Squeeze Your Buns!

Out of the thousand books I'm required to read for classes and give reports on, I'm excited about a particular one, Hitler's Riad To Save Mussolini. I was having difficulty finding a book that was both up-to-date, well-written and interesting, but this one did the trick. I came across the book by accident, and I had no idea Operation Oak, Hitler's mission to rescue Benito Mussolini, even existed. The roughly 300-page text reads like a narrative, includes interesting and often hilarious side-notes on the journey of Mussolini's rescue and even provides an appendix listing all the sources on which the author, Greg Annussek, structured his story.

Yes, I've finally posted pictures of the buns! These were taken some time ago, but the devils themselves haven't changed - unless you consider going from an appetite for newspaper stacks to Scott's roommate's cell phone charger. Also, they gotten bigger, obviously, but it's hard to believe how much they've grown. Unfortunately, we had to buy them separate cages - apparently, Ashley witnessed an unfriendly scuffle between the sisters, so we decided to give them some space. These furballs of fire are costing an ugly penny, but you gotta love 'em. And while I've trusted Wild Side Pet Store a good deal so far, I'm not sure about the pooping situation -- I just thought by this time they would've stopped taking a nice little dump in their food bowls or, perhaps on their stuffed animals meant to keep them company...sexually. Anyhow, maybe they'll stop sleeping in their poop trays and start actually using them for their real purpose. In time. With hope. Obama, can you help me?

Nice segway to the next topic, Lee. Thanks, Rob. No problem, Robin. Stay out of this, Rob. Right, this Obama character: superman or guy-thrust-into-mess-of-last-presidents-and-expected-to-make-everything-good-again. I brought it up some weeks ago, but my teacher on Tuesday hit the nail right on the head: When has there ever been a president we've actually praised or even liked when they left office? Our class went through the list and wouldn't you know it, not one. They've either died too soon, left office in the midst of a scandal, faced impeachment, departed in shame on a certain issue they couldn't solve,...the list goes on. Some presidents even refused reelection when approached.

Why do we fall for this everytime? A new one steps up, we eventually put him down. This reliance on one person to solve all our problems is getting, and has been, out of hand. Sure, we don't expect him to take more vacation days than actually working in office, especially during crises, but what happened to what we can do for the country? I know it's ever cliche, but Kennedy (while also regarded too much as a hero and sadly dying much too young) was on to something when he said those famous words. I don't understand the economy as well as I should, and I realize there were many who were forced to play the market game because they lacked the money, but from what I've been seeing and hearing, it's a lot of overinvesting, embezzling and cupidity.

On a different track, it's baffling to think of the idea of "surplus" today, just as it was back in the late 1920s and early '30s. We're making too much crap, so we need to find markets overseas. But on top of making crap, we're not exactly the most popular country and never have been. It's nice to live in a democracy and to be surrounded by so many choices, but what happened to living within means? The Golden Rule? I'm not a paragon of virtue myself, but I do try to live within my means and work at the school in order to buy things I need.

I'm out of my depth, and I'm neglecting studying for French and my other classes, so with that and my shuffled train of thought, I'm off!