This is why we fight...

If you didn’t already know The NHL Stanley Cup Finals are under way. We are two games in and so far this series has delivered on its expectations, with both games requiring extra periods to determine a winner  (2 ½  in game 1 and 1 in game 2). In addition to the drama of sudden death overtime the series is tied, with Chicago taking game 1 and the Bruins making the Blackhawks remember what adversity is like in game 2. 




Because It's The Cup

This Cup Final is special for more than one reason; not the least of which is the fact that it’s being played by two Original Six teams, the Western Conference Chicago Blackhawks and the Eastern Conference Boston Bruins. The last time two Original Six teams faced off for Lord Stanley’s Cup was 34 years ago in 1979. Hockey fans love to make a big deal over Original Six matchups, especially if our team is involved, so the nostalgia aspect of this series is cranked way up.  Also of interest is the fact that the Blackhawks finished the season with the best record in the league, winning 36 out of 48 games.  Alternatively, Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, who was a driving force behind the lockout that robbed us of 34 regular season games, stands an annoyingly good chance of winning his second championship in 2 years. Each of the teams are recent Cup Champions with Boston claiming the title in 2011 and Chicago, one year prior.

Hey Mr. Marl-Bo-ro Man...

When my dear departed friend Barbara quit smoking several years ago she used to say to me sometimes, "I want a cigarette so bad I could rip the lips off a kitten", and I'd laugh at her because WTF? That's crazy talk Barbara! Think of your own cats ma'am! LOL But seriously, it was especially funny because Barbara was a total animal lover and wonderful person who would never harm another living thing, and there she'd go talking about disfiguring a baby cat for want of nicotine. Addiction is hell.



Just to give you a little backstory here, I've been prone to bronchitis for a while now and generally come down with it a least once a year. Over the last couple of years however, it's become more frequent and for a while I was afraid I might have some sort of autoimmune lung issue. I might also be a legitimate hypochondriac, but that's another story for another time.

He's a cold hearted snake! Not Really.

So if you didn't know, I'm fascinated with reptiles; snakes, iguanas, lizards, whatever. I've loved lizards, Carolina Anoles in particular, since I was a child. They are adorable and bright green and my older brother and I would catch them in the summers and put them in jars with grass and punch holes in the lids, for proper ventilation. We would never really keep them though. They were much too fun to contain. I loved holding them, however briefly, as they are very quick and not so much for being handled. I loved the feel of their little feet sticking to my skin and how they felt cool to the touch and rough and squishy and delicate all at once. Did I mention they are bright green and cute as hell? I mean look at that face. How could you resist it?





Kiss my face! No? Well, you'll be back.

Well, I never could. I guess it's probably due in part to my love for these little guys (and dinosaurs! We can't forget the dinos!) that I've always been interested in reptiles. As such, it was no surprise that while I was on my way out of the PETCO yesterday, Fresh Step Extreme cat litter in my basket, my new phone resting obviously at the mouth of my purse, that I was captivated by a terrarium full of baby bearded dragons. Hold UP! Did someone say Dragons? 

Irony. You're doing it wrong.

It's funny because it's true.

Earlier today I came across this picture in my news feed captioned simply as "cool".  Feel free to facepalm at any time. I didn't bother to engage the person who shared it over her skewed perception, not because it's not my place (because let's be honest, that doesn't matter to me), but because this person is an adult. She's also a parent. This means that she's raising children. Marinate in that for a moment. Someone who is too thick to realize that this image is a mockery of all her "if you don't support our troops" propaganda is the primary influence on another human being's thought process. Even if I were able to make her understand exactly what the intent of this image is, she would simply misunderstand why someone would make such a statement.

Ohhh they don’t like Jane

      Soooo a while back, Cat Marnell over at xoJane wrote this ill-advised piece on Plan B and a total feminist flame war erupted over it and people were piling on about how irresponsible and stupid Cat was/is and everyone in those feminist journalism/blogosphere circles has already beaten this issue to death. I however, have not because I’m new. Anyway, the issue here isn’t Cat’s post but rather the fact that I love Jane. I loved Sassy magazine. Sue me (Don’t really sue me though, because I don’t have anything, at all, and you’d be wasting your time and money for nothing, at all). Anyhow, so I love Jane. Right. Yes and Cat Marnell gets under my skin and I sometimes dislike her writing but, feel jealous at the same time. Maybe that’s why I dislike her so much. Maybe it’s less that I dislike what she says, and more that I'm envious that she’s able to say it, that I find myself so conflicted about Cat. Maybe I wish I could do the same, and get paid for it or maybe I think she’s an entitled ditz and it bothers me that people might take her seriously. I just don’t know.  UGH! Kills me.

Teach your children well.

I am not a parent. Parenthood is not something I've ever felt I was cut out for, nor was it something I believed would be rewarding for me, or any unfortunate child who might find me to be his or her own parent. But I have thoughts. I have thoughts and opinions on various types of parenting. I am who I am.

Here's a thought: Before it's too late, be sure to teach your kids that not "everyone else is doing it". I can't tell you how many times that phrase was tossed around when I was a kid, by other kids. But like kids will do, in a time that they're trying to find their place in the world and find out who they are in that place, kids bluff. They say more than they understand. They act over their heads and they pretend that they're much more sophisticated than they really are.

If you don't mind, leave...

Vaya


Who are you to tell our girls
To leave home
Unmarried, to not baby
Our men, to not feed our families,
To have ideas and thoughts
Of not having children, of being
Individuals and finding out
Who they are?
Because leaving is not for you.
Leaving,
Is for runaways and dads

Who are you to dream
Of leaving, when there is family
And they need you
To wash their socks
And scrub their dirty minds
Clean of the scent of you,
Your chubby child’s legs,
The sweetness
They will pluck from you
Don't you know?

And if you leave,
You might tell, you might talk
Like they talk but tell nothing
And no one, but the women
Where their place is
And what kind of pain they have caused them
What kind of happiness
They have cost them.
It is more than they can afford

You're no runaway
It's too dangerous,
Someone might hurt you.
Did we not teach you
That you don't know your name?
You don't have one
Unless it's given to you.
Like permission, to speak
This is not allowed

And we have heard enough
We are older, we are wiser
And accepted our role
Fulfilled the dreams of our fathers
Protected their honour and sacrificed
Our truths. We did that for you
But you, take that tone
Where is your shame
That we nurtured so well,
Our gift to pass down?
Maybe it's better, if you go.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

I Started a Joke

"Shut up" I told her plainly.
     "Shut down!" She replied.
"Sto-o-o-p!" I cried.
     "Go-o-o." she mocked.
"Dog" I said
     "Cat" she called in return.
"I hate you." I grumbled.   To which she responded,  with a smile,  "I love you-u-u-u.".   And here we fell about laughing.

Cigarettes Burn

It's too bad that you don't know
Well, too bad, too good
The mark
And how it's empty
But full
And how it stings
And screams for more
And wants and waits
For another dab
Another stab
Of release
Or freedom
Or slavery 

For just one more

If it lingers 

While it fades
And how it bubbles and grays
It goes black 

And white and pink
And all these colors
That lie inside 

Like lies inside
This ring, this circle, this hole
Like pits of hell
Awake in hell
And each time sleep sets in well,

It's too bad, too good,
That you don't know
Like I know

Like I said "No"
How much good can come

From an ember
That ashes out
What's all remembered
As I brush away
These flakes of fire

And smoke from liars

To rub the sin 

To out from in
With a cigarette burn on skin.