Slick Willy in Soonerland

Former President (and now stumping for Hillary) Bill Clinton was on the University of Oklahoma campus today, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see him. Chelsea was with him, too. Hillary, Obama and McCain now are the finalists in the highest honor in the land.
But please, pay attention. This is one of the most crucial moments in our history, especially as the world is growing up. We need someone who is going to make it happen in that Oval Office.
Are we headed for a recession? Will the healthcare issue get addressed? At this point, I don't care if Mickey Mouse is in the White House. Can he make it happen for America?
I have a soft spot for education. I was a poor kid in a trailer in rural Ohio who just happened to have a dream of being a better person, and people helped me. Lots of people helped me, and I was boosted by a system that granted me scholarships and grants, free money when my single mother couldn't help me.
And I want to see other poor kids and middle class kids and anyone else who wants to better themselves get that same chance. I don't necessarily believe that we can eradicate poverty as a societal ill, so I don't really agree with the approach John Edwards is taking, though I appreciate his message.
People have to be shown how to do better for themselves, and more importantly, they've got to want to do better. I do believe that most people want to do better. But they have to have the access to the tools, and they have to be shown how to use those tools. You can hand someone a toolbox, but unless they're instructed on the differences in the tools and how to use each one correctly, they're going to stumble and get frustrated and not really want to do it at all anymore unless they're shown.
It's that silly thing called human nature.
And when more people do better, it's a basic tenet of economics that those rising standards raise standards for more than not.
But something has changed. An undergraduate degree isn't a guarantee of a career anymore; it's merely a start, like kindergarten for adulthood. And somehow, you have to find a way to pay for a master's degree, and I watch everyone around me swim in debt just to make it happen. Mounds and mounds of debt. If you listen to financial pundits, it's supposedly good debt.
And the subprime mess in housing is an even bigger issue that no one really seems to be addressing. Clinton did address it today, which I appreciated.
We can do better for everyone. Afterall, we live in the greatest country on Earth, where a poor kid in a trailer can boost herself up if she so chooses.

And I say, "Duh"

I've always said that if I had to live in a country like Jordan or Afghanistan or anywhere like that, I would be killed.
It's true.
Those of you who know me know that as a woman, I would not cover my hair for anything and also, I would be passing out Phonics books and other learning tools to everyone around me so that they could know the glory of education.
So, I learned today about how Turkey revolutionized itself when its benevolent dictator did a radical thing and decided that women no longer had to cover their hair and that women could be educated.
Amen.
More on this later. But for now, I say, "Duh."

Now, about Economics

I've studied one too many econ books this week and typed in too many Excel sheets. Oye vey.
Does anyone have any advice on how to adjust to being a student? It's difficult. Especially when I sit next to people who were 10 when I was in college at Kent State. Geez Louise.
In one of my classes today, someone asked me, "How long have you been married?" I said, "A long time."
"No really, how long?"
"10 years."
"Wow. That's a long time. That's like a decade."
"No, Einstein, that is a decade."
And, our instructor was making a reference to VHS and Beta, and he started the sentence with, "Now, most of you weren't even around to remember this, but..."
No, Nutty Professor, I was around. I remember Beta. Big time. I also remember 8-tracks. Heck, I think I still have a few.

"My Summer Story"

No, I'm not going to bore you with tales of my summer vacation. "My Summer Story" is the sequel to "A Christmas Story." Congrats to Sarah Arnold for getting the correct answer.
But, alas, I must opine on the idea of a sequel to "A Christmas Story." And I ask, dear readers, what makes art great? How would any of us felt if, for example, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes did not know when to quit?
(Work with me here, think about "Garfield." Now, how many times can Garfield push Odie off the table? It's OLD and therefore boring. Calvin and Hobbes never got boring.)
I mean, why is "The Confederacy of Dunces" so great? Largely in part because Toole only had that one work. (Of course, he committed suicide...) But you get my point, I hope. Great works that are great should not be sequeled or copied or kept in circulation too long. It ruins them.

