The Mind Wobbles

So many things to absorb, think about, deal with and put up with - it simply makes the mind wobble...

Friday, February 29, 2008

The Lola Shuffle - "The Extra Day Edition"

WOO HOO - we have an extra day! Come on Lola, take advantage of it and give us a fabulous Leap-shuffle...

  1. Ka-Ching - Shania Twain (Cute song from the Up! album)
  2. Sister Goldenhair - America (I love them...they're soooo mellow)
  3. Welcome Back - John Sebastian (Yes, it's the theme song for "Welcome Back Kotter" - stop laughing at me!)
  4. Ladies Night - Kool & The Gang (Very appropriate since I'm celebrating Leap Day by getting together with girlfriends for Game Night!)
  5. Abracadabra - Sugar Ray (a really good remake of The Steve Miller Band's 80s hit)
  6. Breaking the Habit - Linkin Park
  7. Allentown - Billy Joel
  8. I've Been Everywhere - Johnny Cash (phenomenal version by the man in black)
  9. Help Yourself - Tom Jones (That's what I'm talkin' about - you go Lola!)
  10. Let It Be - The Beatles (Perfcet - a classic ending!)

Have a wonderful weekend and try and do a little something special today!

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Thursday, February 28, 2008

Your Tax Dollars at Work


Apparently we haven't spent enough money on the frickin' frackin' baseball steroid crap and really there isn't anything more important on which to spend our money. Education, health care, the environment, alternative energy sources? Pish posh! None of those are as important as baseball and whether or not some pudgy retired baseball guy took steroids a hundred years ago!

Here I am sitting at work, minding my own business, writing release notes and I am accosted by BREAKING NEWS!!! The FBI has launched an investigation on whether Roger Clemens lied about using steroids. Here's some breaking news for you: I don't give a damn!

And the best part - the FBI is doing it on the request of the US Congress! I guess a committee of the House of Representatives of the United States of America has nothing better to do than sit around and talk about baseball, and now they want the people over at the FBI to sit around and talk about baseball. Except since it's an *investigation* several highly-trained and highly-paid FBI investigators will probably have to travel - at our expense of course - to investigate this oh-so-important issue.

Did I mention I don't give a damn? As far as I'm concerned all of them can be injecting steroids into their eyeballs while they're sitting in the dugout waiting for their turn to bat. That isn't a GOVERNMENTAL ISSUE. Let the MLB people investigate it if they want to - but the government? Really?

What's next will there be a Senate panel to investigate whether or not Britney Spears is a whack-a-loon? Or a bi-lateral commission on Paris Hilton's movie career?
The mind wobbles.

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Friday, February 22, 2008

The Lola Shuffle - "The Happy Birthday Hubby Edition"

On Wednesday 2/20, the day of my mother's funeral, Hubby turned Jack Benny's age. Yes, he turned 39! (I know! I got me a boy toy - WOO HOO!)

So Lola, go ahead and shuffle up a nice set for Hubby. This oughta be good, as Hubby and I have mostly different tastes in music, so chances are whatever Lola comes up with will make Hubby shudder, but hey Lola shuffles what she wants to shuffle and she don't care nothin' 'bout no birthdays!

  1. Hold On - KT Tunstall (I love her, Hubby, not so much)
  2. Feel Good Inc.- Gorillaz - (I think Hubby sorta likes them)
  3. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley (I love this song)
  4. Runaway -Bon Jovi (Yeah, so Hubby is sooooo not a Bon Jovi fan - he still can't get over their "hair period" in the 80s)
  5. I Put a Spell on You - Nina Simone (well, Hubby put a "spell" on me, so it's appropriate)
  6. Oh Boy - Buddy Holly (Hubby isn't really into oldies that are this old - he has no appreciation for musical history!)
  7. New York, New York - Frank Sinatra (He likes Sinatra, so OK)
  8. Home to Stay - Josh Groban (Hubby is totally underwhelmed by Groban)
  9. LDN - Lily Allen (BWAHAHAHA - Hubby hates this song!)
  10. Hitchin' a Ride - Vanity Fare (Yeah, uh no...)

OK, so apparently Lola decided to be ornery and not throw Hubby a bone...nary a Rush, AC/DC, Doobie Brothers or even Eagles song to be heard! They're all in there, but apparently Lola wasn't in the mood. Don't let her fool you, Lola loves him , she's just being difficult.

Happy belated birthday Baby - you are my heart! Thanks for loving me so wonderfully.

Everyone, have a great weekend...

