This week we have a landscaping company coming out to start our yard!

I came to the resolution that, while I CAN do all of these things -

A) I have no time
B) I have no time
C) I am a zero planner. I get the idea in my head and just do it- like see a plant, buy it, dig a hole and place it where it is easiest to dig. Any gardener knows this makes for bad landscaping. And the maintenance of weeding and watering, well it goes the way of the dodo bird after a while and our yard looks like bootie.

This is how I manage my personal life in general...so I need an expert when it comes to the garden thing

We are getting (in part) several raised, boxed veggie gardens on the side of the house. Rob bought me a book and I am loving it! Unlike previous gardening that I had to know a lot about a lot, this is more focused simply b/c the information is more consolidated. I do better on this level.

We built a compost bin yesterday from the fence scrap material that I was dreading would end in the landfills. We still have scrap so place your orders now - ugly but efficient

We are learning about how to build cold frames to grow year round.

And we will eat from our garden. Only 1 step away from my semi-underground geodesic dome and greenhouse that would provide all energy and food (year round) with the simple assistance of Mother Nature. Note to reader: zucchini bread orders and canned tomatoes can be made now - simply send a prefab,4x4' cold frame to our home address and you will get 2 of each veggie in exchange

Just needed a little push from someone who knows what to do

I haven't turned on a TV in days so I'm not sure how far out this story has gone....the 92 year-old woman that was shot to death by Atlanta's finest men in blue.

I know it made national coverage back when it happened (November '06) b/c our finest men managed to kill more perps (13 in 2006) than any other city in the nation.

This story has more poo twists and turns than any soap opera out there. The two cops plead guilty. They lied to the judge to get a warrant, strong-armed the informant to lie that drugs were being dealt out of the house, illegally busted in the door and fired 32 shots a the 92-year old woman (yes, she fired at them - I would too if I lived alone and two men busted down my door in the middle of the night). Two shots hit her in the leg - okay, you have done your job and "disabled" your attacker. But they also delivered a fatal shot to her chest.

The cops then proceeded to handcuff her as she lay bleeding to death then planted drugs in her basement. Why? To meet a quota on drug busts



The informant came forward and that has brought us to current date events.

Now the informant is suing the city for lost wages (30k a year for being an informant) given the "retirement" of his two dignified cop buddies.

On another note, Wired magazine reported that 60% of Americans don't believe in evolution and humans were plopped down on Earth just as we are today; and a good portion of those people believe the bible word for word on our existence. This is the highest percentage of any country, second only to Turkey.

And the last few things that makes me go WTF (at least for today)..... the dogs won't quit eating rocks and dirt and Bush is still in office and we are still in Iraq.



But I am building compost bins - using our extra fence material and our veggie garden will be done by next weekend....so I will stick to my own little place, dig the shit out of it

The Atlanta Film Festival is here....this year it is hosted all at one location and just a few miles from our house so we are doing some movie watching - Rob way more than I!

We have some friends that are popping in and enjoying some of our picks - it has certainly been a treat thus far

I thought I would share some the movies.

Friday: East of Bucharest
Documentary about the fall of communism and the corruption that followed. Looked promising. But the director must have hired a temp to ship the film....no subtitles and the only word I remember from our visit to Romania is "thank you". Needless to say, we left within the first few minutes.

Saturday: The Killer Within
Powerful film! I suspect this to make the movie circuit considering the VT events last week - the film held more power than expected given the school shooting last week. It was a documentary about Bob Bechtel, who claims to be bullied to an extreme and in 1955, entered his dorm and shot a student. He intended to kill everyone in the dorm that night (280 students) but walked directly to the police station after the first murder.

Now a professor of environmental psychology at UA, he decided in 2004 to come out to the world (and his children and family - only his wife knew of his past) about what drove him to this murder. He was deemed insane and unable to stand trial and served time in a psych ward then released after only 5 years at 28 years of age.

The director, Macky Alston (an Atlanta native) was there to discuss his interactions with the family. This film will be with me for a while.

