I Heart ABBA

Tonight the
Super Trouper lights are gonna find me
Shining like the sun
(Sup-p-per Troup-p-per)
Smiling, having fun
(Sup-p-per Troup-p-per)
Feeling like a number one!

Revolution in Bolivia!!!

Bolivia leader halves his own pay

The Bolivian new left-wing President, Evo Morales, has cut his salary by more than a half to a little over $1,800 (£1,012) per month.
The decision means that the salaries of all Bolivian public sector employees will be reviewed, as no official can earn more than the president.

Mr Morales said the money saved would be used to increase the numbers of doctors and teachers.

Mr Morales suggested that members of Congress should cut their salaries too.

During the campaign, Mr Morales had pledged to halve his own pay if elected.

The move announced after his first cabinet went beyond that, with a cut of 57%.

BBC South America correspondent Daniel Schweimler says many voted for Mr Morales believing that he was different from the more conservative politicians who have governed in the past.

The former llama herder and coca leaf farmer was inaugurated last Sunday as Bolivia's first indigenous president.

He has promised to fight corruption, introduce a new tax on the wealthy, and renationalise energy companies.

From the BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4652940.stm

And does everyone know that Chile has just elected their first woman president, a doctor and single mother? If you're interested, go to news.bbc.co.uk and click on "americas" in the news column.

insanity!

How can you tell if you're crazy?

No, that's not really the start of a joke. I really want to know.

I'm an idiot.

So, I work for a credit union now. I love all the people I work with, and we have stimulating conversations daily. Usually this is because it's slow, and there isn't much else to do but google and read the Times. Not that I'm complaining! For instance, I've been doing some research both on Egyptian gods AND ambergris. I started with ambergris, and moved on to the gods, thinking they'd be more exciting... but I was quickly bored and moved back to ambergris. For those of you who don't know, ambergris is a legendary substance found on the sea that is an expensive and rare ingredient in some perfumes. Only recently have they discovered what it really is. A story:

Bernard, the sperm whale, is on a trip around New Zealand when he comes upon a squid. Delicious! Bernard devours the creature after using his powerful fins and tail to chase it down, Discovery-channel style.
But... oh no! Bernard loves squid, but he forgets that squid bones agitate his stomach. He produces a greasy, foul-smelling, black, tar-like substance to help his poor tummy.
After he digests the squid, he pukes globs of this chunky stuff into the ocean. For years it floats around on top, and finally comes to rest on a beach thousands of miles from where he puked it. It ferments and hardens in the sun, and someone picks it up and smells it and lo and behold, it smells delightful! "I think I'll rub this stuff all over my body, it smells so sweet and lovely!" And Amber oil is born.

Lots of people prefer to rub it all over with patchouli, which is extracted from a plant that is from the east Indies. This is supposed to make them attractive to the other sex, or sometimes to the same sex. Sometimes these people are hippies. Hippies are people who believe in peace and love, and are hated by lots of yuppies, who believe in capitolism and money.

Rebecca and Ji

Last night I went to a fantastic concert at the Old Church. Rebecca and Ji, for those of you who don't know, are the daughter and son-in-law of Russ Sanborn, who hosted our wedding reception. They released a cd yesterday... I can only describe it as a combination of Tori Amos, Sarah McLachlan, and Sinead O'Conner... and after the concert we retreated to Sanborn's for great food, great company, and great music... I'm lucky that I have such talented friends, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to support them.
If any of you are interested in hearing them, come by Sanborn's this Saturday night for dessert!

This blog is dedicated to Emily Neaman...

Yesterday my love and I went to the woods by the river and made a fire while the air grew chilly and the sun sunk lower in the sky. As we drove home, the sky was the most brilliant warm colors...
We went to Skye's birthday party, unfashionably late, and stayed up past my bedtime talking about what it is to be friends, and to be sober or stoned, and married and single, and lucky and unfortunate. Oh, how I appreciate what I have. My friends, whom I love, my husband, whom I love more, and my life, which never ceases to bring surprises.

Please, read the news. On the right side of this page is a link to the New York Times. Be aware of what's going on around you. Appreciate your life!

hm...

I love stuff.

Check out what this dude did:
http://skepdic.com/forer.html

ha ha!

veeeerrry innnteresting...

Thought I'd pass this along... from the AP:

Britons Face Trial Over Claim Bush Spoke of Attacking Arab TV

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 10, 2006

Filed at 6:37 a.m. ET

LONDON (AP)--Two U.K. men were ordered Tuesday to stand trial later this month on charges of leaking a government memo in which U.S. President George W. Bush reportedly discussed bombing the headquarters of the Arab satellite news channel Al-Jazeera.

Civil servant David Keogh and Leo O'Connor, a lawmaker's former researcher, were charged in November with breaching the Official Secrets Act. Both men are free on bail as they await trial.

Judge Timothy Workman said the men's trial would begin with a preliminary hearing at the Central Criminal Court Jan. 24.

Prosecutors allege Keogh passed the document to O'Connor between April 16 and May 28, 2004.

Details of the alleged document were reported by the Daily Mirror newspaper, which claimed the memo revealed details of a conversation between Bush and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair at the White House on April 16, 2004. According to the newspaper, Blair argued against Bush's suggestion of bombing Al-Jazeera's headquarters in Doha, Qatar. The Daily Mirror said its sources disagreed on whether Bush's suggestion was serious or not.

Blair has said he had no information about any proposed U.S. action against Al-Jazeera, and White House spokesman Scott McClellan called the newspaper's claims "outlandish and inconceivable."

Keogh, a former communications officer at the Cabinet Office, was charged under Section 3 of the Officials Secrets Act with making a "damaging disclosure of a document relating to international relations" without lawful authority.

O'Connor, who worked for former governing Labour Party lawmaker Tony Clarke, is charged with receiving the document. O'Connor indicated at an earlier hearing he intended to plead not guilty. Tuesday, Keogh didn't say how he intended to plead.