Colors Match Career Test

Kara took this and posted about it on her blog, so I copied her. Here are my results, which are freakishly accurate...:

Introduction
The Dewey Color System® is the world's first and only validated, color-based personality career testing instrument. Based on our experience and your interests, your best suited occupations are listed below.

Best Occupational Category

You're a CREATOR

Key Words: Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional

These original types place a high value on aesthetic qualities and have a great need for self-expression. They enjoy working independently, being creative, using their imagination, and constantly learning something new. Fields of interest are art, drama, music, and writing or places where they can express, assemble, or implement creative ideas.

CREATOR OCCUPATIONS
Suggested careers are Advertising Executive, Architect, Web Designer, Creative Director, Public Relations, Fine or Commercial Artist, Interior Decorator, Lawyer, Librarian, Musician, Reporter, Art Teacher, Broadcaster, Technical Writer, English Teacher, Architect, Photographer, Medical Illustrator, Corporate Trainer, Author, Editor, Landscape Architect, Exhibit Builder, and Package Designer.

CREATOR WORKPLACES
Consider workplaces where you can create and improve beauty and aesthetic qualities. Unstructured, flexible organizations that allow self-expression work best with your free-spirited nature.

Suggested Creator workplaces are advertising, public relations, and interior decorating firms; artistic studios, theaters and concert halls; institutions that teach crafts, universities, music, and dance schools. Other workplaces to consider are art institutes, museums, libraries, and galleries.

2nd Best Occupational Category

You're a PERSUADER

Key Words: Witty, Competitive, Sociable, Talkative, Ambitious, Argumentative, and Aggressive

These enterprising types sell, persuade, and lead others. Positions of leadership, power, and status are usually their ultimate goal. Persuasive people like to take financial and interpersonal risks and to participate in competitive activities. They enjoy working with others inside organizations to accomplish goals and achieve economic success.

Take your own color career test here.

This Week in WTF & update to recent post

Well, you can scratch one of the al-Queda linked threats I liste din the previous post off the list.

Apparently THE PIRATES aren't affiliated with anybody but themselves. Pirates, did you say? Yes, pirates.

Some AWESOME PIRATE QUOTES from the NYT pirates coverage:

...what they have to eat on board — rice, meat, bread, spaghetti, “you
know, normal human-being food.”...

...Mr. Sugule acknowledged that they were now surrounded by American
warships bristling with firepower but he did not sound afraid. “You only die
once,” Mr. Sugule said...

...He insisted that the pirates were not interested in the weapons and
had no plans to sell them to Islamist insurgents battling Somalia’s weak
transitional government. “Somalia has suffered from many years of destruction
because of all these weapons,” he said. “We don’t want that suffering and chaos
to continue. We are not going to offload the weapons. We just want the money.”
...

...unconfirmed reports about the pirate-on-pirate shootout...

When asked why the pirates needed $20 million to protect themselves from
hunger, Mr. Sugule laughed over the phone and said: “Because we have a lot of
men.”

Full story here.

Old News on the Current Financial Crisis

How did we get into this mess in the first place, you might be asking. I was thinking about what I had heard about federal intervention in the past months and years, since foreclosures started showing up on the "there's a problem" radar.

This article, from February's New York Times, talks about two (highly ineffective) programs floated by Paulson and Bush, Project Lifeline and Hope Now. These meager attempts to help homeowners facing foreclosure negotiate with their banks on their subprime loans failed, obviously.

And look at this quote from NPR back in December 2007, which shows how disgustingly filthy Wall Street is and why it super sux that we taxpayers are left with the burden of paying for it:

Most of the loans that will reset [from fixed rates to variable--and much higher--rates] in the next two years were long ago bundled into securities and sold to investors. The value of these securities has already fallen. A freeze in interest rates would reduce the value of these investments even more. [This is my emphasis, because it is the key. Because Wall Street didn't want to lose money on their investments, they wouldn't negotiate mortgage interest rates. If they had, then we would not be in the mess that we are in today. We would not have this burden on our hands.] So some investors will consider going to court in order to stop the plan to freeze rates. Other investors have decided that fighting the freeze will only lead to more foreclosures — and an increased chance of recession. And that, they have concluded, isn't good for anyone. [And that's EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING because the OTHER investors who fought the foreclosure relief WON that fight. And now we all loose!!!!]

And finally, there is this article, also from NPR from late November of 2007, discussing whether homeowners should get a federal bail out for their mortgages. The federal government considered bail outs for them--for the people won live on "Main St" or at least a left turn off of it. But the Bush Administration was against a bailout for homeowners who'd taken risky loans. They didn't want to "reward risky behavior". But now that it's the ENTIRE BANKING SYSTEM that is failing, they're ready to put that burden on the taxpayer. It's so so so lovely!

Here's some fun quotes in this article:

[Past bail outs were good for the propping up the economy.] That's the same
argument made by some economists now, but not everyone is buying it. "The
banking system is in difficulty, but it's not in danger of collapse by any
means," says credit analyst Stracke. "It's not as if this is a true emergency."

OOPS!!! I guess you can send hate mail and "I told you so emails" to Christian Stracke, a senior credit strategist at the research firm CreditSights.

...the 1980s to rescue the failed savings and loan industry. That bailout
involved taxpayer money; this one does not. Rather, under discussion are changes
to the bankruptcy laws, the rules that govern the Federal Housing Administration
or action by the Federal Reserve.

Look! We could have avoided a whole bunch of this mess altogether by simply changing the law. Wouldn't even have needed to have a 700 million, nevermind billion, dollar package. Just a change in the law...

This one is a longer excerpt, with some quotes from Robert Reich, my economic hero (link to the left).

What about homeowners who signed on to loans they couldn't afford in the first place? Should they be bailed out as well? Should banks renegotiate the mortgages so these troubled borrowers can afford their monthly payments? The answer, some say, is an emphatic no. The concept of moral hazard applies to borrowers as well as lenders, they say. Why should taxpayers foot the bill for homeowners who took out loans they knew they couldn't afford?