Rob attended Flesh and Blood - a documentary about Steve Haworth and his spawning of extreme body modifications. Too many suspension scenes for me to watch this film (hook suspension falls in the limbless category for me)...but Rob enjoyed and Steve's ex girlfriend (who is extremely modified) was present to discuss the cult-like lifestyle that she is no longer part of.

Sunday:
Movie 1- After the Wedding. Holy cow this was a great movie (fictional)!
Danish movie with subtitles (good thing since I speak no Dutch whatsoever). About a man running an orphanage in India who is called back to Holland to interview with a man who wants to fund his project....I have to stop there b/c my words could not do this movie justice. It takes some powerful and unexpected turns that were worthy of giving up the sunny weather to sit in a theater.

Movie 2 - The Sacred Sights of the Dalai Lamas (coming up this evening)

This fascinating journey explores the caves where the early Buddhist masters meditated, enters the monasteries where the Dalai Lamas and others taught, and - at an altitude of over 16,000 feet - looks down into the famous oracle lake of Lhamo Lhatso where every Dalai Lama has had prophetic visions. Our guides are Steve Dancz (composer for National Geographic), Glenn Mullin (author of over 25 books on Tibetan Buddhism) and Khenpo Tashi (a Bhutanese monk and international teacher) as they visit the sacred sites.

As with nearly all of the movies, Directors and involved parties have been present for post movie discussions - I hope this film is not an exception.

And I just heard from EB .....

Emory University is greatly honored to welcome His Holiness the Dalai Lama for a three-day visit to the university from October 20-22, 2007. His Holiness has accepted Emory's offer of a Presidential Distinguished Professorship, and his visit to the university will include his installment in this position and his inaugural lecture. His Holiness's visit will also include his full participation in a one-day conference on science and spirituality co-hosted by the Mind & Life Institute with leading scientists and contemplatives from the university and across the country on Saturday, October 20, and an interfaith conference on religion as a source of conflict and a resource for peace-building on Sunday, October 21. His Holiness will also give a public talk in downtown Atlanta on Monday, October 22.

Now that I have seen the final flick of my picking, I will share my thoughts on the Dalai Lama movie.....actually, I won't. It was one of those "movies just for me" kinda movies. An acquaintance was there in line as we shuffled in; we hung out a few times and one night I had the pleasure of touching 3,000 year old sacred scrolls her father sent to her in ATL for safe keeping....her father is Glenn Mullin.

Made it a bit cooler. With or without - my desire and penny jar (now 8 years full but shy of the plane fare) is still working to get my ass to Tibet

 

They are officially kicking ass.  Would have been nice if Atlanta could of held their own so we could possibly see the Sabres play in our 'hood.  But, a trip to Buffalo this time of year is actually quite enjoyable.

Wasting time here waiting for the primer to dry - time to lay some tile now.  Can't wait until these damn projects around the house are complete.

 

cuz the rest of the world is all fucked up - except those people I love and would be willing to wipe bums for if they broke both arms (sorry you gotta' pick your own boogers, though). Yes, those of you I love - we have not spoken about the bum wiping offer yet; I'm hoping we never come to that

It was a trying week. The Imus thing pissed me off. Just quit criminalizing the symptoms while you spread the disease and give him back his job

I had to teach a class this week with 1.5 hours drive each morning and 2.5 hours to get home ....grrrrrrrr. Now I'm working all weekend to catch up with my normal job. Contractors are at our house. The dogs have found this crazy love for eating hunks of concrete and GA clay. Weird ass creatures they are! I am wearing my granny undies cuz I haven't done laundry in quite some time - not sure what undies Rob is wearing. I have realized one can live off of cottage cheese and coffee (with eggo waffles on occassion).....Rob has learned to appreciate hot-pockets. Well, you get the picture

A friend was diagnosed with MS this week. She is pretty cool with it. I feel so much pain for her, but really that isn't my place. If she is cool with it, I am cool with it.

So we agreed with her eyesight less than perfect and practicing her driving for the first time in a month or so.....we need get her a bumper sticker for the anxious honking assholes!

"Blind bitch at the wheel! stay back or I will flick a booger on your windshield (or run into your car because I can't see you)"

I think pink is a nice font color