Category: Can We Talk?

Let’s answer some questions … if you have a few minutes, please share your thoughts in the comment section. Answer one question, answer them all, it’s up to you.

Is the book always better than the movie? Are there any exceptions?

Usually, yes. It’s just too difficult to cram all of the little details that make a story great into a 2-hour movie. It’s nearly impossible to portray dense characters that are fully developed in the book onto the big screen.

There is only one exception to this rule that I can think of: Chocolat.

I saw the movie with Johnny Depp (*DROOL*) and was naturally curious to read the book. This is one of those few times that I actually liked the movie more than the book. The screenwriter inserted a love story between Vianne and Roux and though it was only a secondary story line, I thought it really gave the story an interesting twist (and I’m a sucker for romance, obviously). The real story, of course, was the spiritual battle between one’s duty to God and one’s natural inclination to be tempted with worldly pleasures (in this case, the sweet temptation of chocolate and other sweets). I ADORED the movie and really enjoyed Harris’ interesting and somewhat tormented characters.

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Describe the longest road trip you’ve ever taken.

We try and take one big family vacation together every year. And several years back, we decided to go camping in the Rockies. It took us two days to get there. We drove to some hole-in-the-wall campground in Kansas (actually, it was a pretty nice RV park), spent the night and then drove into the Rockies the next day.

It was a LONG road trip simply because there wasn’t a lot to see. Just miles and miles of plains and crops. Though it was boring, it was also relaxing as the roads were straight, the weather was nice and there wasn’t a lot of traffic. It was a bit eerie though because gas stations and towns were few and far between, so I worried a bit about running out of gas or having some sort of mechanical issue. But God protected us and the trip was uneventful. We arrived safely and we got back home safely.

We enjoyed the Rockies so much, that we would all like to go back some day (though we’ve since sold the camper), rent a cabin and explore more hiking trails.

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What’s the perfect age to retire? How will you know you’re ready?

I don’t think anyone can give a definitive age – it depends on the individual and what that individual wants out of life.

For me, never. I never plan on retiring. Though I may not be working somewhere for a paycheck, I plan on staying busy doing a variety of things at all times. Whether that’s traveling, or writing, or being with family, or watching grandkids (*crosses fingers that there ARE grandkids*) or whatever. I have no intentions of staying at home and waiting to die. My in-laws stay very busy (almost too busy, in my opinion) and though I wish they would slow down sometimes, I have to admit, they get around pretty well for their ages. And it’s in large part due to the fact that they stay so busy.

Actually, I say I won’t be working any where, but I might be, now that I think about it. Kevin and I don’t expect to collect Social Security when we reach that age because it doesn’t look like there will be any more money in the coffers to PAY us. (Thanks to our greedy, over spending politicians). So, we may not have a CHOICE to not work.

That thought doesn’t really bother me, though. I enjoy working and it’ll keep my body active so … we’ll see.

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Do you feel obligated to finish all books you start reading?

I used to, but I don’t anymore. Life is simply too short to waste on terrible stories.

I’ve been trying to download more books to my Kindle, mainly because they’re free. I look at the reviews and if most of the reviews are pretty positive and the book is free, or cheap, then I’ll download it to my Kindle and check it out. I have a tendency to stay with the same authors and I’d really like to branch out and read lesser known writers.

The latest “free” ebooks I downloaded to my Kindle are “Invisible” and “Back on Murder.”

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Do you think money can buy happiness?

No. But it can certainly make life a lot less stressful.

We were just discussing this question at the dinner table the other day. Now that Dude will be looking for a job soon, we’re trying to impress upon him the importance of choosing a career that he will like (or at the very least, tolerate), and that will make him a decent living.

This is especially important for a man, because if he gets married and has children one day, if they choose for the wife to stay home with the children (which, I hope they do because my opinion is, why bother having children if you’re going to have other people raise them), then he will need to make some decent money in order to support him.

