Wow

Dozens injured, nine dead in bloody holiday weekend in Chicago

The Fourth of July holiday weekend brought an explosion of gunfire to Chicago, with roughly 50 people shot and nine killed, authorities said on Monday.

The violence was so widespread in the nation's third-largest city during the period from Thursday through Sunday that police were still tallying the dead and wounded on Monday, but a Chicago Police Department spokesman said the current count was 49 shooting incidents with nine dead. The spokesman did not give details on the number of people shot.

At a news conference Monday morning, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy called the violence "unacceptable," blaming it in part on a "proliferation of firearms."

Police said five people were shot by officers, and at least two of them were killed.

In three of the incidents, the victims had pointed weapons at officers when they were shot, the Chicago Police Department said in a statement. A fourth man was shot and seriously wounded by police after he told them he had a weapon, police said. There were 21 shooting incidents alone on Sunday, police said.

The tallies vary, some including those shot by the police, including two teenagers who apparently refused to put down guns. But it's not just Chicago. Here in Lexington, shootings have seemed to be happening almost daily as of late.

Woman killed at Lexington house is city's 11th homicide

She is Lexington's 11th homicide victim of the year.

The woman was shot just before 3 p.m. Sunday in the 200 block of Race Street, and police found her lying on the porch of a small frame house.

She had been shot multiple times, according to initial reports.

She was the fourth person to die in Lexington in a series of shootings in various parts of town since late June. At least 12 people have been wounded by gunfire during that time.

Lexington recently beefed up its robbery-homicide squad to deal with several open murder cases and is looking into ways to combat the violence. We have very weak gun laws in Kentucky (you are required to have a concealed carry licence to do so, but I don't think guns must be otherwise registered or gun owners licensed. Now, Chicago's population is nearly 10 times ours--2,718,782 estimated in 2013 to our 308,428 in the same year. But it seems like both cities are starting to feel like violence is out of control.

I'll admit it: I don't like guns. I've shot rifles and shotguns in 4-H, but have never owned a gun. I grew up with a gun in the house (every military person has a service pistol, as far as I know, or at least had one at the time I was growing up, and I grew up on military bases). I never bothered it, knew not to. But I wouldn't have one in the house with children, even locked both cabinet-wise or the gun itself. I am much more likely to get hurt by having a gun than not, and I know it. I don't think the 2nd Amendment guarantees the right to own personal handguns, although if you're into muskets and joining militias, I think you're covered. I see no reason to own a fully automatic rifle, as it is only good for killing people and perhaps an unsporting kill when hunting (real deer hunting, as far as I'm concerned, is done with bows). But I live in a gun-rich country with many, many people who are ready to have their guns pried away from their cold, dead fingers. I also, unfortunately, live in a society where people can shoot unarmed black teenagers because they fear for their lives and get off entirely. I believe that's terribly wrong. I recognise that other people feel differently and have a right to their opinion. But I think they're wrong, and I'm not particularly interested in arguing with them, because that usually degenerates into a free for all where neither side is going to budge, with a lot of emotion that undermines any reason.

And the shootings go on, and it's tragic--so many families touched by violence, and I seriously doubt that anyone with the power to do anything will. Sigh.

Well, drat

The one day that I'm off from work so there aren't lots of adults and kids swarming the pool and horseplaying, and I might be able to take a luxurious bout in the pool, it is closed. Later today we're supposed to get some thunderstorms, and tomorrow, too, and anyway the evenings tend to be a little rough for my desire to float and relax in the pool. I went to get a drink from the laundry room and check out the pool, and the sign saying it was closed was up. One of my neighbours came up in trunks and was apparently very disappointed, as he stood there for several minutes and then retreated to another building's doorway to watch. I guess he was going to meet someone there. Oh, well, at least I hadn't gotten into my suit, etc. But I am disappointed. Once I have my surgery, I won't be able to get in at all for a little while, and this was the first real attempt I had made this year.

I am off work today, yay!

