The first signs of Spring have arrived in Ballyhoo

These bright little faces greeted me when I came home from school this afternoon. I needed them, too. Winter is always very hard on me, physically and mentally, and I'm never sad to see it go. Yeah, I've heard people say stuff like, "You can always put more clothes ON, but if you're too hot, there's only so much you can take OFF." But it just doesn't fly with me. I'd rather be hot. I can always get a cool drink of water. And in the summertime I don't dread having to step out of the shower because of the wall of ice that envelops me as soon as I turn off the hot water spigot.

Weird animal facts

I love weird science stuff, so when I encounter funky weird stories like this one, I can't resist reading them.

First of all, I thought I'd heard of most critters. See, I used to read encyclopedias for fun. ALL THE TIME. My grandmother owned several big collections of encyclopedias, and whenever we spent time there (which was often) and I was the only kid (also, quite often), I parked myself in her fireplace room and perused them. One set was entirely devoted to the animal kingdom. For example, one of the books dealt with all the animals that fell within the alphabetical range of "Barbet to Bream."

One animal that I had never read about in any of the books, however, was the Lowland Streaked Tenrec. This black-and-yellow little oddball from Madagascar is one of those fun little guys with quills, like a hedgehog or a porcupine, but it bears a physical resemblance to a shrew with its longish snout. What's rather bizarre about them, though, is that they use their quills to communicate. Audibly. Well, audible to one another. We can only "hear" them if we use special equipment that was developed to listen to bats' echolocation sounds.

Sometimes I wonder about myself. Is it normal to be on a perpetual quest to know new stuff? Particularly stuff that bears no discernible advantage for the know-er? I mean, knowing that tenrecs exist or that they communicate ultrasonically using specialized quills won't make me wealthier or healthier or even wiser. It just fills this vast chasm in my mind that longs to KNOW STUFF for the sake of knowing it. I guess it's kinda like the person who climbs Everest just because it's there. Only it's not anywhere near as physically demanding or life-threatening.

I just like to know random stuff.

I try

I really do try. I read, I listen. But I don't often say much, because people who say words tend to reveal their lack of understanding, and I don't want to tip my hand.

But something has been bothering me for a while, and I just wanted to say it.

I was reading this morning that the Pakistanis are now accusing Pervez Musharraf of masterminding the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Whether that's true or not, I do not know and do not even pretend to know.

And there's a good reason why I don't know.

Well, okay. There are a lot of good reasons why I don't know. For starters, I don't even live there.

But hear me out.

How does anyone in the Islamosphere know what's true or not? When untruth is a built-in feature of your religion, how can you possibly know truth? And how can you ever negotiate in good faith with anyone who's a Muslim?

I'm talking, of course, about the doctrine of taqiyya. Basically, it's in the Quran that it's okay to be untruthful to an infidel.

And even if a Muslim person were to read this and thoughtfully comment upon it, refuting it, how do I know if they're telling me the truth?

When news reporters put Muslims on television and ask them questions, do we know they're telling the truth? Or are they just trying to tell us what they want us to think?

This bothers me. A lot. And it makes me much less likely to trust anyone who's a Muslim. I don't want to be this way -- I really don't. It's not in my nature to be suspicious of people. But I can't view the rest of world through my own set of principles anymore. I can't assume that everyone else in the world operates from the standpoint of truth and equal justice, from what I know to be right and wrong. What's right and wrong to a Muslim person is very different from what's right and wrong to me.

And I just don't know how I can ever get past that. I will never treat someone ill who's a Muslim simply because they're a Muslim, because that is just not how I operate. But I don't know if I can ever trust someone who's a Muslim, either, for the simple reason that their seminal document gives them permission to lie when it suits them.

A person I love very much has several dear friends who are Muslims. And they seem to be genuinely returning the honest feelings of friendship. But how do I know?

I don't.

That scares me.

Amazing cover

I remember spending hours listening to Duran Duran as an angsty teenage girl. But when I heard a new cover of their hit "Ordinary World" the other day, I nearly flipped my lid. I might even like this better than the original. It's by a group called Red, and it's rich, expansive and goosebumpy:



Holy cow, I could listen to that for hours. Wait, did I just say that? Yikes.

BEAUTIFUL.

Currently reading

I am about three-quarters finished with one of the most riveting books I've ever read -- and that's saying something, because I've read A LOT.

This one, I heard spoken of on my favorite FOX News Channel... it's by Laura Hillenbrand (the author of Seabiscuit), and it's called Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption. It's about Louis Zamperini, who was an Olympic runner and a WW2 POW in the Pacific. His story is so gripping, I can barely stand to put it down and I can't wait to find another spare moment to pick it back up again. I felt compelled to blog about it so you'd know, but I'm hurrying so I can get back to the story. I kept thinking the story would all be wrapped up in a tidy bow when he returned home, and there's oh-so-much-more to tell.

If you get the chance, do NOT miss this.

On a chilly Thursday evening

I share with you some of the lush, poignant pain that is Ms. McLachlan's musical poetry. Even if you don't entirely identify with the source of her emotion, can't you at least feel the icy warmth as you're submerged in the sound of it?




I have a smile
Stretched from ear to ear
To see you walking down the road

We meet at the lights
I stare for a while
The world around us disappears

And it's just you and me
On my island of hope
A breath between us could be miles

Let me surround you
My sea to your shore
Let me be the calm you seek

Oh, but every time I’m close to you
There’s too much I can’t say
And you just walk away

And I forgot
To tell you I love you
And the night’s too long
And cold here without you
I grieve in my condition
For I cannot find the words to say I need you so

Oh and every time I’m close to you
There’s too much I can’t say
And you just walk away

And I forgot
To tell you I love you
And the night’s too long
And cold here without you

I grieve in my condition
For I cannot find the words to say I need you so bad
Oh I need you so bad