10 Places to Go, 10 Things to Read

From the ginormous list of things squirelled away in the "Star" File of my Google Reader.

1. The first item on this list is one of my favorite places in the 'hood. For most of the years I've lived here it's been a working church. I have no idea what happened to the congregation and now it's going to be condos. Condos I could never in a quadrillion years afford.

2. As she often does, Chookooloonks is kicking my ass with something to think about. That's a lot of courage being asked of us, isn't it? Makes me want to try, though.

3. It never hurts to be reminded, does it? I might have to buy one of these and hang it somewhere prominent in my life.

4. Here's a link to a link of an interview about how one's blog can be group therapy. Pertinent, no?

5. I am a hopeless gardener. I think it's a waste of time and stupid and I am pathologically unable to keep anything alive in my current apartment. And yet, every so often I think that I really should have plants in my apartment or they'll revoke my Adulthood Card. These pots brought on another one of those thoughts. Should I try again or make peace with this part of myself?

6. I love Flea. She's awesome. She posted a rant about people who want to dismantle the public school system and she makes really good points that I didn't even realize needed to be made. People think we should do away with public school? For real? Oh for the love of all that is chocolate how does this shit happen in America? At one point, admittedly long ago and far away, weren't we better than that?

7. This one is proof that I'm not the only one questioning whether parents-to-be are really thinking about environmental impact.

8. Anybody want to go to a ranch for a shot at hooking up with a real, live cowboy? Ree is going to be running a home grown version of a reality show featuring her Cousin T. in the role of Real Live Cowboy. In a later post she mentioned having to keep a careful eye out for water moccasins while taking photos on the ranch so I will not be participating but I would truly love it if one of you would. I do enjoy the vicarious living.

9. I am on the fence about getting a subscription to Fray. They really need subscribers but they rejected my story. This is not a good enough reason not to subscribe. I know this. But I'm having trouble pulling the trigger. Do you want to subscribe? Tell me if you do because maybe then I'll just be able to slide down that slippery slope with you.

10. Scalzi linked to a great article in Esquire about the process of bringing home the US dead from the war in the Middle East. The process of death is one that I've always been fascinated with. Not sure why, perhaps when you have trouble letting go of stuff, like I do, the ultimate letting go draws your eye. Among the many things discussed are the shortage of buglers, something I witnessed in real life not two weeks after reading the article. Not sure how long it's going to be up on Esquire's site so you should hop on over and read it. I know it's long. It's worth it. Make the time.