Living In the World, Not on It

As if I wasn't convinced that local government is corrupt and all about the money or the power (or both)... Maybe Val Kilmer is an idiot for publicly airing some unkind comments, but apparently freedom of speech is no longer a right. And it gets your permit denied... Read on. "Bygones are not always bygone amid the limestone cliffs and pinon groves of northern New Mexico. When actor Val Kilmer recently applied for permits to turn his 6,000-acre ranch outside Santa Fe into an upscale bed-and-breakfast, several of his neighbors protested. They weren't worried about traffic or noise or the prospect of intruding tourists. They were incensed about comments attributed to Mr. Kilmer in magazine articles dating to 2003 and 2005. And they didn't want him to get his way on the ranch unless he apologized. "That's all he has to do, come and apologize," said Jose Garcia, who runs horses on a 50-acre ranch next to Mr. Kilmer's. "We're not intimida...

I was driving home from work, passed through a work zone that has been a work zone for a couple of years, where I never see any workmen... and I thought, "this must be a union job." Too much time is spent on the road. It's not me, really. I don't have a crazy commute. I go from one county to another. I drive though... let's see... Parsippany, Whippany, Florham Park, Summit and Springfield. It's an 18-mile trip on highways. The only local driving is about a mile and a half through Springfield, and the five minutes getting out of Parsippany and the 15 minutes getting in. Amazing what the time of day can do. I also don't take 287 North home, as I am adverse to sitting in traffic. I take exit 2 off Route 24, hop on Whippany Road, to Parsippany Road to Reynolds Avenue to South Beverwyck, which once across Route 46 becomes North Beverwyck and then after the light turn onto the little road and I'm home. Awesome. But how many people go into New York? Drive to ...

I love men! OK, people who do good deeds are driven to do them, and usually for personal reasons - and in some way, all self-serving. Donating to a group to assuage guilt for the death of a loved one, adrenalin junkies, being surrounded by men/women, whatever. People are human, and we are driven for reasons, not just pure, unadulterated generosity. Mostly I'm driven by adrenalin, but I'm not one to pass up the company of men! And EMS is full of men. We love EMS. We love what we do. We love telling war stories. We confide in each other. When I joined the squad I went from being an only child to having a unique set of brothers and sisters and friends. There are always some points of friction... there are some people we may not like, but we all get passed most of it to do the job. And we all help each other through the weird stuff. And then there are the men. Today we went with Parsippany's Rescue & Recovery to do a diving drill. There were six divers and four of them were...

We rec eived Planet 51 in the mail from NetFlix. It was cute. I didn't know much about it until the credits rolled... and at least 85% of the names are Hispanic! Look at that! Turns out it was filmed in Spain. I was thrilled. I would have been more thrilled if it was filmed in Latin or South America, but Spain is a start. If you're wondering why I'm thinking that, see the post from 28 May, "The Anti-People Society". That was the point of that post. And while the anti-people sentiment is by no means aimed completely at Latin and South Americans, in this part of the country, at least, that is the majority of it. I hate that sentiment. I never want to hear complaints about the Hispanic community when Americans don't want so many jobs because they are "beneath them". Well, here is the proof. The film is good, good vibes, great animation, excellent music and almost all Spanish staff. So there. Take that! The film's only problem was that it was releas...

That makes it sound like I sat in a dark room, glued to the computer, eyes wide open and affixed to e-bay. In fact, other than Friday's countdown to sharking that incredible crystal point, I hardly looked at e-bay. Most of what I bought fell into the $10 - $15 range. I needed anklets now that I'm wearing skirts so I found a lot of nice, inexpensive anklets that went from $0.99 to $14.99. One was $44.10 but the whole thing is sterling silver and I have a bracelet that matches; I like sets when it comes to jewelry. (I should search for footprint earrings and necklace, too, come to think of it.) I bought seven candles (including the grapefruit rosemary pillar for the uncontested amount of $17.50) and one, the Beanpod Green Tea candle, arrived yesterday and is filling the sun room with its delicious aroma. I won that lovely quartz point, which will come to a great home, along with another rainbow obsidian sphere stand. I can never have too many stands. In fact I need to get more, ...

You cannot believe this staggeringly beautiful crystal! I haven't been on e-bay in some time. There's a reason for this: it is dangerous. I love what can be found on e-bay - it's all there. Movies, bank notes, candles (I'm bidding on what has to be the last Grapefruit Rosemary pillar candle from Illuminations in the world), pens, CDs jewelry (yes!) and of course, crystal balls. This one is not a ball, but it is still amazing. One of my favourites, Crystal Art World, has an amazing quartz crystal point up for bid. I made the mistake of bidding a couple of days ago when it was a mere $14. It is now a mere $66.99 with 30 minutes to go. There have been 19 bids and it will be a miracle if I can shark this sucker out from under the other bidders. There are 8 bidders at this point, and gods know how many are watching. Most of the time I remain a watcher especially when it is a hot ticket item. Malachite is usually a problem - everyone wants it. There happens to be a lovely ma...

Eat This, Not That by David Zinczenko Recent Posts There is a potion that magically strips away pounds from your body, improves your overall health, lengthens your life, makes you more attractive to the opposite sex, and keeps you lean forever. Even better, you can have as much of this magic weight-loss potion as you want, for free, and start stripping away pounds—perhaps even several dozen pounds this year alone—without exercise, without dieting, without visiting the set of Nip/Tuck. What is this magical elixir? It’s water. Really? Really. You don't even need to mix in that fancy fat-burning stuff from the vitamin store. In fact, the less you supplement your food and beverage intake, the more weight you’ll lose (and the more money you’ll save). Keep reading this five-point plan from the new book Drink This, Not That! and begin your no diet weight-loss goals today. You'll sip your way to a flat belly in record time--and k...