fidlmath

Diana the Spider Wrangler

nostalgia?

I'm watching baseball - Florida Marlins vs St. Louis Cardinals.  My dad loved the Cardinals - I believe that Dizzy Dean and Stan Musial were his heroes - at different times in his life.  When we lived in Cleveland a long time ago, we occasionally were given tickets to Indians games.  I actually got to watch Ted Williams play once!  Also, we watched games on TV sometimes.  When I was a lot younger we lived in a suburb of NYC - when there were 3 teams: NY Yankees, NY Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers.  I couldn't decide which one to root for.  Then I got married, we moved to Australia, then back to US and no baseball - but I didn't miss it too much as I was raising my lovely daughters and playing music.  My [now ex] hubby thought watching baseball was about equivalent to watching grass grow.  When we returned to the US from Oz, the Mets were on TV a lot and I started watching them.  When I moved down to Miami, I didn't watch any baseball, but got into watching Miami Heat basketball for awhile - even went to games with a friend for several years.  Then there was a big issue about the outrageous salaries of many of the basketball players - which put me off. I quit going to games and also quit watching them.  I know baseball players also get huge salaries, I guess baseball is an acquired taste.  I began to reminisce about this as I was watching this game - realizing that I really love the patter, stats, gossip and other info provided by the announcers.  Just now they were mentioning that St. Louis, back in the day, was the furthest west of any baseball team - it was considered Tthe West.  How times change. Yes, it's slo enuf that I can write a post and grade homework while watching it.  But it's partly a psychological game and that is appealing to me.
Guess I'd better get to grading. TTFN

posted by: mafidl at September 06, 2008 20:30 | link | comments (3) |
sports, nostalgia

Have you heard the one about...

the 2 little skunks, In and Out, who were playing outside and had gotten very dirty?  Mama skunk called them in for dinner, but only Out came.  When she asked why his brother hadn't come home, too, he replied: "In stinked".  [END OF ORIGINAL, RATHER OLD, JOKE] 
[CONTINUED BY COURTESY OF FRIEND, R AND ME 
So Mama said to Out "get In here" and Out replied "I'm already in here!" 
The next day, In is inside and Mama says: "Get Out here" and In replies "Don't you mean get out of here?"

Does this make you think of Abbott and Costello or just stupidity?

posted by: mafidl at September 06, 2008 10:57 | link | comments |

Hehe

I just looked at Kate's blog again [http://katekerfuffle.motime.com].  How about Palin Place?  Great name for a soap opera?  Watched Palin's speech tonight.  I now feel as if I know about her family and that she's out to get Obama, but other than that there seemed to be nothing of substance.  It will really be interesting to see and hear the debate between her and Joe Biden.  He will ask about issues, of course.  She better be well rehearsed.  To be fair, she seems to be a good speaker.  I didn't see much of the reaction of Democrats, but we'll probably hear more tomorrow from CNN and MSNBC.  Also, in case you haven't heard, I believe Barack Obama is going to be on Bill O's [as Keith Olbermann calls O'Reilly when he doesn't pronounce it orally] show at 8 eastern time today [! - where has the evening gone?]  That should be interesting, too.   That's on Fox News, in case you didn't know.  Now I'd better get to bed.  TTFN

posted by: mafidl at September 04, 2008 02:08 | link | comments (2) |
politics

Wow!

I just noticed that there are 18 users on line.  I haven't seen that many for quite awhile.  Also, I noted that my friend, Kate*, who hasn't posted for a long time, has finally gotten irritated sufficiently to post.  Not quite sure what took her so long, given what's been going on politically.  It's hard to read about McCain and his choice of Vice President without getting upset.  Being a mother of 5, living in Alaska, which is near Russia, being mayor of a community with only 6500 population and governor of a state with fewer residents than, for example, Miami hardly prepares one to, if worse comes to worse, become president of the U.S. - shudder. 
*http://katekerfuffle.motime.com [the link above doesn't seem to work]
TTFN

posted by: mafidl at September 02, 2008 16:20 | link | comments (3) |
politics

Happy Labor Day!!!

Forgot on other post - one of my female friends, M, has a daughter who is expecting her first baby any day now.  Wouldn't it be a funny coincidence if the baby is born on Labor Day?  Pun suggested by one of my male friends, M or R at dinner tonight.

posted by: mafidl at August 31, 2008 21:17 | link | comments |

Hi

I am addicted to watching whichever TV channel is giving info on Hurricane Gustav.  My ex-husband's niece lives in Baton Rouge and it's evidently already getting a bit rough there.  Also, my ex lives just south of the eastern part of the Florida panhandle - so may have had at least a lot of rain from Gustav and/or Fay. 
Today was my day as Day Captain at Miami Metrozoo, and the powers that be decided to close the zoo at noon due to the fact that it rained quite a lot in the morning - but then we didn't have any more rain.  I imagine there wouldn't have been that many people coming after noon anyhow - and there were very few in the morning.
Now I get to also keep an eye on Hanna - which may come Miami way.  Last week I was glued to the TV for the Democratic Convention.  Personally, I am happy with Biden but would also have liked Hillary.
Can't seem to convince myself that I don't have to get up early tomorrow.  It's a holiday, but I've been trying to get used to getting up earlier than I really want to - so it's throwing me off.
Meanwhile, I took a picture of my 4 little darlings a couple of days ago - entitled Feeding Time at Diana's Zoo.
and then there's Milo - who was sleeping on one of my kitty throws - it's blurry, but I liked it anyhow.
I hope that any of  you who are being subjected to Gustav, or have been to Fay, or will be to Hanna are OK.
Also, I can't resist one political comment.  SARAH WHO? 
Oh, and I had a dream last night, most of which I recalled at least when I got up.  It seemed that my daughters [somewhat younger than they are now] and I were on a large multi-level cruise ship - but, get this, my 17 year old cat, Voodoo [the black one] was with us and was allowed to roam!  It seemed that either we were getting ready to debark or ??? and I started worrying about where he was, partly since he has to have 2 kinds of medicine in the morning [true] and if he doesn't have it he will get sick and, maybe die.  Then we seemed to be on a bus and, just as I was awakened by my clock radio, a plane - but I don't recall the details of the later 2. 
Later.

