Watching Charlie Wilson's War

I did go to a movie on Christmas, since I managed to get out of baking a cake and we all had some time on our hands. We decided on Charlie Wilson's War after a short debate about seeing that or Juno. I'll probably go to Juno with Kelly anyway, so this worked out well.

It was a pretty good flick, as far as dark comedies with superstars go. Mom didn't find it funny (which doesn't surprise me), but Nick & I did. I know that some reviewers have been put off by the quick roundup of the lack of support for Afghanistan at the end of the move (and the war against the Soviets), and I also felt that it missed something at the end. But it wasn't the tacked on bits about the Zen master and the unintended consequences of ditching your "allies." Instead, it was the naive manner with which they portrayed Wilson at the end. I mean, come on! this guy had been in Congress for a while; I can hardly believe he really was surprised that everyone would just walk away once there were no more Soviet helicopters to bomb. He really never asked "so, what happens once the war's over?" during the course of rounding up weapons and money? Geez.

But, then again, maybe that really is how it was. It's the "what happens next" that gets you in trouble, and that's what people always ignore until it's too late. I was reading something stupid in Commentary today about "no one" anticipating something or other (I can't remember exactly what it was . . . perhaps it was the rise of the Taliban and their anti-US stance). And all I could think was: get real, plenty of people could see this coming.

So, if anyone is surprised by any of the following, I'm just going to tell them they are an idiot in no uncertain terms. And this is a short list, so there may be many other idiots coming:

• Civil War in Pakistan


• Violent ethnic/religious uprising in India, goaded by the BJP


• Ethiopia getting bogged down in a two front war


• The entrenchment of al Qaeda in North Africa, including more bombings in Algeria, and probable violence in places such as Morocco, Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia


• Growing charges of authoritarianism and diminishing democracy in South Africa, along with political instability caused by Zimbabwe's economy and SA's support of Mugabe


• Housing-based recession (in several other OECD countries as well as the US), with increasing disparity between the middle class and the rich, along with a strong push to free states from balanced budget requirements

Who knows if any of these will happen. Just saying that we shouldn't be surprised if they do.

Now, what will really surprise me? Whatever Americans choose to dump all of their money into next. They've done stocks and houses. I just can't quite wrap my head around what they'll pick next. Art/antiques/collectibles, gold, and foreign currencies are the three that seem most accessible, but they also don't seem very likely to snag more than a few true believers. There's got to be something that will fill all those get-rich-quick desires and then explode into a giant catastrophe by 2014. But what?

Video IM Disasters

For whatever reason I can't get the video IM to work on Windows Messenger. It's very annoying.

So, to cheer myself up, I've turned Saskia into a LOLcat.


moar funny pictures

I'm sure she'd be horrified if she used the internet.

Nothing like working after a holiday . . .

Boy was today one of the quietest days on record at work - even worse than last Friday. At least I got part of my desk cleaned up.

And I'm still getting over my inability to get a new water heater. Here's hoping the old one manages to survive until we can get all the plumbing updated. And Sears better get my credit card bill refunded soon, or I'm going to get pissed!

And in my bit of complaining, I want to say that I'm really sick of getting DVDs of shows through Netflix and only having 2 episodes! I know this isn't Netflix's fault, but it's freaking annoying to have to get five separate discs just to watch 13 episodes. Somebody tell Al Gore how wasteful it is!

Next, a Water Heater

Well, I'm nearly done with replacing nearly every major appliance in my house. The new water heater should be installed on Friday, and then I should be able to take a breather and actually spend money on making my house look better.

I'm seriously sick of home maintenance.

And the cat's keep attacking my holiday decorations. I think I need some people revenge--like this:
Some days I can has cheezburger is the only thing that makes me smile . . .

Cat Vacation & A New Oven

Well, the kitties are on their mini vacation (it's listed on their very own google calendar - they're very up to date technologically). I hope they don't hate me too much when I pick them up tomorrow.

The new oven is here! It looks a lot like the old one, but we managed to get this one level. Now we're waiting for the fridge. It should be here within the hour. That will also have to be leveled and somehow crammed into the back hall closet. To get the old one out, we had to take off the doors (of the fridge and the entryway). You can see the fridge door in the picture below. Oh, the joys of old homes. . .

At least the plants love it. I've got more African Violet blooms coming, and the Christmas Cactus that used to be at my grandparents is blooming once again. I wasn't sure it'd like my house as much as their apartment, and despite blooming like mad late last winter, here it is, blooming again. And this time it's just in time for Christmas!

Things you hear in the shower in the wee hours of the morning.

As per the usual, I was listeng to MPR in the shower when Marketplace Morning Report came on. It was about the mortgage crisis (of course), and in almost a passing fashion they mentioned that Moody's was predicting a 30% reduction in home values by 2009.

