NewscomaGot A Two-Pack Habit And A Motel Tan

Dolly Parton has been named the Tennessean of the Year by the Tennessean.

I can swing with that. She is hip and I dig her. I even like some of her music.

You know, she is a sexy beast.

We are up and running over at the new place.
Get on over there.
Go on.
I’m waiting. I’ve blogged like a fiend all day and your missing it.

Well, am I getting all dressed up and pretty for you well enough yet.
What, you shy?
Come on now, give ole Newscoma a little peck on the cheek.
What, you scared?
It won’t hurt. You might even like it.
I have some tricks for an old broad you might never even have heard of.
You’re gonna have a fabulous time.
Change that link now, won’t you.
Wait, you don’t like change. You still wish you were here
We had to move out I’m afraid. The toilet kept overflowing and the roof leaks.
Come on back, and remember if you stay the night be gone by the time I wake up.
Them’s the rules.

During the last year, I’ve written 1441 posts, had ups and downs in readership (thanks all of five of you) and enjoyed myself thoroughly.
It’s been a good time for the most part.
But alas, change is gonna come today.
Although I haven’t mastered my new blog at Word Press and I still haven’t got all my links and crap up, I’m digging how much I like it.
So come on over to www.newscoma.com or www.newscoma.wordpress.com.
Feedback welcome.
It will be the same cast of characters as before. I’m still trying to upload pictures but I have a Flickr account now so you can see what everyone looks like etc.
Thanks to all of you have made my life so enriched and wonderful. Now change those links, by golly.
I also have a new e-mail address at newscoma at gmail dot com. The other ones still work, but I’m trying to get away from Yahoo as much as possible.
So I’m not going anywhere, just moved across town.
Ya’ll come on over.

Happy Birthday, you old bastard.
Homer actually is a very lucky woman.
And, he’s a liberal, so there.
And smarter than anyone knows. I’d even venture to say he should be your best friend because he’s one of mine.
And he’ll cut you if you touch his Irish Whiskey.
So Happy Birthday, Squeeges.
You look pretty good to be about a thousand years old.

I just watched the execution of Saddam Hussein. I don’t know why I did it?
Curiousity maybe.
On a camera phone filmed as the former dictator stood as his executioners put the noose around his neck, darkness and rapid quick flashes of light and his face. He didn’t really look that scared in all honesty. CNN is reporting he had fear in his face. (The Website didn’t though.)
I didn’t get that at all.
He talked quite a bit but I don’t speak Arabic so I don’t have a clue.
More chaos as the video continued to roll on the cell phone’s camera.
Then the horrible sound of of his feet giving way under the platform as it was let go, the noose tight around his neck. The cell phone showed lots of movement and was very scattered and a lot of what appeared to be gleeful cries or that’s how I heard it.
Then his swinging body. Not like what you would see in a Clint Eastwood movie but different in a way I can’t explain but I’m not going to go back and look at it again. It was his eyes that were so strange.
I’m not sure if he was dead or alive at this point. I’ve seen more than one person die, and you usually just now. But I’ve never seen a person hang, so I have no idea how long he lived when the noose pulled taut.
I had the opportunity to go to an execution in my official capacity once.
I declined.
I felt like shit like this would change me somehow if I did this. I may work as a reporter, but that was not something I wanted to be apart of. Another media person from here went. His staff said he was haunted, especially because he took delighted glee in going.
They say he won’t talk about it.
I don’t know. I’m really torn about the execution. I’ve said before that it goes without saying that Hussein was one brutal, terrible cruel man. There are others still lurking around this world where power means everything and simple human dignity has no value whatsoever. The situation that Sharon and Sam Davidson have written about so eloquently about Darfur comes to mind.
We know Hussein relished in his power at the expense of human life.
In the end, does it really make a difference. Once an ally with this country, he lost his usefulness and we took him out.
And I’m torn.
Because the man that was responsible for bombing the World Trade Center is still running around.
And then I read that December is the worst month ever for our soldiers in Iraq.
And I can’t help but be numb about this very bloody, sad time in our lives where American soldiers stay in a foreign land that really, really hates us.
And, although I’m not a person who prays, I do tonight for those men and women who are over there because of this war. And for the men and women I personally know whose sons died over on foreign land. Because I see these families every day.
Every single day.
So Saddam, you won’t be missed by me, quite honestly. But I won’t mock your death either because I do believe every life has value.
Unfortunately, you didn’t feel the same way and that is what created your demise.

Testing this puppy out.

