Monday
Work. Run of the mill day. 7½ hours in Providence letters. Can you say “drudgery,” boys and girls? After today, I can. After (barely) remembering to d/l a new book to the laptop this morning, I wound up listening to music instead of the book. Go figure.

NPR/PRI Stories
Talk of the Nation: Medical Privacy
Talk of the Nation: Child Abduction – History and Psychology
All Things Considered: The Future of Baseball
All Things Considered: Confessional Windows
All Things Considered: Liars’ Table
All Things Considered: Child Smuggling Ring
The World: Northern Snakehead Report (for and )
The World: Edinburgh Fringe Festival

I finally got “Mockingbird” out of my head. I still have no idea why it was on “endless loop” in my head this morning. Madness! Madness, I tell you. I mean… it could have been something cool like “Fire” by Hendrix or “Artificial Flowers” by Bobby Darin or anything by emmet swimming or Rush. Even something by Jimmy Buffett. But, it wasn’t. Not even close. Carly Simon and James Taylor. Don’t get me wrong: I like them. (Yes, I did freely admit that.) But, first thing in the morning, I’d prefer something a little less…. cheesy as the first song that pops into (and gets stuck in) my head.

Stray Toaster of the Day: After hearing a news story about British Foreign Office Ministry officials meeting with Libyan leader Mohammar Qaddafi (or any of the various spellings), I remembered hearing about him and his ties to the Pan-Am crash in Lockerbie, Scotland, U.K. “In today’s news, Colonel Mohammar Qaddafi said (blah blah blah)…” He was in the news for for weeks on end.

Here’s the thought that came to mind today: If you are the leader of a country, wouldn’t you want your title to be something that makes you sound like the baddest man/woman within your borders (and possibly even outside of them)? After all: As a “colonel,” he can be outranked by his top military official. “General” Qaddafi. Now that’s better. Even “King” or “Marshall” or “Lord High Emperor of All That He Surveys.” Hell, you could even make up something: “Grand Poobah Slugbutt” or something. But, “Colonel?” What?!?! Is he trying to be modest? Puh-leeze. The President of the United States of America is the “Commander in Chief” and he has to split the power with the Judicial and Legislative Branches. I’m thinking that if you are “The Man” (or “The Woman”) in a country, you deserve something of a promotion in rank. *shrug* Maybe it’s just me.

Peace.