i'm putting this in a new entry (read the one below first) because it was getting a little too off-topic, not being in any way about traveling and all.

so i didn't write a response to the 9th circuit court decision that the 'under god' part of the pledge of allegience was unconstitutional. i think the decision was RIGHT ON, and that the backlash that's come about afterward, with congress suddenly getting all patriotic etc. is bullshit. some believer-politician said that the 'god' referred to in the pledge is not a specific god. it can be any deity you happen to believe in. but What About the Atheists? no one ever cares about the atheists. we're an overlooked group, for sure.

anyway, what i thought you all might find interesting, in a ridiculous and upsetting way, is a virginia state law that was passed at the same time that the pledge decisision was made. get this: virginia (my home state, i'm ashamed to admit) has passed a law requiring all public schools to display, prominently,in the entryway of the school, the national motto. the national motto, in case you were unaware (i was) is 'in god we trust'. the group that lobbied for this law has helpfully provided virginia with posters with the national motto.

i had been under the impression that the national motto was 'e pluribus unum', a motto which has at least 2 benefits over 'in god we trust'. first, it doesn't mention god. second, it's in latin, which means that to learn it in school (as kids probably should), kids would have to learn a little bit about a language other than english, and that is always a good thing. learning! in school! shocking.

upcoming travel adventures

10 July 2002 - 12:41 pm

here's what i'm looking at for the summer:

1. this weekend, i am going somewhere to do something. where? what? dunno. karl has made me promise to "keep this weekend open" (ha! like i have any social life that doesn't involve him! this request was Not A Problem). when i refused to give him a list of stuff i wanted for my birthday (i hate that, and only do it for my parents), he got all unhappy, so i caved a leetle bit and told him that i didn't really need any *stuff* (at least, not stuff that is (a) easy to get or (b) a good gift in any sense of the word. that is, i do need bookshelves, but i want ones to match the ones i already have, but the store that i got them from, whose name i won't mention but whose initials are I.K.E.A., doesn't carry them anymore in the color i have/want. grr. so, the whole bookshelf thing is (a) difficult to come by and (b) really. not an interesting gift. (oh honey! you got me cheap-but-study particle-wood/veneer bookshelves! come away with me to the bedroom right now!)), plus my small apartment is already too full, so maybe he could get me something that wasn't *stuff*. oh, but i also said that the "no stuff" request in no way included jewelry, for which a girl can always find room, and that specifically, i had need of a new toe ring, because the one i had (that he have me for christmas, and that i really liked--it had a pretty two-band design with a leaf in between) had gotten bent from wearing it, and it stabbed me now.

   right. so, i've been told to keep this weekend free. and, i've been told that he'll have to give me more details as time gets closer, so that i can properly prepare (i sorta assume this means pack, as he did specifically mention that i should keep sunday as well as saturday free). and that i should hope for better weather than we had last night at the mann center where we saw the philadelphia orchestra (gawd, are they good) play an all-tchaikovsky program ending with the 1812 overture (of course) with cannons (yay!).

   speaking of cannons, i heard a very interesting report on npr the other day about a guy who plays the cannons for outdoor performances of the 1812. he had some hobby-interest in antique artillery, and got into cannons, and was somehow invited to play for the 1812 one time, and now he basically travels the country, playing the cannons. a one-song musician. and i *think* i heard that he plays in shorts and t-shirt, drinking a beer. now, that's my kind of musician right there. i tell you what.

   so. i'm going somewhere this weekend.

2. last week in august, mom and sis and i are going to st. thomas. aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh. every time i'm there, i ask myself, with increasing urgency, why oh WHY haven't i moved permanently to some carribean island. i mean, st. thomas is even part of the u.s.! they use dollars! they speak english! you don't need a passport!

3. second week in september karl and i are going back to england, for his granddad's surprise 80th birthday party. we're leaving on the 6th (arriive the 7th). party is on the 7th. karl's family tends to party hard--his dad's recent 50th birthday party lasted until 6am. ***6am***! i dunno how we're going to do, being jet-lagged, but whatever. this trip, karl's brother and his wife will be there. we're actually going over on the same flight (we bought tickets this time. i didn't want to--i dig the $300 business class seats--but karl gets nervous about the whole standby thing). i'm hoping that this trip, we'll have more time to ourselves/with karl's friends, and less time in the car with his parents (nice as they are). i also hope that parent-time doesn't get replaced by brother-time. really, i'd just like to rent a car and drive around wales. is that too much to ask?

hookay. i think that's quite enough for a day when i have absolutely nothing to say. oh, except this morning i bought my first pack of 37-cent stamps. what a crock, this postal service thing is. but, i got fun antique-toys stamps, and didn't have to buy the 'american hero' stamps, with pictures of the firefighters raising the flag over the world trade center rubble. i mean, that image touched me as much as the next person, but do we have to have stamps about it? actually, i don't think it's the stamps i have an issue with, really. i'm just so fatigued by the *constant* patriotism. all the patriotic-image books, and the discs of opera-singer policemen singing schmaltzy americana songs, and the members of congress shouting 'under god' in the capitol building.