OK. *gulp*

So, I am a U.S. citizen.  I vote.  I pay my taxes.  I use my turn indicator at 4-way stops when no one is around.  I give blood (not germane but virtuous).

All my life, I have been a Piglet.  For the most part, I feel small and squeaky.  To this day, when I have politely-worded arguments, I feel trembly.

Politics are full of Heffalumps and Tiggers.  Neither type seems to enjoy quietness and small days as much I do.  I leave the blustering and the bouncing to them.

There are all kinds of big threats to liberty to protest.  But there are Christopher Robins and Rabbits who very capably Know What to Do in These Cases.

In my case, there are very little and mostly silent things to do:  giving of small monies and helping Winnie the Pooh fix things up and bringing to notice those whose pain has not been noticed.

While I don’t have much of a voice, it’s due to temperament.  It’s not due to anyone forcing me to be quiet, to not be there.

I think that’s why the PIPA and SOPA issue upsets me so.

I don’t like rich and powerful Heffalumps telling other forest creatures to shush.  I don’t think the Tiggers are the only voices which should be heard.  I don’t think the practical Rabbits and benign Christopher Robins should be sent out of the forest and barbed wire wound around the tree trunks shutting them out.

I especially think us Piglets should be let to poke about in the Hundred Acre Wood.  We are small and of no importance but we have a right to be here.

I have, for the first time in my life, contacted my senator.  My voice definitely squeaked but I said my say.

If you are a Piglet too, please step up and please speak up.

Because if we can’t speak, we can’t speak for anyone who has been hushed.

Related articles

• SOPA/PIPA Protests Bring the Web to a Halt (mossandfog.com)
• SOPA/PIPA Battle Rages: Tell Congress We Will Not Accept Censorship (mountainrepublic.net)
• SOPA & PIPA – The internet strikes back! (vgarmada.wordpress.com)

Movies–

Clarice Starling from Silence of the Lambs.  Smart, tough, and determined to find out the truth even if she attracts the attention of the psychotic Hannibal Lector.

Marge Gunderson from Fargo.  You can’t much more girl power than the notably pregnant and clear-minded Marge.

Nora Charles of the Thin Man series.  I adore Myrna Loy to pieces.  As Mrs. Charles, she’s half of the best eccentric and happily married detective couple ever.

Books–

Nancy Drew – she of the titian hair in the endlessly and rightly  revised book series. I remember loving the illustrations on the covers of Mystery of the Lilac Inn and Ringmaster’s Secret especially.  I think she’s actually at her best in the computer game series made by Her Interactive.  Cheerful, fearless, and relentless, Nancy is a force to be reckoned with.

Jane Marple of the quintessential cozy mysteries by Agatha Christie.  Miss Marple is a magical crone who unerringly knows who is guilty and how to prevent more harm being done.  My favorite Marple actress was Joan Hickerson.

Precious Ramotswe of the Ladies’ Detective Agency.  Love the books by Alexander McCall Smith and loved the TV version with Jill Scott as the lead and the delightful supporting performance by Anika Noni Rose (also in Princess and the Frog and Dreamgirls).

Mrs. Emily Pollyfax  is about the senior spy written by Dorothy Gilman.  The author became cynical as the series went along but the early books are charming. (thanks Rose Kat for the correction)

Neil Hamel of New Mexico by Judith Van Gieso.  A hard boiled detective wandering the mean streets of New Mexico.  I lived near Albuquerque when I discovered this series and liked Neil and her much younger boyfriend quite a bit.

Honorable Mentions –

Thursday Next of the Eyre Affair.  I liked Jasper Fforde’s literary-centric world but it was too rarefied for me.  I am open to another attempt if anyone would make a case for it.

Stephanie Plum of the numbered mysteries (One for the Money, etc) written by Janet Evanovich.  Irreverent bounty hunter solves mysteries.

Kinsey Millhone of the Alphabetic Murders by Sue Grafton.  I never read past the first book of her lengthy series.  However, I know people who love it.

Elizabeth McPherson.  I love Sharyn McCrumb a lot but I think I prefer her non genre books better.

Related articles

• Disney Acquires Untitled Female Detective Pitch (collider.com)
• Miss Marple’s Great Granddaughter (millicentandcarlafran.wordpress.com)
• Why Miss Marple Matters* (icametorun.com)

Filed under: holidays ]]> http://moonlitgarden.wordpress.com/2011/12/25/many-blessings/feed/ 0 Murcia washington irving Christmas quotation http://moonlitgarden.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-2012-update/ http://moonlitgarden.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-2012-update/#comments Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:50:45 +0000 Murcia http://moonlitgarden.wordpress.com/?p=10358 ]]>

Image via Wikipedia

Back in 2009 I wrote about the possible reboot of BtVS.  The latest news is that Whit Anderson is off the project.  Whedon is sassy about it.

I had assumed that she was just the pretty face to serve as a decoy for the seasoned writer who didn’t want his (probably) name on it.  If that scriptwriter backed out, they could have still used her as their face.

Parenthetically, poor thing’s going to go through life as ‘that chick who wanted to replace Joss.’

ETA:  I feel that I was being waspish and unfair here.  I do believe that poor Ms Anderson was used unkindly by those backing this project. I have contempt for them and for their attempt to misappropriate a culture icon, not the young woman.

From L A Times:

As for the future of “Buffy”? A new writer is being sought but the entire endeavor may have lost some steam. There also might be some healthy fear among the producers who witnessed a spasm of fan criticism when the project was first publicized.

And how do I really feel about it?  BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.  *wipes tear*

But enough of these mirthful distractions…let’s all wait for The Avengers.  And go watch Tintin.

M is for Music

There is nothing quite like getting your groove on to some sick beats.

N is for Nail Polish

painting nails at a slumber party is definitely my speed

O is for Ocean

finding new and amazing stuff that lives in ridiculous extreme underwater environements.

P is for Picnic

Picnics, much like solitaire, can be done however the attendees wish.

She first worked independently with Matylda Getter, and later joined the Zegota.  They smuggled infants and toddlers from the Warsaw Ghetto and gave them new identities and new families.  She carried out the children in toolboxes, potato sacks and body bags.  She wrote their real names in code and put the information in jars which she buried in her neighbor’s yard.

In 1943, they arrested her and, during her interrogation, they broke her legs and arms.  The Zegota bribed the guards with a bag of money to spare her life and she was left unconscious by the side of the road.

Sendler later uncovered the jars and tried to reunite the children with their families.  There were few survivors.

In 1965, Yad Vashem recognized Irena Sendler as Righteous Among the Nations.

In 2003, Poland awarded Sendler its highest distinction, the Order of White Eagle.

She was also nominated for awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.  However, she was not given that honor.  She died in 2008.

She saved 2,500 lives.

• Yad Vashem – link
• International Federation of Social Workers – Nobel Peace Prize nomination
• Irena Sendler Project – site
• Holocaust Forgotten – children create play
• Auschwitz.dk – short bio
• The Guardian – insists she is not a hero
• History’s Hero’s – link
• Snopes.com – link (this is where I started)

In short, I will be/may be/might be

• not posting till after New Year’s
• still posting to my tumblr account: moonlitgarden.tumblr.com
• may break all my little rules for myself since I’ve lost my audience.
• may junk this blog and move elsewhere and start over

guess I’ll  see.

I like the way Army of Darkness ends now but the other six movies on this list could be better with their original endings.

Via boredish.com