Ok. Since i'm a list-aholic lately let's go with some What Ifs:
1. What if you had 24 hours to pack up and leave your country forever?
I'd go home right now, pack a bag, jump in the car and drop Scraps off with my Mom, and find out if SMRHE was leaving the country forever too.

2. What if you had 24 hours to get married?
Uh, well, i guess we'd head to Vegas this time, or see which judge could re-do our vows? I mean, i'm already married, so, y'know, it wouldn't be too difficult.

3. What if you had 24 hours to entirely change the way you look, so much as to become unrecognizable?
Hrhm. Glasses back on. Let hair go naturally curley, and dye it red. Wear girly clothes. Speak broken spanish all the time.

4. What if you had 24 hours to make a scientific or historical discovery?
I'd start following my dog around, closely.

5. What if you had 24 hours to meet and befriend the leader of your country?
I'd be buying a pony keg of Pyramid for Dubya, and then he and I would spend some quality time talking about Bono, world debt, and rehab.
Seriously, I would be really working the AA connection.

That's it. I'm buying myself a staplegun and i'm going postering. but not to advertise shows, nope. i'm going to do a little political rabble-rousing. found some nice anti-King George posters here and i am going to excercise my newly re-established right to free speech in this city, and post me some flyers. because i can. and thus, i should. i need to do something that will make me feel like i'm not just sitting by watching them destroy this culture. at least i will have done something. sure, it's not life threatening, but it's something, and maybe it will get someone's attention, or move someone already in agreement to NOT vote for that bastard and TO VOTE for someone else. Maybe is better than nothing at all, i think.

so bored that i'm pretending that someone reads this and that someone cares about my responses to These.
1. Do you prefer silence or do you like background sound (music, TV, etc)?
Background music. But I have learned to deal with silence while reading in deference to SMRHE's preference for silence.
2. Bathe/shower in morning or evening?
Morning shower is a must, it affords me not only bright-eyed-bushy-tailedness, but also decently coiffed hair not possible after sleeping on it wet.
3. Sleeping in complete darkness, or with a nightlight on?
I lust after total darkness.
4. Lay out clothes the night before, or just grab what's closest in the morning?
Lay out the dog-walking togs. What to wear is usually decided mid-walk.
5. Hang up/fold clothes neatly, or just toss them wherever?
combo of folding them and placing them variously. tossing into hamper though. definitely.
6. Work out at a gym, or at home on your own (or do you not bother with exercise)?
At home, on my own, either bike on trainer or miles w/ dog on foot. Would like gym, can't afford gym (either economically or emotionally).
7. Talk on the phone, or via IM/e-mail?
Would prefer more email, but unfortunately, phone is the primary communication device.
8. Are you usually on time, or late?
Generally on time.
9. Spendthrift or frugal?
Frugal, though it feels spendthrifty. I spend too much on quality food items and books.
10. Thought-Provoking Question of the Week: You work with someone who is not in the habit of bathing regularly. The smell seems to be getting worse and worse! Would you: 1. try to do something about it, or 2. try to grin and bear it? If you said 1, what would you do?
I would tell my immediate superior, and hopefully some PC-fiendly thing would happen to help the situation.