Because those borrowers didn't necessarily know what they were getting into, argues former Labor Secretary Robert Reich in his blog. "Many of the mostly poor home buyers who got into trouble did NOT in fact know they couldn't afford the mortgage payments they were signing on to," Reich writes. "The banks and mortgage lenders that pulled out all the stops to persuade them to the contrary were in a far better position to know; after all, they had lots of experience at this game."

Besides, says the Center for Responsible Lending's Day, foreclosures hurt more than simply those who lose their homes.

"Foreclosure depress the value of all surrounding homes, so you end up with this spiral effect," she says.

A little under a year ago, this monster began rearing its head. If we had bailed out the home owner who'd wrongly taken out bad loans, this whole thing could have been fixed. Had the federal government bailed out the homeowners, the debt would have been more profitable and secure for the government, but hedge funds, where that upper crust got lots of it's crusty-ness, wouldn't have made that extra bunch of millions or billions more then charge the taxpayer for it when the bottom dropped out.

More Rumblings of Terrorist Attacks

Around the world, there are more and more suspicious attacks by al-Queda linked terrorist organizations and it seems no one is really paying attention because of the tanking economy and the upcoming elections.

To date, some stories from around the world:

• Today, Lebanon: TRIPOLI— A car bomb exploded near a bus carrying Lebanese Army soldiers...Full story

• Today, New Delhi: NEW DELHI (AFP) — Around four people were killed and 25 others injured Monday in two suspected bomb attacks in the western Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, Indian media reported. Full story

• Sunday, Iraq (a significant increase relative to the past weeks/months) BAGHDAD -- A series of explosions Sunday apparently timed to strike Muslims preparing to break the Ramadan fast killed at least 31 people in Baghdad and injured dozens. Fully story

• Saturday, Syria: Car bomb kills at least 17 in Syrian capital. Full story

• Saturday, New Delhi: The death toll from a weekend bomb attack on a busy shopping area of New Delhi has risen to two, Indian police said. Full story

• Friday, Somalia: CAIRO, Sept. 29 -- The U.S. Navy bolstered its force of warships off Somalia on Monday, intensifying its watch over Somali pirates holding a hijacked Ukrainian-operated vessel with crew members, arms and tanks aboard. Full story

• Sept 21, Pakistan: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Sept. 21 -- Pakistani officials said Sunday that 21 foreigners, including two Americans stationed at the U.S. Embassy, were among the victims of a massive suicide truck bombing Saturday night that destroyed a luxury Marriott hotel in the capital. Full story

• Sept 17, Yemen: SAN'A, Yemen (AP) — A U.S. spokesman says the American Embassy in Yemen was hit by a car bomb and that there were unspecified casualties. Full story

Biggity-Bam. Eat it.

How Many Pickled Eggs Can YOU Eat?

Rest in peace, Paul Newman. You were cool. And handsome. And had really nice eyes. Plus I liked the salad dressings.

The acting world and the world-at-large has lost a great man.

Feature story at Oregon Times
IMDB link

Awesome

Awesome Thing #1

Though I love Prada, I love irreverence more.

Borat AKA Sascha Baron Cohen, crashed a Prada catwalk for his new movie today in Milan.

Full awesome story here.

Awesome Thing #2

When I call this awesome, I mean it in the most sarcastic way possible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Wroj0FLvzs

Awesome Thing #3

When I call this awesome, I really mean it because it was delicious. For lunch today I had Ikea Potato Latkes (or whatever they call them in Sweden; I only know the Jewish term for some reason). I dipped them in Fage 2% plain yogurt mixed with dill weed, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Ikea Food Page

What's Wrong With Bill Clinton?

Other blogs have posed this question - is something wrong with Bill Clinton? - after seeing his hands shaking on the Daily Show last night. So, I went to Web MD, put in his info (male, age 65 or older, Harlem zip code...) and this is what it spit out:

click to enlarge

According to Web MD, a shaky hand can mean: 1) a benign tremor, 2) hypoglycemia or low blood sugar (could just be that he's tired from planning the Clinton Global Intiative...) to, worst case scernario, 3) Parkinsons.

I just had a bad thought: if President Clinton, a spritely man, a hard worker, a presence at age 65, does have Parkinsons, then Parkinsons gets cured in the next decade. Because despite his gaffes during this campaign season, WE LOVE HIM.

Remember when our biggest national crisis was that our prez lied about getting a bj from an intern? IF ONLY THAT WERE OUR CRISIS.

So, I have this conspiracy theory. Hillary said she didn't want to be vetted for Veep unless she was definitely going to be the Veep. I theorize it was because she didn't want people digging and finding out about Bill's illness. This is because I have an overactive imagination. This isn't even close to being based on fact.

Here's hoping he was as excited as me over the Pumpkin Spice Lattes at S Bux and just had too many that day.

Best Comment about McCain's Delay of Debate

Best Comment about McCain's Delay of Debate:


"Frail old man runs from African American asking for change."

Jenny Backus Has No Backbone

ARGH!!!! This woman is the WORST pundit ever. She speaks like a smarmy high schooler; she lets the other side cut her off too much and she whines. If the Obama campaign wants to gain points on the talk shows, it won't be with her help. NEW REPLACEMENT NEEDED IMMEDIATELY.

Watch this cringe inducing clip and see what I mean about being inadequate:

This is What Happened to Spiro Agnew

Besides having a cool name, he was also the only Greek American to serve as the Veep.

From Wiki and verified on bioguide.congress.gov

During his fifth year as Vice President, in the late summer of 1973, Agnew was under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Baltimore, Maryland, on charges of extortion, tax fraud, bribery, and conspiracy. In October, he was formally charged with having accepted bribes totaling more than $100,000, while holding office as Baltimore County Executive, governor of Maryland, and Vice President of the United States. On October 10, Agnew was allowed to plead no contest to a single charge that he had failed to report $29,500 of income received in 1967, with the condition that he resign the office of Vice President.

