The crazy lady strikes again for Friday, September 8, 2006

It's been all over the news here in Chicagoland: Macy's has taken over Marshall Field & Company, and this venerable Chicago institution will formally change its name tonight (at least at the State Street Store). We aren't the only city experiencing such a sea change. Boston's Filene is also changing its name to Macy's. That's because Federated Department Stores, the chain that bought Marshall Field and Filene (of Filene's Basement fame), has bought out a grand total of eleven department store... Sign in to see full entry.

Today - 9/8/2006 - is the 40th anniversary of the debut of that new science fiction show, Star Trek (known as Star Trek: The Original Series by fans, to distinguish it from all that other Star Trek product out there). Now, we consider this show a cult classic. However, I have to admit that I must be one of maybe five people that watched the program in its original run on NBC back in the late 1960s. In fact, NBC was about to cancel Star Trek at the end of its second season, but a letter-writing... Sign in to see full entry.

Readers of this entry might legitimately wonder just who George Ryan is. He is the former governor of the State of Illinois. Yesterday, he was sentenced to 6½ years in prison, having been convicted of fraud and other crimes committed under his watch when he served as Illinois' Secretary of State. The short course is that due to an accident which happened in Wisconsin a few years back, Ryan was linked to a license-for-bribes scandal at Secretary of State facilities across Illinois. It turns out... Sign in to see full entry.

how people really have a hard time listening to the truth? A few years ago, I was IMing someone whose child has the same type of kidney disease I do. I was telling her about an experience shared by one of my algebra teachers in high school. This teacher was relatively new at high school teaching when this incident happened. She had been taught that if a high school student asked for a pass to use the porcelain facilities, he or she was really interested in stepping into the bathroom for a... Sign in to see full entry.

Many people are going to be doing 9/11 memorials. I saw no need to reinvent the wheel. I wrote one that I'm loath to rewrite, and it's here on the Blogging Network - in my blog Thanks, Dad. It's a tribute to Fr. Mychal Judge, the official first casualty of the World Trade Center attack. I'd like you to join me in honoring his memory, and that of all those who lost lives nearly five years ago, by going to that original post, here. In the meantime, I leave you with a thought from the New... Sign in to see full entry.

The issue of same-sex marriage has become a "hot topic" over the past two years, with the recent Massachusets state Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage in that state. Other states have also issued rulings or passed laws stating whether or not same-sex marriage is legal in each particular state. I believe strongly that marriage is not something the state has any business in. Put another way, the state or county should not be issuing marriage licenses to anyone, straight or gay.... Sign in to see full entry.

When AOL offered direct access to Usenet - as opposed to forcing AOL users to use the Google newsgroup interface (which has been made more difficult to navigate over the years) - I used to enjoy reading the Usenet newsgroup known as alt.make.money.fast. It's one of my favorite newsgroups, because I enjoy reading some of the responses to the get-rich-quick schemes that inhabit this newsgroup. One of the most popular is the one promising to turn $6 into $6,000 just by mailing a small sum of money... Sign in to see full entry.

It's fairly common to be misunderstood. In fact, I had this experience just the other day - I said one thing in a series of letters and emails, and it was taken to mean something else. (This actually happened on the old Fascinating Womanhood email list. I don't know if that group is still in existence, but I was accused of being someone I'd never even heard of. This person had apparently caused some sort of problem on this FW email list - what kind of problem she caused is unclear to me because... Sign in to see full entry.

Right now, I'm in the process of asking for emergency rental assistance. We have a lot of late fees to clear up with our landlord, and this month's rent is already due. I hate the process, frankly. It's uncomfortable for me to ask for this assistance, especially given the way our family goes through money. I live in what I consider to be a very dualistic family when it comes to money, and I'm trying to be as polite as possible. (I'm assuming that someone who knows my family is reading this blog... Sign in to see full entry.

I wrote several articles a few years ago for the now-defunct Themestream about people addiction. I believe myself to be addicted to people, which is why I wrote those articles. The sole issue I didn't address is recovery from this disorder - if it is a disorder. Most addictions have 12-step groups available to help addicts recover from an addiction. The problem for a people addict is that these groups contain people, the very substance to which we are addicted. The support of others is... Sign in to see full entry.

The premise behind the latest Garfield movie is similar to that of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. To summarize the plot for those unfamiliar with either Garfield or The Prince and the Pauper, Garfield surprises his human, Jon Arbuckle, by stowing himself away in Jon's luggage. (Jon went to London to propose to his veterinarian girlfriend Liz, who was in London for a veterinary conference.) While in London, Garfield escapes from Jon's hotel room and gets confused with a British feline... Sign in to see full entry.

I was reading this post by SuccessWarrior, in his blog Holy Church of Blog, this morning. As I read it, I was struck with something. SuccessWarrior made a choice - that getting a good grade in an online course was more important than risking getting a bad grade in that same online course, by telling the truth in assignments performed for the course. If you read some of the earlier entries, you will find that the course in which he enrolled was an English course, designed to teach students how to... Sign in to see full entry.

A few hours ago, I reposted my review of the book Fascinating Womanhood, written by Helen Andelin and published in the early 1960s. I'd advise readers to scroll down a bit (or go to the next page) and find out what I had to say about this book at the time I originally wrote the review. My thinking about the modes of dress Mrs. Andelin recommended hasn't really changed. I've already mentioned - or at least implied - my disdain for such prepubertal touches as Peter Pan collars on adult women. We... Sign in to see full entry.

What do these people have in common? They're all news anchors currently working for the major networks. Lester (Holt) works for NBC, and serves as the anchor for the weekend version of the Today show. He will also show up occasionally to fill in for people like Matt Lauer. Diane (Sawyer) works for ABC, and serves in an equivalent role on Good Morning America. I don't remember right now whether or not she still appears on 20/20 or PrimeTime Live, but she used to appear on similar newsmagazine... Sign in to see full entry.

This post was originally written on March 6, 2003. My own perspective - the one that I hold currently, that is - might seem a bit different now, since I've gotten older and been exposed to different viewpoints - but I thought it worth taking out of Potpourri (a blog I plan on closing eventually, anyway, because I'm not updating it regularly enough for my taste). Here goes: Don't assume all of us will undergo grief stages when we hear what is wrong with our children or that it has gotten worse.... Sign in to see full entry.