So far I have:
1. Slept in till 9:30, a full hour after I'm normally at my desk, yay!
2. Paid two bills that were actually due yesterday but since it was Sunday, they wouldn't credit them anyway till today.
3. Escalated a case with eBay where a seller never sent me the item and has not responded to my attempts to contact them (and got a refund!)
4. Eaten breakfast (Veggie sausage, egg, and cheese on an English muffin.)
5. Charged my glucometer (I had it charging last night and it didn't work for some reason, so I had t do it again,)
6. Checked out Facebook and taken three quizzes (I am supposedly supposed to live in Los Angeles--which I went to in the 1970s and didn't care for--and I came out as Captain Jack Harkness for 'Doctor Who' companion. Can't remember the other one, as I am writing the commentaries later in the day.)
7. Checked my e-mail (Mostly the normal stuff. I love that on my computer I have the ninjas theme for Gmail, though. It's very cheery.)
8. Checked the news (Lots of violence, see later post on gun violence.)

So now it's on to other things. What I'd like to do today:

• Get my hair cut. (I did, but she didn't really take off as much as I asked her too; it's been barely trimmed.)
• Get into the pool. (See later post on that.)
• Maybe go to Lane Bryant. (Decided to go to Meijer and check out sandals instead, to no avail.)
• Go to the library and return a couple of books. (Did that.)
• Listen to music. (Of Monsters and Men's My Head is an Animal.)
• Watch some of those things on the DVR and DVDs that I haven't yet. (Thinking about 'Sherlock', but haven't yet).

In other words, do what in Dialectical Behavioural Therapy they used to call 'pleasurable adult activities' and relax. :) Oh, and maybe get a jump on the game notes. We had a good game, then watched 'Witches of East End' and 'Salem'. But I was tired and a little hormonal last night when I got home, so I went straight to bed.

Okay, off the computer and time to do something fun. Enjoy your day!

(PS: I also napped on and off throughout the day, keeping off my knee, which hurts, but not as bad as it usually does. Oddly enough, the left knee is really hurting, a sharp pain when I move it. Perhaps I hurt it at the same time, only not as badly, and it's starting to act up, or, perhaps it's just working harder since I'm putting most of my weight on to it instead of the right knee. Hurts either way.)

I went to the Bluegrass Farmer's Market earlier

and for $14 I got a small watermelon, an ear of corn, an onion, three regular tomatoes, a pint of cherry tomatoes, a yellow zucchini, two regular ones, and a cucumber. I took some of the bounty over to my friends' house, and made them a dish of tomatoes, zucchini, and onions with cheese, and then under YKWIA's direction made some kale with onions and smoked paprika and some snap peas in butter and herbs. We had a lovely meal of various vegetables, and then A cleaned up afterwards and we had a nice visit.

Now I'm home and I need to do game notes before tomorrow but I'm not quite at the point where I feel like doing them this moment, even though it's nearly ten at night. I should have worked on them earlier today before going over to their house, I know. Oh, well. The good news is I have gotten snacks for the game already and so tomorrow I should be able to go over there and get right to work on the house, although with my knee A's going to have to help a great deal. But for now, I'm putting my leg up for about a half hour. The plan is NOT to go to sleep, and then work on the notes. But my knee and my feet are throbbing, so elevating them should help.

Oh, my

10-Year-Old Icelandic Girl Denied A Passport Because Her Name Is 'Harriet'

Icelandic girls can't be called Harriet, government tells family: Authorities reluctant to renew passport of Harriet, 10, as name is not on approved list of 3,565

You can be Aagot, Arney or Ásfríður; Baldey, Bebba or Brá. Dögg, Dimmblá, Etna and Eybjört are fine; likewise Frigg, Glódís, Hörn and Ingunn. Jórlaug works OK, as do Obba, Sigurfljóð, Úranía and – should you choose – Vagna.

But you cannot, as a girl in Iceland, be called Harriet.

"The whole situation," said Tristan Cardew, with very British understatement, "is really rather silly."

With his Icelandic wife Kristin, Cardew is appealing against a decision by the National Registry in Reykjavik not to renew their 10-year-old daughter Harriet's passport on the grounds that it does not recognise her first name.

Since the registry does not recognise the name of Harriet's 12-year-old brother Duncan either, the two children have until this year travelled on passports identifying them as Stúlka and Drengur Cardew: Girl and Boy Cardew.

The problem is you cannot decline names like 'Harriet' and 'Duncan', in the Icelandic language. So it's a problem in terms of the naming laws. And before you think you're free to name your child anything in the USA, remember recently a Tennessee judge ruled that a boy couldn't be called 'Messiah'. Although in that case, at least the ruling was overturned and the judge later lost her position. Here's hoping the Icelandic courts recognise that Harriet and Duncan, who have a British father and have British names, do not need to be known officially as Girl and Boy, but can get passports after all. And I bet some other countries they've travelled to think their names are Stúlka and Drengur, as most people aren't familiar with Icelandic names. I would probably make that mistake, and I at least understand a bit how the surnames work.

