A whole bunch of nothing

Lots of things rattling around in my brain today, so forgive me if I meander a bit. Blame it on the lack of sleep. Blame it on the coffee. Hell, you can even Blame it on Rio if you want (just don't Blame It On The Rain, o.k.?).

I receive news alerts from CNN.com on a regular basis. These two stories regarding the Bush Administration paying columinsts for expressing their views caught my eye. Being involved in the journalism biz in various capacities (and still harboring dreams of being a full time writer somewhere, anywhere) I was intrigued by the slant of the pieces. Not just that, but also by what made the journalists in question accept the money. At my former newsroom job anything, and I mean anything provided to one of the writers by a source was immediately put up for grabs. Or donated. Or thrown into an employee auction which raised money for local charities. No way in hell would anyone accept any gift, be it money or otherwise.

It's a valid issue in the biz and I'm wondering what any of my former co-workers have to say about it.

Good friend Steph sent this link that demonstrates just how disasterous the tsunami was. I was mesmorized by the thing, toggling back and forth between the older and newer pictures of Banda Aceh. Stunning. That's the only word I can think of. Just...stunning.

I've been afraid to step on the scale. I'm being more careful with my food choices, but, well, they definitely leave something to be desired. Sigh. If I really want to get rid of this extra 30lbs I need to get serious. The room mate is supposed to bring me info home from his gym. If I think I can swing it I might join. Something needs to be done, and soon.

Lastly, my ever fertile cousins have reproduced again. Monday afternoon we welcomed little Piper Marlene into the family...


Poor kid she has no idea what she's getting into.

Good thing she'll have her very cool second cousin around to really show her the ropes.