Inside the Museum Puzzle: WAAAAANT

This puzzle (or poster, or map) is so excellent. And quite a bargain. Just before babywhumpus was born (indeed, I had already ruptured). we spent some time in The Met. I'll go back again if we visit NYC, but in the meantime, this would certainly be a fun thing to put together...

Springtime...

When a theist's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of witnessing.

Here in the Northland, early spring means potholes (which are especially delicious and expensive this year), refuse and dog poo revealed by melting snow, and piles of sand left behind by the plow. It also means it's warm enough to peddle your religion, magazine scam, or pet cause. March 8 is usually a little earlier than I expect these sorts of visits, and I certainly was not expecting one on a Monday evening at 8:00.

Around the time I was expecting daddywhumpus home from rehearsal, there was a knock on the front door. I thought that perhaps he was just knocking so babywhumpus and I could answer and a cute scenario could unfold.

Nope. It was two middle-aged men, inviting me to bible study. There I am with my baby on my hip, trying to keep my cat from running out the door, and they are yammering about salvation through Christ and the Bible. It's 35 degrees out, which is warm for Minnesota at this time of year but is not meant for standing around in street clothes. Or, in Finn's case, a white Onesie and brown fuzzy boots that he wanted to wear. It's dark, to boot.

They did their spiel and asked if I would be interested. I said "no." They asked if I had read the Bible. I said that I was brought up Lutheran and went through the whole thing. They said that reading the Bible as it is is much different than being brought up in it. They asked again if I was interested. I said "no." They asked if there was a reason. I said "We're atheists."  (They asked.)

They looked mildly surprised then asked if there was a reason for our atheism. I said it was a gradual process. They were pretty cordial, so I was too. I figure it's good PR. I even kept it to myself, wanting to ask if I should be consulting the Bible about how to treat my household slaves or deal with my adultress daughter. I figured it wasn't helpful.

But don't you think that 8:00 at night on a Monday is a bad time to be cruising the neighborhood, even if it is for Jesus?

Dear Costa Rica,

I'm sorry that our battle over health care reform now includes you. You have done nothing to warrant being dragged into this mess. I further apologize that, if we pass health care reform, your newest citizen--in five years-- will be Mr. Rush Limbaugh. (I'm sure he's coming for the eco-tourism.) Although it might be good for your economy, as he is a very wealthy man, and it might be good for your visibility on the international stage, I don't think it's fair for the United States to dump its problems on you in such a manner.

Let me know if you need anything.

Oh, and from what I understand, you have universal health care. Am I right?

Love,
kitty

p.s. here are some pretty charts from the World Health Organization.

Hitchens on Palin (Now THERE'S an image)

It's an interesting piece, I think. Not the least because it told me that someone actually wrote an entire book entitled "The Persecution of Sarah Palin." The poor dear. I missed the part where she was being persecuted. It must have been between her million dollar book deal, her appearances on Oprah and Leno, and her presence on Fox News.

Oh, to be persecuted in such a way. I could re-do the kitchen and stop worrying about day care expenses.

But the salient quote I get from Mr. Hitchens' piece is this:

"But the problem with populism is not just that it stirs prejudice against the 'big cities' where most Americans actually live, or against the academies where many of them would like to send their children. No, the difficulty with populism is that it exploits the very 'people' to whose grievances it claims to give vent."


So sad. So true.

How Cool Would THIS Be?!

National Air and Space Summer Internship Program.

Ah, if only I were twenty years old again, unimpeded by financial concerns and not tied to a place. If only I were twenty years old again, riddled by self doubt and insecurity, obsessing over a doomed relationship, wandering through an ideological maze of stupidity; inexperienced, emotional, loud, and embarrassing.

On second thought...

The internship would be cool, though.

Ethical Chili

I just returned from my workplace's "13th Annual Chili-off." I came, I tasted, I voted. It was hard to choose and surprising how quickly one can fill up on what one thought was a small amount of food. Turns out, when you take that spoonful or two and multiply by 25, you get a couple of bowls of chili. Math, applied in daily life.

I didn't enter a chili, though a coworker and my husband thought I should. My reason? I don't really have a chili recipe that I made up all by myself and would feel free to enter into a contest and thereby possibly gain rewards and benefits through no ingenuity of my own. Reading a list, assembling ingredients, and applying heat does not equal "my chili."

During the competition, I asked one person which chili they voted for, and she responded "Well, I entered one, so I voted for mine." Which brought up another interesting character quirk of mine: had I indeed concocted my own chili recipe and entered the brew into the competition, would I have voted for myself? Most likely, no. I am in no doubt that I would have come across a chili I liked better, or differently, and I would have voted for it. Had I not come across a better chili, I still would have chosen what I felt was the best, barring my own.

I think about crap like this way too much.

Congratulations!

"Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty's first lap on the national fund raising circuit drew nearly $1.3 million in contributions, giving his new political action committee a healthy stockpile to spread around in this year's elections."

Great! Now he only needs to raise $1,198,700,000 to plug the state budget hole he facilitated with his excellent leadership skills.