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We have to laugh somehow. While we still can.
9:06 PM :: link this post ::

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In a rare moment of levity this week, I learned of dognoses.com. (Thanks, jm.) During the past week the two dogs I live with have been of such comfort, even through their occasional nuisance. A reminder of simple life, they are oblivious, mostly, except when we are upset, that anything in our world is weighing on us. They come close if we cry. They are eternally happy to see us when we come home, as well as when we walk them. They reinforce that life does indeed flow on, in spite of ourselves. Maybe I would sleep better if I just go with it. It's not like I can do anything about it anyway, not on a global level.

I rode almost 50 miles on my bike this weekend. I'm sore. It was relieving to get out into the countryside, wave at people on their porches, wave at other riders, and move under my own muscular power. We had to pedal against the wind on both rides. I didn't give up, I didn't fall, I just kept chipping away at the hills until they were behind. I took in the bluebirds, and the snake and orange furry caterpillars on the road, wriggling madly to get across. The sky was blue, my lips are windburned, but I feel good, like purged of some of the weight. Every day counts. I've thought that ever since reading Bruce Northam's The Frugal Globetrotter. Urging travel on any budget one can scrape up, he insists: "This is IT. There isn't another chance to see this world."

And now, I'm off to take the dogs out.
6:28 PM :: link this post ::

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Sorry to drone on; it's all over my mind. A very eloquent speech from Tony Blair.
9:22 PM :: link this post ::

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Off to do a stress releasing bike ride this morning. Something to shed the increasing worry.
8:13 AM :: link this post ::

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Wow. And I thought it couldn't get any more unbelievable. Major kudos to the ACLU spokeswoman who said the group "will not dignify the Falwell-Robertson remarks with a comment." I'm well beyond incensed at this mentality.

I definitely need that beer. What a f--king IDIOT.

Anyone using this week's event as a springboard to push their personal faith on me better be ready for what's coming. Freedom of religion is a fundamental right we ALL have. I'm sick of those who don't respect others' right to such, those oblivious that their "good intentioned" broadcast of their convictions is highly offensive to those of us who simply don't share their views. It's as offensive to us, in fact, as they claim it is to them that we are not of their camp. I fully respect other people's right to choose their faith, whatever form it may take. I don't feel a need to change their subscription, prove them wrong, or "recruit" them. I just want to be treated the same.

The first toast will be to the crews in NYC. The second to the ACLU. I haven't decided the third one yet.
5:05 PM :: link this post ::

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Michael Moore's commentary on the week. Funny, just today I was thinking, I bet Mr. Moore has some strong words for this. And so he does. Thanks for the link from weberrific.

I'll never forget watching TVNation, a shortlived series a few years ago (is it still around?) that he hosted, investigating things rarely covered but that should be. Like, for example, where do the contents of a toilet in NYC go when flushed? He followed it to the street, the sewage plant, and ultimately to dump trucks of black substance that looked like asphalt. The trucks then rolled out to some farms in Indiana or Illinios or someplace and spread the scentless material onto the fields as fertilizer. I can't recall the whole story, but I remember the series. There may be info on www.michaelmoore.com but I couldn't get it to load.

I think it might be time for a beer.
4:39 PM :: link this post ::

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On the NYC search and rescue dogs:

They need dog boots for the search and rescue dogs in NY. You can donate them to the teams at the addy below. From the ASPCA newsletter online:

"BOOTIES NEEDED FOR RESCUE DOGS
Television stations covering the World Trade Center disaster reported that dogs currently on scene were going through booties at an amazing rate. In lieu of protective booties, burlap was being wrapped around the dogs' feet and legs, reportedly slowing progress considerably.

If you would like to contribute dog booties, please clearly identify the packages as

RESCUE DOG SUPPLIES and send them to
New York City Offices, c/o Search and Response, Chambers St.
New York, NY 10007."

NOTE: Don't send them to the ASPCA, send them exactly as addressed above.

I took a quick look, Pet Smart and DrsFosterSmith.com both have them orderable online.

