Kony , This American Life's recent Apple Story Retraction , and the Trayvon Martin debacle all have me wanting to rage about the same thing. So here I go. Journalists: Recommit yourself to telling a full and honest story, and give your readers a little more credit. I'm sick of getting only the emotional half of the story, and you should be ashamed. Your 10th grade Journalism teacher taught you better. (At least mine did.) America: As long as you keep rewarding the media for giving you the syrupy, dramatic, most easily digestable version of every story, they will continue to leave out facts they don't trust you to interpret for yourself. Stop getting your news from 2 minute segments on 24 hour cable news. Stop getting your news from headlines and photographs instead of articles and facts. Stop making knee-jerk opinions. Start demanding all the facts and nothing less than exceptional, ethical journalism. And for crying out loud, please accept that the worl

 SAVE THE SOIL!!!  Dan NEVER liked this rather clever reference to our friends winning the film festival. FINE THEN.  I forgive him, because he put in all our edging, dug up the grass, and trimmed the trees.  We planted these pots together. I think they bring a lot of cheer. This is a bleeding heart tree. Which we bought while Home Depot was playing the song "Keep Bleeding in Love" which I thought was hilarious. Dan thought it was mildly coincidental, I think. He didn't have much to say on the matter. That's a tree, dear. 5 Points if you spot a spy.  This is where he religiously hangs out and meows relentlessly at us while we work. He wants to come out and "hang", aka, run into the street and die.  Oh dear.  Spring looking things! Winter looking things! (We have it on good authority that this tree looks completely dead until suddenly it explodes with giant leaves and white flowers

Being able to go out and enjoy the air without fleeing soon thereafter into the drafty warmth of the house has done wonders for me. I've been getting off at the far away bus stop at work so that I can walk and listen to my iPod and get that glorious shot of early morning euphoria.  My most recent song selections, meant to encourage that peppy sense of euphoria: 1. Shake it Off by Florence + the Machine 2. I'm on my Way by the Proclaimers 3. We are Young by Fun. 4. Midnight City by M83 5. Time of Times by Badly Drawn Boy 6. Shark in the Water by V.V. Brown 7. Silver Lining by Rilo Kiley  (their guitar player is Pinsky from Salute Your Shorts. If you have no idea what I am talking about, you must revisit your Nickelodeon Childhood) 8. Knots by Lisa Hannigan (my adoration for this girl knows no bounds) 9. I Was Here by Beyonce 10. La Revedere by [dunkelbunt] (arguably the WEIRDEST song ever recorded) 11. Kiss by Prince Also, while the

Thanks to my sibby-in-law, hero, and ever humorous and graceful Lacey for doing this with me this season, despite me constantly siding with her mortal TV enemy. I dedicate this final, wondrous post to her and her rapier wit. Lacey: Alright. Let's do this thing. Shall we start at the very beginning? It's a very good place to start. Lorraine: yes! Lacey: Here we are in beautiful Zermatt, Switzerland, the majestic Matterhorn standing in the distance. Disneyland's is better. It's got bobsleds and Abominable Snow Monsters. Lorraine: And in disneyland you won't have to pull out a translation guide to get to the bathroom. Lacey: So true. Joking aside, the scenery really is spectacular. Every camera shot they set up had the mountain in the background. Overkill? Lorraine: just in case anyone forgot where they were. it's very orienting after the dozens of beach resorts. Lets get to it, Lindzi, or as I would like to call her, Princess Horseg

You may remember that around the start of January, my dear acquaintance Charity was life flighted to the Cleveland Clinic's ICU to await a set of lungs for a second double lung transplant, and I was rather beside myself. At the end of January they found a perfect match (God bless, forever and ever, the family that allowed their tragedy to be someone else's miracle) and I'm happy to say that yesterday, after three months in the hospital, My Friend the Opera Singer walked out of the hospital and gets to go back home, to live, to continue the long recovery, and to continue spreading her sunshine. Congratulations, Charity! Our interaction at the Committee was brief, but your example and your kindness have stayed with me. Best of luck with your new lease on life <3

An extra hour every evening of daylight devoted not to sitting at a desk but to moving in the sunshine is all the excuse I needed to see my life differently. Dan and I took a walk last night AFTER dinner, which is a glorious gift from nature. I'm eagerly awaiting the day I can get my coaster bike tuned up and take an evening ride in the rising temperatures, and just knowing that's an impending reality makes me a happier bear. Because Dan's car didn't pass inspection, we had to get a new car- Dan gets my darling red Elantra, and I get a white Hyundai Accent. None of that is remotely interesting to you, so sorry for making you read that. But it's the foreshadowing of what I will now grace you with, an ode to my YSAA: Young Single Adult Automobile. Dearest YSAA: I ran you into a telephone pole on my birthday in a snowstorm a week after I got you. You sought revenge by setting off the car alarm for no reason every night at 3am for about a week. It was then I knew

I get it, I DO. It's ridiculous to consider oneself a believer in gender equality, and also chat about the bachelor, and also do both at once. To which I say, go ahead and mock. Even if this show is totally pathetic, I still think that even on reality shows, women could do better. Try harder. Prove we really are rational and thoughtful enough to control our own contraceptives legislation, thankverymuch. (and there goes 5 more readers.) I'm done now. Lacey: ‪Hey!‬ What did you think? Lorraine: ‪So....I started to watch it, and couldn't. I started to watch the highlight reel...and I couldn't. I youtubed "courtney's apology" and kept waiting for them to let her talk. And then I finally gave up and watched Ellen Degeneres' spoof of it, and found that to be satisfactory.‬ WHAT DID I MISS?? Lacey: ‪Courtney high-pitch whispered a lot about how she was under a lot of pressure and that's why she was mean. She said she was a really n