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Thursday, February 21, 2008

Fidel's Resignation

This article, by Pulitzer prize winning Cuban-American journalist Liz Balmaseda does a great job of describing my feelings about the latest news from Cuba. Most of her experiences are the same as mine, with the exception that she was born in Cuba and I wasn't.

In fact, I too have "Fidel Champagne" - sadly like Liz I'm not popping the cork yet.

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You in Six Words

I got this from a friend...based on Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure.

So can you tell your story in six words? If you want to play, let me know in my comments.

Here's mine: I'm doing the best I can.

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Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Random Questions meme

I got this from Poppymom. You know the drill, if you want to play leave me a comment.

What were you doing 10 years ago? I was a newlywed, and I think we were in PA celebrating Hubby's birthday with the in-laws.

What were you doing 1 year ago? I was definitely in PA celebrating Hubby's birthday with the in-laws.

Five snacks you enjoy:

  1. cheese doodles (puffy) with onion soup mix onion dip
  2. any cheese
  3. green apple dipped in peanut butter
  4. grape tomatoes dipped in baba ghanoush
  5. chicharrones

Five songs that you know all the lyrics to: Lots, but off the top of my head:

  1. Me & Bobby McGee - Janice Joplin
  2. A Horse with No Name - America
  3. Only the Good Die Young - Billy Joel
  4. At Last - Etta James
  5. Como Fue - Beny Moré

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:

  1. Pay off our condo and buy a house
  2. Quit my job and travel for a while
  3. Set up a trust fund for my each of my nieces
  4. Go back to school and get a degree in something I love
  5. Invest the rest so that I don't ever need to work for the money

Five bad habits:

  1. Watch too much TV
  2. Eat too much
  3. Don't exercise at all
  4. Play too much World of Warcraft
  5. Too controlling

Five things you like doing:

  1. Reading
  2. Eating
  3. Blogging/miscellaneous Internet goofing off
  4. Hanging with friends
  5. Playing World of Warcraft

Five things you would never wear again:

  1. bell bottoms
  2. cowboy hat (yes I used to wear them - don't ask)
  3. gauchos
  4. stiletto heels
  5. pantyhose (If I must wear hose I wear thigh highs)

Five favorite toys:

  1. laptop
  2. Lola the iPod
  3. coloring books
  4. George Foreman Grill
  5. jigsaw puzzles

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Sunday, February 17, 2008

A New Project

My friend purplepassion and I have embarked on a new project, because you know we don't have enough going on in our lives right now.

We want to collect recipes for traditional Cuban home-cooking and be taught by the "experts" - our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, older friends, etc. and then we want to preserve them and share them - hence the inception of a new Blog: Cuban Home Cooking ...Keeping the Tradition Alive. TA, DAAAA...

So Sunday 2/17 we met at the home of one of one of our best friend's mother - her name is Miriam, and she's fabulous. She taught us how to make Ham Croquettes - Cuban style. We had a blast! While we waited for the croqueta mixture to cool, we drank wine, looked at old photo albums, told and listened to stories, and basically just enjoyed ourselves.

Although this had been planned for a while it was particualrly good for *me* at this time to spend time with a "mom". She talked about stuff my parents used to tell me about and we talked about common friends, and about stuff I would've talked to my mother about.

At the end of the day we had croquetas to take home and the memory of an afternoon spent by women of different generations but with so much in common.

Anyway, please go check out the new Blog and tell me what you think!

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Friday, February 15, 2008

The Lola Shuffle - "The This One's For You Mami" Edition

I made a playlist of songs my mother would like, it's comprised of Cuban music and American standards - which she loved. Mami listened to American music in Cuba and until the day she died she was still able to sing American classics - I got my freakish memory for lyrics, and love of American standards from her. Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole were her favorites.

So Lola...shuffle it up for Mami...
  1. Sway - Dean Martin
  2. The Alley Cat - Peggy Lee
  3. Makin' Whoopee - Ella Fitzgerald
  4. Chan Chan - Compay Segundo
  5. Que Bueno Baile Usted - Beny More
  6. In the Mood - Glenn Miller Orchestra
  7. Summer Wind - Frank Sinatra
  8. Paper Doll - The Mills Brothers
  9. Rags to Riches - Tony Bennett
  10. Babalu - Desi Arnaz

I think she'd like that shuffle - she knows all the words!

Have a great weekend, and thanks to all for your kind messages and good thoughts.

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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The Last Beba Update


My mother died today.

She went to sleep last night as usual and when they brought in her Cuban coffee this morning, she was gone.

I'm OK, but not really ready to write about her yet.

I am happy however, that she'll be spending Valentine's Day with my Dad.

