Inappropriate Dress in Public Places

I spent yesterday with my sisters and neice in Washington D.C. We went to the Ford's Theater where of course, Lincoln was shot and across the street to the Petersen House where he died. My biggest impression was surprise at how small both places were. The Theater was quite tiny and very intimate feeling. Booth had originally planned to kidnap Lincoln from Ford's Theater and having seen it, I can't imagine how he thought he could get the President, big man at 6'4" out of his box without anyone noticing. For one thing the President's box opened onto the balcony where people were sitting. The entrance was very public. BUT I digress. We also walked about 6 blocks to the White House and back (as we had parked next to the Theater in a very nice parking garage) and I spent quite a bit of time people watching. Mostly when I was in line for the theater since whenever I walk in D.C. I spend most of my time wishing I was riding the metro. Man am I lazy and out of shape. But AGAIN, I digress. While I was in line at the theater I started noticing how inappropriately people dress these days. I don't think I'm getting old, I still feel plenty immature but whoa! Short, short, SHORT pants, skimpy tops, I saw hiney cracks, belly cleavage, lady bits, you name it.
So my first category of inappropriate I'll call: Put Some Clothes On People! The rest of us don't want to see your belly, it ain't that pretty! Nor do we want to see your hiney or your ladies.
My second category is: Where Did You Think You Were Going in That?
Women wearing tank tops and capri shorts with a) high heels b) super flat sandals with no support c) three strand pearl necklaces with sparkly enhancers and d) maxi dresses
I believe in personal expression but its SIGHTSEEING. Lots of walking in hot weather and a casual setting. You shouldn't dress up like it's a wedding or dress down like you're at home.
I need a Fashion Police badge.

Popular Science

I often and I do mean often, yammer at Robin that science has been ruined by surveys and opinion has now become fact. People believe things because 'it sounds like it ought to be true'.
Take for instance, global warming. Listen to the mainstream media (MSM) and the case has been made. Man's selfish use of the planet's resources is leading to a global catastrophe. The fact that we only have around 100 years of recorded weather information to analyze means nothing to these believers. All the scientists that matter say global warming is real. The rest are kooks. Most of the MSM flatout lie when discussing this issue. Because now it's not about fact, it's about peer pressure. Stop driving your big SUV you gas hog, why do you deserve to use so much of the planet's resources? Liberals believe in diversity only when it's to their benefit.
I can go on. Think about Evolution. Yes, evolution which is still called a THEORY because it has not been proved. However, find me somebody in the MSM that doesn't consider it a fact. You can't. The sitcom "Friends" came right out and said it with the character of Ross. An early episode in the series had Phoebe (of course!) telling Ross she didn't believe in evolution (for a dippy reason) and Ross replied, "Evolution is a FACT!" Say something often enough and these days it becomes true. Isn't that the ultimate oxymoron? "The theory of evolution is a fact".

Now take Stem cell research. For years proponents of Embryonic stem cell research had complained because George Bush refused to allow government funding to be used to open up new lines of embryonic stem cells for research. Mind you he didn't BAN embryonic stem cell research. He didn't even refuse to use government money for embryonic stem cell research. All he did was say: You can only use government money for research on the existing embryonic stem cell lines. You can't make any new ones because I believe in the sanctity of life.
And the liberals like Michael J. Fox and Oprah have been mad ever since. (Not to mention the dingbats on The View). You'd think from their reaction that Bush had shut off the faucet to all research grants everywhere when in fact private money could have been used anytime someone felt like putting it up. So what was the problem? Well, private money comes with a condition. You have to be able to show positive results that will lead to profitability. The silly government doesn't have that foolish requirement, it pours good money after bad all the time.
So why weren't any of the private investment firms putting money into embryonic stem cell research? Because the sucessful research has all been with Adult Stem Cells. All. the. research. In fact, some of the testing with embryonic research has actually caused patients to get WORSE in clinical trials.
Check out this clip from Youtube:

The Dish

Every Saturday Robin and I watch "The Dish" on the Style network. "The Dish" is hosted by Danielle Fishel. Danielle grew up on TV playing the girlfriend on "Boy Meets World". It was a typical 90's sitcom and really didn't give any indication of the Danielle we discovered on "The Dish" "The Dish" is a kindof a knockoff of "Talk Soup" but it takes on fashion, lifestyle news and reality tv and it is a hoot! The writing is snappy and intelligent and fast paced. We enjoy watching it on a very basic level because it is taking on all the funny issues from shows we watch like "Real Housewives, Anywhere" but we also are just amazed at how funny Danielle is. She has an incredibly smooth delivery and it seems absolutely effortless as she moves from segment to segment. Plus she has a huge range of accents that she can do at the drop of a hat. Kindof like that chick on youtube that introduces herself in a bunch of different accents with no pauses. I drive Robin nuts by constantly pausing to say how funny stuff was and then I make her watch it again with me. I haven't quite become so obsessed that I watch it over and over and memorize the bits but hey, who knows what I'll have time for when I retire?

