coulter treats people who disagree with her.

Posted by: Pericles at April 17, 2006 07:07 PM (eKf5G)

3 Argh. Typos. I should have proofread that. "The haters think by calling people names it'll dull their pain. Their pain of self hate and drepression brought on by their belief in a negative ideology." Leftism is largely based on angry emotions and that comes largely from depression. The left wing elites feed that negative reinforcement. It has become a cult of self hate kind of like the Palestianian jihadists are trapped in a death cult.

Posted by: James Hudnall at April 17, 2006 07:12 PM (F+Wqc)

4 "What vakue would the blog have to you without a comments section? How would you know anyone was listening?" There's always e-mail. Works for me. Never had a comments section since I started in 2002.

Posted by: Amritas at April 17, 2006 08:06 PM (mb59o)

5 James---Thanks for proving my point about the level of intellectual respect that the left gets from the right.

Posted by: Pericles at April 17, 2006 08:27 PM (eKf5G)

6 I don't believe I've ever gone onto someone else's site and made a confrontational comment. If I think the person is full of baloney, I'll just move on and likely not ever return. Life is too short to be going onto people's sites to pick a fight.

Posted by: Jim - PRS at April 17, 2006 10:13 PM (njBz/)

7 I only wish I had the courage to write about some of the stuff you've written about. I know that my skin isn't thick enough to handle the kinds of comments you receive...I would have shut down the section long ago. Thanks for being gutsy and putting it out there!

Posted by: Nicole at April 18, 2006 08:02 PM (Sa9Kb)

8 Wait. You're not? (just kidding... I think)

Posted by: Will Somerset at April 19, 2006 12:04 AM (eIQfa)

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Erin asked me if I was going to write a post about Easter today. My day started out great, with the last Sunday Knitting Club at my house. But it was all downhill from there. My husband needs a military vehicle early tomorrow morning, and we spent over two hours driving all over Bavaria trying to find the soldier who has the TMP keys in his pocket. At that point we were both already quite grumpy, so after dinner we sat down to watch a movie and relax. Of course it didn't help our mood when the disk started skipping and we had to restart the DVD player five times. And then Charlie nipped my husband's hand while they were playing and got him pretty hard on the finger, and I cut my hand on the medicine cabinet and started bleeding myself. We gave up and came upstairs to go to bed and forget about today.

But Happy Easter anyway.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:06 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 Sad. Don't you hate those kind of days? Happy Easter.

Posted by: Erin at April 16, 2006 03:44 PM (2D/WI)

2 Be thankful the day if over and look forward to a great week.........and only 15 more days in Germany!

Posted by: Vonn at April 16, 2006 07:13 PM (Wy1BF)

3 That sucks......Thank god it's over, now watch Racheal Ray and have a better day!

Posted by: Kelly at April 17, 2006 01:34 AM (a54xk)

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The Girl finished her first major knitting project. It looks so nice. And she made up the cable on the sleeves herself! Her brother's baby will be so cute in it.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:15 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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If it's at all possible, never arrange to move the week when your husband has finals for his MBA classes and when he's acting commander because the real commander is on leave. That's a scenario to avoid.

Posted by: Sarah at 07:24 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 Sarah, I think I can trump you on this one. Once in a land far, far away - the past, when my husband was finishing up his MS thesis he was working for the Tex Parks and Wildlife, not named that at the time. I was very, very preggie, scheduled for June to have a baby. Well, baby didn't arrive till July 17, tne thesis was completed and signed off on and the new job was in Virginia. Long story short, we left Texas when the baby was 17 days old, I nursed him all across the country, the three year old was car sick most of the way and I was exhausted! But we had fun. And it is fun to look back on.

Posted by: Ruth H at April 15, 2006 03:17 PM (w20rj)

2 Yeah moving...my least favorite topic in the military When it rains, it pours! (of course)

Posted by: Nicole at April 15, 2006 04:24 PM (Sa9Kb)

3 I remember when you were 18 mos. old, and I was six months pregnant with Michael and we were moving from Tulsa to Pittsburgh. Dad had to go ahead and move to Pittsburgh, and "you" and I were left behind to sell the house, arrange the move with the movers (they packed my car keys and also repacked a truck at midnight because they didn't listen to me when I told them all of our things would not fit on the truck they had brought). Such fun! Your dad handled the next move and has helped with all the rest since. I think he realized when he came back for the closing on the house that I was not a happy camper! Somehow you'll manage! Hang in there! Love, Your Mama

Posted by: Nancy at April 15, 2006 10:51 PM (6s7Zq)

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I'm working on a basic sweater right now. I've made this pattern as a pullover, but now I think I'm going to try to convert it into a cardigan. Anyway, here's the beginning of one of the sleeves.

