Super Mario Game

Luke & Noah - As the World Turns

OK let me make it very clear off the bat I am not generally a daytime soap fan. I DO follow Young & the Restless, and every week or two I find an update on Days of our Lives; but I'm not one who sits down for the afternoon to watch my 'stories'. I haven't seen so much as 5 seconds of As the World Turns in my life. I wouldn't know any of their characters if they came up and bit me on the ass in the street.

However of late I've had some major respect for ATWT - they have incorporated what is, from what I can tell, the first gay couple in daytime soap history with Luke and Noah. Now yes, they've been playing it safe - while every other soap couple is like, in bed with each other by their first date at the latest, they've had like, 2 onscreen kisses in their 6-month history. But nonetheless, props to ATWT for dealing with the issue at all, seeing as I know it's controversial, and hey - in a way, taking a relationship slowly and getting to know each other gives me a lot more respect for this couple as it is much more indicative of how these things go in real life - or else would in an ideal world.

But of course the bigotted dunderheads must now come out in droves. The American Family Association has written this sternly-worded epistle to rouse the base and create complaints:

Procter & Gamble has resumed using explicit, open-mouth homosexual kissing in their soap opera, "As the World Turns." P&G decided to include this type of content as a commitment to "diversity." P&G stopped showing such scenes some months ago, but has now decided to again help promote the homosexual agenda which includes homosexual marriage.

Gay activists are hopeful that the P&G effort will desensitize viewers to the homosexual lifestyle and help make the unhealthy and immoral lifestyle more acceptable to society, especially to children and youth.

"As the World Turns" is owned and controlled completely by P&G. No network made this decision. P&G alone made the decision to support the homosexual agenda.

P&G needs to hear from you today. We have provided a sample letter for you to send to Chairman Lafley, but strongly encourage you to add a personal message.

Now, nevermind that there are many more things 'repulsive' in soaps than this - and even morally repugnant. While I don't watch any wide variety of soaps, let me use the one I DO watch example. How about the fact that as I think about it, the only characters on Young and the Restless I can think of who haven't been divorced as yet are all under the age of 12? How about the fact that recent shenanigans on that show include the 7-times married (I think) Victor Newman, who is still married, though separated, from his current wife, carrying his daughter's best friend - 20 or 25 years his junior - upstairs to ... well, you can picture the rest. I find old people sex repulsive - should I call in to Y&R to complain about that? And I know it's like this across daytime - 'sex in the afternoon' has long been a staple of the soaps.

But I will not call in to complain. The fact is, as I figure it, old people are entitled to have sex. So are people in their late-teens. So are same-sex couples. To the extent soaps are ever a reflection of reality, human nature is reflected in them, amid the myriad marriages and bedhopping, which these groups seem to find acceptable, so long as it's heterosexual. To me, there is absolutely nothing offensive about a happy, loving young couple in a committed relationship of some months standing - whoever is involved in said relationship. *sigh* And I had taken it as a smidgen of hope on Y&R when recently an interracial young couple (Lily and Daniel) got married, given that the last time Y&R had forayed in that direction - with Lily's father Neil and Victor's daughter Victoria - it was met with a barrage of hate mail.

The most unfortunate thing however? Just as the plug was pulled on Victoria and Neil due to undue negative backlash to a black-white pairing, Proctor & Gamble has set up a hotline for us to call in with our views - and I'm afraid the only people who will be willing to use it are those who have a problem with this, despite in all likelihood having never seen the show, nor having even the remotest idea of the backstory as at least I do (the only reason, for the record, I feel qualified to comment on this). And which you now have as well. So join me. Are you an ATWT watcher who wants to save Luke and Noah? Or do you simply agree with me that their homosexuality alone is not a reason to censor this otherwise - from what I can tell - wholesome young couple? Then please phone P&G's hotline at 1-800-331-3774. Thanks! :) XO

Dirty laundry - out on a line for the world to see, or hidden in your dryer?