Conversation with Mom about My Junkie-ness

Me: Who was Gerald Ford's vice president?
Mom: I don't know.
Me: And carter. Who was his running mate?
Mom: I don't know, why?
Me: Because for some reason I just realized that I know the names of the major parties' candidates for the elections dating back to 1984.
Mom:Who's Hubert Humphrey? Was he with Ford? And I think Mondale for Carter.
Me: I don't think so. So, do you want to hear?
Mom: Okay.
Me: Reagan Bush Mondale Ferraro Bush Quayle Dukakis Bentson Bush Quayle Clinton Gore Clinton Gore Dole Kemp Gore Lieberman Bush Cheney Bush Cheney Kerry Edwards McCain Palin Obama Biden. Jack Kemp played football. Lloyd Bentson was in the Freemasons. Geraldine Ferraro had to lie to say that she was a bad cook so she didn't look too girlie when she ran for veep. I learned about the Ferarro thing this weekend on "Wait Wait."
Mom: (googling things) Nelson Rockefeller for Ford and, yes, Carter had Mondale.
Me: What happened to Spiro Agnew?
Mom: An affair? And something about a water fountain I think?
Me: Aw shit, ya know who would know all this off the top of his head?
Mom: Dad.
Me: Yeah.

I'm still going to google the answer to the Spiro Agnew question but I'd rather have the story from Dad. Heh.

PS Gerald Ford was born on July 14, just like all the cool people.

This Week in WTF - Shock over Shock over American Idol Confession

Seriously, why is it a HEADLINE that this guy is GAY? ARE YOU BLIND AND DEAF AND DUMB? 'cause that's the only excuse for not knowing that he's gay.

Anyway, full, SHOCKING story below:

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/101126/clay-aiken-yes-im-gay

PHEWWW!!!!!!!

'Sabout dang time, friends.

Red Sox are in the playoffs!!!!!

Theories on Bailout Strategy

This is the latest buzz going about on the blogs (Kos, Hullabaloo, TPM, Democratic Strategist):

Patrick Ruffinni outlined a probable McCain strategy for dealing with the bail-out package:

Republican incumbents in close races have the easiest vote of their lives coming up this week: No on the Bush-Pelosi Wall Street bailout.

God Himself couldn't have given rank-and-file Republicans a better opportunity to create political space between themselves and the Administration. That's why I want to see 40 Republican No votes in the Senate, and 150+ in the House. If a bailout is to pass, let it be with Democratic votes. Let this be the political establishment (Bush Republicans in the White House + Democrats in Congress) saddling the taxpayers with hundreds of billions in debt (more than the Iraq War, conjured up in a single weekend, and enabled by Pelosi, btw), while principled Republicans say "No" and go to the country with a stinging indictment of the majority in Congress....

In an ideal world, McCain opposes this because of all the Democratic add-ons and shows up to vote Nay while Obama punts.

History has shown us that "inevitable" "emergency" legislation like the Patriot Act or Sarbanes-Oxley is never more popular than on the day it is passed -- and this isn't all that popular to begin with. All the upside comes with voting against it.

So far, I've only found one comment (from the Hullabaloo post) about this posit that offered any good counter measure to the crafty position above:

From Andrew Foland (this is his homepage):

If she cares to use it, Pelosi has more power right now than either Bush or Paulson.

If you're Pelosi, you tell Hank he can have 40 votes (from the safest D seats imaginable) for the Dodd plan in the House. If he can get his party on board, great, they can get a bill through the House If he can't, there's no plan at all.

If they want a bill, make them find the votes, and make them take the responsibility. If they aren't willing to, maybe it's not such a crisis after all...

Fiscally speaking, the Dodd bill next to the Paulson bill is a difference of night and day. But politically speaking, I think the public won't perceive the difference, and the Dodd bill will be just as reviled as the Paulson plan.

Dems should use their leverage to (a) insure good government via allowing only the Dodd bill through and (b) insure the GOP takes the fall for it.

Picture of the Day

This was the picture of the day on Wikimedia Commons. It was too cool not to share.

Things I Love - BBCs skins

Holy tell-it-like-is show. Skins is the gritty, more earthly-bound answer to the loftiness of teen dramas like "The OC" and the new "90210". Each episode focuses on a guy or girl in this large group of friends at what I think is called a "sixth form school" also called a college. In England, you go there from age 16-18 and then start university at age 18/9. So, they're ages 16-18 and they're at this school and they're a group of friends. They party, they drink, they have sex. Their parents are missing, or leave them, or neglect them. They are Muslim, black, gay, slutty, nerdy, druggies, etc. The music teacher loves the assistant principal guy. The psychology teacher is sleeping with the druggie kid whose mother abandoned him and whose father disowned him. The social studies teacher tried to hook up with the psychology teacher when they took the kids to Russia for a trip. The Muslim kid was almost killed after losing his virginity to the young Russian woman who he thought had an abusive father but actually had an abusive husband. The gay kid had the popular kid (actor who was the little nerdy kid in "About a Boy") try to hit on him while the popular kid's girlfriend was passed out and she saw them hooking up so she dumped the popular kid and started dated some other guy but the popular kid did this wicked thing to try to get her back and it didn't work because she was sick of him cheating in her with all types of people--younger girls, gay boys, etc. The down-to-earth black girl has a missing mother and a famous hip hop artist mogul father who criticizes her for being a good clarinetist because it's the white man's music. Her name is Jal, and she's my favorite character. Sid is my second favorite.

So, there you go. Who needs Seth and coke-head Mischa with her terrible acting, or a reprise of Brenda and Kelly bickering amid unbelievable opulence? I'll take my new, good, fir-rear high school--sorry, 6th form--drama, Sundays on BBC America.

They Thought of Something Better

Yes, something better than the word count was thought of today. And I joined:

http://www.buymyshitpile.com/node/427

Since Paulson is buying all the investment companies' crap, we're asking that he buy back our stuff, too. So, go to the above address and add your crap to the growing pile of crap that we puny Americans consider "bad investments" and ask that the treasury buy our shtuff too.

Three New Leaders in One Weekend

While we were busy watching a TV show about all the good TV shows, worrying about our economy, closing down Yankee Stadium and, as ever, following the campaign trail, the rest of the world was going about its business. And my was there much business:

• In SOUTH AFRICA Prime Minister Thabo Mbeki stepped down from his position because of infighting within his party, the African National Congress. President Jacob Zuma, the arch-rival of Mbeki, will presumably take his place.