30%!!!

I'm gonna have to pull out my secret librarian powers and try to corroborate that one, 'cuz it just seems too remarkable to be true. A 30% reduction in home prices would send the Twin Cities market back to some time in 1999 or 2000!

While prices have gone a bit crazy in the last few years, it's hard to imagine that a median home in the Twin Cities is actually only going to be worth about $145,000 in two years. If you imagine that a home should cost about 3 times the buyer's income, that would put the median home at cheaper than the median household income in this town can afford. Now, that just doesn't seem quite right . . . especially since a big chunk of the bottom of the income scale doesn't buy any homes.

And if it were true, we're in for a shaky few years. My guess is that there is a huge chunk of the home-owning crowd who has at least 70% of their home value in the form of a mortgage or other loan. Loosing that much ground would send thousands of people upside down in the lending sense. Would banks foreclose? What a mess that would be.

To be honest, even in the most heated housing markets on the coasts, it's hard to imagine a 30% drop in prices. If you could buy a house in Santa Barbara for $6-700,000 there would be a mad dash - and rising prices once again.

So, I wonder how the other parts of the first world who have crazy housing markets are doing. Do they watch news reports of our downturn and wonder about their own fates? England has already had a run on a bank (how It's a Wonderful Life of them), and Australia's booted their PM. Seems it could just get more turbulent at any moment. . .

North American Union?

Seems that the Ron Paul crowd is all worked up about the possibility of a North American Union. They're out in force to ridicule a recent article posted on Newsweek, which doesn't take the threat of a European Union-style multinational government very seriously.

So, they're concerned about a government based on border-crossing highways, a single currency, free movement of goods and people between states, and a unified system of tarrifs? Well folks, we already got it. The Founding Fathers thought it up.

Maybe these folks miss the days of Michigan and Ohio fighting their own wars, or multiple currencies across the many colonies. Can't say that I do.

I gotta wonder, what exactly do these folks think would happen if we joined a union with Canada and Mexico? (Not that it's likely - there's too great a social and economic divide to even imagine it right now.) Personally, I think an open border and single currency would be a real boon to the Mall of America, since it would be easier for Canadians to spend money there . . . especially when the dollars are proportioned as they are. Besides, we're already crawling with illegal Canadians. They're hard to ferret out!

The Cake that Broke my Oven

Here's the guilty cake. It was pretty tasty, though.

The Green Thumb Strikes Again!

Apparently, ignoring plants is one of the best things you can do for them. This orchid was handed to me after it had given its flowers to a wedding bouquet. (It had also been damaged when a closing door snapped both the stems and the sticks supporting them.) I stuck it in my east window along with all of my happy African Violets and basically forgot about it, except for weekly waterings of course.

It spent all summer growing a new leaf, and I periodically wondered if it should be repotted, if the stems should be trimmed off, or if I should move it to a new location. But I never bothered to do anything.

And now, if you look at the stem on the left you'll see that it's growing a new stem. It looks like I may actually get blooms! And the cats must find the taste horrible, since the orchis has no nibble marks, unlike the snake plants that are contantly ragged and stringy from chewing.

Plus, the mini African Violet looks like it's getting ready to bloom again. Boy, there's nothing like an east window. I'll post pictures of them both in bloom if they ever get there.

Mazel Tov, Snow, Burns, Broken Ovens, and Alarms

Today, while waiting for the light rail, I noticed some interesting graffitti in the shelter: someone had scratched "mazel tov" into the plastic window. It made me laugh a little.

I was in the shelter because it's showing like mad out there right now. Which concerns me a little, since I baked the equivalent of 4 cakes yesterday (they are in the form of one two tiered cake and one sheet cake). Those cakes need to be driven to a party, and there better be at least 50 people there to eat them!

In the process of baking those cakes I was burned by a hot pan I was trying to hand to mom. And I was so focused on finishing the cakes that I didn't stop to run cold water on the burn.
Why was mom involved with the cake baking? Because my oven died. Right after I finished baking the first 10 inch layer (I thought it took a long time to bake). I guess I should have expected this - it was a "hot" oven by about 76 degrees, so obviously something was terribly wrong with it.

So now I get to shop for a new stove(we fixed this one once before - not again when a new one is only a bit more expensive than a repair bill). Hopefully I won't set off any alarms in Sears like I did this morning in the Skyways.

I tried to take a peek at what was in the window of the Nina Bliese Gallery, and suddenly the alarm is blaring. No one seemed to care, so it may still be squeeling away when I finish my reference shift.

Now all I have to do is successfully transfer a two tiered cake to Rosemount and decide what finish I want for a new stove. But that means I have to figure out what I want for countertops too . . . ack, so many decisions!