Bye Mami, te quiero.

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Tuesday, February 12, 2008

A Book Meme

OK, I know this is two memes in a row. I don't care, I can do what I want, y'all aren't the bosses of me! And anyway I got this meme from the anti-meme king Curmudgeon.

So, here's the deal:

* Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more - No cheating.
* Turn to page 123 and find the first five sentences.
* Now post the next three sentences.
* The fun begins - - tag some people to play along.

As usual, I won't tag anyone - if you want to play please let me know in my Comments.

The book is The Lazy Environmentalist by Josh Dorfman. Page 123, sentences 6,7 and 8:

The Brooklyn, New York-based design trio of Sam Kraigel, Nikki Frazier, and Jesse James Arnold create furniture that is as aesthetically exciting as itis extremely practical. The Hollow Series of streamlined bamboo coffee, console, and side tables are "hollowed" out to offer hidden interior storage swpaces - perfect for stashing books, magazines, multiple remote controls, and gaming consoles. The Bamboo Stagger is a stunning wall-size shelving unit designed to accommodate an assortment of objects by integrating shelves of varying widths and heights.
Hey! It said the "nearest book" - that's the nearest book. I purchased right after the big environment concert - I was all inspired and it looks nice on the coffee table.

So what's your nearest book right now?

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Sunday, February 10, 2008

A, B, C, Easy as 1, 2, 3...


It's been a while (OK about a week) since I've posted a meme. I found this one at do they read obituaries in hell?. If you want to participate, let me know in my comments


Here's the ABCs of Me!


argumentative

bitch (see Meredith Brooks' lyrics)

curious

Democrat!

exuberant

facetious

gregarious

humorous

inpatient

jumbled

knowledgeable

loved

married

noisy

opinionated

political

quirky

reliable

sarcastic

trustworthy

unabashed

verbal

weird

xenophile

yellow (I've been told my aura is yellow)

zaftig

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Friday, February 8, 2008

The Lola Shuffle - "The I'm Taking a Mental Health Day Edition"


To paraphrase Wordsworth, "the world is too much with me" these days and frankly I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. So, I stayed home from work to sleep, watch DVRd shows and soap operas and Netflix movies and play World of Warcraft and whatever else feels right.

But Lola must shuffle and shuffle she shall...



  1. These are the Days - 10,000 Maniacs

  2. Poetry Man - Queen Latifah

  3. Shoop - Salt-n-Pepa (Here I go, here I go, here I go again! Girls, what's my weakness?")

  4. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder

  5. This Old House - Brian Setzer Orchestra

  6. Love Don't Cost a Thing - Jennifer Lopez

  7. I Want It All - Queen (And I want it now!)

  8. I've Got You Under My Skin - Frank Sinatra

  9. Love Affair - Erasure

  10. The Long Back Veil - The Chieftains and Mick Jagger

Like my thoughts, Lola's shuffle is scattered.


Have a great weekend!

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Thursday, February 7, 2008

What I'm Reading

If you keep track the "What I'm Reading" section of my sidebar (and I'm *sure* you do!), you may have noticed that I recently added Hillary Clinton's It Takes a Village, and now it's changed to Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope. It's not because I've changed my mind on my favorite candidate, although if I were voting in the primary today I'd vote for Barack - more on that in another post - but it's because I realized it was Black History month, and I always try to make a point and read a book by a Black author in February.

So, I'll go back to Hillary later but for now, I'm looking forward to reading about our next President's audacity.

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Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Holding on to the Past

Among the enormous amount of stuff we had to get rid of/keep/give away from my parent's apartment when we moved my mother to the ALF, was was the 1982 edition of the "Anuario de Familias Cubanas" which roughly translates to "Cuban Family Yearbook". I found it the other day and was looking through it - memories came flooding back.

The Anuario was published 10 times between 1967 and 1996 and listed the names and other information of about 12,000 Cuban families living in exile. Not only did it list the "head of household", usually a man, it also mentioned the wife including her maiden name (in Cuba women didn't take lose their maiden name, they retained their maiden names and were referred to, for example, as Jane Doe of Smith - or Juana Perez de Rodriguez). It also included the names of all their children and their spouses and children (if applicable), and as was very common back then, the parent(s) of either the wife or the husband if they lived in the same house. It was basically a geneological record of the family.

But I think it's also a melancholy record. In many cases, in addition to their jobs in exile, it also listed people's profession in Cuba. In other words, if they were a lawyer or a professor in Cuba, they would list that as their profession and their current job was listed second. There were pages dedicated to listing all the royal titles held by Cubans in exile. Many will find that ridiculous, I find it to be very sad. I think it was a way of holding on to their past life, a life that at the time many still believed they would resume back in Cuba. Sadly, that belief died with so many of them.

