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Monday, April 04, 2011
The Ambiguity in Anti-Discrimination Law at the Heart of the Wal-Mart Case
Last week's oral argument in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes was officially about whether the case against Wal-Mart for sex discrimination in violation of Title VII satisfies the legal requirements set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 for a class action. But evident just below the surface is an ambiguity in anti-discrimination law.
As late as the early 1970s it was possible to argue that the Constitution forbade government actors from taking actions that had a disparate impact on a racial minority or other protected group, regardless of whether that disparate impact was intended. Then the Court held that the Constitution only forbids intentional discrimination. Disparate impact can be relevant to proving intentional discrimination but is not, standing alone, unconstitutional. As the Court said in the leading sex discrimination case, it is not sufficient for a plaintiff to show that a defendant took the measures it did in spite of the disparate impact; a successful case must establish that the defendant took those measures because of the disparate impact.
Although disparate impact claims have thus long been inadequate to establish a constitutional violation, the statutory picture is somewhat different. In 1971, in Griggs v. Duke Power, the Supreme Court unanimously recognized that a plaintiff's showing of disparate impact standing alone is enough to establish liability--unless the defendant rebuts the inference of discrimination that the disparate impact showing creates. Griggs was codified with some modifications in the 1991 Civil Rights Act (after a 1989 decision had cut back on it somewhat), but it was never fully settled whether the statutory protection was ultimately only against intentional discrimination--with a showing of disparate impact playing a more substantial role in establishing the plaintiff's case in a statutory claim than in a constitutional claim--or whether the statute provided employees with a substantive entitlement to be judged only by tests that either have no disparate impact or, if they have one, are necessary to the job at issue.
This issue was indirectly in play two terms ago in Ricci v. DeStefano (the New Haven firefighter case) and it is in play again in the Wal-Mart case. Wal-Mart argues that no plaintiff class action can be certified because there is no allegation of a policy of intentional discrimination emanating from corporate HQ. The plaintiffs say that the policy is the decision by HQ to decentralize personnel decisions without providing for sufficient guidance, thus effectively ensuring subjective decisions that give vent to tacit biases.
If we understand the substance of Title VII's disparate impact prohibition as simply streamlining matters of proof of intentional discrimination, then Wal-Mart probably wins. There is no HQ-level policy of discrimination and it's hard to imagine that Wal-Mart adopted its policy of decentralized subjective personnel decisions for the purpose of ensuring that the discretion would be employed in a way that would have a disparate impact on women. That is to say, Wal-Mart almost certainly maintains its policy of decentralization/subjectivity in spite of, rather than because of its disparate impact. But if we understand the substance of Title VII's disparate impact prohibition as targeting unjustified disparate impact for its own sake, then the plaintiffs' case looks pretty good.
To my mind, Title VII's disparate impact standard has always been best understood as targeting disparate impact for its own sake, but I acknowledge that the cases and the statute are not entirely clear about this. It's also clear from Ricci (and other cases) that the Court's most conservative members don't like disparate impact claims. (Justice Scalia even suggested in Ricci that the prohibition of disparate impact may itself be unconstitutional as a denial of equal protection.) Although the issue in Wal-Mart is submerged under a procedural question about class certification, the case could nonetheless provide some further hints at how the Court would ultimately resolve this ambiguity in anti-discrimination law.
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Glove work: 10 must-watch defensive players
Great defensive plays on a baseball field have always had the ability to take our breath away. In that way, nothing has changed.In fact, technology has allowed today's fans to watch and appreciate Brooks Robinson, Willie Mays and others at least as much of fans of a half-century ago. Hundreds
Great defensive plays on a baseball field have always had the ability to take our breath away. In that way, nothing has changed.
In fact, technology has allowed today's fans to watch and appreciate Brooks Robinson, Willie Mays and others at least as much of fans of a half-century ago. Hundreds of baseball's greatest moments are right there on our phones and tables, and what can be better than that?
Anyone can watch the time Robinson grabbed Lee May's grounder in the 1970 World Series and then spun and threw him out from foul territory, all in one slick motion.
And there's Willie Mays outrunning a towering Vic Wertz fly in the 1954 World Series.
But as much as we romanticize the defensive beauty of Robinson and Mays, our respect for defense has changed for this simple fact: Now, more than ever, teams appreciate that preventing a run is the same as scoring one.
This column is about appreciating how good baseball's best defensive players are. This isn't just about athleticism or speed or instincts. In this arena, it's all those things.
It's the outfielder going over the wall to bring a home run back into the park and the shortstop diving in the hole to stop a grounder and somehow making a perfect throw across the diamond.
It's that first baseman who saves a dozen errors a season by moving quickly and scooping throws out of the dirt.
Finally, it's that guy behind the plate, the one who understands the whole of the game, from the opposing hitters to the umpire to the guy he's working with on the mound.
His job is to make the pitcher comfortable and confident, to understand what's working and to get his pitcher into a confident rhythm.
Here are 10 players who are an absolute joy to watch:
1. Kevin Kiermaier, Rays CF
Kiermaier was something of a legend inside the game before he ever played a big league game. Almost anyone who saw him play in the Minors told of a combination of speed, instincts and athleticism that made even the most difficult plays seem routine. As a result of Kiermaier's defense, he ranked third in the American League in WAR last year, behind only Mike Trout and Josh Donaldson.
2. Andrelton Simmons, Angels SS
It's not just that Simmons makes every single play. That he can go to his right or his left. That he can make the big throw from the hole or the spinning throw from behind second base. That he can rush in and barehand a ball or sprint out to the outfield and make plays. It's that Simmons does all these things, that he makes them seem so routine, that he never seems rushed.
3. Kevin Pillar, Blue Jays CF
Pillar has perfected "The Leap." He's so fast and so instinctive that he seems to outrun the ball, and when he's within range, he goes airborne to snag fly balls, changing a game's momentum in an instant. Pillar is so good that he makes some really difficult plays -- for instance, sprinting in and grabbing a ball off his shoes -- look routine. He's also absolutely fearless, routinely bouncing off walls, the warning track, etc. In short, he's a joy to watch.
4. Brandon Crawford, Giants SS
Don't let those 58 extra-base hits or that .782 OPS overshadow the really impressive part of Crawford's game. That's defense. No shortstop plays the position better. He makes all the difficult plays -- the stabbing catches of liners, the barehanded grabs in front of him and the huge throws -- look routine.
5. Billy Hamilton, Reds CF
OK, Hamilton is fast. This is the thing that got him to the Major Leagues. Combine that blazing speed with the instincts to gauge the bat off the ball, and you have a special player. He routinely outruns fly balls behind him and to both sides. But Hamilton also has a feel for where the ball will be. When he arrived three years ago, some of us figured all his highlights would be delivered from running the bases. His greater impact may be in the outfield.
6. Adrian Beltre, Rangers 3B
Great third basemen have quiet bodies. They simply react. They're positioned to make a play in an instant. Few have ever played this position better than Beltre, an 18-season veteran, including the past five with the Rangers. He has methodically constructed a Hall of Fame resume, based on his offensive production and on his numbingly consistent defensive play.
7. Adeiny Hechavarria, Marlins SS
Hechavarria's range is what separates him from others. He makes all the plays in the infield, getting to balls in the hole and making rocket throws to first. But the part of his game that's really special is his ability to sprint out into left field and make plays. He's so good that Miami outfielders can play a step or two deeper because Hechavarria can cover some of their ground.
8. Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays 3B
Donaldson's arm may be the best in the game. He understands the strength of that arm, too, in getting to balls and taking chances others wouldn't think of taking. Donaldson is athletic and fast and instinctive, and he makes impossible plays seem routine. When the Athletics decided to convert him from catcher to third base four years ago, they were blown away at how easy he made it all look. Donaldson may have won the AL Most Valuable Player Award last season because of 41 home runs and 123 RBIs, but defense is a huge part of his game.
9. J.J. Hardy, Orioles SS
Hardy may be the most underappreciated player in the game. "As long as my teammates appreciate me, that's all that matters," he said. His teammates do. In terms of being in the right place at the right time and understanding games and situations, there's not a better player in baseball. This praise should not overlook Hardy's athletic ability to get to balls and make plays. In ways large and small, he's close to a perfect player.
10. Russell Martin, Blue Jays C
Martin is more difficult to appreciate because we're not going to watch a dozen replays of the strikes he grabs for his pitchers or the way he allows them to settle into a comfortable routine. He also does a very good job controlling the running game with his arm. But Martin's teammates know and have raved about his game, and his unheralded contributions to winning, for years.
Richard Justice is a columnist for MLB.com. Read his blog, Justice4U.

subset: commoncrawl


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In the wake of last week's financial meltdown, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has been calling for more regulation and criticizing lax oversight of Wall Street, despite the fact that he and former senator Phil Gramm passed much of the deregulatory reforms that led to the current crisis. Interviewed on CBS today, however, McCain said he does not "regret" championing the deregulation of Wall Street:
Q: In 1999, you were one of the senators who helped pass deregulation of Wall Street. Do you regret that now?
McCAIN: No. I think the deregulation was probably helpful to the growth of our economy.
Watch it:


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Except for when I've been:
…scared out of my shorts (and the "freeze response" follows the hollow sucking sound of my hopefully not last breath)
….embarrassed by some real or imagined stupid mistake or flattering compliment
….disgusted to the point the juvenile eye-roll
…sleeping (snoring while suffering from nasal congestion does NOT count)
…listening to someone who mistook my open mouth as a sign of amazement and not a failed attempt to speak
…comatose from either too much alcohol, anesthesia, or lecturing
I've never been at a loss for something to say. I'm a sociologist, for pity's sake. We make it our life's ambition to be long-winded.
But I've spent all day trying to think of a snappy, up-to-my-usual-standards-of-hilariosity post, and, you know what? I couldn't do it. I got nothing, People.
Over that last few days–and I hope you've noticed–I've been catching up on reading your posts. You keep coming up with great topics. How the heck do you keep doing it? How the heck did I keep doing it? I did keep doing, didn't I?
Brace yourselves, People. I think I have…GULP…blognesia. Yup. I can't remember how to write a Lorna's Voiceworthy post.
Who the heck is Lorna's Voice, anyway? What did The Voice of Lorna sound like? Did Christina pick me? Tell me it wasn't that country western dude. Or Cee Lo. I may have blognesia, but I know I'm not into the country western heart-break kid kind of man or humongus blingy guys. At least I don't think so. Why am I even talking about this? Because I have blognesia that's why! And I'm not responsible for anything I am saying. Am I saying anything?
Is there a cure for blognesia?
I searched on Google and didn't even find the word, so my chances for getting information about a cure are looking pretty bad. Maybe after I post this, I'll find something. Actually that's not true. There were like 86,000 entries, but none with MY definition of blognesia, so that's still counts, right? Blognesia is defined on the internet as blogs losing posts or as bloggers forgetting what posts they wrote about. That's just silly. But I'm still sunk. I can't even make up an original made up word.
Has blognesia ever happened to you?
You probably don't remember, so never mind.
I think I'm just going to have to wait this one out. On the bright side, I won't remember why I'm waiting, so I probably won't feel too stressed about it. Stress makes me feel more dizzy and feeling more dizzy always makes my hair more blonde. Why does that happen? Maybe I can look that up on Google. Hmmm. 6,720,000 hits. I'll be busy for a while looking up this one.
While I'm recuperating…if I recuperate…you might want to pop over to Vanessa's blog to read a nice interview she did with me about my book. Thankfully she did it before this blognesia hit me. She's giving away a free copy of my book to a lucky commenter. It's worth every bit of the freeness.


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Albert Berry (parachutist)
Captain Albert Berry is one of two people credited as the first person to make a successful parachute jump from a powered airplane. The other contender is Grant Morton, who is reported to have jumped from a Wright Model B flying over Venice Beach, California sometime late in 1911. Morton's pilot was Phil Parmalee.[1]
On 1 March 1912, Berry jumped from a Benoist pusher biplane from 1,500 feet (457 m) and landed successfully at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. The pilot was Tony Jannus. The 36 foot (11 m) diameter parachute was contained in a metal canister attached to the underside of the plane - when Berry dropped from the plane his weight pulled the parachute from the canister. Rather than being attached to the parachute by a harness Berry was seated on a trapeze bar. According to Berry he dropped 400 feet (152 m) before the parachute opened.
- "Jefferson Barracks". Archived from the original on 5 September 2006. Retrieved 20 October 2006.
- "Early History". Australian Parachute Federation. Archived from the original on 17 October 2006. Retrieved 20 October 2006.
|This biographical article related to aviation is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.


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It's Memorial Day weekend! Hurrah! This long weekend always feels like the unofficial start of summer. Last year I was 39 weeks pregnant, praying like crazy I would go into labor (no such luck). This year I'm thrilled that all I have to do is kick back and relax by the pool.
For some reason I'm more excited about summer than usual. I'm bursting with plans for big adventures. Perhaps it's not having a newborn? Maybe I'm just ready to get out of the house? This picnic blanket was made to inspire summer outings and to capture the memories. My goal is to keep the blanket (and fabric pens) in the car so that every time it comes out we decorate a new square. Then at the end of the summer we can look back over our adventures. And it's a lot of squares!
Summer Memory DIY Picnic Blanket
The windowpane idea was inspired by a Kate Spade Saturday beach blanket. I would go crazy trying to make tiny squares so we went big. Henry decorated the first window with a big H for Henry. Caroline – my budding artist – loves it. And I figure at the very least it might distract Sam from eating the grass.
- Plain blanket – mine was a 9×12 drop cloth from Home Depot
- Masking tape
- Tape measure
- Black paint
- Foam brush
The Home Depot drop cloth was so far from being square that it was comical. So I don't have exact measurements to share because I'm sure every one is different. But my stepdad is a math whiz, and he created a grid for 24 roughly equal squares with masking tape.
We did one half of the blanket first (12 squares) so the lines would be easier to manage. First we used tape to mark the line that would be painted. Then we laid out another piece of tape on either side of that tape and pulled up the middle piece to expose the fabric. Finally we painted the middle line black and pulled up all of the tape.
Now to come up with a list of summer adventures. Strawberry picking is first on the list I think. And I love these 50 ideas from Real Simple – they ought to keep us busy!


