A friend and I decided to hit a Memphis Redbirds game last night for baseball and fireworks. As usual, I took my camera hoping to get a few pictures. I think it might be really annoying to go out with me.

I have written and posted about my trips to the Memphis Zoo before, not a world class establishment but still a favorite escape. With all of the gnashing of teeth yesterday I shifted into avoidance mode visiting the Zoo and the public library. I picked up Citizens by Simon Schama.
Never a waste of time to read a little revolutionary history I always say.

I found this story over at Editor and Publisher and it highlights some of the disconnect between families who sacrifice their children and loved ones in Iraq and in this case, the Army. In one sense, it does not matter whether a loved one dies as a result of friendly fire, accident, illness, or in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, because in the end somebody who is cherished is lost. But families deserve the truth even when it is painful.

Editor and Publisher gave note to a study recently by sociologist Andrew M Lidner about the impact of how embedded reporters framed the initial invasion and ultimately provided significant positive angles for the public to consume.

The study analyzed content from articles written by both embedded reporters and other sources ( ie reporters who were independent from the process) and found this direct conclusion..

I can find the United States on a map and I know I live here. But I am having a hard time actually finding it. I wonder if we have become a nation of sub Americas in which nobody knows the other exists. There used to be a Chevy commercial that crooned about being the "heart beat" of America, if you still believe that you can buy the swag to reassure yourself. Surely now, filling up that truck is just as like to give you a heart attack

I had great designs on tackling the pictorial delights of Boston. I was hampered by a colleague hobbling on crutches, other colleagues who wanted to shop, and the fact that my employers expected us to actually attend the conference.

The hotel we stayed in was so modern, I did not know how to turn on the taps or find the light switch when we first arrived. Turns out I was not the only one who struggled with this, reference was made to it in the opening speech

I went to a local "cat show" and this will tell you how well my brain synapses are firing after just getting over a cold: I was taken a back for a moment when I walked in and saw rows of cages. I guess I thought they would all be hanging out on recliners like at my house. We have an awesome recliner that has heat, massage, and was actually made in America, and it looks comfortable. I can't actually verify that because I am nervous about sitting in it. I don't know what will happen if I do. The overlords might punish me.

There is an excellent piece of commentary at The Carpetbagger Report, that everybody should read if only to confirm that it is truly a miraculous event that Mr.Matthews manages to sustain any sort of regular employment. It really makes me suspect that the last bastion of employment for incompetent white males is in fact the MSM.

Political actions never seem to conveniently fall on my schedule in Memphis, a consequence of working 12 hour shifts. And Memphis is more of a big small town, than a medium sized city. I decided the smartest thing I could do this easter weekend was to walk for peace and count my body among those who oppose the war.

Warning... this is a bit photo heavy... those of you with a slower connection might want to save yourself a headache and skip this diary in favor of another one.

Howard Zinn in his latest musings at the Progressive, calls our current national dialog about candidates election madness and argues that we have elevated the role of elections and their importance way beyond tangibility and reason. He never suggests we shouldn't vote for purity reasons and admits there is always one candidate who is better than another.

Those who are interested can read the entire article here.

I actually thought about stressing in the title that this was not a candidate diary. I went home for ten days to help my mom, essentially I spent my time driving to and from the hospital where my grandmother was admitted. For the time being my grandmother is holding her own but we started looking at nursing home/apartment complex places where she could get help.

I have no excuse for not voting either. I could have already applied for my citizenship by now and done so. I don't know why I can't bring myself to do it. I wasn't eligible during the last election and now I am coming up with excuses about paperwork, my past negative experiences with the INS, the generally weird feeling about becoming American even though I am Canadian by birth and there is that whole continent sharing thing. Many Canadians have a tendency to define themselves by what they are not: American. They tend to take a self righteous glee in all that. My friends and family get huffy and defensive when I point out that who the Prime Minister is.

While I worked and trained in some good ones as a nursing student, I still think of nursing homes as being concentration camps for the elderly.
It is a highly unfair, emotionally tinged perception, fraught with my own fears about being physically or mentally incompetent as I age.

My mother has been warning me since the fall that grandma's health is declining, she is fatigued, she has COPD, her vision is poor, and everything takes great effort. Mom has tried to lightly introduce the dreaded discussion, fully aware that while my grandma is struggling she is entirely competent. So, I was not particularly surprised to get a phone call from my stressed and tired mom  last night informing that grandma was in the hospital being treated for presumed pneumonia.

My grandmother is still with us but I fear that her time of independence is drawing to a close. Grandma's health is fragile. Her appetite is withering, my mother describes her as being fatigued, her eyesight is failing and for the very first time my mother has admitted her mind is starting to wander a bit. We both think she might be a little depressed. While I won't be home for Christmas, I plan to go in a few weeks. Her brothers and sisters are all long gone, many of her friends are gone.

A recent article in Salon, reveals some fantastically unsurprising data about prevalent attitudes about race and mobility in America. Turns out, according to a a quoted poll, many believe that things are just great for mobility prospects in America as long as you work hard and act responsibly. In America, we like to believe that "poor choices" determine one's fate exclusively. If we stopped believing that good old fashioned hard work and flawless personal character could propel us at least into the middle class and beyond, we might actually be out on the streets agitating for social change instead of soothing our insecurities with myths and buying stuff if we can afford it, to make ourselves feel better.

I decided to take a trip to our local zoo to see the Christmas light displays. I realized I had not gone out and taken many photos lately and I was looking for a way to force myself into the Christmas spirit. I have not joined the official insurgency against Christmas, I think I am a member of the ambivalence brigade. Most of my work colleagues are stressing out over whether they got enough stuff for their families and picking up at little OT to do so.

I won't be going home to visit this year at Christmas. I have to work the night of, so I will visit the loved ones after in January. Although, I dearly love my rather small family, it is amazing how often the same conversations are repeated. It also helps to puncture the notion that everybody in Canada is a liberal warm fuzzy types full of benign cheer. My mother always has a bottle of wine or two when we gather. Wise woman.

It goes like this.....

Over at Colorlines there is an excellent article that documents the tendency of some white students to subvert racial politics into a racist parody. The authors note that there has been an increase in the number of parties and incidents that mock others.