The Fight Over Montana's Death Penalty

Every legislative session, a bill is introduced to abolish Montana's death penalty. It usually makes it to the full house/senate floor before being summarily killed. Last session however it didn't even make it out of committee. I've seen more of our legislative session this year than ever before as it's broadcast by the local public TV group. It's sad to think that what happens here locally happens on a bigger and scarier scale in DC. The sane and logical arguments to abolish the death penalty are so numerous: it costs more than life in prison, it's a barbaric state sponsored killing for punishment/revenge on behalf of the families and society at large, the lack of closure and satisfaction for the victim family members who witness the killing of the presumed guilty. Not to mention the many, many who have been removed from death row nationwide when DNA evidence or recanting of eye witness testimony free the innocent. When the rest of the so-called civilized world has long given up on tax dollar murders, most US states cling to a tunnel vision that "justice" is served, and "eye for an eye", etc. etc. Fact is, the rich white killers (or black if you're OJ) never get the death penalty because they can afford to hire high priced quality lawyers. So if it's inherently unfair as the poor and minority populations are much more likely to receive the death penalty, how can any thinking, feeling person justify the taking of life when the dangerous can be kept from society by prison? Or worse yet, when the realization that innocent people have in fact been executed in this country under an imperfect justice system? And don't even get me started on the bible thumpers who apparently can dismiss "thou shalt not kill" with a flick of their finger because is serves their own evil intentions. But then, using the Bible/Jesus/Christianity as a shield to hide behind for promoting your own hateful ways, is a well established practice these days. The inability to take responsibility for your own racist, discriminatory thoughts and feelings is the definition of small minded humans, and there seems to be no shortage of them running around. Call me an idealist, but this year I'm hoping that intelligence prevails.

Guston

Came across this very striking abstract while searching for other art I've seen this last year, I believe it's called Natives Return.

I'm Confused

So after updating with the 21st century and doing the MySpace thing for a while, I am puzzled at the responses I get. First, and this is just a pet peeve of mine, has the habit of proofreading before you hit send really gone by the wayside? I've gotten many "looking for love, the one true love, etc. full of typos and really bad grammar. Some have made me wonder if English is really their first language. And now, while I don't mind the attention from the younger guys, what on earth are they thinking when they live in NY, CA and even England looking for the love of their life? If they're just looking for some dirty chat because their whole life is lived in cyber space, maybe they could disclose that up front. Otherwise, I don't need a bunch of "friends" who I'll never meet, no matter how attractive they are, and some are. So, it's like the rest of the internet, a ton of "spam" for every tiny bit of substance.

Two Thumbs Up

For Dream Girls and Children of Men. Had to go see Dream Girls after all the hoopla, and really, Jennifer Hudson deserved that Golden Globe, and so did Eddie Murphy. It is a well put together film chronicling the Supremes rise to fame. Even though there are a few moments of "I feel a song coming on" where one of the players breaks into song, it's forgivable. Children of Men is an impactful film, a grim picture of what the world may be like in 2027, when the whole world looks like downtown Baghdad does now. The premise that we're on our way to extinction isn't that far fetched when you look at global warming and infertility, not to mention the massive poisioning of our environment. It was sad to see London all disheveled and broken, especially after finally seeing it for real last summer. Clive Owen is great as usual, a definite must-see.

Boys Will Always Resort to Being Boys!

What boys do when they "have to go" and there's snow handy....M is for Max.

New Year Off and Running

Well, the ice cold temps have arrived, -11 at my house this a.m. Listened to my first live music of the new year, met up with a Wailers fan from Mizzoo who had an extra ticket and so I figured what the heck. Cold as hell, but the roads were bare and dry with no traffic coming back so it was a nice night off. Just a casual reggae fan really, but figured the Wailers have been around for eons and they'd be good which they were. Good thing Mizzoo passed that recent ordinance relegating pot to the lowest law enforcement priority because the Wilma was in a smoky haze all evening. I was afraid if I got stopped for speeding on the way home the cop would smell my coat and do a "probable search". Luckily no problem on the way home. Not to mention I haven't imbibed in the stuff for 28 or so years, but that wouldn't stop them from harassing me! So this was by far the most pleasant "internet" date I've been on so far. Very pleasant fellow, we had dinner and then the concert, pretty laid back atmosphere needless to say. It feels good to take a risk, albeit a calculated one, and get out there a little more. Doubt we'll hang out again, but I wouldn't mind if we did. A hundred miles away is a long way to go for a date, and I swore I wouldn't travel out of town for any more of these unknown "disaster dates" but for concerts I'll probably always make an exception. So onward to the new year!@