So just taking a break from my busy weekend - today turned out to not be as busy as I thought anyway - I wanted to comment on something I've been following the last couple of weeks. I know the whole kafuffle about Tricia Walsh-Smith -- the playwright wife of theatre empresario Philip Smith -- is probably considered old news by now. But as a blogger myself, who noticed she just put up a second video, I have found this all interesting and decided to comment on it all.

For those unfamiliar with the situation, Walsh-Smith is currently undergoing a nasty divorce with her husband. He is attempting to evict her from their Manhattan apartment, but in order to do so he needs to obtain grounds to file for divorce as well. Well, New York does not have 'no-fault' divorce provisions as Canada or many other states do (click 'no-fault' for a definition), so he'd have to prove cause for the divorce, and she claims he has none. Given her perceived treatment at his hands, she released this Youtube video. In this video, amongst other embarrassing information, she revealed that they'd had a literally sexless marriage during their time together, and yet she had discovered him to be in possession of porn videos, Viagra, and condoms, etc. Now legally speaking, first of all, this was a dumb move - beyond just how it makes her look, withheld sex is 'cause' for dissolution of marriage in NY. But beyond any of that, here are my personal thoughts:

I blog. Obviously, I am not entirely unfamiliar, or disenchanted, with the idea of discussing one's personal life on the internet. I find it easier than calling or emailing all my friends or whatever as new and exciting things happen in my life. But I also recognize that there is some level of seemliness and class. In the Facebook age, I think it's ridiculous to see statuses changing from 'in a relationship' to 'engaged' to 'single' to the ever-revealing 'it's complicated'; tons of blogs and websites have come out discussing child custody issues, slagging exes for that purpose etc. Now, where it's a safety issue and you are attempting to promote the cause of protecting your child from an endangering ex who abuses them or something (as a case I read about a year ago was), I get that. But if it's just for the purpose of causing embarrassment ... then that's BS. I don't get into every argument my husband and I might have here, or every tear I might shed, or whatever. Beyond which, also recognizing this is sticky legal ground. Slander, libel ... not to mention as a teacher, and now a prospective adoptive parent, there are confidentiality issues I need to recognize.

I dunno - talk about what you did this weekend, or your opinions on stuff going on in the world ... but respect the laws, and respect people and yourself, enough not to become vindictive and air your dirty laundry for the world to see. Because the world CAN see what you post online. If you wouldn't feel comfortable shouting about something at the top of your lungs in a crowded public space or building, you should not post about it online, in my opinion ... more or less. And I am NOT, as a writer or as a lefty politically, suggesting freedom of speech should be curtailed - this woman is well within her rights to make herself look like an idiot. I'm just advocating, as a blogger, for all of our own sakes, to blog responsibly. Because the only person harmed by this woman's idiocy, is herself.

Which I suppose begs the question, so why do I care? It's her business what nonsense she posts, just as it is my business what I go about saying here. And I guess in that sense I DON'T care in the tangible end of things ... I guess I just feel she gives those of us who use the internet as a forum to update and comment responsibly, a bad name. It is due to people like her that whenever I bring up my blog to my mother, she asks "And just what do you write in this blog anyway?" Because of course, with people like this out there, it MUST be every intimate detail of my life which should be kept to myself. So on that sense I guess I care - I just wanted to remind people, as I've had a reminder this week with this and a few other things going on in my life, to be careful what we say on here, and about whom - because anyone can read it. Do with that info what you might. ;) Also ... read blogs responsibly. My life not that interesting to you? *points up* There's the 'close' icon; Bye now! I for one will start following my own advice by not giving this psychotic idiot another single solitary character typed about her on my blog.

It's just an interesting subject in general though, the publicization of marriage/divorce/child custody. For more on that in general, check out this great NY Times article. And until next time, be well, be responsible. Cheers!

