Operation Duck Rescue, and Other Stuff

My duck buddy has a clam attached to his leg.
No, that's not some weird sexual code, it's all very literal.  My pal, who is, indeed, a duck (and, yes, I know he only loves me for my bread) is limping.  I called the ASPCA, and they got a better look at his leg.  There is a clam attached to him.  He's OK, but it's probably painful.  He can fly, so we couldn't catch him to remove the clam, but I will call them later and they'll try to remove it when it's dark and he's too disoriented to fly.
Here's hoping the menacing mollusk will be removed forthwith!

Over the weekend I sat in on a workshop run by the Shakespeare company I started my career with 20 years ago.  It was AMAZING!!!!!!  It really changed my perspective. It reminded me that it's not perfection that's beautiful, but the opposite.  As I watched the actors get very personal with Shakespeare's language, I noticed that as they talked about their so-called "flaws" they became more human and beautiful.
It also made me realize how many random rules there are.  That I follow blindly.  Now some of them are NOT random and very important, like not stealing or killing.  But others, like "Don't wear miniskirts if you're over 35" are COMPLETELY random.  And STUPID! I wore a skort to Yosemite the weekend before, and thank goodness I did!  Because it was HOT and I don't have a pair of shorts that don't ride up between my thighs.
On Monday morning I was heading out to yoga. I was about to grab a black ponytail holder, because another Random Rule is that adults should only use ponytail holders that blend more with their hair color. When I consciously realized what I was doing, I went for the hot pink one instead.

The other day a list was published concerning the top 5 or 10 most "Useless" degrees.  One of which was Computer Design.  Ironically, the news broadcast used some pretty fancy computer graphics while reporting the story. They claim these degrees are useless because the folks holding them aren't working a whole lot right now.  Needless to say I have some issues with this report. For one thing, A LOT of folks aren't working right now, regardless of what, if any, kind of degree they hold.  For another, those of us who DO hold these degrees never expected to earn a living doing ONLY our chosen field.  Many of us got these degrees so we could LEARN.  We then take that knowledge and put it into other things.  Like teaching.  Because the purpose of four years of college (and then, perhaps, post-graduate study) isn't JUST to earn money, but to earn knowledge.  Funny that: people going to institutions of higher learning in order to actually, well, LEARN stuff!
We are in a position, at this point in time, in which we look upon art as a luxury.  I contend that it's not. Imagine computers, iPhones & iPads, cell phones, etc. without graphics. Imagine if every building in the world looked the same.  Or a world without music.
A few years ago an actor names Douglas Sills gave an acceptance speech at an L.A. theater awards show that Hubby and I attended (Hubby was nominated!!!!!).  He talked about the things that last in any civilization.  When archaeologists dig up the remains of an ancient civilization, what do they find?  Drawings, pictures, paintings.  Crockery. Writings. All the things that give us the clues to how that civilization was run. All based in art.
We saw what happened to Europe during the Reformation.  There are many people who would like to take us back to something similar: get rid of secularism, get rid of government funding for arts and arts education, and basically  remove anything from the culture that they don't agree with. It may work for a while, but ultimately the Renaissance will occur, and art will be back, better than ever.