J.D. Robb's In Death Series

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since my last post. If I keep this up, I'm never going to get a steady readership! Part of the reason for my lack of posts is that however opinionated I believe myself to be, apparently I have to be inspired. I have been working so many long hours that I've not had much opportunity for activities which lead to inspiration. My news blackout (working like a charm!) probably doesn't help. But the number one culprit right now is my obsession with re-reading the 'In Death' series of books by J.D. Robb aka Nora Roberts. I began my quest on January 6th and between work and the need for sleep I've managed to get to Book 26 "Creation in Death". I have 2 more books to read to finish the series but serendipitously there is a new book coming out this Tuesday, February 24th. This new book release date has put me under some pressure to finish so I can start it right away but if you read Robin's blog you'll know she's been doing the same thing and then blogging a book review. Of course that means that one of us gets to read the new book first as we only buy two copies of a hardcover if it's a Laurel K. Hamilton or Harry Potter book. So I'm asking myself why I feel so much pressure when Robin is going to insist on reading the new first? (She says it's because she reads faster than me). I have an ace in hole, though because I can take Tuesday afternoon off and get a headstart on her. I haven't decided for sure if I'm going to do it, I'll probably make up my mind on Tuesday based on the work load. As much as I've enjoyed re-reading this series I'm not sorry it's coming to an end. I feel like I've been living with Eve Dallas the lead character a really long time (which looking at when I started reading is true!). In addition since these are MURDER mysteries, I've started to notice I look over my shoulder alot. And while being caution and safety minded isn't a bad thing, being paranoid does lower the quality of life a little.

Five Guys at a Location near Me!

Five Guys Burgers & Fries is a restaurant chain here on the east coast (I think just the east coast) that makes what have to be the best. burgers. ever.

Robin and I love them. They are like home-made burgers only good. They are the burger you want to be able to cook but can't seem to accomplish. I first discovered Five Guys on my way to visit Mount Vernon, Washington's home. We didn't stop there to eat, mind you, but I noticed the restaurant on the way and then I discovered one a couple of miles away from Solo on Reisterstown Road. When I mentioned it to my co-workers they all raved about the burgers and how good they are so I convinced Robin to visit. Since it was in a strip mall (no drive-thru) Robin was a tough sell. But once we tried the burgers we agreed they were awesome. The fries are good too. They are the handcut old-fashioned kind. Still Robin and I aren't really eat-in types and it was a good 20 minutes from our house so we haven't ever gotten in the habit of going regularly. In a seemingly unlrelated to this story action, my boss gave me a gift card to The Outback restaurant for Christmas. Robin and I decided to use it on the day before New Year's eve and when we did we noticed that a new Five Guy's was being put in the strip mall right next door. It wasn't open yet, though. Being a busy person I promptly forgot it. I forgot it so thoroughly (which is odd because we were really excited when we saw it because its so much closer to our place than the one on Reisterstown Road) that when last week, Mike (my co-worker at Solo) and I were discussing how long it had been since either of us had eaten 5 Guys that although I could remember one was opening up in a really great location that was close, but I couldn't remember where or how I knew it. Isn't memory funny? So fast forward to Friday night. I've worked late and don't want to cook so I suggest getting Outback on my way home (big mistake, 1/2 hour wait for curbside delivery, couldn't back out of my parking space for 10 minutes because other cars were blocking me in and they forgot our salads) and what do I see? The 5 Guys! Yay! I was as thrilled to discover it the second time as the first and even better it was now open. So today after our bi-monthly visit to Wal-Mart, Robin and I went to 5 Guys for linner (linner =late lunch+dinner). We were going to get it to go but Robin started eating the peanuts they have sitting around in boxes so I said "Hey, get a drink and let's eat in" I KNOW, shocking, huh? Not like us AT ALL. Still, she did get a drink (I already had one) and we did eat in and it was great. Next time I go, I'll take a picture of my burger and post it so all my faithful readers can drool.