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ACLU, alan robertson, america, atheist, atheists, barna group, bible, bigotry, britain, charity, child abuse, christian, christian nation, christmas, climate, college, creation museum, crime, da vinci code, debate, duck dynasty, duggar family, education, evangelism, ex-muslims, FFRF, godless, gospel coalition, hate, helplessness, IERA, iowa, jennifer knapp, jewish, ken ham, law, megachurch, mississippi, monotheism, mormon temple, mosque, muslim gospel, myths, palestine, pat robertson, poll, pope francis, prayer, pseudo-science, reality, religion, right-wingers, ron reagan, science, skeptics, spiritual, taxes, tea party, trauma, tulsa, TV, vatican, voting, war on religion, YEC
Christians 'Watch More TV' in US Than Other Believers and Those of No Faith
Practicing Christians tend to watch more television than non-Christians a new study by the Barna Group across the United States has found. Barna, a California-based faith research company, asked adults 18 and older what TV shows they watch – and if they're watching at all. "Friends was the sitcom that brought Gen-Xers and Boomers together more than a decade ago. "In 2014,The Big Bang Theory is the sitcom that brings Millennials and Gen-Xers and Boomers -and even a significant number of Elders -together. [Read more]
UN Committee Against Torture Criticises Vatican Failures on Child Abuse
The UN Committee Against Torture has criticised the Vatican (in its guise as The Holy See) for several failures in its handling of the child abuse scandal. The Vatican is a signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture and has been questioned by the Committee as part of its regular examination of those states that have ratified the treaty. The subsequent report, published on 23 May by the Committee Against Torture is critical of the Vatican's failures. Earlier this year, the Vatican was similarly scrutinised by the Committee on the Rights of the Child. [Read more]
Even an Increasingly Godless America Doesn't Trust an Atheist to Run the Country
Atheists are one of the fastest growing groups in the world. At the same time, the latest Pew poll shows that they're the most distrusted group in America, and Americans would be less likely to support a Godless presidential candidate than an unfaithful or a pot-smoking one. These trends don't contradict each other in the slightest, and I'd argue that the mistrust is both a consequence and a cause of the rapid decline of religiosity in the U.S. Atheism is gaining, steadily and sometimes with remarkable rapidity, and it's not at all surprising that this rise meets resistance and fear. [Read more]
Religion as Theater
If people think of church as theater they can assume the speech is a role, a lie even. It doesn't matter if the pastor is spouting bullshit if you think of them as an actor. Daniel Dennett shows keen insight here. Atheists wonder why we are told to lie when it is a sin to lie. This dissonance is suspended by many when they consider church theater. Atheists use conferences as a kind of revival and community building with well known and "visiting" speakers adding to the mix. It is still a theater as we never agree with everything a speaker says but we support them anyway as close enough. [Read more]
The Myth of a 'War on Religion'
Last week, the Public Religion Research Institute published a study showing that Americans want their fellow citizens to think they are more religiously observant than they really are. When asked by a live human being on the telephone how often they attend religious services, respondents were more likely to say they attend frequently. When filling out a self-administered online survey, by contrast, they were more likely to admit that they do not. Surprising? Not terribly. But this may be: Liberals were more likely to exaggerate their religious attendance than conservatives. [Read more]
Alan Robertson of 'Duck Dynasty': My Father Phil Is a '21st Century Prophet'
Phil Robertson of the A&E reality TV show "Duck Dynasty" is oftentimes compared to John the Baptist for speaking about the Gospel unapologetically, said his son, Alan Robertson. Alan, a guest speaker at the Family Research Council's "Watchmen on the Wall 2014" event on Thursday, addressed a crowd of hundreds of pastors to encourage them to continue preaching the Gospel without compromise – much like his family is known to do on their show. [Read more]
Megachurch Pastors Leave Reformed Evangelical Network Amid Child Abuse Scandal
Two pastors have left a Reformed evangelical group after a pastor from the Maryland megachurch they oversaw confessed to covering up sex abuse claims, the latest chapter in a public struggle over evangelicals coming to terms with abuse within their ranks. Pastors Joshua Harris and C.J. Mahaney left the leadership council of The Gospel Coalition, a central hub for the Reformed evangelical movement, after a trial involving child abuse at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Md., which both men have overseen. A criminal trial that concluded last week raised questions about what pastors at Covenant Life knew about the abuse and why steps weren't taken to stop it. [Read more]
What is Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome? Part One
Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome (PTCS) is a spiritual injury that is every bit as real and painful–sometimes more so!—as physical injury or mental illness. Instead of referring to a broken body or mind, PTCS signals a broken, battered, or bruised spirit. A much harder thing to see than a crushed spine, sure—but just as capable of paralyzing you. PTCS is a name for a shared experience of spiritual woundedness. [Read more]
Religion and Learned Helplessness
Too many anthropologists, psychologists, and sociologists have excused the bibles as being reasonable exhortations for impulse control and moral cohesion. Considering the bibles have 600-800 laws one should obey, controlling your every breath and action, impossible to obey all, the real message is to keep people in a constant state of shame, guilt, and control. To immobilize them so they may be further controlled at will in any direction. It gets worse when they demand you have absolute free will to change what you cannot. [Read more]
New Report: Evangelising Hate – Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA)
A new report from the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain "Evangelising Hate" exposes the Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA) as a Hate Group. You can read the report here. Whilst iERA purports to be a missionary-like charitable organisation, it is in fact a "soft Islamist" group, which acts as the Islamist movement's public relations arm by promoting and normalising Islamist values and norms, including inciting hatred against ex-Muslims, gays, Jews, women, non Muslims and a majority of Muslims who do not share their values. [Read more]
Duggars, Duck Dynasty Publisher to Release Memoir of Christian Singer Turned Gay Activist
The same publishing company that has released titles by members of the Robertson family of "Duck Dynasty" and the Duggar family of "19 and Counting" will release a title by a former Christian contemporary artist who announced in 2010 that she was a lesbian. According to the Howard Books website page for Facing the Music: Discovering Real Life, Real Love, and Real Faith, the memoir will be released in October. "Jennifer Knapp's meteoric rise in the Christian music industry ended abruptly when she walked away and came out publicly as a lesbian…." [Read more]
"Muslim Gospel" Revealing the "Christian Truth" Excites the Da Vinci Code Set
In Amsterdam in 1709, philosopher John Toland set his eyes upon a remarkable manuscript—what he described in Nazarenus as "a Mahometan [i.e., Muslim] Gospel, never before publicly made known among Christians." Associated with the apostle Barnabas, the text essentially retold the life of Jesus in terms familiar from the New Testament, but with some major departures. [Read more]
In Tea Party Senate Candidate's Dissertation, A Nostalgia for a Populist Christian Nation
Ben Sasse, winner of last week's Republican Senate primary in Nebraska and likely the next senator from that state, is a Tea Party hero with an unusual credential: a PhD in history from Yale. Sasse—a proud anti-choice activist, homeschooler, and opponent of Obamacare and its "entire failed worldview"—bills himself as an outsider to politics, with an expertise in "business turnaround projects" for such powerhouses as Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey and Company. [Read more]
People Would Rather Vote for a Cheater Than an Atheist
In the history of U.S. Presidents, none have been avowed atheists — despite the fact that Presidents Jefferson, Taft, Lincoln and Obama have been questioned about their beliefs. Also as of 2013, there were no "out" atheists in the current Congress, according to Huffington Post. (Former congressman, Barney Frank has stated since leaving office that he does not believe in god, and former Representative Pete Stark, was the only out atheist in congress until 2012.) [Read more]
How Right-Wingers Are Amping Up Their War on Science and Reality
No longer content just to claim to be "skeptical" of scientific findings they find disagreeable, Republican politicians have moved on to a more alarming anti-science strategy: confuse the public about what science even is, claiming it's just someone's opinion and ignoring the importance of evidence. Marco Rubio's recent remarks about climate change epitomize this new era, with conservative politicians deciding that "science" is whatever they say it is. [Read more]
Ex-Muslims Call for Islamic Education Charity to be Classified as a "Hate Group"
A report published by the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) has accused the Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA) of being a "soft Islamist" group, and has called for its charitable status to be withdrawn. The iERA describes itself as an international organisation "committed to educating and informing humanity about, and inviting to, the truth and noble message of Islam." The report published by CEMB, entitled "Evangelising Hate", accuses the group of using the rights language of diversity, tolerance and inter-faith dialogue to promote and normalise "Islamist values and norms". [Read more]
Group Decries Iowa Funding for Bible-Themed Park
A national group says Iowa shouldn't fund a planned Christian-themed park in Sioux City and should take back a $140,000 grant. The Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation said in a letter to Iowa officials last week that giving grant money to The Shepherd's Garden violates the U.S. and Iowa constitutions. "Clearly, this is a violation of the First Amendment," Andrew L. Seidel, the foundation's staff attorney, told the Sioux City Journal on Wednesday. "It couldn't be more clear that what they're trying to do is promote religion with a park. If it were just a park, we wouldn't have any problem with it." [Read more]
Neil deGrasse Tyson Slams CNN for Its Stupidity on Climate Change
Neil deGrasse Tyson is not putting up with the media's terrible coverage of climate change. He is especially not putting up with their continued insistence that climate change is up for debate. Recently, CNN invited science advocate Bill Nye to its popular show "Crossfire" to debate climate change. But why would climate change even be up for debate? [Read more]
Mississippi Religious Law Seen as Polarizing by Rights Groups
The "Mississippi Religious Freedom Restoration Act" signed last week by Gov. Phil Bryant is worrying civil liberties and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights groups. The Senate Bill 2681 will become law July 1 when it in enacted. It was passed by the Mississippi Senate by a vote of 48-0 and will also amend the state seal to include the phrase, "In God we trust." Civil liberties and LGBT rights groups are opposing the bill, which they claim will legalize state-sanctioned discrimination against gays and lesbians. [Read more]
Court Blocks Birth Control Mandate for Two Christian Colleges
A federal court has blocked the Department of Health and Human Services from enforcing its birth control mandate on two Christian colleges, Dordt College in Iowa and Cornerstone University in Michigan, while their cases move forward. The preliminary injunction was granted for three reasons, U.S. District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett wrote: 1) The plaintiffs, Dordt and Cornerstone, "may suffer irreparable harm" because "they would be forced to comply" with the birth control mandate "to the detriment of their religious exercise." [Read more]
Skeptics Will Always Face an Uphill Struggle Against Pseudoscience
If the scientific skepticism movement were to choose a mascot, we could do a lot worse than Sisyphus: the figure from Greek mythology doomed by the gods to spend eternity pushing a boulder uphill, only to watch it roll back down again the moment he rests. Few other analogies really capture the frustrations and seeming futility of counteracting a widely held pseudoscientific belief. Perhaps worse, it is not enough for us merely to push back against the outrageous claims of pseudoscience, and those who capitalise on the bereaved and the vulnerable (whether knowingly or unknowingly) – we also have to do so responsibly. [Read more]
Freedom From Religion Ad by Ron Reagan Airs on Comedy Central
The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation is sponsoring a commercial featuring Ron Reagan on Comedy Central Thursday night, where he concludes with: "Ron Reagan. Lifelong atheist. Not afraid of burning in hell." The son of President Ronald Reagan has long been an outspoken atheist and is an honorary officer of FFRF. [Read more]
Hot Science News About the Creation Museum
The PhysOrg website — now named Phys.org, formerly Physorg.com — where we go for science news, breaks new ground today by posting an article about the infamous, mind-boggling Creation Museum, which is run by Answers in Genesis (AIG), the on-line ministry of Ken Ham (ol' Hambo), the ayatollah of Appalachia. The PhysOrg headline is Dino skeleton to go on display at Creation Museum. [Read more]
Don't Vote for Bigots! Why Atheists Shouldn't Vote for Anti-Atheist Bigots
You can't assume that just because someone is politically and religiously liberal, then they don't share the anti-atheist bigotry which is so common in America. Such bigotry may be less common among liberals than among conservatives, but it's easy to find liberal Christians who are so full of self-righteous feelings of superiority that they dismiss atheists as having anything worth saying or contributing. [Read more]
Infographic: Is Britain a 'Christian Country'?
The British Humanist Association coordinated an open letter, signed by more than 50 public figures, including authors, scientists, broadcasters, campaigners and comedians, who wrote to the Prime Minister to challenge his statement that Britain was a Christian country. [Read more]
American Atheists Denied Standing To Challenge Church Tax Breaks
The institutions most sheltered from taxation are churches. L. Ron Hubbard is reputed to have said "You won't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich start a religion". The religion he started, Scientology, fought a veritable "Thirty Years War" with the IRS to maintain its church status. [Read more]
Atheists Conduct Friendly March Around Mormon Temple Square
The sky grew angry over some 75 atheists as they assembled to march around downtown Salt Lake City's Temple Square during the LDS Church's General Conference. But the gathering storm had nothing to do with the wrath of the Almighty, according to the nonbelievers, because there is no God. [Read more]
Court Ruling Raises Eyebrows at Liberty Counsel
Atheist group American Atheists filed suit in Kentucky federal court claiming that giving religious groups and pastors tax exemptions discriminates against atheists. The court disagreed, ruling that atheists can't claim discrimination because they had not applied and been rejected for the same benefits. [Read more]
Ken Ham Challenges Pat Robertson To A Debate On Young Earth Creationism
Creation Museum founder Ken Ham is once again furious that Pat Robertson has mocked proponents of Young Earth Creationism, and now wants to appear on the "700 Club" to debate the televangelist. Ham, who recently held a debate with Bill Nye, said in a blog post today that he is willing to debate Robertson either on the "700 Club" or at Regent University, the school founded by Robertson. [Read more]
Twitter Agrees to Block 'Blasphemous' Tweets in Pakistan
At least five times this month, a Pakistani bureaucrat who works from a colonial-era barracks in Karachi, just down the street from the former home of his country's secularist founder, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, asked Twitter to shield his compatriots from exposure to accounts, tweets or searches of the social network that he described as "blasphemous" or "unethical." [Read more]
Appeals Court Rules Against Tulsa Officer in Mosque Lawsuit
An appeals court ruled Thursday that top Tulsa police officials didn't violate a Tulsa police officer's rights by punishing him for disobeying an order to attend or send subordinates to an Islamic mosque event. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 against Capt. Paul Fields' claim that the punishment — 10 days of suspension from duty without pay — violated his religious rights. [Read more]
Jewish Troops Get New Prayer Book
Jewish soldiers and sailors will read from a new prayer book this Memorial Day, one that aims to satisfy Jews across the spectrum of Jewish practice — a feat its predecessor did not achieve. [Read more]
Christmas Bill Goes to Governor
Louisiana's public schools will be given explicit authority to put up nativity scenes and Christmas trees as part of a holiday display, under a bill that received final passage with a unanimous Senate vote Thursday. [Read more]
ACLU And Americans United Say Va. County Board May Not Permit Only Ministers Ordained By Monotheistic Religions To Open Meetings
U.S. Supreme Court Ruling That Permits Pre-Meeting Prayer Does Not Authorize Chesterfield's Discriminatory Policy, Civil Liberties Groups Say [Press Release]
Palestine Refugees Hope Pope Francis Visit To Camp Will Highlight Worsening Conditions
ope Francis will spend less than half an hour in this Palestinian refugee camp during a jam-packed Holy Land tour this weekend, but residents hope even a brief visit will shine a light on what they say is their forgotten plight. Some 190,000 of the West Bank's 2.4 million Palestinians live in refugee camps and face tougher conditions – including higher unemployment and overcrowding – than their neighbors in towns and villages. [Read more]
How Moderate Should Atheists Be? How Should Atheists Be Less Extreme?
Many religious theists would like atheists to be more "moderate" in their criticisms of religion, religious beliefs, and theism. They contend that atheists are too intolerant of religion and should show more respect to religious beliefs. [Read more]


