Real Men Wear Skirts...Er...I mean, Kilts!
Current mood: breezy
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes
Hi guys!! So I'm pretty sure everyone will have heard of this at least by the end of today, but I LOVE it. Not enough dudes wear skirts....oh, I'm sorry, I mean 'Male Unbifurcated Garments' (Why is it such a big deal to call it a damn skirt!!!)...but seriously, this Peterson guy is my newest wierdo hero. I always love it when some cuckoo like myself decides to stand up for a completely obscure sort of thing in the name of American rights. Why shouldn't the guy be able to wear a kilt to deliver the mail? I mean after all...."With his build, Peterson said, his thighs fill slacks to capacity, causing chafing and scarring." That sounds just awful....however as a woman with a full figure, I find while wearing a skirt and walking around alot (like, say, if I were delivering the post) that my thighs sweat a bit and rub against each other causing some mild discomfort. What...TMI? Sorry, but I personally think it looks disgusting when you see those scrawny chicks who have a two inch gap between their thighs at the crotch area. *hork* Ok, a bit off topic there, but why shouldn't this dude be able to wear a kilt? I think it looks rather jaunty, and still quite uniform-like in the photo. Opinions?
(08-07) 02:02 PDT SEATTLE, (AP) --
A 6-foot-tall, 250-pound letter carrier is campaigning for the right to take off his pants. Dean Peterson wants the U.S. Postal Service to add kilts as a uniform option for men.
The idea was soundly defeated in July at a convention of his union, the 220,000-member National Letter Carriers' Association, so Peterson knows convincing management will be an uphill struggle, but at least he'll be comfortable in his kilt, or Male Unbifurcated Garment.
"In one word, it's comfort," he said.
With his build, Peterson said, his thighs fill slacks to capacity, causing chafing and scarring.
Peterson, 48, has Finnish and Norwegian ancestry but not Scottish. He began wearing kilts a couple years ago when his wife brought one back from a trip to Scotland. (A spokeswoman for Britain's Royal Mail said kilts are not allowed as part of its letter carrier uniforms.)
Now Peterson wears them everywhere — to one son's football games, the other son's concerts, shopping and gardening.
"It's the difference between wearing jammies to bed and wearing your work clothes to bed," he said.
Before the convention in Boston, Peterson spent his family's $1,800 economic stimulus tax rebate to mail about 1,000 letters and photographs of him wearing a prototype Postal Service kilt to union branches in every state, Guam and Puerto Rico.
"Unbifurcated Garments are far more comfortable and suitable to male anatomy than trousers or shorts because they don't confine the legs or cramp the male genitals the way that trousers or shorts do," he wrote. "Please open your hearts — and inseams — for an option in mail carrier comfort!"
The union's executive committee recommended disapproval, saying there was not enough demand for kilts to be worth the bother of the resolution, and delegates agreed by a large margin.
But Peterson said there are plenty of approved uniform items that very few mail carriers wear, including a cardigan sweater, vest and pith helmet. He said many convention delegates did express support after his resolution was voted down.
"I got so pumped up after being at such a low that I'm taking this to the next convention in 2010 in Anaheim, Calif.," he said.
hmmm? <I cannot claim thse lyrics- see Glenn Haansard>
Current mood: melancholy
Say It To Me Now
I'm scratching at the surface now And I'm trying hard to work it out So much has gone misunderstood This mystery only leads to doubt And I didn't understand When you reached out to take my hand And if you have something to say You'd better say it now
Cause this is what you've waited for Your chance to even up the score And as these shadows fall on me now I will somehow
Cause this is what you've waited for A chance to even up the score And as these shadows fall on me now I will somehow
Cause I'm picking up a message Lord And I'm closer than I've ever been before
So if you have something to say Say it to me now Say it to me now Say it to me now
Currently
listening
:
Once
By
Original Soundtrack
Release date: 2007-05-22
The Actual Blog: Summer Fun
Current mood: bouncy
Category: Life
I don't really know how to go about this blog....I almost just want to have the pictures speak for themselves....
Summer's been good to us (despite the tent debacle)....we went to the local (FREE) fountain:
We've spent some time @ Grandma's (my mom's) pool:
(there's Tobias being a freak, isn't that nasty?)
Yesterday, when my dear friends were visiting, we went to ArtsFest & The Corning Celtic Fest:
Of course there's been lots more happenings....(though I really really HATE having to go to work in the summer).....and there's still a month to go, yaye!!
Point bein' we had a blast....much fun...love ya'lls and hope you enjoyed my pics
Currently
listening
:
Weight of Words
By
The Town Pants
Release date: 2007-01-08
You’re Pretty on the Inside....(a prelude to a future blog)
Current mood: breezy
Category: Music
....a prelude, yes.
I'm uploading some pics, that's why.