I think this dual existance is a sui generis state, found among exiles, I would imagine from many countries. I think by now the remaining Cuban exiles that like my parents left Cuba in the 60s have accepted that they won't be returning, at least not to live. I remember when my father came to that realization a few years before he died. He was pragmatically resigned and a little bit broken-hearted.

I found the Anuario because the mother of a dear friend had lost her copy and was talking about how sorry she was to have lost it. When I told her I had one and was willing to give it to her she was so happy and appreciative. She's going to get a lot more enjoyment from it than I am or that my mother can, so why not give it to her? Why not give her a book full of memories of what was and can never be again?

Is there something of the same type among "Americans"? Is that what a "Social Registry" is? I tried Googling to find out but didn't find anything like it.

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Tuesday, February 5, 2008

It's Super Tuesday People! Either Way We're In Good Hands


OK, I am in Political-Wonk-Geek heaven. I can't wait to get home and plunk myself in front of the TV to watch tonight's Super Tuesday fabulosity!

My primary source of information will be CNN's "best political team on television" (as Wolf Blitzer repeats ad nauseum). I will be watching my boyfriend Anderson Cooper. My backup will be ABC, with my ex-boyfriend George Stephanopoulos.

I love the picture of Barack and Hillary (above), it shows that despite all the bickering, they like each other. Regardless of who turns out to be the Democratic nominee, which may or may not be determined tonight, I am confident that we're in good hands.

I have my opinion as to who is more electable against the potential Republican candidates, but it varies on who the Republican candidate turns out to be. That's for another post.

Today I revel in wonk wonderland...

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Monday, February 4, 2008

Still perfect after all these years...

Click here, then click the "Watch the commercial" link in the green sign.

:)

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Sunday, February 3, 2008

The Day the Music Died


Today will forever be known as the day the music died.

The event was immortalized in the Don McCLean's song American Pie and in the movie La Bamba.

It's so sad to me when musicians die, especially when they're young and have such promise. Of course any death is sad, but the loss of potential music just gets to me.

So today, while I'm Super Bowl partying with my friends, I'll take a minute and remember Buddy, Richie and the Big Bopper...

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Friday, February 1, 2008

The Lola Shuffle - "The Super Bowl Edition"


Although the teams that are playing in this year's Super Bowl are bth completely irrelevant to me, I want the Patriots to lose so that they don't break the 1972 Dolphins' Perfect Season .

The good thing is we're getting together with friends and always have a great time. One group of people will actually be watching the game and go to the bathroom during commercials and the half-time show, while the rest of us watch the commercials and half-time show and talk during the game.

Because the Dolphins' record may be brokwen this weekend, I think I should post the Dolphins fight song:

Miami has the Dolphins,
The greatest football team!
We take the ball from goal to goal,
Like no one's ever seen!
We're in the air,
We're on the ground,
We're always in control.
And when you say Miami,
You're talking Super Bowl!

(Chorus)'Cause we're the Miami Dolphins,Miami Dolphins,Miami Dolphins Number 1.

(Chorus 2)Yes we're the Miami Dolphins,Miami Dolphins,Miami Dolphins Number 1.

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Go Lola...shuffle'em up for the '72 Dolphins...


  1. Mi Tierra - Gloria Estefan
  2. Jamming - Bob Marley and The Wailers
  3. What Would You Say? - Dave Matthews Band
  4. (Where Do I Begin?) Love Story - Tony Bennett (A classic so-bad-it's-good movie - great song though)
  5. Band of Gold - Freda Payne (Oy! What a depressing song - can you imagine? She holds out until she gets married, and then on her honeymoon night her husband doesn't want to ñaca ñaca!)
  6. Macorina - Orquesta Sensacion (not to be confused with the aberrant "Macarena". This is a classic Cuban danzon named after the supposed first woman driver in Cuba.)
  7. Candy Everybody Wants - 10,000 Maniacs
  8. Jailhouse Rock - Blues Brothers Soundtrack (it ain't Elvis, but it's good!)
  9. Julie, Do Ya Love Me? - Bobby Sherman (Yes, Bobby Sherman - anybody wanna make something of it? Don't you laugh at me Miss Dixie Peach! You either Toni! You know he was hot...and I was like 7!)
  10. I Shall SIng - Miriam Makeba (love her!)

Have a great weekend. GO GIANTS (only because you're not New England, otherwise bleh!)

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