The not-so-lost coin

"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin'" (Luke 15:8-9)

My almost 7 yr old daughter managed to swallow a $1 coin last night.

I know, it sounds crazy. She put the coin in her mouth (?????) and for whatever reason leaned back and the thing went straight down. Spare me the "What in the world was she thinking?" because I sure don't have an answer and she doesn't seem to have one either. I guess it's an age thing. I mean, not the putting strange stuff in your mouth, but not having an idea whatsoever on the reason they do stupid things (Bill Cosby's "I don't knoow")
All sort of emotions have been swirling around inside me. Concern, fear, anger, thankfulness (that it didn't get stuck in her exophagus) and then concern, anger, fear and thankfulness again.

I am not at all good at learning or recognizing spiritual lessons in everyday (so to speak) happenings, but I've tried to think of something in this situation. No great success followed, though. In fact I may even have more doubts about my faith and prayer now than I had yesterday.. and that is why I heavily rely on the prayers of people around me who definitely have more faith than me. May the Lord listen to them.

However, I do think that all this could be an image of how sin works in our lives. Let's say the coin is sin.
We can put it in our mouth and we know we're not supposed to, but it's no big deal, right? We sure don't intend to swallow it! But, then one wrong movement and the thing is inside of us! Worst case scenario it chokes us to death. If it doesn't it kill us right then, it goes easily down and stays there for whatever time. Best case scenario, it comes out eventually with a bunch of other nasty stuff we had inside. But, there is another possible scenario. The coin gets stuck inside and not only that, but it also prevents the other nasty stuff from coming out. Well... At that point there is only one solution -- the knife ("For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart", Hebrews 4:12)
As much as people around love us they cannot do anything to make the coin get out of us. They sure can't convince us to push it out. We either do it on our own, or we wait for the intervention of the great physician (which are ultimately the same thing with different degrees of pain).

Cindy, am I overspiritualizing? Probably not, just plain rambling. That's what happens when you don't sleep much at night and when you do sleep you have dreams about your child having to go through surgery.

For those who know us and know the Lord, please pray for Juniper, that she won't have to do surgery. And may we rejoice in finding the coin like the woman in Jesus' parable did (I hope I don't sound blaspheme!)

Shalom.

Message in a bottle.

"I hope that someone gets my, I hope that someone gets my, I hope that someone gets my.. message in a bottle"

ASA: Mesecina Bato!! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5G2LtPvPemw

You gotta love the Police!

Update (and still of very little interest to all two of you)

Update on my dentist "adventure".
Gone today and gone forever.
I went to my appointment today and have decided not to go back to this dentist. For the third time he has somewhat changed story. My gums are better (but not the best ever.. bummer) and he still wants me to do the $750 treatment. Not only that -- and this is the new thing of the day -- but, since my tartar accumulates faster than other (normal?) people, I should take some anti-oxidants to reduce that. And, since the anti-oxidants need some other vitamins (or something like that) to properly work without depleting my body, I should take some other supplements in addition to them. He sells supplements in his office..
The fact is that every time I go see him, there is something new he adds to the list that I absolutely have to do. And he just doesn't want to do the things I really want taken care of (3 cavities and 1 crown)

So, the verdict is:

goodbye.

Thank goodness I can still be the one deciding who's going to mess with my mouth.

I won't bore you with this story anymore. Unless I find a miracle-worker-dentist. That I'll share. I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you, though.

Hopefully not "soon to be toothless"

nat

Due cose.

"Ci sono due cose che odio, i cani e l'acqua, e ora sono in mezzo ai cani e all'acqua!"
Liberamente citato da "Down by law" di Jim Jarmusch con Roberto Benigni.

Le due cose che odio io, invece, sono andare dal dentista e stirare.
E oggi sono andata dal dentista e fra poco mi devo mettere a stirare.

Lasciamo perdere la visita dal dentista, che ho finalmente deciso di interrompere la nostra contrastata relazione (me ne trovo un altro, insomma).. ora e' lo stirare che mi aspetta e che sto continuando a rimandare nonostante sia gia' mezzanotte passata.
Ho un'amica che si rilassa stirando, io preferisco la mia vasca a idromassaggio (anche se la uso anche piu' raramente di quanto stiri.. ed e' tutto dire)
Rimando, rimando, rimando e poi finisco a stirare tutte le camicie di mio marito in un colpo solo e di solito in mezzo alla notte, come faro' stanotte. E meno male che non ho piu' la televisione.. si', perche' quando avevo la tv via cavo, mentre stiravo finivo con l'accenderla e guardare i programmi che descrivevano casi veri risolti dalla polizia.. i veri CSI, insomma. Mi ha sempre interessato ed incuriosito come certi casi venivano risolti ed il colpevole smascherato.. Il problema e' che poi, dopo aver stirato, mi ritrovavo ad andare a letto nel mezzo della notte (fra le 2 e le 4) con l'angoscia che qualche sconosciuto entrasse in casa e facesse una strage!! Non proprio la cosa ideale per conciliare il sonno.