I had a very nice Fourth of July

I:
• Slept in.
• Visited with three friends.
• Watched 12 Years a Slave with one of them, which was a very good movie, although somewhat difficult to watch, but underscored the fragility of freedom for the day.
• Did a small grocery run.
• Listened to music.
• Had a brief nap.
• Watched the fireworks at Idle Hour, which were awesome, especially with the running commentary by my co-worker's grandchildren. At one point someone briefly lost a child in the crowd and the police and firefighters came, and her grandson was sure we'd all be arrested.

What I didn't do was go to the parade/downtown festival, which is a shame, but with my knee the way it is, it makes no sense to walk on it all over creation. Let's face it, pain isn't fun. I was really looking forward to it, too, and the weather was lovely today--cooler without a hint of rain.

I checked in on TvTag (formerly GetGlue) after the movie and someone said 'it was very true to the novel'. It wasn't based on a work of fiction, but rather on a 19th-century memoir/slave narrative of a free man who went through the harrowing experience of being kidnapped and sold into slavery. My friend didn't know it was a true story either, and I think my telling him made it somewhat harder for him to watch. I must say the acting was very good. I particularly think Chiwetel Ejiofor did an excellent job as Solomon Northrup. Personally, I am surprised he did not win the Oscar for his performance, but then I haven't seen Dallas Buyers Club, so I haven't seen Matthew McConaughey's performance. Michael Fassbender was very good as Epps, and Lupita Nyong'o was very good as Patsey. But I thought Ejiofor really was the best. I am glad the film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, at least. I would like to read the book, Twelve Years a Slave, which I have on my Kindle but haven't gotten to yet.

Well, the fireworks are still going off outside in my neighbourhood. There's a dog upstairs that has quieted down. I hope my friends' dogs are doing okay. Two don't really mind the sounds, but one just gets terrified and will stay under one's desk at his feet. But they used to have neighbours who set them off next door and they moved some time ago, so maybe it won't be so bad.

By the way, remember the show 'Vicious' I was writing about? I did get to see the first episode (that's all that's aired on PBS as of yet). It is very funny. It comes on the same time as 'Salem', which has two more episodes, but fortunately you can watch on the PBS website as well.

Okay, I think I'm going to start winding down for the night. It's almost midnight. I might play a little on the Atari before bed. :)

Got the results of the MRI today

And it wasn't good. My medial meniscus is, to use the surgeon's term, 'shredded'. It will not get better with time or physical therapy according to him. Plus, I do have some arthritis. He said that if I were older he'd recommend a knee replacement, and that may be down the road anyway. But he definitely wants to do an arthroscopic partial meniscectomy. So we've gone ahead and scheduled that, with the proviso that I can find someone to drive me there and home. The surgeon's going out of the country for a bit, so it'll be near the end of the month. The idea, barring complications, is that I should be able to have the surgery on Friday, recover over the weekend, and drive by Monday or Tuesday, so long as I'm not on any narcotics, and most people take those for only about 72 hours, according to the nurse educator there. I'm usually very sparing with those anyway, and normally don't go through the full prescription, so here's hoping I'll be fine and driving and not miss work. I shouldn't have to have a walker or such, and hopefully the three steps that were so much trouble after my ankle surgery won't be an issue, as I can be weight-bearing as soon as I can tolerate it. Here is a video that demonstrates what they basically do:



I'm going to double check with our agent, but I think I basically shot myself in the foot (figuratively) with AFLAC, because when I went down on the floor to do the cleaning in May, I did twist some and immediately had pain, so that was what did it, but I thought maybe I'd just sprained my knee a little, and was able to walk, so I didn't seek medical attention via the emergency room or even my regular physician when the week began until it was obvious it wasn't getting any better. I think there's a time limit, something like 72 hours, to do so. I injured myself on May 17th and didn't go to the doctor until June 10th and the specialist till June 24th. So even though I have an injury that would normally be covered, has resulted in an MRI and will need surgery, I don't think I meet the requirements due to the time limit. Drat. But I'll double check to be sure. And my hospital coverage doesn't kick in because this will be done in an ambulatory surgical centre. Oh, well. It would have been nice. This is exactly why I pay premiums each pay period.

