We are leaving Army Early tomorrow morning for our trip westward. My husband's parents don't have a computer, so I will be completely out of the loop for a week. If you see something really good online that I shouldn't miss, leave me the link in the comments so I can catch up next weekend.

Posted by: Sarah at 08:45 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 71 words, total size 1 kb.

If you were wondering what kind of anti-war movies are store for us, wonder no longer. There are plenty to choose from! You could see such gems as

“In the Valley of Elah,” a drama inspired by the Davis murder, written and directed by Paul Haggis, whose “Crash” won the Academy Award for best picture in 2006. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones as a retired veteran who defies Army bureaucrats and local officials in a search for his son’s killers. In one of the movie’s defining images, the American flag is flown upside down in the heartland, the signal of extreme distress.

Other coming films also use the damaged Iraq veteran to raise questions about a continuing war. In “Grace Is Gone,” directed by James C. Strouse and due in October from the Weinstein Company, John Cusack and two daughters struggle with the loss of a wife and mother who is killed on duty. Kimberly Peirce’s “Stop-Loss,” set for release in March by Paramount, meanwhile, casts Ryan Phillippe as a veteran who defies an order that would send him back to Iraq.

Or how about

Brian De Palma’s “Redacted,” focusing on an Army squad that persecutes an Iraqi family, is to be released in December by Magnolia Pictures.

Oh boy, I just can't wait. You remember how much I loved Crash, right? This should be even better.

Excuse me, I just threw up in my mouth a little.

(via RWN)

Posted by: Sarah at 02:50 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 259 words, total size 2 kb.

I just bought a new wireless mouse this morning because ours crapped out yesterday. I love the translations in these instructions, such as "Automatically sleeping and manpower taking off dual functions, the battery life be prolonged" and "The Steps of Install Battery: 1. Please prepare for two AAA chargeable batteries." Whew, I really had to prepare myself for those batteries. And I'm so glad to know that "there is no interference even many mice being used at the same time." But wait, uh oh, "You would better use the mouse on the white desk. In this way the batteries can be used for a long time." Curse my tan desk! Heh.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:35 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 121 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Let me guess, "Made in China".

Posted by: tim at July 26, 2007 05:21 AM (nno0f)

2 Heheh, that reminds me of this Amazon reviewer my husband found a while back while looking up Russian dictionaries. I think the review of the Zippo is the best of the two, though.

Posted by: deltasierra at July 26, 2007 11:57 AM (l0MIM)

3 You have discovered instructions in the fabled language of Engrish! In my line of work , I get a lot of that, with many requests that I do the needful immediately. My server is of air!

Posted by: deskmerc at July 26, 2007 03:59 PM (Ho1gG)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

You wanna know the key to a happy marriage? When the only disagreement you've had in weeks is whether Kurt Russell's greatest role was Jack Burton or Captain Ron.

Oh yes, we went there. And we both meant it.

Posted by: Sarah at 09:36 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
Post contains 41 words, total size 1 kb.

1 What?! Dean Proffitt didn't make the list? Say it ain't so!

Posted by: Non-Essential Equipment at July 25, 2007 11:24 AM (BX8Mk)

2 Dean Proffit was good...not nearly as good as Captain Ron though!

Posted by: armywifetoddlermom at July 25, 2007 07:24 PM (vUNuT)

3 Ah, and here I was thinking Snake Plisskin would've made the cut . . .

Posted by: deltasierra at July 25, 2007 09:51 PM (l0MIM)

4 It is certainly Captain Ron.

Posted by: Reasa at July 26, 2007 08:45 AM (JfF5d)

5 Are you mad?!?! Dexter Riley!

Posted by: deskmerc at July 26, 2007 04:04 PM (Ho1gG)

6 how can you forget Todd, from Soldier? WTF over, thats just wrong. best role since Snake P.

Posted by: dagamore at July 27, 2007 03:29 PM (NBYvu)

7 When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, looks you crooked in the eye and asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like that: "Have ya paid your dues, Jack?" "Yessir, the check is in the mail."

Posted by: Sig at July 31, 2007 12:54 PM (815Xj)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

I blogged over at SpouseBUZZ about how we suddenly got our leave yanked away from us. I spent the past two weeks on pins and needles, waiting to hear if we really would get to make this trek back to the Midwest. And in the end, it was those danged baseball tickets that saved our hide. The unit decided that since we'd made a financial obligation, we could go on leave. Thanks a heap, especially since the husband has a week of use-or-lose vacation that would've been lost if we couldn't go.

My husband should be eternally grateful that my knitting excursion is the only reason he gets a two-week break. I deserve to buy more yarn.

So I guess I'd better pack a suitcase or something. We leave in three days on a 17-hour car ride.

Posted by: Sarah at 08:07 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
Post contains 139 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Hey what is your IM address cause I need your help getting this link in html.