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Filtering by:Insurance
Cancer Patients May Not Be Told About Costs of Genomic Testing
As of 2016, more than 200 targeted therapies (also called precision medicines) were available in the United States, and more than 2,000 were in the last stages of development—half of them to treat cancer. For many of these drugs, doctors first use genomic testing of the cancer cells to get an idea of whether the treatment will work. Yet, nearly 1 in 4 oncologists rarely or never mention costs when they talk about the need for genomic testing with their cancer patients, according to a new study led by American Cancer Society (ACS) investigators.
Breast Cancer Patients Make Recommendations to Address High Health Care Costs
Breast cancer patients, especially if they have lymphedema, face an especially high cost of health care according to authors of a paper published March 6, 2019 in Cancer, a peer-reviewed medical journal of the American Cancer Society.
Cancer Survivors Face Significant Financial Problems
Cancer survivors are more likely than people with no cancer history to have money-related problems due to medical bills according to a study published in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.
Year in Review: Cancer Research Insights from 2018
Read highlights about American Cancer Society research from 2018.
Study: ACA and Medicaid Expansion Drops Number of Uninsured and Lowers Disparities in Some States
A study by American Cancer Society researchers was recently published in JAMA Oncology. Researchers found that the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion dropped the number of uninsured patients in all states. States with Medicaid expansion saw access-to-care disparities diminish dramatically.
The ACS Blueprint: A Vision for Reducing Deaths from Cancer
The American Cancer Society Cancer Control Blueprint—introduced by an interview with Otis W. Brawley, MD, MACP, chief medical and scientific officer of the ACS. The blueprint, says Brawley, is both a celebration of our progress against cancer and a call to action to do even better.
Patient Navigators Help Cancer Patients Manage Care
Receiving support from a patient navigator can make a difference in the way newly diagnosed cancer patients feel about their care.
Tracking How Health Care System Changes Are Impacting Cancer Care
New research funded by the American Cancer Society is studying whether the integration of health care through accountable care organizations helps or changes cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship.


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How to Cure Sleep Apnea: 4 Non-CPAP Remedies
Untreated or poorly treated sleep apnea leaves you tired all the time and suffering from excessive daytime sleepiness and other sleep apnea symptoms. Use of the continuous positive airway pressure device or CPAP mask has been the gold standard of cures for sleep apnea over the past 25 years. But … Read More


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Pacific Aria deck 22 plan (MS Ryndam deck 13)
Deck layout and review
Review of Pacific Aria deck 22 (MS Ryndam deck 13)
- Sky Deck
- Commonly known as the "teen deck", Sky Deck's layout shows only The Oasis complex. This is the teenagers-only outdoor club area (capacity 45 seats) which is enclosed by a bamboo fence. Teens deck consists of Oasis pool (wading pool with sunbathing area), shaded seating (loungers, hammocks), metal palm trees (functioning as lamps). The ship's top deck is accessible only by stairs, from the Club HAL kids area located aft on Sports Deck 12 below.


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July 20 – HIRAM, Ohio – Recent Hiram College men's basketball graduate, Joe Zoltowski, has been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court, announced the NABC this week.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be a member of the varsity squad and have been either a junior or senior during the 2016-17 season. Additionally, the student-athlete must hold a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher at the conclusion of the academic year.
For the second-consecutive year, Zoltowski was named the captain of the men's basketball team, an honor which is bestowed on players following the conclusion of the season. Zoltowski appeared in 18 games while making one start. He finished the season shooting .737 from the charity stripe.
A former biology major, Joe changed majors to economics and flourished, earning the Allyn A Young award for excellence in economics, twice. This honor marks the second NABC Honors Court award in his career while also earning North Coast Athletic Conference Scholar Athlete honors, four times. In addition, he was also named Hiram's William H. Hollinger Male Scholar Athlete of the Year.
"Joe was everything we want players in our program to be," remarked head coach Chris Kibler. "A two-time captain, he was very instrumental in establishing our program's culture over the past four years. If his academic accomplishments are any indication, Joe is going to be very successful in whatever he does."
Graduating in May with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Zoltowski finished his Hiram career with a 3.8 grade-point average. He currently works for State Farm in Beachwood, Ohio with aspirations of opening his own agency in the future.
For more information about the NABC Honors Court, click here.


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Mashup Mondays is shangoo's official weekly newsletter focussing on sneakers, music and places. In addition to general announcements from shangoo, Mashup Mondays gives you news and insights on:
Fresh-Out-The-Box!! shangoo's releases of fresh, classic, remastered retro sneakers takes place every second and last Saturday of the month.
Get all the information you need on sneaker release dates by signing up to our Mash Up Monday weekly newsletter, visiting www.shangoo.co.za or the physical store at 10 Van Beek Street In Maboneng, and also following us on Facebook,Twitter, Instagram and Google+.
How well do you know your sneakers? Every Wednesday shangoo posts a slightly altered image of a sneaker and asks its social media community to identify the sneaker. It's shockingly simple, all you have to do is:
To gain access to "What Are Those Wednesday" follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.


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I finally completed Cheri's sampler quilt. I kept it fun and prim!
Patchwork backing, as usual.
We were in Bend on Saturday after a race and stopped by Quiltworks for a final look (my kids' first look) at the medallion exhibit. Thank you to those who were able to enter and commit for a month of viewing. Marilyn says it has been a big hit!
We will be doing to the final reveal of Fall Festival on Friday. Or whatever you have completed. We'd love to see it, even if it isn't completely done. Send me a photo or plan on adding your link!


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Thursday, August 9, 2012
5 Surprising Lessons I Learned About Being An Artist On a Major Label
10 comments:
Meg, what a great blog! After supporting so many independent artists and signed artists that get bare minimum promotions... you are right on the money on all points especially with the connecting with your fans! that's what usually connects me more to the artists and their music is their the connection of communication during meet and greets and social networking!ReplyDelete
PS- I'm really glad you're starting to do more new music again.. really love what i'm hearing so far! hope you'll have a show in the DC/VA area sometime in the near future! would love to see you again!
Really interesting! I thought number 3 was particularly insightful. And I also loved all the metaphors you used :)ReplyDelete
I feel like this is the kind of thing you would like to put in a time machine and send to the "past you" to read.
All in all. "Here, Here, and Here" is still one of my favorite albums :)
I'd love to hear a more in-depth explanation on everything that happened with HH&H.ReplyDelete
Honestly, I think the mixing and mastering done on the album as a whole were grade A. I feel it's a very cohesive and well-put album. Severely underrated and with the right push could've been a smash sophomore record. I respect Howard Benson but his tracks tend to be on the louder bordering obnoxious side so that bothered me a bit. To this very day, I love the album to death. Extremely saddened that a show you had in little McAllen, Texas was never rescheduled as I am still dying to hear that album live beginning to end.
Hope you have been well. Wish you the best. :)
awesome post! i doubt i'll be getting a record deal anytime soon but awesome post none-the-less!ReplyDeleteReplies
Good news is you don't need a record label. We are in the 21st century lady, and the interweb is alive and well!Delete
Some musicians I am following and supporting have gone the Kickstarter.com and PledgeMusic.com route to crowd-finance their album projects. But even so, they had to build some name recognition and interest first in many possible ways which Meg has already mentioned.Delete
Previous blog posts by Meg and Dia (I have read them all :)) have made clear just how much hardship and plain hard work was, and still is, involved.
I never used to think about what it takes for all the touring bands that come through my city to perform. I now have a much greater appreciation and admiration after reading Meg's and Dia's blogs.
Really interesting to hear about what it was like during "Here, Here, and Here," that was my favourite album :)ReplyDelete
"Here, Here, and Here" was always my least favorite album. I bought it the day it hit stores, and after listening to it, I just thought, 'this doesn't sound like them...' I mean it did, but it didn't, you know? I still listen to it and enjoy it, but you can definitely tell that the band was less involved with it.ReplyDelete
Love it. Ur an amazing writer. Paddle like a crazy woman! :)ReplyDelete
I'm curious whether you found the stereotypes of record company executives being "Corporate Weasels" (as David Letterman would say) to be true? I've always assumed that they are looking to make the next "Johnny Bravo" (old Brady Bunch reference) and not really interested in taking a chance on something new and different.ReplyDelete


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Read this tip to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Shots Required for Puppies and other Puppy topics.
Parvo is a virus common to puppies, but it can attack dogs of all ages. Since a dog with parvo can quickly die of dehydration or heart failure without treatment, this virus is definitely nothing to fool around with. The good news is that puppies that get parvo and are treated quickly will usually live. The bad news is that they will not be immune to the virus once they have it and could catch it again.
The parvo vaccine is usually given as part of a combination shot DHLPP series that puppies get between six weeks and three months of age. Some vets also recommend getting a parvo vaccine booster at six months of age and would like owners to continue bringing their pets in for this booster shot every six months throughout the dogs' lives. This is because parvo just doesn't give a long immunity like other vaccines.
To protect your new puppy from parvo, you should:
|Guru Spotlight
|Barbara Gibson


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Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first MLive.com user to add photos or videos of Larry Reimann Real Estate Appraisals
Larry Reimann Real Estate Appraisals is located at 903 N Jackson St, Bay City, MI. This business specializes in Real Estate Appraisal.


text: Imagine LA facilitates a mentorship program that matches families exiting homelessness with volunteer teams from faith communities, corporations, and other committed organizations. Together, they progress through a 1-2 year program that teaches life skills, aids the families in accessing resources, instills confidence and allows every member of the family to thrive. To volunteer, click here.


