candidly candace’s Neighborhood

My kind of girl

DoctorD
Yesterday
3 comments

Just as I said in response to Emmi:

Ellen Ripley

Just what you need for fighting outer-space aliens, or traveling in any other kind of hostile environment.

You can even get her action figure. Isn't that better than a Barbie doll?

Aliens_12inch_EllenRipley

I got a kick out of it that Sigourney also played a main scientist in Avatar. And of course she has been (among other things) Dian Fossey protecting gorillas All fine causes.

I hope that, "in reality" too, she is a good person. She is considered a political activist, and for a time, lived in a tree house.

However, the movie she is working on now is G-String Mother, about Gypsy Rose Lee. Pretty funny! Not that there is anything wrong with it....

My first half-day as Spock the Elder

DoctorD
Yesterday
4 comments

So far, I have enjoyed my first day as old man Spock. Or is it the start of the new year and decade? The completion of the holidays, which are both fun and too busy? Or because we are (finally) getting to go on a vacation--Florida, here we come!--before too long??

Anyhow, I have been nice to a person I have been angry at for many months. I noticed I was more talkative at my coffee group, in a better mood generally too. Thought a little faster than recently.

Also, I bought a bunch of books on my way home. I do realize that could be an attribute of a manic phase.

Anyhow, it is pleasant to feel better. It definitely isn't because my appraisal of the world or human nature or American politics has improved. But, still, somehow, I do feel "better." Whatever that is, and without chemical intervention of any kind, except coffee (decaf) and a bagel with tomato and cream cheese (lite).

Without being clear on the cause, provisionally, I attribute it to the Spock persona.

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

I had never even heard of this series of books until Kelly read them (and you'll note that they top her list of Young Adult - Series for 2009, with good reason).

I loved this book. I really don't consider myself much of a sci-fi or fantasy reader, but give me a good dystopian future novel and I'm hooked.

This book definitely kept me reading and overall, I found it very well-written. I got wrapped up in the story and didn't find myself fixating on little nit-picky grammar things, which is always a good thing, in my opinion.

Several of the twists caught me completely by surprise and I especially liked the author's habit of ending - a chapter or a part or even the book itself - with the reader (me!) wanting more.

So, yeah. I liked The Hunger Games bunches.

Hello, 2010! Goodbye Vox.

As of now, I will be blogging over here at my new little internet home, A Banner Year.

I have loved Vox for these three years but some of the practical logistics of the blog were bugging me, like the fact that you can't have multiple authors. (And that you have to name your images -- I hate that.)

Anyway, my new blog is a collaboration between me and my twin sister, Esther. Won't you please come along for the ride? We'd love to have you along! (I have no year-long resolutions; I am all about the monthly resolutions this year and one thing I hope to do -- in January at least -- is blog on a more regular basis.)

In the meantime, I'll be keeping my Vox account and popping back in regularly to stay up-to-date with all the lovely folks I've "met" here.

Happy 2010!

Making Some Changes--for the start of 2010

DoctorD
Yesterday
5 comments

Okay, did I lose you all by making so many changes in my Vox?

My name is still the same; I guess you can't change that, right? And the title of the Vox. I'm hoping not to cause confusion. But perhaps I needed a new "persona" for the new year (or even the new decade?)

Do you? Not just a couple resolutions. Do you need a whole new you? ;)

Previously I was emphasizing travel, but I am less certain that I will be able to do as much of that any more. Health is one of the obstacles. Then politics and government (a long-time and professional career interest) crept into more and more of my posts.

Where am I now, as 2010 begins? I am concerned that much that was good about the United States is being weakened, damaged, lost. Kind of like the interstate bridge in Minneapolis a couple years ago:

Bridge collapse

But not only our manmade wonders, but our natural wonders as well. And not only those of the U.S., but really the entire planet--which I guess explains the new environmentally-oriented banner I selected, viewing the Earth from a distance.

Before I felt like I was driving down a side road, as the photo showed, in a place where not to many other people go. Now I feel perhaps even more isolated than that; kind of as a cosmic condition, not merely a localized one.

That isn't all bad. One needs to try to gain perspective. And I, I think, need a bigger, wider, deeper perspective. That is something I need to keep working on.

Do you think science fiction helps? History? Philosophy? Religion? Or is the very best help just a good night's sleep!

If I Were to Make a New Year's Resolution.....

Mello
Yesterday
1 comment

I'd say I was going to get back into shape and lose some weight.