And The Girl wants to learn to do entrelac. I had never done it before, but I remembered seeing this pattern on Knitty. So I made myself a little swatch. Entrelac is actually pretty fun; it's like a knitting puzzle. I couldn't imagine it by just reading, so I grabbed some junk yarn and saw it come together before my own eyes.

Posted by: Sarah at 06:43 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 18 days, 21hours...and you haven't had to pack your knitting?

Posted by: debey at April 13, 2006 09:18 AM (o52PP)

2 That is one pattern that I have printed out to knit this year. Do you comment on knitty?

Posted by: dkswife at April 13, 2006 09:26 AM (/l6sd)

3 Debey -- We decided to "tough it out" in the US instead of here, so we're not having our household goods picked up until a week before we leave. But don't worry, there will be plenty of knitting in my suitcase DKS -- I have never commented on Knitty, but I check in with them all the time. I'm too big of a wuss to make my own patterns; adapting a pullover to a cardigan is a Big Deal for an anal person like me who follows patterns to the letter.

Posted by: Sarah at April 13, 2006 10:01 AM (ZP5Sl)

4 I love that gray--and to think that I pay $50-$60 for a great chunky knit sweater and you can make your own. Nice

Posted by: Nicole at April 13, 2006 11:48 AM (Sa9Kb)

5 Entrelac is pretty cool. However, I think I need to master cable-knit first. I'll get there one day.

Posted by: Vonn at April 13, 2006 12:46 PM (dEgRi)

6 ooh I dig the entrelac, one of those things I love how it looks but just haven't gotten 'round to trying it yet!

Posted by: zib at April 13, 2006 08:40 PM (VRrH1)

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There IS a problem with global warming... it stopped in 1998

Posted by: Sarah at 03:46 AM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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Wanna read some absolutely depressing stuff about immigration?
No easy answers on immigration conundrum

Posted by: Sarah at 11:07 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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I was thinking more about that AFN commercial and I found a military compensation calculator that lets you see the equivalent civilian income that relates to the same standard of living you live at in the military. It doesn't work well for overseas because they don't add anything for housing, but try it with the CONUS average and see where you're at. Heck, this is the main reason we're not getting out of the Army anytime soon.

Posted by: Sarah at 07:55 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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As we get ready to move back to the US, I have started thinking about our European experience. Lots of people who live here put up photos of the places they've traveled. I started thinking about our collection of travel photos. My husband and I don't travel much, and when we do, we're always alone. We've gotten pretty good at taking our own photo. In fact, when we were in Prague, someone offered to take our photo and we turned him down! We've got quite a running gag going of us in front of foreign stuff. And so I present to you our travel photos.

First of all, us in front of our house, right when we moved here

Then Salzburg

Frankfurt

Heidelberg

Garmisch for R&R

our cruise

Mulhouse for the Tour de France

and finally Prague

I think it's hilarious that all of our photos end up looking about the same. I love that. I can't wait to add similar photos of us in front of places like Mt. Rushmore, the Redwood forest, and Busch Stadium.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:28 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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1 Awww. You are so stinkin' pretty (and photogenic)!

Posted by: Erin at April 11, 2006 05:02 AM (7oVGv)

2 Those are great! Thanks for sharing.

Posted by: Kathleen A at April 11, 2006 06:55 AM (7qm8p)

3 Those are great! You two are adorable I can't wait to see the American versions.

Posted by: lizzie at April 11, 2006 08:10 AM (wxF45)

4 Mt. Rushmore???REALLY!!It's a 3rd of July fireworks display, to the tune of $1,000,000...if I ever go there, again, it will be for 3july...but going in the winter is cool, and usually the people are fewer...those ''great faces'' are about 7 hours, from me!spearfish canyon is awesome, when fall hits, and the leaves are changing colors, too...and custer state park, in the spring, with the wildlife and newborn babies..buffalo, deer elk.....''great faces, great places''...south dakota!i'm also 25 minutes away from the world's largest bird feeder..oops, i mean the world's only corn palace, in mitchell..so, don't be running around this state w/o a guide!!there's also some good fishing & those damned pheasents!...debey ps..glad to see erin's ''talking''!

