TMI - Information Overload

So, today is Day 64 of the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of New Mexico.  And I am concerned.  We are deluged daily thru TV, radio, newspaper and internet on the horrific events and the flailing attempts to stop the flow, rescue the coastal waters and it becomes an arena for helpless hopelessness for those of us that are only able to view the travesty and unable to extend or offer assistance due to distance, personal issues or lack of financial stability due to our own personal economic plights.  We are caught up in our own maelstroms of life.  So, our coping mechanisms switch on and the lights flash in our brains - "Does not compute!", "Too much information",..."not my problem"... But it is! 
I have posted (almost daily) on facebook and twitter tidbits of information on this oilspill that I think go unnoticed due to all the repetitive rhetoric proffered by our news providers.  They take one aspect and beat it to death.  And it results in an apathetic response in the viewer/listener.  It becomes, as Seinfeld would express, "yada yada yada".... and because of that we are missing some pertinent information.  There is information that needs to be presented to our government representatives and questioned. 
I watched the C-Span airing of Tony Hayward's indiffident and arrogant Q & A session and listened to our pontificating representatives asking the same damn questions over and over.  The Congress did not seem to have prepared that much and our representatives were borrowing the same questions from one another.  But, I wanted to know answers to questions that were never asked.  Like, why, back in February when BP realized there were cracks in the seafloor, did they continue to drill? BP knew there were problems back then? And, according to the article on Bloomberg.com, most drilling companies would abandon when such an event would occur because these cracks fill up with natural gas and create the potential for the exact event that occured with this oil rig.  One of the "cures" for such events is to force concrete into the cracks.  And there is postulating that they may have used the wrong kind of concrete.   ???  Shouldn't these people KNOW what kind of concrete should be used in such cases? Exxon closed down an oil well (The Blackbeard) in 2006 when similar issues arose.  They were willing to take the loss.  But BP was too greedy...the want for money far exceeded their sense of integrity. 
And we cannot let our government get by on the fact that they have set such substandard requirements on any  offshore oil drilling  resulting in a myriad of time bombs sitting in our coastal waters with little or no safety features. 
This is not a fluke, not a "once in a lifetime" event. It is a warning of more to come, unless the citizens of this country become proactive and tell their representatives ENOUGH.  It does not take long to write your government representatives....you can even find "template" petitions to sign.  And, trust me, they are read and responded to.  I can attest to this. 
And, what about the potential for hurricanes? Think about it.  Hurricanes sweep up water from the Gulf and pour it in deluging rains across the lower states (and sometimes the northern states) of the United States.  Let's all think about this....what else is going to fall on our lands?   OIL!!!!  I listened to a caller on C-Span relating how they will have to shut down the electric grid if such a scenario occurs due to the potential from fires if oil coats the electric wires.  Why is this not another topic of discussion?
I have to relate another little factoid that seems to fly under the radar with our news agencies.... The potential toxic rain from the chemicals poured on our Gulf waters to disperse the oil.  The chemical used is called COREXIT 9500.  This chemical has been banned in Europe due to it's long term damages.  This chemical is carcinogenic and is toxic at only 2.61 ppm. What is even worse is the molecular transition of this chemical in reaction to warm water (Gulf of Mexico is warm water).   The chemical quickly turns into a gas which is evaporated into the clouds and eventually returns to the earth with it's carrier - rain. This toxic rain is INEVITABLE and wherever, whatever it touches  - it will be leaving behind carcinogens on farmland, our orchards, reservoirs, animals and people.  This is irreversible and it is going to release an untold chain of events on our natural processes in North America. It is something that we can only observe and experience.  So, thank you BP for the calamity you have brought us.  And, please, contact our government leaders and speak up and speak loudly!!

