I Ain't Afraid of No Daleks

I'm really fed up with all this yammering by both presidential hopefuls about terrorism, Iraq,Iran, Isreal, Afghanastan. Oh, don't get me started on that.

When it comes to reality, to politics, to THINKING, Americans are basically, the absolutely stupidist people on earth. A DONKEY has more intelligence!

People stupidly think that terrorism and Al Queda just happened one day, that one day, some guy in a headcloth got a gun and decided he hated America.

Erm--no.

THESE ARE KNOWN ESTABLISHED FACTS...THEY ARE HISTORY, NOT FICTION:

Back in the cold war (if any Americans tiny little brains can still remember back that far), the SOVIET UNION invaded a country called...(wait for it)...

AFGHANASTAN.

And who did the USA support? That's right boys and girls, the right-wing radical Muslims. Who taught them their warfare skills? WE DID. Who supplied them with weaponry? WE DID.

And furthermore, who overthrew the rightful king, AND helped to put the Ayatolla in power? WE DID.

And...this gets really good, read on....

Who helped put Sadaam into power in Iraq? That's right boys and girls, the good old US of A....only, Sadaam said, "Thanks for the help, now get lost."

And then, children, one day, two planes crashed into the World Trade Center, one into a field, and one into the Pentagon.

THE END.

..sitting in a theatre for four hours. Doctor Who/David Tennant fans have had the web all a-buzz this week, due to the fact that Mr. Tennant (along with Patrick Stewart and a superb ensamble from the Royal Shakespeare Company) is premering his Hamlet--as I write this, if what I've read is at all correct.

I cannot help but wonder, how the play has been interpreted by the director, or the dramaturg or whomever. If left on its own, Hamlet will run around 4 hours....a good thing if you're playing to either some real Shakespeare anoraks, or a house full of insomniacs.

If memory serves me, there are three main versions of Hamlet--and forgive me if I've gotten this wrong--we spent all of two weeks intensively studying Hamlet in college the summer of '04--so not a lot of time to memorize facts, while trying to read and comprehend one of the greatest plays of all time)...anyway, I THINK there's the first folio, the second quatro, and...sorry, I forget what the third one was. Then, there's all the modern edited texts, of course.

I'm guessing that whomever choose this play, would do a bit of re-writing, to make the play more palatiable for the modern audience--which, being that the play is being performed in Shakespeare's home town, so to speak, I'm guess the audience will be a mixture of Shakespearean scholars, advid theater goers, casual theater goers, first-timers and...fan-girls.

So, I'm of the mind that the director may be using one of the shorter original texts---now, if I'm correct in remembering, the origianl longest text, I think, had over 3500 lines in it. Waaayy too long for today's audiences! And, tiring for the actors, as well, to maintain. Yet, I'm sure, being that they are the RSC, they would want to be as true to the original texts as possible.

So, I am quite curious as to how the director or whomever did the re-write, pitched this play. What sort of balance did he (or she) choose, between the modern audience and the orginal Elisabethan text? I'm thinking three hours, in length--which means some cutting, but not so much as to lose the character and true meaning of the play--just enough to keep the audience from yawning.

Hamlet, the ultimate manic-depressive, has these mood swings--they are an intregal part of the play. But, it is a complicated play, and even one cut in the wrong place--I imagine--could completely undo the cohesion of an entire scene.

However it was done, I'm sure it was done brilliantly, and--whether Tennant is in the role or not, envy anyone with the chance to see Hamlet performed in Stratford Upon Avon.

LAST PIC REMOVED 'COS I DO NOT ADVERTISE PORN ON THIS WEBSITE! Do an effing Google search, you pervs.

It's heading into 2pm here in my part of the world. I'm home from work. Ordered to stay home and rest for the rest of the day, by the nurse at the health center.

Walking to work this morning, I almost fell over twice. Got to the office still feeling strange, so called off sick, went home and changed real quick into something cooler---I was wearing my posh trouser suit, which isn't the ideal thing to wear in high humidity--the lined oriental style satin jacket was literally stuck to my back--I couldn't blinking get it off! Getting my satin trousers off, was like trying to peel a ruddy bananna!

Anyway, grabbed a bus downtown, transferred to another bus, got to the center...turns out my blood pressure was almost dangerously low--for a while it was bandied about whether or not I should go to the ER--but they gave me some meds--and a stern lecture, and sent me home to rest. I have to go back tomorrow, if I'm still having symptoms....but I feel slightly better now, just very weak. My BP used to be sky-high, so it feels odd to me to be lectured about it being too low--wish these doctor's and such would make up their cotton-pickin' minds already!