I’m going to be moving in the next few days to www.newscoma.com.
I’m still doing some housekeeping, so bear with me and I’m not done yet.
I’ll let you know when I’m all pretty.
Actually, I’m sort of sad leaving Blogger (you know my first time but just like your “real” first time, I’ve had issues. Some glorious, some of the suck. Some premature starts and stops. Some mind-blowing experiences.)
You get my drift.
I’ve tried to keep this relationship going, but alas, there are just too many ifs (Okay, I’ll stop with that line of crap.)
I’m leaving this blogspot address open for the archives and for the memories. I also want people to be able to enjoy Tim’s beautiful design. I just adore it, and him and he really is clever. We’ll be meeting in March if things go well. Atomic Tumor also left some feedback recently that I might want a change.
He was right.
Lynnster is the one that sold me on this so my new stuff will be over at wordpress. It does appear to be easier to use (can’t figure out how to post pics but I do now proudly own a flickr site for my crappy photography.) I realize it will take months to get me back on your blogrolls once I start this puppy up.
Alas. Do a girl a favor here.
If anybody has some advice leave it in the comments on how to do this properly and give me some time to get all my links up and whatnot.
Happy New Year’s Eve Eve.

It’s over.
CNN is reporting the Iraqi government has pictures and videos of Hussein’s execution.
They are also saying they will review them to before they determine what they will show us as, the viewer.
I hope not, quite frankly. I think it sets up a really creepy precedent. It’s being reported that his executioners danced around his body. Of course no one can be sure what this actually means.
And yet, the debate is about whether or not people need to see this to prove he actually is dead, that it’s not a ruse.
Incidentally, this is the picture I usually attribute to Hussein. I don’t know why, but it resonates with me because it reeks of so much wasted, evil power. He was a bad man and although that sounds like a naive statement, it really is as simple as that. I don’t think his death is going to change anything though. Some folks will be pleased but there most likely will be an upsurge of violence.
Will see what happens long-term.
At this point, I’m just watching it unfold.
UPDATE: Here’s a link regarding the issues of television footage of the execution of Hussein.

Members of the Arab Media Corp including Al-Hurra are reporting that Saddam Hussein was executed roughly ten minutes ago. CNN and MSNBC haven’t independently confirmed it as of now.
Now, what’s going to happen in the streets of Baghdad? That’s my question.

In celebrating the first year of this blog, I’ve found myself with little to say. My mind has been filled with a lot of static today.
It’s this time of the year, albiet late, that I’m ready to get back to some normalcy. Today, I sat down and watched the news as Pres. Gerald Ford’s remains were honored by the country and with a private service for the family, and the whole “When will it happen?” buzz over the execution of Saddam Hussien and the Muslim holiday that is to begin tomorrow and how that will impact when he will go to the gallows.
So, today is all about death. having gone through three major funerals in the last four months, the idea of all of this public spectacle is disconcerting to me. When Bear asked if she could watch “Fairly Odd Parents” I readily agreed.
It was just too much on this weird, sort of warm, winter day.
In some ways I’ve mellowed over the past year since I started this blog. I’ve allowed myself to become more transparent. My initial thoughts of what I wanted to do here has changed. I really don’t know what I was thinking about a year ago.
Now I see it as a journey. I’ll stumble, make mistakes and hopefully pick myself back up and keep on walking.
So today, I say thanks for all the things I’ve received and the wonderful things this blogging thing has given me. I’ve made some lovely new friends. I’ve been yelled at a few times too. My integrity has been questioned on a couple of blogs, which sort of tripped me out. But that’s okay too.
I sometimes have been too personal. Other times, I’ve been vague.
And through it all, I’ve grown.
And that’s something.
So I leave you with a pick of my canine kid, Mabel, who is taking a bit of a nap here on Christmas Day. Here’s to another year.
We’ll see how it goes.

More of me playing around with the new camera as people pose unmercifully at Tammy Lynette’s Birthday Bash.
Badger (Beth C.) gets a kiss from an old friend. She doesn’t really seem to be in the mood for this sweet gesture but that’s our Badger. That she allowed this was amazing. I tried to kiss her on the mouth but she said she’d cut me. Why do I always get this reaction with people? I need to work on my skillz.Writers from the Paper, a hubby in a hat and Cool Daddy John all enjoying an adult beverage.
This is a pic from the old friend in the top picture with his wife, his boss is the cool woman with the short dark hair who is giving the hypno eyes and then the lovely Karami. This pic was posted to also highlight that I had set my Bass down to take this pic.
Evidence of my debauchery.
Did I mention that we had a great time as Tammy Lynette had no idea we were throwing her the party.
I know you guys don’t know these folks, but I do.
And I just adore them all.
And being my blog and all on its one year anniversary, I thought I would share some of the folks who make my world very pleasant.
Waiting for the Tylenol to kick in.
Squirrel Queen is nursing me back to health. It might take a week or two but I should live.