posted by: mafidl at August 31, 2008 21:14 | link | comments (1) |
politics, weather, kitties

Hahaha

Friend R emailed me this and I couldn't resist posting it:

posted by: mafidl at August 23, 2008 22:23 | link | comments (3) |

Biden

Yeayyy - so I didn't take this picture, but it's from the GBC [Ghana Broadcasting Corporation] and will do nicely:



I was still up when CNN's John King announced, just after midnight  I believe, that trusted members of the Obama campaign had informed him that Joe Biden was the chosen one.  Ye Gods - the tension before this!  First they announced that at least 2 of the possible ones had been informed that they were not chosen, then that the Secret Service had been instructed to go and get/protect Biden and his family.  So when this announcement came, it was pretty much expected.  The text message that I got about 3:10 AM was somewhat of an aftermath, but still welcome.  When the debates were going on before the primaries/caucuses, I decided that I liked 4 of the contestants best: Biden, Obama, Hillary, and Edwards.  I really hoped Biden would be on our primary slate, but since he wasn't I voted for Edwards.  Those 2 seemed to be the more moderate, adult voices in the debates.  Then when Edwards didn't get the nomination, for me it was a tossup between Hillary and Barack.  [Funny, I hesitate to say  Clinton instead of Hillary - wonder why? and, yes, I like/liked Bill] Anyhow, except for a nagging thought that it might have insured the election if Hillary had been chosen, I am ecstatically happy with Barack's choice.  Now I am going to try and help make sure that Obama/Biden are elected.  If any of you are interested, you can go to www.barackobama.com, and find a team in your area to volunteer for. [sorry for the grammatical faux pas [wonder what the singular of this is?] but I often get into these sentences where I have to end a sentence a proposition with.
LOL

posted by: mafidl at August 23, 2008 12:06 | link | comments (6) |
excitement, politics

Continuing

In the last paragraph of my last post, I mentioned running into Gina, whom I hadn't seen in years.  It seemed that she had been watching the US women's volleyball team that morning, thought of my daughter, who had played volleyball, and then, of course, thought of me - then we ran into each other.  A close friend of mine, NN, doesn't believe in coincidence.  So how about the rest of the story.  I had to go back into the salon today, decided on the spur of the moment to have my ragged, rather nasty looking hair cut by Gina.  She mentioned that she was reading a fascinating book - entitled A New Earth, by ? Tolle - [Eckhart is his first name] and it turned out that I am currently reading the same book!  Also, it turns out that her birthday is the same date as friend, NN's - but she's 4 years younger.  Hmmmmm! No, I don't make anything of this, but find it interesting.

posted by: mafidl at August 22, 2008 23:20 | link | comments (2) |

the mood goes on

This morning after having that amazing dream - and remembering it !!! - I was on my way to school where I was to do a 3 hour shift advising students who needed registering for various math classes.  On my way there I turned on our newish classical music station - to hear my favorite string quartet, the Dvorak "American".
If you would like to hear some of it, here is a link to a group playing the first movement and another to the 4th.  I have heard critics make very snobby remarks about this work, but I tend to believe that they must have icewater in their veins.  I do not think it's possible to listen to a really good performance of this without being moved.  These examples are probably not the best, but will give  you a good idea of what they're like.  To me, it is one of the most lush, beautiful pieces of music in existence.  Also, at various times in the past I had the pleasure of playing both the first violin and viola parts.  The viola is often ignored by composers, but not Dvorak.  And again, the cello solos are to die for.

Continuing, there were at least 6 people waiting for me when I got to school, and very soon, I received 6 phone calls for help, which had to be postponed until I finished with the students who were already there.  The problem was that as I finished with one, another would come.  My father used to describe such an experience as being like “a one-armed paperhanger with the hives.”  I was able to help almost all of them, and by 1PM when I was finished, it felt like I had worked with at least 30 – but when I counted, it was only 21.  I was able to help most of them and did have a sense of accomplishment. 

As I was on my way home, I was surrounded on 3 sides by beautiful clouds [one of the pluses to living in South Florida] and on the 4^th there was a rather ominous bank of grey – all of this, no doubt, remnants of Fay, who has by now most likely attacked the Panhandle of Florida.  My Ex and his significant other live just south of the Panhandle, have been improving/repairing their house in prep for selling it.  So I hope Fay doesn’t give them too hard a time.

As I was driving home, I turned the classical station on again, to realize that the piano concerto playing had to be Mozart – which was confirmed in a few minutes by a short passage typical of Mozart.  He liked to take a motif from one piece and insert it, maybe with variations, into another – hence the few bars of what music appreciation students used to call “it’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s Mozart” – the main motif from the first movement of his 40^th symphony [I’m pretty sure.]

Last, but definitely not least, I had a nail appointment this afternoon and when I came back from rinsing my hands, saw this woman doing hair, who looked at me and said “I know you!”  and then “Diana!”.  It turned out it was Gina, who did both my and my daughters’ hair for several years, and whom I hadn’t seen for 15 years!  Amazing! My overworked word for the day. 

So again, an amazing day.

TTFN

posted by: mafidl at August 21, 2008 14:30 | link | comments (3) |

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