So, I like the solo Rhett Miller album (cd, whatever. i'm a dinasuar, live with it) - it doesn't have as many mopey-friendly tunes as "this is what i do" but, i can live with it. and it's got all the best bounce of the poppier "97s stuff, which i have to admit, i do dig a lot. I'm a bit put off by the cover close-up photo thing - it's just a bit too peter framptony - but i'll go with that as well.
speaking of frampton, i was caught like a deer in headlights yesterday when we went to SMRHE's pal's house for a veggie bbq (insert less-than-enthusiastic adjective here describing how a last minute veggie grill-out doesn't really work. it takes WAY more planning to execute that than it does to throw meat on the grill. IMHO anyway) and, in the course of conversation, we discussed not only the Cure (and midway through that discussion my Cure-aholic meter went into the red - this guy was WAY too into the Cure, citing specific albums, etc. bleah. i dig "lovecats" and that's about where it stays with me) but Dinasaur Jr. Now, I loved Dinasaur Jr back in the day (Bug and You're Living All Over Me the most) and let it go after Green Mind (boring. simply drone boring.) - I have some wonderful memories attached to that music courtesy of Todd the CC Bookbuyer, who turned me onto them, (ah, the lunch breaks spent perusing Olsson's looking for the records) and of Austin's own Hilarie, who taught me the value of Djr while tripping. Anyway, we were talking about good stuff they did (SMRHE's pal intimating that Djr sucked "too noisy and sloppy" but loved J Mascis' solo stuff) and i said - yeah, but Dino Jr did this fantastic Peter Frampton cover, you know, the big hit - and I was met with blank stares.
That, kids, is how old i am. it used to be, everyone i hung out with knew the answer to that question, and now...crickets chirping as i struggle to remember the name of that blasted one hit that catapulted Frampton Alive. How sad. The young'ns just don't know the rock. Hell, they think Nirvana was groundbreaking. Which, yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. Groundbreaking in that they brought it to the masses, but they were not the first to bring it back to ground zero. Man, it's just soo strange to realize how long ago it all was.
Right, so , how 'bout the Five?
1. What brand of toothpaste do you use?
Aquafresh, tarter control, thankyouverymuch.
Should use it on Scraps.

2. What brand of toilet paper do you prefer?
Scott Tissue. I have a huge massive dislike for puffy, wasteful t.p. Not to mention a sever fear of being out of t.p. years of group living will do that for you.
Mom always used the Scott though, so it's what i know. Economical too though.

3. What brand(s) of shoes do you wear?
No specific preference. I'm weird with shoes. Currently, i have a nice pair of land's end sneakers (suede bowling-style) and boots from eddie bauer (got in the sample shop, they probably don't make them anymore) and a pair of caballero Vans, polo sneakers, and um, some off-brand hiking shoes. oh, and riding boots. french. agile i believe. but i'm not beholden to any maker (maybe in the day, Vans, but not so much anymore). Convers for the first month, but then they turn to crap on your feet.

4. What brand of soda do you drink?
Diet Cola, either of the major brands. SMRHE does the Dew.

5. What brand of gum do you chew?
Big Red.

And, if my ongoing quest to write more, but constantly relying on questions to limp along here goes a new meme for Thursday:
1. If the President called up and said that he'd do his darnedest to implement any one policy or program you chose, what would you choose?
Healthcare. Nationalize it. Yes, just like Canada. No, I'm not afraid. The cost of healthcare in this country is insane, it's overinflated and access is limited to those who have money & insurance (just insurance doesn't even get you by anymore). And include dental, as we don't want to end up tlike Great Britian. Yucky.
2. Is there scientific knowledge best left undiscovered?
Gosh I don't think so anymore - possibly though there might be some call for scientific discoveries left unused.

3. If you could proclaim a new national holiday, what would it be and how would we celebrate it?
National Pay Attention To The World Around You Day. Celebrated with a paid day off and any bills that may be due on the day designated are null and void. Yay!
Hopefully, it would morph into a day where people create, and interact, and do something other than drive and work and bitch and whine about how much stuff sucks.

So, for whatever reason, spring or the onset of spring usually finds me digging out my jeans jacket. The jean jacket always brings to mind the ASB President I served with at HSU. At the time, I would never have admitted it (because i was quite linked up with my uber-Svengali) but I was super smitten with him. Lanky, poli-sci major, anarchist inclined (but tended to socialist action) and with beautiful eyes and a tendancy to call me things like "sport", "kiddo" and "tiger". All of which made me melt. No one had ever referred to me by nicknames (ok, i was "chella" for a bit, but I'm pretty sure Dena did that to make a backhanded swipe at me) before, and i loved it. Anyway, he always wore his levi jacket, rain or shine, and it had just one small green "wage peace" button on it. I remember thinking that was so...oh, hell, cool. Recently, as i was daydreaming on the bus about whatever happened to him, it occurred to me that MCWDITW bore a striking resemblance to ASBPG, just more compact, younger, and uh, certainly not a socialist. Why am i thinking these things? Dunno. Slow week, I guess. On to Friday.
1. What drinking water do you prefer -- tap, bottle, purifier, etc.?
Well, sure, I prefer bottled. But i think plastic bottles are wasteful, so i use a filter system.
At my mom's we drink straight from the tap - well water.

