Monday Meanderings, Part Deux

So, Mark has taken this week off work, as well (the result of not taking all of his vacation time during the rest of the year), and it always seems to happen that I don't post when he's here at home... I've also noticed that the whole household has a veil of tardiness hanging over all its members when he's home. But, as usual, my brain actually does work when he's here, I just don't post about it when it happens. All of which leads to Monday Meanderings. Where has my mind been meandering this week?

Garbage Land. Fascinating book, and I'm only on the 4th chapter. I'll post a little more as I get further along. Right now, I'm just thinking about a good chunk of New York actually built on top of garbage, and it's quite amazing to think about.

Monsanto. I really had no idea how mind-numbingly detrimental this company is to the public's health and wellbeing: from saccharin to styrofoam, Roundup to Agent Orange, genetically modified foods to bovine growth hormones. And what's up with the whole pig breeding patent?  That's more than just a little creepy.

Corn. Speaking of Monsanto, I find myself looking at all corn with suspicion now. Is that corn in my wild bird feed genetically modified? What about my canned corn? And I've heard that corn syrup (which I use at least once a week for my gingerbread pancake recipe) is pretty much all genetically jacked-up.

Chemicals. We just paid $1000 to Terminix to inject our soil with termite poison. I know it's buried, and I know it's supposed to be totally "safe" to be around, but I'm still more than a little discomfited by it. (There goes my hope of growing anything "organic" around my house.) But, it's either poison the termites, or let them eat the house. Neither sounds like a good option to me, just like the politicians around here.

Window screens. I'd love to be able to open our windows this spring & summer, but our windows don't have screens. Does anyone know if screens are easy to install? Do we have to hire someone to do it, or is it a DIY job? (In answer to the first anticipated question, screens are necessary in our house because we have 4 indoor cats and at least 3 outdoor dogs, not to mention that I have this extreme rabid aversion to flies.)

Ooooh, and how could I forget the religious nutcases that have been on my mind? Jerry Falwell and Stephen Baldwin, particularly. Now, I really don't have any problems, per se, with people's various religions. I may not necessarily accept their same views, but as long as they aren't pushing them on me, we'll all be fine. But when someone starts telling me that gays, lesbians, & the ACLU caused 9/11 and that my kids shouldn't watch the Teletubbies because "Tinky Winky is gay,"  it's time to part ways, my friend. (Now, if you were to pose the infinitely more intelligent argument that the kids shouldn't be allowed to watch the Teletubbies because they inhibit their language skills, I'm all ears.) And Stephen Baldwin (yes, one of those Baldwin brothers), the self-proclaimed "Jesus Psycho" that can't remember even six of the Ten Commandments? He's just scary crazy. Or maybe crazy scary. Even scarier, though? The rockin' feedback from his book at Amazon, which indicates there are a lot of Jesus Psychos out there.

And there you have a few of the things that have been on my mind this week. What about you? What's been on your mind?

Comments

[Blue Like the Sky]

The whole "masculine Christianity" (i.e. Baldwin and Mark Driscoll's Mars Hill Church) thing just gives me the freaked out creeps.

As for Jerry, I've had the catchy tunes from this link dancing through my brain for the last few days: http://www.evangelicalright.com/2007/05/some_greatest_hits_from_falwel.html

[Shawn]

You should be fine to install your own screens. Although, obviously individual skill levels and results may vary =)

Monsanto sounds like some fictional mega-villain corp from a movie. It's scary to think of how much that one company impacts all our lives in a critical way.

[slybee]

Last year they sold do-it-yourself kits to make window screens at Home Depot. (Make sure to read all of the directions before you start cutting - says the voice of experience.)