Diary of an adult runaway

This is outrageous!

There are only a few things that can haul me from the sick bed I've been bunkered down in for the past 3 days: the promise of a long, luxurious mani/pedi, peanut butter salt water taffy from the Goldenrod in York Beach, Maine or a letter from Robert Redford.

Yes, that's right--Bob wrote a letter just to me. And a few million of my friends. All kidding aside, the letter's contents are appalling and a very real indicator that we have to keep an eye on these bastards!!! Bush, Cheney, Rove and that whole filthy neo-con cabal are continuing their dastardly deeds at a staggering rate. PLEASE take a second to read this letter, then click through on the link and join the action. That is, if pristine wilderness and clean energy and things such as NATIONAL TREASURES THAT BELONG TO THE PEOPLE AND NOT THESE SOBS mean anything to you.

Christ Almighty. Who was it who said the other day--maybe Jon Stewart? Yes, that would make sense--that we should pose the question, "Mr. Bush, did you become president just to see how much damage you could inflict in 8 years?"? Because it's true. And none of the current revising or memos saying "Tell them I acted with honor and dignity" can change it. But, with just a few click-throughs and enters, you and I might just be able to help stop it.

I sure hope so.

----
Dear Friend,

No one voted on Election Day to hand over Utah's Redrock wilderness to oil companies.
 

But the Bush Administration cynically chose that very day to advance an outrageous plan that will sell off leases for some 300,000 acres of spectacular Utah canyonlands to oil and gas speculators.

While America was voting for Barack Obama and his vision of a clean energy future, Bush and Cheney's underlings were conspiring to plunder one of the crown jewels of our natural heritage for their fossil fuel cronies.

Please register your own opposition right now.

http://www.nrdcactionfund.org/wilderness_giveaway

The auction of Redrock country will take place on December 19. At stake are world-renowned vistas near Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, as well as near Dinosaur National Monument. The highest bidders will earn the right to turn vast tracts of pristine wilderness into industrial wastelands.

It's bad enough that Bush officials went behind the backs of the American people with this disastrous scheme. But what's worse, they didn't even tell their own National Park Service until after the fact.

In my mind, this theft of our heritage goes beyond the cynical -- it's criminal. What will be left to give to our children and their children if we allow this administration, in a parting shot, to destroy our legacy of public lands for short-term gain?

I hope you're as angry as I am about this blatant land grab, because we've got to stop it -- and we have to act fast. The NRDC Action Fund is mobilizing more than one million Americans in an outpouring of protest over the coming days.

Send your own message of opposition immediately. Tell the Bush Administration that you will not allow it to destroy one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

http://www.nrdcactionfund.org/wilderness_giveaway

We'll automatically send copies of your message to your two Senators, your representative, and to the Obama transition team, which has signaled their opposition to this disastrous attack on our Redrock heritage.

The Bush Administration is racing to complete the auction of our lands before Inauguration Day, which will make sales difficult to reverse.

We must fend off this land grab now -- before the oil and gas companies can lay claim to the spoils.

Those spoils include stretches of Desolation Canyon, which has been proposed for national park status. Bush's own Interior Department describes the canyon as "a place where a visitor can experience true solitude -- where the forces of nature continue to shape the colorful, rugged landscape."

The very idea of oil and gas operations invading these remote sanctuaries -- which have remained untouched for millennia -- is deeply upsetting. Once the dirty deed is done, our wilderness can never be restored. That's why I'm asking you to help us sound the alarm and organize now.

Tell the Bush Administration to cancel the Redrock auction. Remind them that we the people are the rightful owners of this majestic wilderness and that we won?t stand for its destruction.

http://www.nrdcactionfund.org/wilderness_giveaway

And thank you for joining with me and the NRDC Action Fund to save these beautiful wildlands for all future generations.

Sincerely,

Robert Redford
NRDC Action Fund

P.S. After you send your own message of protest, I'll let you know of an easy way to spread the word to your friends and family. With only 10 days to mobilize one million Americans, I'm counting on you to rally everyone you know to speak out and save this precious wilderness from destruction.
 http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/stop_wilderness_giveaway?rk=EdXSji9qNSpmW

A letter to California

Dear California,

What the fuck? I mean, seriously: What. The. Fuck? Florida, Arizona, yeah, I could see those as states a little more likely to pass their own Prop 8. And the inland counties, yeah, okay. But L.A. County? Really?

On behalf of the 18,000 couples married since May and the many others who were planning to marry, I'd just like to say that I'm extremely disappointed. I guess it just goes to show that on a day when you voted for your first African-American president, some prejudices still run deep. Not as much as they did for Prop 22 in 2000, but still. What have you got against love, anyway? 