La cosa che mi domando e': Chi e' stato ad imporci come parte del convivere civile l'avere le camicie stirate???????
(Che se lo acchiappo lo stiro io!)
Non staremmo tutti molto meglio senza dover stirare? E che sara' mai una grinza in piu'?

Mi sa che mi tocca andare a fare questo ingrato lavoro. Vorrei rimanere qui a continuare a scrivere bischerate, ma lo farei solo per evitare ancora un po' la tortura, e non perche' ho veramente qualcosa da scrivere.
E cosi' e' meglio che la tortura la eviti a voi.

Buona-NOT-te

..and this is now -- 3 and 1/2 minutes

Part of downtown Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

10 minutes -- this was then...

10 minutes by Ahmed Imamovic. 1994. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Rome, Italy. How many different things can happen in only 10 Minutes. The film won the award for the best European short film in 2002.

BENTORNATO DANIELE!

Non sto parlando del "mio" Daniele, che non e' mai andato via, ma di Daniele Mastrogiacomo, giornalista di Repubblica, liberato oggi dopo due settimane di prigionia per mano di un gruppo di talebani in Afghanistan.

Bentornato Daniele.


E, grazie al cielo che non dobbiamo solo ricordarlo come Fabrizio Quattrocchi.
www.cosimuoreunitaliano.it

Sono meteopatica.

Oltre che pigra.

Comunque la mia pigrizia aumenta quando la mattina non c'e' il sole. Me lo sento nelle ossa quando e' nuvolo, non devo neanche aprire le finestre. E' come se il grigiore di fuori si insinuasse anche dentro di me.

E tutto e' piu' lento e deprimente.

Quando c'e' il sole invece e' tutta un'altra cosa. La luce ha un effetto rinvigorente per me. Forse dovrei portare quelle lucine (light visor?) sulla testa...

Oggi e' nuvolo. E lo e' stato anche ieri.

UFFA!!!!!

Lo so che non interessa a nessuno.. forse dovreste visitare un altro blog. Se avete bisogno di raccomandazioni ce ne sono alcuni che a me piacciono molto.

A me, comunque, interessate voi. Quindi lasciate un commento e fatemi sapere che effetto fa a voi il tempo (ma forse il tempo non esiste.. ah gia', in quel caso si tratta di un altro tempo.. e altri tempi -- chi ha orecchi per udire, oda).

Magari riusciamo a formare un club di meteopatici - o forse siamo tutti un branco di bipolari?? con oscillazioni di umore a pendolo di Foucault? Mah!

Fate sentire la vostra voce.

Sono curiosa.

Meteo(sim)patica Nat

(si fa per dire)

PS -- non so perche' questo post non mi fa lasciare spazi fra paragrafi. Ci ho provato e riprovato, ma ogni volta che vado a pubblicare il post mi riappiccica tutto insieme. Sono sicura che anche questo PS sara' appiccicato al (si fa per dire). Chiedo umilmente perdono ai puristi della forma letteraria.

Un inconvenient truth, at a very convenient time

A couple of nights ago we watched "An inconvenient truth", Al Gore's so called documentary (and oscar recipient!!).

Well.. I am trying to find kind words for it. But I just can't.

The thing is absolutely pathetic. Very much Al Gore. Unfortunately.

Don't misunderstand me. I truly believe there is something to this Global Warming deal. And I am all for treating this Earth in a decent way. I just don't think Al Gore did justice to the matter.

First of all, he gives a very poor explanation of the matter. I guess that could be related to the limits of using a movie for this purpose. I mean, you probably can't give too many technical details and keep the audience awake.
However he doesn't seem to spare some self-praising stuff, and I really think that's my biggest pet peeve with the movie. He spends half of the movie portraying himself as this wonderful guy who is sooo sensitive to the matter, "for our future generations", and trying so hard to pull heart strings with his somewhat emotional recollections of his growing up years.
And then he also gives not too veiled hints of the poor job the current government is doing (and past Repubblican administrations did). The thing is they are just that, hints. I don't recall him ever really saying what exactly this administration is doing wrong -- at least have the guts to speak up!! Don't be sneaky!

I have a few questions.