There Will Be Blood

An absolutely fascinating tale of character study, drawing one in hypnotically and mesmerizing you from the dialogue-less opening scenes to the last blow that happens in a bowling alley. To tell you more would give away too much, but let's just say that the relationship between Eli Sunday and Daniel Plainview is (in my opinion) one of the best drawn relationships in recent movie history, a spellbinding tale of good versus evil meticulously played out by Daniel Day-Lewis (Plainview) and Paul Dano (Sunday).
Dano plays brothers (Eli and Paul Sunday), but originally was only cast to play Paul, who only has one scene. I don't know what happened to the other actor who was supposed to play Eli, but Dano was only given a few days to prep for playing Eli. Keep that in mind if you haven't seen this movie yet.
The plot takes twists and turns that are drawn in a very subtle manner, including the realization by Eli of his relationship with his brother Paul. Other folks have made comparisons of this movie to Citizen Kane. Having seen both, I can see why. Can you make any comparisons of where Plainview may have found any Rosebud?
We do get glimpses into Plainview's heart, small but there if you're willing to look. Especially keep that in mind as you watch his relationship with Mary, the only woman with whom he has any relationship in the movie, and it's not a sexual relationship. He'll kill a man, but should anyone dare abuse a young child for not praying, and Plainview steps up to protect. It almost makes you forgive him for how he treated H.W.

A Christmas Story House

What's more classic than "A Christmas Story?" Over Christmas in Ohio, we went to the Christmas Story house! How fun!

I got some photos ... of course, had to get a photo of the leg lamp and the soap. "It was....soap poisoning..."

Did you know there was a sequel for this movie? It's true, it's true! If someone can tell me the title of it, you win bragging rights....Alas, that sequel was even worse than Grease II (remember that one? With Michelle Pfeiffer?)

BAD stuff...

Adorable Maddie

I can't help it, I have to show off these photos. This is darling Madison (Maddie) Arnold, daughter of my dear friends Sarah (Berger) and Scott Arnold of Cleveland, Ohio. Maddie is ADORABLE!

And Sarah posing with her daughter...Two beautiful ladies!

One Week...One Parking Ticket

Week one of classes is over, and I survived only with ONE parking ticket. (Dante, no comments from the peanut gallery.) When Dante was getting his master's degree, he would get parking tickets all the time. As a matter of fact, I would be surprised when he didn't come home with a parking ticket from the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio.
Only, the car was registered in my name, so I got notification for the tickets. Now, Dante is having great fun watching me battle with Parking Services at the University of Oklahoma. Those people honestly have nothing better to do, I'm convinced. They must just go around and run tags. Then, at the end of the year, they get to take a cruise or something with all the money they raked in.
I do have a theory that as it grew colder this week, OU Parking Services gave out less tickets because attendants didn't want to stand out in the cold. Is it wrong for me then to pray for cold?

Another Baby!

Congratulations to Jack and Tina Grady Barbaccia, who are parents now for the second time! Tina and Jack have announced the birth of their son Ethan Patrick Barbaccia at 3:15 PM on 1/15/2008. He was 7lbs. 12oz. and 20" long.
Tina reports to me that everyone is doing great and that they should be headed home soon!

Back to School

Here I go, please send me your good karma, your prayers, whatever you believe in. I start classes Tuesday, Jan. 15, first with Survey of International Economics, then with a class on World Economic Development.
By Thursday, I'll be getting schooled in Managerial Economics (a night class). But the good news is, I got my hands on the textbooks and it nearly brought tears to my eyes I was so happy, especially the book that I get to read about the bankrupcty of Argentina.
Be still, my heart. I love this stuff, and I am so lucky to have the opportunity to study it!

Mom enters hospice

This picture is of my mom and me during Christmas in Ohio. She has entered hospice (officially). Thank you for your support, prayers and thoughts at this time. She will be treated by the hospice nurses at home in Ohio.

Baby Gavin is here!

For those of you who have heard me talk about Baby Gavin, his mama Nancy, and my role as a birthing coach over the last few months....Gavin is here!
Nancy was admitted to the hospital Wednesday evening, Jan. 9, with a planned induction so that Joel (her husband) could come home from his active duty military!

In the picture above (on the right), Joel is holding his son! What a proud papa! To the left, you see me and Dante and Gavin.
Gavin was 8 lbs., 2 oz., and 21.5 inches long.
Happy birthday, Gavin!

The Music Man

I walk through life, and every once in a while, I encounter a person who makes me pause, who makes me happy just to be, who reminds me of the beauty of life and the glory of giving.
Last August, I came across Livio Pelosi, an 82 year old Italian man who that month became my best friend's father in law.
We were brought together by the wedding of my friend Rachel and Livio's son George. Livio played the accordion during their reception. Shortly after he played the accordion, I somehow talked him into dancing. He reluctantly came out onto the dance floor, and as he was dancing, he told me how much he missed his wife who was deceased. He said his heart ached.
I was so sad for Livio.
He didn't know it, but during the wedding rehearsal and the wedding itself, I watched him sitting in the church. I could tell he was sad, I could see the sadness in his eyes. I kept it to myself, something I'd observed and clocked in my own mind, just as the people watcher that I am and the observer of human nature.
Shortly after the wedding, I found out that Livio was in the hospital.
But as he breathed life into his accordion and made music for so many people, the accordion now apparently has helped breathe life back into Livio.
See the story that ran in the Massillon (Ohio) Independent on Livio. It's truly touching, and it truly captures this Italian man who made so many people dance with his lively playing.
Thank you, Livio. You've touched lives beyond anything you'd ever realize.