(This goes hand-in-hand with living within one’s means and not spending more than one makes so that it’s possible for one spouse to stay home to begin with. Again, if the wife [or husband] isn’t willing to sacrifice her career, at least until that child starts school, then why have children at all? There’s nothing wrong with choosing to remain childless, but often times, having a full-time career and trying to be a full-time parent just doesn’t work out and the kids are the ones to suffer. Having children is about sacrifice and committing ourselves to raising those children. I’ll step off my soapbox now).

Making money and being comfortable is nice, but living life and focusing on one’s family is even better. As always, it’s all about balancing one’s priorities.

This post was in answer to some Plinky prompts.

AAARGH! NOOOOOO!!

This is my response to the Momversation question: “Are we raising a nation of dumbasses?”

Oh. Where to start.

Let’s start with the video.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

(RSS readers – there’s a video. Please click over to watch it).

Readers that have been keeping track of my blog for some time will likely know my response to this – I feel like a broken record sometimes, but it bears repeating because no matter how many times you say it, people just don’t seem to get it:

Money doesn’t fix problems, it only makes it more complicated.

I agree with Daphne’s outrage about the money we’re spending in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya – I think our mission in Iraq and Afghanistan was over a long time ago and apparently not even the White House can tell us what we’re doing in Libya (first declaring that “that Moammar Gadhafi has to go” and setting up the no fly-zone and then saying “”we were going to withdraw” even though Gadhafi was (is) still in power). It’s frustrating enough when America is called upon to serve as a Global police, it’s doubly frustrating when our own government can’t even define what our objective is in the mission.

So yes. I agree money is being squandered on these military operations. I think we need to bring our troops home and let these countries work out their own issues. (Especially since they’re not even thankful for our help to begin with and thwart us at every turn).

BUT. Throwing more money into our education system, right now, is like getting your junk piece of a car detailed when it refuses to start – making it look pretty won’t make it work any better. The problem with our educational system lies within the structure itself.

The entire system needs a complete and thorough over haul before we throw more money at it and hope that somehow fixes it – it won’t. First and foremost, we need to do something about the teachers’ unions. They have a tight stranglehold on our educational system right now so that we can’t really DO anything without running into grievances and lawsuits. As it’s set up now, teachers are in a position to choose to teach or not to teach. They can show up to work every day, refuse to teach our kids and not have to worry about getting reprimanded. They get paid whether they teach or not.

Granted, MOST teachers are not like this. A LOT of teachers are decent, hard-working, people with good intentions, but you and I both know that there are also some pretty terrible teachers out there that take advantage of the system and thumb their noses up at repercussions. It’s nearly impossible to fire a teacher, thanks to the teachers’ unions. Granted, having an organization that watches your back is a good thing, the teachers’ unions have gone too far – they have too much power. They know it, and they abuse it. There is no incentive for these bad teachers to perform to the best of their ability. Why? They’re going to get paid whether they do their jobs or not.

As with any industry, it’s all about competition. If we want good teachers in our schools, then we have to fire the bad ones and replace them with good ones. If teachers have to work to KEEP their jobs, then they will naturally do a BETTER job teaching our kids.

Motivated teachers = well-educated students.

We also need to allow the schools the ability to make their own rules and to spend the money they are granted for the areas they need it most. The government needs to get out of the way and allow the school boards to make those decisions. They know what areas in their district need the most work – give them the freedom to work on those areas.

Cut out wasteful spending. Reallocate funds and restructure existing programs, programs that aren’t working as evidenced by everyone’s complaints that our educational system sucks, and give that money back to teachers. Again, the more incentives teachers have to make more money, the better job they will do teaching our children. Give them an opportunity to make bonuses and it will be evident, pretty quickly, which teachers are motivated to do well and which are not.

Schools need to stop concentrating so much on state tests and concentrate on molding their lessons to help the students. Kids don’t all learn at the same pace, but since the states only grant money to schools who make a certain test score on performance tests, then naturally, that’s what the school’s focus on – making the grade so they can get the money.

Once again, GOVERNMENT IS IN THE WAY OF PROGRESS.

