March 2005 Archives

I am embarrassed to say that I did not know that Hawaii before being annexed and then eventually becoming a part of these United States of America had a monarchy government. In fact, the last monarch, Queen Liliuokalani, was forced to surrender her kingdom and abdicate her thrown by an act of Congress. This I learned last Sunday while watching this fascinating documentary on the History Channel titled: Conquest of Hawaii. Heck, President Clinton even signed a bill passed by the 103rd congress "apologizing to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the United States for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii." So wondering, am I the only one who didn't know this? If so, shame on me for just knowing the year (1959) when Hawaii became the 50th state in the union and not much else.

In light of the Terri Schiavo case, I interrupt my umpteen break from blogging to give the following notice to family, friends, and all concerned parties until such time as I can get my act together to create a living will and appoint an power of attorney. I am blessed to be in good health. I pray almost daily for a continuation of my good health. However, should there come a time when I am faced to deal with some medical misfortune, I would like to be aggressively treated. Having said that, should I fall in a coma or persistent vegetative state which requires me to rely on medical devices (breathing machines, feeding tubes, etc.) for life; I hereby express my desire for all treatments to cease after a period of 12 continuous months if there are no significant improvements in my health. Having watched death close up in slow motion with my mom, I do not wish to prolong the inevitable. Death is the final stage is our evolution. I accept that. So as sad as it may be for all of us (myself included), let my transition be peaceful. Finally, should this occur before I am old and gray (and I pray that it does not), the only people I want in the room or involved in the decision are my close family members, medical doctors and minister. So let be written. So let it be done.

If I wasn't currently being frugal, I'd purchase a IntelliScanner™ Express. Thinking it would allow me to better catalog and keep track of my book collection which is currently being documented in an excel spreadsheet. It would also allow me to keep an updated inventory list of the other valuable items in my home. I'm sort of doing that using the home inventory portion of Microsoft Money, but since this feature is somewhat limited (which explains why I'm using excel for my books), I'd really prefer to use a more comprehensive robust product -- particularly one such as IntellieScanner that is "utilizing the same barcode systems that retailers use to automate their operations." This should cut down on the time spend finding text and pictures online to actually describe each item. So maybe once I’m settled, I’ll come back to this.

For anyone out there like myself who has signed up to Blockbuster Online or Netflix and are now on a never ending quest to find "good" movies to add to their queue, consider those on ESPN's list of the 25 Best Sports Movies. There are a few notables missing (i.e. the first Rocky movie, Rudy, etc.), but it's a very good list. So go rent and enjoy!

1. Hoosiers
2. Raging Bull
3. Field of Dreams
4. Bull Durham
5. Caddyshack
6. The Natural
7. Chariots of Fire
8. Jerry Maguire
9. Seabiscuit
10. Remember the Titans
11. A League of Their Own
12. Eight Men Out
13. White Men Can't Jump
14. Major League
15. Tin Cup
16. 61*
17. The Hurricane
18. The Color of Money
19. Finding Forrester
20. The Rookie
21. Ali
22. Bend it Like Beckham
23. Cobb
24. Rudy
25. Searching for Bobby Fischer

I saw two movies yesterday that made me cry. The first one was really bad. Said movie based on a hit play of the same name is titled: Diary of An Angry Black Woman. The movie is about a black woman who is trying to find her way in the world after being dumped unceremoniously by her husband for another woman after 18 years of marriage. The story is a good one, but I got annoyed with the antics of the grandmother character – really caricature. Her advice and actions were totally over the top and played into previously depicted stereotypes of an overweight and loudmouth elderly black woman. Looking past this major flaw -- really distraction, the movie still managed to tug at my heart and brought the tears flowing because it made me think about the complex relationships in my own family. I also cried because it made me thing about everything that had gone both wrong and right in my relationship with Racquetball Guy.

The second movie titled: Hotel Rwanda provides a glimpse of what happened during the Spring of 1994 when a civil war between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority broke out in Rwanda which resulted in close to one million people being murdered. The story focuses of Paul Rusesabagina the Hutu manager of the four-star Hotel Des Milles Collines who manages to save the lives of about 1200 Tusti people from being murdered when he welcomes them into the hotel as guests after the white westerners have been safely evacuated leaving them behind without protection. This movie brilliantly executed and for which Don Cheadle should have won an Oscar, kept the tears flowing. It also once again confirmed for me that while I've had to deal with a number of difficult situations during the course of my life, there are others out there who have it a lot harder. Thus, I should be thankful for all my blessing. Also, that even though governments say “never again” when it comes to human rights atrocities on this grand scale (think slavery, holocaust, etc.), those in power who can possibly help (think first world nations like US, Great Britain, etc.), usually turn their back and that is a very sad thing.

A poem for my mother.

If Roses grow in Heaven,
Lord please pick a bunch for me,
Place them in my Mother's arms
and tell her they're from me.
Tell her I love her and miss her,
and when she turns to smile,
place a kiss upon her cheek
and hold her for awhile.
Because remembering her is easy,
I do it every day,
but there's an ache within my heart
that will never go away.

Author: Anonymous

Ladies and Gentlemen, the stage remained dark here at Ursula's Not So Secret History for 10+ days because after my long run, I needed a break. Like the grande dame in Being Julia, I was emotionally exhausted. In many respects, I still am, but I thought I would post something for my loyal fan base (all 10 of you!). With that, let me say that I am here getting ready for my big move and thanking God every day for my continued good health. Unfortunately, not everyone is so lucky.

P.S.: In case I take another long break, feel free to explore my restored archives. There is much to be discovered and learnt about me, yours truly. For that pleasure, you can thank the fine folks at livingDot.com my new hosting company. After setting up my account and installing MT, they moved my blog over from the previous host and imported my missing archives all in under 2 hours. Truly amazing! So here’s hoping that as they grow, this level of service continues.