Posted by: Vicki at July 25, 2007 09:56 AM (HhgPZ)

2 did your hubby ''bow'' to that basket of yarn, by your chair??????!!!!!!!!!!!!good thing there's the last minute, or nothing would ever happen!! have a great trip!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: debey at July 25, 2007 10:47 AM (qq/uD)

3 Enjoy!

Posted by: Non-Essential Equipment at July 25, 2007 11:25 AM (BX8Mk)

4 Yay! I'm so glad you're going to get your leave after all!!

Posted by: FbL at July 25, 2007 02:27 PM (TXlt9)

5 Have fun and be safe. I just love car rides as long as I do not have the screaming Kiddos.

Posted by: Reasa at July 25, 2007 03:56 PM (JfF5d)

6 Have a safe trip and maybe I'll be seeing ya!

Posted by: Butterfly Wife at July 25, 2007 05:42 PM (c1Tvg)

7 So happy you get your leave / vacation.....have fun!!

Posted by: Wendy at July 30, 2007 08:09 AM (CfMHF)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

You know, I talk a good talk about our family's role in the GWOT, but I know we haven't even begun to sacrifice. My husband's been gone once, over two years ago. I had no one to worry about but myself, and I lived on the most supportive post in the military. My husband is almost certainly guaranteed to get a piece of the action in his new unit, but for a long time now I really have been a chairborne war cheerleader.

I'm a few days late in noticing this news, but Butterfly Wife's husband has volunteered to stay for another rotation in Iraq. Without coming home in between. I don't even know how his sanity can handle that, but I guess his pseudonym isn't Jack Bauer for nothin'.

Many days I feel like the country has gone completely bonkers, but then I remember that there really are people of such high caliber around me. What can we even say to this butterfly family except thank you...and you rule.

Posted by: Sarah at 02:45 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 176 words, total size 1 kb.

This from Jules Crittenden struck me:

I realized with all this examination of post-traumatic stress and how much of it there is, and whether its normal or not, I didnÂ’t describe what a mild, walking combat reaction case is like.

ItÂ’s like this. Being totally wired for months upon years. Like crank, so that you donÂ’t fall asleep as much as pass out and you donÂ’t wake up as much as become alert. Thinking about different aspects of combat the way some people think about sex, compulsively, repeatedly in the course of the day, while going about your business, holding down a job, acting relatively normal but still freaking people out when you talk about it. Small flashbacks-lite, triggered by various events. In my case, accelerating up the highway, like going on an armored assault, with all the emotions, thoughts and memories, on my way to the various places that took me. More adrenaline then, and other adrenaline bursts at odd times. Thinking about the dead, at least once a day, in a number of different ways, when alone. Seeing their faces, and studying a face to catch the moment when life exited it. Choking up or sometimes sobbing at both expected and unexpected times, and learning to control that. Wishing you were back there. Preferring the company of people who know what that is like. Recognizing in a glance or a word that you both know the same secret, without having to say much about it.

I never had nightmares like some friends did, and in fact have never once dreamt of it. It didnÂ’t haunt me, not even the dead, not even when I felt the need to ask some of them their forgiveness. I was fortunate that way, in part maybe because I wrote about it, had plenty of opportunities to talk about it, because that is part of what I do. Over the third and fourth year, most of it significantly subsided, though parts can and do periodically come up. I never felt traumatized as much as I felt I had a great deal to think about, not least the startling discovery that I had enjoyed myself, and also that I had been fundamentally rewired, and had somewhat different perspectives and focus in various matters. As one friend put it, there was life before, and life after. Not good or bad, just different.

And there you have it.

This sounds familiar to me. Especially the "thinking about combat" thing. Sometimes when my husband's quiet, I'll ask what he's thinking about. Usually it will be trivial, but on a couple of occasions he's launched into a thought about how if they'd only turned his tank right instead of going straight on that day back in April, he'd've been more useful to the battle. Three years after the event, he still replays it in his mind and thinks of ways he could've done more.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:08 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 490 words, total size 3 kb.

I have been crankin' out preemie caps for my Fairy Godmothers group for the past two weeks. They are so fun to make because they're quick and you can play with different colors. I think I might freak some of the ladies out with my hot pink and lime green, but I think some hip young wife will like it.

I also have to do job-related knitting: Michaels is redesigning the front of the store and so we have to have season-themed projects on display. I copied The Girl's first baby project and made the baby pumpkin hat.

I also started knitting this spider last night, but I hate him. He looks more like a fly than a spider. I am going to finish him and then maybe try to make this variation of the spider pattern and see if it turns out any better. But I have to turn my seasonal knitting in by the end of the week, so I may get desperate and have to turn in the fly spider after all.

UPDATE:

OK, he doesn't look so bad now that he has legs...

Posted by: Sarah at 07:20 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 191 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Too darn cute for words!

Posted by: LMT at July 23, 2007 10:17 AM (ASoq0)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Last night I asked my husband what the "key to marriage" was. He guessed people's first two responses but didn't guess that dishwashing was so important. We tried to put into words what we'd answer if someone asked us this question. The most concise wording I could come up with was "Treating your spouse better than you yourself would like to be treated." My husband summarized that as Respect, which is a pretty good answer.

