MY BONSAI PLANT

I think "green." Aside from conserving water, paper, recycling, and using the swirly energy-saver bulbs -- though they don't illuminate reading material as well as old fashioned bulbs do -- I have a "green" thumb.

Oh dear, alas ... the Bonsai plant that the producers gave my husband, John, on the opening night of his show, is sitting on the bench in my hallway, under the bright fluorescent in the ceiling. It is not doing well. It probably had a bad trip when John brought it home from the theater last week in a plastic grocery bag.

The soil was dry. Some of the tiny dark green leaves had already turned brown.

I've been greeting it in the morning. I feel the soil and RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO WATER IT. (Over watering is a plant Mother's greatest weakness.)

I use my fingers to brush the dead leaves away from the slender trunk, and flick -- oh, ever so lightly -- at any leaf that looks suspiciously tired.

Midday, when I go upstairs for more coffee, because I need a break, I spray it lightly, very minimally, but where spray is needed. A plant needs tender love and care.

I'll be tender loving, caring for it for a year or so. And even when it gets bedraggled, and its days are numbered, I won't throw it out. It's part of my life -- like the fish in our fish tanks. When a fish died, I missed it, mourned it for days. (I still miss George, our pike, and Goldy our year-old goldfish. )

What should I do?

SHECONOMY VERSUS HECONOMY

"Sheconomy" -- the word makes me cringe. I didn't hear the word or see it until a week ago. I know that women are gaining stronger positions in business and earning more, but it's still a man's world -- or is it? Is there a new war, a new battle between men and woman?

"The Battle of the Sexes," a 1914 silent film, was directed by D.W. Griffith. "The Battle of the Sexes," a 1928 talkie, was a remake directed by Griffith. From the early thirties till the sixties when he died, James Thurber's cartoons depicting the battles between the sexes were in the New Yorker Magazine.

"The Battle of the Sexes" was a 1959 British comedy film starring Peter Sellers. "The War Between Men and Women," a comedy film starring Jack Lemmon, Barbara Harris, and Jason Robards, based on James Thurber's writings, was released and a hit in 1972.

So what about now?

I've seen numbers that prove women (or the homemaker person in a relationship), generally do the buying of cars, houses, financial services, electronic gadgets (such as cell phones and, computers), and buy the food, pharmaceuticals, clothing for the family, furniture, and decide where to vacation.

Statistic-makers collect information on all of the above -- analyze, filter, organize, and sell numbers to manufacturers, to the markets, as well as the purveyors, who develop, expand, and draw conclusions about the numbers so that the media -- advertisers and creators -- can cater to the female/homemaker person's taste and predilections, as defined by all this.

Yes, and all this is now being verified, sung, discussed, confirmed, by major PhD's, CEO's, prognosticators, (including the Woman's Congress, The Spectrum Group, Mass Mutual Financial Group, Fleishman-Hillard, PR and International Marketing, and Sheconomy.com).

Okay, the numbers are proving that women, the "SHEs" have more, much more power than the men, the "HEs," who nowadays, are lagging a little, sagging, dragging behind. (But, be aware that this information is being manufactured by the manufacturers who buy the trends, and sell them back to you.)

Sheconomy, Heconomy are a money-money view of things promoting the war between the sexes. And we're still recovering from the previous White House, that sold us WAR, got us into WAR, made money-money on WAR!

I think that what's going on now with married hetero couples, unmarried roommates, gay couples, is a stronger-than-ever need for pleasure, for pretty things, happy moments, because of the real WARS -- fighting, attacking, warring in politics, and the grim realities about young men and women being killed in our wars.

The sexes are not at war. I think right now, in these scary times, people are trying to create peace, a home-sweet-home safe place.

FAVORITE ACTORS (video)

Emily Frankel asks John Cullum who his favorite movie actors are.

John tosses off the names -- Humphrey Bogart, Henry Fonda, Marlon Brando, Jimmy Stewart, and Cary Grant.

"But who did you want to be?" Emily wants to know.

John, somewhat hesitantly at first, reveals he never wanted to be like another actor, but movie acting was his dream.

NANCY PELOSI

I like her.

What's to say about a woman whose face is instantly recognizable, who has been in the news, on television, whose voice I recognize, as well as her manner, her bearing.

I like her.

Why are people surprised that she chose to remain in Congress as the minority leader? I guess they felt she enjoyed her power, and would dislike taking a back seat. (I never got the impression that she loved being in the limelight -- when paparazzi were hovering, she seemed somewhat embarrassed.)

I felt that she liked and understood her job, and had no reluctance about expressing her opinion -- it usually fit with the President's opinion. When it didn't, it was never Nancy Pelosi versus the President. It was Pelosi wanting to help him achieve what he wanted to achieve.

I like her.

She didn't say "I." She used the pronoun "We." Her cheerful, upbeat manner affirmed that she believed in what she was doing. I remember a couple of occasions when she explained some whys and wherefores. When she did, it seemed sensible, not teacherish, just practical.

I like that.

At times, it was if she were Obama's partner -- not a wife, but similar to a wife -- in her consistent loyalty, her ability to change the subject when reporters were bombarding her with questions.