As parents, we need to unite and take an active interest in our children’s education. Too many parents view school as a free babysitter and don’t stay involved in their child’s studies. They don’t teach their children how important school is and how important it is to take it seriously and to respect the institution. And bad teachers? At least for now? Until someone has the balls to actually REFORM our current educational system? Are part of the deal. It’s up to us, the parents, to stay on top of these teachers, to make them accountable and to teach our children how to deal with difficult personalities because assholes? Are everywhere and the sooner our kids learn how to deal with them, the better off they will be.

I’m so sick and tired of people complaining about how this needs more money, or that needs more money. Though money certainly helps motivate and inspire people to do better, it also corrupts and produces greed. No. Our educational system doesn’t need MORE of our money tossed at it (for now), IT NEEDS TO BE REFORMED. It needs to be scrutinized, dismantled, and put back together more efficiently. It needs a strict budget and priorities. After it’s been revamped, THEN let’s see how much money is left over that we can redistribute to areas that really need it.

I bet we’d ALL be surprised just how much money we’ve squandered away over the years as the unions have gotten stronger and at the number of regulations and hoops the government has implemented over the years.

Whenever we have a problem, we all need to STOP yelling for more money. Money doesn’t fix problems, it just complicates problems. A lot of our social structures are out of control because instead of fixing the problems over the years, we’ve just stuck a monetary band-aid on it and called it fixed.

You wouldn’t pay your plumber to stick duct tape on your leaky faucet, you’d expect your plumber to get in there and fix the leak. Same premise.

Wake up, people. Stop throwing money at our problems – WE CAN’T AFFORD ANY MORE FINANCIAL BAND-AIDS.

So let me ask you …

My first reaction is OH HECK NO. How lame! How superficial! What a waste of money!

BUT … then you watch the video about this girl …

… and I don’t know.

Her ears WERE pretty misshapen. This wasn’t just an issue of whether they thought they were too big or simply ugly, this was a physical malformation. (The experts say that when you’re a kid, your ears are already 90% the size they’re going to be when you’re an adult, so they don’t grow much. This was the reason they could perform the surgery on this seven-year old girl. Obviously, they couldn’t do plastic surgery on noses, chins, etc. at seven years old. So maybe, not THIS young, but you get the idea).

I think I could agree with this decision. This wasn’t something she would grow out of and since they were so different, she WOULD likely get teased and possibly bullied because they were so different from “the norm.” (Whatever that is, I suppose).

Before you completely disagree with me, think about people who take their kids to the orthodontist. *raises hand* Isn’t that a variation of plastic surgery? Correcting crooked teeth? Or people that buy their kids contact lenses. It’s not surgery, but it’s another physical enhancement so they don’t have to wear glasses and stand out from their peers.

I guess it would depend on the situation. If the physical malformation was slight (and again, who decides that, really?), I’d say no. But if it was something as apparent as this poor girl’s ears, then I might have made the same decision.

Granted, kids need to learn to deal with difficult people no matter what they look like – there are mean people in the world who will pick on someone for any little thing because they’re insecure about their lives or something about themselves, but I guess, why make it harder when it’s something that CAN be fixed?

Boy, I don’t know. This is a toughie. I really think it’s a case-by-case situation.

What do you think?

More from Write From Karen

• January 2025 Reflections
• Healthcare … On Your Terms
• Christmas Postponed … For the Second Time
• The One Where the Landing Gear Got Stuck
• Things that Annoy Me #3

I’m here.

Everything’s fine. I just haven’t felt like writing anything.

And then when I am in the mood to write something, everything seems so trivial and trite when compared to what’s happening in Japan right now.

(image via Google Images)

Hasn’t this disaster in Japan been something else?? First, the biggest earthquake to hit their region, EVER, happens. Then a tsunami destroys already weakened structures and sweeps everything in its path out of the way, then they have to battle their nuclear plants and exposed fuel rods … I just pray they get everything under control and no one gets radiation poisoning.

The poor Japanese people.

They (who exactly is “they”. The mass majority? The news media? If it’s the news media, I take it with a grain of salt) say this is the worst disaster to hit Japan since WWII.

That’s pretty serious, folks.