My sources:
http://www.bloomberg.com/
http://www.examiner.com/

Subject of my blog

My sister asked me if I was going to choose a "food" theme for my blog, advising that tangled webs and butterfly flits were kind of a "yuck" factor if I so chose that route.  I, whole heartedly, agreed on that.  It made me think about what I would discuss.  I did not want to be confined to a particular genre.  I guess I hate structure.  (To a fault -  which probably explains why I am consistently inconsistent!). 
I started analyzing my choice of title for my blog.
Tangled Webs - I see life as a tangle of many webs.  The web of our familial ties, friendships, life choices, life changes.  Just as in nature...we each have are own web, some are simple in design, discreetly and poignantly organized - amazingly complex yet beautiful in structure and then there are those webs that look like utter chaos, afterthoughts, results of poor choices,  directed by outside influences with threads that lead to points unknown or unwelcomed and sometimes ending nowhere.  We try to plan our lives and may have some success. There are those out there who have amazingly, at least in appearance, beautiful glorious webs with the proper connections heading in the proper directions.  And, there are the webs that are tangled, snarled, threading us along in directions unknown and sometimes unwanted.
Have you ever examined a spider's web? You have those spiders that have those tangled webs, all snarly, some dangling broken connections....yet there's that one precious thread that holds it all together. That one crucial silken line of security, strength and tenacity that keeps the spider's world connected.  And then there are the "orb" spiders....they have those beautiful, well designed webs where they perch in the very center ....all threads connected and evenly balanced to the point where, if one thread is touched - it affects the whole web.  (webs with "Zen") There's "feng in their shue".
I guess that's why I see such an analogy of webs to our lives.  How often do you hear that "one is the master of their destiny"...that you are in control of where your life goes (there are no "accidents").  All I can say to those people is..."You must have an extremely simple, well-structured, STRONG web".  Because, just as with the spider's web..anything can fly into it, alter the threads, change your design, direction or even destroy it.  And you have to rebuild - and it won't be exactly like your first web.  Or you may be fortunate in being able to mend it..but it will still have different threads, different connections.  AND, there's nothing, no one to blame...it's just....LIFE! And how you repair it or rebuild it is determined by your environment as much as (sometimes more) than your self or being. 
Just speculation and contemplations.  
As for the Butterfly flits.  I, at first, was thinking mostly of my random thinking.  My family calls it attention deficit....I just think my brain runs so fast sometimes and I try to take it all in at once, I don't want to miss a thing! But also, butterfly flits....means to me, the very tiny things - minutiae - like ideas, that can grow and become something that changes or alters our lives, our environment.  Like the metaphor of the butterfly effect, in the fluttering of wings creating a change that could alter the climate or atmosphere. 
I think I will keep my title.

First Time for Everything

I have been impressed by my sister's beautiful blog "Like Water for Yarn" and have been motivated to attempt a similar venture.
I recently made a brave decision to quit my job. "Why?" "Are you CRAZY?" I can hear all of you out there that have been seeking employment, being victims of our wonderful economic "boo boo" (as our illustrious bankers and mortgagee's would like us to view it) - The answer is yes, maybe, but the job was highly stressful to the point of physical and emotional damage. So, I made a choice. And, in truthfulness, I could not have done this without my husband's emotional and monetarial support. TRUST me, it's temporary...but I am going to enjoy this time while I can. I now have time to reflect, energize, and try to re-stimulate my lost creativity. After years of vegging in front of the "Vidiot" box (TV) after a life sucking, spirit sapping day at work....I now am gaining back my "being", my desire for LIVING.
So now I am starting to blog. And it will be a venture for us all! Because I have absolutely NO direction with this concept!
My family spent a very quiet Memorial Day weekend. I did stretch my epicurean muscles and created a (from scratch) delicious pineapple meringue pie. No instant or cooked pudding mixes were used. I actually made my own pie filling! And I think it was delicious! And I have a tip for you culinary types out there. I found a recipe online for a most delicious crust! Use Keebler Pecan Sandies. It was so simple. 2 Cups of Pecan Sandies crushed, 1/4 c. melted butter (and for this particular recipe 1 Cup shredded coconut). Mix together, press in a pie pan and bake until golden brown (about 10-15 min) in a 350 degree oven. I was thinking this pie crust would be great with a variety of "cool crust" pies...lemon meringue, chocolate cream, Ice Cream pies?
That's another perk about staying at home....my husband reaps the benefit of a cooked meal on the table when he comes home from work. Tonight, Chicken Verde with Rice w/lime and cilantro.