President Obama at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner

I love the humor the president showed in this.

One Day In the Hospital

Fred Phelps, after becoming seriously ill, entered the hospital for some tests. After a few days, the doctor came into his room and addressed him.

"I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?"

"Give me the good news first, doctor."

"Well, the good news is you're dying."

"WHAT? THAT'S the GOOD NEWS? For God's SAKE! What's the BAD news?"

"You're dying of AIDS."

Did Haley Reinhart Give the Judges a "F*ck You?"

What's Really Important

BANG! BAM! WOW! SLASH! There's so much hype being pushed that things have to be glamorous, exciting, or tragic to be worthy of speaking of that we often forget the simple truths that make life so wonderful. We forget to notice the beauty of the trees, the sound of birds chirping, the color and smell of the flowers.

In this high pitched, fast paced world we live in, often the little things are much more satisfying than all the shiny, new products that are constantly pushed in the ads and we forget to be thankful for the things we have around us which cost us nothing. There's the miracle of the birth of a child, the warmth of a new puppy or kitten, squirrels playing in the trees, an occasional butterfly, billowing clouds on a clear day, the knowledge that the rain will bring renewed growth. There's the sound of children laughing, the warm touch of a loved one, the greatfulness for having survived life thus far, and many other wonderful things to appreciate if we just slow down long enough to notice. A little quiet time can be a priceless commodity.

What Was Going On Yesterday

Yesterday, I wasn't around much. There were some interesting events taking place here that kept me away from the computer.

First, I got a call from the detective at the sheriff's office asking me to come look at the video from the HEB where my stolen debit card was used to purchase some drugs. As I suspected, it was Sharon's son. Unfortunately, there wasn't a clear shot of his face, so the video may not be of much use in court. To find out whose name was on the prescription he picked up, it will take a subpoena.

Sharon had borrowed my car yesterday, so she wasn't here to get the good news. She left at 11:30am and was supposed to be back in an hour or so. About 3pm, I tried calling her cell phone, but she didn't answer. I called every couple hours after that and sent her text messages, but to no avail. I called the hospitals and police to see if she had been in an accident, but they couldn't seem to find any record of her. I was starting to think she took off somewhere with my van never to return. Finally, about 11:30pm, she arrived with a flat tire on the front and said that she'd had another flat tire on the rear but had repaired it with Fix-A-Flat. By that time, I was quite angry since I had needed my car to go get another set of guitar strings and a few other things. (Now I wish I had gone ahead and ordered the strings online.)

I was checking on the net today and it seems that the auto salvage yards in the area don't have sites to list the available parts. The salvage yards seem to be just inside Houston, so I'm going to have to get someone to drive me out to get a couple wheels so I will have a good wheel on the front and a wheel for a spare. As far as you have to drive to get anywhere around here, one of those compact spares won't do any good. You have to be careful with which tire you get. The last one I bought, even though it was a 15", was shaped in a manner that it locked against the brake rotor when you tightened the lugs. I guess I'll have to find a tire specifically for a 92 Dodge Grand Caravan.

Today, I am paying for the anger and anxiety. My muscles and back are aching from the tension I experienced. I can barely stand or walk and it's pretty painful even to sit. At least I can say it hasn't been boring, I guess.

Pimped Lady Justice

The Rules:

• Post anything (i.e. a story, poem, photo or artwork) you have created using the inspiration word below. Do not use other people's words. If you wish to use an image that is not your own, please let us know.

• Bring the link back here and post it in the comment section.

• Your link must be a Multiply link. (At the discretion of the admin. all other links may be deleted.)

• Leave your blog open to "everyone" so we can view it.

This week's the word (I hope) will challenge you to new levels:lavish
I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Pimped Lady Justice

They're lavished with profits

They're lavished with praise

They're lavished with tax cuts

We're lavished with malaise

The balance is upset

Lady Justice a whore

Justice to the highest bidder

Not one drop for the poor

The huge Lone Star State

Which once had been great

Once friendly and smiling

Now degenerATE

Lawmakers playing

The corporate fiddle

How they retrieve votes

A mysterious riddle

Joblessness booming

Jobs keep cutting back

Slash benefits and pay

To all those who do lack

Their destructive measures

Are destroying all

Humans and animals

Continue to fall

Who can we turn to

When we're destitute

When old Lady Justice

Is a prostitute?

Copyright � 2011 Cal Jennings

Japan Blows!

According to the Wall Street Journal, two additional nuclear reactors suffered core damage. The explosion did more damage than they informed us.

"Substantial damage to the fuel cores at two additional reactors of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex has taken place, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday, further complicating the already daunting task of bringing them to a safe shutdown while avoiding the release of high levels of radioactivity."

Whoops! Did we say one nuclear meltdown? We meant three.

Of course, the same Japanese company, Tepco, contracted to build two reactors in Texas. President Obama and secretary had pushed nuclear power aggressively to "reduce global warming."

While I agree that global warming needs to be addressed and that the oil and chemical industries do much to contribute to global warming, I think choosing an extremely dangerous and deadly method of providing energy when there are much safer and effective alternatives borders on insanity.

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." ~ Albert Einstein

If we're going to keep using outrageous amounts of energy and we're going to keep coddling the dangerous industries that cause large numbers of diseases and death, it seems strange that we shouldn't at least support health care... unless the point is to wipe out all life on earth.

Seriously, I don't see any reason why we would contract a company who is already showing design flaws and weaknesses when we already have enough design and construction flaws at the South Texas Project nuclear power plants. Those contracts should be canceled. One thing for sure, when Japan blows, they don't do it halfway.

Copyright � 2011 Cal Jennings