Did any of you groovy Voxtars catch the return of The Bitter Linguist?
She's back with her inimitable rants. Cover your children's' ears. Keep your husband's off the computer. No one is safe.
(She will probably kill me for the shout out. But do I care?! Hell no!).
I'm planning a trip to London with husband and two teenage boys. Does anyone out there have ideas of a great and affordable place to stay? Looking at the first week in July. Wimbledon time.
Thanks in advance, neighbors.
As I watched, all I could think of was what a shitty job this guy was doing of washing the windows.
oh, oh... the press conference is about to start...
I woke this morning with a renewed sense of hope and faith in our ability to correct a system that has so alienated everything healthy and good.
Our win has been grand and a bit difficult to completely take in. As the man said, "it's been a long time coming". Yesterday we stood up and turned toward the light of a bright and healthy future, walking away from a past of fear and disconnection.
And, while these victories are sweet, -- it's the narrow races-- ones too close to call, that really repudiate 'business as usual'. It is the possibility of a 'long shot' that sends us the greatest hope. (It was sweet to see Kay Hagan, and Jeanne Shaheen win!).
Our losses have been great: Leibham in SoCal, Linda Ketner in S. Carolina, Kratovil in Maryland. All protectors of the ocean and residing in precarious regions. While I'm sad about losing these Ocean Champions, yesterday's voting demonstrated that we are putting elected candidates on notice. We are watching them. And, we are counting on them to walk with us toward that healthier future. Because if they bail on us--- well, we all know what will happen.
As a polling clerk, what got to me most, were the first time voters. They kept me going.
--- aw, hell. It meant a lot to me.
Earlier, my dear friend, took time out of her day to walk to the polls and bring me a dark chocolate bar because she was "proud of me". Another lady came in with a basket of fruit and baked goods with a note of "hope for a better tomorrow". Can you believe that?
One would think we'd just want to revel in these victories, for a while. Surprisingly, this is not where we find ourselves. We look around at our co-workers, friends and family and what we see is a community of people rolling up their shirt sleeves. Standing a little taller. Wanting to get to work rebuilding our country.
Just when you thought there was little else to say on the topic, my good friend Pepper sends this to me. It nicely sums up my feelings on the whole topic--- with the exception of "really, really hoping (she) gets in".
And, we begin:
"Send a donation to Planned Parenthood in Sarah Palin's name. She'll get a Thank You notice from them?.
Welcome to this year's blockbuster - Catherine Deveny
The US VP candidate is gun-toting, God-fearing proof that we are at the mercy of morons.
I'M OBSESSED with Sarah Palin. She's the first thing I think about when I wake and the last thing I think of before I go to sleep. I google her a dozen times a day and manage to bring her up in every conversation I have.
"You have hair. Sarah Palin has hair. What a coincidence! She has big hair and it's brown. Her kids have hair too. Their names are Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig. Would you like to see a photo of Sarah's hair? Or her kids' hair? Or her husband the First Dude's hair? She's a great mother, she went back to work three days after giving birth to a disabled child. Of course, she didn't have to. She chose to. She and the First Dude had little Trig's best interests at heart. Never too early to instil independence. It toughens 'em up. Next stop? A bloody good war."
I found myself checking out Palin Facebook groups last night. The ones that amused me included: Excuse Me, But Has Anyone Else Noticed That Sarah Palin Is Insane? My Dog Is More Qualified To Be Vice-President Than Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin Is A Bona Fide Whack Job. Librarians Against Sarah Palin. I Would Have Sex With, But Not Vote For, Sarah Palin. And: I Would Rather Have A Mentally Challenged Goat As VP Than Sarah Palin.
I'd been thinking the US election campaign was dragging on endlessly until I read the headline "McCain chooses woman for running mate." I loved that, "woman". Sums the whole thing up. She's the closest thing Republican strategists could find to a man with a vagina. No political party in the world would have had the genius to dream up Sarah Palin. She's a social experiment with lipstick.
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd likened the Sarah Palin story to the chick flick Miss Congeniality. I think of it more as an in-flight movie. Like Dumb and Dumber. If you're after a laugh, check out the campaign poster for McCain and Palin. The slogan is "The Ticket For America". The running mates look like an old rich bloke with erectile dysfunction and his white trash trophy wife wearing glasses so she looks intellectual and that.