• In PAKISTAN Benizir Bhuto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, took office this weekend. He also narrowly escaped death or severe injury because he did not go to the Marriott Hotel, where unknown attackers car-bombed the popular tourist hotel.

• IN ISRAEL Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stepped down amid corruption chargers. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, a younger woman with limited experience but a clean record when it comes to corruption, will presumably take his place.

I'd also like to point out that in addition to the attack in Pakistan this weekend, there was the Yemen embassy bombing and a kidnapping in Egypt. I worry that these are rumbles of a worse shock to come and no one's paying attention because of the election, the economy and the two wars currently going on in the world. Help!

Another Political Junkie Site

Whoa. This one is seriously crazy:

http://speechwars.com/index.php

Counts all the words that McCain and Obama have said in their speeches and presents them in a word cloud. Also, you can seach for words and see how many times the candidate has said them. McCain has said "war" 458 times. Obama has said it 799 times.

Crazy.

What will they think of next?

This Made Me Cry -- in a good way, since I'm a sentimental sap

If I weren't born in the United States and instead became a citizen through a naturalization ceremony, I'd totally want to do it like this.

Stories like this, of over 3000 people pledging and becoming citizens of the United States of America at a ceremony in Fenway Park, always make me cry -- but in a good way. In a sentimental way that reminds me that, no matter the failings, there's still hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of other people who want to be here as citizens, because really--where's the better option? No where.

Complain as I do about all the crap -- and there's a lot of crap, I love voting day, 4th of July and naturalization ceremonies at Fenway Park. I know, I know. Bad ACLU liberal hippie vegetarian. Bad. I can't believe I'm praising my country on my blog. It's soooo patriotic of me. But guess what conservative republicans? Liberals put their country first, too. Anyway, back to the story--the cutest part was that the majority of the new citizens from Fenway Park was that they were from Dominican Republic, just like David Ortiz! Love it!

Congratulations and have your registered to vote yet?

Someone from Weymouth Won an Emmy

And the Emmy goes to...

Abigail Adams!!! Ha ha! (Did you think I was talking about someone else or the other one?)

Laura Linney won best supporting actress for her portrayal of Abigail Adams in the HBO miniseries John Adams. She said, "Every time I look at this I'll think of the community organizers who founded this country." Awesome. And THAT seemed to set off a whirlwind of political talk. It was like a third convention!!!

Every other person mentioned politics, activism, voting or something to that effect.

Except Rickles. Rickled effin' rocked the hizouse.

It could have also been called the "Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart Night of Appreciation." Along with John Adams and Recount.

The hosts were poop but this thing that Jimmy Kimmel did with them at the end, treating the award winning like reality TV winning was pretty good.

I'm happy Cranford won anything -- it was such a sweet miniseries and in a lot of tough categories. Yeah Masterpiece theater on PBS.

Anyway, it got off to a rough start but got good eventually.

Library Thing Survey

This is a list of the top 106 books most often marked “unread” by LibraryThing users. The rules: bold the ones you’ve read, underline the ones you read for school, italicize the ones you started but didn’t finish. Asterisk the ones you cheated and saw the movie.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina*
Crime and Punishment
Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi : a novel
The Name of the Rose*
Don Quixote
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madame Bovary*
The Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
A Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel
War and Peace
Vanity Fair*
The Time Traveler’s Wife
The Iliad
Emma*
The Blind Assassin
The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway
Great Expectations*
American Gods
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Atlas Shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran : a memoir in books
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlesex
Quicksilver
Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West*
The Canterbury Tales
The Historian : a novel
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Love in the Time of Cholera
Brave New World
The Fountainhead
Foucault’s Pendulum
Middlemarch
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dracula
A Clockwork Orange
Anansi Boys
The Once and Future King
The Grapes of Wrath
The Poisonwood Bible : a novel
1984
Angels & Demons
The Inferno (and Purgatory and Paradise)
The Satanic Verses
Sense and Sensibility
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest*
To the Lighthouse
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Oliver Twist*
Gulliver’s Travels
Les Misérables*
The Corrections
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dune
The Prince
The Sound and the Fury
Angela’s Ashes : a memoir
The God of Small Things
A People’s History of the United States : 1492-present
Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Dubliners
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Beloved
Slaughterhouse-five
The Scarlet Letter
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The Mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake : a novel
Collapse : how societies choose to fail or succeed
Cloud Atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey
The Catcher in the Rye
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance : an inquiry into values
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity’s Rainbow
The Hobbit
In Cold Blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
White Teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield
The Three Musketeers

This Week in WTF pt 2 - Sarah Palin Is Not Very Vigilant

A hacker got into Sarah Palin's email account by choosing the "forgot my password" option, then answer the security question: "Where did you meet your spouse?" Since Palin had told the stroy of meeting her husband in high school, the hacker guessed "Wasilla high" and was let into her yahoo account. An account where, by the way, she had conducted official Alaska business. This is a no-no because official business should be conducted on the arched anad trackable government email account. Err...hmmm...

Anyway, full story here:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iem-vu_mlRjRYfqkscEkw2ciRm7wD939AO101

The moral of the story is, if you're going to be governor of a state and then run for vice president of the most powerful country in the world, make sure your information is protected, instead of being left so wide open as to induce major eye rolls from the informed public.

Yeesh.

Sharing Time

One of my bffs -- you might know him, his name is Obama -- asked that I share this, so I am:

Motorcycle for Sale

FOR SALE: 1999 Yamaha Road Star with only 23,000 miles. In great condition. Saddle bags and windshield (windshield not in photo, but available). Email me if you are interested. It's going for $4500.





If you purchase it, just be careful to pay attention while you drive it. Don't go to soccer games and then fall over on it. Don't let a bug hit you in the face and get embedded in your cheek. I also don't recommend driving while on morphine, but some people just can't be kept from their bikes. Anyway, I'm just posting this here for posterity and practice. I'm about to go put this on Craigslist.

Things I Love - FiveThirtyEight

Oh my. I have died and gone to nerdy politcal junkie heaven. Just look at this site. Look at it! It's overwhelmingly delicious with all it's charts, graphs, what if projections and breakdowns. Oh love. Oh heart. Oh happiness.

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

Thank you, God. Thank you.