Okay, even though I just got home a little while ago and finally ate dinner, I'm going to go on to bed. A friend has an appointment tomorrow and I have to get him there by 7 am. He is not a morning person, so I'm going to go over around 6 am (meaning I should get up by 5 am) and hopefully help him get going. The nice thing is then I'll go into work, put in a full day, and I'm off both Friday, the Fourth of July, and Monday, so it'll be a four-day weekend. That's all the vacation I can manage, especially with the surgery coming up, but it's something. Unfortunately, the knee issue is going to keep me from going downtown to the Fourth of July festival during the day Friday, but I'll head over to the hospital where I work to watch the fireworks from the country club across the street that evening. We can park in our parking lot with our badges, rather than out on the street, and the front lawn is a great place to catch the fireworks. The weather is supposed to be great, with no chance of rain and cooler than the heat we've been having.

Quiet evening at home

Last night I watched 'Salem' (which only has two episodes left and is really heating up) with YKWIA and A. This morning I turned in my book review for publication review, along with a copyright form. I got quite a bit completed at work, despite the knee pain, but some ibuprofen and an ice pack got me through. I came home and immediately elevated the knee, falling asleep for a couple of hours. Then I got up and straightened the house, loaded the dishwasher, put my medicine in its pill holder, and changed out purses. I walked over to the laundry room for a soda (which is a testament to how elevating the leg helps--at work I put off going to get water or anything from the cafeteria because it's across the building. Unfortunately, although I've tried to elevate my leg at my desk using a library step stool and a pillow, it doesn't work as well if it's not above your heart. In fact, it starts to hurt after awhile.) I set the laptop back up and I've been playing around on the Internet. I would play a couple of games on the Atari, but it's been storming a little and I'd unplugged it for now. It's on a fairly simple surge protector, and I don't want it overwhelmed. Now it's 11 pm and I'm thinking of going on to bed. I may read for a little while and listen to some soft music before I sleep.

Tomorrow afternoon I find out what's going on with my knee. If it is a meniscal tear, from what I've been reading, given my age and having a bit of arthritis already, they may just send me to physical therapy rather than surgery, as the outcomes are about the same and while some people have to go ahead and have surgery after a course of physical therapy, most don't. Here's hoping for that, as that means I could continue to drive and wouldn't miss work. Of course, if there are other issues--tendons or ligaments involved, etc., then that could be something altogether different. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Speaking of gays

Brenda showed us this on Sunday. Okay, yes, it plays up on rural stereotypes, but I'm very proud of the folks in Vicco, Kentucky. They've got their priorities straight. And I'm glad that here in Lexington, we also have a gay mayor, who is up for re-election and has my vote.

The Colbert Report
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Something to check out, definitely

Oh You Silly Thing, of Course He’s Gay: ‘Vicious’ on PBS Follows Two Gay Characters

I have a lot of respect for both Ian McKellen, whom I know from, well, all sorts of things, and Derek Jacobi, whom I know from the 'Brother Cadfael' mysteries. They are both very, very talented, and happen to be openly gay as well. So I'm glad PBS has brought those of us in America the sitcom, 'Vicious'. The article is a discussion not only of the series but of stereotyping in television.

The thing is...yes, there are gay stereotypes, and a reliance on them for laughs probably isn't the best thing in the world. But I've had quite a bit of experience with gays (I married a gay man, and in fact was in a 'triunity' with two, my best friends are a gay couple, and I sang in a chorus that was largely lesbian. Oh, and even though I don't normally go on about it, because it's not like I date or anything, I am attracted to both men and women, although that seems to slide along the Kinsey scale a bit depending on the time and my mood.) There are lots of real guys who flounce and do all the things people associate with gays. And yes, I've known lots of lesbians who bond quickly (the classic joke is what do lesbians bring on a third date--a U-Haul). There are also lots of real gays and lesbians who are nothing like the stereotypes. And then there are the folks somewhere in between. Not every gay man has fashion sense. Not every lesbian lacks it. And bisexuals are not merely confused. But as long as characters are portrayed as people and not merely stereotypes, I don't have trouble with it. Give me developed characters with some depth, and I'm fine. So I'm interested in seeing what these two acting greats have managed to do.