Wow, almost a year with no blogging. So as a treat since I am back to writing. Here is something I posted as a note on Facebook on Friday July 25.

My horoscope for the week said that you need to plant the seeds of things that you want to have happen in your future. One day I want to publish a novel and be a writer who makes enough money where I can quit my full time corporate job and be an honest to goodness, decently paid full-time writer. With the new healthcare laws, you don't need a job to get health insurance and this was something I have always worried about if I didn't work for a company.

Anyway, the idea for this novel started back in 2003 and I kept writing about the characters and who they were and what was going to happen, but I didn't  get the inspiration to start writing the story until 2006. I wrote that early first draft in first person, and then changed to third person a year or two later. It was a slog to write, but I finished the whole first draft of the novel in 2012. I kept reading it because I knew I know I needed to edit it and get the novel in better shape, but I don't know, I didn't like reading the story in third person. There something missing from the story, and I think it was the sense of immediacy that writing in person gives me. There is something detached about writing in third person. It's great to look be able to write from another character's point of view, but I had always envisioned this novel as being told from one person's point of view so the reader sees everything from this person's perspective. I see this novel as a historical novel, and history like politics is always local, always personal. So I made the decision to go back to the beginning and start the novel again but this time back to first person. 

So here's my seed planting for my future life of being a decently paid full time writer. I tentatively titled this novel - The Elf Chronicles - Book 1 - The Price of the Future. I see it taking place on earth 150,000 years ago in the mythical land called Lemuria or Mu, which many have said was an island continent located in the Pacific ocean where Hawaii is and which stretched far down the Pacific ocean to Easter Island and far across the Pacific to Japan. A medical intuitive told me I had an incarnation in Lemuria as an elf, which Bashar later confirmed for me when I asked him at one of his sessions. So I was an elf in Mu, and I was born in Hawaii where Lemuria was, and in the heart chakra energy of the planet (since 2012) which is Mt Haleakala. When I heard this story, I thought wouldn't it be fun to write a history of me in that incarnation and what happened. So this is the fictional story of my life in that time in Lemuria / Mu. And I always see the story as starting this way. I've played with starting it at other points in the story, but this point feels the best.

Chapter 1 - still very much a draft ...

Our world is so different now. Some things remain the samelike our festivals, our traditions, our gatherings, and our schools. But we area changed community, changed by war and scarred by battles. I am changed. Andas I draw near to the time when I shall one day soon be reunited with myfamily, I find myself drawn back into my memories. Drawn back into the daysbefore it all started. But try as I might those days are hazy even in mymemories. The only memories that are clear are the ones when I think it mayhave all started, and our historians I know still endlessly debate this point.When did it all start? Our histories are being written, written by those who livedthem, so we and our future generations to come remember and will never repeatthe mistakes of the past, our past. And I was there when they say it allstarted.

It was the winter of my 14^th year on the nightbefore Samara, one of the most important festivals of the year. When elvesthroughout Lemuria gathered together to celebrate the shortest day of the year,and the start of the longer days. When all elves would gather at their templesof worship and be led in prayer and remembrance of our beginnings, when thesource of our life created the first elves and allowed them to live in his newland. We had traditions and rules that governed our lives and gave us structureand an order that had allowed us to survive at a time when many of the sourceof our life's creations had died out. And those rules had rarely if ever beenbroken until that fateful night.

I was in my room, up late as usual practicing myclear-seeing. Elves have the gift of clear-seeing, which allows one to see thefuture, but unless inherited or practiced never amounts to more than momentaryvisions before life-threatening events. My gift was inherited. My uncle Shankulwas our kingdom's spirit leader, like many in our family line. One day my unclesaid to me, “Daliana, my child you have a gift, a rare gift. I can see it whenI look into your eyes. I will give you special exercises to develop and honeyour visions, ancient secrets only taught to those who had dedicated their livesto serving in the temple. But you must promise to practice them every nightbefore you go to bed.”  And so I practicedthem every night before I went to bed, but that night my visions were not clear,They were blurry, like I was seeing too many possibilities of the same event.And no matter how many times I tried, the results were the same. In all my sixyears of practices, this had never happened. I should have known then thatsomething was wrong, terribly wrong. But I was but a young elf girl of 14years, who was doing exercises meant for those who had trained for decades tobe able to see the future, so I just stopped and decided to give up for thenight.