Saturday

So yesterday was fun, though a whole lot of money for nothin'. :P We slept in till 11:30 - which I can't remember the last time we did that! - and then had a brunch date before heading to the Brantford Home & Garden show. It was a lovely drive, and the show was kind of neat: lots of cool stuff to look around at, and I was happy to see my friend "A" who was hosting a table there for one of her businesses (she's a work-at-homer). Very cool, since she's one of the best friends I've got - certainly one of the best I've made in my adult life - and we hadn't seen each other in a couple weeks thanks to some monster illnesses going around both our homes and general busy-ness of life.

After that we stopped by the Brantford casino next door and proceeded to piss away $40 in like, I dunno, 20 minutes? That was probably the lowlight of the weekend ... boo on that! I don't mind losing money in a casino if it goes a long ways and at least buys an amusing hour or two, but this most certainly didn't. Oh well. The slots were just not rolling in our favour today. LAST time we gambled, we came out $20 ahead! Guess you win some, you lose some. The evening was quiet - I did some packing, we did some straightening (the house is clean, but gets *messy* pretty easily these days as we prep for a move), we watched some videos, drank some wine ... it was nice.

Friday was cool too - we had a dinner date out, and then went to our dance lessons which went amazingly well ... so pleased with our progress, and we had fun with Ryan, our male instructor (we mainly dance with Angie, but once in a while they throw in Ryan to give a man's perspective for Ari, since his job and mine in dancing, if you know anything about it, are completely different). So this weekend has not been the best ever for watching what I eat, but has been well worth it in terms of fun, and back on the wagon today ... which sounds funny to say given I'm going out to the In-Laws' for dinner, but they're generally pretty conscientious about what they eat, and therefore about what they feed others'. So it shouldn't be too deadly. :)

Hope everyone else had a lovely weekend, enjoyed the nice weather (for the most part) outside, and isn't too bummed about going back to work tomorrow ... except my luckyduck husband who has a vacation day tomorrow! And why? All because he's expecing a phonecall ... lol.

Busy weekend ahead ...

Just as a heads-up I might not be blogging again till Monday, tho I'll try. I'm going to be going to Brantford tomorrow to support a friend of mine at her first tradeshow, plus have some chores around mi casa; Sunday I have some school-related stuff to plow through, and it's a belated Passover dinner at the in-laws for us before checking out the latest WWE pay-per-view offerings (predictions over at my wrestling blog in a matter of moments - http://inthisveryring.blogspot.com, which is where I'm headed next) - but I will try to check in, and if I don't, know I'm having a good time and I'll tell you all about it Monday. Big love to y'all! Xs and Os - Sar

Quick update

So it's been awhile since I've given a personal update - I mentioned losing my teenage-hood dog last week and I spoke of an article at CNN.com that I read about, but I haven't said much about my weekend/week so I thought I'd share.

Saturday night Ari and I got to go to a Proclaimers concert - they're the "500 Miles" guys, for those who don't know. Awesome, awesome show. Just the right balance of a rock concert, without being overly crazy, or too many young people (ie, teenagers), or whatever. It was a great crowd, a great show, with two great opening acts. A huge thank you to my brother for the tickets.

We've also found out for sure for sure we've been approved to adopt. While we won't actually be given any matches till August at the earliest, we're both going to sign off on our homestudy tomorrow, which is exciting! :D I can't wait for this summer - a move, hopefully a baby ... it's going to be an awesome, awesome time.

Workwise things have been OK - I'm used to having classes be either really awesomely behaved, or very poorly so, and this week it's kinda been a mix of both: no one's been angels but it's generally got smoothly, and in particular my class from hell has been actually somewhat human. That might have something to do with the well-behaved AND smart little genius who joined them this week ... poor kid!

Otherwise, it's the holding pattern. No report cards or moving or kids or major projects just yet, but I KNOW it'll all come whamwhamwhamwhamwham, so I'm just trying to stay on top of everything as it comes ... it's a busy week work-wise, but at least personally when I come home at the end of the day I have been able to leave it behind, enjoy some TV, some wine, and relax. Hopefully, I'll get all my loose ends at work tied up by the end of the week, so that I can move on with some more fun stuff (ie personal life) next week. But meanwhile, I think I've finally got the hang of this state of being known as 'yuppy'. ;) You just wouldn't know it from mornings ... MAN is it hard to drag myself out of bed and out the door some days!

