F*** cancer

I didn't sleep last night, nor am I sleeping now.  I should be.  I'm exhausted.  No such luck.  Why am I not sleeping?  Last night, I called a dear friend.  "How are you?"  "Fine.  You?"  "Fine."  Pause.  Long pause.  I finally said, "Well, neither of us is really convincing.  Spill."  He told me that on Mother's Day, he took his mom to the hospital because she was in great pain.  After all the tests were run and scans were made, it turns out she has small cell lung cancer.  My grandmother died last year from small cell cancer.  It's a rare form and the odds aren't very favorable.   Two of the most important men in my life have lost their mothers to cancer, and now there's a third.  I'm grief stricken, even though she isn't my mother.  The pain he will feel makes my heart hurt for him.  I'm angry at the medical community.  It can concoct how many different erectile dysfunction medications, but it can't gain any ground on fighting cancer?  I'm frustrated at marketing.  I think we are all aware of cancer now.  Let's funnel some of that money toward research instead of awareness.  And, I feel guilty.  I'm not there to help him.  Phone calls aren't the same as physical presence.  Then, I feel selfish for these feelings and return to grief.

Lather.  Rinse.  Repeat.

Paradigm shift

We live in an exciting time.  Well, I'm not sure how exciting it is, but it is definitely changing.  I'm talking about the paradigm shift that is occurring between artists of all kinds and the traditional means of getting said art out to the public.  An author can now publish his/her own work (in either print or electronic form) with very little expense.  A musician/band can place their songs online for anyone to hear.  Even traditional radio programs are embracing the podcast (Adam Carolla, Dave Pratt).  What's amazing to me is how the traditional publishers are clinging dearly to the old way of doing business.  (I'm going to simplify and say "publishers", when really, it can mean the music labels, movie studios, and the like.)  Sure, a publisher has the publicity juggernaut behind it.  But, we won't stand paying print prices for an e-book for much longer.  Do you know how much it costs to publish an e-book on for the Kindle?  Time.  That's it.  The author formats and edits the book, sets the price, and Amazon takes its cut when someone purchases.  Easy peasy.  Knowing this, why do we pay $19.99 for a current best-seller?  Greedy, greedy bastards.  Some of my colleagues in various English departments are using copyright-free works to incorporate into the classroom.  You want to study Jane Austen?  All of her works can be downloaded for free on the Kindle.  Think of the cost reduction for students.  (Math never changes.  Why do we need a new edition of the textbooks every five years?)  Think of the possibilities, also, for the updating of information.  History textbooks could be updated as events unfold.  The downside to being able to self publish: the inundation of poorly written works.  Oh, wait, we have that now.  At least this way, trees don't have to die to print a lousy book, like Snookie's autobiography.

Speaking of paradigm shifts, I am digging what ABC is doing with Castle.  I'm not happy with its inconsistency of showing the program.  (Wait, it's Monday.  Shouldn't it be on?  The Bachelor?  What the hell?!?)  I am happy with how the creative team has embraced the meta-fiction of it all.  Richard Castle has a web site, Facebook page, and Twitter account.  (Um... he's not real... Shhhh...)  Two Nikki Heat stories have been published with a third on the way.  A graphic novel of Castle's other major character Derek Storm is set to release in September.  A TV show, other than Oprah, is getting people to read a book.  The book is credited to Richard Castle, and ABC isn't telling who the ghost writer is.  I have read both books, and, quite frankly, they are entertaining and better written than some of the "popular" literature floating around out there.

Das BBQ

I enjoy grilling.  It appeals to my sense of laziness simplicity.  Marinate some chicken, throw it on the grill, and in ten minutes, a tasty meal appears.  In Phoenix, I used the grill all the time, since the weather allowed me to so.  This spring in the great PNW has been to miserably soggy, I haven't had a chance.  Thankfully, the rain stopped long enough for me to break out the barbecue for the first time this year. In the last ten days, we have had hamburgers, hot dogs, steak, chicken, and bratwurst.  Today, I tried my hand at yellow tail tuna steaks.  (I'm not a big fish eater, so this was my first time grilling fish, ever.  Turned out fine, I must say.)  Soon, I will make "Beer Butt Chicken".  To make this dish, you shove an open can of beer up the ass of a whole chicken.  Grill for hours.  Tender, tasty chicken.

Drake appears to enjoy the product of the barbecue.  Our conversation on Friday:
D:  Mommy, you can make us some hot dogs on the barbecue.
Me:  Drake, I'm all out of hot dogs.
D:  Then, what are you going to barbecue?

Last night at bedtime:
D: Mommy, tomorrow you can barbecue hot dogs for me and Flynn, and hamburgers for you and Daddy.

It's a darn good thing those boys are carnivores.

Ewwww

My neighbors no longer have garbage service (or recycling or yard waste pick up).  That is really, really gross.  I understand that money is tight nowadays, but is this the area where one should cut back?  I can understand giving up cable and lattes and eating brand name cereal.  But, waste service?  No.  Not a chance.  Even if their three sons are all out of the house, get the smallest garbage can, not stop entirely. We are a family of four and we can get by with the smallest can.  To add to the grossness factor, they have at least three dogs and more than one cat.  Where is the animal waste going?  No wonder their cat shits in our yard.  Even if they pile the waste somewhere and go to the dump once a month, that's a whole lotta fetid fecal matter somewhere on your property.

This is not the first ewww incident with those neighbors.  Rats were living in their garage.  Well, when your garage is full with random stuff and you can't go in there because of said stuff, critters will move in.  I've seen enough hoarding shows to verify this information.  My dad and I were staining the deck our first summer here, and one of the rats invaded our backyard.  I promptly went out and bought rat poison.  Never saw another rat in my backyard.  Now, I hope the stench from their personal landfill doesn't invade.