From the Massillon Independent (By Flo Lynn)
The music man
I am delighted to relate this wonderful, true story which is a Christmas tale within itself:
Livio Pelosi is a well-known resident of Massillon. He is not known just for his kindnesses, but also for his talent in both painting and as a musician. Livio also is one of those people you automatically like to like.
Last September, Livio was reported to be in terrible health and with not much hope for his future. He was taken to Meadow Wind Health Center to live out his days. His tenure was questionable, according to those who cared for him.
A few weeks after Livio’s arrival at the health-care facility, as the activity director was making rounds down the halls during room visits, he heard some “fun polka music coming from one of the rooms.” When he investigated what he thought was a television or radio station playing, much to his amazement he found, instead, live music being played on a small button box by Livio Pelosi.
It wasn’t long before Livio was playing small music concerts for other residents in the dining room. At the same time his health was making vast improvement. By October, Livio was well enough to return to his home.
In December, Livio phoned the Meadow Wind’s activity director and shared how much he missed the staff and residents he had met while at Meadow Wind. In turn, the activity director arranged for him to return and play during the lunch period, this time using a bigger accordion/button box. The residents were more than happy to welcome him and his music back.
Livio was offered lunch which he declined; however, he did enjoy a cup of coffee, all the while explaining, “At age 82, I didn’t come up here to eat; my pleasure comes from seeing the smiles on the residents’ faces while I play the music.”
P.S. At Livio’s last visit, he drove himself to Meadow Wind, noting that driving was another achievement for him in regaining his health.

Nephew Jeffrey

Everyone who knows me has heard me talk about my darling nephew Jeffrey, who is in his second quarter at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. (Jeffrey, ambitious as he is, is grieving the fact that he got ONE A minus on his grades last quarter. To give you an idea, that was his lowest grade.) Rock on, Jeffrey.
Jeffrey always delights me with his very memorable quotes. He just doesn't realize how funny he is. He's been like this since he started talking.
Today, we were catching up on the day's events, and he says to me, "Syllabus day is my favorite day. It's so full of hope before all the work."
And he doesn't realize that I've kept track of some of his other quotes, including when he called me up after he gave blood the first time, and said, "Aunt Angie, I gave my blood and then I passed out."

Pondering Pinkberry

Now that we're on the topic of successful, higher-end businesses, let's discuss Pinkberry. Haven't heard of it yet? Check out www.pinkberry.com. I have no connection to this company, only intense curiousity as the owners found a way to make fro-yo upscale and get customers who are willing to pay for the "experience."
Their shops, apparently, are designed to "kindle the senses," according to the Pinkberry website. Also, "honest food, without preservatives, additives or excess sugar. It's dessert re-invented."
Now mostly based in California and New York, it's supposed to be catching on like Starbucks caught on.

Mickey D's Takes on the Mermaid

This is beautiful, if you haven't seen the business news yet today. McDonald's is building coffee bars in its stores.
This is a wondrous time in business, folks. I haven't had time to read the full article, which is lengthy, but Starbucks desperately needs someone with the girth and reputation of a company like McDonald's to take it on, not only in the North American market but also in the world.
Price competition...McDonald's, which keeps its prices low (you can get a Value Meal, supersized, for the price of a Skim double chocolate mocha latte fratte at Starbucks), it's going to be BEAUTIFUL to see the competition McDonald's brings.
Ballsy move, and one that I thoroughly applaud.

Death of the IPOD

Am I predicting the end of a technological revolution? No. I am merely mourning because I did that which I thought I'd never do.
I sent my IPOD Nano through the washing machine and then didn't realize where it was until it had been sizzled in the spin cycle.
I fell in love with my IPOD Nano, which I carried with me everywhere. It was an unlikely relationship, since I thought I'd never want one.
Ho-hum. Mourn for my loss. It was tragic.

The Worst Hard Time

We've all likely heard about the Dust Bowl, and if you haven't, it's the weather phenomenon that hit the Great Plains in the 1930s, and gave Steinbeck something to write about in "The Grapes of Wrath."
The dust storms hit the plains with a vengeance, causing dust pneumonia and other horrible ills that killed many and left others with a respect for the land and soil conservation strategies brought in by experts such as Hugh Bennett.
Writer Timothy Egan's accomplishment, "The Worst Hard Time," is one of the best books describing the experience of the Dust Bowl. The dust storms hit parts of New Mexico, the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, parts of Colorado and Kansas; and even parts of Nebraska that apparently never have recovered.