We talked about the #1 answer too and why "fidelity" ranks so high. My husband joked that looking for Fidelity in a mate is like looking for Not Being a Child Molester in a babysitter: it should just be a given. Fidelity isn't the key to a good marriage; if you have a good marriage, you don't even have to think about fidelity. Never once in the entire seven years have I ever thought about my husband cheating on me.

This tied in nicely with this week's Army Wives, where the episode was cheating cheating cheating. One spouse did and one spouse resisted. Last week a SpouseBUZZ commenter said that in her circle of military couples, 9 out of 10 of them have had infidelity issues. I say she needs to find some new friends! My husband and I struggled to come up with instances of cheating we heard of at all during his deployment, from anyone we could think of on post. We barely came up with five, and one of them was from a gross "swinger" couple, so that hardly even counts. I know it happens, but 9 out of 10? Ouch.

So what would you say is really the "key to marriage"? And would fidelity poll that high for you?

Posted by: Sarah at 06:12 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 296 words, total size 2 kb.

1 #1 for us (26 years and counting): Putting the wants and needs of the other before your own. It's key, but if it's not mutual then you're setting yourself up to be a doormat. #2-#8: Communication. #9: Understanding that sometimes during an argument things get said to hurt, not because they're true. Once understood, try not to do it. #10: Never go to bed mad at each other. As for fidelity, it's not high on *my* list, but my wife and I have an agreement: I'll try my best to remain faithful, and if I'm not she'll try her best to castrate me with a rusty butter knife. Like I said, 26 years so far, and I'm not singing soprano!

Posted by: Ted at July 23, 2007 06:31 AM (blNMI)

2 You know, I was thinking the exact same thing when I read your last post about marriage, and saw that "fidelity" even made the lists of "things that will probably make your marriage better". Um, DUH. I wonder if those surveys were multiple choice, or open-ended so people could give the answers they really believed. If they were multiple choice, there's no wonder people picked what they did and that the stats were so high for certain ones (especially the dishes -- I'd rather my husband cleaned the catbox!). I wouldn't hinge my marriage on any of the survey answers in that one article. Fidelity is a given -- I made a vow, after all. Honestly, I'd have to echo Ted's sentiments above, but I'd probably add one thing: Divorce is NEVER an option. It is not joked about, it is never brought up. We do not view that as a viable option to our differences -- ever. Period. I wish more people could take their marriages as seriously. It's good to see that there are others who do! (Hm, your URL option in the comment center doesn't care for my LiveJournal URL. I'll have to leave it blank for now.)

Posted by: deltasierra at July 23, 2007 07:07 AM (l0MIM)

3 I'm not married, so my opinions come with a "FWIW" tag. I agree with Sarah that if the marriage is good, fidelity is an afterthought. But I think the reason people put fidelity as key is because if hard times in the marriage lead to infidelity it's probably way more likely to crumble. Therefore "fidelity when you might not feel like it" is probably closer to what's on people's minds when they list fidelity as key. As for Ted's #9, it's been my experience in fights of all kinds that the most hurtful things possible, the ones that *are* said deliberately to wound, are also usually true. "Truth hurts" goes double in a relationship as tight as a marriage, I think. So I'd amend Ted's #9 to say that if you must speak a harsh truth for the sake of improving the relationship, speak it as kindly as you can and in a situation such that the other person clearly understands your motive is not merely to wound but to ask for something you may well need to be more content in the relationship.

Posted by: Anwyn at July 23, 2007 07:47 AM (aytNf)

4 While fidelity is important, it is not an issue in our marriage. I suppose it has just been a given for us both that we didn't have to worry about that issue. From the time we met we agreed that we would never get into a situation we shouldn't be in if we always remembered one thing: If I would not do or say this in front of my spouse, then it is the wrong choice to make. In our house communication is top priority. When it goes, everything else goes to hell, it is a horrible cycle to get into. So, we make sure that we share our feelings with each other, about everything. We are also selective about the couples we befriend. It may sound horrible to be so selective, but we can't deal with drama or fidelity issues and so we stay away from couples that seem to always have such things going on. Those are just not things that we need in our lives and such drama only brings negative things for all exposed to it. If it is a negative situation that we don't have to be involved in, we steer clear as best we can!!

Posted by: LMT at July 23, 2007 10:14 AM (ASoq0)

5 1)Verbal kindness. Avoid saying deliberately hurtful things. Doesn't mean you can't get mad, but keep it within bounds. When a person raised in a family where people speak decently to each other marries a person from a family where verbal aggression is a matter of course, then he/she probably isn't going to be able to defend himself very well, and the resultant hurt will come out in other ways. 2)Avoiding public putdowns. It's pretty common to see people speak to their spouses with barely concealed contempt. These days, women seem to do this more than men. 3)Respect for each other's dreams. This includes not grabbing all the money to spend on oneself, and also not assuming that your spouse's career decisions should be made entirely based on one's financial demands.