I know, everyone says that, but I really mean it. I purposely am not calling this a new year's resolution for two reasons. One, it's going to last more than a week, or even a month. I am going to do it. I'm not going to try, I'm going to do it. I lost weight before, and I'm going to do it again. I'm going to start with a goal weight that's anywhere between 5 and 9 lbs below where I am now (depending on the day) and go from there.

The second reason it's not a new year's resolution is that this really has less to do with it being a new year than it does with the holidays being over. I decided a month or so that I'm ready to diet again, but didn't want to set myself up to fail by trying to do it during Christmas. So I decided I wasn't going to worry about it until after the first of the year.

Right now I'm not planning to go back on South Beach. I had great success on it before, but I'm not willing right now to go back to no- and low-carb unless I have to. ("Have to" being defined as if I fail in my original plan.) My ultimate goal is to just get us all on to good eating habits that can be maintained long-term. I'm thinking of buying the Mayo Clinic Diet Book (yes, the famous, up-until-now-mythical Mayo Clinic Diet does actually exist). It just came out and I can get it at a discount.

I also have a new workout DVD that I did (and I use that term loosely) for the first time yesterday. It's very cardio-oriented and it totally kicked my butt. I want to get back to a level of great cardiac fitness. I don't think I've had that since college....but I sure felt great when I had it. And it can only be good for my metabolism and this body that unfortunately is beginning to age. :(

So.....wish me luck! I'll try to update my progress so feel free to ignore those posts if you want. :)

Adventures in Cooking, Vol. 3 - Roasting a Turkey

Mello
Yesterday
1 comment

So I've had this roaster for probably almost two years and I've never really used it, except to keep stuff warm at a party. Just after Thanksgiving, turkey was on sale (imagine that!) and we decided to get one. Well, today I decided I would thaw it and roast it. My first problem was getting the neck out. I couldn't find the dumb thing, and ended up taking out something that in retrospect was probably part of the spine. I thought to myself, gee, how can it be so hard to remove the neck? Digging a little deeper, I put my hand on something and pulled. Voila, the neck. It came out as easily as I would have originally expected. :)

I even stuffed it. I used Brownberry seasoned stuffing, chicken broth, and margarine. Then I also stirred in some pork sausage and celery that I'd cooked. Then I threw in some Craisins (a suggestion from the back of the bag but fully endorsed by Joey - he loves Craisins and in fact won't eat salad without them). They were a yummy addition.

All in all, the turkey turned out ok, except while it was cooking it was heating up really fast. I had violent flashbacks to the prime rib of the other night and ended up turning it off an hour early. It did get done, and stayed moderately hot since I didn't open the roaster. I'd followed the directions on the back of the wrapper - heck, I've never roasted a turkey before, what do I know - which said I should cook it for 4-4 1/2 hours. During supper I hypothesized that maybe the roaster cooks faster than an oven does since it's a smaller space (or something). I just looked at the owner's manual for the roaster.....and sure enough. 2-3 hours for a 14-16 lb roast, which was about how long it took. Dumb me.

Oh well, this is why I practice & learn around people who are forgiving.

Dinner was rounded out with the stuffing, which went over famously, and mashed sweet potatoes, which I thought were the bomb but no one else was terribly impressed with. All in all, it was a good meal.

Blu Ray

DoctorD
2 days ago
3 comments

I got a blu ray player as a Christmas gift, and a couple of blue DVD's, including the recent Star Trek movie (which I also gave a copy of to my son, who has a Playstation). (A second such DVD is part of the Planet Earth series from BBC).

I am so impressed with the Trek show that I have changed my Vox identity, at least for a time, to being Spock as an old man. There are quite a few old guys I like, admire, and enjoy, and Mr. Spock is among them.

Actually, Leonard Nimoy is a good bit older than me: 78. But I do often feel older than I am; I do sometimes feel like I must be from another planet, especially after hearing commentaries from the Alternative Universe of the American right wing; and I do try to be reasonable and rational. That was how I was brought up, by a professor and a professor's daughter. Through the "hard" sciences and engineering in the 1950s, and the "soft?" human and social sciences in the 1960s and thereafter. With a little bit of art and design thrown in.

Well, I try--but can fall short. But really, Spock had a human mother, so he had some remnant of non-logical failings of humans, right? He could become "emotionally compromised." (One time was when his home world was destroyed). So, too, it is with me. In a totally exasperating and dangerous situation, I become exasperated and frightened. I am like that, lately.