According to him we as individuals can do a lot to decrease the emission of CO2 (which -- still according to him -- is causing the warming). Good. So, what is the government supposed to do exactly? Impose on us those choices? I guess that's an option if most of the people are for it (which I seriously doubt)

Still on the government topic -- what exactly did the Clinton administration do to make this country environmentally conscious? What solutions were proposed or, better, applied and enforced? My personal experience (VERY limited, I admit) is that when I moved to the States, to the little town I still live in, the city garbage service did not collect recyclable stuff. That was 10 yrs ago, during Clinton's administration. A few years later they started doing it, during the first Bush administration.. uhm.. I am sure this is not a significant example and very much related to local policies. Still, I wonder what, if anything, did the Clinton era accomplish in this area...
Do I need to remind anybody that at the time Al Gore was vice President? From what he says in the movie he's been involved in dealing with Global Warming since his college years. And the rate the CO2 is increasing in the last couple of decades has been impressive. He also hints to the fact it wouldn't take too long to decrease it. Why didn't we hear of these actions in the 8 years he was in charge? Why did we waste 8 precious years doing nothing to prevent this catastrophe?

More questions/perplexities.

In the movie he explains that global warming is basically quite normal, but the worrisome factor is that in recent years the temperatures have increased drammatically (and proportionally to the CO2 increased emissions). He even states that the warming has been going on for billions of years. I find that hard to prove.

Photos taken in the past of mountains covered with snow are shown in the movie. And then more recent photos of those same mountains with not much snow. (He also shows the beautiful Italian Alps) Well.. could it be that those pictures were taken in different seasons? Just a thought, maybe a stupid one..

One of the suggestions he makes to decrease CO2 emissions is less use of cars. Uhm.. For a third of the movie he's in a car, driving the filming crew around the places where he grew up (by the way, how many takes did they have to do for those scenes?). Surely he could have taken a nice walk! Maybe use a bike or a carriage, a horse ride? A little too much consistency?

Recently it has been brought to the public attention that Al Gore's Nashville mansion (20-room, 8-bathroom home) consumes more electricity in a month than an average american uses in a year. His spokesperson never denied it (by the way, why does he need a spokesperson for this??); but, the truly annoying thing to me is that the same spokesperson basically said that Gore gives much to the cause, balancing out his outrageos energy consumption. WHAT???? It's like being someone who says "I'll kill someone today and tomorrow I'm going to impregnate a woman so everything will be even and balanced". Again, asking for a little too much consistency??
(I haven't read this whole article, but it looks interesting: http://www.suntimes.com/news/steyn/281949,CST-EDT-STEYN04.article)

Gore makes such a big point on how quickly the Earth will be in big trouble and how that will affect future generations. He considers this whole matter the "most important moral, ethical, spiritual and political issue mankind has ever faced". Uhm, again. Ok, I can see it is an important matter. And I can see it can affect our children in a serious way. But, let's talk hypothetically: how much quicker could, say, a hypothetical crazy country leader, from, say, a hypothetical country like Iran, with, say, hypothetical nuclear weapons.. -- how much quicker could that affect my children?


I guess my whole point is that, to me, the movie was poorly made for the cause of Global Warming. But I've got to admit it is greatly executed for the Al Gore's cause. The timing is also very interesting. He keeps saying he's not going to run for President (may he keep his word, for once), however the timing makes you wonder if he's just checking the temperature, so to speak.
Using a hot topic (in every sense :) ), presented with a well done movie, that also won the oscar (ah! those Hollywood renowned scientists of the Academy!) can increase your popularity tremendously.

Bottom line is -- this is a very self serving movie. It may have some basis, but this particular documentary, in the end, is a great platform for Mr. Al Gore, who used to be the next President of the USA. May he continue to keep that title.

Environmentally friendly Nat.

PS. I have to add a note for those of us who call themselves Christians. Please use discernment, the one that the One grants us if we ask. Yes, let's take care of this Earth. Yes, let's be good stewards of the World God has given us. But, please let's not forget that this Earth will end. No matter what we do, there is going to be a generation that won't see the raising of the next one.
And maybe we should worry more about the Eternal Global Warming.
Starting with me, who sometimes tends to forget about it.

Happy March 14th!!

From the "Uncle John's Unstoppable Bathroom Reader E-Calendar":

TODAY IS PI DAY!

Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Math enthusiasts worldwide celebrate March 14 as “Pi Day” because the first few digits of pi are 3.14.

The Exploratorium museum in San Francisco created a color-coded chain of beads to represent the digits of pi. Each color represents a different number. So far, they’ve got more than 1,700 beads.