The Kindle

The Kindle is a digital reader available from Amazon. When I say available here I mean in a wait-list kind of way because like the Wii or the iPhone it sold out pretty quickly after it was introduced. It's quite pricey at $359.00 but it has some really neat features. It's a wireless reader so whenever you want or wherever you are you can download magazines, newspapers or books. That's very appealing to me since I'm the kind of person who takes a book with me almost every where 'just in case'. You never know when you're going to be stuck somewhere with nothing to do. Book downloads are only $9.99 so there's a cost savings plus also. One of my co-workers has one that I've seen in person and it seems to be a nice size, the type on the screen mimics that of type in a book so it's very readable. Downside, I can see is that right now it's a black and white screen which would make the magazines a little boring but not affect the books or newspapers in any way and there's a limit to how much you can keep on the device which is not a plus for someone who re-reads books constantly. I don't like the idea of buying something and throwing it away but maybe it's possible to back the books up to a cd, I'm not sure yet. I read a really positive review of the Kindle at Amazon by a guy who's an admitted techno-geek. He basically buys all the new technology that comes out and he already owned several digital readers. He says the Kindle is the best by far.
So I want a Kindle but being cheap and sensible, I don't think it's quite right for me yet. It's a big investment for someone who currently doesn't have any kind of a digital reader. I think I'm going to be patience and wait for the next generation. I'm sure they are already working on improvements. My wish list would be a color screen and the ability to watch movies or play computer games also. Possibly I'm trying to combine too many devices into one but it's my wish list, I don't have to be reasonable!

The State of Maryland and Snow Removal

Living as I did for many years in the state of Illinois, I've spent many long winters complaining about the rotten job the state did at snow removal. Anything under 2 inches and it seemed like they didn't even bother to get the plows out which caused the snow to pack to an unfortunate glasslike consistency. Anything over 4 inches and it seemed like they couldn't create more than one lane in each direction. And don't get me started on Parking Lots. I broke my leg in my work parking lot because as near as I could tell, no businesses in the midwest ever heard of salt.

Well let me tell you, that is not the case in Maryland. Yippee skippee, yes, they have heard of salt and they lay it out so thick on sidewalks that it's like walking on gravel or sand (a whole 'nother hazard but I don't want to seem like a complainer). Usually the parking lots are clear the day after the snow stops if not before so you don't even need to wear snow boots.

An interesting effect of this generous laydown of salt (many times before the snow even STARTS) is the discolored pavement. In the mornings you have to wonder if it's heavy frost or salt stain. It's usually the latter. I've come to the conclusion the difference in state policy is as simple as: HILLS. In Illinois there are a few hills and yes they do ice up and become tough to get up. Robin and I got stuck on one of them on the way to the Doctor after she broke her arm on ice on the sidewalk (again, not salted). But in Maryland there are ALOT of hills and the prospect of thousands of miles of impassable roads is not to be borne in a state this crowded. So just like I love not worrying about tornadoes, I love the salted Maryland roads.

I still miss Illinois, though and all my friends. Just not as much when it's snowing.

Ambulances and my evening commute

Leaving work today a little earlier than usual (Yay!) I noted as I got to the parking lot exit that Reisterstown Road was pretty backed up. That's not too unusual in the thick of rush hour but because it was still before 5, my radar kicked on. A look to the left confirmed flashing lights at the intersection where I normally turn left.

I was still a pretty fair distance away as you can see so I wasn't immediately sure if the left turn was blocked off. It can get complicated trying to predict where to go to avoid being stuck in the blocked lane and the complication is not made simpler when you're trying to take a picture at the same time. Happily the light was red for a while. The vehicle was not moving when I took the above picture, Robin! After getting a little closer I determined that there was no going left at that intersection, and that the left lane was pretty backed up as people (hope springing eternally) kept getting in the lane anyway. Being extremely lucky, the right lane was pretty empty so I nipped over there and proceeded toward the wreck lamenting to myself that the lane I was in didn't have a very good view and so was not going to get me a good picture. Reflecting, I do not believe taking the camera to work made me a more compassionate person. I tried to get a picture as I

passed the intersection but the lighting and a moving vehicle made for a big dark blob of a Firetruck and nothing else. A little further on an Ambulance (just like the one Robin hit) bulled its way through bumper to bumper traffic to trundle past in the left turn lane. The roadway on that side was actually more backed up than mine I think because all the cross traffic and tried to go through the parking lot of the Burger King to get onto Reisterstown Road. I put away my camera and then two more police cars did the same thing. I didn't get a great look but I saw enough to think the accident had been pretty cleaned up. I can't imagine what good two more cops were going to do. Maybe they were bored. In the end my commute didn't take anymore time than usual.

