Out With The Old, In With The Timeless

At this juncture in time, the familiar year end retrospectives begin. The top musicians of the year, favorite movies, books, the famous and infamous. Occasionally I take note and visit memory lane all the while assessing my own progress or lack thereof. Since this is *my* blog, well, I'm going to talk about the person I know rather intimately...myself. I have always dreaded New Years Eve, even during the most fulfilling times of my life. As a naturally reflective and sensitive soul, I tend to gravitate toward the human interest stories, those that evoke pathos and remind me of a greater calling. The last night of each year is a tsunami of reminders. The could have, should have, and would haves, if only. The men that got away, the mom I miss, the hope that my friends and family will sail through the next 365 with ease and reckless abandon. 2008 added a dimension to my melancholy that I never expected and quite candidly, am having internal discord with. I have company. I'm a PUMA, you know?
Rather than reiterate the sordid details which haunt our dreams and still provide a platform for us to remain vigilant, I will simply post a bit of news that brought me a much needed smile today.

Dec 30, 2008 7:03 pm US/Eastern
Clintons Selected To Drop Times Square Ball On NYE
NEW YORK (CBS) ―

The New Year's Eve Ball for 2009 is double the size of previous balls and 20 percent more energy efficient.



Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, will kiss 2008 goodbye on the world's biggest stage this New Year's Eve.

That's because Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that the Clintons will have the honor of pushing the ceremonial button that signals the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball to begin lowering at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday night.



Bloomberg announced the selection on Tuesday morning.

"I can't think of anyone I would rather stand at the crossroads of the world at the beginning of this new year than Bill and Hillary Clinton," Bloomberg said. "Both together and as individuals, Senator and President Clinton have brought hope and opportunity to New York, to the nation, and to the world."

This year's Times Square Ball is double the size of previous balls and is covered in 2,668 Waterford Crystals. Weighing nearly 12,000 pounds and measuring 12 feet in diameter, the ball is 20 percent more energy efficient than last year's – consuming only the same amount of energy per hour as it would take to operate two traditional home ovens.

Organizers of the New Year's Eve party say the bigger, brighter ball will remain in place all year atop the building at 1 Times Square to celebrate other holidays including Valentine's Day, the Fourth of July and Halloween.

As for the "2009" numerals that will light up upon the ball's descent, each numeral stands 7-feet tall and nearly 5-feet wide, and weighs about 500 pounds.

About a million people are expected to fill the streets of Times Square for the annual bash.

What better way to usher in the new year than with the very people who brought our movement together. Hillary Rodham Clinton is still the queen, for it is always the royal ones who are invited to attend the ball.


My best wishes to all for a new year we can be thankful for.
On a personal note, the following is dedicated with a loving goodbye to "him".



And most importantly, my son. As a member of liberal academia, you have risen above the rantings and outrage of your puma mama, and remained steadfast in your own belief system when casting a vote in your first election. Your brilliance and candor will serve you well, and in your youth, you manage to keep *me* grounded. My love for you is unparalleled. Carpe diem, P.
With Luv to all, Petunia

Remembering Innocence

Do I speak for all of you when I say, this is the year we lost all vestiges of innocence? Our dreams and hopes were alight with the almost certainty of our heroine breaking the ultimate barrier, and it was one she honorably deserved ( and still does).
When "audacity" reared its hideousness, we rallied, we collectively and cohesively cried out. We found OUR voices, even the ones who had been silent afore. We are in the throes of disbelief and anger all in one, and we have lost our innocence. Can we ever again throw ourselves onto the field of dreams? We have gone from blissful children cheering for our team, to watchdogs following what could be, disaster.
This is the time of year when we reminisce about our pasts...for we were once, sweet, trusting, children. We filled our days with gaiety and song and our nights with sweet dreams. I long for the age of innocence, when corruption in government, turbulence in our sphere of vision, and monetary woes were not a part of our vernacular. However, we cannot go back, and so we go forward. Perhaps we can experience a self-induced time out, and return to who we were. Here, in song, is the voice of an angel, Josh Groban.

Children sleeping, snow is softly falling
Dreams are calling like bells in the distance
We were dreamers not so long ago
But one by one we all had to grow up
When it seems the magic's slipped away
We find it all again on Christmas day

Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that's playing
There's no time to waste
There's so much to celebrate
Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
You have everything you need
If you just believe

Trains move quickly to their journey's end
Destinations are where we begin again
Ships go sailing far across the sea
Trusting starlight to get where they need to be
When it seems that we have lost our way
We find ourselves again on Christmas day

Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that's playing
There's no time to waste
There's so much to celebrate
Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
You have everything you need
If you just believe

Have a wonderful holiday and, BELIEVE.

Wouldn't Jew Like to be a PUMA, too?

Let my people go!
Ok, enough with the histrionics. We've gone to great heights and great lows, aka, Madoff!
This week begins an eight day and night sojourn into the festival of lights! Jew and non-Jew PUMA alike, this has been a very difficile year. May the spirit of love be with you and those you adore.

Now, sing my children!


Wishing all who celebrate, a very Happy Chanukah!
(pass the chocolate Santa, please.)