McCain strikes me as "a bit of a fall" away from stewed prunes and dribbling, and she looks as hungry and deranged as Anna Nicole Smith. "Hey, Johnny, why don't y'all take up smoking! It's not too late. Have another spoon of cholesterol. Where's that special button you done talked about that blows up countries? Bristol's boyfriend's Xbox isn't working and he's bored."
I'm not proud of it but to be honest, the comedy writer in me really, really hopes Palin gets in. Shooting, hunting, God-fearing, anti-abortion, book-banning, homophobic, white trash moron. I'd love to see the White House lawn covered in cars up on blocks. Male, female, goat or goldfish, Palin is a writer's dream. I wish I had the imagination to invent her.
And the hits just keep on coming. Each day there's another titbit that draws me in. "She what? Not only believes that abstinence should be the only form of contraception taught in schools and she slashed funding to a program for teenage mothers but she charged victims of sexual assault for their own rape kits. I don't even know what rape kits are but I sure as hell know you don't charge people for them." And how does that whole guns and God thing work? "Say a prayer and the merciful Lord will protect us. And if he doesn't, pass me the Uzi."
The only problem with Sarah Palin is that she's real. And, like it or not, she'll be used as an example of a female politician. Regardless of the fact she should be filed under dangerous white trash fuelled by fear, propelled by power and supported by halfwits.
I have two long-held beliefs. First, people should have to pass an intelligence test before they're allowed to vote and second, that the rest of the world should be able to vote in the US elections because the outcome affects us as much as them. If not more.
Like most people, I believe in democracy. As long as everybody else votes the same way I do. The problems with democracy are that a) not everyone makes an informed choice and b) if they do, what informs that choice. We're at the mercy of the morons. People who vote for race, gender, class and politicians who massage people's prejudices and reinforce beliefs fertilised by fear.
Sarah Palin personifies the cockiness of ignorance. Bertrand Russell said: "Fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." Pass me the popcorn, I can't wait to see how this movie ends. "
Catherine Deveny The Age September 17, 2008
Lots of changes abound!
Mmm...a three-day weekend. A rare occurrence in the world of my dot com job. Most American "holidays" we do not get off work...like President's Day, etc. people need their online shopping experience seamless on holidays more than ever?
The best part is we're doing nothing in particular over the weekend. Playing some Wii, eating Mexican food, exercising the dog, and whatever we want to do. I got my hair cut today, and I decided to get full-on bangs, which I haven't had since oh, maybe 18 years ago:
(As you can see from the background, it's a beautiful Saturday in Seattle!). It almost looks like you could give me a child named Suri and I could pass for Katie Holmes, which wasn't quite what I was going for, but I like the haircut overall. My hair is naturally curly, so I we'll see how the bangs look when I get sick of flat-ironing it.
In other news, Andrew and I are ready to buy a house, and we're abouts to start looking. The housing market is pretty interesting right now, so we'll see what happens. That, and the average home price in Seattle is over $500,000, could make things a bit crazy. Seems like a good investment though. I would really like a dishwasher, disposal, a bigger closet, a second dog, and to be able to paint the walls whatever color I want.
Speaking of dogs, our pup, Southpaw is getting awfully big. She is also quite the swimmer. Here's a glimpse of her last weekend at the dog park, going for a cooling swim:
Yeah, I have no clue why she does this.
Oh yes, I am getting my wisdom teeth taken out tomorrow. And I'm going to rent There Will Be Blood, and watch it while I'm on all the vicodin and eating mashed potatoes. I'm not too worried about the actual wisdom teeth removal, as I will be knocked out. Plus, I get the day off work.
Speaking of work, my department had a little pool for the NCAA Tournament. And I WON! I had KU going all the way, and much to Andrew's delight (a true born and bred Jayhawk), they did go all the way. Easiest $100 I ever made, and most fun NCAA tournament ever...since I invested in it. Though I think gambling at the office is against company policy.
Andrew got Radiohead tickets for their Aug. 20 Seattle tour stop this morning in a pre-sale. Man, this is the best day ever! The pre-sale is sold-out and the same tickets we got are already going on Ebay for $400 a pair. I got some tickets as well, as we were trying to get them at the same time to ensure we would get some, but mine are much farther back, whereas Andrew's are in the pit. So I'll probably sell mine off.
All right...back to work!
What's your favorite thing about being sick?
My husband brings me juice, walks the Southpaw beast, and cooks a mean soup.
I really hate being sick though. Mono last winter was the worst. Missing work at Amazon during Q4 was more stressful than it was worrth.