Right now, the media constantly refers to Obama being trounced, Obama failing -- the White House being seriously rebuked by the public's lack of support -- the midterms as a disaster for Obama.

That Pelosi will continue to work with the President says the midterms were just midterms, not a rebuke or a disaster. She's ready to use her knowledge, skills, experience -- her rapport with the President -- to help him move ahead on his agenda.

Pelosi is showing us that actions speak louder than words.

That's why I'm letting you know, I like Nancy Pelosi.

WHY OUR GRANDPARENTS WERE HAPPY

A friend of ours sent me this after I did a blog about marijuana. (He lives in California, one of the fourteen states that allows 'weed' to be purchased at pharmacies with a prescription.)

BAYERS HEROIN
Between 1890 and 1910 heroin was sold as a non-addictive substitute for morphine.
It was also used to treat children suffering with a strong cough.

METACAF'S COCA WINE
It was one of a huge variety of wines with cocaine on the market.
Everybody used to say that it would make you happy
and it also worked as a medicinal treatment.

MARIANI WINE (1875)
It was the most famous Coca wine of it's time.
Pope Leo XIII used to carry one bottle with him all the time.
He awarded Angelo Mariani (the producer)
with a Vatican gold medal.

MALTINE
Produced by the Maltine Manufacturing Company of New York.
The label suggested that you should take a full glass with, or after, every meal.
Children should only take half a glass.

OPIUM FOR ASTHMA
At 40% alcohol plus 3 grams of opium per tablet,
it didn't cure you, but you didn't care.

COCAINE TOOTHACHE DROPS
Very popular for children in 1885.
Not only did they relieve the pain, they made the children very happy!

COCAINE TABLETS (1900)
All stage actors, singers, teachers and preachers
had to have them for a maximum performance.
Great to smooth the voice.

PAREGORIC
(Opium for newborns, plus 46% alcohol.)
It made them sleep well.


It's no wonder they were called, 'The Good Old Days'!!
From cradle to grave...
Everyone Was Stoned!!!

SHOULD EM SHUT UP?

Commentators have to be careful about what they say. The Granddaddy of broadcasting, NBC, tells its commentators "keep your personal political opinions to yourself."

NBC is following an old-fashioned concept of journalism.

Fox News encourages outspokenness and first-person voices. Fox News is the number one, most listened to Network, by audiences. On Fox News all the commentators keep reminding you that they Tweet or Facebook their opinions .

(Oh God, why in the world, how in the world, did ramblings, spur of the moment blanket statements, private half-formed bla-bla become popular? I remember, do you remember when news was news and nobody said "see me, read me on Tweet, Facebook or Online?)

The new way for commentators to behave is not dictated by rules in a memo. If more and more people are watching, and advertisers are buying time while you're on the air, 1. be careful who and what you attack and smile. 2. don't show your opinion too strongly and smile. 3. smile a lot. (If someone sues, you can say you were joking.)

Meanwhile, MSNBC's commentator, Joe Scarborough was fined and suspended for a couple of days, and so was commentator Keith Olberman. (Both had broken NBC's policy, and made unauthorized donations to political candidates they supported .)

Rick Sanchez was canned at CNN for saying that Jews dominate the media. Juan Williams was fired by NPR for saying that he gets nervous seeing airline passengers "in Muslim garb." Veteran columnist, Helen Thomas retired under fire after saying Israelis should " get the hell out of Palestine." Political reporter David Weigel was dropped by the Washington Post for criticizing some conservatives. CNN's Octavia Nasr lost her job for saying that she respected a deceased Hezbollah leader who had opposed honor killings of women.

It's there -- you have be very, very careful! And don't use the wrong-evil-bad N word, or F or S or any of the old ways of referring to gays.

Should I tape my mouth, zip up, not say I don't like Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin -- or that John Boehner upsets me? I haven't recovered from him in March, when he blurted out a violent, angry opinion about the health care vote. I don't admire Pope Benedict -- he's avoided the issue of priests abusing kids, and ... well ... there are other people that seriously bother me.

Oh dear ...

Well, I'm my own boss. I am not controlled or paid or on a salary, or following anyone's rules but my own, which are 1. be careful, 2. don't use vulgar swear words, 3. answer all messages from readers who disagree with me.

Commentators have to be careful about what they say. I don't!

I'm a blogger, as in blo, and ogger, so I'll keep on blo-ING ogger-ING with my mouth not zipped-up!

JANET JACKSON (Video)

That's Janet Jackson and big brother Michael. I haven't forgotten Michael Jackson, or his children, or the Jackson family, and I wondered how Janet Jackson was doing right now.

The 44-year old Jackson's self-help book/memoir, "True You," that's about to be released, focuses on her issues with her weight and her life with her "secret" husband, whom she divorced. Currently s dating Wissam Al Mana, a wealthy native of Qatar, who is nine years her junior, she's been working as an actress with director Tyler Perry in his last three movies, co-starring with Whoopie Goldberg in Perry's adaptation of "For Colored Girls."


WHAM, this photo hit my eyes.