My bestest Thee Matt Lydon and his lovely/funny/beautiful wife Christy came up for a three-ish day visit, and we had a blast. They are probably two of the coolest cats on this fine planet.
Anyway, more on that later...this is just a prelude, after all.
Last night we went to the 3rd annual Corning Celtic Fest, featuring The Town Pantswho i have blogged about previously...and the new-to-me Ceann who were freaking hilarious, and everyone enjoyed. They had numorous catchy lil ditties, including the one I mentioned in my title here. Questionable humour, but I LOVED it nonetheless. You all should really check them out at the link above, you'll dig it, I almost guarantee.
People...and things....and stuff.
Current mood: complacent
Category: Friends
I don't really know where this here blog will go...I've just really felt a bit absent around here lately, and I felt I needed to type a bit....y'know reconnect with my friends here a bit. So this is likely to read a bit funky; be "random" even, disjointed, maybe even feel like a wicked moodswing, I dunno....
...looking for a fun book to read?
Now, I know this looks cheesy, but hell, it was 1981 people, and Tabitha King's first novel. If you do not know, she's the bride of the inimitable Stephen King aka My Hero. This is the first of her works that I've read; I found it at a garage sale earlier this summer for a dime, and I was pleasantly surprised. I'm definitely gonna scope out the library for some others. Did you guys know that Steve and Tabby's sons are also writers? I didn't either till like a week ago. Things like that make me realize how narrow my line of sight can be at times.
*break* I've got another window open here, listening to Lisa's playlist, and may I say, never has there been a better mix of tunes to listen to at 8:30AM on a Saturday? I mean, I didn't even know that I liked Leonard Cohen!
It is quite likely that I have fallen in love again. As celebrity crushes go, this one, whew! it's a doozy. <---Do you know who that is? Well, if not, let me fill you in. His name is Anthony Bourdain. He's a chef, or used to be...without a doubt, a "foodie" to the extreme, but So Damn Cool. He's also a writer, his words make me kinda sweat. He's a guy with that kind of style. He's got a little show on the Travel Channel called No Reservations, where he travels to all sorts of places around the globe and chills with the locals and sees beautiful places, and bravely consumes all the local cuisine and spirits. He's fearless. He writes nonfiction, he's written a memoir which I haven't yet read, and countless articles for all manner of publications recounting his travels. Lucky sunnofabitch. He also writes fiction, the first of which I am nearly finished reading. It is a joy, lemme tell you. It's a fun book, concerning the restaurant business, NYC, drugs, mobsters, dudes getting hacked into pieces in seafood joints. good stuff. He's also an ex-junkie, sexy as hell, and a Ramones fan. What's not to love?
OK, so....Weird Al...you guys love him right? You wanna borrow my kids for a month or so?? I love him...don't get me wrong! ...but my kids?? They are obsessed. I think it's likely they're headed down a strange and winding road. It's all Adam's fault...ok, maybe not ALL his fault, but he started it damnit! You see, he brought all these Weird Al cassettes that he had from back in the day, and the kids thought that they were hilarious, well, cuz they are, they'd listen to them in the car, in their bedroom....a lot. Well, I, in my infinite wisdom, felt that they needed to see some of the old videos, and maybe listen to some of the original songs that Al parodies (This also led to an interesting conversation about what a "virgin" is....). So where else to go but YouTube?? Now my kids are complete freaks. Spencer (the 4 year old) is requesting damn weird al videos about a thousand times a day, and once he gets started, he's not happy till he sees "Jurassic Park", "Like a Surgeon", "Eat It", "Dare to be Stupid", and this lovely little number: ARRgggGHhh!! That's the straw that broke the camel's back!! I can't listen to this ever again, or I think I might wind up babbling and drooling and rocking back and forth for an extended period.
Some things/people never change. This sentence is in reference to the father of my children, and I don't know how I'm doing it, but I am going to leave it at that. For now. You guys need to pat me on the back and stuff, because I am exercising a tremendous measure of self-restraint here. *sigh*
There you have it. :o) Leave me comments and back-patties, and well wishes, and cookies and rainbows and stuff.
Soccer Weekend
Current mood: animated
Category: Life
Tobias had a game yesterday. He's got a game today, as well. The weather had been Wierd-O around here lately. Yesterday there was threat of thunderstorms; big billowy nearly-black clouds right up against a blue so incredible it cannot be described. Thunder could be heard and a few fat raindrops plopped onto faces, followed by blinding sun for 15 minutes, searing my flesh through my black T-shirt & jeans which I rolled up to my knees. About half the team didn't show, so there were 7 kids, just enough to play without forfeiting...which in turn meant that the kids didn't get any breaks; no subs to fill in. Ohyeah, and no ref showed up either, so our coach was running himself ragged up and down the field to make calls, and still manage to keep the team on track. Overall though, a pretty good game. Tobias seems to be growing into it a bit more these days. He is trying a little harder, I rarely see him skip or frollick (which was previously his way..), he doesn't seem to be as afraid of the ball anymore. Tobias' father came, as did his mother, my dad & step-mom. Still awkward, seeing Josh so often. Anyway, my dad got some cool shots of Tobias and I really liked one in particular, and wanted to share it.