2. What are your favourite flavor of chips?
No flavor, just plain kettle potato chips (mmmhmm, salt and oil whore right here!!), or plain tortilla (good ones though, NOT the cheapie store brands) with salsa. If it's got to be flavored (and i really don't prefer that) i do like the occasional dill pickle or ketchup (in canada and europe). I will eat a few nacho doritos, the nitrates kick my butt.

3. Of all the things you can cook, what dish do you like the most?
Tough call, cause i cook a LOT of good stuff. I think the thing i crave most is the Basque chicken with rice - i frigging love that stuff. Also, chimichurra swordfish(or any fish) is also a fave.

4. How do you have your eggs?
Gah. Fried, hard, or omlette. Not broken scrambled, and do not ever bring me a soft-cooked egg. I will give it to the dog.

5. Who was the last person who cooked you a meal? How did it turn out?
Golly. I think it was Karen...it was ok. Baked chicken (beer can style), bread, and a fruit salad. Good wine. Yeah.

A little something new from Here. Could get to be a(nother) habit. Little steps. Big news though: SMRHE convinced me to quit talking about it and doing it. Things can only get better. Right?
Anyway:

1. Packrat or minimalist?
recovering packrat. with aspirations to minimalism. no, seriously.
2. Computer: desktop or laptop?
Desktop, with aspirations, but not funding for a laptop.
3. Seashore or mountains?
Ouch. Depends on which. Let's say northern california coast, where i can get as close to both in one without going to, say, Norway. Ick, Norway.
Ultimately, though, I guess I'd go mountains, for the more private option. Seems like people will always migrate to the sea.
4. Carpeting or bare floors?
Ohh, bare hardwoods, of course!
5. Drinking water: bottled or tap?
Bottled, unless i somehow find a way to live where water is okay to drink (and where's that, like Greenland or something?) from the tap.
6. Shopping websites: eBay or Amazon?
Started at Amazon, went thru the usual ugly period of Ebay, and now, mostly neither. Amazon was the last one i used though. Out of those two options anyway.
7. Cute little kitties or big scary tigers?
Tigers. Always with the tigers.
8. Front door or back door?
Back door.
9. Lots of jewelry, or little/none?
Dunno. 5 rings, 3 earrings, one necklace, same ones (yep, even the earrings) every day. Only the rings come off when i'm baking bread. Is that a little jewelry?
10. Thought-provoking question of the week: At the last minute, you obtain tickets to an event you're dying to attend. However, you have to work that day! Do you ask the boss for the time off, or just call in sick?
Depends on how short notice. Up to the day before, asking the boss generally isn't a problem. if for some reason, i found out at 11pm that i could go to...i dunno FRANCE the next morning. Yeah, i'd call in sick.

Ah, yes, another Mother's Day done. In fine style, the youngest brother "hosted" a bbq for Mom, but then proceeded to invite people to the fete that she really didn't know/doesn't like (other than her offspring, of course) and so it was a bit uncomfortable. Youngest Bro is a bit out of control lately, and i predict he's in for an ugly ephiphany shortly. Meanwhile, SMRHE fully rocks the acoustic action lately, and my nephew is a riot, literally and figuratively. Best LJ quote of the day:
me: "So now what are y'gonna do LJ?"
him: "EAT." and like a good little maw-filler he ambled over to the picnic table and filled his bowl with chips and grapes. Comes by that honestly, that's for sure.
Later, he pitched a fit when the 4-wheeler was put up.
So much like his dad, it's frightening.
He's also very attuned to having his picture taken. VERY attuned. To the point of me not really digging on snapping him, it's so cheesy. Ah well. So goes my *art*.
Meanwhile, from friday just for kicks...or something.