A nice lady I met in the waiting room at the health center, offered me a ride home, when she found out she lived only right around the corner from me--isn't that nice? I think that was rather grand. Usually people are rather cranky in that particular health center--as health center's go, they are the bottom of the barrel around these parts. I'm told most of those with private health insurance do tend to go elsewhere. Probably 80 percent of the health center's patients either have welfare health care (like me, partially) or no health insurance at all (like me, partially). I have SOME coverage provided by the government, due to my being on disability, but a lot of things are not covered: hospital stays, eye exams, some tests, annual physicals and 20 percent of the cost of every time I walk through the door of the health center, no matter what the reason---that's 20% of 80 to 120 dollars or more.

So, I have to go back and lie down some more, with my feet elevated--seems I have something called "edema," and have to keep my feet propped up for a few hours. Well, I'll take Euripides with me and finish the play I was reading. It ain't Hamlet, but it's not half-bad. I'd love to play Medea.

Have a good evening, everyone. Cheers.

Another overcast day, following our tropical storm yesterday.

The city's Dept. of Public Works decided to be my own personal alarm clock this morning, by choosing to cut the pavement out in front of my apartment building with a concrete saw, at about twenty minutes past seven in the morning--how very considerate of them!

Sometimes I really hate Glens Falls.

Going to be a tough day. I fell ill again, during the night. I have to go to work, but it's going to be a struggle. I'm extremely light-headed and weak, for some reason. Keep wanting to list to the left, like a sinking ship. Otherwise I feel okay, though, so will just do my best to muddle through 'till 4pm.

Well, a quick lunch of Cajun black beans and rice with corn and smoked sausage, took my chicken I had roasting this morning, out of the oven, to have ready for dinner tonight, so I'm good to go, on that score.

Have a lovely day, all.

At a recent party, a slightly tipsy David Tennant admitted that he was secretly dating fellow celebrity Kerry Katona. "Gotta' keep ma'bhoy happy, ya'know," the actor quipped, after downing five whiskeys, "it's very fond of blonds with big knockers".

...rounding the club house turn for the first time, it was opening day at historic Saratoga Race Course yesterday, of the 2008 Summer meet.

Here's what a local reporter had to say:

Running in the rain
Wet weather helped usher in the start of the racing season

"My father was everything to me. And this place is like a church to me. I come here every year in his name so that the legacy can live on."

Racing silks of winning stables

An on-site mineral spring, named after the great horse, Man O' War

So, I was sitting here, minding my own business, 1 O'clock in the morning, when, FLASH-FLASH, the room lights up suddenly, with two blasting blue flares of light--makes me jump...but...no sound...until about 15 seconds later--about 15 miles away, the storm is.

For some reason, I find silent lightning more eerie than the kind that lands right in your own neighbourhood--oh, that's scary too--I've been mildly shocked by a near-miss. But...I dunno'. It's not scary so much as it seems...unnatural. You see a flash of lightning, you expect a rumble or crash of thunder--depending on the distance, and when it doesn't come right away...it just seems, well, weird. At least it does to me, anyway.

I remember as a child, we used to get heat lightning a lot a night--that's a term that's actually a misnomer. The name comes from the fact that this usually is only seen in the warmer, summer months. "Heat lightning" really is just far-distant lightning, that can't be heard--something, I think, to do with the way the sound bounces back and forth on the earth's surface...I suck at science so I'm only guessing. But, there was someting benevolent about heat lightning--it was too far away to hurt you, and was interesting to look at. Strangely, we seldom seem to get this type of lightning now--or, maybe it was just where I lived, growing up in the upper Hudson Valley.

I'm not crazy about thunderstorms--as a child I was terrified of them, for some reason...but, I was afraid of lots of things as a kid--I was a real wimp...boy have I changed.

I think the scariest lightning I've EVER seen, is ball lightning. Again, thankfully, this was too far away to hurt us, but I do remember sitting on our front lawn--with many of the neighbours standing on theirs, watching this strange natural phenomena--only time I've ever seen it in my life. Great balls o' fire? Oh yes. Balls of orange light, flaring up inside great looming grey clouds---wow. Scary stuff. I remember that it was reported later that night, that one "ball" passed right through the wall of someone's home--how strange!