Verge of a New Year

New starts, new year resolutions may indeed be a bunch of crap, but there's something about a new start with a cool new number, 2007, that seems refreshing. Part of it is just getting the holidays behind us, and the dark days of winter have begun to be lighter and longer, although you can't really notice yet. Seems like people get down to business and begin again to focus on their work and being more organized and efficient when the holidays are behind them. A lot of stress and distraction happens over the holidays, even if it's just the sight of a nativity scene everytime you turn around, which is a little depressing. The in your face religious stuff is a little much. So, on to the new year with hopes it's as good as 2006 which was awesome. The laughing fits over rummy in the triangle hotel room in Paris, the rest of Europe with family, incredible music events, health, excercise and a sense of well being...a very good 2006 for which I am very thankful for.

Run Santa Run!!

Fun in the UK

Season's Greetings

Passe un temps des fêtes vraiment relax
Ou…tu peux toujours aller dans ta famille

(You can take it easy on the holidays, or
You can go visit your family)

Joyeuses fêtes!

Pie Notes

For crust, my Nana taught me how to make foolproof crusts. First of all, all ingredients should be cool. I keep flour and Crisco in the fridge and use very cold water to blend. For one crust use one cup all purpose flour with 5 tablespoons of Crisco, work quickly until shortening is about the size of peas or smaller using your fingers or a fork. I use a couple of dashes or up to ¼ teaspoon of salt. Double flour to 2 cups and 10 tablespoons Crisco for double crust pie. After shortening is worked into flour/salt gradually add very cold tap water, about ¼ to ½ cup, and mix in until all flour is blended and taken up into a ball. Split in half for 2 crust pie, roll out very thin with rolling pin keeping surface of counter and dough sprinkled with flour at all times so it doesn’t stick, until rolled out to desired thickness. Over-handling or the shortening having time to warm up makes a tough chewy crust, so work quickly and handle as little as possible. 

From Mildred Chaffin’s Cooking for Daily Living.

A lot of potentially good pies suffer from under baking. A nice brown crust doesn’t necessarily mean the filling is done. I prefer flour as a thickening agent. If there is raw flour in a fruit or berry pie, it came out of the oven too soon. If no raw flour is evident and you still have to eat it with a spoon, the pie could’ve used a little more thickening and possibly a little longer baking time. I have found no hard and fast rules for measurements since fresh, canned and frozen fruits differ in juice content. It is safe and sensible to bake fruit and berry pies an hour—sometimes more—until the juice boils up clear and syrupy. I start pies at 400° for 15 minutes (bottom rack) then lower temperature to 350° until juice begins to bubble. Finish at 300°. Pies won’t boil over so badly if cooking is slow and easy. (MY APPLE usually cooks 1 hour and 15 minutes, but if it’s too brown take it out a little sooner)

Putting fruit or berry pies together:

Line pie plate without stretching the dough and flute the rim (quite high) as if making a one crust pie before trimming the edge. Mix the flour for thickening with half of the sugar and sprinkle a thick layer of this on the bottom crust before putting in the uncooked filling. (FOR APPLE pie, I use ¾ cup of sugar, so half of this would be mixed with 3 tablespoons of flour and spread on bottom crust). This gives the bottom crust a chance to begin baking before it gets a soaking. (With apples, I mound quite high as they do cook down to about half volume.) Sprinkle remaining sugar on the filling along with seasonings. (FOR APPLE a generous sprinkle of cinnamon and I add a little sprinkle of nutmeg.) Place second crust atop and pinch around edges to seal, careful not to punch holes in edges, and trim off remaining crust. Cut decorative slits and you can brush a coating of milk or soft margarine (but I never put anything on them, and they turn out great).

The Search for the Perfect Tree

My perfect little tree, and I only spent $35. Last year we didn't have a tree, I put a couple of ornaments on my 50 year old Christmas Cactus, not a very impressive sight, so this year the tree means even more. I've always loved having a tree in the living room and revisiting the decorations, Sadie's little wooden rocking horse with "I love Willy" written on it, Wednesday's heart shaped grade school picture, the tiny stocking that I knit long ago, the other assorted crafty items the kids made while growing up. We still have a few of the nearly antique bulbs from, oh I guess 1960's? They don't make them like that any more. So it's up and while a little tippy if you mess with it, it does stand on it's own, looking beautiful.