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Also, more info from that same weekly ASPCA newsletter on the involvement in the rescue underway:
"THE ASPCA IS PROVIDING RESCUE ASSISTANCE TO STRANDED ANIMALS OF WORLD TRADE CENTER CRISIS
> > In response to the World Trade Center disaster, the ASPCA has set up a command center and placed a fully equipped mobile veterinary unit on the corner of Houston and West Streets at the Hudson River in New York City.
> > The ASPCA is now working with other authorities to remove pets from homes in the buffer zone south of Canal Street. We will also be providing emergency relief services to any areas where we can gain access to pets in need.
> > In addition, pet owners may call to report their pets as abandoned. The number is (212) 876-7700 x4PET. An ASPCA Law Enforcement Officer will be dispatched from the command center and escort pet owners to the location of their pet. The ASPCA has coordinated efforts with the New York City government and will be assisted by the New York City Parks Department to gain access to buildings.
> > We are also urging the New York pet-loving community to do what they can. If you are a friend or family member of someone who has not returned home yet due to this disaster, the ASPCA urges you to PLEASE get involved and offer assistance (food, water, exercise and essential needs) to any pets left home alone. You can also take an inventory of your building: if any of your neighbors have not come home, work with your building's superintendent or management to help take care of their animal companions.
> > Additionally, the following information may provide guidance for any New Yorkers impacted by this terrorist act:
> > * Although far from ideal, dogs and cats can survive without food and water for several days, perhaps longer. Once you or a family member are reunited with your animal, please take him or her to a vet as soon as possible.
> > * If you have lost or found a companion animal in New York City, please call the agency responsible for reuniting animals with their families: the Center for Animal Care and Control (CACC.) The CACC's lost and found number is (888) LOST123. The CACC's Animal Rescue number, for animal rescue services between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM, is (718) 649-8600."
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Day 4. For a few seconds each morning it's not there. Like right after you skin your knee and the blood hasn't surfaced yet. But then there it is again. I logged off the web last night after reading some blog commentary and some links from them. Some pretty sobering photography and written accounts. I tried to watch mindless TV like Matchgame, and thumb through catalogs to lighten up for a bit. The discussions of Colin Powell and other military folks is the most scary. There does need to be some return to normalcy, life goes on activity, like sports - baseball and football.

In the meantime, here are some online financial donation sites, who will send a receipt to you for tax purposes. It has also occured to me that the financial burden of this event will largely be Federal/public: insurance policies don't cover losses attributed to acts of war.

Amazon (not taking their usual cut of the donation)
PayPal (also not taking their usual cut)
Red Cross
Salvation Army
Yahoo PayDirect (also not taking their usual cut)

I've been approached on the street by folks with no credentials asking for donations, so beware. It may be all in good intentions, but it has to be legitimate.
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More first hand weblog account of Tuesday. Jason Kottke also has some very helpful links.
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Compelling, thoughtful and logical commentary on effective solution to thwarting terrorism. From an architectural technology point of view, based on decentralization of power and control. I hope like hell congress is listening. And if they aren't I hope the rest of us are. Link via camworld.
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My mind is everywhere. I'm supposed to be working.

I thought about ants, and how they just robotically rebuild when we scruff out their hills, as if it's a given in their life. I read the articles in the NY Times online about the last phone calls. And then there is this, written by a woman living in NYC:

No poems today. New Yorkers are strangely quiet. For once they don't know
what to say. Everyone looks stunned, grim, and alone with their thoughts,
pausing for reflection that is useless, simply a head-shaking time-filler
until, we hope, a feeling of normalcy returns, which cannot be.

No poems today. Lives lost arbitrarily and unnumbered, unaccounted for, are
more murder than I can wrap my mind around. Instead I mourn the buildings
which seemed so fixed, as much a part of my psychological landscape as of my
physical terrain. My skyline, my horizon, changed.

You Towers were my first vision upon waking, if the shades were up. Your
lights at night out my window made life seem too exciting to sleep. I gauged
weather by your visibility. Sometimes you disappeared, swallowed by fog, or
your head was cut off, or it floated magically above a boro-long plate of
cloud. I see your likeness now with a pang. How can you no longer be?

The missing people are too much murder to wrap my mind around. Yet. But the
Twin Towers, their presence, their personality, seem real to me still. Where
are they now? What heaven waits for edifices?

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Much trouble sleeping. This heavy, collective anguish just resonates. It's barely comprehensible, this enormous, unfillable loss. And the news tomorrow will be filled with more.

The moon and Venus hang in spite of humanity above us, as I type in this cloudless, planeless, dark. Today I was thankful to be home, with my best friend and creatures safe alongside. But I also felt bad that I had mine and they don't. It was a beautiful pre-autumn day. Low humidity, breezy, low 80's if that. I felt bad about that, too.

I also thought about the conversation on the phone with Dad a few days ago, about Atlas Shrugged. I haven't read it. He was explaining the concept of objectivism, apparently invented by Ayn Rand. Basically, it holds that altruism is pointless, that we should all look after ourselves and that helping others diminishes the self. Sounds heartless, upon initial examination. After further thought, it makes some sense that if we, as individuals own ourselves and our futures, no one bears anyone else. And that that is what we should teach the kids. Hard to explain. And something to chew on for a long while.

The recent losses in my life: Mom, my job, and this, are surely driving home how alone we each really are, ultimately. But I guess knowing that we are together in our solitude is comfort, if that makes any sense. I think it's called the human condition. Those silent points of light up there, who couldn't reflect on it all tonight?

And how utterly ironic, that she was an Atlas. I'm sure she is indeed shrugging, and so in good company. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur will be especially meaningful this year. That, too, came from her.

3:27 AM :: link this post ::