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In an attempt to update alumni directories, the TPS Foundation has hired Texas-based PCI to contact graduates from all Toledo Public Schools high schools except Scott, which completed such a directory just a few years ago.
The first step in this process is through mailings of several postcards, which are now landing in the mailboxes of TPS graduates. The postcards are signed by Dr. Romules Durant, CEO/superintendent of Toledo Public Schools. This project is legitimate and supported by the district and the Foundation as a way to find as many members of the TPS Proud Nation as possible.
If there are any questions, please contact the TPS Communications Office at 419-671-0440. Again, this project will cover the TPS comprehensive high schools - Bowsher, Rogers, Start, Waite and Woodward - as well as the closed schools of DeVilbiss, Libbey and Macomber.
Posted on May 9, 2017


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If you are interested in any of these auction prizes, please let us know by 12 noon Monday 19th March.
Leave your name and contact details and we will call you back to discuss how we can bid on your behalf for your preferred item.
Michelin Star Chef in your home
Kev j Broome never achieved his ambition of becoming the fifth member of the icon Manchester indie band The Smiths while simultaneously holding the WBC middle weight Boxing title. Instead, he found his true calling in the hot fast paced top kitchens and became the youngest chef in the world at the time to gain a Michelin star – which soon followed up with another. Great Food is in his blood.
Your experience with a Michelin Star Chef
Five course dinner for 8 people in your own home
Course one….Chefs surprise appetiser…
Course two…..Starters ( example) Twice baked hot lobster soufflé , cream leeks, lobster sauce.
Course three…Main course (example)
Chargrilled rump of English lamb with rosemary & garlic
Chargrilled Mediterranean vegetables tart, jus of tapenade.
Course four….Puddings & dessert ( example) Poached pears in melting butterscotch toffee pastry case
Course five ….Cheese course on the slate with home olive breads & onion marmalade
Kev is also an award winning cheese writer and judged at the prestigious Great British Cheese Awards .
Aston Martin Behind the Scenes Tour
Aston Martin are delighted to offer a behind the scenes tour of the Aston Martin factory in Gaydon, Warickshire.
For the lucky winner and five friends, Aston Martin opens its doors for an exclusive opportunity to experience our state-of-the-art global headquarters, in the heart of England's Warwickshire. A member of the Aston Martin, Walton on Thames team will take you on an expert-led tour of the production facility, with unparalleled access and insight into the immaculate craftsmanship, precision and quality techniques that go into every Aston Martin car.
Your experience will begin with a retrospective of Aston Martin's wonderful heritage, featuring a historical product line-up. You'll hear about the fascinating design and business developments throughout our 104 – year history. As you enter the factory, you will witness every step of the car-building process from start to finish, and observe the expert craftsmen and women as they undertake the meticulous processes involved in creating the world's most luxurious sports cars.
This exclusive experience gives you a rare behind-the-scenes view of the home of Aston Martin, normally reserved for customers only. Bringing you closer to Aston Martin than ever before.
An Aston Martin year book (£100 RRP) and baseball cap are also included in the prize.
Rolls Royce and Coworth Park Afternoon Tea
Offering over 50 years of Prestige car experience Maranello Surrey are delighted to offer a day for two exhibiting iconic symbols of British luxury: Rolls Royce and Tea at Coworth Park, Ascot.
Boasting a vast estate which can be enjoyed on a walk or through the vista of the Drawing Room windows, Coworth Park is synonymous with luxury and attention to detail. Cosy in deep armchairs and in front of fireplaces as you experience the best of the British Afternoon Tea tradition.
Experience luxury brands at their best and enjoy a chauffeur driven Rolls Royce to Coworth Park and home again at the end of your day.
The Wisley Golf Club 3 Ball
The Wisley consists of three loops of nine holes and is consistently ranked amongst the best courses in the country. Originally designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jnr, the quality of the course is second to none.
The greenkeepers rank amongst the finest, and the ration of greenkeepers to holes reflects the attention to detail and hardwork that goes into maintaining the course.
We pride ourselves on the condition of the course. Whether you're hitting from the fairway or the rough, every detail has been considered to provide you with the right sort of challenge for an enjoyable and rewarding round of golf. The day includes breakfast and hosting.
Ruud van Nistelrooy Manchester United signed shirt
Van Nistelrooy hit 150 goals in just 219 games for United, as well as becoming, at the time, their all time European record goal scorer. During his time at United he was instrumental in securing the Premier League, FA Cup, Football League Cup and FA Community Shield, along with winning the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year twice.
A true United legend, this Ruud van Nistelrooy framed, signed shirt is a must for any true fan of United and the sport of football.


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Scrum, XP, and Kanban are familiar agile methods. Now in the second decade of their adoption, agile methods continue to help organizations worldwide respond to change and shorten the time to deliver value. An overwhelming 88 percent of executives cite organizational agility as key to global success. So, in recent years, many have begun scaling their early agile adoptions beyond individual teams to programs, portfolios, and the enterprise. Even though today's scaling techniques are not yet fully understood, new scaling frameworks continue to emerge. Join Sanjiv Augustine to explore this exciting area and discover approaches to scale agile in a way that makes the best sense for your organization. Learn about scaling frameworks including the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Large-Scale Scrum (LeSS), as well as the simple Scrum-of-Scrums meeting. Join Sanjiv to explore how you can develop a straightforward scaling strategy for your organization.
Sanjiv Augustine
Sanjiv Augustine is an entrepreneur, industry-leading agile and lean expert, author, speaker, management consultant and trainer. With 25 years in the industry, Sanjiv has served as a trusted advisor over the past 15 years to executives and management at leading firms including: Capital One, The Capital Group, CNBC, Comcast, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, General Dynamics, HCA Healthcare, The Motley Fool, National Geographic, Nationwide Insurance, Walmart and Samsung. Sanjiv is the author of the book Managing Agile Projects (Prentice Hall 2005) and several publications including "Transitioning to Agile Project Management" and "The Lean-Agile PMO: Using Lean Thinking to Accelerate Agile Project Delivery." He is the Chair of the Agile Alliance's Agile Executive Forum and the founder and moderator of the Lean Startup in the Enterprise Meetup. Sanjiv was also a founder and advisory board member of the Agile Leadership Network (ALN), and a founder member of the Project Management Institute's Agile Community of Practice.


