I've got your bipolar right here...

Anyone who has known me for more than about a half an hour will hear me refer to being nuts. The correct terminology is bipolar disorder. A cycling between mania and depression. One day you are sitting in a corner wrapped in a blanket wondering why you should stay alive. The next you feel like George Jetson during the opening credits of The Jetsons: "Jane! Stop this crazy thing!" I hate it. But for once, it's not all about me. Don't faint. I was listening to the press conference with the teacher in Florida who had sex with a 14 year old student. And she was claiming that in all the horrible things that were said about her by the press, no one thought to mention her illness, that she was bipolar. As if it were an excuse for statutory rape of a 14 year old boy. Bipolar, with rare exceptions, is not an excuse. It doesn't get you a free pass from all your actions. I will admit that upon occasion, I need some time to get myself under control. I have been in the hospital twice. But when I was having a major depressive episode, and didn't pay the bills, they still repo'ed my car. And I can't imagine they would have said "You're bipolar. Oh, we're sorry. We'll bring your car back right away." Mental illness can make people do strange and terrible things. Sometimes you don't understand what you are doing. But it's not a "get out of responsibility free" card. And people who try to use it that way, as an excuse, make it more difficult for those of us who are on the S.S. Bipolar to find safe harbor. Life can be relatively normal, and that includes taking charge of your own mistakes. So to our teacher in Florida, pull up your big girl panties and get on with it. good night and good luck...stimp

An Aristocrat

I literally just finished watching an amazing film called "The Aristocrats". For anyone with a good sense of humor (and a strong stomach), I highly recommend the film. I am not going to ruin the film by describing it. I wouldn't do it justice anyway. Penn Jillette made a great movie. I wasn't sure if I was going to wet myself or vomit, I was laughing so hard. This movie is not for the faint of, well, anything. Bring your smarts and real sense of the absurd, and leave behind your PC. It will just get in the way. One thing apart from the movie struck me as odd, though. At the chain store where I rented the movie, all of the copies were clearly marked "must be 18 to rent this film". I think this is in part because the film has no MPAA rating. I would not recommend this movie for anyone under, say, 30. Not because of the content or language necessarily, but because te type of humor requires some experience to appreciate. But they wouldn't give this film unless you were 18. At the same time, all around me, I saw movies and video games that depicted gratuitous violence, against man and beast, real and imaginary. War games, zombie movies, killing movies galore. But you know, other than the "Playboy, the Mansion" game, nothing else was marked must be 18. So you can kill it, you can maim it, but you can't fuck it or laugh at it. Unless, of course, you pass the magic age line. Doesn't make a bit of sense. But I'm glad that I am still the one making those decisions for my son. good night and good luck...go and have a laugh...stimp

Happy Anniversary

2313...17004...33679...our guys dead, our guys hurt, Iraqis dead...and in only three years! Today is the anniversary of our excellent adventure in the Middle East. You remember, the one with the invisible weapons of mass destruction. The "fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here" war. I knew I was going to write something today, after all the misery, but I wasn't sure what. I have writen so many words about the war before. My former blog was thick with it sometimes, a lot of the time. I have been weeping, and screaming, and fighting in one way or another since before this mess started. I have marched, and signed petition upon petition. None of it has made an iota of difference. But I had to try. I have always been against the war in general, because I am a pacifist, and because I believed it to be illegal. But, as they say in the movies, now it's personal. I have been told that my nephew may be deployed to Iraq this year. I don't know for certain; no one does. But I got mad all over again. I am proud of the history of service in both my family and my husband's. There are many current and former members. I am proud of those who make the promise to serve, and keep it. What I object to, and hate, is the waste. We didn't need this war. It has been a waste of money. More importantly, it has bled us of lives. Wives and children left alone to cope. Parents left in fear. Too many hearts sick, too many tears falling. And all in the service of a lie, and hubris, and empire making. I don't want to lose my nephew so our Commander in Chief can continue to try to prove he is a man. In the meantime, I will pray. And weep. good night and good luck...stimp

Spring

Ahhh, baseball. I was overjoyed the other day, when I logged on and saw that my beloved Yankees had lost in a bad buttkicking to Philadelphia. I didn't care. It was baseball. For all its flaws and follies, it's Buck O'Neills and Jose Cansecos, it is still the most beloved of sports to me. I am one of those people who will, upon occasion, look at baseball as a microcosm of life. And then I get all silly and wax philosophical about it. But, as I mentioned before, baseball is a sign of spring, and all that spring means. A renewal, a new beginning, a starting over. Some teams are better, some worse, some richer, some poorer. But on opening day the dreams of the fans remain the same. And up from every ball park the quiet wish whispers on the wind: "Please don't let these guys suck this year..." I know that I am really pathetic about baseball. But who couldn't use a clean start, a chance to prove all over that you are the best in the world? Who doesn't need something to believe in, at least until September, when they can say "Well, there's always next year" ? This is one of the best times of year, when hope springs eternal and all that jazz. So I'm gonna bust out the Yankees beanie baby, dust off my kid's glove, and get ready for another season. And who knows, maybe our guys won't suck this year. good night and good luck...stimp