But anyhow, I will adopt a Spockian persona, at least for a while. (This is also partly a tribute to Avatar, another sci fi movie I enjoyed, which presents a world in which people have a different form of representation through the power of computers. For now, the Subaru (and the actual photo of the "real me") are gone. Hope not to lose y'all out there in cyberspace! I hope it isn't too confusing!

Live Long, and Prosper . . . in 2010.

PS--for the moment, I am wondering why this Vox page came up with a photo of a young Thai woman and a place to click to "Find a Pretty Thai Today." How does that work, Google? Does not seem logical.

But, perhaps I ought to browse them. Once, I considered importing a Chinese bride (as many others do babies) but ended up with a partner from exactly ten miles away. I do feel a little past all that now, as I am sure Spock does himself.

2010, The Year I Don't Procrastinate

java janie
2 days ago
5 comments

Or at least, that was my plan. I was going to blog or at least post a picture to my blog every day. Yeah, didn't happen. But today is a palindrome. And that makes me really happy. Happy enough not to worry about starting a bunch of sentences with conjunctions. Although, I like to blog like I'm just kinda talking and I start a lot of sentences with conjunctions when I am talking, so I've decided I'm not going to worry about it.

I do plan on reading more. Kelly brought me another stack of books which look very good, but I'll probably watch The Omen first. She and Sam joined us for New Year's Eve. I'm so glad she came. I'd like to think it's because she likes hanging out with me, but it may have been Gary's steaks. We played Tori's "New Moon" board game while waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive. It was ridiculously good fun. The rules were complicated and confusing, but that ended up being part of the fun.

Sam, the cutest dog ever

I had quite a houseful for New Year's Eve. Nicole, her family and her best friend/good family friend, Tammy stayed with us in addition to Kelly and Sam. 3 of Steve's brothers and their families were here too. What a blessing to be surrounded by such a large group of friends and family, just laughing and enjoying ourselves. I really am blessed to be so loved. I am thankful for God's grace of a house that although small, was able to accommodate all of us. I'm still hoping to be able to turn half the garage into a bedroom for Alex that can double as a guest room by this time next year. We pretty much use the garage for storage any way. Never have had the room to park a car since we moved in.

So Happy New Year to you all. Take the time to enjoy the many graces that God gives to us. May it be filled with the love and laughter of your family and friends, like mine has been so far.

First day of new year with Ben's family

Deborah
2 days ago
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One of the best parts of being in Ohio is that we have reconnected with Ben's (huge) clan of family. I've known them for over 14 years, but from a distance. I was a bit slow on getting all the names right and the spouses and the kids. When I saw one kid I'd known as a little kid (now late teens) I did not recognize him to everyone's amusement.

How could I not know Hunter?

The clan has been together in the same area of Ohio forever. The 14 years Bens been with me in Californa never really took him out of the family loop. Now that he's back here, it's almost like he never left. I have to say I love being part of the "clan".

Today Ben's aunt Bobbie (Barb) had everyone to her home in Mansfield for "pigs in a blanket." (pork and ground beef balls with rice wrapped in cabbage in a soup of tomato and spices and sauerkraut. Thick chunks of bread and butter and mashed potatoes finished the meal. All served straight from the kitchen to whoever showed up, whenever they showed up. The pot had been cooking for over 10 hours - started the day before and then reheated today so the flavors blended and mellowed. It was so unbelievably good and satisfying. We all ate wherever we could find a spot while the tv played one of many football games. Ben helped this cousins set up his mom's new speaker system to go with her new tv. Ben and his cousin Lonnie worked together on the project - joking and teasing each other. Honestly they are as different as night and day, but underneath the "types" the connection - the family tie - is obvious. Ben- his tight black jeans, pink and black sneakers, red and black flannel topped with a black biker jacket, tatted and pierced, blue hair, goofy humor - in the snow, Ben makes snow men. In the snow, Lonnie waits for hours with a gun or bow for his prey to pass close enough for a clean kill. Lonnie with his home full of stuffed and mounted animals, deer watch his tv from behind his chair - the black bear comes out of the wall behind the tv. The turkeys and peasants are flattened into wall hangings. Lonnie - in his camo pants and loose muddy boots - hair trimmed short - buff - while Ben is a computer whiz who does art for a living. Lonnie works at a correctional facility. He is big and tough. I'm sure on one messes with Lonnie. Different. Wildly different. And yet I've watched them getting closer with each gathering.

Ben's family accepts each other 100%, Can't say they accept everyone - or every type - but once someone is in the family "clan" everyone has their back.

Every time we are with Ben's family - I feel - like I am a part of something.
It's wonderful to feel this much love - from them all and for them all.

And Ben.