katie allison granju

There was a time, not so long ago, when actively s… February 27, 2003

There was a time, not so long ago, when actively seeking to profit from war was considered a really ugly thing. Lots of companies and individuals did it, of course, but they at least tried to keep it under wraps. War profiteering was considered one of the nastier aspects of capitalism, even among ardent capitalists.

But for weeks now, I have been listening to people like Neil Cavuto on Fox News openly and enthusiastically interview financial pundits about which stocks and commodities will be most likely to turn a profit in the coming war. Cavuto and his guests seem to have no shame at all in happily gabbing about how smart U.S. investors can position themselves now to see a profit when the bombs start dropping. Today, in a discussion about oil prices, the issue of war with Iraq was nonchalantly thrown into the mix of variables along with things like high demand due to the recent wintery weather.

I find this extremely repulsive and not related in any way to whether one is or is not in favor of the impending U.S.invasion of Iraq.

When did this cultural taboo - one of our better ones, in my opinion - fall away?

I have taken a new job with a great little PR firm…

I have taken a new job with a great little PR firm, Laine Communications. I’ve been a full-time freelancer for so long that it will be quite an adjustment to be in a real office. I wonder if they have a water cooler…

Check out my writer-mama friend, Ann Douglas on he… February 26, 2003

Check out my writer-mama friend, Ann Douglas on her neat-o website

I have a new favorite personal life-related blog. … February 25, 2003

I have a new favorite personal life-related blog. It’s Living Nappy and I stumbled on it quite by accident. You should check it out.

I have several new (to the site) essays up on my N… February 24, 2003

I have several new (to the site) essays up on my New Essays Page. Let me know what you think: kgranju@yahoo.com

I am lucky enough to know the Tracy family and was… February 17, 2003

I am lucky enough to know the Tracy family and was witness to their daughter India’s hurt and depression over the bullying and discrimination she experienced because of her family’s religious beliefs. This is one of the finest families I know and Union County, Tennessee has made a big mistake in allowing their child to be treated in this way. They didn’t want to have to bring a lawsuit. They really didn’t. But now that they have been forced to do so by Union County’s unwillingness to address India’s haassment, I hope that their lawyers, Margaret Held and Jackie Kittrell hold the school system totally accountable. I told India that she is a real hero for standing up for her religious freedom and that of kids who may follow her through the Union County school system.

It has become clear that I am not getting some of … February 13, 2003

It has become clear that I am not getting some of the email people are sending me via my AOL email address. So if you need to email me and you would like to be sure I actually get your message, you might do better to send it to kgranju@yahoo.com.

All this growing animus toward the French based on…

All this growing animus toward the French based on their recent geo-political stand has me reflecting on my own experiences with French people. After several years of high school French, at which I excelled, I decided to take a year off between high school and college and go live with a French family as their live-in au pair. Suffice it to say that I only stayed with the family for 8 weeks instead of the agreed upon one year. They were rude, condescending, nitpicky, and treated me like their red headed stepchild. They openly ridiculed my lame attempts to speak the language and constantly belittled American culture. They were beastly. They were also blatant racists, something I discovered to be much more common among France’s educated class (they were both doctors living in Paris) than America’s.

I didn’t give the French much more thought until my senior year of college when I fell in love with and subsequently married a guy who grew up in the U.S.,but whose parents are French. My in-laws, Jean-Pierre and Barbara, are some of my favorite people, so my views have softened somewhat over the years, but I’ve kept my distance from the actual country. Although my children have traveled to France with their grandparents several times, I’ve never been back.

And now that so many Americans are really irritated at the French, I’m advising Henry, Jane, and Elliot to keep their dual citizenship under wraps. Hmm… Maybe now would be a good time to change our last name from Granju (pronounced “Gron-joo”) to something more American, like “Grainger” or “Graham.”

(Just kidding, Jean-Pierre )

Today is the first time since we separated that my… February 12, 2003

Today is the first time since we separated that my husband has our children staying with him for two whole weekdays and nights. I thought I would feel liberated and enjoy two full child-free days in a row. Instead, I feel a bit like a mother cat whose kittens have been moved. I find myself pacing around the house, absently walking in and out of their bedrooms.

And I keep sending him emails like this one (actual text):

“ Did you remember to treat Elliot’s warts and ringworm before he went to bed last night? The wart medicine was in the suitcase but I forgot to tell you that the ringworm ointment is in the outside pocket.”