Posted by: anon anon at July 24, 2007 08:03 AM (SpkYG)

6 I didn't bother to dig into the survey, but I'd say that the only people who would be qualified to answer that question are people who have been married over 20 years and still consider themselves to be happy. But it's always funny when they try to quantify something like marriage because everyone is different. What my husband and I can tolerate in each other is far different than what other couples can tolerate. If dishes are an issue... my husband and I would've been divorced 28 years ago. Dishes are a chore. If you are worried about who does what chores in the house - you have far more problems than who does them as it's generally a mask for larger problems. As for fidelity - I'm with you and your husband - that should be such a standard it isn't even a consideration.

Posted by: Teresa at July 24, 2007 11:04 AM (gsbs5)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

A fascinating story via Amritas
Terrorist Hunter: By day, Shannen Rossmiller is a Montana mother of three. At night, she takes down AmericaÂ’s enemies. ItÂ’s a compulsion even she canÂ’t explain.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:11 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 33 words, total size 1 kb.

I do all of the dishes all of the time. I can't think of the last time my husband washed dishes. He doesn't even do them when I'm out of town; he just leaves a lovely little pile. Regardless, we have one of the best marriages I know of. How could that possibly be? /eye rolling

And don't even get me started on "great sex." I can't believe it polls that high. If that's the most important thing that's keeping your marriage together, I feel sorry for you.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:00 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 100 words, total size 1 kb.

Should people with no kids pay more taxes to cover the slack for those who can't afford their own kids? Good thing I'm not the only one who was horrified at the suggestion: this comments section was reassuring.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:38 AM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
Post contains 48 words, total size 1 kb.

A friend of mine from high school was stationed here, and the husband and I went to his going-away picnic before he deployed. His parents were there, and his father paraded me around the unit, telling anyone who would listen about what an upstanding young lady I am. He insisted on telling everyone about what good kids we were in high school and how we never got in trouble and never were involved in any "hanky panky." I'm sure by the end of the night the entire unit was laughing about what dorks we were. But his dad was right; we really were good wholesome kids.

AWTM writes about her first love...and how it ended. I used to think I had a standard adolescence, but the more people I talk to, the more I realize that maybe I didn't. My early boyfriends were perfect. And no one ever asked me to have sex until I got to college. How quant: I never experienced pressure to have sex until I was 20 years old. I never thought much about it growing up, but now I look back and realize what lovely people I associated with as a teen.

My friend's father was right to be proud of us. We were good kids.

Posted by: Sarah at 03:11 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 215 words, total size 1 kb.

I have a pro-Walmart story I thought I'd share since all we usually hear is bad stuff about them.

A few weeks ago I noticed my car was leaking oil. I had gotten my last oil change done at Walmart, but it had almost been three months since, so I didn't think that was the source of the problem. I took the car in to the dealership, and they deduced that Walmart had destroyed the oil filter housing. It cost us $80 to sort it all out.

We went to Walmart and explained what had happened, and they asked us why we hadn't brought the car back to them when we noticed the oil leak. We explained that the car was new and still under warranty, and that we hadn't put 2-and-2 together because the oil change had been done so long ago. But they took care of it anyway and gave us the full amount we'd paid at the dealership. In cash, without filing any forms or waiting for a check to show up.

This is the second time a Walmart manager has handed me cash. The first time was a few years ago when an incompetent employee sold me the wrong fishing license and got me saddled with a $100 conservation fine. (I still can't believe the conservation officers didn't let me off with a warning. I had to go to court and argue my case to the judge; I made for a funny sight, sitting there in a little plaid dress next to a bunch of men in orange jumpsuits.) Anyway, Walmart listened to my sob story about how their guy never asked me what state I was from when he sold me the license, then and split the difference for the blame and handed me half of the money.

Walmart sure keeps me happy with their handing-out-cash policy.

Posted by: Sarah at 06:11 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 318 words, total size 2 kb.

Two teasers to make you think and hopefully get you to read the blog posts to which they belong.

First: Thereby Hangs a Tale's Does America Support our Military Strategy? (via Achilles)

We have an angry voting public. About 71% are mad at the war and the President. But just what are they angry about? I’ve researched the polls and no poll that I can find goes beyond a simplistic, “Are you for or agin the war?” Are those polled just angry at a bullheaded (or principled, depending on your view) President? Are they frustrated by continued fighting in a war that may already be lost?

Second: Neptunus Lex's Us and Them Part I

It’s also popular to say that the people are “war weary,” but - apart from the very small percentage of those who are actually deployed, or their families - what do they have to be weary of? We live lives of ease, prosperity and entitlement our own parents could not have imagined, we shop at the mall, are very nearly fully employed, the economy is on solid footing, the stock market is through the roof and yet we go to the watercoolers with worried looks and tell ourselves that the country is very much on the wrong track, tut-tut.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:45 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 215 words, total size 1 kb.

