Back with more Besties y'all. Did you miss me?Past week's winners are . . .Brazilian BlowoutA few weeks ago, I asked you, my dear blog readers, to weigh in on the hair question hanging over my head. Should I try this new, hair smoothing process and join the ranks of the frizzy and fly-away discontented? Do I drop the considerable cash outlay in the hope of experiencing a straighter and sleeker do? Well, my friends, I did it. I made that appointment and last week it happened. After 90 minutes and some close encounters with a 450 degree flat iron, my dream was completed. It looks pretty good too! I've washed my hair a few times already and still it remains smooth and silky. It is supposed to last for 3 months so I will report back with the longer-term results. We'll see . . . here is the before and after.Before [super wavy, sometimes out-of-control, frizzy in humidity and generally unkempt]:
After:
Oh, CanadaOver the weekend, Mr. Oz and I had the distinct pleasure to spend several days with my family at a cabin on Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada. Beautiful weather. Amazingly tranquil location far, far away from the hustle and bustle of the world. We did not have cell coverage or internet service, no t.v. and few distractions other than fishing, sunning, playing games and enjoying some fine adult beverages. It was great to forcefully unplug. Of course, there were a lot of laughs all around as well as some tasty food including a fish fry consisting of fish caught by my family the previous day! The abundance of wildlife is also quite incredible. We saw a bald eagle and the elusive Whistle Pig. That's right. Whistle Pig. Look it up. It's a real animal. 
My sister and her husband were excellent hosts. They rolled out the red carpet treatment for us despite all of the work it must have taken to prepare and clean up afterward. Thanks Scribble and Mr. Scribble! Thank you Canada and your crazy socialist medicine, maple leaves and strange obsession with the Queen. It was awesome, eh.Jon Stewart & The Daily Show Rips on the GovernmentThis speaks for itself. So hilarious and yet so provokingly truthful. Someone recently told me that in a nationwide poll, Jon Stewart was named the most trusted person in the media. I tend to agree with this, but also am filled with sadness that a satirist and comedian is who we have to go to for an accurate reporting of our news. Is it wrong to believe that our leaders should stand on their principles and move forward with the things they promised? Or, do we relegate this to the stuff of pure naivety and misguided hope? When do we stop allowing ourselves to be pandered to and duped and, instead, insist on follow through and "change we can believe in?" While many things in this world are nuanced shades of gray, integrity is not one of them. Either you have it or you don't. I, for one, am still hopeful that these promises will be kept. I believe in you, Mr. President. Do you believe in us?
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the seemingly arbitrary rules that we have as a society and why these rules came about. One such "rule" is the 5-day work week. Who devised this little gem? When was it decided that a typical week should consist of five days of work and then 2 days of rest? Without doing a lick of research to delve into this further, I would hypothesize that some business owner or industry captain made this one up. Or, better yet, the robber baron, capitalist autocrat tyrant -- let's call him Mr. Moneybags -- really wanted his employees to work 24/7. He devised the first, second and third shifts as well. More than likely, Mr. Moneybags was also the one who came up with child labor AND unfair labor practices. It was only when some group of organized workers (or other justice wielding entity) picketed and demanded some rights that the work week shrunk from 7 days to 5 days. That was as far as Mr. Moneybags was going to go. Enough was enough. So, now we are years beyond the scuttlebutt between Mr. Moneybags and his pesky striking workers. How far have we gotten in this amount of time? We still have the arbitrary five day work week. Why? You'd think in this day and age we would have moved beyond the simple structure of punching the clock. I suppose in some small ways we have evolved . . . ever slightly. I know there are books on this out there -- "The 4 Day Work Week" being one of these. I really like the concept of working a day less each week. What if we all rose up and demanded such a thing? What if the 4 day work week became the norm, the new standard? It only seems fair that we balance out the amount of time spent working with the amount of time we spend resting and playing. This thought somehow made me think of the role of government in our lives. I made some comment on Facebook that we should petition our congressman to help legislate the 4 day work week. Although I was merely jesting, one of my friends replied that this was just one more thing we would rely on the government to fix for us. I have been pondering this thought ever since. And this, dear blog readers, is what I came up with: perhaps the fundamental difference between those who take a more liberal bent to politics -- call them democrats if you will -- and those who are more conservative (i.e. republicans), is not the disagreements about pro-life or pro-choice nor is it about raising taxes, spending on social programs or even public health care. Nope. At the core, the difference is this: those who take a more liberal stance do so because in their heart of hearts they hold a certain pessimism toward humanity and our ability to care for one another as we should. Left to our own devices, liberals believe we wouldn't necessarily fulfill our duty of helping one another out. Conservatives, on the other hand, seem to believe that, if left to our own devices, things would be o.k. Survival of the fittest if you will . . . let the marketplace dictate how/when we act, let private industry adjust itself to supply and demand. I trully think this is the core philosophical difference between the right and the left. When you look at it from both sides, there is some merit and truth to both views. Both are essentially flawed but well intentioned. One wants to see the best in humanity realized but doesn't think we can do it alone. The other wants to be left alone and hopes humanity can rise to the occasion and demonstrate it's best. I believe that, in its ideal, the government is there to protect and care for its people. They are the watchdog to make sure that we all have the right to pursue our own happiness. And, perhaps more importantly, I believe that we as humans often lose sight of this when we are caught up in elements of power and financial gain. Sometimes, the government needs to step in and right the wrongs. Now this doesn't mean that they should meddle in every single thing. We don't have to have a law for everything and I'm certainly not advocating laws of morality or value-based legislation. No. Instead, I'm thinking about Mr. Moneybags and how he is all about making more money to fill his bags. He wouldn't want to jeopardize his future profits by, oh I don't know, putting in proper ventilation or heating in his factories so his workers can breathe clean air and not freeze to death. He also wouldn't want to put more costly safety measures into practice or give people an hour for lunch or time off when their kids are sick. Let's see . . . what else wouldn't Mr. Moneybags want to do? I think the recent Wall Street failures and economic struggles have shown us that when government stops regulating our human compulsions toward greed and power, really REALLY bad things can happen. We can't fight our own human frailties. Perhaps the best we can do is try to curtail them by putting checks and controls in place for ourselves. Government is far from perfect. FAR from perfect. Afterall, politicians are human too. But, wouldn't a 4 day work week make us all just a little bit happier? Maybe that is the cure all to everything . . . work less, play more.
Decided to google my blog name tonight. That's My Best just happens to be the second hit when typed up as all one word with no punctuation. As I perused some of the other options, I found an interesting site filled with cartoons. Some of them were clever so thought I'd share.
This one reminded me of a post documenting Ozy's strange fascination with the litter box. Now I know why he is so enthralled. It gives him power! 
Couldn't agree more with this one. Seems, these days, we really have very little choice within our democratic system. We can choose lame option #1 or lamer option #2. The two party approach, despite all the vitriol and venom, pundits and pandering, masks a harsher reality of sameness, monotony and no true change. I, for one, was hoping for a change I could believe in, some big shake-ups and new thinking. Where is it? Although I believe the healthcare reform bill is a step in the right direction, it certainly didn't go far enough in curtailing the insurance companies greedy practices and leveling the playing field for everyone. When will we learn that capitalism and political power don't necessarily equate to justice, liberty and human kindness? Do we conform or cry out in muted protest? Sad. Sad. Sad.
And, on a completely unrelated note, Ozy turns 1 tomorrow. I probably need to get him a doggy cake, no? Happy Birthday cuddle pup!