But then I heard a commotion at the gates. Since my roomfaced the courtyard of the castle, I decided to peep out the window to see whatwas happening. Any kind of activity was strictly forbidden before Samara, whenthe general accepted practice was to stay at home with your family and pray.

There was an elf dressed in man’s black riding clothestalking to the guards. His horse was lathered with sweat looking as if therider and horse had come a long way. The elf wore a hood and from where I wasstanding I couldn't get a good look at his features, but I could tell from theway he was standing and talking to the guard that he was a man of importance.Part of me was appalled at such a flagrant disregard for our rules andtraditions. I was sure that if my uncle were here he would order the man to beseverely punished for his transgression. A couple more minutes passed when Isaw the captain of the guard approach the gate. When he saw who the strangerwas, the captain immediately bowed and shouted for the gates to be be opened.The stranger walked slowly into the courtyard and took off his hood, and I feltmyself gasp as I saw my uncle Shankul's face under the hood.

No wonder the guards were confused and didn't respond rightaway. Shankul was not wearing his usual priestly robes, which he even wore toride his horse. As if he had read my thoughts, I saw Shankul look up towards mywindow. I crouched even lower fearing that I would be seen. I looked around andsaw that there was only a single candle burning in my room, which I hoped wouldlook like the glow of a fire in my room. I could hear the captain instructingthe guards to take care of my uncle’s horse, but Shankul said he was notplanning to be there for very long. I looked out of the window again and saw myuncle being escorted into the castle.

I grabbed a cloak, put on some shoes, and ran to the stairs.There were usually guards in the hallway, but thankfully they had all gonestairs. Fearful that they would be coming back to their posts, I ran and openeda hidden to one of the secret passageways that my grandmother had shown me whenI was a child of six.  She told me never totell anyone that I knew about these secret doors.  The hidden passageways had been built intothe castle, by one of our ancestors and that their location was handed down toonly certain members of family. I was sure that one day would tell me aboutthese secrets, but that day had not yet come.

The passageways led to every room in the castle, which I hadhappily spent my childhood exploring, so I knew exactly where to go even in thedark. I knew the guards would probably take my uncle to my father’s waitingroom, so I made my way there. Sure enough as I got closer to the room, I couldhear my uncle’s voice talking to the captain and telling him what to say to hismen about his appearance.

“Please reassure your men that I am here under the mostextreme circumstances and that I seek the counsel of my brother, their king. Butthat there is no need to worry. You must do your best to impress on them thatthere is no need to worry.” I could hear the captain murmuring somethingalthough I couldn’t quite catch what he saying,

“But worry they will in any case.” My father said fromfarther away, which meant he must have just entered the room. “Please do as thespirit leader has asked, and leave us now”. The captain asked if my fatherrequired any type of food or drink, but my father said no and asked that aguard be posted outside the waiting room door. I could hear the captain shoutfor a guard, and then the sound of the door closing which I took as anopportunity to move and to sit down so I could be comfortable for however longthey were going to be there.

“Your highness, forgive my intrusion on this most blessednight.” Shankul said in an even tone. “I would not have come unless there wasan urgent need for your counsel.”

“Brother, you surprise me with your formality. Are we notfamily?” My father asked with a laugh.

“In this instance your highness, I feel that I come here asyour kingdom’s spirit leader and not your brother. Perhaps it would be betterif we sit down before I tell you of my news.”