I really go back and forth on what I think "education" should be. Sometimes I think it should lean more towards teaching people a trade. Other times, like when I read The Closing of the American Mind, I think it should lean more towards teaching people to think. Unfortunately I think it leans towards neither right now: we seem to produce grads who can neither balance a checkbook nor recognize a syllogism. I don't know what the answer is.

But I sure know it's not this:

British secondary schools will drop Winston Churchill from a list of figures to be mentioned in history teaching. Also dropped: Hitler, Gandhi, Stalin and Martin Luther King. The schools will now be emphasizing "lessons on debt management, the environment and healthy eating."

The article's accompanying graph is chock full of frightening tidbits like "Less on electricity and magnetism, more on IVF, stem cells, vivisection and nuclear energy." Look, I hated figuring out resistance of circuits as much as the next person, but you have to work on hard things in school. It's not all debates on stem cell research. That's what your blog is for.

UPDATE:

The more I think about this, the stupider I think it is. It's like they're replacing tried-and-true schooling with whatever's in vogue. Science knows a heck of a lot more how electricity and magnetism work than how stem cells do. How are they going to pin down what to teach about stem cells when we're not positive how they work? The same goes for teaching how to make "healthy meals"; aren't we always hearing new studies that something that was once good/bad for us is now the opposite? Butter, margarine, eggs, chocolate, wine, how many times have we scratched our heads over new evidence on what we should eat?

Why are they abandoning the basics of education for stuff that's so subjective?

Posted by: Sarah at 04:34 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 316 words, total size 2 kb.

Guard Wife gives it to Ted Rall with both barrels. She uses phrases like "Left-wing cuckoobird who draws junior-high level cartoons for a living" and hands him his hat. Nicely done.

And this comments section at Standing By is fascinating. Go be a fly on the wall.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:28 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 49 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Awww, thanks! (blushing)

Posted by: Guard Wife at July 19, 2007 02:04 PM (mMRvT)

2 Army Wife Toddler Mom also has a great post about this... linkage ain't workin so well for me at 0130 today, but it's there. http://armywifetoddlermom.blogspot.com

Posted by: Green at July 20, 2007 08:35 PM (VqW06)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Who knew that I was accidentally saving the planet? I wanted to have one baby and have instead had zero. Hooray for me! Via Steyn:

So how far are the ecochondriacs prepared to take things? In London last week, the Optimum Population Trust called for Britons to have "one child less" because the United Kingdom's "high birth rate is a major factor in the current level of climate change, which can only be combated if families voluntarily limit the number of children they have."

Thank heavens Steyn goes on to point out that the birthrate is not even at replacement rate in the UK, but whatever. Less babies means less global warming. Actually, it probably just means less environmentalists, because the only nimrods who will consider this are the hardcore greens.

I know, let's just all get in a big gay pile, à la South Park, and prevent the future from ever happening! Then there won't be global warming for sure! Derp!

And I love the word "ecochondriacs."

Posted by: Sarah at 06:09 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 176 words, total size 1 kb.

1 "Less babies means less global warming. Actually, it probably just means less environmentalists..." Same thing

Posted by: tim at July 18, 2007 09:30 AM (nno0f)

2 ecochondriacs (that IS great, by the way) make me want to have more babies than the four we've already inflicted on the world. I mean, really. How on EARTH can we take over the world with a mere four children? That's not even a hockey team!

Posted by: airforcewife at July 18, 2007 09:42 AM (Nrq7o)

3 Airforcewife - You go girl. Only one more for a Bball team, woohoo!

Posted by: papertiger at July 18, 2007 08:48 PM (mqoa4)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

I got tagged by Anwyn to do 8 facts about me. I already did 13 of them a while back, and 100 when I started blogging, so I'm gonna twist this meme into something I've been wanting to do for a while: a Piece of Crap list. I first saw this on Right Wing News, and now whenever something is driving me nuts, my first thought is that it would definitely go on my Piece of Crap list. So 8 things that I hate:

1) Krispy Kreme donuts
They have too much glaze for me, but mostly I just hate how people keel over with ecstasy whenever you mention them. I love donuts more than the next person, but I hate name-brand donut worship.

2) Dave Matthews Band
There's no real good reason why, but I don't like any of their songs except for "Satellite." I think their music is grating, and they were so ridiculously popular when I was in college that it made me hate them even more.

3) Jay Wolfe Nissan of Kansas City
When we bought our first car, we decided to buy an extended warranty. We specifically told the dealership that we were moving to Germany soon and that we'd never live in Kansas City in our lives. Naturally, we came to find out that they sold us a warranty that was specific to their dealership and that has a $150 deductible at any other Nissan dealer. Oh, and it didn't work at all in Germany, even though they told us it would. So it was a huge waste of money, and I'm extra mad because it's not like we moved unexpectedly and just had bad luck: we told them all of this up front and they intentionally sold us something that wouldn't work for us. Piece of crap dealership.

