Off and on the Web
Off
My nose and eyes still feel awful, so I am going to break down and buy some cold medicine today. I had been getting by with Motrin, but ran out of it yesterday. So, I'll schlep over to Fred Meyer and score real drugs later, along with a bag of groceries and supplies. I have a bad habit of dropping into Zupan's and Trader Joe's, but their selections are just too limited. To get any effective shopping done, Freddy's is key.
My friends on the East Coast say "Right" when I assert we didn't really have a winter in the Pacific Northwest this year. It has been spring since February. I'm going to take pictures of the trees and flowers in bloom this week and create a web page featuring them. Maybe that will convince doubting Thomases and Thomasinas still high-stepping through dirty snow.
I broke out of my self-imposed uncommunicativeness with the opposite gender long enough to introduce a couple fellows to Oregon weblogs Friday. Lucky for me, one of them already knew what a blog is. Trying to explain to people who are barely Internet literate is quite a challenge. I fear I come off sounding like a member of a cult or something. (Now, if I would just return guys' calls. . . .)
On
CalPundit Kevin Drum has pulled part of the rug out from under me by linking to one of my entries about the 'centrality' question. I thought he wouldn't lest he inadvertently help me in some way. Meanwhile, Barry of Alas, a Blog, has similar feelings about Kevin, but believes that is because of a disconnect between moderate liberals and those farther to the Left. Maybe I am misinterpreting the nature of Kevin's unease with me. (By the way, Barry is on a roll today, writing his fingers off, so do give him a read.)
I want you to meet Debra Dickerson of Black Cinderella. The first time I read her blog I was struck by encountering someone I have so much in common with. Like me, she comes from a working-class family of Southern parentage, had a career in another field before attending law school and is now is focusing on her writing. Some of you may be thinking, "So?" Well, middle-class white guys run into people who resemble them coming and going. The majority of managers and professionals still come from that demographic. People of color with graduate level educations still represent a paltry portion of the over-educated and/or professional. The only other writer with the same profile I can think of offhand is the very talented Gwendolyn M. Parker. Welcome Debra, a Harvard Law grad and a military veteran to the blogosphere.
Jeanne d'arc of Body & Soul has a very different take on Adrien Brody's dental examination of Halle Berry at the Oscars than I do. The reason may be she saw that part of the broadcast. I didn't.
When the kiss ended, I was doing something that probably very few men were doing -- looking at Halle Berry's face. I was very curious about what her reaction would be. To me she looked embarassed. But smiling. She looked confused at the stupid line about that being part of her "gift basket." During Brody's speech, the camera moved back to her a few times, and she still had that deer in the headlights look. I didn't hear most of Brody's speech, because I was too busy looking at Halle Berry and feeling embarassed for her.
Jeanne may be right. Sometimes, the old saw that 'a picture is worth. . .' is accurate. I also wonder what Berry was thinking in regard to the 'gift basket' remark. Her problems with a philandering husband are much publicized, so she could have considered that a slight. But, ultimately, only Berry knows how she really feels about the incident. That woman's autobiography is going to be a bestseller.
