Tagged!

Another meme, this one from Claire. As she explains it, she tags 11 people with 11 questions, then I get to do the same with my own questions. But I'm tagging anyone and everyone who wants to participate, and I suggest you use Claire's questions since they're good ones, and she has already tagged some mutual blog buddies. (I would definitely like to see WIGSF's answers in particular.)

Claire's questions:

1. Which is your favorite holiday or celebration? Birthdays - other peoples'.

2. What's your favorite song to rock out at a karaoke party? Or, if you're not a karaoke person, what's your favorite song to sing in the shower? It's more like singing in the car to the alternative station.

3. Do you wear pyjamas? If so, do you have a favorite pair? No

4. Which of the cities you have visited is your favourite? London

5. What do you think of the Kardashians? In a word - GAG

6. Do you have any tattoos? Three

7. Who was your favorite teacher? The one I slept with

8. How much sleep do you need each night? Do you sleep well? About 7.5 hours is perfect. Sometimes I sleep well, sometimes I sleep horribly, depending on my anxiety level, whether I get up at 4 a.m. and eat dessert, and how many inappropriate dreams I have.

9. If you were a Star Wars character, which one would you be? Han Solo, but gay.

10. What is your favorite kind of candy? Sea salt caramels

11. The Simpsons was recently voted the greatest TV show of all time - what's your take on this? Sorry Darth...My take is...like the poor bastard saying his favorite color is blue, when it isn't: WRONG! 

Five things

I'm stealing this from Joey, who did this meme a few posts ago. I encourage/tag any of you to do it who would like to, since I'm curious about interesting people, and you're all interesting, aren't you?

Five things (most of) you don't know about me

1. I haven't always been a vegetarian. Although I started thinking that maybe I didn't want to eat or wear animals in the fourth grade, there was a time, in fact, where I ate steak with butter on it.

2.  Although I don't have or want children, I am drawn to teenagers. I love spending time with my little bro and young adults I meet through work, as well as being kind of a big sister to my older friends' kids. Mr. RK says it's because I haven't quite grown up yet, which he says is a good thing.

3. If I were a Peanuts character, I'd be Snoopy.

4. Years ago, I got into a small motorcycle accident in Las Vegas. The injury still flares up occasionally.

5. I hate most foo foo girly stuff. A friend of mine is getting married and having a big cupcake wedding and I'm having a hard time not gagging over some of the details.

How about you? What don't I know, that won't make me want to run away screaming?

I speak for the cheese!*

I don't like labels - e.g. liberal or conservative - I prefer to think of myself as independent.

One place where I totally will not, cannot budge from, ideologically, is the idea that people should take personal responsibility.

So it irritates the shit out of me when groups do stuff like this.

In sum, a group called Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has put up some nasty billboards of fat people with the message, "This is your thighs on cheese," etc.

I like cheese. If I eat too much of it and stop exercising and get fat, whose fault would that be? Mine. Not the fault of feta, cheddar, mozzarrella or monterey jack.

And at this point I don't think my thighs are any worse for the Wensleydale.*

And why cheese, I ask you? Why not hamburgers, french fries, chocolate, or any number of fattening things?

Mr. RK said, "If they really wanted to be realistic, they'd put up a picture of an empty wallet and say, 'This is your wallet on healthcare.'"

I speak for the cheese! It's an option for protein that many of us vegetarians happen to enjoy. And I can safely say that cheese enchiladas are a supremely effective comfort food, being much more enjoyable than sex with my ex, for instance.

There is fat-free cheese, vegan cheese, probably even salt- and taste-free cheese. PCRM can shove these ads up their pompous asses for all I care.

*Big bonus points for you if you catch that reference!
*Bigger points if you get that one! Get both and you will be initiated into the brotherhood.

Things I like Thursday

Taking my lead from the lovely Claire, here is my semi-regular edition of Things I like Thursday.

You may have noticed that I like cats - particularly lolcats. I also like using the incredibly nifty lolcatbuilder. I sent this as a birthday card for my little brother earlier this week. He is also a cat person.

Looking through pictures, I also found this Christmas lolcat, featuring Earl Grey.

Of course, sometimes you don't even need to use the lolbuilder to get a good laugh - it's just provided for you (or, more specifically, found in a store by Mr. RK's best friend, who is apparently as easily amused as I am.)

But seriously

I wanted to write about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. today, and this quote from his "I Have a Dream" speech that I saw on Lynn's blog just grabbed me:

You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love...

Wouldn't it be great if we all had that?

A friend of mine is getting married. Her future in-laws are a bit hoity toity and we all said, "Hey, at least you're not getting married at the country club!" One of her friends, who is African-American, joked that she wouldn't be able to get in...and another friend joked that with my Jewish and Apache roots, I wouldn't, either.

But imagine if that was your reality? Less than fifty years ago, it would have been my reality.

Racial segregation may be over in the U.S., but sexism and homophobia are the sad reality in many parts of our country and the world.

What are you doing to help change that?

Thoughtless Thursday

No, I'm not starting a new meme - just thought it was a fitting headline for this real ad campaign in Tokyo:

That said, I may or may not have had fun at the mall* with stickers from my new favorite book:

What can I say? I'm easily amused.
*Pleading the Fifth. Also, I was with my friend's two teenagers, which might have had something to do with it.

Writing about the bleeding obvious

I went to the bookstore today with my friend and her two teenage sons (that was an adventure and a half.) Among the books we saw: a children's book called - and I am not making this up - "What's In Your Diaper?"

Seriously? Do we really need to write about the bleeding obvious? Is the target market for the folks who did not show their kids the book "Everybody Poops"?

If so, Mr. RK and I came up with some alternate ideas:

"Where Does Penis Go?" (A picture book - "Penis went here.")

"Who is the office jerk?"

"What did that bird do to my car?"

"What's in your litter box?"

"What happens when the condom breaks?"

"My claws, your face: ways that pets say, 'No!'"

"There's Waldo."

"Boobs are not an etch-a-sketch: a sexual primer." Mr. RK suggested this, but from what I hear, that may not be totally obvious to most of the heterosexual male population.

So how about it? What would your suggestions be?

Ouch

One of my friends is likely getting a divorce.

I have plenty of divorced friends and know plenty of divorced people, but this is the first friend who I knew prior to his marriage who is now separated. I'm just not sure how to react, because based on what I know, his wife is totally fucking with him emotionally.

I have not been a big fan of hers for some time. And based on her behavior I suspect there is another guy. I have not told him this. He's in enough pain as it is.

It's very tempting for me to say, "To hell with her!" But it's probably better for me to be more nurturing, so I have told him I'm here if he needs me (we've exchanged probably 100 texts in the past few days) and I am sending him chocolate (he loves chocolate.)

For those of you who have been through a bad breakup or a divorce, what did friends do that helped you?