Repost - Ryan Adams Is a Tool

September 18, 2006 @ 5:13 pm

RYAN ADAMS REVIEW

Apparently, according to this story on NPR right now, Ryan Adams likes to call up critics that bash him.

So, here we go.

Maybe he’ll call me, too…

This is exciting:

Ryan Adams is just fine for when you shop at the mall, wait in the doctor’s office or ride an elevator.

Did you know that if you cover one eye with some of your hair for an album cover, then it will give the illusion that you are, in fact, deep.

However, if one is looking for lyrics beyond this depth:

l_______________l

Then look elsewhere.

I really like his very nice voice, though. I especially liked the first time I heard it: when I listened to David Gray.

OK. That should do it. Ryan, if you can’t find my digits (I’m not publishing them here) feel free to email me or find me on Facebook.

laters...

Things I Love - The Rachel Maddow Show

MSNBC's new program: The Rachel Maddow Show

Olbermann is too partisan for me, sometimes. I mean, he's very O'Reilly-esque in his vehement anti O'Reilly-ism. Like that documentary I watched back in college that showed that David Duke and Louis Farrahkan were so divisive they were eerily similar in their bigotry and speech (The Shadow of Hate). Anyway, a more thoughtful yet clearly left leaning show is the new "Rachel Maddow Show" on MSNBC. I truly love this program. Unlike many of the other shows on the 24 hour news networks--Fox, CNN & the other ones on MSNBC--this one offers thoughtful, non-vitriolic and thorough commentary.

More info:

Rachel Maddow page at MSNBC

The show airs at 9pm on MSNBC during the week and repeats after live airing at different times.

This Week in WTF

Dude.

Repost: Homework Sux - there's proof!!!

September 18, 2006

I’m in the middle of a very intriguing book. I believe it’s major proposition will have prolific effects on education policies to come, so here’s your heads up.

On Alibris

To show off my skills (only because I’ve actually read/seen these sites already):

Here's the story from "Day to Day", which was the first time I heard about the book.

Other links:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/11/AR2006091100908.html

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1376208,00.html

http://www.alfiekohn.org/index.html

Happy reading!

Update, after finishing the book:

Homework is harmful for little kids. Too much homework of busywork is pointless for high school and should be a concentrated, exacting exercise and not homework for homework's sake.

Repost: Daisy Is a Pig

August 15, 2006 @ 2:33 pm

The tab key isn’t working on the keyboard today. This is very annoying.

I have a dentist appointment today and I’m afraid. I haven’t been to the dentist for a while. I don’t want to face the chastisement.

Anyway, I had made a salad for lunch. Just as I sat down to eat it, my sister needed me to move my car so she could get out of the driveway. I put the bowl in the middle of the table, thinking that the dog wouldn’t be able to get to it. As I re-entered the house, what should I hear but the clang of a fork against a bowl. The dog had hoisted her front paws onto the side of the table, nosed the bowl closer to her mouth and inhaled my salad. What a bitch (ha ha literally!).

I sent her outside for a while and yelled “bad dog” at her every so often. She is now allowed back into the house but is hiding from me because I’m still admonishing her every time she looks at me.

It’s funny to see her ears go back on her head and her little puppydog frown.

My mom called and I told her of the incident. She told me not to go too hard on her. I said she needs to be punished to learn. Daisy is a spoilt little girl. I fear what lavish-ment my mother will bestow on future (like, way future) grandchildren. Ugh.

Here’s what was in my salad:

• romaine greens
• sauteed summer squash and zuccini leftover from yeterday
• a smidge of bleu cheese dressing
• a tbs of balsmic vinegar

The three bites I had were good.

Here is the recipe for the zuccini and summer squash

• heat one tsp of evoo
• sautee half-moon slices of one summer squash for one minute
• add the half moon slices of one zuccini (squash takes a little longer than zuccini to cook)
• add a quarter cup of Lemon V8 juice
• reduce heat to low, cover stirring once or twice, simmer for two minutes or until squashes are tender

So, for a real lunch, I heated up the rest of the squash with some shredded Italian cheese blended and wrapped it up in a oat bran and whole wheat tortilla. That was good, too.

Neat-O to this Tribute to Films, Quotes & Numbers

Things I Love - MOBA

One of the things I love in Boston is very close by to where I live. It's not technically in Boston; it's in Dedham. The Dedham Community Theatre houses one of Boston's best treasures: the Museum of Bad Art. The MOBA should not be confused with Boston's Museum of Fine Art (also a favorite place) but once you see the collection, there's no chance of confusion.

Recently, WBUR, the local NPR station did a feature on the MOBA, which has now expanded to the Somerville Theatre as well. Both the Somerville and Dedham MOBAs are located in the lobby outside of the men's bathroom.

Story at WBUR is here.

MOBA webpage:

http://www.museumofbadart.org/

Purchase the book (pictured above) here.

This Week in WTF pt 2

Oh my stupid stupid stupid fellow countryman. What the feck?

Learn more about poor speller & dumb racist Andy Lacasse of Barefoot Bay's stoopud moorawn sign at: Wonkette.com.

Be sure to read all the comments, too.

If anything, I thought he'd be hemp, though maybe that's the other half of the new breed of fabric?

More on the Palin vs Librarian SCANDAL

This is excerpted from a blog post I found. Here's the breadcrumb trail of blogs:
librarian.net linked to Librarians Against Palin (and Librarians for Palin) which linked to
http://jdrhoades.blogspot.com/2008/09/guest-blogger-tess-gerritsen.html, which is where I got this quote from the Frontiersman:

The Frontiersman, the Alaska newspaper covering Wasilla, has provided an article from its 1996 archives detailing the clash. And here's what Ms. Emmons said at the time:
"I'm not trying to suppress anyone's views," Emmons said. "But I told her (Palin clearly, I will fight anyone who tries to dictate what books can go on the library shelves."
Palin said Monday she had no particular books or other material in mind when she posed the questions to Emmons...
But on Monday, Oct. 28, Emmons said Palin asked her outright if she could live with censorship of library books. This was during a week when Palin was requesting resignations from all the city's department heads as a way of expressing loyalty...
Emmons recalled that (during) the Oct. 28 conversation she pulled no punches with her response to the mayor. "She asked me if I would object to censorship, and I replied 'Yup,'" Emmons recounted Saturday. "And I told her it would not be just me. This was a constitutional question, and the American Civil Liberties Union would get involved, too."

