Nothing is going on today except playing Tetris on the Sidekick thinking how cool it is that my cousin Clare slept for 18 hours straight. She was recovering from finals and coming down from a cold, but still. My knack for sleeping for 13-14 has nothing on that. On Friday I get to make stuffing for 19 people and am looking forward to it. All Christmas shopping is done and I'm just hoping that the 2 packages I'm waiting on will show up soon...

Big Doings

Today, two good things happened.
I delivered the presents donated from the department to a needy family in town.
It was really cool seeing the mom so happy. I think she was a little overwhelmed.
Even though she lives in what Evansville calls, "the projects," it is clear that there is a sense of community. She knows the neighbors by name, which is more than I can say for myself.

President Bush took responsibility for the faulty intelligence that led to the invasion of Iraq. A step towards the open and honest communication that should be taking place from the highest office on down. A lesson for all the ignorant politicians and overly political citizens that place blame on everyone else but themselves.

A good thing from last week ~ I was working the counter at Kitchen Affairs and said "Merry Christmas" to an elderly couple walking out the door. The owners of KA are Jewish, and the customers wanted to be all-inclusive, so they responded with a cheerful, "Happy Hanukkah." I feel good about the fact that even the idea of diversity is alive in Evansville. To some small extent.

No Dice

I can't be part time.
Today is just one of those days I shouldn't have gotten out of bed.

O Canada

I got Tom Green's book Hollywood Causes Canceron Thursday from the library and finished it early this afternoon.I must admit, I was more interested initially about what happened with Drew Barrymore than how he got his start and how his career progressed. I was a fan of his show since it came out and had my favorite episodes ~ the Plaid House, all the times he woke his parents up at 3am. etc.
I did feel bad for how he lost control of his life, somehow thought that Freddy Got Fingered would do well at the box office (just getting past the title itself is a feat), and especially his bout with testicular cancer.
As you can guess from the title. Tom's not a big fan of Hollywood. But I guess he deals with all the pretentiousness and obnoxious brown-nosing to continue...doing whatever it is he's doing now.* If I were him, I'd realize that hey, I've reached my goals and go teach comedy to kids. But maybe being slightly bitter and writing books is his thing. Maybe I'll buy the next one.

I digress...

The reason I love Tom so much is that he's not afraid to lay it out, I mean say exactly what's on his mind, regardless of who might be offended. For those who don't know, Tom is Canadian and spent the first 25-ish years of his life in Ottawa.

My favorite passage of the book (next to the Granny and the Suitcase story):
"Americans in general have the impression that Canadians are really polite, but they actually aren't. They are just polite to Americans because they are so in awe of them. It's funny to watch people I know in Canada. When there are no Americans around, they like to bag on America in the same way someone from a small town will bag on the big city. It comes from a place of national insecurity. That may be part of the reason so many comedians come from Canada. It's funny to watch the same people who talk down about America change tone when an "actual" American is in their presence. They completely shift gears, so desperately wanting to impress "The American." When you live in a nation that feels it is constantly overlooked, you really try to be on your best behavior when Daddy is in the room."

Interesting.


*I just read in his blog at tomgreen.com that he's getting into rap and plans to move to Nicaragua.