Posted by: debey at April 11, 2006 08:33 AM (vAEec)

5 Such cute photos! They have a South Park feel to them....'Explanation=same pose, but the backgroud keeps changing.' I love it! It would be great if we could photoshop one and add Cartman.

Posted by: Vonn at April 11, 2006 10:10 AM (dEgRi)

6 Have you guys ever thought about asking somebody else to take your picture for you?

Posted by: Will at April 11, 2006 07:16 PM (eIQfa)

7 My boyfriend and I do this all the time, too! I mean we have loads of photos of us taken by someone else, but I have such a fondness for these photos, because they have such a fun feeling to them, instead of real posing. I plan on collecting all of ours and putting them together in an frame soon.

Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at April 14, 2006 08:34 AM (apdbD)

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A woman in Riverrim's knitting club just lost her son to the War on Terror. This woman was making an afghan for her son, one square for every month he was away, and now the afghan will join him in his coffin. This story rips my heart out and the knitter inside me is weeping.

Posted by: Sarah at 02:50 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I really like these new AFN commercials where a talking computer compares military benefits to the civilian world. I've seen ones about pay raises, vacation days, and medical care. I think it's important for soldiers to know how their benefits compare to the outside world because it's easy to gripe about the Army, but another job might not be any better.

But what I don't like on TV is being lectured to, especially by an ex-stripper. My husband and I watched the "Secrets and Flies" episode of CSI last night. The story revolved around an organization that finds mothers for abandoned embryos. The woman who was killed was a single Christian mother who adopted a leftover fertilized egg from a fertility clinic because she believed that every embryo is a baby from the minute it's fertilized in a laboratory dish. And the CSI cast openly rolled their eyes and scoffed at this organization. Catherine, the ex-stripper, pulled out all these quotes about papal precedent to argue with the head of this organization. The beat-us-over-the-head Message on the show was that pro-lifers are complete nutjobs, and all the CSI characters agreed. There was no inter-office discussion of the matter; it was just settled and blatantly woven into the script that this was insane.

Cop dramas have been doing this for a while. I wrote a while back about similar propaganda in Law & Order. I'm tired of shows painting right-wing ideas as looney. I honestly don't think this "embryo adoption" thing is that weird. If a couple is willing to give away their extra embryos and someone is willing to take them, then everybody's happy. But you should've seen these CSIs' faces: they were completely disgusted by the whole thing. I don't understand why.

I'm not 100% sure what my view is on abortion. I struggle with one fundamental paradox: If an unwed teen gets pregnant, then we start talking about "at what day is it actually a baby", but if a happily married couple gets pregnant, it's obviously a baby from day one. I know when I get pregnant that it will be a baby from the beginning, and I don't care what day the heart starts beating or the blood starts circulating. So if it's a baby for me, I should see it as a baby for everyone. But I still can't say that abortion is absolutely murder. My thoughts on the topic are kind of messy, and thank goodness I've never had to really work through them.

That said, I respect people who do think that it's murder, and I admire someone who might consider adopting an embryo to give every baby a chance. I certainly would never roll my eyes at her or argue with her about what the pope said in the 16th century (which is what the CSI did). All other things being equal, I respect the right-wing position on abortion more than I do the left-wing position, even though I fall somewhere in between. So why is it obvious that the message on TV is that the right-wingers are nuts?

Posted by: Sarah at 02:09 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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1 Sarah, I actually kind of disagree with you on this one (even though I'll save most of my comments for a real conversation with you). I think in comparison to adopting a live baby (one that has already been created, born, and neglected), adopting embryos is a little nutty. I'm not quite sure how I feel about abortion either...and yes, if and when I get pregnant, the embryo inside of me will always be referred to as "the baby." Having said that, I think scientifically, I can understand why the characters of CSI scoffed at adopting embryos. If we imagine that these characters are real people, then we can understand that they are around DNA, micro-organisms, and all kinds of teeny-tiny blobs of goop all the time. They are probably more capable of lumping embryos into the "teeny-tiny blobs of goop" category than you and I are. But...I do agree with you that more and more, tv shows are making fun of righties...sometimes justifiably (there are a lot of righty crazies out there), but a lot of times it's just over the top.