You will lose good people over this. Straight-but-not-narrow Tamara has already talked about heading out to Colorado, unwilling to live in a state where all people are not considered created equal (I've suggested Boulder; I am, however, prejudiced, by Arsen, the book buyer for the Boulder Bookstore). But other good people will of course stay. Equality California will fight and I'll happily donate to fund the lawsuit they've filed.

Consider this your formal warning. Oh, ok, I still love you--especially you, Topanga Canyon, I know how you voted (and 76% of San Franciscans)--and hey, the animal world thanks you for the "Yes" on Prop 2. But this anti-same-sex marriage hogwash? Got to stop.

Sincerely,

that woman in Paris.

Of mice and men

Let's start with the mice.

The mouse chez moi seems to have disappeared. No sounds for a few days and Pumpkin has lost interest in the book case. That leaves a few possibilities:

1. It died of starvation, but I can't smell anything, so...

2. The cats got it, but I haven't discovered any entrails, so...

3. It left the way it came in, however that was. Good idea, because there's no easy food to be had.

Maybe it moved to Pigalle métro. A friend always tells me there's millions of them in the system but in three years of looking for the mythical plague, I've only ever seen one little mouse. Until now. Now, with less trains running and less people on the platform, I spend my time waiting for the train by counting the mice skipping along the rails. Aren't those things supposed to be deadly? The mice don't seem to care. They're having a field day down there.

And onto the men. We're in Day 9 of the strike and things are a little better. There are more métro trains running and more buses, but it's still a crush, especially in Hell, aka Place de Clichy. People are pretty much resigned. Being crushed is the new norm, and now I hardly bother holding on; I just count on the throng of people to keep me upright. I've yet to speak to anyone who thinks the government should back down. Probably because a lot of people in the private sector have given up some rights to get this country moving and they think now it's the public sector's turn.

Oh, yes, more protests. Yesterday, about 7,000 buralistes took to the streets. They're the people who run the cigarette stands in cafés, and they're unhappy about the smoking ban that comes into effect January 1st. They're saying they've already lost business because of the tax rise on cigarettes, to which I say tax those fucking things right out of existence! Kinda glad I'll be out of the country for the changeover, because I'm sure there'll be some fisticuffs, although considering about 60% of the population is for the change, maybe it won't be that bad.

Speaking of fisticuffs, we knew this one was coming. Jacques the Shark (Chirac) is under investigation for fraud. The justices have been waiting years for this one, because you can't investigate a French president. But as soon as he's out of office...

Some things that caught my eye this week:

What the well-dressed 16ème kids are wearing (aka, how come the kids get the prettiest stuff?)

A building near my office

Why Keris absolutely ROCKS. On a wet, windy day when I was out of reading material and snacks, this turns up and saves my life. And I know the Peanut Butter and Banana Crème Cups are collector pieces, but I gobbled them down. The King would understand. Hell, he woulda fought me for them. But he would have lost.

A closer look at the card because I can't stress enough how me it is. All it lacks is a coupla cats hanging off the back of the sofa.

What else? Oh yeah, Redford has copped it for speaking out against Mitt Romney, because apparently actors aren't supposed to have political views--but oh no, we're hanging on their every word for the important stuff, such as which handbag they're carrying and who designed their dress and are they really fighting with so-and-so? Hey, I'm a bag freak, but come on. So keep it up, Sundance. And good on Clooney for taking on the paparazzi.

News I'm tired of: the "shocking" new revelation that Princess Diana might have lived had she been taken straight to the ER. Chrissakes, they've been talking about this for 10 years, when are they going to stop dragging it up? Guess it sells papers.

News that made me feel very lucky at the same time that it made me cry: 9-year-old Nick Nelson made a really tough decision. Bless you, Nick, and good luck.

TV that made me smile: Natalie Gauci and Matt Corby made the Australian Idol finals. Both excellent performers, though I think Nat might have just pipped Matt on Sunday's show. And Marie Osmond danced her way through to the Dancing With The Stars final. Okay, maybe danced and smiled her way through. After the time she's had of late, that smile is a thing of beauty. And to see Donny on his feet, tears in his eyes, last week, made me sooky, too. I grew up with Donny & Marie, of course I want to see her do well! But who do I want to win? Mel B. and Maks.

TV that didn't make me smile: Weeds. So Nancy decides she needs a new start and torches her house--thus undoubtedly destroying other people's homes in the process. Nice one, Nance.

