Various and Sundry, February 25

Anyone else having trouble keeping up with the news? Where to focus: Wisconsin union workers, protests and violence in Libya, the lack of defense of the Defense of Marriage Act, the moves to defund Planned Parenthood... Certainly they require more than my brief and ill-informed opinions and reflections. And lots of other people have lots of stuff to say about it.

Here's the one thing I'll say about all of this: I'm trying to keep an open mind, listening to arguments that don't already support my point of view and hammering out my own opinions. That is hard, hard work, so I'm taking my time. Mostly I try to keep my mouth shut until I have a clear thought in my head. Doesn't always work. One of the reasons I like Andrew Sullivan's blog is because he allows for the debate and the presentation of the strongest arguments on all sides of an issue. Be warned, though: if you go there, you will be inundated with ideas, many of which you won't agree with.

So let's go with some lighter fare, such as the "oatmeal" at McDonalds. I appreciate Ta-Nehisi Coates' response to the editorial in the Times (which said how it's just as easy to make oatmeal at home as to buy it at Mickey D's):

I think what Bittman urges in his writing is is consciousness. He wants people to think hard about what they're eating. I strongly suspect that people go to McDonald's for the exact opposite reason--to get unconscious. Understanding why that it is, goes beyond our food. It's about how we live.

I'm seeing the food curriculum everywhere!

Those fabulous and classy women at Dirty Sexy Ministry have posted a great entry on The Ballad of Booger Joe and Honey Butt. I can't summarize, but it's got great advice for living.

On the other hand, if you're looking for some thoughts on dying, you might want to check out this card game. "It’s a deck of 36 playing cards designed “to give you an easy, even entertaining way to think and talk about how you want to be treated” as you’re about to die." And it actually sounds very helpful. Created by the Coda Alliance, the cards go way beyond the "I don't want to be a vegetable" to help people sort through their values, priorities, and options.

In obituary news, I did love this obit for Chris Dale: "Chris Dale, who has died aged 49, was a 6ft 6in mountaineer with a passion for solo climbs among the hardest peaks of Scotland, Wales and the Alps. He was also an equally enthusiastic cross-dresser who went by the name of Crystal." Talk about larger than life!

And in other cross-dressing news, loved this historical snippet from the also-classy Futility Closet about Count Carlos Balmori in Mexico. I daren't reveal the secret.

Enjoy!