Some enthusiasts say Pi Day isn’t official until 1:59 P.M.— because the next three digits after 3.14 are 159.

How does the Bathroom Readers’ Institute commemorate Pi Day? We eat cake.

(I realized after posting that the time on the blog is off compared to the time I'm writing.. and it still shows March 13th -- I apologize for the "confusion")

A week from today, but probably of very little interest to you all.

A week from today I'm going to the dentist again. I've been faithful in brushing my teeth with baking soda and salt and flossing. I sure hope my gums will be in the best shape ever. I am still very tempted not to do any more work with this dentist after this visit.

What would you, my two readers, suggest?

Cindy, what do you say?

In the meantime.. Keep smiling!!

Finardi 2

Mi ero ripromessa di non mettere video di YouTube per un po'.. Beh. Una promessa mantenuta a meta'. Non ho saputo resistere a "Patrizia" di Finardi. Mantenuta a meta' perche' non ci sono immagini.

"... Io ti amo per come mi ami tu.."

La nostra rovina

Questo post e' dedicato alla Simona.
Il cartone animato telenovela che ci ha rovinato la vita.
Non c'e' bisogno di altro commento.

Mameli!! Oh, Mameli!! (Benigni in "Non ci resta che piangere")

Durante uno dei miei soliti viaggetti in YouTube World, sono andata a cercare l'inno nazionale italiano, in un moto di patriottismo che non mi e' consueto. Forse stimolata dalle recenti vicende politiche legate alla caduta del governo Prodi. Non sono rimasta per niente sorpresa da quello che e' successo.. del resto ad Aprile '06 ho detto a mio padre: "Questo governo non durera' un anno". Per una volta ho avuto ragione. Ma, d'altra parte non e' difficile prevedere la caduta di un governo in Italia, cosa che e' praticamente all'ordine del giorno. E dire che gli stranieri (in particolare gli Statunitensi) se si trovano in Italia al momento della caduta di un governo vanno completamente di fuori con paure di guerre civili alle porte.. e poi la mattina dopo vanno a bere il caffe' come tutti i giorni e come tutti i giorni gli italiani sono li' a praticare il loro sport preferito (la lamentela) senza motivo di panico. Nessuno si preoccupa veramente della caduta di un governo. E al governo, come all'opposizione, sta sempre la stessa gente. Mai fu piu' vero il detto "Cambiano i suonatori, ma la musica e' sempre la stessa". A dire il vero i suonatori a volte non cambiano neanche. Magari cambiano poltrona e a volte neanche quella: rimangono allo stesso posto ma parte di schieramenti diversi! Per quante pecche avesse l'Italia dell'era democristiana, va riconosciuto il fatto che allora c'erano persone e personalita' di rilievo da tutte e due le parti. Basti ricordare l'amatissimo presidente Pertini. Adesso a me sembrano tutti un branco di opportunisti; basta rimanere su quella sporca poltrona.
E gli italiani "comuni"? O sono estremamente pazienti o altrettanto scoraggiati. Non ci si aspetta piu' serieta' ne' onesta' da chi ci governa. Andare a votare oltre ad essere un diritto-dovere diventa un dilemma. E sempre piu' gente non si sente legata al proprio paese.
Io invece, che dal mio paese sono lontana da molti anni, sto passando un periodo di nostalgia e ne sento molto la mancanza. Senza pero' ignorarne i difetti (o esaltarne i pregi). E questo mi porta di nuovo all'inno di Mameli. Quell'inno che doveva essere temporaneo in attesa di uno "migliore". E quell'inno che e' amato solo alle manifestazioni sportive. Su YouTube ho trovato che la maggior parte dei video con l'inno nazionale erano filmati durante le partite di calcio (prevale la Coppa del Mondo 2006), poi in netta minoranza altri sport (alcuni anche a livello amatoriale) e unico esempio non sportivo era "L'inno di Mameli cantato alla sagra dello gnocchetto"!

Mah! Trovo questo molto rappresentativo del patriottismo italiano che esce fuori prevalentemente durante le partite di calcio e finisce a tarallucci (o gnocchetti) e vino!
Ma alla fine, se non altro sappiamo divertirci e persino ridere di noi stessi. E all'Italia vogliamo bene anche se non conosciamo le parole dell'inno nazionale e facciamo solo finta di cantarlo muovendo in maniera incomprensibile le labbra.

Ho deciso comunque di mettere un video, questo tratto dall'apertura delle Olimpiadi di Torino 2006. Per me e' sempre una gioia vedere bambini che cantano.

A voi Mameli!