“They” also say that 1,900 have been found dead, and THOUSANDS are still missing. Holy smokes. Can you imagine trying to find your family in that mess!?!? I’d be FRANTIC.

I read this morning that the funeral parlors just can’t keep up. They only have the capacity to cremate 18 people a day. They’re also out of body bags and coffins and other parlors in the region are sending them both in an attempt to help them out.

This is the stuff of nightmares. Truly.

The pictures … oh Lord, the pictures that are coming in – people crying, their tortured expressions, the sheer devastation around them. It’s all so heart breaking. I just can’t imagine what they’re going through. I pray God we, the United States, never have to endure something so horrific.

For that’s what it is, horrific. There’s really no better word for what is happening over there right now.

When this first happened, my thoughts immediately went to a friend of mine who lives in Japan. Her husband is in the Marines and he’s stationed over there. She has two small boys. Thankfully, she’s far enough away from the mainland that she wasn’t affected and she posted on Facebook that she and her family were okay. I wonder about the radiation, though. If they can’t contain it, then “they” say that the radiation waves could travel as far as Hawaii.

I have a niece who lives in Hawaii.

Times like these, I feel so helpless. I know everyone does. It’s one small comfort to donate funds to the Red Cross so they may help the Japanese, but then what? We all sit idly by and watch in horror as thousands of people’s lives are destroyed.

It’s a very humbling and terribly devastating thing to watch.

Kevin emailed me a link to this video this morning. This guy, out walking his dog (I’m assuming, since the dog in the background won’t shush, but it’s probably just as freaked out as everyone else is by what’s happening), records the quake’s effects on the land around him. It’s pretty amazing to watch the land move back and forth.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

(RSS readers – you’ll have to click over to watch the video).

I’ve been scrolling through pictures of the tragedy … they’re just heartbreaking. Especially the ones where people are running their fingers down a list of survivors to see if loved ones made the list. Ugh! That just rips my heart in two. Can you IMAGINE that feeling? And then NOT finding your loved one listed??

This whole thing just boggles my mind. It’s truly all I can think about.

If you would like to help Japan by sending cash donations:

(“Bear in mind, it is extremely difficult and expensive to ship in-kind donations overseas…It is more efficient for disaster relief agencies to purchase needed resources locally for immediate distribution within the disaster area.”)

The Salvation Army has four ways you can help:

* Text “Japan” or “Quake” to 80888 to make a $10 donation

* Call 1-800-SAL-ARMY

* Donate online at http://www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org

* Send a check, marked “Japan earthquake relief” to:
The Salvation Army World Service Office
International Relief Fund
PO Box 630728
Baltimore, MD 21263-072800

Lady GaGa (I know, talk about a weird source, but it’s admirable that she’s doing this), designed a unique wristband that you can purchase for $5.00; the proceeds go to aid Japan. (You can donate more than $5.00 if you wish).

Here’s where you can go to help animals in Japan.

Convoy of Hope

Save the Children Foundation

GlobalGiving

International Medical Corps

Donate via Facebook

Buy virtual goods (via online games – which – COOL IDEA!)

Add a donation bar to your website (I’ll have to see if I can do something like this for the school websites I maintain).

Donate via iTunes.

Doctors without Borders

If you have loved ones in Japan, Google has launched Person Finder.

Shelterbox: Shelterbox provides assistance to afflicted countries by delivering large utility boxes that contain a shelter and other emergency relief tools. To donate online, click here.

Save the Children is moving quickly to address the situation there. Donations to its Children’s Emergency Fund will support this effort. To text your donation to Save the Children, text “JAPAN” or “TSUNAMI” to 20222 to donate $10.

And of course, you can donate to the Red Cross here or by texting REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10.00 from your phone

To help you make the most of your charitable donation, charity watchdog Charity Navigator has published donating tips and a list of charities responding. It will continue to update that list as the group learns of more charities assisting with the relief efforts.

Follow these hashtags on Twitter for more ideas on how you can help.