1. Would you consider yourself an organized person? Why or why not?
No. Never really have been. I'm one of those people who puts everything off until the last minute - and sometimes my ability makes up for my slackness, but usually it just means i'm really scattered. i go through periods where i have my shit together, but they are brief. i think my lack of organization comes from being a smart kid in school, and most things came easy, and i found that often, working on the fly, i seemed to work the best. I often won speaking competitions by working exteperaneously, which probably means i should have stayed in radio. go into radio? i do have a good voice. hrm.

2. Do you keep some type of planner, organizer, calendar, etc. with you, and do you use it regularly?
I have one. I took, on Kinko's dime, one of those Franklin Covey classes, and for a couple of months it really had me stoked. But now, my daytimer is basically retired - i use it more like a permanent folder, or an address book, more than anything else.

3. Would you say that your desk is organized right now?
Well, at work it is, but it's slow right now, and it's a shared desk. I mean it's primarily mine, but only by default. At home, there is no desk, so nope, it's not organized.

4. Do you alphabetize CDs, books, and DVDs, or does it not matter?
I used to, especially with albums, because the spines are hard to read - but SMRHE barely gets them back into the cases, so i've given up trying to keep them alphabetized - i used to liek it because it made things easier to find. But, nah, it doesn't matter.

5. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to organize?
Bills. absolutely.

Hanging tenuously here with the whole "writing" and "updating" thing. trying to make it a habit, but times are a bit rough at the moment. hopefully this too shall pass. Unitl then, the pseudobio contiues with the Friday Five:

1. Name one song you hate to admit you like.
"Let's talk about sex" by Salt & Pepa. It reminds me of a lot of insanestuff, but most of all, it reminds me of Europe, where it was the only song in English we ever heard on the radio. I dug the Teenage Mutant Nija themesong then too - but it was "Torta Ninja" there.

2. Name two songs that always make you cry.
Wow, i don't think...oh, well, there is one: "Tick Tock" by the Vaughan brothers. It kills me to think of the potential talent lost, and SRV's whole story is just so tragic. But i can't think of a second one that really makes me cry. plenty make me a little sad - but not really cry-inducing. Eventually, it'll probably be an Uncle Tupelo song.

3. Name three songs that turn you on.
Huh. Husker Du - "flip your wig"
Prince "darling nikki" (no brainer, eh?)
and uh, let's call it "Ashtray Monument" by Jawbreaker, though most any song of theirs makes me, uhm, revved up.


4. Name four songs that always make you feel good.
"heavy metal drummer" by wilco
"calendar" by 7seconds
"my life" by this side up
"indictment" by jawbreaker

5. Name five songs you couldn't ever do without
"Jesus, etc" by wilco
"new wind" by 7 seconds
"frogger" bad religion
"spitfire" spinanes
and "busy" by jawbreaker

Almost a week behind, but bored to pieces, so here goes the Five.

1. What was the last TV show you watched?
Sadly, it was this morning's news locally. as per usual, it sucked. but i like most people only watch it for incorrect weather predictions...

2. What was the last thing you complained about?
The bitch who lives upstairs and how i don't think i should have to pay half the utilities for 1/3 the use of them. Luckily, i said it to my landlord, and he said to go ahead and pay a third of the utilities. woohoo!

3. Who was the last person you complimented and what did you say?
Gosh, i think i just did that to my coworker - i told him he was our favorite member of that specific department (because to me, he is).

4. What was the last thing you threw away?
Huh, i took out the recycling this morning. but the last thing i put in the garbage can here at work was of course, paper.

5. What was the last website (besides this one) that you visited?
Wilcomovie.com

is it just me, or are there some constants in my celebrity choices lately?
maybe i just don't watch enough damn tv.

seriously, i'm really close to actually getting back into writing on a regular basis. i gave my music notice last night. finally. on to better things, i hope.

(didn't get this finished last week...)