If you haven’t had little kids in your life recently or ever, you may not know that, despite your best efforts, they periodically get really nasty conditions, like impetigo and lice (been there, done those). Elliot, my five year old, has two such conditions at the moment. Warts on his little hand and a ringworm spot on his tummy. Our pediatrician says he probably got the ringworm from our horse (apparently common carriers) . Elliot says the warts came from a toad he found, but I think he got them from his big brother, who is now blissfully wart-free.

You’ve gotta love any parenting magazine with a pe… February 11, 2003

You’ve gotta love any parenting magazine with a permanent section entitled “Driven to Drink.” The online ‘zine Raising Hell is way funny. Here’s how one of the publisher/editors describes himself:

“Father of two girls, 5 and 13 … My current parenting strategy is a combination of overt benign neglect and secret support, together with reasoned logical arguments, scare stories and ruthless manipulation. My oldest daughter’s friends think I’m cool. I’m hoping that is a good thing. My youngest daughter thinks I can do magic.”

I recently read the new book, Desire & Ice: Search… February 8, 2003

I recently read the new book, Desire & Ice: Searching for Perspective Atop Denali, written by local (to me) author David Brill. The book is the story of Brill - a self-described ordinary, forty-something Dad - and his quest to climb to the summit of North America’s highest mountain. In 2001, he did just that as part of a guided expedition.

I never “got” mountain climbing fever before reading this book. Brill’s account of his month on Denali (Mt. McKinley) is riveting and inspiring. He never makes it sound easy, or even particularly fun, but you are left with a sense of what is gained when a “regular” person pushes himself past the limits of his own endurance. Reaching the summit is both literal and symbolic for the author, as he gains a renewed focus on what matters to him in life.

( I re-read this review and realized that it sounds sort of trite and doesn’t do the book justice. It’s an awesome tale. Read it for yourself.)

Here is a review of my book from Hinduism Today th…

Here is a review of my book from Hinduism Today that I had never seen before.

Did you get the memo about the TPS reports?

Today a friend alerted me to the fact that there is actually a cult of ‘Office Space’.

If you haven’t seen the movie, you should.

In this terrific interview with Salon, Camille Pag…

In this terrific interview with Salon, Camille Paglia articulates my own frustration with the current anti-war movement in the U.S. She says:

“I turned on C-SPAN with great excitement to watch the big march in Washington last month. But talk about shooting yourself in the foot! Several speakers were good, but most of them tried to drag all sorts of extraneous issues into it — calling Bush a “moron,” accusing America of imperialistic ambitions, “No blood for oil” — all these clichés. When fringe, paleo-leftist voices take over the platform, it drives away the moderate, mainstream people in this country who have nagging doubts about this war. I just don’t believe the polls claiming overwhelming public support for the war. I’m skeptical about the way the pollsters are asking the questions. I don’t know anyone who’s wholeheartedly for this war.”

She also touches on many other important and troubling aspects of the Bush administration’s march to Iraq that I haven’t heard anyone else pull together in quite such an erudite way.

DISCLAIMER: I don’t actually believe anyone deserv…

DISCLAIMER: I don’t actually believe anyone deserves to be run over by a heavy German car on purpose, but….

I feel very sorry for Clara Harris, the Texas woman accused of killing her husband by hitting him with her car after she found him at a hotel with his mistress. The guy sounds like the cruelest jerk imaginable.

I also agree with iFeminist writer Wendy McElroy who says that, at the very least, adultery should be considered a breach of contract in divorce proceedings and held against the cheating spouse in settlement negotiations. And I’d love to see Alienation of Affection cases become more common.

If you have ever seen a family torn to shreds by infidelity - and unfortunately I have, up close and personal - you will no longer doubt that an adult who knowingly contributes to this most painful of marital breakdowns is, in fact, engaging in tortious conduct. After all, we already recognize the marital relationship as having value (loss of consortium) under common law.

Some equity feminists have this one all wrong when they assume that adultery is only a matter of sex between two consenting adults. In fact, each marriage constitutes a unique collection of social, practical parental, financial, and yes, emotional ties. If the marriage breaks down, children suffer, money is lost, and divorcing spouses experience extreme upheaval as they are forced to re-orient virtually every detail of their lives. In other words, marriage is a contract with enormous fallout if it is breached. Just as with other torts of interference, alienation of affection recognizes the cost of divorce and holds the meddling third party accountable.