My fellow Americans, why are we in this handbasket?

Here's an article you'll NEVER see in a U.S. newspaper.

And, here's an issue that should have gotten a lot more coverage. Thanks Panther!

Quick, call the FBI!I've posted the CIA Factbook! And 50States.com! And the Old Farmer's Almanac!

Thank you John Ashcroft and the DEA, for penalizing doctors who practice compassionate medical care. May you all rot in hell.

Sometimes I Like My Office

Remind me not to drink white wine at 9:30 in the morning. I think my stomach may eat itself.

Best. Appetizer. Ever.

I went to a Yule event this Saturday, and was served this fantastic appetizer. Sweet (but not too sweet) crackers spread with brie, with black currant jam spread on top. Absolutely incredible and easy-peasy to make. I'm stealing the idea the next time I have people over.

Friday Five

Someone brought Christmass cookies into the office and I've long since faded into a drooling haze of sugar and Red Dye No. 5. I had another post about how I never got store-bought cookies as a hippie child, but Blogger ate it and I'm too lazy to reconstruct it.

Instead, I'll do the Friday Five.

1. List your five favorite beverages.

Overwhelmingly and in several incarnations, water. Running a close second is coffee. In the distant third are not-too-sweet iced tea, Belgium beers, and gin 'n tonics.

Honorable mention must go to my sweetie making espresso for me on the weekends. Marina's heart goes all pitter-patter

2. List your five favorite websites.

Favorite for what? I do a lot of website visiting. Anything that made a favorable impression is probably in the links section of my blog.

3. List your five favorite snack foods.

I don't really snack all that often. But Doritos will always have a special place in my heart.

4. List your five favorite board and/or card games.

I used to love chess . I've never been able to interest the spousal unit in it though, and I'm very rusty now. Uno was great fun for family gatherings, and I love all of the Solataire games bundled with Windows.

5. List your five favorite computer and/or game system games.

Jezzball and tetris. I like abstract games where the purpose is to capture a ball or manipulate a rectangle. Specific games where you cast healing spells at orcs or pilot a StarGazer have always left me cold.

No one has ever heard of jezzball, but it used to be packaged on the Windows operating system back in the early/mid-nineties. Back when I worked in a media outlet run by the Unification Church, several of us became obsessed with Jezzball. We'd catch each other's eye after office meetings and ask, "Pssst. What's your high score?" Because there is no way to pretend that you just happened to reach Level 16 during a fifteen minute break. No, you have to be an addict.

Love and Marriage

My co-worker is obsessed with marrying off her daughter. I think she views it the same way some people view playing the lottery. When you hit it big, all of your problems will be solved.

First words out of her mouth whenever the subject of her daughter comes up? "She's available!".

Christmas gift for her daughter? A dating service.

We were talking about the office Christmas party, and she was wondering if there were any available men for the girl to meet.

(boggle)

Most embarrassing rescue ever

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - Mike Hill was out on a hunting trip with a friend Monday when he got stuck in the muck tracking a deer...Hill, who waded into waist-deep water in a marshy area, grew cold and realized he was lost. He pulled out his cell phone and help was soon on the way. More than two dozen rescue workers from Bridgewater and surrounding towns arrived to search.

But the rescuers couldn't reach Hill. Three firefighters set out on an airboat, but the boat got stuck. The firefighters themselves got mired in the marsh as they tried slogging on foot toward Hill, said Bridgewater Fire Chief Roderick Walsh.

Another firefighter and the police officer with a rescue dog named Gorby set out on an all terrain vehicle from another direction. They, too, got stuck in the swamp, along with the dog. Even a hovercraft brought in by a neighboring town got bogged down, Walsh said...Ultimately, it was a U.S. Coast Guard (news - web sites) helicopter that managed to pluck Hill, three firefighters, the police officer and Gorby from the marsh — hauling them up, dripping, through the trees to safety in a wire basket.

About half the people in my office are originally from Bridgewater or "the surrounding towns". You can tell. They embody the efficiency and common sense portrayed in this article. Thank God the Coast Guard has a presence on Cape Cod, because we may need them some day.

I get to hear all about Bridgewater at office lunches. Which may be a good thing, because God knows no one outside of Bridgewater would ever bother discussing it and I get to learn things that increase my greater knowledge of the world. The long-standing football rivalry between East Bridgewater and West Bridgewater high schools? Exciting stuff.

Our hunter must have been thinking about the Big Game that was going to be broadcast on the Bridgewater Cable Access channel. That's why he forgot his map and compass.

Home Stretch

Wooee. I'm almost done with my class. Then I'm going to take a break from Accounting and kick back. I so deserve it.

The last few weeks have been my time to regress. It's a stress reaction. I made two discoveries that mean quite a bit to me and probably not so much to anyone else.

First off. If you were a little tiny child during the seventies, do you remember Dawn dolls? I had a Glori and later I had assorted hand-me-downs from my cousins. I recently ordered the 30-year anniversary editions of Dawn, Dale, Angie and Glori and have been having a grand time posing them on my computer desk and playing with them. Yes playing. I'm been getting into my girly-girl self and having a grand old time.

Second, I have a certain fascination with horror/ghost stories, especially classic tales. Much to my delight, I've recently found a few good websites with classic horror/ghost stories. Literary Gothic, Frank's Place, Gaslightall sorts of links at this H.P.Lovecraft site although alas, his work is still protected by copyright. I could write in detail about all of these sites, but I'll limit myself to simply gasping with delight. I am so pleased to be reading various classic tales that I've seen referenced a thousand times. Even if you don't care for horror, if you care anything for science fiction or fantasy, you owe it to yourself to read through these sites because this is where the modern fantastic literature movement started.

Speaking of fascination with ghost stories, due to my previous post and the comments people left, I'd like to share one of the few sensible guides to ghost investigation I've ever read. I like the website owner's style and approach, although I have to admit, it's probably not the best reading for a long New England night...