Tribute: Martin Luther King, Jr.

It's important for me to acknowledge and honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on this, the day America celebrates his birth.

Below are selected excerpts from L. Harold DeWolf in his Funeral Tribute to MLK at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA on April 9, 1968.

"Martin Luther King spoke with the tongues of men and of angels... Now that knowledge and that wisdom have been transcended as he shares in the divine wisdom of eternity.

It is now for us, all the millions of the living who care, to take up his torch of love. It is for us to finish his work, to end the awful destruction in Vietnam, to root out every trace of race prejudice from our lives, to bring the massive powers of this nation to aid the oppressed and to heal the hate-scarred world."

L. Harold DeWolf (1905-1986) was Martin Luther King's dissertation advisor at Boston University's School of Theology. From 1965 to 1972 he was the dean of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC.

--Shella

Lobster and the Sunk-Cost Fallacy

What does a lobster have to do with the sunk-cost fallacy? And if the two are related at all, what’s the worst that can happen? Let me tell you the true story of what happens when a lobster purchase meets the sunk-cost fallacy, enhanced by loss aversion.

First, the sunk-cost fallacy is applicable to economics, human behavior, business decision-making, warfare, gambling – and evidently buying shellfish.

The sunk-cost fallacy is the phenomenon closely related to loss aversion. For example, a person who purchases a non-refundable movie ticket feels obligated to go to the movie despite not really wanting to, because doing otherwise would be wasting the ticket price; they feel they passed the point of no return and must see the show.

Dan (Remarkable Simone’s father), after having unsuccessfully attempted to catch lobster, found and purchased the largest tail he'd ever seen at a local market. It was the size of a meat loaf and weighed two pounds! It also cost $55.

All you can eat lobster is right up my alley. Dan decides that the 2 lb tail should be sliced, and the medallions sauteed in garlic and butter. So far so good.

I get started late. My plate is beautiful. Plenty of lobster medallions, superb salad, red wine (Shiraz again and YES even with seafood). I pick the most succulent piece of lobster, place it delicately in my eager mouth…. Begin to chew when…. YUCK! It tastes like ammonia! Same with the second attempted bite so I toss all mine in the garbage.

Dan has just paid $55 for the largest lobster tail he’s ever seen. And he’s going to eat it, goddammit, he tells me it tastes great and doesn’t smell like ammonia. He consumes nearly the whole thing.

I decide to do a little sleuthing on the internet to see if there’s anything about lobsters smelling like ammonia. As it turns out, there are about a million pages describing how shellfish decay and contamination results in ammonia smell! I must tell him.

“Dear Dan, I am sorry to inform you that the lobster was rotten, and you may be in for a long night.”

He’s horrified. He’s pissed-off. He’s gotten ripped off. HE ATE IT.

Within a short time food poisoning hits. Dan’s feeling nauseous, then the stomach cramps begin, then frequent visits to the loo, then he’s retching. Dan curls on the couch through the night sick as a dog, too sick to go home or be on his own.

The moral of this story is: NEVER consumer nearly two pounds of rotten lobster simply because you paid $55 for it. It’s not worth it. It’s a sunk cost, just let it go.

I think I Still Mourn For Italy...

As you know, my daughter has disabilities. Something happened recently (I don't know yet if I'll post about it) that made we spend some time considering if I've fully come to accept what this means, and whether or not I still have grief about it.

WELCOME TO HOLLAND
by Emily Perl Kingsley


I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy.

You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy." But there's been a change in the flight plan.

You've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there.

And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Shella's Sick: Sniffle, Cough, Wheeze, Sneeze, Wipe

Remember how I told you that Remarkable Simone was sick?

Remember how I said that I was hoping to escape without getting sick as well?

Remember how I stayed home from work, cleaning and disinfecting every surface and object known to man that she could have possibly touched?

Well, it didn't work. I am officially down for the count.

I just wanted to let you know in case you're expecting a decent post from me. I'll knock your socks off when I get better.

Carry on.

The only job more dangerous than Madam Speakers

Yikes. This poor guy.

You're looking at the only job in the world more dangerous than Nancy Pelosi's right now.

The democrats have been in charge of both houses for a couple of days. Bush is being a complete dick, anyone who believes one word out of that liars mouth about his bipartisan actions should - I don't know - maybe hold up targets for some army's firearms practice.

Evidently, the traditional media is still taking talking points from the GOP and White House, and republicans are beginning to harp, as though they have ANY credibility left.

Hey guys - Nancy's seat is not even warm yet. What say you give her and your democrat colleagues some time? After how badly you've fucked up the WORLD it's going to take a little time to take our damn county back from your disastrous combination of negligence and harmful acts.

Not inclined to help? Fine, if you don't want to be an honorable part of the solution then get out of the way. We're moving forward, and America's got Nancy's and the democrats back on this one.

I get so pissed off.

--Shella

History: Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi

When I saw this pic, it inspired song in my heart. Please be kind folks.





NANCY'S SILVER HAMMER
(Sung to the tune of the Beatles' classic "Maxwell's Silver Hammer")

Nancy's quizzical; “cut the Bushit” critical;
Justice in the house.
Late nights working hard with the outcasts.
Oh, oh, oh, oh.

Bush Incompetent, majoring in circumvent,
Whines "she’s now in charge".
“We will spin the press, and dismiss you,
Ho, o, o, o.”

But as Repub'kins run from the light,
The girl, she stands up tall…..

Bang! Bang! Nancy’s silver hammer
Came down upon their heads.
Bang! Bang! Nancy’s silver hammer
Made sure they were dead.

Back in school again, Bushkin is a fool again,
America’s annoyed.
How much more of this can we ta-ake,
Oh, oh, oh, oh.

We tell Bush to go, he’s protecting status quo,
We won’t pay his price.
Having been duped twice, we know better,
So, o, o, o..

But as Repub'kins scurry away,
the Dems have got our back!

Bang! Bang! Nancy’s silver hammer
Came down upon their heads.
Bang! Bang! Nancy’s silver hammer
Made sure they were dead.

D.C. smirkin'-one, say’s he’s not a dirty one.
Bushkin stands alone.
Praying, killing, all in the name of God,
Odd, odd, odd.

Repub debauchery, rampant in the gallery.
Says "he must go free".
America don’t agree, and we tell them,
So, o, o, o.

Impeachment hearings now in the wings,
A Girl comes from behind…..

Bang! Bang! Nancy’s silver hammer
Came down upon their heads.
Bang! Bang! Nancy’s silver hammer
Made sure they were dead.

Prank Calls: Little Irish Girl

I ran across a couple of totally HILARIOUS taped prank calls made by 8 year old Becky, who lives in Dublin Ireland. Visit the blog of John Edwards (NOT THE PSYCIC).

(The pic is really little Becky Barry at her confirmation.)

In the first call, Becky calls a demolition company to knock down her school! The second prank call has Becky calling the Irish equivalent of the DMV to schedule a driving test because she's become so skilled from having a Barbi car. The third call has Becky calling the zoo to inquire about purchasing an elephant for her dad - because her mom says her dad is getting as big as an elephant. Another has Becky calling an auto shop to see if they'll purchase the "spare tire" her dad says is around her mom's tummy. Talk about a precocious little imp - wow - you have to hear her in action to believe it.

The site has a link to more of little Becky's prank call antics. It's quite possibly the cutest stuff around. It turns out that 8 year old Becky is a regular contributor on the morning show of a Dublin radio station. For those interested in listening to what's happening on Irish radio, the station link is here: Dublin's 98FM Radio Station

Happy New Year everyone.

--Shella