4) dolphins
Everyone thinks dolphins are these beautiful, peaceful creatures, but they're not. Just because they have a cute face and look like they're smiling doesn't mean they're nice. Dolphins rape their females and kill their babies. Not so cute after all. I've seen enough Discovery Channel to completely get over any ideas that dolphins are magical.

5) baja sauce
As you well know, I'm an enormous Taco Bell fan, but one thing I can't stand is this sauce they put on certain items. I call it baja sauce because the first time I encountered it was on a baja chalupa, but there is no official name for it -- with which I could ask they leave it off of my order -- and they sneak it on to many new items. I can handle most foods, but this sauce turns my stomach and ruins anything it touches. Thus it's hard to try new things at The Bell; every new item could contain the dreaded sauce. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me sick.

6) glow-in-the-dark
Perhaps it is because my brother used to think it was funny to lock me in the bathroom while we were playing with glow-in-the-dark legos, but something caused me to be extremely disturbed by anything that glows in the dark. Whenever I would get glowing keyrings or toys as a kid, I'd always have to make sure they were completely covered up before bedtime. And don't even get me started on those stupid stickers people put on their ceilings. To this day, I can't sleep if something is phosphorescing in the bedroom. Creeps me out.

7) France
This one barely needs any explanation, but I'll give the short version. I lived there for a year. I was constantly mocked, had trash thrown at me, got cussed out, threatened with rape, grabbed on the street, and chased by a guy on a moped so I had to crawl under a car to hide and escape from him. I don't really feel like returning to France anytime soon.

Harry Potter
This one might ruffle some feathers, but I just don't get the Harry Potter craze. They're kids' books. I'm glad kids are enjoying reading in this video game age, but I don't get all the hype the adults have built up. When I homeschooled a boy five years ago, he read a few chapters of one of the books out loud to me. It's a book for children and it reads like a book for children; I don't understand why adults are going bananas for them. I understand if you want to read the book so you can discuss it with your kids, but really getting into it and fighting over who gets to read it first? My parents never flipped out and bought three copies of Ramona Quimby. Because it was a kids' book and they didn't care. I just don't get why adults are reading Harry Potter; don't they have grown-up books to read?

Anybody else want to do a Piece of Crap List? If so, consider yourself invited. Or add one piece of crap in the comments.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:00 AM | Comments (23) | Add Comment
Post contains 838 words, total size 5 kb.

1 Damn - you don't even like dolphins? That's kind of mean. They are nice to people though. I read once that there has never been a recorded case of a dolphin or orca attacking a person. Oh, and I love glow-in-the-dark stuff. Reminds me of the 70s.

Posted by: John Rohan at July 17, 2007 04:15 AM (BfPzY)

2 Dolphins are fine, but I hate dolphin worship. They're no different from any other animal. And yes, I've swum with them and petted them and stuff. I've petted turtles and opossums too.

Posted by: Sarah at July 17, 2007 04:23 AM (vrR+j)

3 I'd like to add Nietzsche to the piece of crap list. Also, War and Peace. And basically anything people wax poetic about because if you've read it, it must mean you're smart. I once knew someone who would attempt to inject Nietzsche into EVERY conversation we ever had. We could be talking about Victoria's Secret thongs, and he would say, "You know, as Nietzsche said..." It got to the point where I wanted to smack him upside the head with a copy of Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Oh - and Dr. Spock. Big piece of crap there.

Posted by: airforcewife at July 17, 2007 04:49 AM (0dU3f)

4 oh oh Rachel Ray worship... I LOATHE her, and I was watching the financial report only to hear shes like a kagillionaire now. Her cooking is basic Her voice is grating And tuna out of a can and mac and cheese do not make you a chef. My 3 year old can come up with better dinner ideas

Posted by: armywifetoddlermom at July 17, 2007 05:20 AM (PjrBf)

5 Ouch. Distilled down to a nutshell, I like Harry Potter because 1) I would have loved to be able to wave a wand and do magic when I was a kid, and Rowling builds that word cleverly and credibly; 2) Classic good v. evil, bad guys (mostly) get what they deserve; 3) Her characters are easy to empathize with. Somebody was complaining to me the other day that she should have been severely edited because "I hated middle school. I don't need to live it again." I said, "Well, maybe that means she's a pretty good writer if she can make you feel it again that acutely." Anyway. I still occasionally enjoy re-reading some of my favorite books from childhood, so the fact that they are children's books barely registers with me, much less bothers me. Bottom line: she's created highly entertaining stories that make you want to know what happens next.

