Its the principal's daughter.
The principal is not there.
Yet the mom, the school counselor mom is there, so is grandma, and an older (20something) aunt with a canon DSL camera.
It happened at Starbucks. (Where else). This mom was pretty public in Starbucks modeling the massive attention the yuppie moms now give to kids. Always modeling ideal parent interaction detail in public.
There she was. The little girl, starting back to school after the first week. There seemed to be no sign of reluctance to attend. There were general comments such as you love your kindergarten teacher.. yada yada yada. Agreement all around. In the shadow was the son. A nicely tempered kid headed to preschool for the first time. He was a little desperate for some attention but pretty much understood that the focus was headed toward his year older sister.
Mom trots out the book, The Kissing Hand. She read it page by page in the center of the Starbucks. Both kids were in rapt attention. In the end the boy and the girl are offered heart shaped stickers that mom kissed and wrote on with a sharpie. Mom imparts hugs to daughter and then to son. The boy relished his sticker. The girl rejected hers and started to sob.
Grandma tried to console with a juice box. No consultation would work. Logic was out the window and emotions took center stage.
Mom separated from the scene after recommending the book to a couple of friends nearby. Grandma was set to take the girl to school (about 2 blocks away). Boy was scopped up by mom and headed out the door after one big last hug by mom (big mistake) after saying no more hugs or clinging.
Grandma and daughter try to change focus to a decorated soda top lid. Still some pretty hard feelings there. After mom has cleared out for about 5 minutes, Grandma moves the entourage outside and to the chairs and tables and eventually to the school.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Summer Season
In Merced we are in the throws of Summer.
We are and we should be. Its August 20th and while the students are back to school, it is still summer and it is hot.
The front patio got replanted last weekend. I bought the classic half flats. Two of portulaca, or moss rose, and one each of marigold and sweet asylum. This week despite daily watering, the marigolds are gone as so are the asylum. The portulaca are thriving in the heat.
So we are set for the summer and into the fall.
The sprinklers needed to be readjusted. The standard elberta peach his producing a handful of peaches every other day. Its just right for topping a bowl of cereal but nothing more. Its probably a good thing since my interest in canning is waning.
The San Fransisco Giants are in their natural August swoon. Preseason football which is really riduculus has started again respite rumors to the contrary over constract issues all summer. At least it didn't take a president to jump into the middle of the fray.
The president has his own issues. Leading a country that is pretty polarized cannot be all that fun. Especially without any allowance. I think at this point he will get re elected because the people that would run against him on the Republican side have all signed petitions that they won't raise taxes and that they are by that going after some of the sacred cows of Social Security, Medicare, and the Defense budget. Most people that vote do not want these torqued.
Sadly many people vote with their feelings of security. This is a bad time for that as the stock market as predicted has felt the results of the unemployment/underemployment squeeze. Its hard to vote for a president when you don't have a job.
What will it take? We need some money to build infra structure. We really don't need to infuse our infrastructure money into Afganistan. We as a country need to look at our demographics and see that we have people that can build and consume and perpetuate the American life. It may come from others that we have not even considered now. As a nation we are aging quickly. Japan has just gone through this gap as well as the major countries in Europe.
Working aged people need to work. We need a viable middle class. A strong segment of people that can own their own homes, can buy new vehicles, can save money for their kids to go to college. What income level is that? I am not sure but I suppose that more than 50k per year is needed.
New jobs that make less than that for able forward looking people with education is not going stabilize the economy.
United States will grow. Population cannot shrink. So lets get on with it. Pay a little more in taxes and make us stable.
Pat
We are and we should be. Its August 20th and while the students are back to school, it is still summer and it is hot.
The front patio got replanted last weekend. I bought the classic half flats. Two of portulaca, or moss rose, and one each of marigold and sweet asylum. This week despite daily watering, the marigolds are gone as so are the asylum. The portulaca are thriving in the heat.
So we are set for the summer and into the fall.
The sprinklers needed to be readjusted. The standard elberta peach his producing a handful of peaches every other day. Its just right for topping a bowl of cereal but nothing more. Its probably a good thing since my interest in canning is waning.
The San Fransisco Giants are in their natural August swoon. Preseason football which is really riduculus has started again respite rumors to the contrary over constract issues all summer. At least it didn't take a president to jump into the middle of the fray.
The president has his own issues. Leading a country that is pretty polarized cannot be all that fun. Especially without any allowance. I think at this point he will get re elected because the people that would run against him on the Republican side have all signed petitions that they won't raise taxes and that they are by that going after some of the sacred cows of Social Security, Medicare, and the Defense budget. Most people that vote do not want these torqued.
Sadly many people vote with their feelings of security. This is a bad time for that as the stock market as predicted has felt the results of the unemployment/underemployment squeeze. Its hard to vote for a president when you don't have a job.
