Loose Thoughts for Friday

I've been busy this week, thus the light posting.

I was asked to read Michael and William Henry's newest book, Atmosphere of Violence, and offer feedback and that kept me busy the front part of the week.  The book is wonderful and I'll put up a review this weekend.  You can get it now on Kindle for just $2.99; for that price you just can't go wrong.  If you like early John Grisham, you'll love this series.

I've also had several other irons in the fire this week one of which has been campaigning for Mike Grady to perform at the Highland Jazz & Blues Festival this fall.  I'm lobbying the booking committee to get him on the bill.  Grady has expressed interest in the idea and I think it would be great fun!

I've been keeping up with Barrow Peacock's insurance bill (SB655) in which he was attempting to pass legislation to require electronic or telephone verification of insurance coverage in the case of an automobile accident.  I have it on reliable source now that the bill has been killed in committee; as it happens, La. Senator Ronnie Johns of Lake Charles, who is with State Farm, and other insurance agents didn't want the bill to go through.  Go figure.  Irony in action: State Farm is currently ponying up the expenses for my son's auto accident in February because the other driver was uninsured.  Lame.

Meanwhile, in the blogosphere, my stats are in the cellar.  Good thing I don't obsess about that anymore or else I'd just turn out the lights.  I check 'em every now and then, but hey...when you can't post every day, all day, that sort of thing happens.

But since I blogged last, Rick Santorum dropped out of the race which for all intents and purposes (Newt is still technically in, and Ron Paul), means Romney is assured the nomination.  So now that we're down to a two man race and we've got our ducks in a row, what is everyone talking about?  Why, whether Ann Romney has ever worked, of course.  Whether or not raising five kids constitutes "work."  Who cares?

No disrespect intended to anyone, but aren't there more relevant issues we need to be worrying about with a critical election coming up in less than 8 months?  We've got half of the Memeorandum aggregation filled with Hilary Rosen, Ann Romney, and "the war on women"?

I've all but quit checking Drudge; he's been so blatantly Romney for so long now I got bored with that; then every banner headline was about the Trayvon Martin case often with intentionally misleading and inflammatory headlines.

I've grown weary with Hot Air, too.  Just about the only writers I enjoy reading over there are still Ed Morrissey and Allahpundit.  Since the sale to corporate it just hasn't been the same.

I miss Bride of Rove's voice of reason (she will laugh at that description).  I wish her job-life would settle and she'd get back to regular posting.

 Oh well - it's the weekend.  Five more weeks of school for me.  One of the things I'm going to be doing this summer is working on the blog (and elsewhere)  to fight against Obama's re-election.   We've got some very serious issues ahead of us and if that means coalescing behind Mitt Romney then that's what I'm going to do.

My advice to Romney right now?  Be very wise and forward thinking when you select a VP candidate.  Much depends on that choice.

That is all.

New IG-Gate Blog!

Thank goodness for Robert Stacy McCain and Smitty for helping to keep us informed on IG-Gate. They have linked to a new blog just to help keep up with it all.

Things have been happening so fast with that story, even though it seems like it's plodding along, and there are so many fronts to keep up with, this is a brilliant idea.

Bookmark it!

Nightly Reads

Here are some quick links for you this evening from my blogging buddies:

Doug Ross has a bedtime story for you.

Shreve Stockton at The Daily Coyote has an adorable calf tale you can't miss (and a photo!).

As the daughter and granddaughter of Cuban immigrants, Roxy has a special insight on the Cuban issue. Leave a comment for her and encourage her to write more on this topic! She has some things to say!

Suzanna Logan has a new blog and the comments are as much fun to read as her posts!

The Anchoress writes eloquently as always about the Catholic church and CT.

If you haven't already checked out Sarah's new blog design, you should. She did it herself!

I love the posts on education and teaching on this blog, which I've recently stumbled onto. Sometimes it's good to get away from politics!

Legal Insurrection is another great blog I've just discovered, full of quick, newsy bits and links. Love his quote from the Paglia comlumn!

And with that, I'm off to make some progress with The Yankee Years.

Saturday Round-Up

Here's a gratuitous Russell Crowe picture for my Saturday round-up.

You may have noticed my blogroll growing over on the right sidebar. I have recently discovered some really great blogs which I'm sure most of the world already knew about. But be sure to check them out from time to time. My addition today is Robert Stacy McCain's blog. I've been reading him in American Spectator for while but clueless as I am, did not realize he had a personal blog. Love his writing style!

I also have been enjoying reading The Anchoress. She does a lot of linking to articles I might miss and her writing style is very easy and conversational.

I also love Nansen Malin's blog from Seaview, WA - she highlights a beautiful part of the country and uses lots of vintage photographs!

