I've had writers' block for months, hence almost no posts. Perhaps some bits of things will loosen up my brain:


* Finally went to an oral surgeon to see about getting my wisdom teeth extracted. They're all sideways, but 3 are erupted through the gumline so are in danger of decay; so they should come out.

I decided I don't like this surgeon. He did not bother explaining the process of extraction until I asked him to, then kept blocking my expressed worries, saying they'd "treat me like a princess." This is not just a ridiculous thing to say to a middle-aged woman, but doesn't answer my questions with, you know, facts. He also wondered why I wanted to know the names of the medications he'd use in the IV.

But my big thing is I have a fear of choking(drowning), and he did not reassure me that fluid (blood, phlegm, saliva - sorry for being graphic) going down my windpipe will be stopped by an intact cough reflex. Rather he kept stressing that I wouldn't gag because of a relaxed gag reflex.

There are a couple of surgeons closer to home anyway, and I intend to postpone the surgery until after winter AND my spring allergy season, so I won't be prone to postnasal drip. Again, sorry for being gross.

* Brave people really do still exist in this world. Glenn Greenwald, Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, and all the staff and anonymous supporters of Wikileaks (not in any order of merit, of course. So far Bradley Manning is taking the brunt of the punishment). Every American should consider it his duty to read at least a little bit of Wikileaks. It won't hurt you, and you will wonder why you never bothered, because this stream of information is a key to public freedom. It's the struggle for integrity and honest government, happening right in front of our eyes -- on the screen.

How many chances will we get to do this -- expose and correct the corruption of our public institutions -- just sitting in a chair? The more you read it, the more power it has.

You can read it on wikileaks.info or dozens of other mirrors. New stuff all the time: Big Pharm is spying on the World Health Organization; the U.S. Dept of Justice actually recommends attorneys to big corporations who want to deflect bad press by attacking and discrediting Wikileaks;

* I need a dog.