The author of the post I was reading this excerpt from also went to say:

This is more than a story about one librarian's heroism. It's also a story that should give every writer, every publisher, every reader, a chill up the spine. Since when do mayors dictate which books are in their town libraries? Since when do public officials in our America believe that banning books is a politician's prerogative? What sort of control freak even considers such a demand appropriate? What else would such a person choose to censor? Newspapers that disagree with her? Scientists whose studies don't align with her beliefs? Government officials whose facts and figures make her look bad? And if those government officials insist on doing their jobs and standing by the facts, will they too be fired?

Excellent questions. Excellent questions. And now that Palin has said she's go to war with Russia (um, you know they have nuclear weapons, right?) here's hoping more and more people notice the empress's missing clothes.

Zoo, a definition

Zoo - (n.) a college library at the beginning of the school year.

Review Photogenic Memory

The book is a year old but it's new to me, so here's my review:

Photogenic Memory - Arlo Quint - 2007

Remember freshman year and your boyfriend who liked to ride freestyle bikes? Remember his friends? They were pretty good guys, weren't they? Well, I'm glad you like them, because 10 years later one of them is going to write a dang fine book of poetry that you will discover through a completely different circle of contacts.

It's hard to be impartial when you know someone personally, I think. Of course I'll like the book -- Arlo's a nice guy. But that's not why I like the book. And I don't just like the book because we have lived in the same corners of Maine (Old Town/ Orono and then the very random/remote Pittsfield). The book is "for Kyle Souza" who I last saw in 2005 working in the electronics dept of the Newport/Palmyra Wal Mart. I don't know what's happened since. Anyway, knowing bits of the "in" isn't why I like the book, either.

I like it because it does what a poem is supposed to do, because it does what Pound talks about in the essay "How to Read" (reviewing that next! reading it right now!). It effectively "charges language with meaning." What I mean, how I mean this is that it moves fast. It's smart and then a little smart alecky. Like when it uses slang terms or slips into ballad, a sorta meta-ballad, then goes back to tweaking the meaning of words in deceptively simple but smart ways.

I think there's still a few copies left. Go here if you're interested.

New Books and Book Acquiring Adventures

I have had another bought of book acquiring, so here's the low-down:

1. Photogenic Memory - Arlo Quint - ordered off the publisher's website
2. Literary Essays - Ezra Pound - Boston Public Library main branch
3. The Truman Era - I. F. Stone - Commonwealth Books (near the Common)
4. Decision: A Review of Free Culture, Vol 1, No 5 - Klaus Mann ed - Commonwealth Books
5. Proper Name - Bernadette Mayer - Commonwealth Books
6. Configurations - Octavio Paz - Pazzo Books
7. Emily Dickinson: Selected Letters - Emily Dickinson - Pazzo Books
8. Ulysses - James Joyce - Pazzo
9. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce - Pazzo
10. Parables & Lies (The Cupboard Pamphlet, Vol. 1) - Jesse Ball - through the publisher's website

Sporadic Reviews of Books and Places soon to follow...

Castings Smiley Secret

I'm watching the Zefferelli version of Jane Eyre right now. I'll do a review later, maybe, but first I wanted to say that the people who do the casting at Harry Potter are amusing. I always said that the beginning of Harry Potter was a lot like the beginning of Jane Eyre. Mrs Reed and Mrs Dursley are so much alike. And guess what?

Fiona Shaw plays both Mrs Reed and Mrs Dursley! Ha!

This Week in WTF - Interior Department Scandal

From today's New York Times

WASHINGTON — As Congress prepares to debate expansion of drilling in taxpayer-owned coastal waters, the Interior Department agency that collects oil and gas royalties has been caught up in a wide-ranging ethics scandal — including allegations of financial self-dealing, accepting gifts from energy companies, cocaine use and sexual misconduct.

Full article here. & o my is there more to read...

On Lipstick

This whole false controversy over Obama's use of colloquialism is vomitous. Vom-it-us.

This is what I want. I want the stupid bullshisse to stop. I want to hear about real things. I want a serious critique of Palin, not a false gendercard playing argument. I want people to tell me innovative things that they will do as the leader of this country. I am sooo soooo soooooo effing sick of the empty bickering and the shallow, meaningless chants, whether it's the optimistic "Yes We Can!" or the vile "Drill Baby Drill!".

I switched my support from Hilary to Obama after Hilary won Pennsylvania and Obama gave this concession speech, which spoke to clearly to that desire of mine. I fear that he, because of the tit for tat with the McCain campaign, has veered from this message.

Dear Obama: please, for the love of the "U S A!!!", get back to this:

Collider & Imagination

Okay, what if the collider raises the ire of a carmelengo in the Vatican and then he thinks up in elaborate scheme to almost end the world then save it at the last minute in an effort to restore people's faith in faith and not science?

Fine, I'll admit it. I did a little beach reading this summer... I know. I know. It's atrocious of me to have read a Dan Brown novel. But it was summer! What the heck!

http://www.worldcat.org/isbn/0593055047

And now it is very prescient. The book is currently unavailable on Amazon even! Because the Large Hadron Collider was launched today.

"If all goes according to plan, the Large Hadron Collider, a gigantic particle accelerator underground near Geneva, could re-create the very moment 13 billion years ago when scientists believe a tremendous explosion known as the "big bang" created the universe." (from this article)

This Is Silly But I Had To Share...

This is a silly forward, but I had to share. I got it from my friend/former cube neighbor J ess. I do miss her dearly, and once you read the letter, you will uinderstand why:

Dear Alcohol,
First and foremost, let me tell you that I'm a huge fan of
yours. As my friend, you always seem to be there when needed. The perfect
post-work cocktail, a beer at the game, and you're even around at the
holidays (hidden inside chocolates as you warm us when we're stuck in the midst of
endless family gatherings). However, lately I've been wondering about your
intentions. While I want to believe that you have my best interests at heart, I
feel that your influence has led to some unwise consequences:

1. Phone Calls and text messages: While I agree with you thatcommunication is important, I question the suggestion that anyconversation after 2 a.m. can have much substance or necessity. Whywould you make me call my ex's? Especially when I know, for a fact, theyDO NOT want to hear from me during the day, let alone all hours of the night.