Posted by: Erin at April 11, 2006 05:17 AM (7oVGv)

2 Hey, if Erin disagreed, do I have to agree now? I don't really watch this new spate of cop shows, but from what I've seen I actually find them kind of right wing, in a different respect. The prime suspects are always really guilty; the cops and DAs never go after the wrong people. That hardly sends a message about the importance of civil rights. If the shows were liberal agitprop, half of the cops would belong to the KKK, and the DAs would sit around laughing about how they were sending innocent people to prison. In fact, it seems like his character is constantly lecturing the audience, from the little bits of the show I've seen. (And his co-star Angie Harmon spoke at the 2004 Republican National Convention.)

Posted by: Pericles at April 11, 2006 06:34 AM (eKf5G)

3 Oh, I forgot to say... I don't think that it is quite true to say that couples thnk of embryos just like they do babies. I've had family members suffer miscarriages, and while this was upsetting and sad, it was still nothing like the loss of a baby would have been. They may have called it "the baby," but the attachment wasn't that strong yet. In fact, a pretty high percentage of pregnancies end in very early spontaneous miscarriages, for no apparent reason. I never hear about anyone regarding this as any kind of tragedy, or even like a public health problem comparable to SIDS.

Posted by: Pericles at April 11, 2006 06:40 AM (eKf5G)

4 Erin -- OK, maybe the idea of adopting embryos is not mainstream, but I don't think it's nearly as weird as some of the other right-wing stuff on these shows: they often feature fanatic pro-lifers who kill abortion doctors or extreme religions where the dads impregnate teenage daughters and stuff. I think this one isn't quite so "out there", but the CSIs acted like they were in the same camp with cult types. I think there's at least room for discussion about adopting embryos, which is in a completely different realm than killing Planned Parenthood workers. But CSI seemed to treat them like they're the same. Catherine was overly pissed off at the woman, barking about stem cell research and pro-choice stuff. I just thought it was too much. Pericles -- Hmm, never thought about that. They do always solve the crime and rarely does some "innocent black man go to jail for a crime a rich white kid committed", or some other "liberal" idea like that.

Posted by: Sarah at April 11, 2006 06:49 AM (uJOsU)

5 I quit watching CSI a while ago - too gruesome and tawdry. I loved them for the science and whodunnit aspect problem solving stuff. But the gratuitous flesh and sex-oriented stuff was just too much. How did the treatment of the organization compare to say, the furries - where people dressed up as animals and had orgies? They were pretty much, well, weird to me, but ok. Certainly didn't call them stupid or debate the leader.

Posted by: PhilS at April 11, 2006 02:00 PM (aeR5+)

6 PhilS -- Good call, I forgot about that one. With all the sex stuff on that show, no one ever moralizes. Remember the dominatrix one, where Grissom talks to the "madam" like they're both scientists? I just think it's a double standard.

Posted by: Sarah at April 11, 2006 03:11 PM (uJOsU)

7 Part of becoming a human being is growing and evolving in your mother's womb, so I don't think an embryo in a petri dish can be called a baby. Adopting an embryo is about the same as adopting the stain on Lewinsky's dress.

Posted by: Will at April 11, 2006 07:14 PM (eIQfa)

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Found this on a knit blog and immediately wanted to do it.

Name 5 of your favorite books:
Alas Babylon
The Cornish Trilogy
Lolita
The Power of One
Contact

What was the last book you bought?:
The First Three Minutes

What were the last 3 books you read?:
War of the Worlds
Just a Couple of Days
Gates of Fire

List 5 books that have been particularly meaningful to you:
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Atlas Shrugged
To Kill a Mockingbird
Stranger in a Strange Land
Skinny Legs and All

Name 3 books you've been dying to read but just haven't gotten around to:
Taking Science to the Moon
Up From Slavery
The Soul of Battle

My husband and I did some final unpacking from Iraq last weekend. His tattered, dirty, torn copy of Atlas Shrugged fell out. I had promised it to Erin since Amritas gifted me a nice new copy, but when I saw it and thought of how it had kept my husband company for so many hours out at that stupid bridge over the Tigris, well, I just couldn't part with it. I'm buying Erin her own copy.

