I thought I'd shake things up and just do a journal entry this morning.  We had a long weekend watching a friend's kids (which was actually easier than I anticipated...they really entertained themselves until mom got back from work) and visiting my mom yesterday.  I wanted to talk with some of the kids who are in my play to tell them what I was thinking of when I made their character.  A lot of the kids I didn't have to talk with because they were doing great, but I'm glad I could direct some of them.  Like, I have a bit where the two main characters are ordering coffee and they order incredibly long-named drinks, and I wanted the barista to be able to be really snappy, so that made a big difference.  And in another character, an old lady, I wanted her to keep muttering as she walked offstage, and I was really happy how much of a difference that made.  So, anyway...that was fun.  There are two little girls who are supposed to be ballerinas, but they're both tomboys (how they got this role..?), so one of the funny things they say is " tutu!  I mean, tata!"  But they don't know what a tutu is, so they didn't have the association to get the line right, so they'd say "tu! I mean ta!"  which defeats the purpose of the line.  But, they'll get it :)  And I was at the end of my rope creating roles, so I just made a girl a poet (which is a little personal for me, since she's reading my poetry!), so I went over how to read a poem with her.  But I'm actually not worried about her.  She did great.  Not the way I would have read it, but no poet reads the same :)  And the funny thing is that she's going to be memorizing more of my poetry than I have, myself (hehe).  Anyway, I'm really happy with this play.  I think it is much better than the one I wrote last year.  Everyone is just happy they don't have to do (yet another) manger scene :) I figured they had enough after doing it for the past few years (I certainly was).   

The history of the English flag is really interesting.  Flags, in general, are really interesting just due to the history and bold symbolism they imbibe.  

"The Flag of England is the cross of Saint George. The legend of Saint George slaying thedragon dates from the 12th century and Saint George became the patron saint of England in the 13th century. The flag consists of a red cross on a white field with the cross having a width of 1/5 of the height of the flag. The flag proportion is 5:3.

When the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland were united in a personal union under James VI of Scots and James I of England and Ireland, the Cross of Saint George was combined with the Cross of St. Andrew(representing Scotland) to form the original Union Flag (or "Union Jack"). This flag later became the national flag of the Kingdom of Great Britain, and was combined with Flag of St. Patrick (representing Ireland) in 1801, producing the current Union Flag of the United Kingdom. The proportions of the Union Flag are 2:1."

I had a professor once talk about King James I and how he really didn't add anything to the country...but I knew my flags, and I knew he gave England their flag!  (yay me!)  So, anyway...that' spretty interesting.  The American flag...well, if you went to American public education you learned the history of the flag every year until 6th grade.  It's moving and sentimental and bold: "The colours of the pales are those used in the flag of the United States of America. White signifies purity and innocence. Red hardiness and valour and Blue the colour of the Chief signifies vigilance perseverance and justice. [ContCong 22:339]"   Furthermore: "Originally, both the number of stripes and the number of stars were supposed to represent the number of states. However, this became unwieldy as states were added to the union. During the debate that eventually resulted in the Flag Act of 1818, U.S. Naval Captain Samuel C. Reid suggested that the number of stripes be set at thirteen to represent the original 13 colonies and that only the number of stars be set to the number of states. [USGov 4]

A book about the flag published by the Congress in 1977 gives further symbolism for the flag:

The star is a symbol of the heavens and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial; the stripe is symbolic of the rays of light emanating from the sun. [USFlag.org]

I'm kind of split on flag burning, because I do see how it is a freedom of speech, but I also enjoy my country and in the same way that I wouldn't burn my marriage vows if I was mad, I, in a like manner, would not burn my country's flag.  But, that's just my opinion, and I'm not militant about opinions :)   Anyway, interesting stuff.  

This is a post I had on a Fark thread regarding Giuliani's possible..maybe..eh, I'm thinkin about it...run for President.  You can imagine how nasty that got (I like x and you suck!).  But anyway, this is my reply to one guy:

" As Canadian lurker I have been checking out this tread with interest. I would really like to know what it would take for everyone to put down their party tags and jump in. Run for the office that you think you can run better."

it's a little late, but I just wanted to comment on this:

I would like an election that didn't pit Americans against Americans. Both sides are looking out for the greater good of our country; I wish the next election wouldn't be laced with "x is unAmerican because of.." and "x will ruin our country" and "x took funds from...which proves they are just out for money" and the whole special interest group slant..."x is supported by this group, do you really want them leading your country?" and it goes on. It's the same tactics everytime, and last time the country became really divided.

My Christmas wish is just to be ONE country again. No more red/blue states...just America. I mean, during the hurricanes what SHOULD have been done is the country to band together and help; but instead the first thing that happened is politicians started pointing fingers and the media just made it worse by having coverage showing fault...24/7 for weeks. How on earth is that going to help anything?? I'm just so frustrated with how things are handled, and I'm kind of dreading the next election because I don't see how this nation could become MORE divided...but I'm also afraid it can be done.

And this is another thing: I'm not going to martyr myself for a candidate. I'm not going to say "well I support X, who is GOD...so piss off!" And I don't encourage anyone else to do the same either...because at the end of the day, you're still going to the same suburban home and visiting the same suburban grocery store. Nothing changes on micro levels, and it frustrates me to see the citizens of America become the sacrifices for these political agendas. Why are we pitted against each other? Shouldn't a good candidate be bringing us closer??

/so frustrated with politics. it's just getting worse.