teaorwine: May 2008

Thursday, May 8, 2008

an op-ed

The price of gasoline and fuels continue to rise. Effective May 12, the cost of stamps will increase from .41 to .42. The post office continues to deliver junk mail to my home, despite having registered with optoutprescreen . Daily, I stop by the trash can after retrieving my mail from the box and drop off anywhere from 50%0-80% of what has been left there. Mail outs, deceptively-enveloped offers for mortgages, insurance, credit card offers and other products that I am not in need of, or requested are torn in half and plopped into the garbage. Anything really suspect is shredded. Unwanted magazines and catalogs which I now peruse on the Internet are folded and crammed in the mail box. These pre-sorted mailings are processed at a much lower rate than that of first class mailings. Quite often, I am truly interested in only one or two pieces of mail. Allow me to reiterate: mail trucks fueled by gasoline (and lots of it!) are carrying junk mail around to every neighborhood across the nation, at a reduced rate only to be discarded by many, if not most recipients. I feel sure that I am not the only person. I could also refer to the amount of wasted paper and how many trees are cut down in this process, but I won't at this time. Is this insane, not to mention oxymoronic? My solution would be to come by my house maybe twice per week and leave only legitimate mail. Skip the other four days and remove the junk from the truck, saving fuel and superfluous expense. Your comments, please.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

I watched this fab movie last night about the Virgin Queen...excellent and well worth it.

photo credit: Netflix

Cate Blanchett, costumes, wigs, ladies in waiting, castles, battles at sea, regal sets and scenery are just a few reasons to tune in. Sir Walter Raleigh's description of arriving at the New World was also intriguing.