Posted by: Anwyn at July 17, 2007 05:54 AM (dzxw9)

6 Anwyn -- I haven't re-read any of my childhood books, mostly because I loved them so much as a child and I'm afraid they might not live up to the standard I set for them. I am sure they are more simple than I remember. And I didn't know you were a Harry Potter reader; I certainly didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Many people in my life love those books, my father included. I just don't get it, and this is the first time I've said it out loud

Posted by: Sarah at July 17, 2007 06:24 AM (vrR+j)

7 You didn't hurt my feelings ... beyond what saying "ouch" can get rid of. Just thought I'd put up a modicum of defense for those of us adults who love HP. The beauty of your childhood favorites being simpler than you remember is that you can polish off a re-read in one day. Heh. Actually, I read a new children's book not too long ago: _Holes_. It's good. I'm kind of fortunate that I still like children's books, since I'm needing to build up a stock of them that I think a little boy would like, as opposed to the little girl I used to be.

Posted by: Anwyn at July 17, 2007 06:55 AM (dzxw9)

8 I like Harry Potter books, too, but not in the fighting-over-them sort of way. I like the story line, and I think that, for children's books, they are written very well. I laughed about the baja sauce because I also hate it. And I think of you every time I go there What would be on my piece of crap list? Reality tv. I think I am the only person in America who does not watch American Idol or the like. For me, it would be a colossal waste of time.

Posted by: Kate at July 17, 2007 07:08 AM (tB/4l)

9 Starbucks: It’s JUST freakin’ coffee people Rap: Put a “C” in front of it Unusual pets like ferrets, snakes, monkeys: Just get a dog and quit trying so hard to get attention Hyphenated Americans: E Pluribus Unum, ‘nuff said Narcissism People who take sports WAY too seriously Vegetarians: We’re carnivores, get over it Redundancy

Posted by: tim at July 17, 2007 07:36 AM (nno0f)

10 Actors, singers, etc who earned an audience through talent (or in some cases "talent") then misuse that reach to spread their sophomoronic views about world affairs, politics, climate, etc. Shut up and sing, or get off the stage.

Posted by: Tim Fitzgerald at July 17, 2007 01:49 PM (hCd4F)

11 LOL! You are too funny. I'll just say that I love some of the things you don't, but we all got our, um, issues. Thanks for the laugh so early in the morning.

Posted by: Butterfly Wife at July 18, 2007 02:06 AM (gI6/R)

12 This is an action, not a thing. I can't stand people who slow down on the on-ramp to the interstate. If you don't understand the theory behind an on-ramp, you shouldn't be driving. Also, people who are perfectly willing to take advice about global warming from a politician/businessman (Gore), but won't acknowledge anything I have to say (Geologist/Environmental Scientist). Love the one about the Dolphins.

Posted by: James at July 18, 2007 03:31 AM (DxgIR)

13 airforcewife - I was at a party and some guy started talking about Nietzsche. My buddy asked him if he had ever been in prison. He had. My friend had been in jail. He told me that people who had been to prison like to quote Nietzsche. I guess to justify their lives?

Posted by: Patrick in Toms River at July 18, 2007 08:22 AM (BCedX)

14 I had to laugh at Jay Wolfe Nissan. My company gets all their company cars through Jay Wolfe, and the service has always been a little shady. Since my job description covers the vehicles, I always get to deal with them. My favorite is when I have to take the van in to service at the Chrysler dealership in Lee's Summit, I'm pretty much stuck. (I work in Westport. For those who aren't familiar with KC, Lee's Summit is about 20 miles southeast.) They'll be more than happy to call me a rental car, but they won't give me a loaner. I do so love Jay Wolfe.

Posted by: Joel at July 18, 2007 08:55 AM (bNgS/)

15 John Rohan, sorry buddy, there have been recorded attacks on humans and even inter specie rape.

Posted by: unkawill at July 18, 2007 10:35 AM (YwdKL)

16 KK Donuts are great when you can go to the store, and they are making them hot and fresh. Otherwise, they are no better than Dunkin, Daylight, or Safeway, really. But I DO like the massive amount of sugar glaze, yum! Nuke 'em and they are almost as good, until they get to be 3 or more days old, then they suck.

Posted by: donuts at July 18, 2007 10:39 AM (Xi5mv)

17 Harry Potter is overrated. The movies just got darker and darker and more depressing. The first one was kinda fun. But really, there is so much more for adults to read. Have you read Ted Dekker? Great author. Try "Obsessed", it'll knock your socks off.

Posted by: hairy potty at July 18, 2007 10:43 AM (Xi5mv)

18 I don't get the Harry Potter craze either. At the very start of it, a supposedly highly intelligent friend of mine recommended I read it because the level of writing was so "HIGH" compared to other books for children. Total waste of time. Agree with you on France. I would add: Rap (agree with Tim - put a C in front of it) Incompetence Passing the buck People who view Europe as intellectually and socially superior just because they have been to one or two large European cities on vacation and liked the public transport. Self-loathing Americans - perhaps that is redundant with the above statement? Romance novels

Posted by: pattycake at July 18, 2007 12:06 PM (IPPgn)

19 Really dumb entertainers who have millions of dollars who think their opinion is worth one cent more than anyone else's.