* #Jishin: focuses around general earthquake information
* #Anpi: a hashtag for the confirmation of the safety of individuals or places
* #Hinan: Evacuation information
* #311care: a hashtag regarding medical information for the victims
* #PrayforJapan: A general hashtag for support and best wishes for victims of the crisis

And please, don’t blame God for what happened to Japan. God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. (I John 1:5): It’s not His fault.

God bless readers, and stay safe.

UPDATED: Just read an interesting article about the nuclear plants in Japan. Apparently, “they” say that a meltdown in Japan would be as bad as Chernobyl, however, an article in the Wall Street Journal today says it won’t get to that point. Though this man may be sugar coating the truth, I think my overall point is this: take what you read about the Japan nuclear plants, from whatever source, with a grain of salt. These “reports” are likely dramatized in order to sell more copies.

UPDATED II: Here is a link to some before and after pictures.

I sure hope you’re not eating while reading this!

Kevin and I were sitting in my office today, eating lunch, when he told me that he heard this on a radio talk show this morning:

Study finds fecal matter on over half of shopping carts, reusable shopping bags

Researchers at the University of Arizona say shopping carts and reusable grocery bags are teeming with fecal matter and bacteria, often more than a typical bathroom.

Professor Charles Gerba swabbed the handles of 85 carts in four states for bacterial contamination.

Gerba found 72 percent of the carts had a positive marker for fecal bacteria and half had Escherichia coli (E. coli). He also found reusable shopping bags that are not washed regularly are swarming with bacteria.

Oh …..YUCK!!!!

We’re one of those annoying people who grab a wipe on our way into a store and wipe down the handle and the sides of a shopping cart. Any areas we think we’re going to be touching, and it gets swabbed with a wipe. It’s not that we’re terribly concerned about germs, after all, a few germs are good so your body can build up immunities, but let’s use common sense, too. Those carts are used by a LOT of different people every day. And not everyone is as, er, clean as they should be.

(In fact, I can’t even look at that picture up above – just think how many germs that baby is sucking in! Ew!)

Now keep in mind, this “study” was sponsored by Clorox, so it’s probably a little skewed, (so people will go out and Clorox wipes) but still, it’s definitely something to think about. I know Kevin and I wash our hands immediately after we get home from a trip to Wal-Mart (or anywhere public, for that matter) because I hate to say this, but people? Are sort of nasty germ factories. (And I’m sure we carry around our own unique germs, too!)

I also followed a link from the above article and read about the most germy offices …

Your Desk Is A ‘Bacteria Cafeteria’
Survey: Teachers’ Workplace Environment Is Dirtiest, Lawyers’ Is Cleanest

A new survey shows which office-based jobs host the most bacteria.

Here is the list, going from careers with the most to least germs on workspace surfaces:

1. Teacher
2. Accountant
3. Banker
4. Radio DJ
5. Doctor
6. Television producer
7. Consultant
8. Publicist
9. Lawyer

University of Arizona microbiologist Charles Gerba, Ph.D., and colleagues did the dirty work. The Clorox Company funded the study and reported the results. These findings are part of a large research project by Gerba on “Germs in the Workplace.”

Average bacteria per square inch of workspace surfaces ranged from 17,800 for teachers to 900 for lawyers, according to the report, which doesn’t specify which bacteria were found.

This was another study sponsored by Clorox, so take it with a grain of salt. But again … it’s food (get it?) for thought! The four worst places for germs found at the desk were: phones, desks, keyboards, and computer mice.

Makes sense.

And I had to laugh when I read this because in case you didn’t notice, I started this article with “Kevin and I were eating lunch at my desk”, so we’re definitely contributing to that bacteria data! Ha!

At any rate, I thought I’d pass this little (disgusting) tidbit along to you.

This is a bit off topic, but when I was looking for a photo to put with this article, I found this picture:

A magnifying glass attached to the shopping cart handle. Now THAT’S my kind of cart! If I had a nickel for every time I tried to read something at the store only to realize I didn’t have my reading glasses with me …

Anyway … tell me friends, how concerned are you about germs? Do you take the time to wipe down your shopping carts?