And how about you all? As always I welcome comments and stuff right so let me know how your first few weeks of spring have been! Enjoying the lovely weather? Or - if you live out west - enjoying the ... well ... snow? *snicker* Oops. Sorry. Mean. ;) Meh, y'all - GO HABS GO! Smell ya later! XO - Sar

Middle School Girls Tape Beating

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/19/girl.beating.ap/index.html

OK - this is a new trend of the internet that I am not enjoying. Many unsavory things, from testimonials about awful spouses with whom one is going through a divorce, to beatings, to recently a gang-related, firing squad-style murder, are videotaped and find their way online. Are people so sick as to want to be seen at their worst? Are we so sick as to want to sit and watch human suffering? How can these young women be so proud of what they've done to their classmate as to want to post it online?

But aside from that - I have to truly say - girls and women disgust me at times. Don't get me wrong, I am not truly sexist in either direction, I am quite proud to be a woman, and I think we have many great qualities. Being married and having dated, and having a great relationship with my dad, step-dad, and brother, I think guys are generally pretty terrific too. But one thing men have all over us, is at least they're up front about their crap. When they don't get along with someone, shouting and fighting and whatever ensues, and then the drama is over. They can get back to being whatever they were before.

But girls are different. We're sneaky. When things are not working out with a friend or loved one, we don't tend to just say 'hey, this isn't what I want it to be anymore'. We gossip, we badmouth, we backstab ... and even here, where it DID result into some up-front violence, it was sneaky: they ambushed this poor girl. I'm remembering a story a little while ago where a teenage girl's 'frenemy' (and by the way - only we girls/women have 'frenemies'; not to give them too much credit, but men are smarter than that), set up a fake MySpace account as a cute teenaged guy, who proceeded to get to know with, flirt with, etc., Girl A. Well, eventually, he told Girl A he heard she was a bitch, not especially great to be around, etc., and really badmouthed her hard; she killed herself. Only for her family to discover this boy never existed, it was a classmate of hers (AND HER MOTHER! HER MOTHER!) all along. How awful is that?

So a tip to all us women; don't ever be like men. It's great we have differences and I love both sexes for them. But please, if you're going to argue, let's try to argue a bit more like them. Unless the guy argues like a girl of course ... all sulking and drama. ;) That's just not cool.

Holly-part 2

Unfortunately Holly did not make it to this weekend. My mother and brother took her to the vet's this morning, where she was put to sleep at around 8:45 this morning. Rest in peace Holly - or perhaps not so much. Peace never WAS your style. ;) You will be missed, my little grey girl.

Holly

I want to tell you guys about Holly. I haven't mentioned her on this blog before now, but that is not to say she is not one of the most important beings in my life. I say 'being', as opposed to 'person', because Holly is a dog.

As any of you who knows me personally knows, my parents broke up when I was 16. It was Christmastime - literally. We spent the holidays with my grandparents in Montreal, and Dad left Boxing Day to move out of our home back in Ontario. But his Christmas gift to my mother, my brother and I - who had all wanted a dog - was a Miniature Schnauzer puppy named Holly.

Now - any of you who knows Holly, knows she is a brat. Just a brat. She's yappy, she bites - especially me - and she was very hard to housebreak. To this day she is good around one other dog and one only - my grandparents' dog Heidi. But she has been OUR brat - while Mom and Kyle (the bro) and I were finding our footing as a new family unit, Holly was the fourth member of our team, and we all love her dearly. She's an awesome (though neurotic and high strung) dog.

Now - in recent months (say the last year-18 months) her health has been declining. She has something called Cushing's Disease, which ultimately leads to the failure of her kidneys. We have known for a year or so that she would not reach her full life expectancy (12-14 years for Schnauzers). From the vet's expectations, she's already had an extra 6-12 mos. more than they expected. But unfortunately that is about to end.

