YakimaGulagLiteraryGazett

'Once you start conjugating nouns, you're lost.'

'Ask me about my earwax!'

'When a man's face falls off it's time to reassess the situation.'

'By the way, I'm glad we don't chase our own breakfasts around the house.'

'In the future, chihuahuas will be made from recycled tortilla chips.'

Yes, you ARE lost once you start conjugating verbs! It is totally true!

Number 2 is totally true!

I too am glad not to have to chase my breakfast around the house! It is bad enough I have to turn on the stove sometimes.

Speaking of stoves. I found out that Sugho meso will grow an interesting white substance on it, I tried frying it, just to be on the safe side. If that hadn't worked it was going to be a big party for the magpies, or maybe the jackdaws. I have been sick enough that I didn't dare eat meat. Anyway, frying it worked, so I fried it up some more and added potatoes. Anyway, it was delicious fried with potatoes. The latest potatoes from the maloprodovnica have fried nicer than average anyway. I was too sick for potatoes for many days as well. It is nice being this much thinner though. I am trying to not eat too much now.

The S.O. hopes he can make it up the hill by Sunday. That would be nice. Saturday is out, he has stuff to do then, and I have stuff to do anyway too.

Newswise, there hasn't been big stuff here. War crimes trials have made big news. By the way the tribunal is a regular T.V. feature locally. I watch it pretty regularly. Sometimes it makes me want to rend shred tear and mutilate. I try not to watch it if I am already in a slightly bad mood.

I heard this morning about the poor arch bishop in Iraq. I really feel some disgust that no one realizes that the Christians in Iraq are in such a precarious position. They are like hostages in their own country. There have been Christians in Iraq since very early in the history of the Christian religion and they were not particularly oppressed before. Their position wasn't wonderful but it wasn't Hellish like now.

The State of New Mexico, where I lived a long time was one of the major places that Chaldean and Maronite Christians found themselves in America. So I knew a few along the way, and they were not that rare in San Francisco. The first Arabs I personally met were Palestinian Christians from Jerusalem, and I used to shop at a fruit stand owned by Iraqi Catholics. They always gave my kids a small treat, because my kids knew how to act nice in a store. I used to get my eggs there too, because the eggs were fresh and organic from real free-range chickens.

So hearing of his death distressed me a great deal. He was kidnapped and he was killed by extremists.

Then too space has been in the news here. The guys had a space-walk, that is always cool to see on the news.

It is really nice out today.

Incidentally people here are really interested in how our elections turn out. The business with Ferraro upset people here too. Obama is increasingly well regarded here, and part of it is how he handled the whole incident. I sat with the two ladies I know in Bascarsija and they asked me all kinds of questions about the primary system, and elections in the U.S. and how it really works. I am just glad I have the vocabulary now to even discuss it. I couldn't have even a couple months ago.

Which brings me to another matter. Democrats Abroad here in Sarajevo needs to please pull their socks up very much. On arrival I attempted to join their Yahoo group, and never recieved a reply, which resulted after 2 weeks in my being rejected from membership. That is not at all cool with me, I KNOW there have to be Democrats here in Sarajevo! I will try again, but I hope they do reply this time.

I even offered my living room as a possible meeting place. It is big and I can make any sort of coffee or have juices and refreshments. O.K. parking is a little bad in my part of town, but there are worse areas for that, and there is a taxi stand a couple blocks from my place. They really should have gotten in touch. My other flat would have been a good meeting place too! Perhaps it even would have been better.

Back in the Yakima Gulag, offering meeting space usually got people's attention enough that someone would have got in touch.

It is cold out today, but very sunny. Really a beautiful day. I have to check something out accross the street, it looks like Chinatown there's a Chinese shop with red lanterns and all that stuff. Who knows, they might even have a wok or two! When I do non-microwave popcorn, I like using a wok. It comes out like that kettle corn at the fair, only I don't put sugar.