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Do you ever have one of those days where you wonder how the hell we've been evolving for so many years and yet everyone is still somehow so dumb? Yes, you say? Well, then you know how I feel.
We got two cases yesterday, one is an 85 year old woman that died in a hospital ER, and the other one is a 40-something year old that died as an inpatient. So, when someone dies in the ER the coroner has to be notified and they issue a number to the case and release the body so that the mortuary can pick it up. If they died in the ER of something like a car accident or shooting or something the deceased would obviously go to be autopsied, but a vast majority of the ER deaths are people that are taken in already in the process of dying (like with old people). So, the 85 year old died yesterday, and the idiot coroner won't let us take her until they have word from her doctor that she was supposed to die. WTF? She's fracking 85!! She was dying at home and the paramedics tried to resuscitate her while in route to the hospital and couldn't, so she died. I'm going to be even more pissed when her death certificate comes back reading that she had COPD for years or something.
Then the 40-something year old that had been a resident of the hospital for a couple of weeks is being autopsied by the coroner for who knows what reason. You don't get to live in a hospital when you're healthy, obviously there was something wrong with her, and I doubt that the hospital didn't know what she was sick from and what killed her. She was being treated for Christ's sake.
Am I asking too much? Sometimes, even though I know I'm not, I just can't help but wonder…
On a lighter note, my co-worker, Buck and I have been singing Doris Day all afternoon. She's my favorite singer of all time, and the title of the post is one of her awesome songs.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Don't sit under the apple tree
Do you ever have one of those days where you wonder how the hell we've been evolving for so many years and yet everyone is still somehow so dumb? Yes, you say? Well, then you know how I feel.
Posted by Doll Face at 3:47 PM 1 comments
Labels: annoyances, funeral
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Good days
Yesterday I drove home with the windows down and the music blaring. It was the best. I think it was about 107 degrees out (I adore the heat), I had burned a new cd at work and had my current favorite song on, and was in a great mood. I picked up Clementine from my sister's house and we went to the dollar store so that she could pick out five things as a reward for cleaning her whole room without being asked (which is a HUGE feat for a 2.5 year old and warrants positive reinforcement). She went ape shit about getting to choose five things, especially when she saw all the skeletons that were hanging up in the Halloween display (not sure why she is so into skulls and the sort). Anyway, we left there with toys that included a bright pink pair of plastic high heels, which she promptly put on and fell over in.
My bff came over, she gets her hair done in my town even though she lives an hour away (red hair = tons of upkeep), and she finished at about six, so she and I made some kick ass tri-tip tacos and had martinis while watching reruns of Bones. Fun times.
Today is awesome as well, I've been meeting with families and looking at my favorite artist's (sorry, mom) website, wishing I was wealthy enough to get one of his prints. Maybe when I'm older…
Posted by Doll Face at 11:06 AM 2 comments
Labels: personal
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Love, Me
I received an email last week from a gal asking me to participate in a blog post today. After reading the email (and replying just to see if it was some sort of scam) I decided that even though it wasn't really "my thing" I would do it. She asked me to write a love letter to myself, and the more I thought about it the more I wanted to do it, and there are a few other gals doing it as well. See, I tend to be fairly self-confidant, but as I was thinking about it I'm not sure why I am that way. What is it about myself that I love? Why do I love those things? Anyway, here it is, my love letter to myself:
My Dearest Darling,
I have been thinking about you this week, tying to decide what I could possible tell you to let you know how awesome I think you are. It's funny though, I can't seem to find the right words. Since I've actually always liked that I'm good at lists, here is what I've come up with so far:
1. Your compassion. It isn't always your best quality, but when you show compassion there's no end to the care that you will give someone.
2. Your artistic abilities. You are always patient and meticulous in your artistic endeavors, whether it's drawing a picture or rebuilding a face, you always do a good job.
3. Your ability to not be ashamed. Mostly I'm referring to the tramp stamp you got years ago, but you aren't ashamed of yourself, and even better, you aren't ashamed of your past self either.
4. Your friendliness. You have never met a stranger. Even when you sit next to someone at a bar that turns out to be super annoying and crazy, you can't help but make friends.
5. The way you walk in heels. You're just fracking sexy.
6. Your thoughtfulness. You always think of others, and whether it's a little gift you pick up for your sister, a note you mail to a friend, or a text message to your favorite uncle, you let people know they were thought of, and it means something to them.
7. And finally, your passion. The things you love, you love to the extreme. Your hobbies aren't just hobbies, they're your everything. You are relentless in your desire for what you cherish and love.
You are an awesome girl, Doll Face, and you will continue to be awesome for years to come.
Here are the others that are participating:
This is Where I Write - http://rantsnotdrugs.blogspot.com/
Ms. Bea's Helpful Hints Blog - http://msbeahaven.com/ms-beas-blog/
Twenty Twenty Hindsight - http://twentytwentyhindsight.com/
Rollertrain - http://rollertrain.tumblr.com/
Cherry Bomb - http://www.cherrybombnyc.com
Posted by Doll Face at 12:00 PM 2 comments
Labels: importance, personal
Monday, July 27, 2009
A little sad
Every year for Christmas my parents have an "open door" policy of sorts. We have always had the immediate family do the Christmas Eve thing, where we open our gifts and hang out, and then Christmas morning is super laid-back (except for my mom who cooks kick-ass Swedish pancakes and bacon and sausage) and we all open stockings. So every year there are random people over for Christmas morning, friends, co-workers, whoever wants to come over, and we always have extra stockings for people that just show up. It seems weird I suppose, that this huge holiday is always spent with people that we might not even know (aunts and uncles will also bring folks over that we have never met), but it really is awesome. It's one of those things that I hope I do when I'm old like my parents, just have an open door to anyone, even if it's Christmas.
Anyway, for the last five or six years our friends that we hang and drink with on weekends with the two daughters have come for Christmas, as their families are agnostic and don't really do Christmas, and it has been fun. The girls make it fun just because they're kids and it's tons of fun to shop for things to stuff their stockings, and their parents make it fun because they always seem to have this I-haven't-had-a-Christmas-this-fun-since-I-was-a-kid look on their faces when we sit down for breakfast. My mom says that her brothers would have a Swedish pancake eating contest every Christmas morning when they were younger, so I started that with the girls, complete with a trophy that gets engraved each year with the winner and their pancake number that whomever wins takes home, and it's just awesome.
So, this family that comes each year, they bring their (the dad's) mentally retarded uncle, Ben, from Oregon or somewhere, and he has a blast with us. He's not easy to understand, and every year we give him a blanket or something like that, not knowing him well enough to get him something truely thoughtful, but it's always nice to have him there, and the girls adore their great uncle, so good times are had by all. Anyway, Ben died today, after falling and breaking his neck last week, and it's just a bit sad. I'm sad for me, because I know that he's gone and it makes me wonder what happens next, I'm sad for the girls because while I believe in honesty with kids it sucks to have to actually be honest with them and tell them that he's just not coming back, I'm sad for my mom who was sad when I told her and I couldn't take that away from her, and I'm sad for the girls' parents who are going to miss him worse than the rest of us. Rest in peace, Ben, you will be missed.
Posted by Doll Face at 9:37 PM 4 comments
Labels: importance, personal
I had one of those families today that made me want to shoot someone. The son of the deceased was the only one to come in and make arrangements, and he was really nice, however, he was also very nervous. Now you might be thinking, "Of course he was nervous, Doll, I would be too if I were a sixty-something single man with no social skills and I was sitting across from you in that rockin' black with white pinstripes skirt suit and your new shoes," but this was different. He is one of those socially stunted guys that one often feels sorry for but can't seem to like anyway, that always makes people around him feel strange. Anyhoo, he was making arrangements for his father's funeral and it was all I could do to not tell him that I will be waiting in the office and to come get me when he could get through a sentence without interrupting himself so that we could get some work done.
And now that I'm writing it I feel bad because he's no longer here and not annoying the shit out of me, and his dad is dead, and I'm just complaining, but there it is, one little bit of myself that isn't perfect.
Posted by Doll Face at 3:51 PM 2 comments
Labels: annoyances, funeral
In which I realize I'm too old for drinking games
The hubby, daughter and I went to visit his parents this weekend. We own a house downtown in the town we lived in before and our renters moved out so we needed to go through the house and figure out what repairs needed to be done, as well as find new renters. We had put a sign up the weekend before and had a few people scheduled to come by and look at the place. It's an adorable house, a Craftsman bungalow built in 1917, and the neighborhood is awesome, so we haven't had any problems renting it (now if we could only get someone to buy it), and by 2 in the afternoon on Saturday we had it rented to a nice couple with two teenage sons. We are going back this weekend to show them how the pool pump works and to meet a repair guy there to replace a ceiling fan and a few lights. It's very strange being a landlord.
Anyway, we got to see some of our old neighbors which was nice. Its one of those neighborhoods where everyone knows everyone else, so we've been missed, as have they. The weather was perfect, probably about 98 or so on Saturday, so there were quite a few of the old neighbors out walking.
Hubby and I decided that we would go out Saturday night and let his parents hang with Clementine (our daughter). We called up the gal that we had hired as a receptionist at the funeral home that we used to work in and she said she was having a few friends over to play beer pong and hang out. She's pretty young, about 21 or 22, and all her friends that were there were young also, and this is what I realized:
1. I am not young anymore
2. Beer pong is not my Olympic sport
3. Coors/Miller/Bud are not my friends and make me appreciate my Costco brand microbrew multipack.
4. Our friend throwing the party, she is totally hot, but I forgot how hard it was for her to think. Funny though.
Sunday was nice, Clem stayed with the in-laws and hubby and I went back to the rental to have the new tenants sign the lease forms. The man renting the house is a farmer, he and his brother have vineyards about an hour away, as well as some large vineyards un in Napa, and he brought us a huge flat of the best grapes I've ever eaten.
Driving home from the in-laws we stopped in a town about an hour from our home so that I could go see the Harry Potter movie with one of my besties while Clem and daddy chilled at her house. One of her girlfriends came with us and we watched the movie (which was good) and then went out for a cocktail at the restaurant across the street. It was funny, we were sitting at the bar, looking quite a bit like Charlie's Angels (blonde, brunette, and a red head) and I asked my gals to wink at the older guy across the bar so that our martinis would get paid for. We all laughed, knowing that we'd never do it, and not two minutes later was one of the guys right next to us introducing himself and ordering a martini. He was telling us that it was one of his son's 21st birthday today and that he had been hanging out at the bar earlier and that we just missed him, then he bought our drinks, flirted relentlessly with us, and invited us over to his house for an 'after party.' We declined and thanked him for his generosity (they were top shelf) and told him that we hoped to run into him again. Anyway, that's about it for my weekend, and I should have a funeral-related post in a bit.
Posted by Doll Face at 10:28 AM 4 comments
Friday, July 24, 2009
New shoes
I had an extra fifteen minutes to kill today at lunch so I went to the Payless Shoe store down the street from the office and bought these bad girls for ten bucks:
Yay for shoes!!!
Posted by Doll Face at 1:19 PM 2 comments
Labels: lunch break, personal
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
A force to be reckoned with
It has been one of those days in which all my office work gets done by noon (which probably has a bit to do with the fact that Big Bird is back so there's little goofing off) and I don't have anything to do but get bodies ready and in their caskets. Jane came by and took Monica and me out to lunch (best Mexican food ever) and we came back to work full and lazy. The three of us ladies headed to the back to curl hair, put make-up on, and generally beautify the deceased cases in the dressing room. We soon finished and Monica and I decided to organize the cart that we keep all of our everyday tools/instruments/make-up on and integrate the things we bought at Target the other day. Jane made a comment that we needed to get one of those huge Craftsman tool things on wheels, which I would LOVE, but I told her I didn't want to ask for Boss to buy it for me. The cart I use now is old, and a bit small, but it works well enough. Anyhoo, Jane left the two of us girls and we started organizing. I cleaned all the brushes (both make-up and hair), instruments, and the cart, and she went through the make-up and tossed out the old stuff and labeled all the plastic drawers we keep the cosmetics in with what is in each drawer (this helps the boys either put things back where they belong or at least leave the stuff out that they used so that we can put them away later). We were unstoppable. If it was in the dressing room it got cleaned, organized, and put away. And to make it even better, Big Bird didn't come back to bug us once with questions about paperwork we have done the past two days while she's been out sick. Today = Awesome
Posted by Doll Face at 3:19 PM 0 comments
Monday, July 20, 2009
And I quote, "Yeah, I puked on my junk"
Okay, so at the end of the workday today, Buffy and I were discussing Big Bird being sick and how it's so nice that we got to have a relaxed, yet productive day. So, Tank chimed in and said that she's home with "the shits" and we all started laughing hysterically about it (just imagine a 62 year old, stick-up-my-ass, I-was-raised-by-Amish-folks-but-I'm-totally-not-judging-you-heathens type sitting on a toilet, let alone with "the shits"), as he finishes by telling us that she is also puking all day long, to which I say, "Oh is she? That sounds a lot like what Jane had on Friday (obviously insinuating that Jane (a lesbian and my best girl at work) was making out with Big Bird (a lesbian hater and a pain in my ass)), and we all start laughing even harder (I had tears). So Buffy starts in about the worst sicknesses we have all had, and we're sharing stories about vomit and diarrhea and all that stuff, and Buff shares this story:
"This one day, it was the wifey and my first, maybe second, Christmas as a married couple, and I had the stomach flu something fierce. I am sitting on the toilet with the worst butt-sickness ever, and I'm telling myself to not get that I-have-to-puke feeling, to no avail. So then I am thinking that I know I am gonna puke, and I had moved the trash can earlier to puke in, and I knew I couldn't try to get my ass off the toilet to puke in it, I would just end up making a shit mess on the floor, and so I decide to lean back, aim for the space between my legs, and puke into the toilet."
At this point I have peed on myself I am laughing so hard, and my manager, Tank, is looking at us with a 'what-is-up-with-this-generation-that-they-can-talk-so-candidly-with-the-opposite-sex-about-shit-and-vomit' look on his face, an that's when it just gets heavenly. Buffy says this:
"Yeah, I puked on my junk. All over my junk"
So, this is my question: Is potty humor always going to be that funny to me? My roomate in college was so anti-potty humor that I wondered if I was normal. I mean, two years we lived together and I just can't remember her even saying "poop," and I just wonder: Is something wrong with me??
Posted by Doll Face at 10:15 PM 2 comments
Monday Monday
Mondays are busy. People wait over the weekend to call in and get prices, and even wait to make arrangements for funeral services if their deceased family member died in a facility with a morgue allowing for the refrigeration of the body, and then Monday morning they all come pouring in at the same time. There were four families here at 10 this morning, and one of them I met with. They were a nice family, two brothers (and one brought his wife) making arrangements for their mother's cremation. She had pre-arranged years ago, so really they were just listening to me tell them what had been decided and what they would need to do from there. They were very talk-y and one of the brothers asked if I went to school to work in a funeral home and we chatted about the whole schooling process, and then he told me about a show that had aired a few years back about some mortuary science program in one of the schools in California. It really sounded interesting, from what he described cameras followed students around during their day and it showed their reactions to certain things. Anyway, it sounded cool.