Without getting into details, Holly's health has really deteriorated in the last 48 hours - I was over there tonight, and it is truly sad to see her. The decision was made today that on Saturday she will be put down - that is still the plan, but even since then she has gone further downhill, and it could be as soon as tomorrow depending on what the vet has to say when she returns for an IV tomorrow (she's dehydrated).

This dog brought love into our home after my parents' separation and divorce - she's a brat, but she was playful and loved her family. She has always been spunky to say the least, with boundless energy, and it is so sad to see her as she is, and yet she has been such a presence I have a hard time imagining her gone.

I don't know quite what the point of writing this was - probably very few of you, if any, know the dog, or me very well, but I just felt I had to do something. I feel bad for Holly, and I feel bad for my mother, brother and step-father who still live with her and are having to watch her in failing health. Plus of course, I'm sad too. It's just a tough time, and I guess I thought writing about it would help me feel better. I'll let you know if it does ... :(

Thanks for your readership and support, guys. I appreciate it. Big hugs to you all, your families, and your pets. Cherish them always - be well.

Facebook

The description of blocking someone on Facebook:

"Block People

If you block someone, they will not be able to search for you, see your profile, or contact you on Facebook. Any ties you currently have with a person you block will be broken (friendship connections, relationships, etc)."

How symbolic huh? With a stroke of a mouse, anyone can be erased ... virtually deleted ... as well as any past, or ties you've ever had with them. Smarts, don't it? :P

By the by ... does anyone know ... if you block someone on Facebook obviously they can't follow your newsfeed, search for you, message you, write on your wall; but can you still see them?

Curious ...

Parenting in Hollywood

Well I said this was going to be a pop culture blog as well as a personal one, and so I wanted to comment on something I've been following over at http://www.tmz.com for a day or two now.

There's this ex-couple, OK? Travis Barker and Shannon Moakler. I *think* they're reality show people -- when there are famous people who I have NO idea how or why they're famous, that's what they tend to be famous for, because it's probably the entertainment genre I watch the least (using that term loosely of course). Actually, ashamed to say, I know how Shanna Moakler is famous - she was a contestant on "America's Next Top Model", if I have that right. But nevermind all that - how and where people become famous, and the epidemic of reality shows, I could write about in a whole other article, and perhaps I will. I want to write about the discussion of their parenting skills post-breakup (and reunion ... and break-up ...).

Since their most recent (and presumably final) breakup, Barker has been seen all over the place with their kids - including Moakler's daughter from a previous relationship - while Moakler has barely been seen with them. This has led to him being praised as a great and involved dad, and her being criticized as an absentee mom.

Funny, though, how when the reverse happened in the Britney Spears/Kevin Federline divorce - she was snapped with her kids all over town, while he kept his life with the boys scrupulously private, he was praised for protecting his sons, while she was skewered as using her boys as publicity magnets. Now, personally, I don't see how it can be a positive thing, exposing young children to the flashbulbs these celebrities face, by their own, adult choosing, every day of their lives. But let's say it's indicative that you love your children that you are "seen" with them. It is at LEAST hypocritical to trash one mother who is never seen with her children for being absentee, while another, always seen with them, is using them to get good press.

Perhaps this is where we realize that either way, one person's parenting skills and choices are none of our business? That is up to the two individuals as coparents, childcare professionals (social workers/children's aid workers, teachers, etc.), and perhaps extended family (eg grandparents). As hypocritical as I admittedly am for saying this, perhaps we as a public need to take more responsibility for focusing on these people for WHY they are famous - their acting skills, musical ability, or what have you. And if we don't have a good answer to that "why" ... well, then we have another "why" question: why do we care in the first place?

Damn ... although now that I've gotten on THAT soapbox ... does that mean I have to go cold turkey on TMZ and Perez?