Holiday Bliss & Family Reunions

Okay I'm not really into religious holidays, not even a Christian really, but this guy seen on the streets of downtown Helena struck my fancy.
Just reconnected with my step-half and step-quarter daughters, the sisters of my three and I hadn't actually seen either since they were young girls. MySpace really is a wonder that way. They're all grown up, 20 and 25, and living in Seattle and Alaska. When the two families lived in Missoula we actually had the kids spend lots of time together. Being civil really was the best choice and I'm glad we adults were able to see past the anger of divorce and betrayal to allow the kids to be family. After all I wasn't going to have any more than three but loved the idea that my kids could have more siblings. We'll have to figure out a way to all get together sometime.

Movie Notes

Just rented Ellie Parker with Naomi Watts and it's a fun romp of a movie, I'd highly recommend it. Also rented Down to the Bone, a realistic look at addictive behaviors. No major stars and a little depressing but worth viewing. If you're still on the fence about going to see Stranger Than Fiction, I'd recommend it just for Maggie Gyllenhaal alone. She's one of my favorite actors and Emma Thompson is great as the wacky writer. While it's not exactly a comedy, more melancholy than anything really, it's definitely worth seeing. Also rented The New World over the holiday, I admit just for Colin Farrell, and while it's nice to see him onscreen the movie crawls along with no real plot. Maybe they stuck a little too close to the real story and should've spiced it up a bit. I liked him better in Miami Vice. Looks like the holiday season has a few promising films, but early reviews on Bobby are not good.

Another Turkey Come and Gone

Well, another Thanksgiving with just me and Max. It's sad, pathetic and wonderful all at the same time. I set the table for four because two plates would've just looked too lonely, plus I wanted to try out the new dishes which are beautiful. So I took Max's suggestion and got a little bird this time, a 12 pounder, and did the usual fixings: the box bread, pecan and apple pies, squash, brussel sprouts, potatoes, gravy and stuffing. So, needless to say we'll be eating turkey for the next week. The wonderful part is that I didn't have to go anywhere, didn't have to clean the house too much and wasn't stressing about the meal at all. I know a house full of company/family is supposed to be a very festive occasion, but the stress that goes along with it rarely makes for a fun event, at least in my experience. So all those folks who had to gather with people they don't really want to hang out with have my sympathies. Me and Max had a great meal: chatted and enjoyed each other's company, expressed our missing of the girls, and listened to live Pearl Jam through dinner, probably not a tradition in too many households. The good news is if all goes as planned, it will be three of us for Christmas this year and in the next couple of years we may be back to all family members in the US. I'm thinking holidays in LA would be a fun change of pace. As long as we get at least one more awesome trip to Europe before everybody's stateside. We'll see how it goes.

Another Art Walk

Awesome Pollock, I wish this was on display at the local art walk last week, but there were some good ones and some interesting photography. Some mostly nude nature shots were very interesting, although I have to admit I liked the ones without the subjects cellulite showing. A large 5' by 5' abstract painted by a local artist is as good as anything I viewed at the big museums this year. The whole town comes out for the walks which just goes to show there's not enough to do in this small town. Plus the venues all provide snacks, so that probably attracts at least some folks.

Tester's In, Rumsfeld's Out

What a great day for the country. It just goes to show if you screw up in monumental proportions for long enough, even Americans eventually awaken from their comatose state.

Room With a View - DC

Happy Halloween - Don't Forget to Vote Next Tuesday!

East Coast

The Shame of America

Viewing The Road to Guantánamo, a first hand account of three British citizens caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time and sent off to Guantánamo Bay where they were treated like less than animals is a truly sad commentary of how the US views it’s role in the world. And these young guys of middle eastern heritage were citizens of England speaking perfect English, can you imagine the treatment of the ones who do not speak English? The story profiled just one case of the many citizens rounded up, jailed and tortured at the hands of Americans in the name of the “war on terror”. That the US government has condoned and even encouraged the torture of hundreds classified as enemy combatants is disturbing and shameful made more alarming by the recent signing by our president of the Military Commissions Act denying due process to these individuals. Every American should see this film and get a first hand look at what our government is doing in our name.