2. Eating: Now, you know I love a good meal. But, why do you suggest that I eat a taco with chili sauce along with a big Italian meatball and some stale chips [ washed down with wine & topped off with a Kit Kat AFTER a few cheese curls & chili cheese fries ]? I'm an eclectic eaterbut, I think you went too far this time.

3. Clumsiness: Unless you're subtly trying to tell me that I need to do more yoga to improve my balance, I see NO need to hammer this issue home by causing me to fall down. It's completely unnecessary, and the black & blue marks that appear on my body mysteriously the next day are beyond me. Similarly, it should never take me more than 45 seconds to get the front door key into the lock.

4. Furthermore: The hangovers have GOT to stop! This is getting ridiculous. I know a little penance for our previous evening'sdebauchery may be in order. But, the 3 p.m. hangover immobility iscompletely unacceptable. My entire day is shot. I ask that if the properprecautions are taken [ water, vitamin B, bread products, aspirin ]prior to going to sleep/passing out [ face down on the kitchen floor with a bag of popcorn or wherever] . The hangover should be minimal andin no way interfere with my daily activities. Alcohol, I have enjoyed our friendship for some years now and would liketo ensure that we remain on good terms. You've been the invoker of greatstories, the provocation for much laughter, and the needed companionwhen I just don't know what to do with the extra money in my pockets. In order to continue this friendship, I ask that you carefully review mygrievances above and address them immediately. I will look for an answer no later than Friday 3 p.m. [ pre happy hour ] on your possible solutions. And hopefully we can continue this fruitful partnership.

Thank you,

Your Biggest Fan

P.S. Please take a moment or two and note the following items below thatI think may be of some interest to you.

THINGS THAT ARE DIFFICULT
TO SAY WHEN DRUNK:

1. Innovative

2. Preliminary

3. Proliferation

4. Cinnamon

THINGS THAT ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO SAY WHEN DRUNK:

1. Specificity

2. British Constitution

3. Passive-Aggressive Disorder

THINGS THAT ARE DOWNRIGHT IMPOSSIBLE
TO SAY WHEN DRUNK:

1. Thanks, but I don't want to have sex.

2. Nope, no more beer for me.

3. Sorry, but you're not really my type.

4. Good evening, officer Isn't it lovely out tonight?

5. Oh, I couldn't. No one wants to hear me sing

Top Ten Reason Why Autumn Rulz

10. Giant September issues of fashion magazines with all sorts of style ideas.
9. School supplies are on sale - marble notebooks just fifty cents!
8. Boots are out of retirement
7. Footbal season begins (then promptly ends in the first quarter of the first game when your star quarterback gets a season ending injury).
6. Baseball play-off season.
5. It's no longer hot as balz.
4. Octoberfest & Pumpkinhead Ale
3. Pumpkin Spice Lattes
2. Apple picking leading to apple desserts
1. The fall landscape of Maine.

Doom!!! Doom!!! Doooooooooooom!!!!!!!!!

Brady is out for the season.

Do you hear that? It's the sound of all hell breaking loose in New England.

http://www.necn.com/Boston/Sports/Belichick-Nobody-has-worked-harder-done-more-for-team/1220901003.html

Recipe: Healthy-ish Tuna Noodle Casserole

I made tuna noodle casserole but in a healthy way. Both the roomie & I agree: it's yummy and not lacking anything by being healthier instead high fat. Feel free to add things you like to eat--different veggies, chicken instead of tuna, etc., -- this is just a general guideline (I'm in a cooking mood lately):

Ingredients:
1 pkg of egg noodles or whole wheat wide noodles
1 8 oz container of Fage Greek yogurt
12 oz drained container of tuna
2 tsp of evoo
2 tsp dill weed
1 veg bullion, dissolved in 1/4 cup of boiling water (take from the cooking noodles)
1 cup of frozen peas
a sprinkle of garlic powder, salt & pepper

Topping:
4 Ritz crackers
6 healthy-type, whole wheat crackers
sprinkle of parsley, paprika, garlic, salt & pepper

Preheat over to 375 degrees
Cook noodles as directed to just al dente (because they're going in the oven)
While they're cooking, scoop out about a quarter cup of the boiling water and dissolve a vegetable bullion in it. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add tuna, yogurt, evoo, dill, garlic, salt, pepper and--once the bullion is fully or almost fully dissolved--broth. Mix well. Set aside.
Crumb the crackers and spices. If you don't have a food processor or a blender, wrap the crackers up in some paper towels, then wrap that up in a cloth napkin/dish rag. Set on the counter and whack the shit out of it with a masher and/or serving spoon, venting out all of the anger you have towards that rat bastard who dun you wrong. You may want to do this even if you have a blender/ food processor, simply because it is fun. Empty the contents into a small bowl so you can easily sprinkle over the top of the caserole dish later.
Once the egg noodles are al dente, drain well and add to mixing bowl. Mix well then put in glass baking dish or lightly greased nonstick baking pan.
Evenly sprinkle crumb mix over the top of caserole.
Place in over for 45 min (if you like a crunchy, brown top) or 30 min, depending on your preference.

Remove and let cool a little.

Pairs well with: milk, Miller High Life, other down-home type drinks

Whooo! That's Funny!

Wheezing and cry-laughing here at the circ desk, where I'm 2 hours into my extra 5 hours (for a total of 10 hours at work...err, help!)

Anyway, thank God for the internet and hilarious gems like these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa5JKAKapd0

New Favorite Thing

Last night R ene and I went to Fugakyu in Coolidge Corner for sushi. We sat at the sushi bar because the wait for tables was silly, it being the first week of college so Brookline is crawling with students in their new back to school trendy duds.

I had the sake sampler - three small portions of different types of sake, one with "pulverized rice" so that it was a cloudy white. The other two were more "traditional" and I liked the middle one most but didn't think to write down the names of them. Ah well.