Ok. Still not sure what's in my heart, other than a big black mass of goo right now. As far as the band goes - it looks like the destruction (like the creation) is all in my hands - again. I know the smart thing to do is to cut my losses and bail on this - i don't have the cash to engage in this sort of half-hearted bullshit. so i dunno what to do. i hate that everything has to come down to money, and it grates on me that i was, ever so briefly, out of major debt - i had it in control. and now i don't. and it's a drag. but anyway, on to some nice diversionary turf: Friday!:
1. Who is your favorite celebrity?
Golly. My gut says John McEnroe, but i think that's a throwback reaction. I like to keep tabs of Kevin Smith, though lately i've been indulging in sucking up a lot of wilco/jeff tweedy information. it'll pass. celebs. hmm........so many to choose from: ooooh! Mick and Keef!! I love them!
2. Who is your least favorite?
Bah, any "supermodel".

3. Have you ever met or seen any celebrities in real life?
Quite a few, actually. Jamie Lee Curtis has an insane burly handshake. Billy Idol is Elvis and i know so after being ejected from his hospitality suite. Uhm...yeah.

4. Would you want to be famous? Why or why not?
Well, sure. Though i'd like to be famous for doing something cool, like creating a song or a work of art or a political action. Not for marrying someone or being in the right place at the right time. I'd like to have access to more things, and not spend as much time doing tedious job things.

5. If you had to trade places with a celebrity for a day, who would you choose and why
Ah, sure. Green Day. Or let's go big guns and say Lisa Marie Presley. I mean, if you're gonna try it out, you might as well try it full on.

Agh.
I fear my heart isn't in the band - again. I just don't feel like i'm doing what i'm supposed to do. i feel like i'm swimming upstream. i am good at writing and photography, and yet i insist on playing music, which i'm a hack at.
What to do. Especially since i've invited Lia and Carlene on board. Hrm. Maybe i can just drop out gracefully.
Lately, i'd just like to be able to crawl up into a ball and be alone.Seriously. Not just feel alone, but be.
Right. So the Five are kinda interesting today:
1. What was the first band you saw in concert?
The first band I ever saw was Modo Vita at a rollerrink somewhere on the Eastside (I think). Then some stuff at Bumbershoot. My first big-arena RAWK show was a crazy bill at the Kingdome: Joan Jett, Loverboy, Blue Oyster Cult and Foreigner. I cannot tell a lie: I was there to see Loverboy. It was wonderful in all the classic ways: a joint being passed through the crowd, godzilla coming out of the stage when BOC played "Godzilla" Foreigner and their hair...good stuff. Joan rocked, but i wasn't hip enough to appreciate it, much less her.

2. Who is your favorite artist/band now?
Currently gigging: Juno
Alltime favorite: Gits, 7Seconds, Jawbreaker

3. What's your favorite song?
Heh. so very many to choose from...but i think it's probably "The Inside". 7Seconds, from New wind.

4. If you could play any instrument, what would it be?
Heh. Bass. No, kidding. Drums.

5. If you could meet any musical icon (past or present), who would it be and why?
I think i might like to hang out with Mick & Keith. Or Ringo. No, no, .....ELVIS! I mean for crying out loud, if yer gonna hang out with an icon....go for broke, yeah?

"Freedom's taste is unquenchable."
Please, please let that be a(nother) presidential misquote. What a butcher of the English language. You have to really suck to make me miss Clinton in office, that's all i've got to say.
Also: well of course the Kurds are happy. Jeez. I have begun to read the Atlantic Monthly and the Nation (both I haven't red since college) - just because I have to hear some sort of logical discussion of world affairs - you just can't get that on broadcast news these days.
"It appears" Hussian's regime has fallen. Well, for now. But someone's gonna make a power grab once the dust settles. and meanwhile how do Bahgdad's people get water and electricity turned back on?

