Insomnimusing: Allons-y!

If there's one thing I love about this presidential campaign (and let's face it - there are a WHOLE LOTTA things I'm loving about this election!), it's the fact that I'm seeing Donna Brazile all over the place lately. For those of you who don't know, Donna Brazile is a Democratic political activist and strategist who has been on the political scene for the past 30 years. She's worked on pretty much every major Democratic presidential endeavor since 1976. Now, based on my history, one might deduce that I would have little affection for this woman, but that could not be further from the truth. I find that whenever her face appears on the 24-hour news channels or as a guest on this or that political roundtable, I have to stop everything I'm doing to listen to whatever she has to say. She never fails to impress with the depth of her knowledge and understanding, and her keen sensibilities. And more than that - she's just got personality. This week though...

Hmmm, seems America's got her priorities in order. Last night's presidential debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton was the most watched debate of this presidential campaign. No big surprise there. Lots of stuff has been going the past six weeks, and we've all been waiting for those two to have to be face-to-face when confronted by all of it. No, that's not the interesting part. What's interesting is that the first half of the two-hour debate was No. 1 in its time slot (the 8 to 9 pm hour), it fell to third place in its second half (the 9 to 10 pm hour). What show won the 9 to 10 slot? American Idol, of course. So a big chunk of the audience tuning in to the debate that would clarify the issues involving how this country will be run for the next four years turned the channel, to watch American Idol. Not even the American Idol performances - it was the results show. So, even though the outcome in the results show occurs in the last minute or two of the show,...

Can I talk about guilty, secret pleasures? We all have them, in varying degrees of severity. I'm indulging in one right now. It's the Courteney Cox series "Dirt" on FX. I cannot stand to watch - and therefore, I actually DON'T watch (for the most part *wink*) - the latest celebrity scandals in the tabloids or the pseudo-news 24-hour streams on cable. But fictionalized, I am loving it. Season two is taking a bit of a turn from the season one direction, but I'm finding that I'm still hooked on it. I recommend the show to anyone (is there anyone?) reading this.... It's followed by another dirty little secret of mine, "Mad Men" on AMC. Has anyone seen this show yet? Some of the best television writing I've seen in ages. "Do you want another drink?" - "I don't know...." - (whole room in unison) "Not a writer." Hahaha! Brilliant! (Ok - you probably had to be there....or be a writer.....) Want another naughty, s...

Have you ever seen one of those nature specials that shows the massive chunks of ice breaking away from the iceberg and crashing into the sea? I feel as if I'm living in one of those today as the temperature rises and the inch-thick layer of ice is being shed from the roof. Sporadically and without warning, the house rumbles and a huge sheet of ice falls past my window. I'll be sure to take care when I go out today and step quickly from the threshold to my car. **** Now my new blog will begin to take on its anticipated shape. (Random and meandering.....don't even TRY to make sense of it.....)  Probably a good thing nobody's reading it yet - it'll give me the opportunity to break it in a bit. :) It's late at night....and as usual, I'm nowhere near falling asleep.... The big thaw came today, and I ventured out again. It appears that not a single tree in the region escaped damage from the ice. Picked up some Chinese food and got back to my cubby. Can't beli...

I was awakened by a text message informing me that school was canceled for the day. No surprise there. A quick glance outside tells me......I can't see outside for the glaze of ice on my window screen. Well, it was a late night working on the election results, so at least I was able to roll over and go back to sleep.  I was awakened a second time by another text message....this one from *** informing me that the weather is still awful in Toronto, and he wants to go home. After Thursday, his schedule will be empty, and he doesn't return home to Vancouver until Tuesday, but he still can't find time to travel an hour to meet me in Buffalo, while I'm willing to find the time to drive seven hours to get there. Ah well... I can't let it bother me so much anymore. I did get to have a lovely chat yesterday with a dear new friend across the pond who wasn't feeling at his best. I'd hoped to be a comfort to him, but I think he managed to make me feel better instead. Or...