Supercapitalism

For all of those friends of mine (you know you're out there) who rally against Wal-Mart, I would ask that you please read, "Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy and Everyday Life," by Robert B. Reich, who was secretary of labor under former President Bill Clinton.
This is the book I would have written if I already had my master's in economics, and is precisely the reason I'm getting my master's. Reich goes into painstaking detail on the transformation of the American economy from democratic capitalism to supercapitalism, under which companies like Wal-Mart have been able to flourish.
Who stands at fault for the transformation? Of course, it's a combination of factors, but essentially it boils down to consumers and investors.
What have I been saying for years? I say, Listen up, ya'll. I ain't talking just to hear my head roar.
Wal-Mart's success and the success of companies like Starbucks are symptoms of this transformation. As Jack White of the White Stripes sings in, "Effect and Cause," "You can't blame a baby for her pregnant mom..."
You can't blame Wal Mart and Starbucks and Tesco and Whole Foods and the like for taking advantage of growth opportunities that would have left them dying if they hadn't followed through.
The businesses are on steroids, and consumers and investors are administering the drugs.

The Best Books

I am a certified book nerd, and this blog is the perfect spot for me to offer my opinion on the best books ever. Fiction and non-fiction, also short stories. (For the record, I am a published short story writer, too, so I get really technical, which you'll have to look past if you're not that involved in writing).
So, here, for the record, are my top fiction books (all open to debate, which I love):
1. The Confederacy of Dunces (John Kennedy Toole)
2. Catcher in the Rye (Salinger)
3. Slapstick (Vonnegut)
4. A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (Mark Haddon)

Best Short Stories:
1. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (Ambrose Bierce)
2. Buckeye the Elder (Brady Udall)
3. Good Country People (Flannery O'Connor)
4. Cousins (Joyce Carol Oates)

The Movie "Juno"

Fantastic. If you haven't seen it, you're missing out. One of the most touching films I have seen in recent years. From director Jason Reitman who also directed, "Thank You for Smoking."

The Things Nana Taught Me

Nana is my maternal grandmother. She turned 90 on Dec. 31 and we celebrated it with her in Ohio!
She said, "I've waited 90 years for this date."

This is her pictured with me here, lecturing me on something, I'm sure.
She taught me:
1. No matter how poor you might be, always look nice. You have no excuse not to iron your clothes, even if you only own one pair of "slacks."
2. Always save your money. You never know when a Depression might hit and you might need to get it out from under your mattress. Don't trust the government. Respect the government, but don't rely on it.
3. The only ingredients you need to survive are milk, eggs, lard and bread. With all of those, you can make anything.
4. How to wash clothes on a washboard.
5. Always vote. Even if you think it doesn't matter, it's your right and no matter what, you need to make it to the polls on Election Day.
6. You don't need to drive a car to get places. Use the mass transit systems.

7. Educate yourself, if it only means reading the newspaper every day.

8. Spit curls! You don't need a perm. You just need some bobby pins and a can of Aqua Net hairspray.

9. How to run a business. Nana ran several of her own businesses, including two delicatessans in East Orange, NJ.
Nana (Helen Sophie Butryn Knapp) is the single-most influential person in my life, raising me with a strict hand, a respect for hard work, and a love of family. She stepped right in after my father died when I was 7 and waited tables at a country club to help support us. Despite not having more than a sixth grade education, she is the smartest person I will ever know.
God bless you, Nana.

About My Mom

As soon as I figure out how to do it, I'll post pictures from our trip back to Ohio for the holidays. As many of you know, my mom has been battling lung cancer for the past year. It did spread to her brain, and she has all other sorts of complications.
But we're so glad that she's still here!
She was hospitalized for gallstones before Christmas, and doctors were unable to do surgery because of the weakness of her heart and the status of the cancer.
Despite all this, we had a wonderful holiday in Ohio with her and we were all able to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday.

Will Write for Tuition

It's true, it's true!
After seven great years, I left my full time job at Plastics News to get my Master's degree!
I've been working at the University of Oklahoma, which awarded me a graduate assistantship that I started at the beginning of December. I work in the Graduate College and I will start classes on Jan. 15, working toward my master's in managerial economics. It was quite a change from what I expected (didn't end up in Austin), but I'll take it.

Thanks to Jami Pfirrman!

I've been following Jami's blogging, and she pointed out how to get started with my own. Thanks Jami!