In which I list a few of the things I'm thankful for ( Read more... )

Yesterday was my little brother's birthday. He turned 27. I've said on several occasions that I'm looking forward to turning 30 myself and that I don't feel like I'm getting old. But my little brother being 27 now does kind of make me want to rethink my position regarding my own aging. How can he be in his late 20s already?

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My traditionally Republican dad called me at 7:30 this morning to congratulate me on the Obama victory. I didn't answer the phone since it was 7:30 and that's really too early for me to converse with anyone, but he left a message congratulating me and saying he hopes Obama will be good for the country. It's nice to be on the winning side this ( Read more... )

My kitten now has a name--and what a name it is ( Read more... )

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I hope it's a good one ( Read more... )

Joe Bageant's Deer Hunting with Jesus belongs to the tradition of books that has given us Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed, Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, and Jim Goad's The Redneck Manifesto. These books all aim to clarify the position of an all-too-often-overlooked cultural group and, in doing so, they ultimately aim to help this group ( Read more... )

Thanksgiving may well be my favorite holiday. It's at the time of year when the weather's turned cool (even if, as this year, it only managed that two days before the holiday) and it's all about food, wonderful food ( Read more... )

Meine Oma hat mir einen neuen Schal gestrickt.
[mynuh oh-mah hat mear in-uhn noy-uhn schahl geh-schtrihkt]

Ma grand'mère m'a tricotté une nouvelle écharpe.
[mah grah(n)-mehr mah tree-koh-tay oohn noo-vel ay-sharp]

I wish. I don't think either of my grandmothers would do that--in general, but perhaps especially not for me. Or my brother. (Long ( Read more... )