Posted by: Sarah at 10:45 AM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
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1 I tried to get my girlfriend to read Atlas Shrugged a few days ago. I, too, have a worn, tattered copy. She read the first few pages and decided that the writing was "boring," which I can admit that it is. But I do love that book. Even though the characters never change or have varying emotions, and even though the whole book is just one long essay. I like the message. To me, it's not right or left - not in today's world where everyone seems to care more about power than success.

Posted by: Will at April 06, 2006 02:40 PM (eIQfa)

2 Sarah, I can't wait to read Atlas Shrugged. But don't buy me a copy, silly! I know how to work amazon.com just as well as you do!

Posted by: Erin at April 07, 2006 12:58 AM (wNSIT)

3 Sarah, I'm sort of pleased to see that "Alas Babylon" is one of your favorite books, but I want to make sure it is the same one I know. The main character is a reserve military type who organizes security during a nuclear war in the Orlando FL area? Maybe, maybe not. But it was a great story anyway. I liked the book. Subsunk

Posted by: Subsunk at April 08, 2006 07:39 AM (dMUm8)

4 "Even though the characters never change" Atlas Shrugged is in part about the awakening of Hank Rearden and Dagny Taggart. They change, though John Galt does not.

Posted by: Amritas at April 08, 2006 12:01 PM (WnSrS)

5 Subsunk -- Yep, same book. Man, what a page turner.

Posted by: Sarah at April 08, 2006 01:42 PM (imqSY)

6 IMHO, Dagny and Hank don't really change - they just hold out longer than anyone else. But their characters remain the same. It's not a bad thing, it's just not the most interesting thing to read. Especially after page 1000, when we've seen every version of the argument that Hank, his wife, Dagny, her brother, etc, etc, can have.

Posted by: Will at April 08, 2006 03:35 PM (eIQfa)

7 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance? *Gags*

Posted by: Pericles at April 08, 2006 08:20 PM (eKf5G)

8 The real cycle you're working on is a cycle called 'yourself.' Ahwww....

Posted by: Will at April 08, 2006 08:57 PM (eIQfa)

9 On what basis exactly are you two making fun of Zen and the Art? I'd like to understand.

Posted by: Sarah at April 09, 2006 03:58 AM (3qZs7)

10 I was just teasing. I haven't read it in a long time. I really didn't care for it when I read it, but some of my reasons may have been very personal rather than anything to do with the "Quality" of the book itself. I've mentioned on here before that I studied philosophy, and I wasn't thrilled with the way that the book reinforced the notion that philosophers tend toward mental illness... It may just be snobbery on my part, really. It is a hard thing to write books that get philosophical ideas across to a mainstream audience. It is no surprise that people who have read more of the classics will find popular books a little thin. On a different subject, I'm curious why Atlas Shrugged gets so much more attention than The Fountainhead. I've always thought that the latter was the superior book. In some sense they're the same book, really, but not only is The Fountainhead a little shorter, the characters seem slightly more human. Although I never understood why Rand can never get a hero and heroine in bed together without its bordering on rape.

Posted by: Pericles at April 09, 2006 09:23 AM (eKf5G)

11 OK, thanks for clearing it up. I was trying to guess why you might gag at the book. That reason makes sense to me now. Yeah, Ayn Rand's sex stuff weirds me out too. But beyond that, I like the books. And I liked The Fountainhead best for a long time because of Roark, but after reading Atlas Shrugged again recently, I appreciate Galt's Gulch so much more now than I did when I was in high school. Back then I just didn't really care about railroads...

Posted by: Sarah at April 09, 2006 10:26 AM (3qZs7)

12 It is a good question, by the way, about what books have been personally meaningful. Putting together a top 5 would be hard for me, without a lot of thought. Stranger in a Strange Land might be on my list, too. A lot of Heinlein is horrible, but that is pretty good. Maybe The Fountainhead could make my list. I'd have to include Crime and Punishment, and maybe The Brothers Karamazov, too. Perhaps Great Expectations, although maybe not. Dickens is probably my favorite author, on the whole, but are his stories really deep enough to be among the five most meaningful? To Kill a Mockingbird could make my list, even though I haven't read it since high school. Also maybe The Catcher in the Rye and Huck Finn.

