Born on the 4th of July

Happy Independence Day!

For what it's worth, John Adams apparently refused to participate in Independence Day celebrations on the 4th of July because the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 2nd. If Adams had had his way, we'd all be wishing each other a Happy 2nd of July. Adams died on the 4th of July--as did Thomas Jefferson.

Me?

I'm tired and my head hurts, so maybe it would make it all better to look at the headlines of the NY Times online.

Pakistani Military Still Cultivates Militant Groups, a Former Fighter Says Pakistan officials have long denied this to be the case apparently, which I guess is important because those groups are devoted to supporting Afghanistan in the fight against American troops. We've apparently given Pakistan $20 billion dollars in the last ten years to fight against terrorism. That doesn't seem like money well spent so much anymore.

Closer to home:

Executive Pay at Big Companies Rose 23% Last Year The average raise for American CEOs rose 23% last year to make the average compensation $10.8 million dollars per year. That's about $207,000 per week. Contrast that with the average American worker's $752 per week, or 0.5% more than the year before. And unemployment among us poors is still around 9%.

Reading that, I can't help but feel sorry for the rich in this country. Poor rich people. I guess the only way I can help them is to vote Republican to make sure that they don't have to pay more taxes. If I do that, maybe one of them will give me a job.

French See Case Against Strauss-Kahn as American Folly (I don't even have the heart to outline this one.) Have you heard the one about the rich white middle-aged guy who raped the poor black immigrant hotel maid? No? Well, joke's on you because poor black immigrant women apparently can't be raped. Turns out that by sheer dint of being poor, black, an immigrant, and/or female, your orifices are open 24/7! Ladies, plan accordingly.

Wow. I bet every rapist wishes he were French right now. I guess Roman Polanski had it right to run to France after raping that 12-year old.

That's a depressing game, isn't it?

If you're like me and can only take so much real news before running straight into the warm embrace of entertainment news, you'll probably already know that Lindsay Lohan had a birthday recently and that Michael Jackson is still not the kind of pedophile who gives alcohol and drugs to little boys.

What else is going on in my life?

I'm still working at the studio, of course. I decided to end my year of throwing at the last Empty Bowls throwing party. (I went from the Empty Bowls throwing party in June 2010 to the Empty Bowls throwing party in June 2011.) To complete the transition, I'm clearing my shelves of all bisque wear. I will either glaze and fire it or I'll break it.  With the amount of bisque I have, I expect glazing will take about two weeks. Breaking the rest will take an afternoon.

After that, I'll start handbuilding again, perhaps with a bunch of calaveras.  My goal for my 40th year is to start an Etsy shop and to do at least one arts and crafts show.  I'm struggling, as do all potters, with pricing my work. Carving and glazing the calaveras take so much time and effort versus throwing mugs and such and as a result, the prices will be much higher than I've charged for them in the past. We'll see how that falls out.

Dave and I are having dinner over at Chris and LuAnn's house this evening. They're going to BBQ and we're taking side dishes (potato salad, coleslaw, and a caprese salad).