“As you wish.” My father said and I could hear them walkingover to where the chairs were in the room. My uncle then told my father, thathe had a nightmare a couple of night ago which he did not think much of untilhe received messages from other spirit leaders in other kingdoms that they toohad had almost the same nightmare. He had met with the other leaders of theSpirit Council, and found out that all spirit leaders in every elf kingdom haddreamt the same nightmare. Everyone agreed that this was was an omen that mustbe discussed as one body, so they had decided to hold the yearly gathering ofall leaders be held three weeks from now. He had received confirmation from theElders at the Misty Isles late this evening that they had agreed with theSpirit Council’s decision. And what was more, the Spirit Council had alsodecided that all spirit leaders talk about what had transpired in the last fewdays, and meet with their kings tonight.

“So tradition is being broken throughout elfin kingdoms.” Myfather said simply. “This will cause chaos.”

“It doesn’t have to, if every spirit leader can explain whathappened and calm everyone.” Shankul said softly.

“The streets are rampant with rumors of the disappearancesthat are happening in the outer lands. Does this nightmare have anything towith the elves that have gone missing?” I could hear worry in my father’svoice. While no one had gone missing in our kingdom, the stories coming fromthe outer lands had made it even to our small kingdom by the sea.

“I don’t know, but everything inside me is screaming yeseven though my dream was inconclusive But we must, I must be careful to notjump to conclusions until I meet with the council.” There was a long silence inthe room, and I wished I could see both their faces.

“I assume you have a plan, you always had a plan even whenwere kids.” My father said at last.

“Yes, there must be no surprise from the family. We mustpresent a united front. This is what I advised the Spirit Council and theyagreed with my decision.”

“So what do I tell my family?” My father said without anyemotion in his voice.

“The Queen will have been told I am here, and I could havesworn I saw Daliana watching me from her window, so they know I am here andwill not be shocked.” I felt my cheeks burning because I was sure I had notbeen seen. “Tell them what I have told you. They will understand. And now Imust go. There is much to prepare.”

“And the guests in this morning’s party? Do I tell them aswell? I am sure they will talk of nothing else but your appearance here thismorning.”

“You may tell them what I told your captain, and that allwill be revealed at tonight’s celebration.”

“Tell me honestly brother, are we in danger?” my father saidin a soft voice and which I detected a little fear.

“We have not survived this long, outlasted so many others,without our elfen unity. It is the only thing that has kept us, our kingdom,and the whole country together and alive and thriving. We must preserve it atall costs, and I mean at all costs. If we can do that, then we can survive anydanger.”

I heard the door open and my uncle call for his horse. I wassure my father would come up to see me, so as soon as I heard him leave theroom I stood up and ran to my room, opened the secret door and dove into the mybed and pretended to be asleep. A few minutes later the door to my room opened,and my father walked into the room. I had forgotten to blow the candle out, andwhen the room went dark I knew my father had blown out the candle. There wassilence in the room and I was almost ready to burst out of bed, when I heardthe door close. Breathing a sigh of relief, I felt my body relax. It mustnearly be morning, but I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until I felt and heardmy servant Letinas trying to wake me up.

New Short Story - Tentatively Titled "A Short History of the Sirius Crystal People"

Two weeks ago, I started on a rewrite of novel I finished last year. I decided that when I get bored with writing my novel, I would write short stories based on my parallel / past life memories.  I wrote the outline for a short story / novella which I have tentatively titled "A Short History of the Sirius Crystal People." This story is based on my memories of a past / concurrent life on the planet called Sirius where I was part of this civilization that called themselves "they crystal people". I've been trying to imagine what it would be like to be a crystalline being, but as a physical human, it is hard to imagine what a crystal being would be like so my descriptions are based on what know of physical crystals.