Woohoo, it's Friday..
Apologies to anyone who might be reading this that it has become a friday five update section. i promise, a real "insert clever phrase"-worthy style will return soon. soon

1. How many houses/apartments have you lived in throughout your life?
Only counting the ones i can really remember (none of that "apartment when i was a baby" stuff): 12. Three apartments; 9 houses (4 of those being of the group variety, 3 being homes with my family, one house with husband ((though it's a duplex, so it's only 1/2 a house really)) and one tiny house all by myself with Scraps. Ah, those were the days....)

2. Which was your favorite and why?
Well, sure, the little one i was alone in for pure life-purposes. But coolest house as far as the structure goes: the house we lived in in leona valley. It was on 5 acres of land, and the house itself had a living room with adobe walls, a kitchen with a pot-bellied stove, and my room had these wonderful built-in shelves, a glass door with an old-school key/lock, and it had a door to the outside via the laundry room! Oh yeah, and it had a great old bathtub with feet, and the living room had an enormous picture window in the living room that overlooked our whole front orchard and a good chunk of the valley. The living room also featured 18" thick adobe walls (really!) and paniment stone from death valley, and a ceiling made from huge pine poles. My father used to have a whole speil he'd give to visitors. I wished I'd taped it or written it down...we used to give him such a hard time about "The Tour".

3. Do you find moving house more exciting or stressful? Why?
It goes both ways for me. Mostly though, I like it, as I like beginnings. Some situations that precede the moves (especially from group houses) are usually a bit stressful, but generally I don't stress over it. It's a pain to actually DO the packing and shit, but I overall like it because i always seem to have friends that want to help, and then it means we end up spending a couple of days hanging out (so i can pay them in food and beverages), so it's usually ok overall. But some moves suck, but it's usually because the move is required, or forced in some way (or you're escaping some heinous situation).

4. What's more important, location or price?
Well - price is pretty important, but location is usually what rules my final decision, if Ive got enough money to allow it.
So yeah, price ultimately.
And if they take dogs.

5. What features does your dream house have (pool, spa bath, big yard, etc.)?
Gun turrets.
Nah. It's got lots of room around it (garden-ish), a large porch, fireplace, french doors connected to my bedroom (don't care if they go to the hall or the deck, but somewhere, and a big kitchen with wide counters and light. Yeah. Oh, and a bathroom with the spiffy toilets, and one of those hip granite shower/japanese soaking tubs.
Oh, and a laundry room with sharp euro style washer and dryer.

Another Friday.
1. What was your most memorable moment from the last week?
The emergency pet clinic telling me that they wouldn't be able to give me & Scraps the care that we deserve right then.

2. What one person touched your life this week?
Rodney calling up out of the blue after about 6 mos. of silence.

3. How have you helped someone this week?
Well, that's always a tough call now isn't it? I helped my mom just feel better. Since my dad died 8 years ago, sometimes she had some serious blue periods and needs some cheerleading. And i helped her take care of her horses and stuff - so that's always good. Took the dog to the vet - i'm sure that helped her, but i should have done it sooner. And everyday i help people make their reprographic dreams come true (cough, cough).

4. What one thing do you need to get done by this time next week?
Must get taxes done. Must.

5. What one thing will you do over the next seven days to make your world a better place?
i'm going to continue to practice non-attachement/patience because i believe that good will reproduces exponentially.