TV that continues to delight me: Dexter. How is he going to get out of this one without killing either Lundy or Doakes? Of course, I think he should kill that crazy bitch Lila, before she goes after Rita and the kids.

Today, 44 years ago: JFK. Today: Thanksgiving. Take care, you all.

You gotta fight! For your right! To paaaaaaaarty!

Ok, so things have been busy here, plus I basically CBF'd to blog for the past, you know, whatever. No particular reason, just ... CBF'd. Had lots of meetings then a few days off. Plus, it's been unseasonably cold and all I wanted to do was curl up and watch TV.

Which I did. I watched a few episodes of Sports Night and it didn't take me long to start thinking Aaron Sorkin did a little character recycling. Listen to the dialogue and you'll see how similar those characters are to The West Wing. Here's a handy viewer guide for you:

Dana = C.J.
Natalie = Donna
Isaac = Leo
Jeremy = Sam (which is interesting, because he's played by Joshua Malina, who played Will, Sam's "replacement" [in quotation marks because seriously, who could replace Rob Lowe? No one. Thank you.])

I'm still trying to work out whether Dan = Leo or Toby, or Casey = Leo or Toby, because they're quite similar but stick with me, I'll make it.

Went to see Pirates 3 on Saturday and ... not overwhelmed. Of course, I giggled with glee every time Jack came onscreen, because JD is perfect in that role. Perfect. And Anita (a new partner in crime) and I were the only ones to laugh at the "Use the tool" line (the place was packed with French speakers--packed, I say! They had their own Version Française to go to but nooooo, they clogged up our Version Originale cinema.) Overall, though, the plot felt incohesive to me. It felt like this happened then this happened then this happened without any real link. Course, I'll give Pirates 4 a shot. Coz we all know that wasn't the end.

Had a huge meeting last week, ran for a few days. There was someone there who...well, alls I know is I'm going to make sure I vote in the next federal election--for the opposite party. My brother once told me a story about a friend of a friend of his, and it reminds me of this person:

The friend of a friend was called Victoria, and I don't know her last name so let's just say it's Brown. She was living in London at the time, shopping at Harrod's, waiting in line in the food department. In swanned a tall leggy blonde who at the time was married to Mick Jagger. She grabbed what she wanted then pushed her way in line--ahead of our fearless heroine, Victoria.

Victoria: Oy! I was here before you!

Blonde: Do you know who I am? I'm Jeri Hall.

Victoria: And I'm Victoria fucking Brown and I was ahead of you, so fuck off.

Jeri Hall flounced off, applause for Victoria following in her wake.

And finally! I did the rounds of the medical professionals this week, with a bit of Victoria Brown attitude. Now, my doctor is very nice, everyone's very nice, but that's not getting me anywhere. So essentially I told her:

1. I'm not going back to the surgeon she recommended, I didn't feel confident in him. (Ok, so not everyone's very nice. You don't grab the leg of someone obviously in pain and shove it across the other leg to see how much extension they have.)

2. Although my osteopath has done wonders for the muscles, he obviously can't do anything structural (which he's said from the start)--and with new x-rays showing a height difference of 3.3 cms between hips, it's obviously something structural, so give me a refernce to a chiropractor.

3. If one more person asks me why I can't stand with feet together and both legs straight, I will hit them because I'm paying them to answer that.

I also said that if I need to have the surgery, great, let's do it tomorrow, but I was worried that if they replaced the hip joint, how are they going to fix the hip height difference? Will it fix the difference? The doctor said she thought so, yes, to a degree, but then I'd probably need orthotics in both shoes to be completely level.

And that, my friends, is where I draw the fucking line. My argument is that this is a functional leg length disparity, caused by some incident, not a genetic disparity there from birth. I never needed orthotics before, I never had a problem walking or dancing or running away from the office when I should have been at work. I wore shiny red high-heeled shoes with pride and flair and without inserts, and I intend to do so again. I think she was a little taken aback when I said no, I would not be doing that, I would be having my hips aligned and then we'd see if I even needed the operation at all.

This morning I started researching chiropractors. I found one who sounded good so I shot him off an email bitching explaining my woes. Within an hour, he'd replied:

Yes the chiropractic adjustment can help for the hip problems. If there is a lot of arthrosis in the hip joint, you might still need the operation, but as you said the more the joints are moving the better the outcome. If the arthrosis is not so much the adjustments might even be able to avoid an operation.

No medals for guessing who I now have an appointment with.

I will party all night in my red high heels yet. Just you watch me.

P.S. Please keep your fingers crossed and pray very, very hard that Mother Humpback and her baby make it under the Golden Gate. They're so close!