The memory I have of this life is that the Sirius people had reached a point in their civilization where their population was threatened with extinction. The cultural impulse was to seek perfection and diversity had been stamped out.  But the logical consequence of perfection without diversity, is species extinction. So the Sirius Crystal people had to find a way to add diversification back into their world, their DNA. At some point, I know that they left their planet and went to other worlds and created hybrid beings.  If they could not preserve their species, the Sirius crystal people would somehow make sure that their crystalline nature would live on in the DNA of other beings. But this story will be about how their first attempts at diversification.

I think this story reads like a short story, but it's just the beginning of what I know will be a longer story. This is a first draft with hardly any edits so please enjoy.

A Short History of the Sirius Crystal People - started on July 1, 2013

The matured cells started disintegrating in the dish. Da'el watched in silence, and then reviewed his notes. Impossible, he thought. He repeated the experiment again for the one hundredth time, doing each step as slowly and as precisely as possible, but the results were the same. Shaking his head in disbelief, Da'el went back to his desk and wrote the results down in his experiment book. He turned to first page and reread the goal he had written for his work, find a cure for the strange illnesses that was causing the older crystals in his civilization to weaken and die before their time. He shook his head in disgust and thought over the events of the last three years.

When the task was first brought to him it was still early enough in the epidemic, that he was able to study and collect material from everyone who had been affected. The illness was unlike anything they had ever seen before. Crystals grew larger as a person aged, with some crystals nearly doubling and sometimes tripling in weight and size. A person's crystalline structure also became stronger over the years, and breakage at that age was nearly impossible. The illness changed all that when older crystals became fragile and experienced breakage. Doctors were dumbfounded at first, and considered it an anomaly until more and more older crystals started coming checking themselves into hospital.

At first the illness had attacked the very old, but within three years the epidemic had started to affect younger and younger members of the population. The illness was still confined to those in his population who were considered old, but the High Council of the Sirius Crystal World were concerned that the illness would spread to to the younger population so they funded his experiments. And in three years Da'el was no closer to solving the illness but one thing was clear to him after he reviewed his work, the cells of the old and new of his world had started to age faster and faster as year passed. He closed his book and looked at the night sky, and realized it would soon be morning.

While his driver too him home, a theory began to form in Da'el's mind about what was happening but he dismissed it immediately but the scientist within him rebelled. Every theory must be considered he knew, but the implications of this theory would be considered heresy. What was worse, Da'el knew that if he was correct his own family would be affected. If he could get his wife Bishka to understand, he knew that he would be able to continue the work that he now knew would be the key to the future of their world.

When he walked into his house, he found his wife Bishka sleeping with her head on their eating table. He smiled at how often he came home and found her sleeping like that. He wondered if she would ever grow tired of waiting for him, but in all their many years of marriage she never did.

 Da'el went to his wife and kissed her on her head, and stepped back. Bishka sat up with a start, and stood up and found herself gazing into the eyes of her husband. She smiled and walked over him and hugged him.

“It's a little early for you, isn't it” She said with a chuckle.

“I thought I would come home and surprise you with an early dinner.” Bishka smiled and bowed, and went to their food supplies and came out a few minutes later with some warm food which she lay on table next to the plates that were on the table. Da'el smiled and sat down. He wasn't really hungry but he knew that eating some food would calm his mind. Bishka sat with him while he ate, and asked how his day had gone. Da'el told her a little bit about his day, but wanted to wait until he was through eating before he any serious discussion.

After he had told her of his theory, Bishka sat back in her chair in a stunned silence. “Are you sure that there is no way to regenerate the cells?” Bishka said finally.

“I have spent two years trying to regenerate the cells and nothing has worked. The only thing left to test is to add other DNA.” Da'el said surprised that he was able to even say the words. The Sirius Crystal people had cherished order and simplicity; their whole culture was build on these principals. And there was no place in their world for the chaos of diversity and change.

“The High Council will never agree to this. It is against everything we have stood for, our way of thinking, our way of life.” Bishka said with tears slowly falling down her face, knowing that what her husband said was probably true. He was considered the most brilliant mind in their race, which is why the High Council had given him this problem to solve.