CarolWHINE Kennedy

I've renamed the once admired princess of the Kennedy clan. It was only yesterday when I watched that brave little girl and her adorable younger brother bear witness to the burial of their daddy, the American president. The memory is etched in my psyche until my demise, as even as a very little child, I knew things would never be the same. Mom picked me up from school that day, crying with all the other mothers who were in a state of shock. How do you comfort a small child who is petrified, who has just heard over the school loudspeaker that our leader has been killed? You don't. You take her home, paint her nails, give her cookies and milk. You sit the child in front of the black and white television, weeping as the funeral procession concludes with President John F. Kennedy lying in state in the Capitol's rotunda. I wore pink polish and mom curled my hair. Anything to pretend that everything was normal. Nothing has ever been quite okay since, only solidified the day that Lennon was shot. Camelot became life with Lyndon and his beagles. And so, I have pitied, revered, admired, and adored that little girl who would miss her daddy, Caroline Kennedy.
Fast forward to present day politics. No need to rehash what has happened. No need to attempt to understand her complete betrayal of the Clintons. No need to go over what we all know to be Caroline's way of life; be private, be an intellectual socialite, hold the Kennedy Center honors, write a couple of non-descript books, never enter the political arena. The self proclaimed messiah enters and for Caroline, the soaring rhetoric of his words reminder her of "Ich bin ein berliner", "Ask not what your country can do for you...", and suddenly she is transported back to her childhood. It does not take a psychologist to analyze poor Caroline. My couch is for lounging, but still I am able to read between her synapses.
Caroline is a fine woman, yes she is. I am understandably disturbed that she is abandoning her very own ideology of how to live her life, but she is still a fine woman. But being a fine woman does not give one the qual's to hold a most important office in a most important state, that being New York.
Yes, as a PUMA, I am angry with her, but that is not my raison d'etre at the moment.
She is simply not prepared. Nepotism has ruined companies, let alone states.
Perusing a new favorite site, I came across a farcical item that actually does justice to this saga.

Oh, CarolWHINE, please don't beg for what you have not earned. Please do not use your name for favors. Please be the little girl that I remember.

Notice the graphic at the top? I'm sad just posting it, but it reflects through parody exactly what I think of this charade.

Sex, Lies, and Wiretapping. Bambi - The Art of Feigning Innocence

and the beat goes on
and the beat goes on
the drum keeps pounding rhythm to the brain
la di da dee dee
la di da dee di


The below is an account of the meeting that took place the first week of November, 2008, as reported by Alexis Hunt. The publication it appeared in can be found by visiting www. connecttrisates.com. Date of article, Nov. 8th.

clipped from www.connecttristates.com Director of Illinois Dept. of Veterans' Affairs visits Quincy Duckworth comments on consideration for Senate QUINCY, IL -- Now that Barack Obama will be moving to the White House, his seat in the U.S. Senate representing Illinois will have to be filled. Obama met with Governor Rod Blagojevich earlier this week to discuss it.  Illinois law states that the governor chooses that replacement. There's already been speculation about his selection...from Congressman Jesse Jackson, Junior to Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth.

So, did they sip tea together or didn't they? Obama says no. Journalist says yes. You decide.

Unvetted and Untested, The Theme for 2008 - Keep Caroline Kennedy out of Hillary's Chair!

This has been the year of the unvetted and untested candidate. This has been the year that journalism forgot that it is a science. This is the year that Americans have gone stark raving mad, and in their quest for new leadership, they turned to the MTV generation for guidance. This is the DAY that this must STOP. The press is buzzing with talk of Caroline Kennedy taking over Hillary's seat as the Jr. Senator of New York. This ain't Kansas, Dorothy, no offense to Kansas. Haven't we suffered through an endless nomination and election season only to see the most unprepared person win the keys to the White House?

This is New York, the epi-center of the world. Whilst Caroline is intelligent and enjoys a bloodline we all respect, we must not allow Governor Paterson to appoint her to fill the hotseat of the most well prepared, brightest, most qualified person afore her. PUMAs know the drill. Don't talk softly and Definitely carry a big stick.
New York is filled with talent, eg. Andrew Cuomo and Carolyn Maloney. Do your google searches if you are from the vast beyond. This is not a vendetta against Caroline for endorsing Bambi. Ok, we're annoyed, but the overriding reason that she should not occupy the Jr. Senatorial seat in NY is because SHE IS NOT QUALIFIED!
Please, I urge you to sign the petition created by Ricki Lieberman ( friend to and fundraiser for HRC).
http://www.petitiononline.com/nysen/

Eddie, Et Tu?

clipped from www.cnn.com How many times have politicians been warned about the dangers of an open microphone? And yet, on Tuesday, the lectern mic at the National Governors Conference picked up this little nugget from Pennsylvania's Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell. Rendell: Janet's perfect for that job. Because for that job, you have to have no life. Janet has no family. Perfect. She can devote, literally, 19-20 hours a day to it Wow. Now, I'm sure Gov. Napolitano has many qualifications for the job beyond having no family, and therefore the ability to devote 20 hours a day to the job. Watch Campbell Brown's commentary But it is fascinating to me that that is the quality being highlighted here as so perfect. C'mon. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is married with two grown children. His predecessor, Tom Ridge, had a family. Anybody remember a debate about whether they would have trouble balancing the demands of work and family? Read full article »

Thanks to Campbell Brown/CNN for speaking out against sexism. Though she seemed to be on "that one's" bandwagon during our time of hell, she is actually an HRC supporter. We should all take the time to email Campbell and thank her for being angry, since who else in broadcast media is taking these politicians to task?