Personal Update

So I am feeling better from my ear infection, but definitely enjoying a lazy weekend. Yesterday was productive - I caught up on a lot I wanted to catch up on at school as it was a workday with no kids (Professional Activity Day); we also waived our conditions on our home purchase, so we are officially homeowners, closing June 18.

As for today, my husband and I made an excursion to Burlington (45 mins. away) to the IKEA store, confirming we are indeed a boring ole married couple. ;) We're looking for a love seat for our living room. If anyone has one, or knows of any garage sales coming up, let us know. Also, keeping an ear out for a (non-motorized) push-mower for our new yard's lawn.

Other than that I've done some early, easy packing, and watched more hours than I can count of "Lois and Clark" reruns on the DVDs I own. TRULY lazy day, the sick day I've been tempted to take all week but which I took LAST week when this cold started, and didn't feel I could push for another one so soon. Tomorrow I'm going to go to church, do some chores around here, and finish the last couple of school-related things I need to do before next week (mainly my first round of grading for this term). So I figured - busy day yesterday, busy day tomorrow, I've earned a 'Day In' today. Right? Right. Who says TV rots your brain ... lol ... Besides. Lois & Clark is AWESOME. Recommend for anyone who hasn't seen it. SO sit-through-able ... and there is NOT much I can do for hours and hours on end like that (mainly the odd video game and wrestling ... and I suppose work but that's not ALWAYS by choice ;) ).

Enjoy your rainy weekend everyone - I know I am!

Explanation

As I don't like going more than a day or two without posting, and I haven't posted in like two or three days now. I have an ear infection. It is painful. It's taken a lot out of me, and I've been exhausted. Yesterday, I had a dance lesson which I pretty much stumbled thru, and then spent 3 1/2 hours in the emergency room to have a doctor look at me for 5 minutes at ~1 am to say "Yup, it's infected" and give me a prescription I couldn't even fill until today anyway. Fun times.

As for today, I pretty much slept from the time I came in till I had to go pick up Ari (minus some quality time on the phone w/my mom and grandma), and have been enjoying snuggling on the couch w/him and watching TV - something as a sicky I'm sure I can't be begrudged. But now I've started my meds for my ear, have had/am about to go get a decent sleep, and it's the weekend coming up - hopefully, all a good mix for some more regular blogging. Particularly tomorrow, as - God willing- we should be waiving our conditions on the purchase of our new home, making it final and official. Will update then. Meanwhile, I wish everyone much better health than Ari and I have been enjoying the last week or so, and will catch up with you soon!

And hey - ask readers of my previous blog - for me, going a couple days without posting is NOT that bad. ;) Cheers all.

Couch to 5K Running program - http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

A nice easy way for schlubs like me to get off our butts and run at our own pace! Totally doable, I weigh like twice what I should and I START at week 3 with little problem, just a 'healthy burn'. I'll be recording my progress here, and if anyone wants to join me (either figuratively or, if you live in KW area, literally) let me know!

Hoping to run a 5k by the fall - 9 weeks will put us around the dead heat of summer and I'm not sure I want to commit to a race at that point ... although who knows! If I'm keeping up with the running, why not? Maybe I'd be used to it. But anyway, wish me luck!

What would Dad think?

I mean current President George W. Bush's father - the 41st president of the United States, George H.W. Bush - of his son's ouster of Saddam Hussein and occupation of Iraq?

"Trying to eliminate Saddam, extending the ground war into an occupation of Iraq, would have violated our guideline ... and would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible ... We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. The coalition would instantly have collapsed, the Arabs deserting it in anger and other allies pulling out as well ... Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the U.N.'s mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the U.S. could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different — and perhaps barren — outcome."

• A World Transformed (1998) by George H.W. Bush and Brent Scowcroft; also as an excerpt in Time Magazine in 1998.