“Without an infusion of a more diverse gene structure, the illnesses will spread to a more younger population. The only logical result that I can see, and believe me I have turned this over and over in my mind a thousand times, is our population will be unable to reproduce and we will eventually die out as a species.” Da'el said slowly and carefully.

“But that will take generations. Perhaps a cure will be found by then.” Bishka said with enthusiasm until she looked at her husband's face. What she saw in his eyes frightened her.

“The disease is progressing geometrically. In three years it has jumped 20 years. We have less then 5 years before our people are dead. But the High Council must be told, so we can begin to experiment with adding the new genes.” Da'el looked at his wife and saw fear in her eyes, and it struck him why she was so fearful. He looked down and cursed himself. He had forgotten that four years ago, they had decided to start a family. Their first set of twins would be born this year, and ever year after that for the next three years since they had decided on having four sets of twins. In their ordered world, crystal children were born as male and female twins so the energy between the two beings were balanced. Bishka has guess that those births may now be jeopardy.

“There is no reason to think that we still cannot have have our children.” Da'el said with a calmness and confidence in his voice that he did not feel.

“But to what kind of world would they born? Into a world that may be dying out?” Bishka said practically screaming at her husband. When she realized what she had done, she held her down in shame. She had never raised a voice to her husband, and in fact had not lost this much control since she was a cihld. Crystal people were taught to control the few emotions that they had from a very young age. Emotions made one lose control and without control there was no order and balance. Bishka and Da'el sat for a long time in silence, unsure of what to say to the other. Finally, Bishka finally glanced at her husband and said in an even voice, “Will our twins be born with this illness?” Da'el looked down at the food left on his plate, and felt sick.  

He did not know how to answer which was a first for him. He really did not know the answer to that question because even if the twins were born without the illness, it was more than likely that within five years they would most likely contract the illness. And because he did not know what to say, Da'el said nothing. He stood up, walked over to Bishk and bent down and kissed her on the cheek before whispered in her ear “I cannot tell you what the future will be, not even for our children, but if I don't continue my work there will be no future for us or our children.” Da'el straightened up and started walking to their bedroom. He stopped before he left the room and said, “Are you coming?”. Bishka stared at him and mouthed to him “No.”. Da'el stared at her for a moment and left the room.

Bishka sat there with her head in her hands and wept until she could cry no more. Then she lay her head on the table, closed her eyes and fell into an exhaustive sleep.

Oxford chooses 'omnishambles' as word of the year.   Oxford University Press on Tuesday crowned the word — defined as "a situation that has been comprehensively mismanaged, characterized by a string of blunders and miscalculations" — its top term of 2012.

I've never even heard of this word, but it defines what I thought of the presidential election.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Oxford-chooses-omnishambles-as-word-of-the-year-4029991.php#ixzz2C4ZmSJUM 

Bob Ross on Google

Bob Ross is the new Google doodle.  I had no idea the man had died.  I love his show "The Joy of Painting".  He makes painting look so easy and it is not easy at all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Traveler's_Wife

I saw the movie "The Time Traveler's Wife" a few months and liked it so much I decided to read the book.  The movie was very much like the book, although a much abbreviated version.

The book had several quotes from the book "Possession" by A.S. Byatt, which I read years ago and now want to reread.  Perhaps I will like "Possession" more the second time around, since I wasn't hat impressed by it when I first read it.

I'm not sure I liked "The Time Traveler's Wife" novel, which is strange because the book itself was quite riveting.  How shall I say it, the novel did not touch me as much as I thought it would. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but whatever it was I didn't get it from the novel.

The novel had no big revelations about love or free will, even though the theme of love and free will is rampant throughout the book. Maybe the science fiction part sort of confused things for me, I don't know.