What will it take? We need some money to build infra structure. We really don't need to infuse our infrastructure money into Afganistan. We as a country need to look at our demographics and see that we have people that can build and consume and perpetuate the American life. It may come from others that we have not even considered now. As a nation we are aging quickly. Japan has just gone through this gap as well as the major countries in Europe.
Working aged people need to work. We need a viable middle class. A strong segment of people that can own their own homes, can buy new vehicles, can save money for their kids to go to college. What income level is that? I am not sure but I suppose that more than 50k per year is needed.
New jobs that make less than that for able forward looking people with education is not going stabilize the economy.
United States will grow. Population cannot shrink. So lets get on with it. Pay a little more in taxes and make us stable.
Pat
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Limitless
An impressive movie is out in DVD.
Limitless is the story of a pill that can allow you to use all of your brain instead of just 20 percent.
Its got a nice love story withing this plot. It has some interesting chase scenes that are not just by car. The cinematography is very good. The actor has some pretty incredible blue eyes.
The scenes can have some pretty violent movements in them.
There are also scenes that show there are disadvantages to what seems to be a good thing. Maybe a cautionary tale about being careful about what you wish for. Also you must be careful within whom you share the secret and how it cannot be used as a form of avoidance or appeasement.
A good summer action movie... Limitless.
: ) Pat
Limitless is the story of a pill that can allow you to use all of your brain instead of just 20 percent.
Its got a nice love story withing this plot. It has some interesting chase scenes that are not just by car. The cinematography is very good. The actor has some pretty incredible blue eyes.
The scenes can have some pretty violent movements in them.
There are also scenes that show there are disadvantages to what seems to be a good thing. Maybe a cautionary tale about being careful about what you wish for. Also you must be careful within whom you share the secret and how it cannot be used as a form of avoidance or appeasement.
A good summer action movie... Limitless.
: ) Pat
Friday, August 5, 2011
Ode to an August Morning
Ode to an August Morning
Away from the the heat that fills the August afternoon
The morning in August refreshes and revives
like precious REM sleep it entices the body to stay much longer than it should
Work must be done in the cooling world
The mind says get it done and you wont have to do it in the sweat covered dusty afternoon that August ensures
The heart begs to stay in this cool limbo just a little longer
Its great here. This is why you are alive
The breeze seduces your surrender
But no you must go on
You must face the day and what it brings
Pull up! Pull up!
or face the sweet surrender to the siren call of the cool summer morning
It might be too late.
The mind says so much to do
The heart says its okay enjoy the cool
Patrick Brown August 5,2011 8:10 AM
Merced California
Away from the the heat that fills the August afternoon
The morning in August refreshes and revives
like precious REM sleep it entices the body to stay much longer than it should
Work must be done in the cooling world
The mind says get it done and you wont have to do it in the sweat covered dusty afternoon that August ensures
The heart begs to stay in this cool limbo just a little longer
Its great here. This is why you are alive
The breeze seduces your surrender
But no you must go on
You must face the day and what it brings
Pull up! Pull up!
or face the sweet surrender to the siren call of the cool summer morning
It might be too late.
The mind says so much to do
The heart says its okay enjoy the cool
Patrick Brown August 5,2011 8:10 AM
Merced California
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Pure Action Liam!
Liam Neesom has another action movie available on Netflicks and Redbox.
This one starts with the plot piece that a notable scientist that he plays attends a conference in Germany. He leaves his suitcase at the airport. When attempting to retrieve the suitcase he gets in a severe accident in the cab. He is in a coma for a couple of days. When he awakes he tries to resume his role. He finds that someone else has taken his identity at the conference and when he attends, he is treated like an intruder.
He is helped along the way by the cab driver that rescues him from the river. There is a contingent that is chasing Liam. The audience is not sure why until the end.
It comes across as a big time action movie in the genre with Fast and Furious. There is armed combat, there is a very decent car chase or two and then there is the classic underplayed skill of Liam.
If you are an action movie lover.. this is the one for the summer! They have it for rent now.. how convenient.
: ) Pat
This one starts with the plot piece that a notable scientist that he plays attends a conference in Germany. He leaves his suitcase at the airport. When attempting to retrieve the suitcase he gets in a severe accident in the cab. He is in a coma for a couple of days. When he awakes he tries to resume his role. He finds that someone else has taken his identity at the conference and when he attends, he is treated like an intruder.
He is helped along the way by the cab driver that rescues him from the river. There is a contingent that is chasing Liam. The audience is not sure why until the end.
It comes across as a big time action movie in the genre with Fast and Furious. There is armed combat, there is a very decent car chase or two and then there is the classic underplayed skill of Liam.
If you are an action movie lover.. this is the one for the summer! They have it for rent now.. how convenient.