Must have been terrifiying to watch, right where the storm was. People used to claim that there was no such thing--ha! Trust me, I've seen it with my own eyes, and so has my family and about 8 of my former neighbours. I guess it is very rare though. As I recall--and mind you, it was back in the 70's, but I recall that the balls of lightning lasted much longer than normal lightning--which adds to the weirdness and the fear factor, I suppose. Ball lightning doesn't flash--it flares up and glows before dispersing. Very, very freaky thing to watch, let me tell you. More than one person admitted to having it raise the hairs on the back of their necks.

I looked at the National Weather Service Albany, NY radar site-whoa. A big red and orange blob heading south to north....this tropical storm is really giving upstate New York ("upstate" is, generally speaking, anything roughly 50 miles north of New York City) a real pounding.

Just read where that lovely actress, Catherine Tate (David Tennant's co-star on Dr Who) recently injured herself while rehearsing her play, and was forced to miss opening night. How sad!

Well, even tho' she'll never read this, I do wish her a speedy recovery, and much, much success with her play...tho' I'm sure that will be the case...she may be known over there as a comic, but by gosh, I think she's a brilliant actress...and she just really seems like a geninely nice person--and of course, I've been told she's a cat-owner, so that puts her up a notch in my esteem, as well.

Cheers, Catherine.

Nearly every time I post a blog with a photo, I have to RE-POST it, because BCUK--since I changed to the new design, doesn't let me post blogs with photos...I have to hit "save," then go into "edit," and hit "save" again...that's a genuine pain in the arse. Anyone else had glitches with the new design?

Pleasant evening at work, for a nice change, I got to hang out with people who like me--well, like me enough to want to talk with me, anyway. Made the night just fly by, and I actually enjoyed myself at work--even made 7 sales...not the best number on tonight's shift, but not shabby.

I like working with my voice--the challenge of using only your voice to convey feelings and persuade people--well, I suck as a salesperson, so not so sure about the persuading part.

I got invited out to a co-worker's dairy farm, which would be awsome...don't know if anything will come of it, though. Was invited to a model train club's open house--but naturally, I was working tonight, and couldn't go.

Speaking of working, lay-off's temporarily over, and I'm back on regular shift starting tomorrow. My body's going to thing I'm nuts. It's not sure when it should be hungry or sleepy, anymore.

Been dealing with a migrane all day, which is highly unusual for me. I'm blessed in that I so seldom get headaches...unfortunately, when I do get them, they tend to make up for lost time. I spend a dollar on a candy bar--a dollar that I could ill-afford, but it did seem to help my headache to go away--suspect it was a blood-sugar problem. Now, that hurt--a month ago they were only 80 cents..can't even afford a blinking candy bar..what's the world coming to???

I've a fly in my front room, and it's driving me bonkers!!! Keeps landing on my bare legs (I'm wearing my comfy old soft denim skirt) and flying around my face, and it's too "flighty" for me to swat fast enough at. The building's new welfare residents keep leaving the lids to the dumpster (skip) out in the car park off, and the flies are horrible. I'd be surprised that the city doesn't get at the building manager, but this city isn't overly concerned with rubbish and other quality of life issues. They're more into putting new roundabouts and posh streetlamps and such. You know, all "free" governments are essentially the same, no matter what the country--some are just better or worse than others.

Got home just in time. It was only drizzling slightly when I left work, but now, ten minutes after I've come home, it's raining buckets again. Been raining on and off all day. Not that I mind. I mostly like the rain. There's a thunderstorm rolling in. Very sharp lightning--but thunder's very distant--so it's miles away yet. We're under a flash-flood watch in parts of our area to the south...tropical rain. Seems weird to hear of "tropical weather" in the mountains of northern New York, but, there ya' go. At least I didn't have to walk home in it. I couldn't find my 'brella, so I grabbed my old "Genuinie Crusher" hat.

I love my "Crusher"--pictured below--tho' I've shaped mine into a Fedora, rather than a bucket hat..and mine's navy blue...my old one used to be forest green, back when I was a teenager. I own one of the last "originals" ever made, by the company that first manufactured them..but have since found that a company in Oregon--AMJ Pacific, that sells to Northwestern American woodsmen and women, makes them, now. They're GREAT hats--virtually indestructable..and, they roll up in your pocket or knapsack easily, and are just as easily re-shaped again. I used to waterproof mine--that's their only downfall, is that in a heavy downpour they can get a mite soggy, but waterproofed they are fantastic.

You can tell I love my outdoor gear, can't you? Well, spend as much time as I have, getting soaked to the skin for hours, caught in the mud, having close brushes with frost-bite and hypothemia, and dang, peeople--you'd be in love your favourtie outdoor gear as well, trust me!