Jane, the embalmer, called in sick Friday which is why I had to embalm that day, and she's back now. She had been puking all weekend, but says she's fine now, and I think we might go to lunch together in a bit.
Bid Bird, the office manager, is not here today, and everyone is a bit nuts without her. She keeps us all on the straight and narrow, and when she's not here it's just one big party. We all get louder and crasser and a lot more fun. Anyway, I think she is sick, she must be, as it's unlike her to miss work on a Monday, and while I like the office atmosphere better when she's gone I hate doing her work.
Also, this just in: Big Bird is off tomorrow too!!
Posted by Doll Face at 4:51 PM 0 comments
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Hello, my name is...
So, I was thinking, since I don't know most of my readers, and I would like to, would you please leave a comment here and introduce yourself? You don't have to, but I would love it if you did, and maybe just told me something about yourself...
Posted by Doll Face at 10:54 AM 19 comments
Labels: personal
I'm in the office today and decided that since its been so long since I last posted I should do that now. So, here is a list of what I did on Friday that I would bet you out there didn't:
1. Embalmed
2. Ate way too much pizza (that my boss bought us in an attempt to make us feel less shitty about having to scan all the old funeral files into the new computer)
3. Ordered fliers for a gig my husband is playing next month (ones that I designed even)
4. Injected an eyeball full of a plastic substance
5. Learned how to use a new copy machine
6. Learned how to say "I'm fine" in Armenian
7. Went out with some friends that live in Colorado now (why is it that I always expect people that have moved away will someday come "home"?)
8. Drank 2 Ketel One martinis
9. Started writing the September issue article of the local magazine. That's right, I'm like a celebrity.
Sorry it isn't the best post I've ever written, but hey, at least it's something...
Posted by Doll Face at 10:38 AM 0 comments
Labels: embalming, funeral, personal, thoughtless post
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Killing time
The server here at work is being redone so I've had iffy internet abilities. We're slow right now (normal for the summer) so it's the perfect time to do a bit of housekeeping at the office, and we also got a new copy machine (color copies!!!) and today was pretty much dedicated to setting up all the new stuff. The new gal even got a computer. Anyway, while I don't have much to write, I did want to show you the radio we found while cleaning one of the closets, the mouth moves with the sound from the radio:
Posted by Doll Face at 3:54 PM 1 comments
Labels: office
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Chillin in the car
So, I'm sitting in a work van in the parking lot of a convalescent home trying not to have heat stroke. We got a call at the funeral home that someone here died who had pre-arrangements with our firm, and I offered to go on the call to pick them up. I was actually a bit surprised that I was allowed to go on it, what with all my fragile girl parts that everyone seems to think are easy to damage, but they did and so here I am.
I arrived a while ago and one of the staff members informed me that the family of the deceased had shown up shortly after they were notified of the death, and that there was still someone arriving to see the deceased in a little while. I told her that I would just go wait in the car and she could come get me when they all left, which she responded to by offering to let me hang out in the waiting room. Um, really? Has she never smelled that place? I'd rather wait in the blazing hot and uncomfortable van than go back to work smelling like urine and old people. I know I seem harsh, but these places are awful, and I don't know how they keep people on staff, not to mention residing there as well. And I didn't want to be talked at by the little olds that make no sense. Walking in the front door is like entering a circus, with all the yelling, beeping, coughing, etc. It's a madhouse in there.
Posted by Doll Face at 10:13 AM 0 comments
Labels: funeral
Monday, July 13, 2009
Late night conversations
Last night I was talking with my husband out on the patio and I made a comment to him about how strange it is that the general public in the US has little idea about how people die. The comment confused him, so I clarified:
We understand that certain things kill us, car accidents, overdoses, COPD, cancer, etc, and we even understand what happens to the body over time with diseases, but when someone actually gets ready to die (and I realize that this doesn't apply in accident/sudden deaths, which are such a small portion of the deaths each year) people don't know what goes on. I suppose it is because deaths don't occur at home here in America, but are more likely to happen at a nursing home or hospital, so we as the general public aren't a part of the deaths.
I remember hearing a coworker talking to a family over the phone about a relative of theirs that was dying, they were getting prices and making sure they knew what was going to happen with the funeral home when the death occurred, and my coworker asked the person on the phone if the imminent person was still eating. I don't know what the person said, but the coworker went on to explain that first they would quit eating, and then they wouldn't drink anymore, after which the death would happen in a short time (like a day or two), and the person on the phone was shocked. They had no idea that those two things happen, and also no clue that once a person stops taking in liquids that there was really nothing left to do but wait. At first I was shocked that the hospice people hadn't gone over the details of the impending death with the family, but realized that maybe they had (and really, now that I look back, they most likely had, considering it's what they do), and that the person calling the funeral home might not be the person hospice talked to. But the longer I think about it (and this happened about 5 years ago) the more shocked I become that people just don't know what happens when someone is dying. I mean, it happens to everyone, and we have no clue. It's not even like we can use the I've-never-experienced-a-death-before excuse, because we only think we've never experienced a death before (if we think that at all) since we are all so "protected" from death by others around us (usually parents). Now, I know it sounds like I'm ranting, and really, I am, but its frustrating sometimes, feeling like this thing, one of the few things that we all go through, is so little understood, when really it could be one of the few things that we all understand about one another. And then maybe experiencing the death of someone close wouldn't seem so lonely.
Posted by Doll Face at 9:39 AM 5 comments
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Roller Derby
The hubby and I went with some good friends to a roller derby match this weekend. When I moved back to my hometown I was looking forward to becoming a derby girl, but have yet to do so. All the guys at work think I should do it, and the hubby, now that he's seen a match, is also on board with it, so I think maybe next month I'll show up to practice. Now, I don't know if roller derby is big everywhere in the US, but there are quite a few teams out west and the matches are well-attended. Kids under 10 are free to boot, and there are always quite a few of them there. Anyway, once the girls have me on their team I'll let you know what my derby name is.
Posted by Doll Face at 3:39 PM 1 comments
Labels: personal
Thursday, July 9, 2009
My day, or, in which there are problems
The thing that really sucks about being an embalmer that also meets with families is just that, you do both. This morning I started embalming a case at 8:40 (after our weekly meeting) and knew I had a family to meet at 10:30, which normally would be fine. Here is a list of everything that went wrong with the case I embalmed:
1. He wasn't on blocks when I got into the prep room. Now, if any of my readers are embalmers, I am about to sound like a spoiled, whiny, girly embalmer chick, which is fine. Opie, my back-of-the-house coworker, gets to work at about 6:30am and gets a lot of body prep done before I even show up, and is really good about putting the cases to be embalmed up on blocks (plastic or metal footed boards that go under the deceased at the shoulders, hips and feet to allow water to flow over their backside) and with a sheet over them so that when the embalmer arrives they can get right to work. Well, this guy (the one to be embalmed) was big, like 220 or so, and I am not big. Now, you need to know that I don't like asking for help, especially here at work where the guys all tell me that I shouldn't be lifting bodies since I'm a girl and girls just aren't made to lift things, but there was no way I was going to be able to lift him while placing a block under him, so I had to get help.
2. The deceased had what we call "skin slip" on his arms. Skin slip is what it sounds like, the skin slipping and tearing, and then oozing from the place that the skin should be. This happens because the fascia under the skin decomposes enough to "let go" of the skin on top of it, and when the body is moved the skin just slips right off. Gross, yes, but at least it doesn't smell. This guy was also a bit edematous, which aides in the skin slipping.
3. I nicked a vein. Yeah, so apparently I'm not that great at being careful. I opened the supra-clavicular (yay! embalming term!!) incision I made, and started my search for the artery, and wouldn't you know, I broke a little vein which started to leak blood all in the incision and get in the way of my finding the artery, that little shit. So now I stick my finger (gloved, of course) in the hole and feel around for the artery (in school they always said that we should be able to find the artery with our fingers, not our eyes, probably for situations just like this), which I found, thank god. It feels like a large, wet rubber band, just in case you wondered, unless the person was really sclerotic, in which case it feels like sand inside a balloon.
4. I wasn't getting any fluid in the legs. Like none at all. So, I made incisions in each leg to find the femoral arteries. It took a while, and by the time I was done with the second leg it was time to meet with my 10:30 family which was:
5. fifteen minutes early. Easy arrangement though and I was back in the prep room at 11:30 to finish up the embalming I had left, which is not normal AT ALL, fyi. He actually ended up looking pretty good, and here are the good things that happened after all the problems:
1. I got to leave at 4:15, the time at which I had requested to leave in order to make my five o'clock:
2. HAIR APPOINTMENT!!! I haven't gone to a 'real' salon in months, it was one of the things I said I'd sacrifice in order to move to my home town and rent an apartment while still owning a house in another town that was not going to sell. I look awesome, and my hairs are like an inch long, but yet still non-manish (or at least not totally man-ish)
3. My hubby and daughter are out of town for the night, so my favorite sister (the youngest) and I went for cocktails to the spot that my boss and his girlfriend were, and we drank for free. Yay for free drinks, right?
4. I get to sleep with the windows open. It's like 78 degrees out right now and I think I'm in heaven.
Posted by Doll Face at 11:15 PM 4 comments
Labels: annoyances, death, embalming, personal
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
I can't complain
We're still slow. The boss was chatting with the office manager, Big Bird, and somehow BB convinced him that we (the three of us women) should go shopping instead of stay in the office, and then go to lunch together, and also got him to give us cash to pay for lunch. It sounds like fun, and I'm totally into it, but it makes me wonder what the boss has in mind for the guys of the office to do. Stripper, maybe? Have a keg delivered? Watch something good on the flat screen in the (unused so far this week) chapel? Hmmm…
Posted by Doll Face at 9:49 AM 1 comments
Labels: lunch break, office, staff
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Dying of boredom
Jane, the main embalmer here, is out of town starting today until next Tuesday. She is going fishing, which is funny. I've never gone fishing for reasons other than being hungry while backpacking, and so never used a fishing pole. I don't even really like fish, so the whole fishing thing seems lame, or boring or something. So, she's all excited about a week of fishing and can't wait to be wherever it is that she's going. So, that means I'll be embalming more than usual this week, and meeting with (hopefully) less families. I never like being the director that meets with a family and the embalmer for their deceased relative, mostly because I tend to feel like that is creepy for the family. I mean, my name is listed on the death certificate of anyone I embalm, and for some reason I think that families don't really want to know the person that did the embalming. I suppose that its weird for me to think that, I mean, the general public doesn't actually know what embalming really is, so they probably don't pay much attention to the name listed on the death certificate.
Monica, the new girl, says she'll help me out in the prep room, and I told her to bring some tennis shoes to keep here at work (it sucks to have to embalm in four inch heels, even if it is sexier), and that I would make her a cute apron. Back when I started at this mortuary I made myself a kick-ass apron out of oil cloth (that stuff that plastic tablecloths are made out of, with the fuzzy backing) that I wear in the prep room. The fabric store had a lot of different patterns of oil cloth and I chose a black and white toile pattern, and plain red accents (pockets, straps and edging). It probably isn't quite OSHA compliant, but it works for me, and is definitely cuter than the space suit crap the funeral home buys. And the pockets are wonderful.
We are really slow right now, almost painfully so. It's a funny thing to wish that we were busier, especially since that would mean death for people, but I can't help it. I spent the morning organizing the prep room and the makeup cart, and am thinking about going to Target (love that place) to stock up on a few "normal" makeup products, as well as a few other supplies that I use during restoration. Hopefully I can leave soon…
Posted by Doll Face at 2:03 PM 0 comments
Monday, July 6, 2009
Famous people death game
Okay, there's this game that I used to play with some friends. At the beginning of the year we would submit twenty dollars and a list of ten famous people that we thought would die that year to the leader of the game. Then we would wait. All year. At the end of the year we would look over our lists and add up our points. This is an example of how it would work with the points, say, if Michael Jackson was on one of the lists: Michael's age, 50, subtracted from 100, which would give you 50 points for that person. Now, it is uncommon to get 50 points for just one person, as it isn't as likely for someone 'young' to die, and therefore such people don't tend to make the lists of our death game. Now, this would have been a good year for some youngs, had they been on people's lists, but they are not. But it is a fun game, and I encourage you to try it, and the winner of the year gets everyone's buy-in.
Posted by Doll Face at 9:28 AM 3 comments
Friday, July 3, 2009
Lazy Friday
My boss told me yesterday at 4 that I could take the day off today unless we got really busy overnight, which apparently we didn't. So today my daughter and I, along with the family I nannied for back years ago, went to a water park. It was hot as hell today and the place was busy, but we had a great time playing around in the water and eating hot dogs.
This week at work was a week full of ship-outs. A ship-out is when we arrange for human remains to fly out of state or out of the country. I had two that were international shipments, and the funeral home had three that were out-of-state transfers. The out-of-country ones are a bit more work, as we have to get the consulate of the receiving country involved and they approve of the shipment before the human remains can board a plane. I also do consulate work for a couple of other funeral homes when they have remains to ship to Mexico, which is quite often, and I do all the translations for the Mexican Consulate and then they file the papers. The death certificate and transit permit, as well as the certified embalmer's letter all have to be translated, and it's always fun to learn how to say different causes of death in Spanish. I'm actually getting quite good at it.
So, I hope you all have a good fourth, I plan on sitting by a pool and drinking beer all day, and hope yours is as relaxing as I intend for mine to be.
Posted by Doll Face at 4:14 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
What have I done now?
I know I'm not the only one to think that I might have jinxed myself, but when I wrote the post the other day about how my friend's parents are going to start dying I didn't think it would happen so soon.
My mom and dad are in Canada right now. There's a gal at our church that I am fairly good friends with (her roommate and I are quite close, so we see each other occasionally) and she is very close with my mom who has kind of adopted her since her mom lives out of state. So this gal, she comes over for holidays and my mom always does a birthday dinner thing for her and she gets along with my sisters as well, and is about my age (maybe a year younger). Anyway, my mom's cell phone doesn't work in Canada (what's with that?) but she's been emailing me everyday to check on us and on our grandma, and last night her email read that the gal's mom had died suddenly and that she didn't know what to do, and was on her way to the state her mom lived in, and my mom wanted me to call the gal to see what I could do to help her and answer her questions, so I did. And it sucks, not being where I can really help her, and just making calls to different funeral homes and cemeteries. I know I'm helping, just not as much as I want to. And deep down I know I didn't jinx her mom, but it just makes me feel odd, you know?
Posted by Doll Face at 6:52 PM 1 comments