: ) Pat
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Movie The Adjustment Bureau
Matt Damon stars in what the promos say is a sci fi movie. Its pretty down to earth for that classification.
Its really a Romantic movie. It should appeal to a wider range of audience than the either genre.
Matt meets his true love in a rather unusual place. Then "runs" into her by accident the next day. Matt meets the man that is in charge of his destiny. This man burns the card with her number on it. He is not supposed to be with her.
Love prevails and through the years they make contact and each time they know they are the ones for each other.
The sci fi part involves doors (just like monster Inc) and a team out to make it work according to plan. There is a lot of Borne Identity chasing through New York City.
Its a good movie for the summer and is available through Net flicks or Red box now.
: ) Pat
Its really a Romantic movie. It should appeal to a wider range of audience than the either genre.
Matt meets his true love in a rather unusual place. Then "runs" into her by accident the next day. Matt meets the man that is in charge of his destiny. This man burns the card with her number on it. He is not supposed to be with her.
Love prevails and through the years they make contact and each time they know they are the ones for each other.
The sci fi part involves doors (just like monster Inc) and a team out to make it work according to plan. There is a lot of Borne Identity chasing through New York City.
Its a good movie for the summer and is available through Net flicks or Red box now.
: ) Pat
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The family from Kuwait
Our LA escape hotel was in the LAX class. We hotwired and got a nice price on an "older" Holiday Inn.
Next to the Holiday Inn and with easy walking distance of many large hotels is the only Mc Donald's in the area. Housed in a tight two level building it had a constant single posted drive through that intersected with the alley on Cieniga Blvd.
Sue wanted a small hamburger and a parfait for dinner. I walked over and encountered the United Nations of LAX. There were Russian families with kids. There were French couples and German couples and a large extended family of people from Kuwait, as I was later to discover.
One of them tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if they should go to San Francisco the next day. The wanted to know the major attractions. They made it clear they were not "museum types." The younger couple had a baby. He was the driver. He was interested in theme parks. The older couple, about my age were interested in shopping and fishing.
The driver was interested in talking about the world. He wanted to know if there was a way to save their receipts from California and trade them in for a refund of the taxes that they had paid. I was not aware of this program. Apparently in Texas there is such a program. I know from experience in Italy there is a way to get the taxes back at the airport.
The driver wanted to know why we paid so much for gas. He claimed that in Kuwait they pay about 1 dollar a gallon for gas.. the older man said that that was for a liter... he thought that gas was cheaper than the oil that it came from. I said that the king was trying to buy them off so that they would not want freedom similar to Saudi Arabia. Oh you know about Saudis? They retorted. Yes. That was the end of that part of the conversation.
They are encouraged to have more children. The government gives bonuses to people that have kids. Some families the Kuwaits said have as many as 20 kids.
When asked why they were here. They said that they were visiting their daughter who was a student in Tempe Arizona. They understood heat and dessert.
The next day we stopped at the gas station at the foot of the hill in Grapevine. The Kuwait family came out of their cars to head in. They all recognized me and came over to shake my hand again. They were headed to San Francisco. Cool.
I need a rebate from the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce!
: ) Pat
Next to the Holiday Inn and with easy walking distance of many large hotels is the only Mc Donald's in the area. Housed in a tight two level building it had a constant single posted drive through that intersected with the alley on Cieniga Blvd.
Sue wanted a small hamburger and a parfait for dinner. I walked over and encountered the United Nations of LAX. There were Russian families with kids. There were French couples and German couples and a large extended family of people from Kuwait, as I was later to discover.
One of them tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if they should go to San Francisco the next day. The wanted to know the major attractions. They made it clear they were not "museum types." The younger couple had a baby. He was the driver. He was interested in theme parks. The older couple, about my age were interested in shopping and fishing.
The driver was interested in talking about the world. He wanted to know if there was a way to save their receipts from California and trade them in for a refund of the taxes that they had paid. I was not aware of this program. Apparently in Texas there is such a program. I know from experience in Italy there is a way to get the taxes back at the airport.
The driver wanted to know why we paid so much for gas. He claimed that in Kuwait they pay about 1 dollar a gallon for gas.. the older man said that that was for a liter... he thought that gas was cheaper than the oil that it came from. I said that the king was trying to buy them off so that they would not want freedom similar to Saudi Arabia. Oh you know about Saudis? They retorted. Yes. That was the end of that part of the conversation.
They are encouraged to have more children. The government gives bonuses to people that have kids. Some families the Kuwaits said have as many as 20 kids.
When asked why they were here. They said that they were visiting their daughter who was a student in Tempe Arizona. They understood heat and dessert.
The next day we stopped at the gas station at the foot of the hill in Grapevine. The Kuwait family came out of their cars to head in. They all recognized me and came over to shake my hand again. They were headed to San Francisco. Cool.
I need a rebate from the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce!
: ) Pat
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