Okay, this is bad but I was more moved by "The Mummy" by Anne Rice than by this novel.  I don't think anyone would call "The Mummy" a classic, I mean I even know that this book is nothing more than decent trash.  But Anne Rice's trash novel moved me more than this new novel.  Too bad because I felt so sure "The Time Traveler's Wife" novel would be so much better than the movie, but it wasn't. The movie was very moving and novel, not so much.  Usually the book is better than the movie, but not this time.

http://www.france24.com/en/20121020-tens-thousands-rally-london-against-austerity

Another story that is not making the local news here in San Francisco.  I guess the mainstream media news doesn't want us to know that people in the UK are protesting by the thousands on the planning cuts to Britian's generous welfare system. It makes me wondering what important news stories are not being reported.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/holiday-shopping-women-want-men-153800266.html

This story is so true at least for me. My favorite gift is a gift card so I can pick out what I want and need. I hate when people buy me actual presents because honestly, mostly of it has been pretty awful.  It's not that my gift givers have bad taste, okay some of them do have horrid taste but not all.  It's just that most people buy presents that they would want and never what I want or would like.  I am very hard to shop for and most people who really get me, of which there are few few, figure this out early on.  I was a picky eater as a child, and that pickinesss applies to almost every aspect of my life.

Almost every aspect because my friends tells me I'm not picky about who I date and shack up with, but that's dating.  I am very picky about the person I want to be in a long term relationship with, but for the short-term, honestly, who the hell cares.  It's short and sweet and almost everyone works for the short-term. It's the long-term that guys fail at, and miserably I might add.

But like my dating life, I hardly ever get gift cards so I'm always getting stuff and guys I don't want.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/09/danny-devito-rhea-perlman-split-his-womanizing-ways_n_1950832.html

When I read about this event happening, I felt sadness.  Not that I really follow celebrity gossip, but it was distressing to hear that a 30-year marriage was ending.  I was bummed when Al Gore split up with his wife Tipper as well, only because they had been together since high school.  Is there no future for a long term marriage in today's society?

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Calif-expected-to-lose-100-dairy-farms-3946897.php

I believe remote viewed Ed Dames predicted a long time ago that something would happen with the milk supply and that mothers would be crying because they couldn't find milk for their children.  I am wondering if this event is part of this prediction.

http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2012_10_11_sfnmlb_cinmlb_1&mode=recap&c_id=sf

Congratulation to the San Francisco Giants!  We are off again to another series!

http://blog.sfgate.com/chronstyle/2012/10/10/shocking-plus-size-model-wears-bikini/

When I read this article at SFGate.com and saw how beautiful this woman was, it was so shocking to find out that some people are commenting that she is a size 12.  The average American woman is a size 12 and for once the public is seeing an average woman in an ad, which should be applauded and not be freaked out about.

Don't take the media brainwashing that only women who are size 6 and under should be in print advertising, and kudos to Ralph Lauren for putting this model in an ad.  Makes me want to go out and buy Ralph Lauren clothes so I can support him and his ads.

From my daily Dharma quote - Kongtrul Rinpoche suggested we pray to the guru, buddhas, and bodhisattvas and ask them to grant their blessings, “So I may give birth to the heart of sadness.” But what is a “heart of sadness”? Imagine one night you have a dream. Although it is a good dream, deep down you know that eventually you will have to wake up and it will be over. In life, too, sooner or later, whatever the state of our relationships, or our health, our jobs and every aspect of our lives, everything, absolutely everything, will change. And the little bell ringing in the back of your head to remind you of this inevitability is what is called the “heart of sadness.” Life, you realise, is a race against time, and you should never put off dharma practice until next year, next month, or tomorrow, because the future may never happen - Heart of Sadness

This quote made me so sad because it made me realize again that nothing is permanent and in the true Buddhist way, it teaches that one shouldn't be attached to anything because desire leads to attachment. I have given birth so many times to the Heart of Sadness, I'm not sure I want to pray for it.

