Let’s see…awake from 2:00am Saturday until 6:00pm Sunday (3am, Colorado time) — so that’s a good 24 hours of travel. Ack.

When I checked in with family this morning, they asked for my impressions so far of Japan. As bleary-eyed as I was on the bus ride, my impressions were so far limited. This morning didn’t add much, except that the hotel’s cafe had deco reminiscent of a 1980s salad bar (pale peaches and cream, green carpet, faded houseplants) and played the worst music. Take any overwrought love song from an American movie. Add Muzak. Oh, and the eggs here are runny. Please tell me that runny eggs aren’t going to be an ongoing theme!

Whine, whine, whine…packing again now, because we’re going to wander around Saitama/Omiya station, buy our tickets to Misawa (only a 3-hour trip this time), and immerse ourselves in northern Tokyo, pretending that we don’t look very, very pale, chubby, and tall compared to everyone else here.

The month before Christmas!

Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.

Why the PC Police had taken away,
The reason for Christmas – no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing,
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.

It might hurt people’s feelings; the teachers would say
December 25th is just a “Holiday”.
Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!

CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.

As Targets are hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe’s the word Christmas – was no where to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny’s and Sears
You won’t hear the word Christmas; it won’t touch your ears.

Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!

At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace

The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
So as you celebrate “Winter Break” under your “Dream Tree”
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.

Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!

Whatever. Happy holidays, y’all — whatever holiday you celebrate.

Mr. Annan said in a written statement: “The problem is not the Koran or the Torah or the Bible. Indeed, I have often said that the problem is never the faith, it is the faithful and how they behave toward each other.”

Also from NYT: For Evangelicals, Supporting Israel Is ‘God’s Foreign Policy’

Mr. Hagee says his message for the White House was, “Every time there has been a fight like [Lebanon in July] over the last 50 years, the State Department would send someone over in a jet to call for a cease-fire. The terrorists would rest, rearm and retaliate.” He added, “Appeasement has never helped the Jewish people.”

One side says to educate and to teach people how to see each other as human. The other says to bomb them all. Gee, I wonder why we don’t have any peace in the Middle East? At this point, I’m really wanting to re-read Tom Robbins’ Skinny Legs and All. The storyline used to seem like an over-the-top farce of people trying to force God’s hand for the end times. Now, it seems not only plausible, but likely.

On a BMW X5. Whaaaa? Um, okay.

~~~~~

driving along a country-ish road in Arizona

Mike: Oh! That burns me up Did you see that church?

Me: No. What did it say?

Mike: “No Jesus. No Peace. Know Jesus. Know Peace.”

Me: (mildly confused) Right, and?

Mike: It’s an ultimatum, a threat. Join our particular brand of religion, or else we’ll kill you all.

Me: I don’t think it’s meant to come across that way. They’re talking about peace in your heart, peace in your life — not a threat for world domination. So, you’ve always thought it was a threat of “our way or we’ll wage war?”

Mike: Well, yeah.

Me: Hmmm. Guess I’d better blog that one. I’ve never thought of it that way before.

~~~~~

Public Service Announcement

The Mike whom I’m marrying next month wishes for me to clarify that he’s not the same person as the Mike who comments here on a regular basis. Just so ya know…

He reads (yes, he’s even read my early on gushing), but has yet to delurk.

I watched Project Runway tonight, convinced from the beginning that Uli would be out. Instead, she pulled out a beautiful dress that still looked very “her” without being a repeat of what she’s done again…and again…and again. (Though, I’d die to wear her couture dress — it was gorgeous!)

(spoilers below)

Finally, at the end, I was wondering how in the world they were going to lose either Michael or Jeffrey (jackass, but talented). The answer? They didn’t. Instead of having three finalists for Fashion Week, there are four. I’m delighted, and it should be a great show.

My personal vote (as in, what clothing I would buy) is for Laura. As Heidi said, I’d wear everything she’s made (except that she tends to flatter a more straight figure than mine). She’s classic and elegant.

But my guess for the winner? Jeffrey, I think. He’s interesting in a way like Jay McCarroll from Season 1.

Weight Benefit Seen Even if Mothers Are Obese or Have Diabetes

Sept. 26, 2006 — Breastfed babies are less likely to grow into overweight children than those fed formula, even if their mothers are obese or have diabetes, research confirms.

Exclusively breastfed babies had roughly a 34% reduced risk of being overweight during childhood, compared to children exclusively formula-fed, according to a new analysis of data from a study involving more than 15,000 children

Read the rest here.

*No, this does not mean I think the government should ever dictate or badger women into nursing! But FTLOG, a little support would be nice.

Nope, not mine this time — I literally mean “the news.” Jim Wallis (Sojourners) and Tony Perkins (Family Research Council) will be on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric this evening to discus the “Moral Direction of our Country.” I’m recording it, and if there’s anything worth talking (or ranting) about, you’ll see it here tomorrow. Or late tonight, since Mike’s coming in late, and I’ll want to keep myself up. Then again, I might just watch Grey’s Anatomy.

Second: Being told who you are

After knocking off one more of the seemingly endless list of wedding to-dos (finding shoes), I emailed Mike with an FYI that the ones I’d picked would be sent to the dress shop for me to try on, and buy them if I like them. He replied, You are so organized. Meanwhile, I keep looking at my to-do list for the next 3 hours and wondering how it will all get done.

Me? Organized? Oh, right. I actually *am* organized. So, how is it, that I’ve spent years playing the familial role of the flighty one who can’t be pinned down? And how is it, then, that even though I KNOW I’m capable of pulling multiple long-eared rodents out of numerous items of headwear, that I still sometimes in my head don’t see myself that way, after years of being told who I’m supposed to be (but am not)? Confused yet?

No answers here…just musing and indulging myself in some serious run-on sentences.

Now, off to cross some more things off my list that might actually pay the bills. I hate that part. That post (work/worth) is still brewing in my head. Someday, I might even get myself *organized* enough (snort) to write it.

I still agree with my assessment of (and agreement with) the first portion of the spammail, but that’s something I can’t defend with any academic precision. As for the second portion, I do vaguely recall thinking it odd that some quite conservative-leaning commentary would be coming from a professor in liberal St. Paul, NM. Turns out, it wasn’t:

DISCLAIMER: There is an e-mail floating around the internet dealing with the 2000 Bush/Gore election, remarks of a Scotish philosopher named Alexander Tyler, etc. Part of it is attributed to me. It is entirely BOGUS as to my authorship. I’ve been trying to kill it for 3 years. For details see: http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/tyler.asp.

The rest of the snopes article is worth a look, including their evaluation of the accuracy of the demographic data for the counties voting for Bush and for Gore.

For what it’s worth (and to my eternal embarassment), I voted for Bush in 2000. Of course, voting in El Paso County, Colorado, that meant…nothing. Bush would have won here (in both elections) regardless of my ballot. Anyway, I’m just one of the millions of dupes who thought that “compassionate conservatism” might actually mean something.

For more embarassment, I can’t believe I didn’t at least poke through Snopes before responding — this is the sort of mistake a newbie would make! I know better, people. Argh!

Anyway, here, there’s Radio Free Santa Fe / KBAC, which seems to be an exact clone of KBCO.

I’ll try to not annoy myself too much with the idea of “radio free” and “Clear Channel” being related to the same station. As if.

I really should just bite the bullet and get an XM receiver, huh?