Yikes, another week almost gone by, and me with so much to say, and no one really, to say it to.
Recently, the band project took an uplifting twist and now we're not gonna be a cover band anymore, and to that i say hurrah!
"Bowling for Columbine" won an Oscar, and Michael Moore did exactly as I expected. Could have been a bit more graceful, but the sentiment is appreciated. Anything less, and I would have been quick to call him a hypocrite. Because for someone like him, if he had taken that stage and not said anything, it would have gone against everything he's ever put on film or on paper. So, while I thought he was on the eloquence tip - what with talking about being filmakers who deal with reality, etc, and the regime in the White House not dealing with the rest of the world in a way that would indicate they have any sort of clue about reality, he devolved into a wimpy (in my opinion) "Shame on You" - i thought that choice of phrasing was lame, but at least he took the moment to voice his dissent.
And that, if anyone out there is reading this, is what the USA is all about. You can snivel all you want, but if you truly value your freedom then you sure as hell better excercise it. I'm sick of listening to people who don't even know the names of their state senator (not US congressman/woman, your STATE legislator, the person who really and truly can make things better or worse for you today...) tell me we should "back the president" back him? Back him into a corner and squash him like a bug before he gets us into so much trouble that there WILL be more attacks on our soil.
Today, a coworker who is intelligent, but definitely conservative, told me that ultimately he believes that this President and his minions are really trying to send a message to the rest of the world that goes something like this:
"Look, quit coming here looking for democracy and wealth. Go back to your own country and create your own democracy and wealth. If you don't create some democracy and wealth soon, then we're going to have to FORCE you to do that. For your own good. No, really, for your own good."
I shared my belief that I honestly do not feel that the United States of America was founded on that belief. We are where you come if you want democracy. No one ever said we were supposed to impose that belief on others. That's the point: those who want to live in a free, somewhat open market-representational democracy, you come here. The rest of you, go somewhere else. Life isn't fair, we can't make everyone happy and free, and they certainly aren't looking to make us happy or more successful.
Yes, yes, i know, plenty of other countries put limits on immigration - but see, that's why we're America dammit. We are different. Aren't we? Aren't we?
I was asked what i thought we should "do" about Iraq instead of invade. Well, at this point, i don't really see as there's much point in doing anything. We've spit in the water - there's no take backs. We put sanctions on a country that can't feed itself. We turned a population that worshiped us in Serbia completely against us by using sanctions incorrectly (correct use: South Africa) - so the only option I see, is to allow Iraquis who want to leave Iraq to come here - much as we did Iranians in the '70s. Of course, it'd be nice if we let more than just the richest of the population come. Do I worry about overloading social sevices? Not really - because here's the thing: to create change, you must take a diffinitive action. How about American companies willing to set up shop in Iraq get tax breaks or bennies like those who work with China do? China doesn't treat their people well. Ultimately, it's a not doing anything sort of action, but you have to respect that Iraq, and Baghdad is one of the oldest nations on earth.

Still in a funk, but the Friday Five are kinda interesting this week:
1. If you had the chance to meet someone you've never met, from the past or present, who would it be?
Emma Goldman is the first person that comes to mind, though followed by Leonardo Da Vinci. you know, the more I think about it, the more I'd like to meet some distant relative of mine: someone, say 5 generations back (hopefully either just arrived in America, or about to arrive) and on my Dad's side, since i know so little about my background. Yeah. That's it. That's my final answer. I'd settle for even my maternal grandfather's dad, as rumour has it he was pretty wild too...

2. If you had to live in a different century, past or future, which would it be?
Well - turn of the century here in America would've been tough, but intense. So yeah, mid-late 1800's

3. If you had to move anywhere else on Earth, where would it be?
Slovenia. Pretty much anywhere, but for the sake of clarity, let's say Sezna.
Would also settle for cabin in central Alaska, or small town in south western France.

4. If you had to be a fictional character, who would it be?
I'd like to be the person who brings about world peace. No, seriously.

5. If you had to live with having someone else's face as your own for the rest of your life, whose would it be?
This'll seem weird, but you know, I'd kinda dig looking like Angelina Jolie.

i feel compelled to point out that as far as i know, when the USA has invaded any nation, promising to rebuild it and make it a "democracy" what it does in reality is blow countries wide open, install new non-elected leaders, dump some leftover foodpackets, and leave. Then, as we did all over Africa and Central America, we wait 10 or 15 years, declare that the countries have "failed" at "democracy" and again, go in, rape, pillage and steal (from an economic perspective) and start the routine again. I challenge someone (anyone) to point out one instance in which we have invaded a third-world country to oust an "evil" dictator and then helped the country back onto it's feet. Legitimately. Legitimate meaning that we provided food, shelter and medical assistance, education, books and person power to help people learn to govern themselve. Somalia. Guatemala. Nicaragua. El Slavador. Mozambique. Indonesia. Afghanistan. Pick one. Any one.