If you haven't seen the movie 2003 South Korean movie called Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring, you need to watch it.  It illustrates so beautifully the Buddhist philosophy.  I attended a screenwriting conference in Los Angeles and screenwriting guru Robert McKee recommended this movie.  The movie may break your heart but you will begin to understand the "Heart of Sadness" if you don't understand it now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wsfwmzAZgOw#!

What is happening in Spain with the rioting crowds is amazing.  This youtube video was posted on of my favorite websites.  The crowds are pushing the police back.  None of this is being covered by the San Francisco Mainstream Media (MSM), but it should be because it is so powerful.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/nyregion/for-poor-schoolchildren-a-poverty-of-words.html?src=recg&pagewanted=print

When I read this NY Times article, I saw myself in it.  I was raised by immigrants who barely spoke english but spoke english to their children so they could do well in school and hopefully get better jobs and a more affluent life.  I spoke english but my vocabulary was sadly lacking.  How do you describe things to your child in a language that is not your own?

But in 4th grade, I was tested as having the vocabulary of high school senior.  And what is the secret of my 4th grade success?  My parents and I watched lots of TV.  The television was my babysitter and by the age of 7,  I had my own room with a small TV and probably never turned the thing off until I went to bed.  I graduated third in my class in high school, did really well on my SATs, and attended and graduated from a top 10 private liberal arts college.

I will admit that my speaking vocabulary is not great.  I don't use what a friend of mine calls $5 words.  My parents never used them and so I don't normally.  And the few times I've injected $5 words by mistake into conversation with my family, they ask me to explain what I just said and look hurt that I've talked down to them.

I work in corporate America where people admire and at the same time resent their coworkers who use words that they cannot understand.  In my current job, I write website copy sometimes and I've been told that you have to write like a person has a junior high education.  So all those $5 words I learnt in school have no place in my job.  And I can't imagine texting $5 words or using them in an email.

So do words matter?  Yes.  They matter for tests and schools, and if you are planning a career in academia.  I think they also matter a great deal for books and reading because it's a pain to read something and to find a word that you don't understand and have to stop and look up.  And yes, I do stop and look words up.

But do words matter in real life?  Not exactly.  You don't need a large vocabulary for work, for emailing and texting and for general conversation.

What really matters is getting your point read and heard clearly, and you don't need a large vocabulary to do that although words are tools to help you get the nuances right and be more precise.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/49320705

Gas prices are high in California and on Sunday they went up even more.  I picked up gas on Friday night at $4.549 at Costco for premium because I knew the prices would climb higher, and sure enough they did.  How crazy is that?  If gas goes to $6 a gallon, things in the Cali republic will break down. We're not used the high gas prices that is charged in other countries.

http://blog.sfgate.com/mlasalle/2012/10/05/must-see-movies-since-1960-2/#7588-1

From SFGate.com - the must-see movies post 1960.  I was amazed at the number of movies on this list that I've seen.  Of course now I have to see the movies on this list that I've never seen.

Since I am blogging again I thought I would post one of my favorite pics - turtle face taken at the aquarium on the island of Maui during my April 2012 trip.

The Trishas are playing on my Hardly Strictly Bluegrass livestream and they aren't that bad for an all girl band.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass is livestreaming music from the Arrow Stage.  I hate all the crowds so I will be checking the livestream out.- http://www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/

Do you really trust anything Mainstream Media (MSM) tells you anymore.  They tell me that unemployment has gone down since 2008.  I'm like hello, is that progress?  And what about all those Americans on food stamps?  I went to Stonestown mall last night, and one of the restaurants there is closed.  Restaurants close because people are not spending money on dining out.  If the economy is doing so well, why isn't there a new restaurant being built in that space?

Does it feel like you are a child again and your parents are telling you everything is all right when you know that it's not?  The MSM are telling us everything is okay and you know deep down they are so not.  But the MSM are not my parents; they are supposed to be reporting on the news and they are not.