Rated X

First "Fifty Shades of Gray"  and now "Sex Box."   Sounds somewhat tedious.

Resolved:

I will stay in my house until the outdoor temperature reaches my age.

Residence Inn

    The appeal is growing, in  the vein of  less is more, clear the clutter, and the little house.   I'm by no means a frequent traveler, but  have stayed  at inns a considerable number of times, including 4 days a year  for 15 of the last 16 years as part of my job. Not all of the inns qualified as residence specifically, though my work also took me to families ensconced in motels for certain periods of time, for various reasons. Those quarters invariably seemed small and overcrowded, as indeed they were, once all the people and their  accumulations of stuff were loaded into the rooms.  So I was not attracted to the idea of that type of living.
    But an epiphany is in the works:   it was only a one-night stay, but it was a residence inn.  Guests could stay at their leisure, and also people whose homes had become temporarily unlivable could reside there for a time.  
      The suite we stayed in was clean and bright and tastefully furnished. Walk in past the coat closet to a kitchen, complete with refrigerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher. In the cabinets a set of dishes and glasses for 4, in the top drawer silverware and the basic utensils, in the deeper cabinets a  mixing bowl, colander, toaster, and a few, and only a few, but who really needs more, pots, pans and a skillet.  Under the sink a spray bottle of cleaner, dish soap atop the sink, with paper towels and towel and dishcloth, a coffee-maker on the counter.  Everything was sparkling new.
     A dinette-sized table and chairs is against the wall, with napkins(cloth), and a basket of condiments, coffee, tea, and cocoa.
     The kitchen/dining area opens onto the living room which contains a convertible couch, chairs, lamps, coffee table, and a desk for internet access, and of course a TV. 
     Pass the recessed closet into the bedroom, and its  bed, dressers, TV, lamps, bedside tables, and another mirror-doored  closet with iron and ironing board, extra linen and bedding.  Adjoining the bedroom is the powder room with seat, wide mirror, vanity sink equipped with hair dryer and fan.  This room opens onto the bathroom, small but with both tub and shower, all the required amenities.
      Since we only brought clothing and toiletries for a single night the suite seems spacious. 
 And it occurs to me that we could indeed live there comfortably.  Washer and dryer are down the hall, and 2 floors away there is a swimming pool with whirlpool tub, as well as a fully equipped workout room. 
       I'm sitting there and thinking that I want my house to be like this.  Except for some more clothing items, I can't think of anything else I would need that isn't there. Cookbooks---all recipes are available on the web.  Who really needs more than 2 cookpots anyway?  Or more than  1 frying pan? Or more than 4 drinking glasses. Or plates.  Or cutlery. Only 1 roast is carved at a time.  Dollar stores and supermarkets have plentiful supplies of plastic ware.  There's no need for 16 bottles of various cleaners under the sink.  Or 2000 plastic bags and 37 pairs of disposable gloves. Why are there bags of old towels stashed in my kitchen closet. Why is the shelf in my tiny bedroom closet packed to the nines with piles of old pillow cases and sheets that  don't really fit the mattresses anymore?  The thought is to purge.
     Our final income tax statement came in the mail today.  I hope I didn't pitch all the paperwork I'll need to do our income taxes.
   
 
   

Oscar in A Nutshell

Lady Gaga didn't sound that hot.  Eddie Murphy seemed bored out of his skull.  Oprah is fat again. 

Minds in Jeopardy

    The category is American poets, and the contestant answers Robert Frost when the correct answer is Walt Whitman.  Most likely, that contestant has studied up on American poetry without having read any of the actual poems. Yes, both writers are poets and American, but their works are no  more similar than those of Edgar Allen Poe and Ogden Nash.   Likewise, if the clue has anything to do with Calcutta, the indicated  response would be "What is Black Hole?"  
   Knowledge used to be gleaned from what a person would read or learn about.  Today's measure of intelligence is based on the number of isolated facts one can cram into one's brain.  Even some returning Jeopardy contestants acknowledge taking time off so they can study for their return matches.  And they're not reading more widely, but perusing books of  accumulated former questions and miscellaneous facts.  How many have read the Iliad or the Odyssey in real time, or know more than a single detail of General Sherman's life? 
    Memorizing thousands upon thousands of assorted details can be a lucrative and rewarding career.  Just ask the kids who participate in the National Spelling Bee or the Geography Contest. 
    But then , Jeopardy does boast that before and after category.......
     

Gone to the Dogs

   I like dogs, most dogs, probably more than I like most people; let's say those of each species who make the news.  A young man, let's call him a loser, burns a dog by pouring some sort of fluid on its head and then lighting it, with a match I guess.  Sadistic behavior, cruelty toward animals at its worst.  That should serve to identify what happened. 
     But the media reports can't stick with the mundane facts, no matter how heinous.  The nine-month old pit bull, weighing about 55 lbs. is not just a dog, but a puppy.  The dog reportedly has second and third degree burns to the ear and eye area; in the TV videos, the burned area  looks rough, though the dog fortunately seems fine. The reporter states that part of the ear may need to be amputated, if it becomes infected.  That's always a possibility.  Before  a person undergoes joint replacement surgery, the caveat is  the worst possible scenario that if infection sets in, it may result in amputation of the limb.  Most people don't dwell on this possibility, but the television viewer is reminded each newscast that the poor puppy may have to endure amputation.  This injured pitbull's ears seem not to have been trimmed, though that is not the case in many of the Westminster Dog Show's contestants. 
     The owner of the dog says he was not there when the dog was set on fire, and he says he waited a day and a half to take the dog to the vet because he does not have a car and had to work.  He has been arrested also, for "failure to provide sustenance."  I  think any time there is more than one excuse, the defense of actions is very weak.  He ultimately did seek medical attention for the dog, though.  So I think it a little over the top when a uniformed spokesperson, police or humane worker I don't know, says that the owner is as guilty as if it were a child who was injured, saying you wouldn't wait 2 days.  I just don't believe children should be equated with animals. 

Hoover Jeopardy

  Tonight's "Final Jeopardy" question, or rather answer, dealt with what 2-word city* the Hoover Tower was located in, and none of the three contenders got it right.  I knew where it was  because I was once stranded at the top of the Hoover Tower.  We were visiting Marilyn, who was teaching a summer youth mathematics course at Stanford.  While she was with her classes, we toured the campus, very large and widespread; it has its own zip code.  We visited the Hoover Tower and took the elevator to the top floor.  I think there were 12 or 15 stories.  I have the ticket stub somewhere so I'll look it up later.  There were probably about a dozen visitors at the top when we were told that the elevator had broken down and we would have to wait for it to be repaired.  They were calling maintenance.  We all waited.  And waited.  We were supposed to meet M for dinner, and time was passing.  Finally, I went to the person at the desk and asked if there was another way down.  Well, yes, she said, but the staircase is locked and we don't have the key here.  If any of us insisted on walking down, they would have to get someone to unlock the staircase, and then we would have to be escorted down.  I said I wanted to walk down the stairs, and as I recall, everybody else did too.  And so we did.  That was years before either of us had any knee issues.  I don't know when they repaired the elevator.
  * The correct response was Loma Linda, but my thought was that the Hoover Tower is in Stanford, which would seem to qualify as a city, though it certainly does not have 2 words in its name.  And I thought Loma Linda was a distance away.  And the site of the Nixon Library?  I'm so confused.
     ****Evidently one of those episodes of "false memory."  The correct Jeopardy answer was Palo Alto.