London Explosions

The London transportation system was bombed today. It's not something that would have gathered much attention in the US before 9-11 but now we're hearing that Lisa Kudrow tried to call her former Friends co-star David Schwimmer in London. Do we really need to know that? No. Some real facts would be nice, but the US news media believes that Americans are too stupid to comprehend anything without some "entertainment" thrown in. I've always been a media defender, but they're wearing on me.

I'd really like to hear from real information, other than about the Live 8 concert and celebrities. But, in the US, we're so damned shallow that if it didn't happen to Americans, it doesn't really matter to large numbers of people. Drives me nuts. Oh... btw... it's freaking CNN that's "reporting" what Lisa Kudrow is doing on this day.

As is always the case with such things, when there's a personal connection, it's so much more real. I don't know anyone living in London at the moment, but I certainly recognize those tube stops. My "neighborhood" in London is Bloomsbury - near the British Museum - that's where I stayed everytime I went - and most of the tube stops that were hit were in that area. Kings Cross, Russell Square, Aldgate and Liverpool Street were all names that jumped out at me because I'd been there many times.

I hate the phrases like, "London bombing... How Safe is America?" Can we not, even for a moment, on this day when dozens have lost their lives and hundreds are wounded, just for a second, could we Americans please have just a little shred of decency, just a tiny one, and accept that lives of people other than those born in America are important enough to get their due, to be remembered? If we can't accept it, could we please just fake it for just a few hours? Please? Could we focus on those who are dead and hurt, instead of making it all about America? Just this once? Please?

Making Music

I was watching Craig Ferguson, as I do most nights, and he had Toby Keith on. It was a repeat, I think.

Anyway, Toby did his latest song - "As good as I used to be" - with just him and another guy, both playing guitar and singing. Oddly enough, I just saw the video for this song in the last few days. I'm sure it's been out for awhile, but I'm a "catch as catch can" viewer and hadn't seen it.

What struck me is just how much music the two guys with just voices and guitar made. Compared to the video with a full production musically, this was a very low key offering, but I think I liked it better.

I forget, since I'm no longer engaged in music performance, how different things can be. It made me long to be with people, making music again.

I'm preparing to get rid of one of my pianos - I have two - and will then get the one I'm keeping tuned. Hopefully I'll start playing again then. I do miss performing music.

Maybe I should look into taking some voice lessons again. My voice has deteriorated since I don't sing regularly. It's just like the voice teachers tell you - you gotta use it or lose it.

Creative Sisterhood

Tonight was Creative Sisterhood and it was a really fun night. Virginia wasn't able to join us, unfortunately, but the rest of us were here.

It was a fun night. We laughed a lot, which was nice. Many of us have some serious stresses in our lives at the moment so laughter was a nice stress reliever.

I made brownies tonight. I have been so frantic that I just didn't have a chance to think much about it - or make anything more complex. But, I always love brownies, anyway, so that works out.

I am sending off a copy of Kansas Cookies tonight (http://www.patsyterrell.com/indexksc.htm) and that caused me to leaf through it and look at the recipes again. I must make the fudge cookies again soon - those are yummy. I am overdue for making them.

What Journals Say

I've read multiple times over the years of people getting rid of their journals - sometimes throwing them away or other times doing it as a ritual. I have all of the journals I've ever written and can't imagine ever getting rid of them. I've been writing since I was a kid and have all of them.

I rarely go back and read anything but like having them all around. There are negative things in there at times, although I'm not a big "venter" in my journals. And there are lots of very personal things in there. But, I have never had anyone in my life that would read my journals (nor would I) and so I figure after I'm dead if someone chooses to read them it won't matter.

That's an interesting question.... What would people discover about you if they read your journals after you died?

In my case, people would discover I'm far more fragile than they ever imagined.