Posted by: Pericles at April 09, 2006 05:10 PM (eKf5G)

13 You should give To Kill a Mockingbird another read. I think it's phenomenal; in fact, if we have a son, his middle name will be Atticus. I personally thought Catcher in the Rye was overrated, but I think I was expecting too much because of its banned status. Maybe if I read it again without all the hype, it might seem better. I thought Crime and Punishment was a very good book too.

Posted by: Sarah at April 10, 2006 01:41 AM (81mkK)

14 A couple of books that caught my attention: Alas Babylon. Great! For awhile in high school I could not turn down a book about the apocolyptic-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it. This is one of the books that was read several times in that period and a few times since. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I read this book when I was down with the flu in Dombas, Norway. It was a training trip, mostly skiing and I go the flu real bad. Left alone in the barracks to recover, this is the only book I could find in my teammates gear. Actually, it belonged to my team leader, a captain that was a little off center but a good guy. I struggled through the book, partly because of my illness, partly because of the psychological nature of the book. I've not seen nor heard of it until your list. Atlas Shrugged. [rolling eyes] Great story. Too drawn out. The part that really killed me was Galt's (I think it was him) speech on the radio that lasted something like 65 pages. Guy, if you can't get your point across quicker than that... Anyway, I enjoyed the story, the moral, if you will, but it is a dull read. I'm already thinking about which book I'll bring home tattered and care-worn. Any ideas?

Posted by: JACK ARMY at April 17, 2006 04:21 PM (6AoYx)

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When my husband left for Iraq, I started a patchwork quilt. That was two years ago. Sewing it all together was fun and easy, but as soon as it came time to actually quilt it, I thought it was too hard. The quilt sat on a shelf for over a year, but I knew I had to finish it before we moved. I finally finished this week; it really wasn't as hard as I thought, though of course there are all sorts of mistakes that I just whatevered and kept going. I tried to take a photo of the finished product today. Naturally, everything in this house belongs to Charlie, so he grabbed it and ran down the hall with it.

Charlie has chewed on some valuable stuff in his lifetime, but this might take the cake. Unless you count the envelope of $300 I wrestled away from him on Monday.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:19 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Yesterday I actually sat and watched an entire hour of Al Franken. It wasn't as torturous as I thought it would be. I thought Tim Russert did a great job of keeping Franken honest, and I would love to see Russert interview someone like Ann Coulter the same way.

At one point, Al Franken said that what he'd really like to see is for Bush and Cheney to come clean with the world. He said they should give a "six hour long speech" (wow) in which they delineate everything they did wrong in Iraq. He wants their mea culpa to include everything from inaccurate pre-war intelligence to not stopping the looters after the fall of Baghdad. Franken said that after Bush and Cheney admitted they had been wrong about everything under the sun, then the international community could forgive them and the Democrats would gladly sit down and draft a bipartisan plan for Iraq.

I started thinking about transparency in government. The husband and I have been watching 24 recently. "President David Palmer" is probably close to everyone's ideal president. He went straight to the media when he learned his son might've killed someone. He ratted out his campaign contributors when he figured out they were dirty. And he divorced his wife during the primaries because she became too power hungry. In watching 24, you can't help but think that if all politicians had half of Palmer's integrity, the world would be a better place.

But if everyone wants Mr. Smith to go to Washington, why does it never happen in real life?

There are things that Bush and Cheney could've done differently with Iraq. I'm sure they know this. But I honestly don't think that it's appropriate for anyone to give a six hour apology while the war is still going on. And I honestly believe someone would still find something that Bush left out of his six hour speech to complain about. Lord knows there are times when I wish for more honesty in Washington (Would someone please step to the plate and call Cynthia McKinney a race-baiting bitch?) but I don't expect it to ever happen. Politics is a tricky game, and any one thing you say can haunt you for life (see "Read my lips", "I did not have sex with that woman", and "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.") No matter what Al Franken says, I don't think a big apology would make any of his opponents respect President Bush more, and I guarantee something from his apology speech would become a soundbite in the next election.