Chick-Fil-A and my Morning Drink

Pretty much every morning, much to Robin's disgust,
I go to Chick-Fil-A. Primarily I go to get a Large Diet Coke in a foam cup. I love foam cups, they keep my drink cold all day and don't sweat like plastic. This is difficult for me to say since I work for a Cup company and we don't make those kind of foam cups, we make the plastic ones. Happily, lots of people are just fine with the plastic cups so the company survives without my business. Normally when I get to the Chick-Fil-A there is no line. It's not because they don't get a lot of business but they are very fast.

This month, however, Thursdays are "Get a Free Breakfast Item" day and the normally empty drive-thru was full all the way around the corner and past the ordering speaker so I had to wait. This was hard for me because being essentially self-centered I think I should be rewarded for my loyalty and moved to the front of the line. Who knows, maybe if I went inside they would treat me like a queen and wait on me first. The drive-thru shows no favoritism. First in-First out. No cutting. Still the free Cinnamon thingy was good. It doesn't get much better than Free and Good so the day started fine. How it ended is another post.

How Liberty Dies...

I want to go on record before I insert this youtube link that I thought of this ALL ON MY OWN. I was talking with Paul, my boss about how this whole Obama cult thing reminded me of how the Emperor took over in Star Wars by sneaking in without anyone realizing what he was doing. Paul being a Star Wars fan to the 10th level replied: "Yeah, It's like when Queen Amidala says..." Thinking I was my idea was unique and original I asked Robin to try to find the movie quote clip on Youtube and lo, and behold a million somebodies had already been thinking the same thing and created clips to go with. So here's a clip that's WAYYY better than anything I could have done.

Guilty!

I was really excited to learn this week that Ann Coulter has a new book out. I like to sit in my car over lunch and listen to a few minutes of Rush Limbaugh. That's all the media I can stand, I confess. Otherwise I'm in a COMPLETE news blackout and have been since the Democrats took over the Congress in 2006. Okay, the blackout was lifted briefly when Sarah Palin was nominated but the curtain fell again immediately after the election and I have no intention of lifting it anytime soon. It's my metaphorical way of staying in bed with a blanket over my head. This week, on Monday I think, Rush had Ann Coulter on as a guest. If you don't listen to Rush you may not find that very newsworthy but Rush Limbaugh has plenty to say for himself and he does not normally have guests in. When he has in the past, it's the President or Vice-President, not someone plugging a book. So when Rush said Ann was coming up after the break I stuck around. One of the few perks of management is not having to clock watch your lunch hour. I know some people obsess over Ann Coulter's humor and contend she's too mean and controversial in her delivery but I say, Stop being so wimpy and stand up for yourselves! I buy all her books. They are incredibly well researched and fact based. Yes, funny and sometimes mean (frankly, I can't judge there. I can be kinda mean myself. We're human, that's why we need forgiveness) but she speaks the truth. And I defy anybody in the media to fact check her books and claim an error. They don't do it because they can't so they spend all their time decrying 'her tone' like Americans are too stupid to hear the mean coming from the Left. A Sarah Palin SNL joke anyone? How about a Bush joke? Nobody ever decrys their tone. But I digress. So Tuesday, known in our house as Book Day, we bop over to the Borders and I pick up my copy of Guilty. I don't know how long it's been out but it was already at #2 on the bestsellers list. Conservative commentary really sells.

Illinois is Ranked!

It was great to see that Illinois has finally been ranked in the top 25. So far, the season has been really good. It makes me hopeful that CBS will broadcast one of their games in our area. If not, I still have hope for the NCAA tournament. That leaves me with multiple reasons to be longing for March!

To be a dork or not to be a dork: THE RESPONSE

I must defend my honor! Over on Banter Basement Robin has decided to take on the ugliness of comfort shoes as an issue. She proudly claims that crocs are too ugly to wear and then goes out and spends $7 bucks on a pair of fake crocs too ugly to be believed! She's claims victory in that her shoes were at least cheap. Give me a break! This is merely a winter issue for Robin. She wears Birkinstock shoes all summer long. And I must tell you in a faceoff between crocs and birkis, the crocs win hands down!

Just off the top of my head I can give you these reasons:

- Cute, fun colors

- Washable

- No sole discoloration

- Ability to add neat decorations suited to your personality

- Cheaper than Birkis!

I rest my case.

