Samhain, 2012

Samhain is one of my favorite holidays. Before I celebrated it, and only celebrated Halloween, it was okay. Fun and cool, but no where close to a favorite. Now that I celebrate Samhain, it definitely gives Thanksgiving a run for its money.

In the past, Samhain has looked like  ~



This.

And this...



And even this (*sniff*)

This year, though... *sigh* This year, we are in a hotel room in Grangeville, Idaho. Our "kitchen" is this:

A microwave and minifridge

However! We found pretty plates:

Plus, the hotel, itself, has embraced the holiday:

And I always travel with candles (because you never know when you might need candles):

Holidays are, after all, what we make of them. Blessed be, everyone.

From Mrs. Pike this morning

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

My Brother In Law Is Cooler Than Your Brother In Law

...because my brother in law sent me this:







Pretty damn cool brother-in-law, if I do say so myself.

Those are Joss Whedon's thoughts, but I'm the Boston Pobble, and I approve this message. A buck fifty will get you coffee ~ or spam.

Move Your *Bleeping* Arse!

According to the Divine M, the Jersey coast has been evacuated due to the impending doom that is forcast to be Hurricane Sandy. Anyone who stays will have to pay all the costs of a rescue, plus a fine. Now, given all the build-up, I will roll my eyes just as hard as anyone should this thing fizzle into just another good-sized winter storm. That being said, if people are under a mandatory evacuation and don't evacuate, I am 100% okay with charging them for their own stupidity.

It's called SAR. It stands for Search And Rescue. It takes first responders out into conditions that are so bad that people have to be rescued from them. And when the roads are closed and the flood waters rise, you know who performs SAR? Helicopters. Flown by helicopter pilots. You know, kind of like this guy here:

Prepping

Flying

I'm kind of fond of this guy. And proud of him. And his ilk.

So if you choose not to evacuate, he, or someone like him, will indeed come get your ass. But I am totally okay with it costing you.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Gear Strip

The forecast today here in New Orleans is for 84. It isn't telling me, yet, what the "feel like" temperature is going to be, but I'm guessing somewhere up in the low 90's. At midnight last night, we were still in the mid-70s. My summer dresses and shorts are still at the very front of my closet.

Tuesday, we are heading to Grangeville, Idaho. Where the forecast is for highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s. sigh.

Today, I'm having brunch with a fellow author from the Alaska chapter of the RWA. If my gears are stripped, I can only imagine how she's feeling.

Those are soon to be chilly Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee ~ iced, or hot, depending on where you are.

One For Us

I finally saw the latest Pixar movie Brave. First, let me say that, yes, it is Pixar's weakest movie. I am vaguely aware of some glitches behind the scenes with the original director and am not surprised to know it. I would even bet that there is hugely more to the story than that. The movie is that weak.

All that being said, oh my God, I loved this movie. It's boring. There's not enough plot. The characters beyond Merida and Eleanor are thin at best, caricatures at worst. There is a story to be told here. A girl's ascent into womanhood and the politics of breaking with her mother. Scotland and its clans and how it came together. And yes, gender roles and how they impact those of us who don't necessarily fit them. All of those stories are hinted at and none of them are told.

And oh my God, I loved this movie.

Merida has no desire to marry ~ and no one ever shows up to change her mind. There is absolutely no boy on her radar. She is never completed by meeting her prince...or her equal...or anyone. She is just fine on her own.
     
 Which is where I get a little snarky. I admit it, I am jaded. I am aware of how completely Merida is off the radar. No one is raving about her the way the princesses of color were raved about. If it was discussed, it was talked about as a "so-called feminist movie." Or it was disregarded because it is Pixar's weakest. I find these to be excuses for not acknowleding the fact that we finally have a "princess" who doesn't actually care to find a prince. They are also incredibly convenient ways of continuing to disregard the more tangible and impactful mysogyny of every other damn princess movie ever. Mulan came close, and I thank Disney for her. But Merida is different. And no one is talking about her.
 
The one good thing about Merida being off the radar is that I now longer have to wait for the hypocrisy to begin. Because I was. I was waiting for other women, younger and older, to start talking about how wonderful Merida is. How much they love her. How long they have waited for her. To which I call bullshit.

If you dressed up with your poofy dresses and your tiara, if you thought that one day your prince would come, if you believed that getting the right to marry anyone you wanted was the epitome of your story...You don't get to claim Merida now. She's ours. She belongs to those of us who really are okay on our own. Who really do find more adventure in exploring on our own than in being anyone's partner. 

Merida made the 14 year old in my 43 year old body sing, because Pixar created somebody who "looked like" me. Finally. So no, you don't get her. She is one for us.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Why Yes, I Am A Local

Several years ago, I finally realized that this whole moving in with Lithus thing was going to stick and I gave up my Massachusetts drivers license for a Washington one. That license saw me through... a lot. A move from Everett to Vancouver, bombing through Mexico, a cross-country drive, an almost-move to Malaysia, a hellish four months in Connecticut, another cross-country drive, and a stint in Nevada ~ at which point, my Washington license expired. Grrr...

I went ahead and got a Nevada license, but not because Nevada was in any way, shape, or form home. It was a temporary fix, at best. But it took a long to get an address in Alaska after that. And we didn't get around to getting Alaska drivers licenses before it became obvious that the move to Alaska was going to be exceedingly temporary, as well.

And we got an apartment in NOLA, but only kinda sorta lived here. We had one foot and most of our belongings out the door, at all times. Until this last summer. Something shifted this last summer. This last summer, we realized we really, really love it here. I mean, love it like it's Boston, love it. We want to belong here. We want to be at home here.

Today, we did it. We went and we sat at the DMV for two hours. We found the cooler, emptier room, and plopped down on the floor. And waited. And chatted. And waited some more. Until finally, two hours, and $45.00 later, we are, officially and formally, residents of New Orleans, Louisiana. I will be voting here on November 4th. We will be paying taxes here and maybe even getting mail,

It feels good. And strange. We have hardly had a homebase, let alone a home. But we do now. We are settled people. People with ties, if not quite roots. For the first time, our licenses even have the same address on them. Not bad for a couple of married gypsies.

Weird, but not bad at all.

 

 

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee ~ with chicory in it, 'cause that's how we do it down here.

Gotta Use It

At some point, I will find a way to use this in a novel:

"I can suck a golf ball through a garden hose and fell a tree with my thighs, but if that's all you want to know about me, that's the last thing you will ever know about me."

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Happy Birthday, From My Mother

Sometime last week, my mother sent me a Daily Show link. I have just gotten back to NOLA and to fast enough internet to watch it. Today also happens to be my birthday, so it turned into a lovely birthday present.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Those are Pobble Thoughts. The coffee's on me, today.