I often think I'm too thin-skinned to blog, so I know for sure that thin-skinned people certainly can't get into politics. I lie in bed worrying about how President Bush sleeps at night knowing his face is superimposed over a swastika; I'm sure he must be the type of man who waves it off and keeps going. We need our politicians to be thick-skinned, aggressive, and tough. We need them to play the game at the level that everyone else does, like it or not. Mr. Smith really wouldn't last long.

We may think we want Bobby running Ewing Oil, but in a world of dirty dealers, JR's the man for the job. Sad as that may be.

Posted by: Sarah at 02:29 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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Pericles pointed out an article to Erin that's worth repeating here:
Don't Politicize Our Soldiers

Also, a hearty HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Tim! We miss you!

Posted by: Sarah at 04:44 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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1 Hey! You beat me to it... But yeah, it's a thought-provoking article. I'm still letting it marinate in my mind before I publicize my opinion about it.

Posted by: Erin at April 02, 2006 11:53 AM (2q7O3)

2 Neocons created the divisions in America by orchestrating the Iraq War? Say what? Did I read that on tryingtogrok?

Posted by: Will at April 02, 2006 04:46 PM (eIQfa)

3 Will -- As hard as it may be for you to believe, I read stuff, and sometimes point to, articles I don't 100% agree with. I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment of that article.

Posted by: Sarah at April 03, 2006 01:49 AM (czIYR)

4 Cool. All right. You have my respect.

Posted by: Will at April 04, 2006 01:17 AM (eIQfa)

5 I'm paying for Internet access in London, so that is all I have time to say. Except that I wopuld never have posted here, or on Erin's blog, if I thought the two of you were so wedded to a party line that you'd never consider a contrary idea. It is nice to see that we can find some common ground, sometimes.

Posted by: Pericles at April 04, 2006 04:51 AM (GVzN8)

6 Yay. We're all getting along.

Posted by: Erin at April 05, 2006 03:53 PM (GyYB2)

7 I'm all warm and fuzzy inside.

Posted by: Will at April 06, 2006 12:38 AM (eIQfa)

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There was something in the water in our neighborhood nine months ago...
Baby #1
Baby #2
Baby #3
And unfortunately we'll be moving before I get to meet Baby #4.

You all are amazing. A dog is too much work for me.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:01 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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We've got orders and plane tickets. We move in 34 days...

Posted by: Sarah at 01:44 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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One of my friends is thinking of starting a blog. This friend is quite shy and introverted, so we were talking about the pros and cons of blogging. She doesn't know if she wants to be anonymous or open, if she wants a family-centered blog or one where she talks about deeper stuff. And she's very concerned about who might read her blog. Because you never know.

I told her that sometimes you'd be surprised who reads your stuff: your first grade teacher, your husband's old commander, or your parents' next door neighbor (yikes to all of those). And I told her that even if she has an anonymous blog, someone might still find her: both a friend from high school and our local lawyer recognized me.

The funny thing about blogging is that even if you never say who you are, strangers will read about the best and worst days of your life. I've been enjoying reading knitting blogs lately, and I've been privy to some very personal stories. I gasped when the Etherknitter's husband's tibia popped through his leg. I choked up when Debi gave Augie his sweater. My heart leapt back on the train with Squeeky's mom. And I cried with Jeanie when her son lost his best friend. I don't know these people from Adam, but I am in on their lives. I am thinking about them. I am cheering on their intarsia. And for moments, when I am engrossed in a particular post, I feel like I am a friend.

For all the headaches and heartaches, blogging has been very rewarding for me. I never would've known Bunker if it hadn't been for blogging. I never would've gotten an email from Ben Stein or gotten published in a book without blogging. And I never would've found so many people who cheer me on.

So even though I think about quitting every single day, I'm still here.

Posted by: Sarah at 01:42 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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1 I think she should go for it! You inspired me to start me blog. I never really read blog until I read yours and then it became and obession. I truly enjoy it. There are days when I can think of nothing to write, but then I read other pages and I'm moved to write. OUR shy, introverted friend has some very wonderfull things to add to the blogging world and I can't wait to hear what she has to say. Baby steps grasshopper! That is all you need!