text:
Price: $16.00
Quantity: 1 available
Book Condition: Good
283pgs. Good condition red cloth hardcover, gilt lettering and decoration to spine. Binding sound, red topstain a bit mottled and streaked, slight wrinkling and wear to cloth at edges and corners and rear board, shallow rippling to some pages especially along bottom margins, otherwise internally clean and sound. Fourth Impression March 1941 with frontis self-portrait and several additional plates within text. Sections: Preface, I. Holes in Oblivion, II. The Schoolboy at School, III. The Schoolboy at Home, IV. Chichester, V. In an Architect's Office, VII. Postscript: The Business World and the Army, T.O.S.D., Capel-Y-FFin and Salies-de-Bearn, Jerusalem, Escapades, VIII. Conclusion. "And if I might attempt to state in one paragraph the work which I have chiefly tried to do in my life it is this: to make a cell of good living in the chaos of our world". #2502.
Title: [{Autobiography of Eric Gill]Autobiography. Quod Ore Sumpsimus...
Categories: History, The Arts, Art, Illustrators, Biography and Autobiography, Non-Fiction, Text and Reference Books, COMPLETE CATALOG,
Edition: Fourth Impression
Publisher: London, Jonathan Cape: 1941
Binding: Cloth Hardcover
Book Condition: Good
Size: 8.5x5.25 Inches
Item: 1.00 Item
Seller ID: 2502
Keywords: Eric Gill, Autobiography, Artist, Engraver, Sculptor, Wood Engraving, Illustrator, Sculpture, Letter Design, Heraldry, Lettering, Memorials, Criticism, Typography, Arts, Art History, Stone Carving, arts&crafts, Self-Portrait 1927, non-fiction, Reference, Bas Relief for the League of Nations Palace 1923, The Architect, Architecture, Deposition, Black Hopton--Wood Stone,


text:
Underpinning their strength is the support of parent company, Frasers Property Limited - one of the world's leading real-estate brands, managing over S$32 billion in assets on five continents.
"Local at heart, international of mind. After almost a century of creating homes and places for tens of thousands of Australians, experience tells us that what matters the most is the simple joy of living in a place you're proud to call HOME."