The old standbys of avacado and spicy tuna were especially delicious (esp. compared to the Roche Bros. type that we've been eating since we moved to The Dub Rock). Our adventures were with the Volcano, the Garden and the Pine-Tato sushi. Garden was menh. Volcano was very flavorful and spicy, but I don't know that I'd get it again. But the real surprise of the sushis was the Pine Tato adventure: sweet potato tempura and grilled pineapple maki. Who'd've thought that this would be a fantastic combination? But it was; almost like a dessert and the warm veggies in the center were delectable.

However, I took one last adventure on my own, because I was still hungry, and that adventure was: Red Bean Ice Cream. I know, strange. But guess what? It was soooo fricken good! And then I googled "red bean ice cream" and "red bean smoothie" and there's a BIGILLION hits for it out there. So I'm not the only fan. I guess red beans are often used in Chinese and Japanese desserts. I've been wondering how to get more legumes in my diet. I never thought to use them as a dessert! Now I'm going to troll for recipes...

Bon Appetit!

Oh Lordy, Big Brother Is Here

From today's New York Times:

INTERNAL G.P.S. First, tracking devices were installed in cars so they could be found if stolen. Then, pet owners began putting chips in their dogs and cats. Now it’s human beings who are being “chipped.” An epidemic of kidnappings has led wealthy and even middle-class Mexicans to pay $4,000 to have tiny transmitters implanted that can pinpoint their location by satellite.

Chipping people has already begun in the United States, where VeriChip has inserted chips in 200 Alzheimer’s patients for a pilot program. Future Big Brother applications are not hard to imagine, like chipping prisoners, the mentally ill and teenagers who lie about where they’re really spending Friday night.

In Dios Mio!

I Hope This Goes Well

After once again having icky guts, I have once again gone back to making a concerted effort to eating healthier. Between the two, I have lost 8 pounds in the last week! Yay!

So, what am I doing and what am I hoping to continue to do?

The Mediterranean Diet - it's not like the South Beach Diet or Atkins or anything like that. In fact I would rename it "The Mostly Vegetarian's Guide to eating very healthy". It sort of build on the Food Pyramid idea with modifications. Basically, the Med. Diet consists of 8 servings of whole grains (whole grains very important, none of this enriched wheat flour poop), three veg, two fruit, two legume, two dairy, one nut or seed on a daily basis. Other healthy additions to the daily diet that are strongly encouraged are water, one healthy caffeinated beverage, herbal teas, and a variation of herbs, spices and other flavinoids, especially garlic, and the moderate use of healthy oils like soybean, canola (rapessed) and especially olive oil. If you want to lose weight, you cut back on the whole grain servings and eat more veg. Once a month you can have pork or red meat, or have tiny servings of them once a week (I skip this part). And up to three times a week you have eggs, fish and poultry, prepared in healthy ways. (I skip the poultry part.) Since this is mostly how I eat anyway, it's easy enough for me to follow. Except for this one little caveat: sweets are to be eaten every once in a while, like once a month at most. Ugh. The horror. So try to avoid the chocolate chip cookies, the French fries and the delicious snack crackers (like Cheez-Its. Cheez-Its are so scrumptious) and instead focus on fulfilling my Medit. Pyramid every day.

I created this little chart after reading "The Meditteranean Diet". Making an effort to write everything down and keep track helps me figure out what to eat when it's meal time or snack time. It works really well, when I follow it--I just get stuck on the snackies part. That's my weakness. That's also the thing that ends up upsetting my stomach--and I'm really sick of feeling icky every few months, so I gotta stick to it this time!

Candidate Calculator

A fmr student sent out a mass email for people to get involved with voting (can you tell she was prob a favorite--but the more I think about it, the more they were all favorites, in one way or another...uh-oh, I think I might be getting the teaching bug. It's just all the excitement of Spet. As my friends start kvetching in November, I'll be over it...)

Anyway, here is the web address that allows you to match up your issues with the candidates:

http://www.vajoe.com/candidate_calculator.html

I got an 85% match with....


Nader.

Been there, done that. Won't be wasting my vote on that megalomaniac again.

But it was fun nonetheless.

Stop Playing the "Gender Card" Republicans

Argh argh argh. I really have to stop listening in on convention coverage and punditry and all that.

Every time a legitmate issue or question is raised about Palin, Republican turn around and throw it back in the face of the reporter or left winger who raised it by calling the question raiser sexist. You know what's ACTUALLY sexist? Denigrating real women's issues by dismissing legitimate question & playing the "gender" card.

Without getting into too much, this "Caribou Barbie" Palin has thrown all my temperance out the window because of this:

http://www.libraryjournal.com/blog/1010000101/post/1460032546.html

She tried to censor the library books!!!!! Gauntlet thrown lady. You don't go near my house.

Snap snap snap.

This week in WTF #2

It being the week of the convention for the Republicans, I think we're going to have a few of these This Week in WTFs.



This one comes from Amy Goodman, and the folks and the public radio program "Democracy Now." A frightening account of how Democracy is now not really working as well as it could:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jreRSEQ_yg



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBjcqwQgF7Q&feature=related



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvAVHTo0NMc&feature=related



Updates from the Democracy Now website:



http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2008/9/1/update_democracy_now_s_amy_goodman_sharif_abdel_kouddous_and_nicole_salazar_released_after_illegal_arrest_at_rnc

This Week in WTF

This week in WTF covers all manner of Republican-y things.

#1: experience you can believe in

This is where Palin was gaining her executive experience just 20 months ago.

Photo courtesy of http://mudflats.wordpress.com/, a blog about Alaskan politics. There's a lot on the site re: Miss Pretty Lady.

#2 She also said this about the war:

“Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God.” She went on, "That’s what we have to make sure that we’re praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God’s plan."

#3 - Here's a collection of Men 4 Men ads posted on Craigslist St Paul. Thank you so so so so soooo much Wonkette people, for thinking to do this and for posting it. I was just overjoyed while reading through these. Hilarious.

Okie dokie, here's to the crazies, hypocrites and freaks in the Republican party who make it worth blogging.

R o s a' s Blog Post

Here's a message from Ros a on the eve of her first birthday:

tx fgdt;fddd

Happy 1st Birthday Ros a!