Enemy of the State

Seriously, did no one else watch this movie?



I don't understand why everyone is so shocked and surprised by the NSA's actions, it's all spelled out in Enemy of the State.

If you want to get even more old school, check out Sneakers.



Not all of my conspiracy theories have been fed by Hollywood, in fact I have never made it all the way through Conspiracy Theory (sorry Julia, it's a terrible movie).

No wonder I'm having a mid-career crisis right now.  

Another day in DC, another shooting.

I'll be the first to admit that today's event is different from an ordinary shooting.  However, when I heard there was a shooting in DC near the Navy Yard, my first thought was that it must be drug related.  The Spouse worked at the Navy Yard a decade ago.  I would take metro there to meet him after work and was afraid.  There used to be a liquor store across the street from his building where drug dealers and hookers would peddle their wares.  Marines with large guns guarded The Spouse's building and would tell me to cross the street.  I would say that I needed to stayrightherepleasedon'tshootbutI'mnotgoingoverthere.  The neighborhood has gentrified by leaps and bounds since that time, with the Nats stadium, Department of Transportation hub, and many new upscale condominiums.  But, still, there are elements of drug trade around there.

When I heard the shooter was inside a Navy building, I decided it must be a disgruntled employee.  Sucks, but it's a reasonable assumption.

Now, with 12 dead and a potential shooter on the loose (? - we honestly don't know) I have no idea what to think, except that life is too short to live without cards* and I could really use a cupcake but I don't want to go get one because a potential shooter is on the loose.

Ah, DC, way to keep it interesting.

*Four days later - I'm re-reading this post and I have absolutely no idea what point I was trying to make here.  

Thank you Lord for thinking about me, I'm alive and doing fine.

I have come to the conclusion that 9/11 is a different experience for those who were in DC than for those in NYC - and a VERY different experience from those in the rest of the country.

While my Facebook feed is filled with photos of candles that have a message like "We will never forget" in a fancy scrolling script, I would love to forget.  Please, please, let the images get out of my brain.  Let us not talk about where we were, how close we were, what we saw.  Can't we just let it go?  Obviously, the answer is no, lest we be accused of siding with the terrorists who started this thing in the first place.

So, today, I am celebrating my own personal Thanksgiving.  I'm thankful for the squirmy wiggly boy who woke me up this morning by cuddling up to me and rubbing my belly (oh, and no, no baby in there, just something Robin likes to do.)  I'm grateful for his older brother, who came along when we were convinced we would never have our own child.  I'm thankful for the amazing man in my life who continues to go to work everyday, pick up the kids after school, and who is probably often tempted to "go out for milk and bread" but stays anyway.  I'm thankful for Sally, she of the chronic kidney failure and expensive dental visits, who keeps my floors spotless - except for the giant gobs of hair she leaves all over.  I'm thankful for Leo, who turns 9 today, who has the best temperament of any dog I've ever owned despite his terrible allergies.

Thank you Lord for thinking about me, I'm alive and doing fine.

Holy earthquakes, Batman!

Today is a beautiful amazing day in August.  This sort of day never happens in DC, and I'm sure that someone here sold their soul to the devil in exchange for it - it's that rare.  I had a breezy post floating around in my head but then we had an earthquake.  Huh?  What the heck?!?

USGS is reporting that it was a 5.9, centered 87 miles south of here (or 62 miles south of my house.)  There has been construction outside my window all morning, so my first thought was construction gone wrong.  Then I thought bomb.  Finally, my brain grasped on to the idea of an earthquake.  I'm a West Coast girl.  My first memory of an earthquake is when I was seven or so, and my biggest earthquake was the Loma Prieta in 1989.  (That was a pretty fucking big ass earthquake, excuse my French.)

Daycare reports that the kids are fine.  The Spouse has been evacuated and is heading home to check on the house, then to get the kids.  Our neighbors report that some pictures and decorations fell off the walls.  I'm ahead of that game, because I don't hand stuff up!  Ha!  I just prop it against the wall.  Thankfully, the china cabinet is trapped in a corner of the living room, with cabinets and things wedged against it, so that should be fine.  The bookcases were affixed to the walls with the introduction of Baby Batman.  I'm crossing my fingers that it's no big deal.  My new kitchen better not have been touched...