Tuesday, February 3, 2009

And the Good News Is..... Bad


AP – This photo released by the Fars News Agency claims to show two men in front of an Iranian satellite launching …



This headline caught my eye - I think the claim is accurate - don't you? Count 'em ( one orangy suit man...two orangy suit man) So it is two men. They're standing in front of an Iranian Satellite. If this were my news story , my focus would be on the satellite.


So I was sitting here playing solitaire, trying to think of:

1) What to write about today


2) How long I can stay here in my officette without raising the ire of the Mister


3) Whether to go out in the cold and get a pedicure




Still rolling these burning questions around in my wee little mind, I clicked on my Yahoo page and the following news headlines are staring back at me:

Iran Claims First Launch of its Own Satellite
.

Pakistan Militant Attack Cuts US, NATO Supply Line
.

N. Korea Preparing Long Range Missile Test

Mt. Redoubt 01/31/09

Alaska's Mt. Redoubt Activity Suggests Possible Eruption
.
Tampa-St Pete Home Values Fell 35 Billion in 2008
.
Britney's Kids Join Circus

So I added "4) Should I just go back to bed?" to my list.


I'm pretty sure I heard Iran's missile go over the house last night. We heard a noise, kind of a tornado/jet fighter/wind/rain/whooshing. We just sat there for a minute looking at each other with big eyes, waiting for a nuclear blast. Nothing further happened so we continued watching the NCIS re-run.


I'm thinking they had the satellite orbiting at about 400 feet, which is not the recommended altitude for a spy - oh-I mean - communication satellite. Those guys shouldn't even be playing with fire, and here they are launching stuff into space.


If that's not tragic enough, N Korea is still fooling around with their My Little Pony Long Range Missile Kit. How far exactly is their "long range"? And, at which evil capitalistic country are they aiming it? Lemme guess....





And then there's the story about Mt Redoubt, a strata volcano in Alaska, 106 miles (166 kilometers) west of Anchorage. It's at least no one's fault, that it may (or may not) erupt, but if you look at pictures there are 80 gazillion tons of snow on that mountain. It will probably melt pretty fast when the ambient temperature suddenly changes from 30 degrees below zero to 3,600 degrees. (Fahrenheit - I don't do Celsius - I only did kilometers because they were already noted on the volcano report for me. )

Sarah's going to have a swimming pool in her back yard for sure if the mountain blows up. The black ash, spreading along the Arctic snow belt is not a good plan either if we're trying to keep glaciers intact.

And then, there's the value of my house going down 35 billion dollars. That's exceptionally bad news. No one told me it was worth that much to begin with. We should be informed of these things so we can make our buy/sell/just walk off into the sunset decisions.

So, with all that bad news, I decided not to post today and looked around Bloggyville to see what cheery things everyone else is posting about today. The first one I noticed is Cate's "Joy To The World Post" so I go over there to share in the joy, and Cate has bravely decided to ignore the fact that the world is going to hell in a handbasket. At least for today. But, I've just seen the headlines. Should I tell her???? No. I'll let Cate enjoy her little sunshiny day and I'll keep an eye on the skies for her. I'll just leave the comment "DUCK!" whenever appropriate.

Maybe I'll stop over at Buttercream Cottage for a while and have some Cherry peek-a-boo bars. Those'll make me feel better. Then I think I'll go get that pedicure. I want my toes to look good for the high definition camera in that Iranian, uhm, communications satellite.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

The world is in a mess, for sure.

Call Me Cate said...

Well, damn, your intentions were good. But her I am anyways! Probably not the best approach but I've done a decent job of learning to bury my head in the sand when it comes to reading the news.

I'm totally into your option #4.

Call Me Cate said...

*here I am. I hate that we can't correct our comment bloopers.

MuseSwings said...

Good, Cate - stay in that warm fuzzy light at least for today. I'm not panic stricken or anything. I am, after all, thawing a chicken for Thursday.

Mary Lou - it is, so I'm glad you made dessert. It's delicious!

Martha@A Sense of Humor is Essential said...

Going back to bed and eating a yummy dessert sound like great options.

Karla Cook @ Roads to Everywhere said...

See? This is the very reason I rarely bother reading/watching/listening to the news. I figure with friends like you to keep me posted, I don't need the media! Thank you for letting us know all the Bad Good News. You are offering a valuable public service here!

Debby said...

*soothing voice* It'll be aaaaaaaal-riiiiiiiiight.

(I don't know that this is the truth, but it's how I've been comforting myself...)

A Wild Thing said...

I'm so sorry for your cool weather(yeah right)...aren't those little orange suits prisoner get-ups...just wondering...

I'll just keep on writing poetry till the world blows up around me...hope I get all the Hershey Bars eaten first!

Sparky said...

I'm just gonna bury myself in dark chocolate. Works everytime I start to worry ... :o) ♥ ∞

Shelley said...

It is hard watching the news and reading the headlines! I keep wondering if I should start building a nuclear shelter?! And thank goodness Iran has an election soon - I think whats his face (and I'm not even going to try to spell his name) is on his way out. Let's hope someone less crazy comes in. Please god!!!
Okay - can I tag along w/ you to the pedicure? And afterwords we can get martinis?

MuseSwings said...

Hahaha! Ya'll just come with me for the pedicure. I'm browsing in blogville rather than listening to the news. Things are better that way.

Bella@That damn expat said...

Your train of thought deeply amuses me.

Mim said...

I stopped listening to radio news during the Clinton/Lewinsky era - switched to books on tape instead during long drives to work.

Now I refuse to listen to all the doom and gloom and go watch TV and knit. I've watched things on TV that I would never have seen before. Did you know that the Simpsons are REALLY nice people underneath their gruff exterior? They are my new best friends.

Pat said...

Our news isn't that good either; government can't get it together, dinar falls, euro rises, I despair...

Marie Reed said...

You should get them painted silver so that they match the whatchamacallit:)

Nan said...

Courage is...turning on the nightly news.

Excellent review of the news. Would you mind doing this on a daily basis? I like your reporting better than that which is generally available. :-D

Jeanne Estridge said...

Something I've noticed: the big things that happen in the world impact my life far less than the little ones. As long as my washer and dryer are working and my fridge still has food in it, I'm prepared to ignore the occasional missile launch as fringe info. (We each choose our own type of sand.)

soulbrush said...

a good pedicure will set you up for most of this world's catastrophes. hugs.

Lavinia said...

Last I heard, the Iranians were threatening to launch that satellite unless you return the late Shah's "Pearl of Persia". Hmmmm, the fate of the western world rests upon your blonde shoulders moosey! Dont' let us down now! As for the value of your house, if you hadn't scraped off that diamond encrusted roof that the Count installed for you in a fit of misplaced affection, well, it might still be worth 35B. By the way! Whatever did you do with all those diamond shavings???!

MuseSwings said...

Lavinia! The Pearl? I can't return the Pearl. I'm too attached to it. The diamonds are all in a safe place - at least that's what my security people said - Janeen and Sparky. I'll have to go over to Sparky's brand new mansion and see just where she's keeping them for me. Perhaps in one of the marble planters by her new pool or the bingo room or the 15 car/cycle garage. One of those.