Seattle has long been considered a home of whiners by those who live in inclement weather zones. Having spent the first 20 years of my life in Evanston, Illinois, I fully understand what real winter snow and cold is, and I truly appreciate sweat-producing heat and humidity. Seattle has a temperate climate, and I have enjoyed the benefits of this for almost 40 years.
Even so, I know when a heatwave is really a heatwave. Getting above 90 degrees even for a day or two is nearly unheard of in the Puget Sound region. We have the water to protect us (unlike Portland which usually reaches 10 degrees higher or lower than us). Today, when I looked at the weather around the world and noticed that some of the only places hotter than parts of my area are Yuma, Arizona and Baghdad, Iraq, I knew this was the real deal.
Thankfully, we have a basement, and it is probably 20 degrees cooler than the main floor of our house and 30 degrees cooler than the second floor, and it is down here that Bill and I will spend the better part of today (and every other 90-102 degrees day). We have all the creature comforts in our subterranean locale, and except for quick food runs, we have no earthly reason to venture above ground level. We braved our own bed last night, but if it gets unbearable tonight, we can always camp out on the queen-sized futon down here. This is supposed to ease up in a week, so hopefully by the time we have family here in mid-August we'll be back to our gorgeous, mid-70s to 80s typical summer weather. Hopefully.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
No News is Celebrity News
After returning from a wonderful trip in NYC and Chicago, I looked forward to returning to my daily routine of morning coffee and the Seattle Times. Although gone for less than two weeks, I felt out of touch with national and international events since I had avoided TV and newspapers for most of the trip. Given all the important issues of the day (two wars, gay rights, economic recovery, etc), I felt confident that I would need time to catch up on life. How wrong I was.
Not to disparage the dead, but the barrage of "breaking news" of Michael Jackson's death in print and on screen seems almost grotesque. The poor man was a near pariah in recent years, yet suddenly every A-, B-, and D-list celebrity has jumped on his "dearest friend" band wagon now that he has died. Filling in the spaces were the stories on Farrah Fawcett and Billy Mays. Celebrities have filled the headlines for over a week now.
In case anyone thought that media attention would finally revert to more serious issues, along comes Sarah Palin, just in time for the fireworks, as she cryptically announces she is not going to finish her gubernatorial term. For all the Republicans' snide claims that President Obama is a "celebrity," no one beats old "Gotcha" Palin for idol status. She's Hanna Montana and the Messiah all rolled into one package for the religious right-wing conservatives, and the amount of coverage she received on the 3rd of July on both FOX News and MSNBC was truly absurd. Yes, it was real news, but the follow-up sessions with every pundit from either side of the aisle speculating on her reasons for abruptly bailing on her duties as an elected official became ridiculous.
Naturally, we shut off the boob tube and grabbed a couple of bottles of wine to relax and reconnect with our neighbors. No news really is good news sometimes.
Not to disparage the dead, but the barrage of "breaking news" of Michael Jackson's death in print and on screen seems almost grotesque. The poor man was a near pariah in recent years, yet suddenly every A-, B-, and D-list celebrity has jumped on his "dearest friend" band wagon now that he has died. Filling in the spaces were the stories on Farrah Fawcett and Billy Mays. Celebrities have filled the headlines for over a week now.
In case anyone thought that media attention would finally revert to more serious issues, along comes Sarah Palin, just in time for the fireworks, as she cryptically announces she is not going to finish her gubernatorial term. For all the Republicans' snide claims that President Obama is a "celebrity," no one beats old "Gotcha" Palin for idol status. She's Hanna Montana and the Messiah all rolled into one package for the religious right-wing conservatives, and the amount of coverage she received on the 3rd of July on both FOX News and MSNBC was truly absurd. Yes, it was real news, but the follow-up sessions with every pundit from either side of the aisle speculating on her reasons for abruptly bailing on her duties as an elected official became ridiculous.
Naturally, we shut off the boob tube and grabbed a couple of bottles of wine to relax and reconnect with our neighbors. No news really is good news sometimes.
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