He's getting to be so grown up lately, and I think he's beginning to emerge from the gangly, goofy, gap-toothed phase, and looking rather handsome.
Just got back from some neighborhood yard sale browsing with the boys.
*sigh*
I just cannot resist.
Anyone else? You know....the thrill of buying up other people's unwanted stuffs for a fraction of what they are worth...? If I were to inventory the entire contents of my home, I'd be willing to bet that 75% of it belonged to someone else first. I take some kind of comfort in this. I almost find it beautiful. To me, it's almost a sort of symbol of humanity's goodness. In a sense anyway, like, we are more than our possessions, we can part with things that once meant something to us, albeit for a small price.
Books. They are my biggest yard sale weakness. (well, that and more crap for my kids that they don't need, but which fills them with - inexpensive-joy) If I come upon a ratty cardboard box or three of books, my heart jumps! That tattered box could contain treasure!! I couldn't care less if the books are attic dusty, or basement musty. Nevermind, that I have no book shelf space, nevermind that 95 out of 100 of these boxes is filled with Harlequin Romance Books, or like, stacks of bibles or whatever. That just makes discovering the gold all the sweeter.
Today, I had the added pleasure of checking out a sale held by an old acquaintence, from the 90's, y'know. He is possible the first openly gay 'young' person I ever knew. And now he is a certified art teacher. He recently moved back to the area, after living and working in NYC schools, to care for his mother, who has recently been diagnosed with cancer. He has expressed interest in a job at my kids' school (Tobias' now, Spencer's come fall), once their current art teacher retires. This would be in a year or so. I also peeked into a box at his sale that contained some unframed canvases. Many were female nudes. I guess he painted them. They were pretty good. I didn't buy any, though I may have, had the boys not been there. Just cuz, well, Tobias is already way too interested in the Dali calendar in the kitchen.....
I ramble.
Anyway, today's journey netted:
For me,
Ariel, Poems by Sylvia Plath
Jailbird, a novel by Kurt Vonnegut
Order out of Chaos, by Ilya Prigogine
Eros and Chaos, by veronica Goodchild
A very interesting Native American pendant...I'll have to take a picture..
For the boys,
2 pairs of boxing gloves
2 stuffed bears & a Coca Cola Seal
Polly Pocket set (hey, Spencer likes that stuff, m'kay?)
a cool ring for Tobias
A LEGO dude video
VHS Forrest Gump
K'nex Slam Boards Mountain Board Racer
Geronimo, Apache Warrior....a book for Tobias
Then I got a couple of "girlie" things that I thought I might be able to put to use with Adam's daughter Jahra while she's visiting this summer....I got a Nail Art book complete with 6 mini bottles of polish and a hair braider/beader thingy. I am so clueless about girl children, and even though she is a bit of a tomboy, I feel like I don't really know how to connect with her, so I'm hoping to make a little headway in that this summer. I've known the girl since she was an infant, granted, in fits and starts...but I'd like her to like me...and somehow we haven't quite gotten there yet.
Last year I did a similar tribute to some Mothers who are important to me…as well as the many Moms on my MySpace Friends list.
This year, I dedicate my Mother's Day blog to my own Mother, Linda Faulisi…who is an awesome Mom…and always has been.Of course, we didn't always agree…of course, she hated the music I listened to, and didn't like all the people that I chose to hang out with, I thought that she was mean and didn't understand me, though I suppose, looking back…I didn't want her to "get" me.Nowadays, she's got another teenage daughter giving her a run for her money….
Mom is a helper.Mom has worked in the human services field for close to 30 years, in all sorts of different roles.She's been underpaid and overworked in most cases.She's faced some levels of burnout, but she always goes back for more.Mom is a student of life.She has a thirst for knowledge, loves to read and hold fierce opinions.She recently went back to college and received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology.She inspires me, helps me to see that I can go back someday when I have a clearer vision of what I'd like my life's career to be.Mom is an artist.She has dabbled in so many art forms over the course of my life, that I cannot remember them all, but I have always admired her creativity.I find it brave to just jump in and try something new and different, to make something, and make it beautiful.Mom is more than I can capture in words.
I love you Mom!I hope you have a great day, and maybe I'll see you at Tobias' game, or after.
And a Very Happy Mother's Day to all my Mommy and Mommy-to-be friends, I hope all you gals have a fantastic day with your babies…maybe a little alone time….fun….good weather….good food….whatever gives you joy.I send my love out to each and every one of you.
breezy
melancholy
bouncy
complacent
cooky/wacky
animated