Obama is no Lincoln

While clicking through some of the links at Banter Basement I found this great article on Gateway Pundit. Having recently read "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin about the Lincoln presidency I was thrilled to see that someone else had noticed a similarity between the anti-war democrats of today and the Copperheads of the Civil War. Check it out:
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/01/lets-be-real-obama-is-no-lincoln-hes.html

Google Images has Life Photos

So I'm trying to attach my blog to my Facebook profile. I've half done it but I need to prove that I'm the author but everytime I try something is wrong with the either Facebook or Blogger. So while I'm dinkin' around, I decide to go google some images so I have something interesting to post. I mean this is called Judy's Bully Pulpit but it seems lately like I have no opinions, which is a little worrying. Anyway - When I get to Google Images I discover that you can now search a newly digitized Life photo archive! Doesn't that sound awesome?? So of course I search my favorite standby, Tricia Nixon. I have a scrapbook of newspaper and magazine articles about Tricia that my older sister, Karen started in the 60's and gave to me to continue when she got married (the same year as Tricia -1971). I have not added to it in a long time, obviously because Nixon hasn't been President for almost 35 years. But if I did see an article about her even today, I would clip it and add it to my scrapbook. And actually I see lots of articles online but I'm not weird enough to try to archive them yet, even if I knew how. So I do the search on Tricia and I expect to see alot of images because after all, Tricia had the last White House wedding (what was Jenna Bush thinking to pass that option up??) and there was a TON of coverage. It's hard to imagine now when the children of Presidents try so hard to stay private but Tricia (and Julie) were in the paper all the time and had lots of magazine articles written about them.

I have several Life articles:

Time magazine covered the wedding.

She was in Rolling Stone Magazine,

and even did a White House tour which CNN replayed a few weeks back and I missed because we haven't watched CNN since the Iraq War started and they admitted to showing propaganda for Hussein just to get to keep their bureau open.

Tricia did a photo shoot for Ladies Home Journal modeling clothes the way celebrities do today. I remember pouring over these magazine spreads and then checking all the newspaper clippings to try to compare the clothes and see if she was wearing anything from the magazine shoot.

Now that I ponder it, I guess my obsession with Tricia, her clothes and her wedding prepared me for my Diana clothing obsession a few years later. I even have this paper doll book in my scrapbook twice! One torn apart and one still together. Even today when I'm at a flea market or antique mall I look for the magazine issues she was in so I can buy a copy in it's original format.

So anyway, I check out the Life archive and it's pretty good, I mean it has lots of pics but amazingly only ONE of her wedding! Frankly, just a regular google images search will net you 14 or 15 pages of images so the 6 or 7 from the Life archive weren't that impressive. Still, I'm willing to concede that I possible didn't pick a good subject. I'll check it out again, for sure.

New Year/New Blog!

While updating our password notebook (and what's that say about our poor world that we have so many sign-ons and passwords that we need a notebook to keep track of them all!) I came across poor old Judy's Bully Pulpit abandoned in 2006 due to lack of interest. She was so neglected that I hadn't even updated my account name to the no longer new google account names. So I switched her over and I've copied over the only post worth re-reading. I'm going to add her to my Facebook profile and see if maybe a few people start reading her. Good Luck Judy's Bully Pulpit. I know there's someone out there waiting for you!

My Favorite Movie

Originally posted August 29, 2006

One of my favorite ways to break the ice in a meeting whether it's a children's choir practice or a work related project team is to play the "Favorites" game. During a lull in the action, I ask everyone to name a favorite ______. The categories are endless and can be as simple as cereal or as complex as books. In addition to being a great time filler or an easy way to start a meeting, it's also a terrific way to get to know someone. There's lots of insight to be found in what kind of cereal someone likes because invariably the person will also say why they like it. That's because nothing gets to the status of a favorite without a little bit of thought and usually it gets there through a lot of thought. My favorite movie is not something I arrived at quickly. I have reached a pretty ripe old age and watched a lot of movies that never made it to favorite status. Star Wars, Star Trek, Grease, I liked them all but never gave them the ultimate thumbs up. Then one day I was visiting my older sister and her husband and "The Fifth Element" was on. Being a man, Ron didn't turn off the tv when we arrived and so inevitably when the conversation lagged we all began to watch the movie. I'm not sure how much of the beginning we had missed at that point but I can say positively that we didn't leave my sister's house without borrowing the dvd to watch again at home. The cool futuristic vibe, the clothes, the color orange everywhere, Bruce Willis, Milla Jojovich, Chris Tucker, even Gary Oldham. Every character is so intensely watchable! And the plot is interesting but easy to follow. I have my own dvd now but still if I'm channel hopping and I run across this movie I have to stop and watch the rest whether it's near the end or just started. I simply love it. Favorite tv show, hard to pick. Favorite movie: hands down. The Fifth Element.