A defense of Barack Obama

OK - don't get me wrong. I'm a Hillary Clinton supporter myself in the current primaries for the Democratic presidential nomination in the U.S. - longtime fan of hers. But while there are several reasons I support her over Barack Obama, I have been disappointed in the focus on his association with a controversial pastor. First of all, that pastor does not necessarily represent Obama's exact thoughts and feelings verbatim - I don't agree with everything my minister says (particularly his great joy in seeing a roadkill rabbit in the middle of the road on Easter Sunday, lol - somehow, not very pastor-like). But secondly, just because Rev. Jeremiah Wright uses strong language to express himself, does not mean his views are so far out of the mainstream as one might think. Let's take a look at these words from the great American civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr.:

<<"God didn't call America to engage in a senseless, unjust war," King said of the fighting in Vietnam. "And we are criminals in that war. We've committed more war crimes almost than any nation in the world, and I'm going to continue to say it."

While King didn't go as far as the Rev. Jeremiah Wright in suggesting that God "damn America," he predicted that the almighty might punish this country for "our pride and our arrogance.">>

Somehow, I suspect MLK would be opposing the Iraq war right now, and America's actions in the world which have lowered its esteem amongst its fellow nations - and I doubt he'd be using the most gentile language to convey his disappointment.

By the way - this is an excerpt from a VERY interesting article on CNN.com talking about if Dr. King were alive today - definitely an interesting read and I encourage you to check it out here.

I know I wrote about this on my wrestling blog ...

But as not everyone reads it I thought I'd post it here too, as it really bugged me.

Here is an article I found as it appears over at http://www.prowrestling.net - fast becoming one of my favourite wrestling sites, by the way:

***

"The mother of a two year-old son who was allegedly killed by his four year-old brother told St. Louis police that the older boy was pretending to be a WWE wrestler when he choked his brother with part of a curtain. The woman says she's convinced that exposure to professional wrestling played a part in the death of her son. A police investigation is ongoing."

***

I felt compelled to write back to editor Jason Powell, and I thought I'd share my comments with you all - MY readers here at In This Very Ring:

"Granted this is possible but - might I ask what this woman was doing allowing her FOUR YEAR OLD SON to watch WWE? In this day and age, with the violence level of the product upped, as well as all other manner of vulgarity, she should on some level be held criminally responsible - or at LEAST criminally negligent. NOT acceptable parenting here in the least. You might debate what an acceptable age to start watching pro wrestling is (or whether it's ever appropriate), but it sure as heck isn't 4."

My OTHER life ...

As a wrestling fan.

While this has been a big week for us personally - just found out social worker's almost done our homestudy, we were approved for our mortgage today, etc. - it was also a big week in the world of my own personal guilty pleasure ... wrestling!

Ric Flair, a man usually at the top of everyone's list of Best Wrestlers of All Time (and yes it's hard to have a 'best' in a fake sport, but if you think of all the aspects - the entertaining, the athleticism, the ability to tell a story, talk on the mic, actually go into the ring and do your thing, etc.), retired at 59 years old after a 35 year career. This is tantamount to the Rolling Stones quitting, is what I've been comparing it to most, or Jack Nicholson never making another movie.

Please see my tribute slideshow to this awesome personality (even if he IS a Republican) at my other blog: inthisveryring.blogspot.com - thanks!

In terms of a personal note, not much going on that y'all don't already know about - it's all in the first paragraph. Moving, officially now, to a home the next sort of community/neighbourhood over (anyone familiar with Kitchener, it's in the Chicopee area; if you aren't, suffice to say it's a 5 minute drive from our house) in June. Our homestudy should be done by week's end and just need our signatures to be official. I'm sick as a dog and not going in to school tomorrow - and before you ask why I'm still up ... well, I slept for 4 hours as soon as I came home, so yes I'm awake - doesn't mean I feel great though!

So I AM off, hopefully to try to rest a bit more and get better. Hope everyone has a good night, and please protect yourself from whatever the heck bug is going around - it's a nasty one and I don't know ANYONE I don't think who hasn't been sick in the last 2-3 weeks. Stay well.