Posted by: John at July 18, 2007 12:56 PM (FeeWU)

20 If John Edwards were a cook he would bake Krispy Kreme Donuts. Vacuous insubstantial crap rapped in sugar glaze. Hate France, check. Think its a crime that JK Doweling has more money then the Queen, just for writing pre teen power fantasys for budding homosexuals. I'm with you on Dave Mathews band and dolphins. Iowahawk did a piece suggesting that car dealers deserve their own circle in Dante;s Hell. I agree with that to some extent. Although I am still looking for that rare honest car dealer, so far it's a search in vain. I haven't encountered Baja sause, so I have no opinion as yet. I am indifferent to phosphorescents.

Posted by: papertiger at July 18, 2007 08:45 PM (mqoa4)

21 Kate, I'm with you on reality TV. I have never seen more than 30 seconds of any reality TV show when flipping the channels (unless you lump Jeopardy in with other reality TV competition shows like American Idol and the celebrity dance show...). One couple with whom we are good friends can't get enough of ANY reality show. We can't even discuss TV anymore -- usually leads to argument over the merit of giving a damn about some random person's life (which I tent to not do...) Adding to the list: Idiots who spew their political view on any topic in the discussion, but offer no intelligent discourse on said topic. If you want to just make a statement with no thought behind it, please move to Washington DC and join the rest of your brethren. Anyone who has ever written a check at the grocery store since 1997. The debit card works the same way and gets me through the line about 4 minutes more quickly. The personal lives of ANY celebrity are crap. I don't care who had a baby/who's in rehab/who's boinking whom/etc. By extension, the mere existance of People magazine, Entertainment Tonight and other related media annoys me.

Posted by: SlithyToves at July 19, 2007 10:15 AM (hHZ38)

22 I'm with the previous commentors on reality tv being on the "crap" list. I would definitely add Sprint...they've been firing customers and they're the ones that should be fired. I'm a Dunkin Donuts fan versus Krispy Kreme...but I've got to say that I do love Rachael Ray.

Posted by: Nicole at July 21, 2007 07:05 AM (S/s4V)

23 Orson Scott Card wrote an essay about one of the characters, and included some discussion of how the Harry Potter books moved from children's books to adult books. "I think the power of the Harry Potter books surprised even Rowling. Certainly there is a progression of tone from the first volumes through the later ones. I spoke before of darkening, but it might rather be viewed as a de-lightening. The first volume was like J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit in that it was self-consciously a children's book, full of delightful jokes. Dumbledore, like the Wizard Gandalf in The Hobbit, was a trickster, a jester. The world was full of wonders that were, quite simply, fun; game-playing and riddle-solving were at the heart of the story. It was a romp. Even including the climax, the book was light -- in physical weight, in voice, in mood, and in moral consequence. But the later volumes steadily progressed to ever-more-serious consequences, with ever-fewer moments of genuine frivolity. There was still humor, but it had a darker edge. Why? Because Rowling was no longer telling a children's story, she was telling a story that happened to be about children. The light tale-for-children tone turned to the much darker hues of a story rising out of the author's unconscious. Much has been said about how Rowling had the whole series planned from the beginning. I believe that this is true -- up to a point. The asymmetry in the lengths of the books suggests that Rowling began to fill her pages, not with deliberate (and intellectual) inventions, but with story that simply flowed and often went in directions that simply felt right to her. Most important, she went from the sharp, clear black-and-white morality of the first book to a far more shaded and nuanced view of good versus evil. You could almost always tell good guys from bad guys in Stone because good guys were nice to Harry and bad guys were mean. But by the time we found our way through Prisoner of Azkaban, we had a "good guy" -- Sirius Black -- who had been, as a student, perfectly capable of setting up the probable murder of his fellow student Severus Snape. Yet Black remained on the good-guy team... ...The result is that the moral universe of the Harry Potter novels moves from clarity to a deepening chiaroscuro in which truth can lurk in shadows and error can stand in the sun. This is the kind of thing that authors rarely plan; it happens when they themselves become immersed in the tales and let their unconscious mind lead them down paths they had not anticipated." There's a lot more obviously, I won't quote the whole thing at you. http://www.intergalacticmedicineshow.com/cgi-bin/mag.cgi?do=issue&vol=i5&article=_card-essay And then there's the whole thing about how a good story is a good story, which everybody can enjoy...

Posted by: Sabbrielle at July 30, 2007 10:10 PM (nMpWu)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

My husband and I found out we're not "cruise people" when he got back from Iraq. We hated it, and we don't really plan to do it again. But there's something so darned alluring about those right-wing nutjob cruises, you know, the ones with D'Souza and Steyn and Davis freaking Hanson. Now that I might like to do someday.

So I had a good chuckle at Venomous Kate's fisking of a reporter who "infiltrated" the nutjob cruise. I felt this reporter's pain on our cruise, where our dinner partners were much more interested in discussing the evils of our tablemate's pharmaceutical job than the evils my husband had just fought in Iraq. Poor thing didn't fit in, but at least her shipmates were nice to her; ours just accused us of lying.

Posted by: Sarah at 04:05 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 146 words, total size 1 kb.