Today is Mardi Gras parade weekend number two and so I'm gearing up for that. This afternoon is the Krewe of Gemini Parade (same route as last week's Centaur Parade) and then tomorrow is the Highland Parade. We're going to try to have some friends over for the Highland Parade if we can all get our schedules coordinated! I'll probably live blog both parades with some photos as I did last week, this time with an eye to not running out of battery life before the parade starts!

I drove part of the parade route last night when I went to pick up The Teenager and the streets were already lined with RVs and campers, pickup trucks and even rows of plastic chairs holding spots. The overnighters had bonfires going and were mingling from camper to camper all having a big old time. It looked like fun!

My reading table is still groaning with unread books although I lightened the load by one last night. I finished Inside Gitmo. It was a fascinating book and has a great website tie-in that you should check if you are at all interested in the topic. Lt. Col. Cucullu is extrememly knowledgable about the subject and has even responded to an email question or two of mine.

I'm still reading Team of Rivals but I put it aside for the Gitmo book. I'm getting back to it today but looking longingly at The Yankee Years sitting there. I also have a John Grisham waiting for me and the adorable Daily Coyote book.

Happy reading!

A New Look

Woot! Check out the new layout! I'm loving it!

The genius is Marina Simmons of Penny Lane Designs and she's terrific. I'm so NOT creative and she was able to pull exactly what I wanted out of my knotted little brain. And then she sent me two designs to choose from just to be sure she had what I wanted.

Check out her work on her blog (linked above). I wish I knew how to do stuff like she does, but since I don't, I'm glad Marina does!

RSS Feed Readers

I'm curious about RSS Feed Readers. I'd like to know if any of you guys use feed readers and which one you prefer.

Over the past few months I have accumulated a long list of blogs and other sites that I like to read. The longer the list gets, the more time I spend clicking back and forth to see if they've been updated. On my sidebar I have a list of "Great Blogs" and these are set to list in order of most recently updated. So for example, when Nikki updates her blog, she moves to the top of the list.

I also have a list of non-blog sites that I like to read, but it doesn't update that same way - it's just a list -- so I find myself for example, going to the New York Times Blogs page and clicking on each one that I like just to see who has updated.

The point of all this is that a reader would save me some time, I think. Maybe I just spend too much time on the internet! Anyway, who uses a reader and which one do you like and why?!

New Year's Eve

Happy New Year! Or New Year's Eve anyway. As the year draws to a close, many people are looking back at the "best of" or "worst of" aspects of 2008. I'm ready to put 2008 in the can so I'm not looking back.

I'm looking forward to 2009. I don't EVER make New Year resolutions for multiple reasons. I'd never stick to them and if I want to set a goal or alter behavior I can do that when the mood strikes. I am, however, taking a small moment to evaluate some small personal goals. My blog is about six months old and I'm beginning to get the feel for where I want it to go. I'm not too far off track from that. I'd like to thank the folks that stop by and read what I write and who comment. The blogging-gods say "your blog should have focus!" and mine is kind of all over the place, but I like that. I'm not making a living at it, nor do I intend to, so I don't feel the pressure to write about just politics or just books or just teaching... I will say though that the political season was crazy-fun and I made some new friends (Right in Florida and of course Sarah) and maybe lost a couple. I'm sure we can expect much more political writing in the future!

As for my New Year's Eve plans - it's going to be me, Checkers and the Teenager; Steve will be keeping the city safe from drunks and crazies. I'll open a bottle of fine beer and say hello to 2009. And I'll probably be blogging.

Work in Progress

For Christmas this year Nikki gave me a gift certificate for a blog makeover from Penny Lane Designs. Nikki recently had her own blog redone and it so totally suits her personality and her blog that I'm hoping for similar miracles with mine!

I told Marina (the makeover maven) that I don't hate the design I have now, it's just boilerplate and lots of other people have it. I'm kind of nervous because I'm so freaking picky, but I've looked at this girl's work (check her blog link on her site linked above - she's got all of her designs there) and I have faith that we can work together and I will love the result!

So to all of my fifteen readers, one day in the next few weeks you might notice a different look! And if you want a makeover of your own, go check out Marina's site!

Why Blog?

An interesting article on the experience of blogging.

Hello Blogosphere!

This is just what the world needs! Another Blog! Yes, I have decided to join the flock and join the blogosphere. In fact, I'm also going to start, once I get the hang of this, a professional blog. That will come later. Much later, probably. Here, you can expect to find my random observations of life as I see it, which might include anything from what Checkers did today (that's my dog), political observations (I know, but I can't help it sometimes; I will try to behave), what's happening around town that's interesting, what I'm reading.... In other words, at this point, I'm keeping the door open as to where this blog might go. You NEVER know what you will find. I also will eventually post links to some of my favorite blogs (I have a few!) So, be patient with me as I learn my way around here and come back in a bit and see what has developed.