Posted by: Vonn at March 29, 2006 07:04 PM (dEgRi)

2 I sometimes think about quitting too. But YOU are not allowed to quit, Sarah!

Posted by: annika at March 30, 2006 12:57 AM (fxTDF)

3 I am quiet and an introvert myself. Blogging and almost 8 years as a military spouse has helped me to talk to strangers, and be more willing speak up more. The only bad side - I vented once, she read it, she didn't like it, she told who knows what to her husband, my husband lost a friend. All because of my frustration of trying to keep a woman with a drinking problem from driving home. Otherwise, I love it. Great way to clear the mind of things you are thinking about and trying to process. HH6

Posted by: Household6 at March 30, 2006 02:02 AM (Gj0PV)

4 I'm occasionally tempted by the possibility of starting my own blog, but I'm daunted by the time it takes. I've been invited to join a group blog of people in my field, and maybe I should reconsider accepting that offer. For me, the big dilemma is that if I am blogging under my own name, then I am going to feel an obligation to put a lot of time into each post, because it would be humiliating to put something out there that I later regret. If I just do it as "Pericles" then I take a lot less risk. On the other hand, it lets me say a lot less, and most people probably find anonymous blogs less interesting. I expect that people here will be torn on what advice to give me: The world doesn't need another liberal blog, but maybe it will keep him too busy to post here!

Posted by: Pericles at March 30, 2006 07:32 AM (eKf5G)

5 Sarah, I too enjoy reading your blog. Too bad you'll be leaving Germany just as we are getting back. Angie and I joke that I should move into her old house. Wouldn't that be funny. Well keep up the good work. PS love the quotes on this site-Vicki

Posted by: Vicki at March 30, 2006 10:29 AM (9TGkZ)

6 Pericles...I've told Sarah before that I think you should blog. I would actually read it (even though you are one of "them") :-) And for our wanna-be blogger friend...My only advice would be to make up nick names for your hubby, your child, and yourself. I'm contemplating going through my blog and editing all the times I used our real names...I never want someone I don't like googling my name and finding my site. Even though the information I'm putting out there is for everyone to see, they don't necessarily need to know that it's me.

Posted by: Erin at March 30, 2006 12:48 PM (l3CR4)

7 It's all fine & good to be anonymous... until someone keeps calling you by your real name in the comments hahahaha

Posted by: the girl at March 31, 2006 07:57 AM (FmIVz)

8 Most would probably say that I am very shy and introverted as well but I think that the expression of writing is different for some reason, so I think your friend will find it to be very easy. Things will flow I never thought I would enjoy it but I have surprised myself.

Posted by: Nicole at March 31, 2006 10:59 AM (Sa9Kb)

9 The girl, I had to go check to see if I was guilty of that...and I so AM. I'm sorry! :-) And I've thought about that on my site too...do you tell everyone that you want to be anonymous, and not to use your real name?

Posted by: Erin at March 31, 2006 12:48 PM (/vUGb)

10 Thank you for crying with me, and don't stop blogging -- I just got here!

Posted by: Jeanie at April 02, 2006 01:41 AM (AOZRE)

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Now is not the time to get sick.

My husband was promised that his orders would be ready today. And not a moment too soon, since we're leaving in about four weeks. That means there's a ton to get done, and since I'm scheduled to work tomorrow and Thursday is Sergeant's Time, everything needs to get done today: final out, household goods, plane tickets, etc.

And I feel like I've been run over by a truck.

UPDATE:

I guess it doesn't matter anyhow, since the husband didn't get orders today anyway. I normally try not to complain, but they've been telling him every day for two weeks now that his orders will be done "tomorrow." It's getting a bit frustrating.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:05 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 Just reading that brings me back to last August...waiting, waiting, waiting...of course, I think we can ALL relate to that one! So much for starting the process 12 weeks out, eh? The norm now is probably closer to 4-6 Good luck!

Posted by: Nicole at March 28, 2006 10:28 AM (Sa9Kb)

2 Hate to say but...Get used to it. The only orders Uncle Sugar can cut in a timely fashion are the ones you a) Don't Want or b) Weren't expecting. Good luck R/ Ed

Posted by: Ed at March 28, 2006 12:14 PM (7l7Gd)

3 Getting sick sucks... I completely agree! Your turn, Erin.

Posted by: Pericles at March 28, 2006 05:49 PM (eKf5G)

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