Loosely Speaking

By Ciel - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Everything Else

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Something about our pets

I've heard many people say that we are attached to our pets because they give us unconditional love. But it occurs to me that there is something more important they do: they allow us to give unconditional love. That's something to think about. Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, April 6, 2009

I want my Postum!

A little research has determined that Kraft has discontinued the production of Postum--a cereal/molasses based instant drink that was introduced as a substitute for coffee. In fact, it was never a good coffee replacer, but it was a tasty and unique hot beverage deserving of a place of its own among the Big Four: Coffee, Tea, Cocoa and Postum. Have you ever tried it? If you like the special piquancy of burnt sugar, you'd probably like Postum. It has more body than tea, is less cloyingly sweet... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Kooka offers his congratulations on the Palin role-model

In a recent post, he salutes Bristol Palin for stepping outside her mom's comfort zone by declining to get 'properly' married to the father of her child. As is not uncommon, I find it easy to agree with Kooka. He also got me thinking about the conservative notion of 'abstinence as birth control.' We are living in a culture in which sex is highlighted at every opportunity, and it being along with other values, treated as terribly significant on a terribly superficial level. One result is a lot of... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Provoked by Nautikos

In a tribal society, conformity is the ideal: unity of thought, of purpose. Tribal society is close-knit: everyone is brought up to basically the same standards, the same rules of behavior, the same definitions of right and wrong. Which is not to say all members of the tribe follow these ideals equally or willingly, only that everyone in the tribe has the same basic understanding of what those things are. If someone ignores a social rule, it is probably deliberate. If someone old enough to know... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

"The only way to win is not to play"

That's the tic-tac-toe/ global thermonuclear war solution. But what if They insist on a game? To not play is not a winning strategy then, it leads to losing by default. Nautikos' current ongoing series regarding the lurking menace of the fascist Muslim intent to make Islam the world's only religion, only concept of God and correctness, raises consciousness and directs us to the question which I think all the courtesies and high-thinking of our culture's political/cultural correctness strive to... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, March 9, 2009

What time is it really?

My computer is, sensibly, on Arizona time. I can't keep up with the changes to and from Daylight Savings Time. What is this, changing the clocks in March? It isn't even spring yet! How can we Winter Forward, Fall Back? It makes no sense. Half my clocks say one thing, half say the other... I wake up and start my day an hour later... this is not better! My internal clock is also in Arizona. Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Self-destructive or what?

Have you seen the hulu alien commercials? Alec Baldwin is a funny guy! Well-made commercial, it will win awards, probably... But the message? "We have found a new way to give you constant access to television, which will turn your brains to mush..." Which is the more important message here? That this wondrous new access is available? Or that we are already stupid with tv-watching? You want to buy into hulu, and be one of the brain-dead alien-fodder humans? Then you don't need hulu, your brain is... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Speaking of butt-dialing...

I used the term a few posts ago, over in the Ciel Show, I believe it was, and was basically making it up as I wrote--and a number of comments suggested that it was indeed a previously-unheard expression. But guess what! It has turned up in a commercial for a phone with a flip-case... "No more butt-dialing!" How about that? The wonder of spontaneous independent creation! Gad-- I am suddenly thinking that some joker got paid a bundle for coming up with that. I, on the other hand, got a few... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

If you've missed this...

as it has made the rounds of the Internet, here it is for your amusement: Here’s a prime example of ‘Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus’ offered by an English professor from an american university. The professor told his class, ‘Today we will experiment with a new form called the tandem story. The process is simple. Each person will pair off with the person sitting to his or her immediate right. As homework tonight, one of you will write the first paragraph of a short story. You will e-mail... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, February 6, 2009

If I could give an award for the Great American Family,

it would go to TAPS and her family, from her parents to her kids! Every time she tells us a story about her life, I am struck with the love and intelligence, the generosity that flowed from her parents, making the very best of lives, the most solid family with good and enduring values despite material challenge, even hardship. Those values and strengths she has passed along to her own kids, with love, joy and encouragement. She shares these same qualities in everything she writes here, even in... Sign in to see full entry.

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